Rumania. (United Principalities). Circa 1864. Folded letter endorsed "DHI" with oval firms cachet 'Leon M. Eseninaz & Co/ Crajova' on face, bearing 30 parale deep blue (imperf with large to huge margins) tied by Crajova double ring in blue dated '14/3' with second strike lower left.
Cyprus.(Trans-Atlantic Mail). 1889. Cyprus Parcel Label (printed in English and French), headed 'Parcel Post Cyprus', written from Larnaca, Cyprus with 'Larnaca/ Cyprus' date stamp in red dated 'Feb 25 89', endorsed "Box/ 200 Sets Cyprus Copper Coins/ value 3 pounds" addressed to New York with notation 'Liverpool in transit to New York' with 'Foreign & Colonial/ Parcel Post/ Parcel Passing Through The General Post Office London' and charged Inland Postage '1/6' with notation in blue crayon.
The Parcel label has been 'Pre-Paid' 1-10 and is entry Number 4 in blue crayon corresponding witht he number '4' on the Parcel Post label.
A unique Cyprus label.
Netherlands West Indies. (Curacao). 1948. 'Bulletin D' Expedition' (Value Declared Parcel Card) addressed to England bearing Curacao Yvert 121, 5c vermilion, Yvert 148, 2 1/2g lilac and Yvert 185, 50c yellow-green tied by Curacao/ Wilemstad double ring '14th July 48' with Curacao (344) label and value declared for "Nineteen Guilders 65 cents".
British West Indies. (St. Vincent - Late Fee). Circa 1909. Small piece bearing SG 109, 1d carmine (pair) and 'War Tax' SG 127, 1d rose-red tied by hand-struck 'LATE FEE' in black with adjacent St. Vincent date stamp 'Nov 23rd.'
Messenger noted a few examples of this large Late Fee hand-stamp (Messenger No 78) have been seen with 1909 dates. The LATE FEE was increased from 1d to 2d from November 1909.
British West Indies. (St. Vincent - Late Fee). 1894. St. Vincent postal stationery card QV 'one penny red' upgraded with SG 48, 1d rose-red tied by Kingstown/ St. Vincent date stamp 'Ju 24 94' addressed to 'E. Evelyn, Govt. Office, St. Lucia' with hand-struck 'LATE FEE' on face in black and St. Lucia arrival on reverse 'July 3rd'.
Messenger notes very few examples have been seen
A very rare instructional hand-stamp from his collection with the additional '1d' red paying the Late Fee. A very scarce item of inter-Caribbean mail.
St. Vincent. (Stamps - Postmarks). 1876. SG 20, 1s lilac - rose cancelled by circular date stamp in red 'Ju 28 76'.
A very beautiful example of this stamp. Cat 350 GBP.
Ex Vincent Duggleby.
British West Indies. (St. Lucia - St. Vincent). 1888. St. Vincent postal stationery registered letter 'two pence blue' upgraded with SG 33, 2 1/2d blue tied by St. Lucia/ C date stamp 'Oc 14 88' with second strike adjacent, endorsed 'No 96' (indicating registration), addressed to 'Mrs Thomas Robin, Georgetown, St. Vincent' with circular 'Kingstown/ St. Vincent. C' date stamp arrival in vermilion on face dated 'Oc 18'.
Scarce inter - Caribbean destination.
British West Indies. (St. Vincent - Canada). 1895. St. Vincent postal stationery 'Registered Letter' two pence grey' upgraded with SG 55, 2 1/2d on 1d grey-blue tied by Kingstown/ St. Vincent date stamp 'Oc 4 95' with a second strike adjacent and circular 'St. Vincent/ A' small cds in vermilion 'Oc 4', endorsed "No 713" (indicating registration) and initialed by the Postmaster "TCBM" (Musgrove), addressed to Toronto, Canada with oval 'New York/ REG' transit '12/10' and Toronto arrival 'Oc 14' on reverse.
Beautiful cover with the small St. Vincent/ A date stamp in red, used later than the latest date recorded by Messenger (3.6.92).
