NO. 37/38 SPRING/SUMMER 1963

19 STAMPEX 63The National Stamp Exhibition is over for another year

and during the eight days of the Show, hundreds of 'Swiss'enthusiasts "besieged" our Stand. We are justly proud ofthe fact that our exhibit was one of the most attractivein the whole Show and was most favourably commented uponby all our visitors, who greatly appreciated the addedcomfort of our double Stand where our display of SwissStamps was truly an Exhibition within an Exhibition. Oneof the highlights of the Show was a visit by Pathe Newsin conjunction with the French Television Service whophotographed our Stand, taking close-ups of the uniqueEngadinerhof Hotel Post and the very rare Vaud 5 DoublePrint on Cover (see Special Offers List Page 6).

We should like to thank all our many friends and clientswho visited us during the Exhibition - we were delighted tomeet them and look forward to seeing them again next year.

THE SWISS POSTAL AGENCIES ABROADReproduced from the Helvetia Society's "Newsletter"

PartTwo

E. J. Rawnsley

Lake Maggiore: An agency was opened atLuino in 1857, as a result of the Conventionof 1854, and exists today in a modifiedform as an exchange office.

Lake Comos Agencies were opened atBellano, Varenna and Lecco in 1868 and atBellagio in 1869, all of which were closedin 1875. An agency existed at Como from1874-84 which operated probably only as anoffice of registration. Two smaller routesshould not be forgotten. To serve thepostal route from Mendrisio (in Switzerland)to Varese (in Italy), an agency was openedin Varese in 1868. The date of its closureis not known. Sta Maria Maggiore: Anagency was opened here in 1908 and closed in1916. It served the route from Locarno toDomodossola but ceased to be of service whenthe railway through the Centovalli replacedthe mail-coach.

All the agencies were concerned with thetransportation of passengers - with theexception of Canobbio, Como and Milan - andwith forwarding and distribution of items offreight, including mail. No special instru-ctions are recorded relating to the Swisspostal agencies abroad, or to the ratescharged, for the simple reason that they werealready covered by existing rules.

Mail going through these agencies carriedSwiss stamps and was cancelled with eitherstraight-line or normal Swiss circular canc-ellations - some used both - and occasional-ly a large "box" type (chiefly at Chiavenna)The cancellations are , with one or twoexceptions, in Italian and are easily recog-nisable since they invariably include suchwords as "POSTE SVIZZERA" or "AGENZIASVIZZERA". Due, no doubt, to the fact thatlittle or no mail passed through some of thesmaller agencies, examples of many of thecancellations are non-existent. Out of theknown 38 agencies which existed, cancella-tions from only about 15 have been recordedand these are listed below:-_ Type Fig. Roane Recorded dates

Na.Games. Gotthard 1862 69

Campodolcino G S.L.S.L. 2 2 Splügen 1882—

MESS. SVISSERE L. 6 1918Chiavenna I a S.L. 2 Splügen 1811—

1/11/21

z

Box

Calico um. MILL Circ. - Splügen 1874—MESSAGE.. Colico - /7/88

Domodossola mom 5.1,., 3 Splügen 1840—.or

ao°laj S.r,. —

S.L.aosrE mum. 1DOMODOSSOLA 1

Circ Circ. 7Imp. Merzarlo Imp. Merzario Circ. 8 Gotthard

MilanIntra INTRA Circ. - Maggiore 1 /8153—

1145880211U MI= E4/8158Is Circ. - Simplon 1084—

(o[or

Iselle)

I

1920Clc. -

summLuino Isella Circ. - Maggiore" 1867—

Milan 60111 M... Circ. a Gotthard (1857-1880,MILANO 1895-

1/7l901Monts Spluga Monte-Spluga Si,. 5 Splügen (1888— II

(Splugenberg) 18/11/É918/um. m MESS. SOLD elm. 8MONTE

Pianazzo oSPED.

