VOL . XXVII, NUMBER 5 SEPTEMBER 200 1
American Helvetia Philatelic Society METERED SWISS ZEPPELIN MAIL by Michael Pete r Recently, metered mail, especially from treaty states, that flew on the Zeppelins has become very much in demand . Perhaps articles by Doug Kelsey in Linn's (12/98 and 8/99) hav e increased the awareness of these difficul t to find pieces of mail. One of the reasons metere d Zeppelin mail is difficult to find is the fact that the majority of this mail was commercial in nature . This caused th e mail to be thrown away upon receipt. Another reason was the letters did no t appear to have very much philatelic (collectible) interest due to the letter no t having adhesive stamps . This also resulted in the mail ending up in the Figure 1 . Earliest known Swiss metered Zeppelin cover trash . German metered mail is the most common and is relatively easy to find . Metered mai l that flew on the Zeppelin exists from most treaty states, but treaty state metered mail is ver y scarce . Recent auction prices for treaty state mail reflect the scarcity of this mail . In the Kohler 1/01 auction, philatelic Hungarian items fetched DM 3000+ and in the Felzmann 3/01 auction a Swiss commercial item DM 1100, and Netherlands items DM 900 - 1100 . Machine franking was not officially allowed until the third South American Flight of 1932 . Acceptances prior to this flight can be found, but are extremely rare ; a German metered letter from the 1930 Pan-American Flight was sold at the Felzmann auction (3/01) for DM 4800 . Other acceptances before this flight have been seen, where the letter was returned to sender without being flown due to the machine franking . Thus, it is my belief that prior to the thir d South American flight of 1932, any mail in existence that bears machine franking slippe d through without detection. It should be remembered that the sale of adhesive stamps helpe d finance the flights of the Graf Zeppelin (the US Zeppelin set and the Polar Flight come to mind) . The sale of adhesives also benefited the Zeppelin Co . because they received a portion of th e franking toward their endeavors with the airship . In 1932 the German government began encouraging businesses to export goods around the world . They needed money to support their military machine. In addition, the Flights to South America in 1930-1931 were demonstratio n flights to show the "Graf' as a viable way to transport mail . Beginning in 1932 regular scheduled flights to South America took place and with these flights the Zeppelin Co . needed and wanted commercial mail. With the government wanting more exports and in order t o increase commercial mail usage on the "Graf', a postal bulletin specifically addressing metered mail was issued . Thus, beginning with the third 1932 South America Flight, machine frankin g was specifically permitted : (continued on page 15)
Contents American Helvetia Philatelic Society Metered Swiss Zeppelin Mail 1 Officers 2001-2002 President's Musings 2 Last Update before SESCAL 3 ELECTED OFFICERS APPOINTED OFFICERS AHPS Seminar at SESCAL 3 President TELL Editor World War II Mail from Switzerland, Part 9 4 David E. Durham George Strubl e Update on Swiss Post International 12 149 Ontario St . 210 18th St. NE Honeoye Falls, NY 14472-1139 Salem, OR 97301-431 6 Home : 716-624-5575 Home : 503-364-3929 Copyright 2001, The American Helvetia Philatelic Society (AHPS) . E-mail : dedur@juno .com E-mail : TELL (ISSN 1042-2072) is the official journal of the American [email protected] Helvetia Philatelic Society, affiliate #52 of the American Philateli c Past Presiden t Society and a member of the Union of Swiss Philatelic Societies . James A . Anderson TELL Associate Editor TELL is published bimonthly (Jan/Mar/May/Jul/Sep/Nov) . 14463 E. Wagontrail Pl. Steven S . Weston Aurora, CO 80015 P.O . Box 86 8 Opinions expressed in this journal are those of the authors an d Home : 303-617-7836 Del Mar CA 92014-086 8 are not necessarily endorsed by AHPS or the Editor . jamesaanderson@home .com 760-752-781 2 Letters and articles on Swiss, Liechtenstein, UN Geneva an d related philately are welcome and should be sent to the Editor . Vice-President Circuit Sales Manager Whenever possible, submit material on 3 .5" PC computer William R. Lucas Emil L. Tobler diskettes or by e-mail in plain text or as a Microsoft Wor d 8912 Pinnacle Peak Rd ., P.O. Box 2 6 attachment . Illustrations are encouraged and may be submitte d PM Box 559 Bradford RI 02808 as full size photocopies ; or, we can copy/scan your original s Scottsdale, AZ 85255 Home : 401-377-223 8 (please contact the Editor before sending actual stamps, covers , Home : 480-342-973 9 etc.). Please include your name, address and telephone number. E-mail: [email protected] Auction Manage r Gordon Trotter Subscriptions for 2000 include AHPS dues : North America, $20 ; Secretary & Librarian 10626 Fable Ro w by first class mail, $25 ; overseas air delivery, $30 . Reques t Richard T . Hall Columbia, MD 2104 4 membership applications from the Secretary . Change-of- P.O. Box 15053 Phone : 410-730-793 6 Address should be sent to the