St. Vincent. (Postmarks - Paid Part). Circa 1872. SG 18, 1d black cancelled by circular "PP" in red (Paid Part).
Messenger records 3 examples of this postmark in red and one in black.
Ex Messenger and Vincent Duggleby.
St. Vincent. (Postmarks - French Anchor of Dots). Circa 1866. SG 6, 4d deep blue (small thin at top), cancelled by anchor of dots.
Only a few 'anchor of dots' postmarks have been recorded. This elusive postmark is a French maritime cachet found on mail from South America and the French Caribbean. See Raymond Salles, French Maritime Mail.
Ex Peter Holcombe and Sharp.
St. Vincent. (Postmarks - French Anchor of Dots). Circa 1866. SG 1, 1d rose-red cancelled by anchor of dots.
Only a few 'anchor of dots' postmarks have been recorded. This elusive postmark on Saint Vincent QV stamps is a French maritime cachet found on mail from South America and the French Caribbean. See Raymond Salles French Maritime Mail.
British West Indies. (St. Vincent - Denmark). 1896. St. Vincent stamp-less 'On Her Majesty's Service' envelope (with oval Coat of Arms imprint on reverse) addressed to 'V.C. Peterson, Copenhagen, Denmark' cancelled by St. Vincent/ Official/ PAID' date stamp with adjacent 'St. Vincent/ A' small cds in vermilion 'Ap 15 96', endorsed by the Colonial Postmaster "E. Cornewall Lewis", routed via London '29th April' and charged '40' in scarlet crayon on arrival in Copenhagen with receiver '2nd May on reverse.
Messenger records only three dates known of this scarce St. Vincent Official Paid hand-stamp. An exceptional cover going to Denmark.
St. Vincent. (Postmarks). Circa 1875. SG 21, 1s deep claret with vertical 'A10' (type 1) hand-stamp in red. Cat 250 GBP. A deep rich shade of claret.
Messenger nots "Really bright examples of this stamp in a fine rich colour of claret can be occasionally be found but the colour seems to be unstable so that many copies have become dull and sometimes quite pale".
Ex Vincent Duggleby.
St. Vincent. (Postmarks). Circa 1877. SG 23, 6d pale green cancelled by oval 'PD' in black.
Superb example of the 'PD' hand-stamp (Paid To Destination) in black.
Ex Messenger and mentioned in his handbook as being of considerable scarcity.
Ex Bowlby and Messenger.
St. Vincent. (Anglo-French Accountancy). Circa 1872. SG 12, 4d yellow cancelled by oval Anglo-French accountancy 'GB/ 40c' in red.
New research has established three differing instruments of this accountancy hand-stamp, (Proud and Messenger mention only two), the sans-serif "4", the seriffed "4" and the small "C" now known to be used from the village of Biabou.
This is a very colourful example of the small "C" with a beautiful strike in red.
Ex Sharp.
St. Vincent. (Village Postmarks). 1898. Registered envelope addressed to 'Myerscough, London' bearing SG 47, 1/2d green and SG 56, 4d yellow tied by Kingstown/ St. Vincent (code "A") date stamp 'Ju 10 98', struck twice with small St. Vincent/ A date stamp adjacent and oval hand-struck 'R' with 'Saint Vincent/ R. 5, 144' label on reverse and with hooded Registered/ London arrival on face in violet and black '22nd June'.
No doubt this cover was posted from a village as Proud suggests the small date stamp "possibly supplied for use on overseas mail to conform with UPU regulations".
Chateaubelair (11.11.98) - (23.11.00).
Ex Messenger and Vincent Duggleby.
St. Vincent. (Postmarks). 1888. SG 52, 6d violet cancelled by Kingstown date stamp code "A" in red dated 'No 13 88'. Cat 225 GBP.
A scarce stamp in distinctive violet shade used during the first year of issue (October 1888), so this example cannot be confused with the later 6d dull purple, reddish purple of 1891.
