Postage On Things Other Than Envelopes / Postcards

Not sure if this has been covered before, but how about postage being put on something other than the usual envelopes or postcards?

I can offer this little box as an example. I think it is some sort of postage paid return box, but I can't imagine what for!

I had a teacher in art school, not a very nice man, who hated those pre-payed postal reply cards that always fall out of your magazines. He used to tape them to bricks and drop them in the mail box. I guess the law says, it's in the box with postage, they have to deliver it.

This is one of my favorites.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, Germany had post offices in Turkey to serve its business and trading interests in the area. One of the items that was commonly mailed was a sample box of raisins.

The normal metal canceller damaged the packages, so a rubber canceller was used. The Smyrna box cancel was only used on raisin sample packages, so it's still possible to identify stamps that were used for this purpose.

Off-package, the stamps sell for €70-80. On the original raisin package...



€3,000-5,000. This example is from a recent auction. I don't own one, though maybe one day, if I win the lottery.

I enjoyed the "brick" story. I just mail them all back without filling out the name and address. Do the same thing with the pre-paid envelopes.

PostmasterGS - I thought that was a wheel of cheese until I saw your note.

Of all things to mail samples of! :-)

I've become the keeper of my family's home movies, all of which I've since had transferred to dvd (no cheap endeavor).
But I'm left with a metal box full of these small film cartons my dad had mailed in for developing, during the sixties. Many have the stamps missing (I seem to recall removing one or two myself in my early collecting days) and some stamps also have meter postage stuck over top of them.
Little time capsules, in many respects.

Wow, I am suprised the film reels didn't get squished in the mail!

How about a bank:
http://www.stampsofdistinction.com/...-office.html

I have liked seeing the unusual items that have been used for acquiring a first day postmark in various philatelic periodicals ie. a bottle of honey for a bee stamp, a soda can, someone's forehead, comic books, newspapers, a flower seed packet, etc.

It just occurred to me why there was metered postage over the stamps! My dad mailed the undeveloped film in (it was in a small tin can inside the box - I've still got a couple he didn't send) and the developer sent the finished film back in the same box. Duh. Some days are a little slower than others.

A story I posted here a couple years ago...

I guess it would be interesting to see what kind of postage and postmarks were affixed to the containers carrying these sort of things:

http://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c5_007.htm

My guess is most of the packaging materials made it to the trash, as it would be an undesired collectible after having housed any of the live creatures that are mailable under these regulations.

Wow, some really cool items and information posted on this thread, Nice one!

I am planning on doing some research on this when I have some time after receiving a very nice couple of messages from a friend down in the US. I am grateful for the advice given by him, and the super suggestions on ways to find out information on it!

I would also like to hear from any of you out there that may have information, links, opinions or are collector of these. Any and all help is always greatly appreciated!





Have a Good One,

Skilo54

I seem to remember people mailing coconuts! Writing all the necessary addresses and such right on the husk, stamping it and mailing it out. I thought it pretty clever actually. Sorry no pics.