Austrian Offices In Turkey

Time for a new thread - my first on this site!

My 2 album pages:

mdroth - that's a fabulous start Clean collection, neatly arranged. Seems to me your collection from this area is getting to such an advanced stage it is out-growing the scope of the preprinted album - time for more serious set-up?

I find these issues very interesting, particularly for the possibility to find postmarks from different places in the former Ottoman empire. The #2 (3 soldi green) has a nice postmark, but difficult to read - is it simply Constantinople? Seems to me your Frank Joseph 20 para rose on 5 kr was used in Jerusalem, nice! Yet another fine strike on the last Frank Joseph 1 piaster on blue paper - Kerrasund?

Thanks for sharing

btw - for anyone interested in this area - here's a map showing the main post offices for the Austrian Levant - the stamps were used far beyond what is present day Turkey.




http://stamps.endfield.org.uk/ahpos.htm

I haven't yet arranged my stamps used in the Austrian post offices but here is a little group I included in my first ever display earlier this year:



This shows some of the earlier stamps used in the three Austrian post offices in Crete.

The letter seal is just for fun!

Nice examples Nigel. I never knew Lombardy-Venetia stamps were used in Crete.

Hi Michael,
nice page (Minkus I guess)
Quite valuable from memory, needs lots of study.

Observation:
The Postage Dues, seem regulary postmarked (including in my collection)
yet rarely do I see them on cover ?
Would a majority be CTO perhaps?




Fabulous Jon ! very helpful.




Great Stuff Nigel, this is very helpful, Love the Envelope Seal !

Jon - thanks for the kind words. A more serious set-up is long overdue! Just haven't had the time or artistic skills as yet?! Ideally I'd like to do an entire album - covering all of the foreign POs in Turkey. Not nearly as advanced as yet on GB, Germany, Italy, Poland, or Russia. (Haven't even started Romania!)

Have not gotten around to doing alot of postmark work. But I'm happy to show anything that you'd like to see...

The 3 soldi seems to just say Constantinople:




These appear to be as you've described:







This is pretty much the rest of the collection:






Rod - can't answer your question about the postage dues/covers - I don't do covers alot. (Can't imagine they are CTOs?) And because you had me looking for postcards the other day:








Here is the description this postcard came with: (don't ask me - I'm not an expert on this stuff!)

"Postcard (view of Constantinople) with Austrian P.O. in Turkey (Constple III), Bucuresci Corsa "III" (?) and Roumania-type "Posthorn 153" (the Bucuresti postman's...?) cachet"

..and I equally inexperienced with Romania Postmarks.

Lovely Postcard- full of bustle, what a place it must have been in those days.

In all my years collecting Romania, never see a "postman's cachet" or anything like it, the Posthorn marking is a cracker, I'd welcome any in depth knowledge of these.

I vaguely recall "cursa" but dashed if I can interpret it today.

Cursa = Local Courses (guess : routes)
Source : online Klasboer



Cursa ll

I love this thread already!

@nigelc - that's an awesome postmark collection - some very good strikes - envy
Your stamp below is categorized as 'Canea'. Ok....but....




I think this stamp also deserves to be credited for having a most desirable maritime cancellation: 'LETTERE ARRIVATE COL VAPORE DAL LEVANT'. (Arrived on steamship from the Levant). Don't know if these postmarks were also used on Crete, but I think not. The stamp/letter probably received this postmark upon arrival in a port in Austrian Empire mainland (e.g. Venezia/Trieste). You are probably aware of this already? That's a showpiece in itself

mdroth - lucky you! You have plenty of stuff for finding perforation varieties, shades and 'abroad' postmarks etc. ('Rhodhe' - 'Salonic(h)' - (S)cio, all in present day Greece). Enjoy

Great material and information from all here.

Jon, Oops Nigel, I am totally jealous of you Lombardy-Venetia usage! That is a bit of a mystery and may help determine other "outside" usages of Lombardy-Venitia, besides Crete.

Some text I found in the Michel catalogue: Lombardy Venetia had silver currency. Austria had a lower valued paper currency. The stamps of Lombardy could be used everywhere in the Austrian Empire. Austrian stamps could not be used in Lombardy.

Interesting Johan!

Brian - I don't know if I misunderstand what you are saying - but the stamp with the 'Vapore'-cancel is not mine - I stole the image from nigelc 's postmark collection above.

And I am totally jealous to! I do actually have a few 'normal' Vapore cancels, but only one from the Levant. Mine is also on a Lom&Ven stamp but it has no other postmark in addition, which is the case for nigelc stamp. That what makes this stamp so attractive - it has both departure postmark and arrival - both postmarks desirable by themselves - both clearly readable at the same time - totally jealous!

You will find that there is never a question about Nigel having attractive stamps! It's like saying that Van Gogh was good w/a paint brush!

Thanks all for your nice words on my Crete items.

Hi Michael,

Thanks to you especially for sharing your stamps and creating this fascinating topic.

Hi Blaamand,

Yes, I'm glad you like the combination of the Canea and steamer cancellations. This is one of my favourites.

I believe the steamer one was applied in Trieste.

Hi BeeSee,

As well as the three Crete post offices, stamps of Lombardy-Venetia were used in many other Austrian post offices in the Turkish Empire.

There is a long list of them in the SG Austria & Hungary catalogue.

Five of these offices are only known with Lombardy-Venetia stamps:

Two in the Ionian Islands:

* Argostoli or Cefalonia
* Corfu

and three in Romania:

* Bottuschan or Botuschan = Botosani,
* Piatra
* Tekutsch = Tecuci

I don't have any of these cancellations but I'll see if I can find some others to share.

Really great info here for this postmark collector, too.
And, also, the pix of some of those great strikes stir in me one of the 7 deadly sins -- ENVY!