Some US Covers

Hi!

I found some covers I would like to show you:
I think stamps are common. I do not know where to ind informations regarding embossed covers (I hope it is the right word)
















Do they have any interesting thing?
Thank you in advance.

Francesco

Hello Francesco! The embossed cover is called a postal stationery envelope (PSE). The one you show is fairly common - do a search for postal stationery and you'll find lots of information.

You have two interesting covers. The first is the 15 cent registered cover to Italy. The second is the postal card to Egypt. Is there anything of interest on the back of the card?

They don't have great value, but since they were sent outside of the US, they're less common than the other covers you show.

The top envelope in your first scan is probably a U311 (very common with a catalog value of $.25), but there are a couple lookalike die varieties that are higher in value, but would require a higher resolution scan to do a definite identification.

The Catalog of the 19th Century Stamped Envelopes . . .of the United States is the best resource and can be found at http://UPSS.org and click on Publications.

That's an interesting ships cover as well to Italy. I'd google S.S. La Gascogne and see what you can find.

The Burlington and "Chicago" cancels are interesting as well.

EDIT: As it's on a registered letter, perhaps the "Chicago" stamped on the front, across the stamp, would not be called a cancel.

Thank you for your kind answers.

I can attach other photos:


Cover to Italy:


Cover to Egypt


Detail


To KGB: why the "chicago" stamped could not be called cancel?

Thanks

I'm not sure if this is always the case, but I remember reading somewhere that registered letters were not to be cancelled on the front. (I wish I remembered the reference.) Hopefully someone here can correct me if I'm wrong. (I often am wrong!)

The cover to Italy is especially interesting as one of the cancels hints that the letter traveled by rail. Again, I could be wrong but the "FERR." may stand for "ferrovia."

Looking at the various paragraphs in the 1913 Postal Laws & Regulations, the stamps certainly receive a cancel, but the "postmark" goes on the back across the flaps.

Thanks, John! That clears it up!

This is another strange cover:

If I understand well, it was sent from US, but sent back for insufficient stamps. TWhen finally it arrived to Italy it was necessary to repair it as it was damaged:

This is a good case where a damaged cover is more interesting than an undamaged cover. Also the envelope itself originated in Italy. Envelopes from Italy of this time period tend to be quite fragile.

The U311 (thanks for the close up scan) will have to remain a simple U311, as the strike is too weak to determine if it is one of the rare varieties. You need a clear look at the ear lobes.

Here is a regular (i.e., not rare) U311. Note the single earlobe.



Here is a example of the "double ear" variety. Notice the multiple earlobes.

Hi

Some more covers:


















Thank you
Bye

akela-one,

https://www.stampcommunity.org/uplo...IMG_5235.jpg ... Your phonograph advertisement is of particular interest to me. I am probably the only collector you will run across who actively seeks postal cards with pre-printed typographic commercial messages. I love to see the ways in which goods moved back in the day when long distance phone calls were an intolerable extravagance.

I also love the fact that these cards are cheap. Pre-printed commercial messages might as well be considered vandalism, and detract greatly from the price/value of a card.

The big exceptions, of course, are 'graphical' advertising cards, and the postal cards overprinted for the Great Exhibitions in the late 19th Century, eg, before the widespread adoption of picture postcards.

Once upon a time, I walked into a stamp store, explained what I was seeking, and asked to run thru their postal card inventory. They explained that they would never sell these cards over-the-counter precisely because they were such a cheap way to bulk-up the 'special surprise' cartons of philatelic material they sold to collectors on a regular basis.

One man's delicacy is another man's fiber supplement!

https://www.stampcommunity.org/uplo...5163_opt.jpg ... the first few covers you posted were posted from smallish towns in New York State. Some folks collect everything they can find from a particular town, most often their birthplace.

https://www.stampcommunity.org/uplo...5166_opt.jpg ... this cover bears a 'flag cancel', which is a well-established collecting specialty, with reference material available to tell you which style was used when & where.

https://www.stampcommunity.org/uplo...5173_opt.jpg ... http://www.metropostcard.com/publishersm1.html ... that "M P // Co" logo belongs to the Manhattan Post Card Publishing Company (1928-1974). Once you decide that the stamp & postmark are "common", turn that card over and see what you've got!

https://www.stampcommunity.org/uplo...5172_opt.jpg ... "REGISTER OR INSURE VALUABLE MAIL" is one of a zillion slogans that have been used by the USPOD/USPS over the years and, in fact, it is easy to find this slogan being used by other postal authorities in their respective languages and, yes, slogan collecting is another active specialty.

https://www.stampcommunity.org/uplo...5170_opt.jpg ... researching the post-WW1 "CITIZENS MILITARY TRAINING CAMPS" has been on my ToDo list, the place were tasks go to die.

You've got a lot of interesting things here!

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

ikeyPikey thank you for your very interesting reply.
This is the front of the postcard:





and some others:




















Bye

Very nice, akela-one:

https://www.stampcommunity.org/uplo...5183_opt.jpg ... these stamps feature perforated initials that look like "WIS" ... given the Madison postmark, that would be "Wisconsin" ... perhaps the University, or some other state agency, or ...

Ready to jump into perfins with both feet?

http://www.perfins.org/ ... The Perfins Club (US)

http://www.angelfire.com/pr/perfinsoc/ ... The Perfin Society (UK)

http://www.perfins.org/publications-for-sale/ ... ROTW Country Catalogs & CheckLists & Links

BTW: one of the covers in this most recent set was postmarked the day after my brother was born. Nice near-miss!

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Edited to add: the addressee, Sir Andrew Browne Cunningham, gives good google.