Messenger notes only 3.300 copies were printed and a considerable portion of the printing passed to the Inland Revenue for revenue purposes, accounting for its scarcity. Ex Messenger.
British West Indies. (St. Vincent - Late Fee Instructional). 1898. St. Vincent postal stationery QV 'one penny red' card upgraded with SG 48, 1d rose-red tied by Kingstown/ St. Vincent date stamp 'Ja 21 98' addressed to Bristol with hand-struck 'LATE FEE' on face in black and arrival on face 'Fe 2nd 98'.
The hand-stamp has jumped causing a double impression.
Messenger notes very few examples have been see. A very rare instructional hand-stamp with the additional 1d red paying the Late Fee.
LATE FEE Proud type 15. (18.5.97) - (14.10.91). Type not recorded by Messenger.
Ex Vincent Duggleby collection.
British West Indies. (St. Vincent - Late Fee). Circa 1909. Small piece bearing SG 103, 1d carmine (pair) tied by hand-struck 'LATE FEE' in black.
Messenger notes a few examples of this large hand-struck LATE FEE (Messenger No 78) have been seen with 1909 dates.
Illustrated in 'St. Vincent' by Messenger & Robson Lowe.
The Late Fee was increased from 1d to 2d from November 1909.
New Zealand. (St. Vincent - New Zealand). 1903. Registered envelope from 'Gilmer's Royal Oak, Hotel, Wellington' addressed to Saint Vincent, Windward Islands' bearing New Zealand SG 262, 4d indigo and brown tied by Wellington date stamp '2nd Jan 03' with circular hand-struck 'R', with San Francisco/ Registered in carmine 'Feb 9' and New York transit '16/2' with R'/ New York' registration label on face and St. Vincent 'March 2nd' arrival on reverse.
Superb item sent via the Pacific and overland across the United States paying the international registration rate 4d rate to the British West Indies.
Ex Vincent Duggleby collection.
India. (St. Vincent - India). 1894. Registered envelope written from 'Kissenpoora, Meerut, N.W..P, India' addressed to St. Vincent bearing India SG 85, 1/2 anna blue-green, SG 89, 1a plum and SG 92, 2a blue (4) tied by Meerut City PY' squared circle date stamp 'Oc 10 94' with framed 'R/ Meerut City Ry Stn.' and hand-stamped 'Registered' in violet, routed via London with hooded London transit '29th Oct' and small St. Vincent arrival 'No 20' in black on reverse.
Stamps also tied by large oval firms chop in violet for security purposes.
Ex Vincent Duggleby collection.
British West Indies. (St. Vincent - United States). 1882. United States postal stationery card 'two cents blue' cancelled by fancy cork obliterator with adjacent Boston/ Mass date stamp 'April 30 82', addressed to 'J.N. Labord, St. Vincent, B.W. Indies' with small cds St. Vincent arrival 'June 11'on face.
This United States card was written by Frederick Ober the America naturalist and writter.
St. Vincent. (Postmarks). Circa 1875. SG 22, 1d black cancelled by (Crown) Paid At St. Vincent hand-struck in red, stamp with a few trimmed perfs.
This is the second recorded Crown Circle Paid from St. Vincent known on a 1d black.
Ex Duggleby.
Dominican Republic. (St. Vincent - Danish West Indies). 1913. Registered COVER FRONT addressed to Saint Vincent (Antilles), bearing Dominican Republic Yvert 160, 5c grey-blue (pair) tied by Santo Domingo date stamp 'Jul 23 1913' with matching 'R/ Santo Dominigo' registration label, endorsed 'via Fort de France' with framed hand-struck 'R/ St. Thomas' in violet on face and 'R (348)/ Saint Vincent' registration label, endorsed 'Try St. Lucia' in red crayon.
British West Indies. (Late Fee Instructional). 1898. St. Vincent postal stationery QV 'half penny green' NEWS PAPER FRONT' upgraded with SG 48, 1d rose-red tied by Kingstown/ St. Vincent date stamp 'Oc 14 98' addressed to 'His Honour, Saubique, Turks Island' with hand-struck 'LATE FEE' on face in black.