Secretary. Asheville, NC 28813 Fax: 410-740-721 5 Home phone : 828-681-0581 E-mail : trotters@erols .com E-mail : rtravis@alum .mit.edu My apologies for again postponing Auction Publicity Chairma n 120 Prices Realized to the next issue . Treasure r Awards Chairman Sometimes the jigsaw pieces just don't fit ! Frank Young Harlan F. Stone 426 N Bellinger St . P.O. Box 77033 4 Meanwhile, I will send them to anyone wh o Herkimer, NY 13350 Woodside NY 1137 7 requests them . - Ed. Home : 315-867-570 5 Home : 718-478-237 4 E-mail : hfstone@rcn .com Regional Director Wes t PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE Donn Luec k Slide Chairman P. O . Box 1158 2 Richard W . Blaney We're here to help you! ! Phoenix, AZ 8506 1 PO Box 1100 Home : 602-841-132 2 Easton MA 02334-1100 508-238-3134 by David E. Durham Regional Director Central Ralph Soderberg, M .D . No, we're not from the IRS or government 7 REPRESENTATIVE S P. O . Box 3606 Union of Swiss Philateli c agents, but we are a Society committed t o Grosse Pointe Woods, MI 48236 : 313-885-4125 Societie s supporting your hobby of Swiss philately by (a) Home Ralph Soderberg providing information and knowledge and (b ) Regional Director East P.O . Box 3606 7 Helen Galatan-Ston e Grosse Pointe Woods, MI 4823 6 connecting you with resources . It is the P.O. Box 77033 4 Home : 313-885-412 5 second of these that I emphasize this month . Woodside NY 1137 7 Home : 718-478-237 4 American Philatelic Society 1. Use our advertisers . Dealers who are repre- E-mail : hfstone@rcn .com Ernest L . Bergman sented in TELL have been known to us for, a Plan to attend/exhibit at thes e 1421 Harris St . AHPS Conventions and shows : State College, PA 1680 3 long time and are honorable and fair persons . 814-238-0164 They do a fine job of filling those empty spots SESCAL October 5-7, 200 1 E-mail : [email protected] Los Angeles, CA in our collection or hunting up specific CHICAGOPEX November 200 2 Liechtenstein Study Grou p requests for you . BALPEX September 200 3 Chm: Ralph R .Schneide r Baltimore, M D P.O . Box 2304 9 2. Check our auctions carefully . Gordon Belleville IL 6222 3 Trotter puts a lot of effort into making them ROMPEX May 200 4 Denver, Colorad o interesting and understandable, and they are a Commercial advertising copy and rate inquiries should be sent simple resource for each of us - which tend t o to the Editor . Advertising deadlines are seven weeks prior to be under-utilized ! publication date : Jan . 10, Mar . 12, May 12, July 13, Sep . 12 , Nov. 13 . 3. Don't overlook our circuits! Emil, who is a Printed by Kettle Moraine Printing, West Bend WI 53095 . dealer himself, by the (continued on page 3)
2 TELL September 2001 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE Rooms for each of these activities will be announced or posted . In addition, there will be (continued from page 2) way, has a lot available a Philatelic Rangers dinner Friday evening an d - but you won't know much about it unles s the awards dinner Saturday evening . you ask him what he has in material you ar e s looking for . Incidentally, circuit sales is also a It is not too late to make arrangement ; SESCAL will be at good way to sell off things you want to divest . to attend SESCAL yourself 4. Specialists. Have you a particular subdi- Radisson Los Angeles Airport Hotel vision of Swiss interests such as revenu e 6225 W . Century Blvd. stamps, hotel issues, standing Helvetias , Los Angeles, CA 9004 5 postal history? We can put you in touch wit h 310-670-900 0 specialists in many fields . Ask for the SESCAL rate ; it is $95 per night; 5. Get answers through the "Meanderings" . I the rooms are 100% remodeled this year . The think the most recent and helpful addition to hotel has shuttles to and from the airpor t our TELL has been Dick Halls's "Meanderings " (LAX) . column! Got a question? Write Dick! He will There may still be space for more Swis s seek out an answer for you, if he can. exhibits; download the application from the we b 6. Run a personal ad . The policy of AHP S page at www. sescal. org, or phone Howard provides for members putting personal ads in Green at 760-245-3507 . the TELL occasionally . Looking for others who We hope to see you there! are interested in what catches your fancy? Want to sell some items? Seeking a hard-to-find piece? Contact our Editor with a one- o r Information about the Northern Californi a two-sentence ad plus your name and address . Chapter of AHPS and about Swiss philateli c e 7. Come to SESCAL, or plan to attend the nex t literature can be seen at the Web sit homestead .juno .com/Swissphilatelicliterature/splrg .html Annual Convention . We always have a score o f persons present who have fascinating storie s and helpful hints for the beginning or th e advanced collector ! We want to be of service to you ; USE THESE RESOURCES ! David
Dick Hall, our loyal and capable AHPS secretary and author of "Matterhorn Mean- derings," has had to concentrate on family matters recently : a new granddaughte r whose mother is in chemotherapy for cancer. Dick, all of you have our heartfelt bes t wishes!
