10c 1886 Allegory Reply Card Returned from New York Taxed – Here’s Why!

10c Brown Allegory UPU Reply Card New York Station P 26 January 1886 Luxembourg-Gare 5 February 1886 Taxed 1/25 (single rate – letter rate) in New York City Why?

For a long time, I thought the New York postal clerk erred in taxing this card at the 25-centime letter rate (which would then be doubled upon receipt).  But that’s not the case.

Thanks to the kind assistance of an expert on UPU regulations, I have learned that as of April 1, 1879, the issuance of international reply cards and their acceptance could only be done by UPU members who were signatories to the Special Convention on Reply-Paid Postal Cards.  The United States was not.  This convention remained in force until after the Congress of Vienna, during what is referred to as the Period of Optional Use.

At the Congress of Lisbon in 1885, however, it was decided that all UPU members—not just the signatories—were to honor reply cards and return them to the country of issue.  The Lisbon 1885 rules took effect on April 1, 1886—a little over two months after this card was posted.  The period from April 1, 1886, to March 31, 1892, is referred to as the Period of Mandatory Return by
Non-Signatories.

The United States did not honor international reply cards until it was required to beginning April 1, 1886.  The Luxembourg Post Office may have allowed the originating double card to go to the United States under the mistaken understanding that all UPU members were advancing the acceptance date, but the United States and a number of other members did not.  Thus, the reply card was improperly posted in the United States and was properly marked for postage due, although it is unclear whether the addressee (J.B. Schock, Commissioner of Posts at Luxembourg-Gare!) paid the 50 centimes postage due.

And at the Congress of Vienna in 1891, it was decided that all countries would be required to issue reply cards.

So, yet another postal history mystery has now been solved!

Modern Postal History from Arsdorf

Collecting modern postal history can be even more challenging than acquiring classic covers from international auctions.  That’s because modern covers seldom appear in these expensive international auctions; they are more likely to be found on the Internet or in the stocks of vest pocket dealers at small bourses, local shows, or flea markets.  

If you can’t attend the bourses or shows, maybe a kind friend will help by searching for material on your behalf.  That’s how I was fortunate recently to acquire these three gems of modern Arsdorfian postal history.

Second-step Domestic Registered Letter in 1943,  during the World War 2 Occupation

20-250g domestic letter = 24 Rpf. Registry fee = 30 Rpf. Arsdorf to Ettelbrück 12 January 1943 Reich franking became mandatory in Luxembourg on 1 January 1942; before that, from April 1, 1941 onward, it was discretionary. Who has a third-step 40 Rpf. 250-500g cover from Arsdorf?  Maybe nobody!

Arsdorf c — Roller Cancel (FSPL Type 53.09)

3-Franc 20g Domestic Letter Rate  Arsdorf to Hostert 20 November 1970

When collecting cancels of your favorite towns and villages, don’t forget to look for the roller cancels.  They can be especially elusive, particularly on cover!

Registered in Arsdorf — but Cancelled in Rambrouch: A Modern Postal History Mystery

‘Arsdorf-Rambrouch’ to Luxembourg-Ville 3 November 1976 6-Franc 20g Domestic Letter Rate 20-Franc Domestic Registry Fee

Can you explain the unusual routing of this registered postal card in 1941 during the WW2 occupation?

15 Rpf.
foreign surface postal card rate

 + 30 Rpf. registration fee

Luxemburg 1, 18 January 1941

Reich censorship in Berlin or Frankfurt

San Francisco, California (West coast of the United States!) 3 March 1941

Union City, New Jersey USA (East coast of the United States) 8 Mar 1941

The card is incorrectly addressed to “Union-City N.Y.” but was delivered to nearby Union City, New Jersey.

There is also a Union City, California, on the east side of San Francisco Bay. Might that have been why the card reached San Francisco, California on March 3rd? The postal clerks certainly haven’t given us any clues!

Mixed Hindenburg & Hitler-Head Franking on an Incoming Parcel Card in 1943

The Hindenburg medallions overprinted Luxemburg lost their validity at the end of 1942; however, the unoverprinted Hindenburgs remained valid in the Reich until May 1945. Thus, the 25 Rpf. Hindenburg is properly used with the 60 Rpf. Hitler-Head on this incoming parcel card from Tiefenbach über Oberstdorf in Bavaria, 4 February 1943, to Esch/Alzig, 9 February 1943. Similar Hindenburg & Hitler-Head mixed frankings, therefore, should have been possible from Luxembourg, as well, presumably from April 1, 1941, when all German stamps became valid for use in Luxembourg, but I have yet to see an example.  Have you? The World War II parcel cards invite study by specialists.  Almost nothing has been written about them.  The code numbers on the right side of the parcel label come from a grid book used to calculate distance and rate.  Here the charge was 60 Rpf. for 5 kg. of weight to Esch/Alzig plus 10 Rpf. for 200 RM of insured value and 15 Rpf. for home delivery.  As shown on the reverse, the home delivery fee was refunded when the parcel was picked up at the post office.