A very rare instructional hand-stamp with the additional 1d red paying the Late Fee.
LATE FEE. Proud type 15. (18.3.97) - (14.10.98). Small type not recorded by Messenger.
Messenger notes very few examples have been seen.
British West Indies. (St. Vincent - Anglo French Accountancy). Circa 1878. A colourful selection of 29 stamps from the two types listed by Messenger and Proud and the recently discovered third instrument of this accountancy hand-stamp.
SG 18, 1d black cancelled by 'GB/ 40c' in red with small "C" now attributed to the village of Biabou. (2) and four 1d rose-reds with GB/40c (small c) also from Biabou village.
Values up to SG 24, 1s vermilion (3) one ex "Messenger", surcharges (2) and 1d rose-red shades (4), with types sans serif "4" and seriffed "4" including 4d deep blue (2), 4d ultramarine and SG 26a, 6d pale green (2).
Ex Vincent Duggleby collection. A fine selection.
St. Vincent. (Postmarks). 1872. SG 17, 1s rose-red cancelled by St. Vincent/ A date stamp in brown/ red dated 'Sp 2 72'.
Stamp cat 150 GBP.
Stated by Vincent Duggleby to be the only known cds example in red ink.
Ex Vincent Duggleby collection.
St. Vincent. (Postmarks). Circa 1866. SG 6, 4d deep blue cancelled by vertical A10 (type 1) used at Georgetown overstruck by horizontal black A10 at Kingstown (1874 - 1875).
Stamp cat 120 GBP.
Ex Vincent Duggleby collection.
St. Vincent. (Postmarks - Circle of Dots). 1880. SG 29, 1d olive-green cancelled by circle of dots (thumb print) with additional ink manuscript.
Only 13 "Circle of Dots" postmarks have been recorded all on the 1d olive-green of 1880.
According to the St. Vincent hand-book by Messenger (notes and illustrations page 129) the cancel had presumably been used at Mesopotania.
Ex Messenger collection.
British West Indies. (St. Vincent - Great Britain). 1896. Great Britain postal stationery envelope 'two pence halfpenny' grey, headed 'University of Cambridge' cancelled by Cambridge/ 158 duplex 'Jy 27 96', addressed to St. Vincent with Kingstown/ St. Vincent arrival 'Aug 11 96' and forwarded to London with Sydenham arrival 'Sept 2nd'.
British West Indies. (St. Vincent - Barbados). 1895. Barbados postal stationery envelope 'one penny on 1/2d pink' surcharge, cancelled by Barbados date stamp 'Fe 27 93', addressed to the 'Colonial Postmaster, St. Vincent'.
Lovely item paying the unopened newspaper/ printed matter rate for an inter-Caribbean destination.
Proud records the Barbados date stamp with no index letter (12.8.85) - (23.6.91).
British West Indies. (St. Vincent). 1900 Registered 'On Her Majesty's Service' envelope (with coat of arms imprint on reverse_ addressed to Germany bearing SG 56, 4d orange/ yellow (pair) tied by small St. Vincent cds 'Ju 19 00' with code 'A', a second strike adjacent with hand-struck oval 'R' and 'R/ Saint Vincent' registered label on reverse with hooded Registered London transit '5th July' and London arrival 'July 6th' on reverse.
St. Vincent. (Postmarks). Circa 1877. SG 24, 1s vermilion cancelled by oval 'PD' in black.
Superb example of the 'PD' hand-stamp (Paid To Destination) in black.
Ex Messenger and mentioned in his handbook as being of considerable scarcity.
British West Indies. (St. Vincent - Grenada - United States). 1944. Air Mail envelope addressed to Grenada, British West Indies bearing United States SG 906, 5c violet, white and red (4) tied by North Miami roller 'Jan 15 44', endorsed 'Air Mail', with 'Examined By' label (applied in Miami), with framed instructional 'Missent To St. Vincent BWI' on face with Kingstown '3rd Feb' receiver on reverse and forwarded to Grenada with arrival '16th Feb'.