Last Update before SESCAL Our first AHPS "annual meeting" sinc e 1999 will be held in conjunction with SESCAL in Los Angeles October 5-7 . In addition to the seminar at 2 :00 Friday, AHPS busines s meeting 11 :00 Saturday, AHPS activities at SESCAL include • Lunch together Saturday after our meetin g • Buy/sell/swap session Sunday morning , organized by Emil Toble r
September 2001 3 TELL
World War II Mail from Switzerlan d to Great Britain, Canada and the US A Part 9 by Charles J. LaBlonde, CPhH Based Upon the Original Work and Additional Contributions of L.M .C . Dutton Series Reviewers : Ernest L. Bergman, Robert Zeigler NEW ROUTES, MORE CENSORSHIP -- JANUARY 1943 TO JUNE 194 3
The postal system once again proved to be adaptable and flexible. Following the lat e 1942/early 1943 disruption caused by the German occupation of Vichy France, the mail agai n settled into a routine and it continued to get through, albeit with somewhat longer transit time s and more creative routes . In this installment we shall examine these developments .
THE START OF THE YEAR
As 1943 dawned, postal service between Switzerland and the west was still suspended , despite the (clearly premature) Swiss PTT' announcement of 26 November 1942 (noted in the las t installment) that mail for the west was again being accepted . Recall that letters to belligeren t countries were being stopped at the Swiss border and returned to the senders with a notation o f no service available . Some excellent insight into this difficult period is available from the Swiss PTT WW I I correspondence files, recently made available by the Consilium. For example, on 28 Decembe r 1942 the director of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in Bern wrote to the PTT , asking if there wasn't some way to get several sacks per week of ITU correspondence through th e blockade, in order to conduct ITU worldwide business . There was a steady correspondence between the PTT and the Swiss Federal Department o f Economics, Trade Division, in which the Economics Department kept reminding the PTT how important international correspondence was for trade and business . On 4 January 1943 the Economics Department asked the PTT about sending mail via Italy as long as the usual route across France was still not available . The PTT answer of 7 January 1943 is a very interestin g and enlightening document that sheds much light on the situation . For this reason I include a (loose) translation of the complete PTT letter as a footnote . Although I have not been able to locat e the actual correspondence subsequent to thi s letter, later events point to an affirmative reply from Italy. This letter also seems to imply that there was no Swiss postal traffic to GB or North America through Italy after Italy entered th e war on 10 June 1940 . Certainly no Italian routes for this traffic are to be found in the CPALs for 1941 and 1942 . Figure 1 . Letter of 2 December 1942, reposted 22 January Finally, on 21 January 1943, the PTT 1943, from Dornach to New York and Chicago, correctly paid announced officially that mail (but no t at 30 centimes basic + 70 centimes airmail surcharge (0 — 5 registered mail, for "security reasons") was grams) = 100 centimes . German Berlin Censor and G B Bermuda Censor 3614 . Arrived 5 March 1943 . Sealed by th e once again being accepted for transmission to US Post Office (not censorship, just damage) . GB and North America. This was the chance
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for those whose mail had been returned t o repost it without repayment of postage, an d many did . Figure 1 shows a letter first mailed on 2 December 1942 with a new postmark of 2 2 January 1943 . Figure 2 is a new (not reposted ) letter of 22 January 1943 . Note censorship of both items in Berlin ; more on this below. On 12 February 1943 the PTT announce d that registered surface mail would again b e allowed and on 18 February they adde d registered airmail.
SURFACE MAIL Figure 2 . Letter of 22 January 1943 form Bern (via Basel ) to Milwaukee, correctly paid at 30 centimes basic + 6 0 5 Once the mail started to move again on centimes express + 210 centimes airmail surcharge (10-1 grams) = 300 centimes . German Berlin Censor (6846 21 January, GB surface mail was collected at identification number plus brown tape with red machin e the Geneva 1 Post Office for transport by rail to mark) and GB Bermuda Censor 5338 (blue hand - stampe d Lisbon via Basel, Mulhouse, Belfort, Paris and I.C./). Transit New York 5 March 1943 . Irun . The Germans apparently dictated this route, to force the mail through their Paris censo r office . This mail departed Geneva at 1 AM daily . Very quickly the PIT recognized that, as lon g as this mail needed to transit Basel, it should just as well be collected at Basel in the first place . Thus, from 15 February, one option for GB surface mail was collection at the Basel 2 Post Office . At this same time, the PTT announced a second option for GB surface mail, namely a route vi a Chiasso to Genoa by PIT bus, then on to Lisbon by Swiss ship . The PTT, in the 12 February memo, notes the "lack of Italian censorship on this route is a definite advantage . " My holdings from this period do not include any surface covers from Switzerland to GB , so I cannot comment on the relative use of the two possible routes nor the exact markings to b e found on this mail . Mark Dutton's original tables also do not show any surface mail from thi s period, and Mark notes that "Mailers realized that surface mail would be very slow and chanc y at best." Members' help with surface covers from Switzerland to GB during early 1943? ? Upon resumption of service on 21 January, US and Canada surface mail was collected i n Basel from where it departed "some Wednesdays" at 9 :26 AM for Lisbon via Paris. The quoted frequency for this mail was "1-2 times monthly . " But, following