Mourning Cover from Diekirch in 1916 to Violin Virtuosa Alma Moodie

Alma Templeton Moodie, born in Queensland, Australia, in 1898, was a child prodigy who became the foremost female violinist of the inter-war years. At age 9, she left Australia to study at the Brussels conservatory. She remained in Europe until her untimely death in 1943.

In studying the mourning cover below, which was sent to Holland, I noticed that the addressee’s name did not sound German or Dutch. And after web research, I realized why—the recipient was the then eighteen-year-old Alma Moodie!
 

 

 

Diekirch, 4 Feb 1916

 

Censored in Trier

To Roermond, Holland [b/s ? 24 Feb 1916]

20g UPU letter rate = 25c

 

Kay Dreyfus, the author of a recent biography of Moodie entitled Bluebeard’s Bride: Alma Moodie, Violinist (2013), writes in response to my inquiry about Moodie’s connection to Holland:

Exactly what she was doing during the first world war years would be something I probably don't know in great detail. I know she and her mother fled from Germany back to Brussels where, I had thought, they stayed for the duration of the war. I only have a very general idea of what they actually did during the war years or how they survived.  I have a copy of a scrapbook which contains copies of programs of (semi-private) concerts Moodie gave in Brussels during that time, but I have no evidence that she went anywhere else.  I know that in the 1920s she went to Holland on tour regularly[.]

So we do not know who was being mourned, who Frau Frauenberg the sender of the cover was, nor who Madam Ahrens was—the cover having been addressed to Moodie in care of her residence.  But thanks to Kay Dreyfus, we know quite a bit about the fascinating person to whom the mourning cover was sent.

 

The esteemed conductor Werner Reinhart, Alma Moodie,
and the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, in the 1920s.

12-Rpf Hindenburg Overprint Pays Postage Due on Incoming Feldpost Mail in 1940

 

 

Feldpost b – 18 Oct 1940 Feldpost Number 27438 To Binser [Biwer?] [Post: Wecker] – 21 Oct 1940 Marked ‘T’ - 12-Rpf Reich 20g letter rate paid with a 12-Rpf Hindenburg Overprint! But wasn’t incoming Feldpost free to the recipient?

Local Delivery Rates During the World War II Occupation

"Ortstarif" Rates 1940-1945

Easily overlooked by postal history collectors are the reduced rates for local delivery of postcards and letters that first began during the World War II occupation.

The so-called “ortstarif” rates took effect on October 1, 1940, when the Reich currency was implemented. These rates continued in francs and centimes after the occupation until October 1, 1945.

Here are three examples from the occupation period:

5-Rpf. Local Postcard Rate Kayl – Local Use 7 November 1941

8-Rpf. Local 20g Letter Rate Düdelingen im Moselland – Local Use 25 January 1944

16-Rpf. Local 20g-250g Letter Rate Mixed Franking 6 Rpf Charlotte (2nd) & 10 Rpf Hindenburg Luxemburg 1 d – Local Use 18 February 1941 From the Bofferding brewery to the brewers’ association!

16-Rpf. Local 20g-250g Letter Rate Turned Envelope Free mail sent by the Finanzamt Esch (Alzig) Esch-Alzig n, 24 Jun 1943, to Düdelingen Returned by the recipient Esch (Alzig) g – Local Use 16-Rpf Hitler Head – Sole Use! 18 May 1944   This turned cover also reminds us of the paper shortages that were experienced toward the end of the occupation.

38-Rpf. Local 20g Registered Letter Rate Fels (Moselland) a – Local Use 15 August 1942 8-Rpf postage + 30-Rpf registry fee Gemeindeverwaltung Heffingen = Heffingen Local Government

After the occupation, the 20g local letter rate was 80 centimes, and 1.60 Fr for 20g-250g local letters. The local postcard rate was 50 centimes.

Add Ortstarif covers to your collection. They are a small but interesting part of Luxembourg’s postal history!

A 70c Domestic Registry Fee in 1926? Yes! Updated below.

Rate Turbulence in the 1920s

In the mid-1920s, postal rates worldwide were changing frequently as world economies moved closer to the Great Depression that hit in 1929. Consequently for the postal historian, this is a fascinating period in which to study the interaction of politics, economics, and postal charges.

A 70c Registry Fee in 1926?

The Luxembourg Postman’s Calendar for 1926 (excerpted above) indicates that the 1926 domestic registry fee was 70 centimes, an increase of 20 centimes from the prior 50-centime rate. When was this 70-centime registry fee in effect? From the Basien-Hoffkamp rate book, we know that an 80-centime registry fee took effect on August 1, 1926. Was the 80-centime fee preceded by a 70-centime fee? If so, when did the 50c rate end and the 70c rate begin?

