Registration Labels - Why Not?

And here's one to warm the cockles of Rod222's heart





Registered from Adur, in Travancore (and at the time, in Travancore-Cochin) used legitimately to Ireland. As Gibbons notes, the stamps of Travancore-Cochin could be used on domestic and international mail from the 5 June 1950 until the 1 July 1951. This was the only occasion when any Indian States stamp could be used on international mail.

Beautiful Tony,
and a real snap,
I fear you paid dearly for that.

Why don't I ever see covers like that (aside from Tony's collection that is)?

Smauggie, you don't see them because I pounce on them as soon as they show their (metaphorical) heads

And yes, Rod - my customers will be smarting for a while

ah! I see
supporting your philately habit.

Oh well, back to babelfish for me then.

Part of a cover

Fort Dauphin (Taolagnaro) is a town on the southern coast of Madagascar

part of a cover

Mmabatho is the former capital of the North-West Province of South Africa. In the apartheid era, it was the capital of the former "Bantustan" of Bophuthatswana. Following the end of apartheid in 1994, Bophuthatswana was integrated into the newly established North-West Province and Mmabatho was proclaimed the provincial capital. However, Mmabatho status as the provincial capital was short-lived. Later in 1994, the North West provincial legislature voted to rename the capital to Mafikeng, reducing Mmabatho to a suburb of Mafikeng.

Nice ones Huckle

You are supposed to add a short comment of the
origin of the label (where the town is etc)

A rather flamboyant, inverted pink registration label from Hyderabad



The Urdu letters 'Up' in the registration label don't make any immediate sense to me, but the Hyderabad dispatch and Raichur receipt are both Registered CDSs, and the rate - 3 Annas 8 Pies - is right for a registered letter. The cover dates from 1944 (thanks to the nice clear Raichur receipt stamp).

"Up" is the kind of word you might expect to see in a traveling post office context. They're about 200km apart, on a rail line. Any chance that is the connection?

Cjd, I have no idea. It might be the English word 'up', or it may be an abbreviated Urdu word. I haven't seen it on any other Hyderabad registration label: they all just have the Urdu/Persian letter 'R'.

There certainly were Hyderabad State railway mail service markings, but this cover doesn't seem to have any. The Hyderabad and Raichur cancels both include the word 'Registered', but no indications of railway connections.

I toyed with the idea of Value Payable (COD), but I couldn't make the 3 Annas 8 Pies rate or the cancellations fit.

I guess it will just have to remain a dark mystery ...

Edit to add:

Here is a more normal example of a Hyderabad registration label, with the Urdu/Persian 'R'



and blessedly clear CDSs of Lingsugur of 1942, again going to Raichur

I wasn't hitting on all cylinders with the English word...they would probably use their own word.

I just spent a leisurely 3 minutes on Youtube
enjoying Fort Dauphin.
Looks beautiful, the background music was laid back and Jazzy
very nice, the entire lyrics throughout the music
was a repeated " I have a Cat" ...weird but nice.

The travel brochure was not so pleasing
"beggars, muggings and pickpockets"...be wary.

So what about the hides and skins tanneries of Lingsugur, eh, Rod? Not sufficiently classy for you?

I'll try again, with Hyderabad:





A British Indian registration label slapped over a Hyderabad State label, the cover travelling to the Jullundur (Jalandhar) military Cantonment in the Punjab, and well outside the Nizam's Dominions.

There's a railway connection, too. If you can make out the sender in the lower left corner: The Despatch Clerk, Chief Transpotation Supdt's. Office, H.E.H. the Nizam's State Railway, Secunderabad.