the 12 February PTT announcement, the North American surface mail an d the GB surface mail were all collected at the Basel 2 Post Office for departure each Monday a t 9 :34 PM by train and PTT bus to Genoa and on to Lisbon by Swiss ship . Once again the PTT files provide a very interesting view of this period . It seems that some Swiss ships had been sailing directly from Genoa (and Lisbon?) to North America with US an d Canadian surface mail, via Bermuda for GB censorship . On 26 February 1943 the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs notified the PTT that the Germans would no longer allow Swiss ships to call at Bermuda . But Great Britain would also not allow the Swiss ships to sail directl y to North America without stopping in Bermuda . (As an aside, the Swiss PTT had apparentl y even considered at one time asking the British to move their censor station from Bermuda to th e North American mainland, to solve this problem .) This put the Swiss in a pickle, for several reasons. At the time of the announcement, some surface mail from Switzerland had alread y been deposited in Bermuda for censorship. But the Swiss could not return to collect this mail . It was ultimately rescued by a US ship . Also, there was the question of what to do with the mountains of surface mail that ha d been accumulating in Switzerland and France during the mail stoppage . The PTT reported (letter of 7 May 1943 from the PTT to the Swiss Consul in New York) that all accumulate d surface mail, from November 1942 through the end of March 1943, was finally carried on th e steamer "Master Elias Kulukundis" that sailed from Lisbon on 13 April and arrived in Port o f
September 2001 5 TELL
Spain, Trinidad on 26 April 1943 . Following censorship there, the mail reached addressee s during early June . Figure 3 shows a cover posted on 13 February that arrived on 10 June, wit h only US censorship . And Figure 4 shows a letter to Canada with only Canadian Censorship . Could it be that the mountain of mail arriving in Trinidad on 26 April overwhelmed the fe w censors there, to the point that 100% examination was not possible? Or did philatelic mail ge t special (lenient) treatment? I have some other covers like this and Ernie also reports a lette r from Zürich to New York, dated 11 November 1942 and remailed 23 January 1943, that arrive d with only US censorship .
Figure 4 . Letter of 7 March 1943 from Zürich (last day of th e Figure 3 . Letter of 13 February 1943 from the Swiss PTT Swiss Philatelic Exhibition) to Kitchener, Ontario, Canada , in Bern to Ohio, showing philatelic overpayment of 65 showing philatelic overpayment of 40 centimes when only 3 0 centimes when only 30 centimes was required for a surfac e centimes was required for a surface letter . Canada Censo r letter. US Censor 9847 . Arrived 10 June 1943 . DB/41 . Returning once more to the Swiss PTT archive material, there is a very interesting letter in the files that sheds some light on the postal situation at this time. The letter, dated 1 June 1943, is from the Swiss Consul General in New York to the PTT in Bern . I paraphrase the highlights here .
"I received today the copy of your 22 April letter, the one marked `par avion via Roma.' The original sent via Swiss ship Genoa-Lisbon has not arrived yet . Your letter was opened by the American censor. There was no evidence o f German or Italian censorship . It would have been interesting had we sent a third copy of the letter by ai r via Stuttgart, to see which arrived first . But things change so fast that any effort to find the best route would probably be wasted . At the same time as your 22 April letter arrived, other letters arrived, date d 21, 22, 25, 26, 28, 29 January, 3, 8, 9, 24 February and 1, 6, 19 March . Ten were censored by the Germans and the Americans, 4 were opened only by the Americans and 2 were opened by the Germans only with no signs of th e Americans or British . These letters are all surface mail and not airmail ." The bundle of letters that arrived on 1 June can only have been part of the cargo of th e Master Elias Kulukundis noted earlier . Again the question : why no British censorship of this mail that passed through Trinidad? Parcel mail for both GB and North America at this stage of the war was nearly at a standstill. The possible options for parcels quoted by the Swiss PTT were: 1) From Basel 1 7 "every now and then" via Cerbère to Lisbon . 2) From Chiasso 2 "every now and then" to Genoa ,
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then via Swiss ship to Lisbon. It is possible that some parcels did travel with the surface mail a s noted above.
AIR MAIL
There were no airmail rate changes during the first half of 1943 . During the first half of 1943 the Germans gradually choked off Swissair flying privilege s to Berlin. Swissair had been flying the route Zürich - Stuttgart - Berlin on a daily basis , departing Zurich at 9 :40 AM and arriving Berlin at 3 :30 PM . By March the Berlin leg had been restricted to Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays . And by April Swissair was limited to servin g Stuttgart only, departing Zürich at 8 :40 AM and arriving Stuttgart at 10 :30 AM . Meanwhile Lufthansa increased the frequency of their Berlin - Stuttgart - Barcelona - Madrid - Lisbo n service to daily, departing Berlin at 7 :50 AM and arriving Lisbon at 11 :10 AM the next day. The aircraft spent the night in Madrid. Both North American and GB (after 1 2 February) airmail was collected by the Swis s PTT at the Basel 2 Post Office, for the 4 :58 AM train to Zürich, to connect there with the Swissair flight to Germany. In May airmail senders were finally offered the Chiasso (surface to Lisbon) option, to avoid German censorship . Based upon my limited holdings I would say that few took advantage of thi s option ; speed apparently was more important than avoiding censorship.