S.L. - Splügen 1/3/88-i10/- 8

San Giacomo- SAE CIII 2 Valtellina 1/5/08—Filippo Circ. 8 1/W/18

Sta Maria ea Cir<. a Centovalli 1/7/08—Maggiore 1/12/18

Tirane um. DI MESS. Sviz. Circ. - Bernina ]5(5/89--

211260 8D/1/00

To list these cancellations is one thing- to find them is another. Stamps bearingthese cancels are extremely elusive andentires even more so, while many straight-line examples have been lost when stamps

have been removed from covers or documents,since only a portion would be on the stampitself. On "Strubelis" they are extremelyrare; the most likely would be "Camerlata"using the early type of single circle (seeabove). On the "Sitting Helvetia Perf."issues they are scarce, but examples areknown from Isella and Domodossola, whileothers may exist. The "Cross and Figure" &"Standing Helvetia" issues provide a morehopeful field and a careful check on thepostmarks will sometimes bring to light itemsfrom Domodossola, Chiavenna or Colico.Occasionally too, they may be found on laterissues, such as "Tell" stamps, up to thefinal closure date, i.e. to 1921.

One of the most likely sources is onPostage Due issues (both blue and green)since high values were used for the paymentof parcel post and this raises the questionas to whether these cancels were more fre-quently used on documents connected withfreight than on letters. The views ofreaders on this point would be welcome.

In addition to the Italian agencies men-tioned above, the following offices arethought to have been operating for theperiods named:-

Place Route or Region DotesAram .. .. .. Simplon 1/8/61-1/6/83Baveno .. .. .. Simplon1861-1/6/83Bellagio .. .. .. Splügen 1869-1875Bellano .. .. Splügen 1/1/68-1875Bolladore .. .. .. Umbrail 1/5/74-31 /12/76Bormi-Bagni .. .. Umbrail 15/6/75-31/12/76Bormi-Borgo .. .. Umbrail 15 /6 /69-31 /12 /76Canobbio .. .. Maggiore 1871-1888

Castasegna-Dogana .. Maloja 1884-1921Como .. Gotthard I /1 /74-1884

Gravellona . Simplon_ 1/8/71-9/9/88Grossotto .. .. .. Umbrail .1869-31 /12/76

Lecco .. Splügen 1/1/68-1875Morbegno .. Valtellina 1869-31 /12176Ornavasso ' .. .. Simplon 1862-9/9/88Pallanza .. .. Maggiore 1871-1883

1/6/83-29/8/88Ponte (S. Carlo) .. . Valtellina 1874-31 /12/76Sondrio .. .. . Valtellina 1869-31/12/76Stresa .. Simplon 1 /1 /64-1 /6 /83Town of Chiavenna - Maloja 1879-1884Treseneda ... . Valtellina 1 /5e74-31 /12/76Varenna .. .. .. Splügen 1-/d/68-1875Varas .. Gotthard 1868-Vovogna .. .. .. Simplon 1861-9/f9/88

None of the postmarks of these placeshave so far been found and it is unlikelythat they will be at this late stage, butthere is, of course, always the hundred-to-one chance of a hitherto unknown item comingto light amid some old archives. It maywell be that in many cases these places wereat the time, too far off the normal routesto have had much mail, or that the agencieswere more concerned with the transport ofpassengers or freight, and in the case ofthe latter the documents which may haveborne stamps or cancels have been lost.

THE POSTAL AGENCIES IN FRANCE The agencies situated on French territory

do not appear to have had the same import-ance as those in Italy. They were only sixin number and no special conventions wereconcluded with the French Administration toaccount for their creation. The postalservices in France at that time was a con-cern of the railway rather than the postalauthorities. Matters appear to have beenarranged by correspondence. For example,in the postal archives in Switzerland thereis mention of a communication written by

the Ministry of the P.T.T. in Paris and theP.L.M. railway company asking for the re-opening of the agency at Pontarlier in 1889.The agencies at Morez-du-Jura and LesRousses were at first established under theresponsibility of the Conductor of Posts ofNyon-Morez.

