Postal Card Cancels - A Couple Of Questions.

Started looking through my collection of "postal cards" (finally) and came across this one....There are a few questions I have..Wondering if this is normal cancellation techniques..?

1 - Looks like Mrs. Susie Hoods who probably worked for Canadian Pacific Railway & Telegraph Co.[/stole a form from her employer to save money and input her information on the back asking the postmaster of Aylmer Ont to forward her mail to Brantford Ont.

2 - Why did an original squared circle cancel added to stamp and then Tilsonburg added their ring cancel..?

3 - The why did Aylmer again place another squared circular cancel on the back..Dont understand why..?

4 - Can anyone explain to me what Unitrade means by [i]"Reply cards are considered used when the message portion is used and the attached reply portion is used.Attached cards with both sections used are very rare"

Robert

IMO,
2 - Origin cancel in not legible, so the Tilsonburg cancel is either intended as an intermediate transit mark or to provide a readable marking.
3 - Aylmer postmaster wanted to date his correspondence to prove when it was received. The postmark was the handiest device to use.

Interesting theory John..You are probably right..And another thing I noticed was the NON standard use of cancels back then..One uses ring and another uses square circle..

Robert

And I am sure the sender is Miss Susie Woods, not Hoods.

non-standard: I suspect each PO used their devices until they wore out, rather than any organized mass replacements of a new style for sake of standardization. When a PO needed a new device, they got one of the current style. As an example from the US, some POs used the current device at the window and the older devices at the "back table" for receiving use, nixie work, marking missent mail, etc.

These cards have two portions: the original message card, and the reply card. Usually the card is perforated between, so the two parts can be readily separated. The original recipient received both parts with the "reply" portion still uncancelled, wrote their reply on the reply card, and then (most frequently) would detach the original message and mail only the reply card.

Occasionally, the replier would mail the reply card with the original used message card still attached. It was unusual for the reply card to arrive at its destination used, with the used original message card still present. Such cards (both halves used) are scarce and usually trade at a premium over either of the detached cards. (They often trade at a premium to the unused, in fact.)