The airmail in the other direction at thi s Figure 5 . Letter of 22 March 1943 from Maidenhead t o time is interesting . I have many 1943 airmai l Burgdorf, correctly paid at 5d for airmail . GB Censor 3490 . covers from GB to Switzerland that were al l German Paris (x) Censor tape and seal . Typical Germa n censored by the Germans in Paris (Figure 5) . Paris Censor Office pencil notations lower left . This strikes me as odd . Why should this mail have been in Paris at all? That it was seems t o imply that the airmail from GB to Switzerland only went by air as far as Lisbon, then went b y surface transport from Lisbon to Switzerland via Paris . But why didn't the Lufthansa airplanes that had brought the outgoing mail from Berlin to Lisbon simply return to Berlin with th e incoming mail? BOAC continued 4 times weekly service between Lisbon and GB and PAA twice weekl y service from Lisbon to New York, until an every other Tuesday PAA flight was added in April . Graham reviewed the official "Overseas Mails Branch Reports" for this period . They show good movement of the mails between Lisbon and GB, with only 1-2 day backlogs at any given time . Graham also discovered, "A KLM aircraft operating on the Lisbon service under charter to BOA C was lost as a result of an attack by enemy military aircraft on Tuesday 1St June. The machin e was en route from Lisbon to this country but, it has been ascertained, carried no Post Offic e mails." We noted last time some vagueness in the route flown by PAA across the Atlantic Ocean . The Swiss PTT CPAL Bulletins state that PAA was flying the southern route via Trinidad for th e entire 6 months. But the covers known to me, from January through June, were all censored i n Bermuda . In the interim, thanks to eBay, I have been able to obtain an actual PA A advertisement from the 21 March 1942 issue of The Saturday Evening Post, stating: "For the present and until announced to the contrary, no further Pan American maps, timetables no r schedule information in any form will be published except for Latin American Services ." Anyone wishing a copy of this interesting ad please contact me .
September 2001 7 TELL
Speaking of PAA, conditions in 1943 were still right for twice-across-the-ocean letters, from Switzerland to Africa via the USA . See Figure 6 . But why no censorship in either Bermud a or New York?
Figure 6 . Letter of 13 May 1943 from Zürich to Cape Town, correctly paid at 30 centimes basic + 30 centimes registration + 30 0 centimes airmail surcharge (5-10 grams to South Africa) = 360 centimes . Routed Zürich – Stuttgart – Berlin (censored) – Stuttgart – Barcelona – Madrid – Lisbon – Bermuda (registration number 71834) – New York (transit 7 September) – Miam i (transit 8 September) – San Juan – Trinidad – Belem – Natal – Bathurst – Lagos – Leopoldville – Johannesburg – Cape Town .
CENSORSHIP
As noted above, the start of 1943 was a time of great turmoil . The year started with the mail stopped . After the mail restarted there were many route adjustments, all of which affecte d censorship . Based upon my holdings, I believe there are many "inexplicable" covers availabl e from this period . The table that follows is an attempt to capture in summary form the "norm," with recognition that "norm" may have little meaning in early 1943 . The table is based upon dates and routes known to me and reported in this article . As always, further information i s solicited.
Censorship Overview for Early 1943
Destination Mode Route Dates Expected Censorship GB Surf Geneva-Paris-Lisbon 21 Jan-15 Feb Paris (x) + G B Surf Basel-Paris-Lisbo n After 15 Feb Paris (x) + G B Surf Chiasso-Genoa-Lisbo n After 18 Feb GB Air Basel-Zürich-Berlin-Lisbo n After 21 Feb Berlin (b) + GB Air Chiasso-Genoa-Lisbon After 1 May GB USA/ CDN Surf Basel-Paris-Lisbo n After 21 Jan Paris + IC + US/CDN Surf Chiasso-Genoa-Lisbon After 18 Feb US/CDN Air Basel-Zürich-Berlin - After 21 Jan Berlin (b) + IC Lisbon-Bermuda +US/CD N Air Chiasso-Lisbon-Bermuda After 1 May IC +US/CDN In this period we encounter the full impact of the German censorship system . As previously noted, German censorship has been covered very well by a number of philateli c authors, much more knowledgeable than I on the subject . Here we will just briefly review the German system, which was very extensive and seemingly well organized .
8 TELL September 2001 Each German censorship location had a letter identification code . Once the postal system regained steady state, we find surface mail from Switzerland being censored primarily in , Paris (code "x") and airmail being censored mainly in Berlin (code "b") . With help of Figure 7 we will look quickly at the anatomy of a Berlin censored cover from this period . Once again, this is the general pattern, to which there can be exceptions . Clockwise (approximately), from the upper left : • Two part number in pencil, 113/3 . The 113 is an examiner number, the 3 is th e number of pages in the letter . • Franking for 10 gram letter to North America : 30 centimes basic + 140 centimes ai r surcharge = 170 centimes total . • Swiss postmark of Thal (St.Gallen), 5 March 1943, 7 PM . The IX is the postal district of Thal. • Closing tape used by Bermuda (IC) Censor 1986 . • The German Registration Number 7464 . These numbers are usually found in blu e indelible pencil. Mark believes these might be the identification numbers o f officials who handled the mail prior to examination and who decided which mail should be examined and which section should do the examination . • In pencil (very faint), assumed to be the initial of some official in the Berlin censo r office; exact function/reason unknown . • Three part number in pencil, 7269/11/3 . The 7 indicates Berlin (or a departmen t in the Berlin censor office, as it appears to be a constant feature on all mail censored in Berlin), 269 could be either a routing (mailbag) number or a lo g number for the censor who examined the letter, 11 is the day (in this case 1 1 March, so it took the letter 6 days to get from Thal to Berlin), 3 the number o f pages in the letter (should agree with the number at the upper left) . • The German closing tape. See typology discussion of these tapes below . • The weight of the letter, 10 grams, added by the Swiss post office of origin. • The routing of the letter via Basel 2, added by the Swiss post office of origin. • Hard to see is a horizontal chemical wash, very light blue, to detect invisible writin g on the letter.