The first Swiss agency in Frande was atDelle and existed from 1852-56; the secondwas Pontarlier, opened in 1855 and closedin 1862. Re-opened in 1889, it stillexists today. While the agencies of Delleand Pontarlier were exchange offices, theother four were merely distributing officesfor mail. They were situated in the vicin-ity of Geneva, on the postal routes ofNyon-Divonne, Nyon-Les Rousses-Morez and LeSentier-Les Rousses.

Divonne-Les Bains, Morez-du-Jura and LesRousses were opened in 1876 and Bois d'Amontin 1877. Bois d'Amont disappeared in 1884,Divonne in 1905, after the inauguration ofthe railway from Nyon to Divonne. Morez &Les Rousses were suppressed in 1913.

As before, the most likely sources ofthese cancels are on the "Standing Helvetia"and Postage Due issues and those ofMorez-du-Jura and Les Rousses the most probable.

Cancellations were of the same types asfor the Italian agencies and the followinghave been noted:-

Divonne DIVONNE-LES BAINS Circular (Fig, 10)MESSAG. FEDER.

More. MOREZ da JURA Straight line (Fig. 9)MESS. suisses and Circular.MORSE (JURA)

MessiES+FEDPontarlier PONTARLIER AGENCE Straight line (Fig: 9)

TIFS MESSAG. SUISSES and Circuler.Les Rousses Les ROUSSES (JURA) Circular

MESSE +FEDLE.s

Place Route Dates •Bois d'Amont B.d'A.—Nyon 1 /1X/77-4/1X/84Delle Delle-Porrentruy 1852-1856Divonne-les-Bains Dies B.-Nyon 1876-1./X/05Morez-du-Jura M.du J.-Nyon 1 /V/76-31 /3(1I/13Les Rousses L.R.-Nyon 1/V/76-311X11/13Pontarlier Pontarlier- 1/XI/55-311X11/62

NeuchâtelI /VII /89-

A postal diligence service operated fromLa Chaux-de-Fonds to Charquemont and Maiche(Dept. du Doubs) until June 1914, but neverhad the status of a Swiss Postal Agency.

It should be noted that the FederalRailways were linked with the portion ofthe Paris-Lyon-Mediteranée line between theSwiss frontier and Pontarlier. The Frenchstations of Verrieres-de-Joux on theNeuchatel-Pontarlier line andHopitaux-Jougne on the Vallorbe-Pontarlier line wereserved by the Swiss travelling post office.Mail posted at the boxes in these stations,normally franked with French stamps, wasfranked by the Swiss T.P.O. with a rectang-ular cachet indicating their origin:-

AGENCIES IN AUSTRIAThe Swiss agencies in Austria were,

exceptionally, concerned only with assist-ance to passengers, and no postal cancel-lations have been recorded. The agency atNauders, opened on November 1st, 1872, onthe Schuls-Landeck line, was transferred toPfunds in 1914, where it still exists.Another agency functioned at Stilfserjoch(Stelvio Pass) from 1907-15. No Austrianagencies were established in Switzerland.

OFFICES IN BASLEBefore leaving this subject it would

seem appropriate here to mention also thebureaux, or offices, two in number, establ-ished on Swiss soil, one by the Grand-Duchyof Baden and the other by the FrenchGovernment, since the cancellations used canbe found on Swiss covers.1. The Baden Office in Basle

A Treaty was concluded in July-August of1852 between the Swiss Confederation andthe Grand-Duchy of Baden regarding the ext-ension of the Baden railway into Swissterritory. In this, the Swiss Confederationwhile reserving its foreign rights, alsothose of the Cantons of Basel-Stadt andSchaffhausen, accorded to the Grand-Duchy ofBaden the required concession to extend itsrailway line so as to form an uninterruptedline from Mannheim to Lake Constance.