Here is an example:

Domestic COD Postcard

 1F Blue Vianden + 30c Charlotte

Luxembourg-Gare, 31 May 1926
Bigonville [post: Perlé], 31 May 1926

Domestic postcard rate = 20c
Domestic registry fee = 70c
COD fee to collect 319.40 F = 40c

 

Update: 
  Dieter Basien confirms the 70-centime registry fee, thus:

01.10.1925 0,50 F.

01.01.1926 0,70 F.

01.08.1926 0,80 F.

Here is the announcement from L’Memorial of 26 December 1925:

Danke, Dieter!

Postal History as Political History: When War Beckoned

 

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1-Fr. Prince Henry 1839-1939 Centenary of Independence Issue Grundhof, 23 August 1939 to South Portland, Maine USA 1-Fr. UPU Post Card Rate

Dear Friends, We are still in Luxembourg, but it is getting too dangerous. All your countrymen and Englishmen are going home, and tomorrow we go to Holland. It is a great pity, but we must go, for when war begins it is impossible. Sincerely, Jack

There is irony in the franking—a stamp from the issue celebrating Luxembourg’s century of independence. 

In more recent times, I suspect similar sentiments were expressed by those leaving Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, as conflict beckoned, not to forget the Ukraine even today.

From A to Z

Collecting incoming mail adds color and richness to a Luxembourg postal history collection.  And with searchable websites and auction catalogs, it’s possible to find many unusual examples.  Here are a couple of my favorites—Aden and Zanzibar:

Aden to Luxembourg-Grund in 1894 10 Pf. German Eagle Postal Card

Deutsche Seepost, Ost-Asiatische Haupt Linie 23 Feb 1894 Aden, 23 Feb 1894   Transit Ligne N Paq. FR. No. 8 25 Feb 1894   To Luxembourg-Grund

Written at Aden, 21 Feb 1894 (in French!)

Aden's location made it a popular exchange port for mail passing between places around the Indian Ocean and Europe during the late 19th and early 20th century (the Zanzibar card below is an example).  The 1910 Encyclopaedia Britannica [11th ed.] mentions that the port back then was visited yearly by 1300 steamers.   The Wharf at Aden

Zanzibar to Luxembourg-Ville in 1898 1 Anna Zanzibar Postal Card

Zanzibar [Squared Circle] 15 Jun 1898 Transit Aden, 27 Jun 1898 Luxembourg-Ville, 11 Jul 1898 Forwarded to: Luneville, France, 12 Jul 1898

Sent to J. G. Paquelet, whose stamp dealer correspondence spanned the globe.

World War II: 50 Rpf. Special Delivery Fee to Belgium

Luxemburg, 3 Oct 1941    Censored:  C22 [Cologne]   To Brussels, Belgium With Mixed franking: 6 Rpf. Hitler-head 50 Rpf. Hindenburg

During the World War II occupation, letters and postcards from Luxembourg to Belgium were treated preferentially, with the Reich domestic 12 Rpf. letter rate and 6 Rpf. postcard rate applying. (In contrast, mail to neighboring France was charged the 25 Rpf. foreign letter and 15 Rpf. postcard rate.)

However, the special delivery fee to Belgium was 50 Rpf.—the fee charged for foreign mail, not the 40 Rpf. Reich domestic special delivery fee.

The commercial postcard shown above shows the Belgian preferential 6 Rpf. postcard rate and the non-preferential 50 Rpf. special delivery fee.

I also like the corner card: 

Antony Steinbach

Luxemburg-Bahnhof
Hochfeine glanzlacke
[fine gloss paint]

 

Modern Luxembourg Postal History – Collectible and Affordable

I often wonder why so much modern Luxembourg postal history goes wanting. Enjoyment of philately and postal history should not be just for the rich.

In the 14th Schlegel auction in Berlin this week, there were over 300 lots of Luxembourg classics, but the starting price for the least expensive lot was about 50 euros (plus commission, plus a per lot fee, plus money transfer charges, plus shipping). On websites like Delcampe and Jim Forte’s www.postalhistory.com, however, you’ll find that equally interesting, equally challenging modern postal history abounds, and it is often offered for one-tenth of that 50-euro threshold over at auction houses like Schlegel.

Here’s an example of a recent purchase of mine of modern Luxembourg postal history from a seller in Portugal—price: just $2.99!

 

Rate:

64 gm. [50g-100g rate] letter to Germany = 36 F

Registry fee to Germany = 80 F

1 May 1996 tariff
Franking: 

1990 Dynasty Sheet (100 F) +
16 F 1999 UPU 125th Anniversary commemorative

Cancel:

Weiswampach tourist hand cancel,
16 Sep 1999

Route:

Weiswampach to Hilden, Germany
Registry labels:

Luxembourg:  RR 002464874 LU

Germany:  R04291240692DE

Reverse Corner card (on back flap):
Walter Strelow
Anlageberater [Investment Advisor]
Bonn