Figure 7 . Letter of 5 March 1943, to describe and illus- Figure 8 . Letter of 3 May 1943 from Zürich to Hollywood , trate typical German Berlin censorship markings. correctly paid at 30 centimes basic + 70 centimes airmai l surcharge = 100 centimes. Routing via Basel 2 . German Berli n (b) Censor brown tape with red text and other typical Berli n markings. GB Bermuda Censor 829 .
September 2001 9 TELL Figure 9 . Letter of 9 June 1943 from Basel to London, correctly paid at 50 centimes for airmail . Berlin (b) white censor tape tied on reverse by red hand stamps . GB Censor 493 .
The letters censored in Paris did not show all of thes e features. Mark reports Paris letters with a pencil notation i n the lower left corner of the form 151/1, indicating censor 15 1 and 1 page . Later covers show a three-part pencil number con- sisting of the censor num- ber/pages/number of letter s censored that day . There were two basic varieties of these tapes and many minor variations. The early 1943 tapes were brown paper with ridges, almost alway s applied at the left edge of th e envelope . This tape was over- printed and tied to the cover with red machine text "Geöffnet / (b) OKW" with eagle and wreathed swastika . (these brown strips di d not seem to stick very well an d many covers are found without them and showing only the re d overprinting.) See Figure 8 fo r an example . The other tapes were white or gray with a repeatin g pattern of seals containing the letter designation of the offic e and the word "geöffnet." The tapes are usually tied to the cover with red markings applied by hand . These tapes are either
10 TELL September 2001
at the edge or often on the back of the envelope . See example in Figure 9 . The US, Canadian and GB censorship have been covered earlier and did not change i n early 1943 .
FOOTNOTE TO PART 9 - The PTT sent this letter to the Federal Department of Economics on 7 January 1943 . With your letter of 4 January you have clearly highlighted the difficulty th e suspension of international mail is causing the Swiss export industry . You ask whether mail could not be sent via Italy to Genoa and from there to Lisbon wit h Swiss ships . We are honored to give you the following information . When Italy entered the war, we asked the General Director of the Italian PT T in Rome whether we could continue to send mail for Egypt through Italy via the Simplon Orient Express . The Italian PTT approved, as Italy was not yet at war with Egypt. Since that time we have made no further inquiries of this nature with Italy , because our experience is that no country will allow passage of mail to anothe r country with which a state of war exists . Both Germany and Italy agreed in 1941 that we could send packages t o countries at war with the Axis, either through France or Italy, but that all such packages would be subject to opening and examination. For letter post the situation is a little different . To censor this mail requires a much more expensive and widespread organization than for packages, when on e considers the necessary personnel and language abilities . The existing censor offices cannot simply accept the large added workload . This explains to a large extent the delay in resuming postal traffic to Lisbon via occupied France . Having said that, we fully understand the importance to Switzerland of steady postal communications with nations at war with the Axis . To this end we support any initiative you or the Foreign Ministry might wish to take with th e Italian Government via our ambassador in Rome . We would still prefer the route via France - Spain - Portugal if possible because the Swiss ships have a ver y irregular sailing schedule from Genoa and any mail they carry must be unloade d and submitted to British censorship in Gibraltar . But we could live with the Italian route if it appears to be the only option . We have already asked the Italians by telegram whether mail for prisoners of war and mail from the Red Cross in Genev a destined for Lisbon and New York could be loaded on Swiss ships in Genoa . Their answer is not yet in hand . The Italians will surely wonder why we suddenly want to send mail through Italy. They will discuss this with their German allies and the Germans will mos t likely tell the Italians to deny our request . Note that the Italians could also allow our airmail for Great Britain an d overseas to be carried on the line Rome - Lisbon . Of course, if the Germans reope n the route across France, with censorship of course, we could start to send airmai l on the route Stuttgart - Lisbon . We send a copy of this letter to the Department of Foreign Affairs . With our highest attention OBERPOSTINSPEKTORAT Signed: Bonjour
September 2001 11 TELL