British West Indies. (St. Vincent - Mexico). 1902. Mexico postal stationery envelope '10 peso violet' cancelled by Mexico machine flag dated 'Apr 23rd 1902', addressed to Government House, Grenada, West Indies', endorsed 'via New York and Laredo' with St, George/ Grenada arrival 'May 27' on reverse and forwarded to St. Vincent.
Finland. (Netherlands East Indies). 1874. Pre-stamp folded letter written from Batavia, Dutch East Indies addressed to Jacobstad, Finland (Russia) cancelled by Batavia date stamp '27th Sept 1874, rated '30' in lilac ink on reverse, routed via Brindisi with French entry cachet/ T.P.O. 'Ind. Neer. V. Brind./ A. MOD' in red on face '7th Nov', carried overland via Germany with St. Petersburg transit '30th Nov' on reverse, charged '6' in blue crayon with framed Finish 'ANK/ 16/ 12' and rated '1 = 20 losen' in m/s on face and '120 p' in blue crayon on reverse.
Mail from the Netherlands East Indies to Finland is very scarce.
Ex Paul Bulterman.
Netherlands East Indies. (Forwarding Agents). 1846. Pre-stamp folded letter written from Rotterdam dated '8th February' addressed to Djococarta forwarded from Batavia with oval 'Bevorderd Door/Batavia/ Reijnst & Vinju' (Forwarding Agent) in blue and 'Zeebrief/ Ongefranzee' on face and rated '120' in m/s on arrival.
Ex Paul Bulterman collection.
Netherlands East Indies. (Forwarding Agents). 1844. Pre-stamp envelope written from Amsterdam dated '1st August 1844' addressed to Batavia endorsed 'Nieuwe Diep' with bold framed 'Received & Forwarded/ Gebs Ziere Kichlen & Tagler/ Ship Agents "Nieuwe Diep" in red on reverse.
Superb quality. Carried by Private ship.
Ex Paul Bulterman collection.
Great Britain. (Ship Letter - Netherlands East Indies). 1823. Pre-stamp folded letter addressed to Batavia, Java, cancelled by 'Greenock/ 8 Mar 1823' hand-stamp on reverse, routed via Glasgow with London/ Paid and double oval 'Post Paid Ship L.r/ London' in red dated '10 Mr 1823' (Robertson S. 46) and charged '2/1', endorsed 'per "Jemima" with oval 'Zeebrief/ Batavia' in red on face and rated '15' in m/s on face in black ink.
Netherlands East Indies. (German States). 1822. Pre-stamp folded letter written from Batavia dated '1st May 1822' addressed to East Friesland, cancelled by oval 'Batavia/ Franco' in vermilion and endorsed 'via Ost Friesland/ Het Konengrys Hannover' and endorsed 'Franco', with hand-struck 'FRANCO/ GRENZEN' in red (Van der Linden 1477) and instructional 'Na Posttyd' (After Post Time) in black on reverse with 'Den Helder/ Zeebrief' in red (Van der Linden 952) and rated '2gr 6g'in red crayon on face and '12' in black ink on reverse with circular '4/ NOV' indicating arrival.
Very fine item with 5 page letter a transit of 6 months.
In 1806 East Frisia was annexed by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Holland and later became part of the French Empire.
After the Napoleonic Wars East Frisia was occupied first by Prussian and then by Russian soldiers and in 1813 was re-annexed by Prussia. However in 1815, Prussia had to cede East Frisia to the Kingdom of Hanover.
Ex Paul Bulterman collection.
Persian Gulf. (Kuwait). 1957. Registered Air Mail envelope addressed to Ahmadi, Kuwait bearing Kuwait SG 116, 4a on 4d ultramarine (pair) tied by Registered/ Mabarakya Street, Kuwait date stamp '18th Mr 57' with matching registered label.
Registered internal Air Mail. Scarce.
