Today in Postal History

This cover was posted in Sonsonate which is 56 km west of El Salvador, the capital,
and inland 19 km from the Pacifc port of Acajutla.
Sonsonate is in a rich agricultural area.

There is only one Sonsonate CDS on the the front.
The stamps are cancelled with four strikes of a 7-bar handstamp.

The cover is franked with 3 1923 5c. on 6c. surcharges of the
1921 carmine rose portraying José Matias Delgado addressing a crowd (Scott 482)
and 5 1c. of the 1921 green Francisco Menéndez (Scott 474).

José Matias Delgado was a priest who was a leader in the gaining
Salvadoran independence from Guatemala in the early 19th century.
Menéndez was president of El Salvador from 1885-1890 who overthrew his predecessor, Rafael Zaldivar.
He subsequently was ousted and executed by his army commander, General Carlos Erzeta.
During his administration, the first durable constitution was adopted in 1886.

The destination was Zurich.
There are no arrival or transit markings.

The routing was requested to be Puerto Barrios and New Orleans.
Puerto Barrios is a port in Guatemala on its short Caribbean coast.

Note the beautiful script used by the sender who was evidently related to the recipient.

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