Update on Swiss Post International (SPI) and Other Odd Things by Charles J. LaBlonde CPhH Research by Ann F. O'Donnell, Ken Barlow, Michael Rutherfoor d You may recall the recent series of articles in Tel l (Nov 97, Mar 98, Nov 98, Jan 99, May 99) abou t the activities of Swiss Post International (SPI) in Italy. The company, actually a branch of th e Swiss Post Office, issues their own "stamps" fo r postcards, collects mail in the large Italian hotels , takes the mail to Switzerland and processes i t through the Swiss postal system . The SPI "stamps" are now listed as singles and booklets in the major Swiss stamp catalogs, under a headin g of "Stamps for Tourists Abroad." The stamps also appear in dealer price lists and even the official SwissPost "Focus" magazine . Linn's carried an article on the SPI "stamps" in the 29 Mar 99 issue . To my knowledge the same "stamps" Figure 1 . Postcard, mailed (illegally) with SPI "stamp" i n previously illustrated in Tell are were still in us e an official Italian postbox in Baveno, Italy 20 Octobe r by SPI in Italy until recently . 1999 . Postmarked 28020 Quarna Sotto 26 October, the n crossed out. Still arrived Zürich 4 November 1999 . (A We tested the system in Italy on 20 Oct 99 . similar postcard, mailed "correctly" the same day in th e SPI box, came through without any postal markings .) We posted 4 cards with SPI "stamps" in Baveno , two cards in the special SPI box and two in the regular Italian postbox in the Hotel Dino . Figure 1 shows a card from the Italian postbox that finally got postmarked in Quarna Sotto (NO) on 2 6 Oct 99 . Michael also tested the system in a differen t manner. He mailed some cards in Venice, in a regular Italian mailbox, using the SPI "stamps . " The cards received a special 6 bar Italian postmark that we think is reserved to "kill" strange stamps ! (Figure 2) . The story has now extended beyond Italy . Our member, Ken Barlow in Vancouver, received the postcard shown in Figure 3 from the Canary
Figure 2 . Postcard, mailed (illegally) with SPI "stamp" in an official Italian postbox in Venice, Italy 6 May 1999 . Postmarked with 6-line killer machine postmark on 7 May and handled as airmail to the USA . Islands. It is franked with two dark blue "stamps" of a type not seen before an d postmarked in Zürich with the red notation , "CH-8058 Zürich 58 Priority ." Further investigation by Ken turned up a brochur e called, "iFCC International Mail" in 9 languages. The iFCC story is clarified a little by Figure 3 . Picture postcard mailed with 2 blue iFC C the following question and answer that Ken "stamps" form Lanzarote, Canary Islands to West found in a British stamp journal. Vancouver, Canada, March 2000 . Postmarked in Züric h with red notation "P .P. CH-8058 Zürich 58 Priority." 12 TELL September 2001 "Q : I have just received a postcard from Majorca which arrived with my normal mail (before the sender arrived home too!!) . The `stamp' is colored light navy blu e and the `postmark' is in red . There is no date or time anywhere and I cannot fathom why Frankfurt has moved to Majorca without notifying the world . Any ideas or comments please ." "A: Since the summer of 1999 an outfit called iFCC has operated a service t o expedite tourist postcards from Spanish resorts . Instead of affixing a Spanish stamp, tourists can buy `pre-paid tickets' (as the labels themselves are inscribed) . The dark blue label sells for 70 pesetas and is self-adhesive in sheets of 100 . " The journal indicates that iFCC works out of Frankfurt . Zürich is not mentioned. The journal goes on to note the trend towards deregulation and privatization of European posta l services. And this brings us to more of our strange story .
Figure 4 . Picture postcard, mailed at the Hotel Concord e Lafayette in Paris (given to concierge with cash payment) Figure 5 . Letter, mailed at the Hotel Concorde Lafayette on 10 May 2000 . Processed in Zürich (red marking), sen t in Paris, processed in Zürich . Different marking, darke r as airmail to Colorado . red with time, but appears to be same company . Thirty- days enroute . Ann mailed some postcards to Colorad o from the Hotel Concorde Lafayette in Paris. This is a large, fancy hotel located at the Porte Maillot and used by TWA for their Paris crew layovers . Imagine my shock when the cards maile d in Paris arrived with a red franking from Zürich! Later mailings had a new Zürich mark tha t seems to include the time . See Figures 4 & 5 . How could this be?! ? The answer lies in the words of the explanation above: ". . .deregulation an d privatization . . ." Clearly a private company has made a deal with the Paris hotel (and probabl y many others) to handle the mail (Faster? Cheaper?) instead of the bureaucratic and strike-pron e national postal system of France . What is the relationship of this private company to SPI and why is it using Zürich as a hub? How about th e cost of this service versus the cost of using th e French PO? Stay tuned . . .the investigation continues!! ** If you want to dig deeper into the activitie s and plans of SPI, go to the SwissPost web sit e (www.post.ch) and look for Press Release 21 1 dated 4 September 2000 . You will be amazed at the breadth of Swiss Post International Figure 6 . Picture postcard, mailed at the Hotel Concord e operations . Lafayette in Paris on 24 October 2000 . Processed i n Rotterdam, delivered in Zürich.
September 2001 13 TELL
(Later) On 24 October, 2000 Ann posted 9 items at the Hotel Concorde Lafayette, t o Zürich and to Colorado . All items wer e handed to the concierge with cash payment . Some were marked for airmail, some not . The items sent to Zürich came via Holland ; the items to the US came via Zürich and took 2 0 days to arrive. Air and surface mail arrive d the same day. The cost for the posting wa s 4 .50 French francs for the US and 3 Frenc h francs for Switzerland, air or surface n o difference . Figure 6 shows a Zürich item vi a Holland and Figure 7 shows a US item with a very fine black and white label for the servic e via Zürich.