With regard to postal services, theTreaty stipulated that the transport ofletters, samples, newspapers, securitiesand money packets (not exceeding 10 lb.)were to be sent through Swiss territory onlyby the Swiss postal administration.

The stations on this Baden railway line,within Swiss territory, were Basle (in theCanton of Basel-Stadt) andWilchingen-Hallau, Neunkirch, Beringen, Neuhausen,Schaffhausen, Herblingen and Thayngen (inCt. Schaffhausen). Although it was at firstintended to establish post offices in allthe towns, the government of Baden decidedthat Basle itself would be the most suitableplace for the exchange of mail. The Badenoffice was opened on March 5th, 1855, andclosed on October 1st, 1876. It was situa-ted only 1 km. from the frontier and hadone peculiarity: created primarily for theexchange and forwarding of mail it acted,nevertheless, as a distribution centre forseveral localities in Baden, situated inclose proximity to the frontier, but nearerto the Basle office than to those in Baden.

Three types of cancellations are knownfor the Baden Office, (Figs. 11 and 12).According to the usage of the time, and likeall other offices in Baden, it possessed afive-circle obliterator with the number 170in the centre, also a town cancel bearingthe inscription BASEL BADISCHER BAHNHOF andthe arms of the Grand-Duchy at the base,with the date, day and month only, in thecentre. This cancel is unique in that it isthe only double circle postal cachet ofBaden. It is found very occasionally onstamps and only from about 1863.

(Continued on Page 4)

VALUES AND

00 LOURS Chronicle

Illustrations not to scale

ADDITIONAL DETAILS TO THOSEPUBLISHED IN "SWISS PHILAT-ELIST" NO. 35/36: The 1963Pro Patria Set of 5 values.Details, as announced, withRed Cross themes in honourof this year's InternationalCentenary: 10 + 10c: Banda-ging roll (green, lt. green,red, grey). 20 + 10c: RedCross gift parcel (pink,lt. pink, red, grey). 30 +10c: Blood plasma bottles,

(orange, lt. orange, red, grey). 50 + 10c: Red Cross ArmBand (blue, lt. blue, red, grey). These four values aredesigned by Kurt Wirth and photogravured by Courvoisier.The first value in the Set (5 + 5c. blue) is designed andengraved by Karl Bickel Sen. and recess printed by the PTTPrinting Works. All 5 values remain valid for postagefrom June 1st to December 31st, 1963.

Also on June 1st a Pro Aero stampwill be issued to commemorate theSilver Jubilee of the Pro AeroOrganisation. It is the firstAirmail stamp to be added since1949. Not only does this stamppromise to be very popular but itwill undoubtedly bring with it

great additional interest in earlier Airmail stamps, most ofwhich are already in very short supply. (Editor's Note:Collectors are advised to fill gaps in their Airmail Collec-tions with the least possible delay and certainly before the1964 Catalogues appear on the market in the Autumn).Details: Face value Fr. 2.- (silver, blue, orange-yellow,red). Designed by Richard Gerbig and printed in photograv-ure by Courvoisier. The stamp will be on sale at all PostOffices from June 1st to 31st July 1963, but will be validfor postage on July 13th only for the two special Flightsfrom Bern to Locarno and Langenbruck - Bern - Locarno, (thelatter Flight commemorates the first trans-Alpine Flight byOscar Bider in 1913).

New Issue subscribers have been circularised with fulldetails of how to order this stamp. Readers who do notreceive our New Issue Bulletins and are interested in obt-aining supplies, are requested to send S.A.E. for furtherdetails. Orders for Used copies and Flight Covers cannot beaccepted after June 5th.

THE SWISS POSTAL AGENCIES ABROAD (Continued from Page 3)After 1870 this office received a date-stamp "BASELBAD, BARNS" of the same type as the German cancels ingeneral use (Fig. 12). The cancellation of Germanstamps by the Basle office was not allowed.

