Today in Postal History

This registered cover was sent from the German Consulate in Kobe.

The cover was franked with a 1½ s. blue and a 2 s. green plus a 5 s. violet and
a 13 s. olive brown from the 1914-1925 series (Scott 129, 30, 133, and 138).
There is also a 4 s. green and a an 8 s. rose from
the 1922-29 Mount Fuji series (Scott 171a and 173).

Registration was requested and Kobe added the label stamped with Karuizawa.
There are three Kobe CDS tying the stamps.

Registration was completed at the next stop in Tokyo where a printed
registration form label was applied and stamped with TOKIO and the series 8.
I believe that the red English REGISTERED stamp was added at the same time.

The additional TOKIO registration label was required by UPU
regulations which required a western label with an R.
The original label from Kobe had only Japanese characters and the KARUIZAWA stamp.
The new label was required before the cover could be sent abroad.*

The destination was Erfurt.
Erfurt is about 100 km southwest of Leipzig between Gotha and Weimar.

The sender requested transit via Siberia
making use of the Trans-Siberian Railway.
After completion of the railway, most mail
from Asia to Europe went by this route.

The cover's arrival in Erfurt on September 14 was
noted with an Erfurt receiver on the back.

*Thanks to Knud-Erik Andersen for this information on registration practices.

Today in Postal History
January February March April May June
July August September October November December

Pastnotes Index - The First 300 and the Next 208
provides more tidbits about stamps and collectors.

Comments? Send me an e-mail
Please include a reference to this item.