Figure 7 . Picture postcard, mailed at the Hotel Concord e Lafayette in Paris on 24 October 2000 . Processed i n Zürich and arrived on 13 November 2000 . Instead of usual red marking, card has black and white compan y Figure 8 . Picture postcard, mailed at the Hotel Concord e label. Lafayette in Paris. Processed in Athens, Greece . Just to add more mystery and confusion to this crazy story we close with Figure 8 , another postcard that Ann mailed in Paris, at the same hotel . Note that it is postmarked in Athens!!! I give up !
THE BOTTOM LINE - FINALLY! On 2 May 2001, while on honey - moon in Italy, Ann and I visited Swiss Post International in Baveno (Figure 9) . There was a hand-written sign on th e door that said "NO POSTCARDS ." The office was staffed by a very bored lady an d an eager young man . He explained that the Italian Post Office had finally ordere d SPI to cease all postcard activity in Italy . When asked about the "SPI stamps" he indicated that many were left over and he gave us a booklet as a souvenir . Thus ends this very interesting an d sometimes bizarre chapter in Swiss postal history!
Figure 9 . The office of Swiss Post International in Baveno, Italy .
14 TELL September 2001
METERED SWISS ZEPPELIN MAI L (continued from page 1 ) Postal dispatches for the South America flights of the airship Graf Zeppelin may -- with the exception provided by Amtsblatt Bf. 91/1932 for Special Handling - be prepaid by means of machine franking. Amtsblatt Bf. 163/1932, April 12, 193 2 This is the first specific reference to machine franking of Zeppelin mail . Prior postal bulletins fo r the Zeppelin airship flights to South America were silent on the use of machine franking . However, the German regulations were not binding for Swiss mail . The Swiss regulation s do not discuss metered mail . What is interesting is the change I wording when the prepayment o f acceptances is described . Until the instructions for the South American flights from 1930 to the second flight of 1931 the text was "mail must be franked with either airmail or regular Swis s postage stamps," which means that meters were not permitted . From the third South American flight of 1931 the text was "mail may be franked with either airmail or regular Swiss postag e stamps," which means that metered mail may be used . One must interpret the wording of th e PTT exactly. Figure 1, a recent discovery, is the earliest known Swiss metered Zeppelin mail to exist. The commercial letter flew on the second SOUTH AMERICAN FLIGHT of 1931 and is correctl y franked at the SF 5 .20 letter rate for this flight to Pernambuco, Brazil . The Condor air service took it to its final destination of Buenos Aires, Argentina . This letter was mailed prior to the official acceptance of machine franking by the German Post Office . The machine franking wa s from number 105, a Franco machine . During this time period two types of machin e manufacturers were in existence in Switzerland -- the Franco and the Hasler machine . Most of the metered mail from this time period was from Hasler machines . The 2 Franc imprint is also not very common, but was needed here to get the correct rate . Figure 2 is a commercial registered letter flown on the seventh South American flight o f 1933 . The 20 gram letter is correctly franked to the 4th weight unit. i.e . 30 Rp . Base rate to 20 grams + 30 Rp . registration + SF 1 .70 per 5 grams x 4 = SF 7 .40 .
Figure 2 : Seventh SAF of 1933 3 Figure 3 is a commercial registered lette r Figure 3 . The Chicago Flight of 193 flown on the Chicago Flight of 1933 . This 10 gram letter is correctly franked to the 2 nd weight unit, i .e . 30 Rp . base rate + 30 Rp . registration + SF 1 .70 per 5 grams x 2 = SF 4 .00 . Figure 4 is a commercial letter flown on the third South American flight of 1935 . It is correctly franked at 30 Rp. base rate + SF 2.00 per 5 grams = SF 2 .30. Besides the metered franking, its destination of Santiago, Chile makes it an unusual piece . Most Zeppelin mail was destined for Brazil or Argentina.
September 2001 15 TELL
Figure 5 is a commercial letter that bears stamps and machine franking . The addressee of the letter was the commercial import/export firm of Herman Stolz in Recife (Brazil) . Mr. Stolz was also the receiving agent for Zeppelin mail prepared by, Herman Sieger, the leading Germa n
Figure 4 . Third South American Flight of 193 5 philatelic dealer in zeppelin mail . However, this Figure 5 . Stamps and meter frankin g letter is commercial due to the sender SULZER (a Swiss Technology Corporation), metered postag e with the SULZER slogan imprint, type of envelope (window, payable type), and the significant weight of the envelope (32 grams) . Base rate for letter to 20 grams 30 Rp Each additional 20 grams + 20 Rp. Zeppelin surcharge, per 5 grams (7 x SF 1 .70) + SF 11 .90 = SF 12 .40 All mail mentioned above bears the appropriate arrival cancel on the reverse. In conclusion, metered Zeppelin mail from Switzerland exists, but is not common . It should also be noted that metered mail is not a significant part of the development of the airmail service s to South America . It was merely another way, other than adhesive stamps, that users of th e Zeppelin service could utilize in order for their mail to reach the requested destination .
References: Boos, Werner, "Automation o f Mail as Seen by the Stamp Collector," SBZ January 1994 , TELL July 1994 (translated by Ernest Bergman) Duggan and Grau, Commercial Zeppelin Flights to South America , 1995 Felzman, Auction Catalog, March 200 1 Kelsey, Douglas, Metered mail articles in Linn's Stamp News , December 1998, August 199 9 Kohler, Auction Catalog, January 200 1
16 TELL September 2001