THE FRENCH BUREAU IN BASLE This was situated in the Alsatian part of the Swiss

railway station at Basle and wasestablished as a result of a Con-vention between the governments ofBasel-Stadt and France, datedOctober 24th, 1846, supplementingan earlier Convention of June 25th1845. One of the modificationsconsisted of the transfer of theexisting office at St. Louis toBasle and the setting up in Basleof a transit and exchange officeto and from Switzerland, Baden &the Austrian Empire.

It was opened on December 14th,1846, and closed on October 1st,1865. According to the officiallist of French post offices of 1852the number 3705 (in the series ofsmall figures on a lozenge of dots)was allocated to the office inBasle, replaced in 1863 by No.5081(in the large number series), butthe use of either of these cachetshas not been recorded. Instead,there were various double-circledate stamps, all in red, which wereused from 1847 to 1865, and weremost certainly applied by this off-ice (as Fig. 13). They are found onthe reverse of letters sent to Basle.

On the other hand, letters withthe cachets of Basle, Zurich, Aust-ria and Baden, etc., followed by"BEAU FR. (-) DE BALE", with orwithout a number in the space ind-icated by (-), are marks of entryfrom Basle into France (Figs.14-16).The figures 1, 2 and 3 denote theroute over which the correspondencewas directed. These are:-

No. 1 via St. LouisNo. 2 .. via MulhausenNo. 3. via Paris

and are found mainly on letters dat-ed between 1846 and 1850.

*********************This then is the study of the Swisspostal agencies abroad and thepostal agencies established on Swiss

I soil, a subject about which muchstill remains to be learned, butwhich is, unfortunately, hampered bythe paucity of material. Any furth-er observations from readers will bemost welcome.

Illustrations taken from the Zumstein Specialised Catalogue.

A

Mrs. Rawnsley most kindly wrote the followingarticle for our Classics display at thisyear's 'Stampex'. It was suggested by manyvisitors that they would like to have apermanent record of this article, which is soinformative and yet concise and thereforeideal for the collector wishing to write uphis Album. Consequently, we reproduce ithere with renewed thanks to Mrs. Rawnsley.

The increase in the volume of mail inthe early 19th century made the use of thecomplicated system of handstruck stamps,which are to be found on pre-stamp covers,too cumbersome, but following the upheavelsin Europe, resulting from the French Revo-lution, there was no central government andthe postal services were run by the indiv-idual Cantons or farmed out to neighbouringCantons or to mail carriers.

Adhesive stamps were first introduced byGreat Britain in May 1840 and the morepopulous areas of Switzerland soon appreci-ated the advantages of this method. In

March 1843 the Canton of Zurichissued the first adhesive stamps,based on the design of the 'PennyBlack': the 'ZURICH 4' (4 Rappenbeing the rate within the city) &the 'ZURICH 6' (6 Rappen the ratewithin the Canton). The Canton of

Geneva followed in September 1843 with theissue of the 'DOUBLE GENEVA', which serveda dual purpose, half the stamp (5c.) beingthe city rate and the whole (10c.) thecantonal rate. In 1845 the rate was changedto 5c. for the whole Canton and caused theissue of the Geneva 'SMALL EAGLE' and in1847 the 'LARGE EAGLE'. BothCantons used the 'rosette'postmarks, one type for Zurichand 5 types for Geneva. Mean-while, in 1845 the Canton ofBasel-Stadt (Basle Town) issued the 'BASLEDOVE', one of the most beautiful stampsever produced. The value was 22 Rappen andthe cancellations were of the large circ-ular type, usually in red.