Persian Gulf. (Oman - Masirah Island). 1958. Air Mail envelope written from 'R.A.F. Masirah Island, Oman' addressed to Surrey, England bearing Great Britain 'Wilding' SG 520, 3d violet in combination with Aden SG 54, 25c rose-red tied by 'R.A.F. MASIRAH/ Orderly Room/ Dec 1958/ R.A.F. MASIRAH' hand-stamp in violet with Aden transit from F.P.O. 937 dated 13th Dec 1958.
Very rare item from the R.A.F. Base on Masirah Island of the coast of Oman.
Persian Gulf. (India used in Aden - France). 1865. Folded letter sheet written from Aden dated '3rd Oct 65' addressed to France bearing India SG 44, 2a orange and SG 47, 4a green tied by '124' in lozenge with Aden - Str - Point single arc on reverse '3rd Oct 65' with framed 'India Paid' in red and boxed 'PD' on face with 'Poss. Ang. V. Suez A Marseille A' ambulant on face (Salles 1874) in red and Bordeaux arrival '31st Oct'.
A very fine cover from the Aden Steamer Point with '124' numeral and framed INDIA PAID applied in Aden addressed to France.
Aden. (Hadramaut). 1960. Air Mail envelope addressed to England bearing Hadramaut SG 39, 10c grey and SG 31, 15c deep-green (pair) tied by Jol Ba Hawa bilingual date stamp in violet with Mukalla transit '25th Au 60' on reverse.
Aden. (Paquebot - India). 1935. Envelope endorsed 'Posted at Sea on board the 'S.S. "British Judge" at noon on May 6th 1935 in Lat 17 -10 North/ Long 55 - 54 East' addressed to 'Royal Naval Hospital, Plymouth, Devon' bearing Aden postal fiscal 'six pence' orange tied by 'PAQUEBOT/ Aden' double ring '11th May 35' with adjacent Aden transit and on reverse boxed 'Support The Jubilee Fund/ 11 May 35/ 7 am/ ADEN' and hand-stamped "British Judge" dated '6th May 1935' with India violet label 'Their Majesties/ Silver Jubilee/ Fund/ To Relieve Stress & Suffering in India' applied on reverse.
Lovely item posted at sea in the Gulf of Aden on the day of the Silver Jubilee with scarce Silver Jubilee Aden hand-stamp.
Sudan.(Afrique Equatoriale Francaise - Cameroun). 1941. Air Mail envelope addressed to the French Military, Yaounde, French Cameroun bearing SG 41a, 5m olive and black and SG 80, 4 1/2 on 8p emerald and black tied by El Fasher date stamp '26th Mar 41', endorsed 'Par Avion' with 'Sudan/ 12/ Censorship' label, sent overland to Geneina Fort '27th Mar' and Fort Lamy/ Tchad '2nd Avril' on reverse, then carried by Air Mail to Benin, Nigeria with circular 'Contole Postal/ Afrique Equatoriale Francaise/ Commission G' (applied in Benin) and 'Controle Postal/ Territoire du Cameroun/ Commission B' (applied in Yaounde) on face.
Lovely item sent overland through Darfur Province into Tchad and onwards by French internal African Airways.
Censored in Sudan, French Equatorial Africa and French Cameroun, the Yaounde censor only recorded in June 1941.
Sudan. (East Africa Campaign - Egypt). 1941. Air Mail envelope written from 'On The Water - En Route For ?' addressed to 'Miss Evelyne Husseuet, Heliopolis Sporting Club, Cairo' endorsed 'On Active Service' bearing Sudan SG 41, 5m olive and black and SG 45, 15m ultramarine and chestnut (pair) tied by Shellala - Halfa/ T.P.O./ No 1' date stamp '21st JAN 41', carried by Air Mail with bilingual 'By Air Mail/ Par Avion' label with circular 'Deputy Chief Field Censor' in violet on face with Heliopolis receiver on reverse '23rd Jan'.