In September 1848 the newly formed SwissFederal Constitution announced the establi-shment of a Federal Postal Service; allCantonal posts were to be taken over, and

Federal stamps used throughout thecountry. Owing to the difficultiesinvolved in co-ordinating thesystem, with its many differingrates and stabilising the various

currencies in use at the time, the stampswere not issued until October 1850, andduring the period allowed for the re-organisation of their postal services, theCantons were allowed to issue their own'Poste Locale' stamps for use in the largertowns. Basle did not issue any; Zurichissued the so-called 'WINTERTHUR' stamp,

which was, in fact, a local stampused in the area around Zurich.In the same way the so-called'VAUD' stamps of 4c. and 5c. andthe so-called 'NEUCHATEL' stamps

were issued by Geneva.

swissThe first Federal stamps, issued in 1850

were the 'ORTSPOST' and 'POSTE LOCALE' foruse in the German and French-speaking areasrespectively, although this instruction wasnot rigidly adhered to. The postal rateswere fixed by means of 'Rayons' or'Distance Zones':Rayon I 5c. with radius of 10 leagues from point

of posting.Rayon II 10c. within radius of 10-25 leagues

from point of posting.Rayon III 15c. within radius of 25-40 leagues

from point of posting.and stamps were issued with thesedesignations: the RAYON I, firstin dark blue and later (in 1851)in light blue; the RAYON II inyellow; and the RAYON III inbrick-red, which was issued in1852. A fourth Zone covered

distances over 40 leagues, but no stampswere issued. All the early Federal stampsare full of interest, since they abound invarieties, shades and postmarks and, prov-iding sufficient copies can be found, thethree Rayon issues can be plated.

By 1852 the Post Office had becomeorganised and a new issue of stamps was inpreparation. The new stamps, the 'SITTINGHELVETIA' Imperforate, were to be printedin relief on paper with a silk thread as asafeguard against forgery. It was found,however, that the paper could notbe made in Switzerland, nor wassuitable printing machineryavailable in time. The paper,therefore, was ordered from thePasing Mill near Munich, and theprinting entrusted to the Weiss StatePrintery also of Munich, who supplied thefirst quantities of stamps, and these wereissued in 1854. By the end of that yearthe Mint at Berne took over the printing,still on paper from Munich but slightlythicker than the original supply (so-called1st Berne Print). In a later supply thesilk threads were of a different colour foreach value (2nd and 3rd Berne Prints).From 1857 the paper was supplied bythe Sihl Paper Mill of Zurich.

The design of the stamps did notmeet with favour and earned it thesoubriquet of 'Strubel' from'Struwelpeter' - 'Shock-headed PeterNevertheless, with the different printings,papers and silk threads, it remains one ofthe most interesting issue for the averagecollector, while the cancellations coveralmost every phase from the straight-lineand Federal grille to the circular datestamps.

Introduction roco ssics

By 6... Rawnsley

IMPORTANT PRINTING ERROR DISCOVERY !During the past few months odd copies of a complete,clear and exceptionally heavy Double Print of thecurrent 90c Building have been discovered. There

was an immediate rush to Post Offices but preciously littlewas found. It transpires that the Double Print was from aprinting made between February and April 1961, and it isnot surprising therefore that most copies had been sold tothe public by the time the discovery was made.

The stamp comes from Sheet No. 1 (12th stamp) and 2,700Copies originally existed. The 90c stamp is a very commonvalue and large quantities are used every day. All but afew copies will by now be in the waste-paper baskets and ifany should turn up over the years, the odds are they willbe from parcels and not in particularly good condition. TheDouble Print is quite as heavy as that on the 1949 20c.Landscape (No. 301) which also was discovered long afterissue and of which even today only a few copies are known.

We have been fortunate in acquiring two mint copieswhich are in stock at the time of going to press.

1949 LANDSCAPE 3c. Grey (No. 297)

Printing figures for this stamp have now beenissued. The total printing amounted to only1,450,000. For a stamp of which two shades are col-lected this is a pitifully small amount. Littlewonder, therefore, that it is in constant demand andprices have been rising steadily.