The East Africa Campaign was fought in East Africa by the British Empire against Italy and its colony of Italian East Africa between June 1940 and November 1941.
Captain Maxwell Setton served in the Sudan and was part of East Africa Force advancing into Eritrea and Ethiopia. Later becoming Deputy Censor in Benghazi and Cyrenaica as part of the 'Occupied Enemy Territory Administration and later Chief Censor in Asmara, Eritrea.
Lovely cover and 4 page letter text in English and French from Maxwell Setton to his sweetheart in Egypt. After the war Captain Setton produced more than 15 hit films in Hollywood.
Egypt. (German Colonies - Marshall Islands). 1896. Egypt postal stationery envelope 'One Piastre' blue cancelled by Caire date stamp '18th July 96' addressed to Jaluit, Marshall Islands endorsed 'via Singapore, Manilla' and routed via Suez '19/7' and Colombo 'Aug 1st' with Singapore 'Aug 8th' and Jaluit/ Marschall/ Insein' arrival on reverse '12th Oct'.
The Marshall Islands is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The islands first used German stamps in 1888 with overprinted German stamps becoming available in 1897.
A wonderful item of incoming mail from Egypt taking nearly 12 weeks to reach the Marshall Islands.
Poland. (French Troops in Poland). 1919. Stamp-less picture post card of 'Cathedral, Krakowie' dated '16/10/19' addressed to France cancelled by 'Tresor et Postes/ 309' date stamp '18th Oct 19' with circular 'Mission Francaise en Pologne/ Gare Regulatrice de Trezebinia' in violet.
The first Polish divisions were formed in France in the Spring of 1917. The majority of the recruits were Poles serving with the French Army. After the Armistice the army fully equipped by the French Government transferred to Poland. The army was initially under French command. In October 1918 General Haller was appointed as its commander. They were almost immediately engaged fighting the Bolsheviks in Ukraine.
Field Post Office No 309 was located at Krakow from '6.19 - 10.19.' Trezebinia is a major rail junction on the Krakow - Katowice line.
Poland. (French Detachment in Poland). 1919. Printed Polish Red Cross post card dated '24/9/19' and written from the 'French Military Mission, Varsovie (Warsaw) addressed to Nice cancelled by 'Tresor et Postes/ 311' date stamp '27th Sept 1919'.
In the hope of achieving independence for their homeland following the war, Polish volunteers fought on the Western Front against the Germans. After the armistice these units (accompanied by their French officers) were transported home in April 1919. Military mail received a wide variety of markings related to the French Mission. Field Post Office No 311 operated in Warsaw from August 1919 to April 1922 at Polish Army Headquarters.
Its a real pleasure to add a magnificent selection of French Colonies from Africa, Asia, The Caribbean and Oceania. Very fine pre-stamp, British Post Office, Charged Mail, Advice of Receipt, Printed Matter and postage due mail. A lovely selection of censor mail, some with five or six censor cachets and labels, routed Trans-Africa, two Ocean or over the Atlantic with some unusual destinations.
A few items from the Dr. Edward Grabowski collection, this amazing sale sold in three parts by Spink. Also interesting Tahiti and New Caledonia from Tony Eastgate's life time work.
Over the next few months we hope to add many items to grace the finest collections.
A strong area of stock is our China from Imperial to WW2 with many fine censor covers and Air Transits. A good selection of the overseas Post Offices, Austrian, British, French, Japanese and Russian with offices in Manchuria. Many mixed combinations, I.P.O's .
Coming soon the John Marc Sitarek accumulation of China, French Post Office and Indo-China with magnificent French Detachment in the Boxer Campaign covers.
John Marc also had a fine selection of the Chinese Labour Force which are not often seen, he built this selection over thirty years. One of the darker aspects of World War One was the plight of 12,000 Chinese workers who were recruited by the British Army from the North of China in 1916 to serve on the battle front in France as labourers, trench diggers, munitions carriers, mine disarmers and corpse bearers under often inhumane conditions. A large number were also struck down by the devastating Spanish flue of 1918.