Experimental Post Office Cancellation (India) On Cover

Found this cover in a box in my stamp cave. Must have been a purchase from Cary Cochran's stock.

This link provided some useful information:
<www.rockymountainstampshow.com/.../IndiaStudyCircle/Experimental-Postmarks-of-India-&-States>

This introduction to a monograph by Carol J. Edholm included several statements to clarify what the cancellation signifies. "An experimental Post Office is opened for a period of 6 months in an area where it appears services are needed. If it gets enough business, it becomes permanent. If it does not, it can be extended up to 2 years before it is made permanent or closed."

According to this website, the "N7" code on the CDS indicates that the location is in the central provinces. Since there is no return address on the cover, I have no way of knowing where this is, specifically. Also, there are, or were hundreds of experimental post offices every year.

Any additional information by SCF members would be appreciated. Thanks

The link again:
http://www.rmss-colorado.com/images...-India-a.pdf
If link was killed by admin, please delete this post.

EDIT:Always wondered what these were about. Thanks for the reference. I hope Joy will check in and be able to provide the location.

Thanks hy-brasil!

During early years of WW2, Br. Indian Experimental PO N-7 was located in Chaumu (27.1701°N 75.7197°E), now in Jaypur district of Rajasthan.

An Experimental Post Office was a temporary post office with all postal facilities like a normal permanent post office, opened primarily to make an assessment to determine the financial feasibility to establish and run a permanent post office at that place.

The Experimental POs were often shifted to new locations or closed down or in some instances, made permanent.

All Experimental POs were allotted an alphanumerical number begining with the Circle initial followed by the number of the PO. The use of alphanumeric characters to denote the locations of Experimental POs was first mentioned in Post Office Circular No. 40 dt. July 16,1883 issued by Frederick Rogers Hogg, Director General of Post Offices in India but, no subsequent circulars ever described the numbers corroborating the locations of Experimental POs.

Experimental POs were provided the following datestamps and cachets.

1. Regular Datestamp with Exp. PO No.
2. Registration Datestamp
3. Parcel Datestamp
4. Money Order datestamp
5. Savings Bank datestamp
6. Post Office Name Stamp (oblong)

If there is interest, I can add more information about the cover.

Many thanks for your assist, Joy. Yes, whatever you can add about this cover will be appreciated. The censor tape style/design is new to me, but it is from the earliest days of World War II and perhaps was replaced by plain types rather quickly.

This 1939 Chaumu to West Hartford, USA cover was censored in Mumbai Censor Station because all outgoing and incoming foreign mail from/to Central Provinces Circle was routed thru Mumbai.

After opening and censoring the contents, the cover was closed with Morenweiser type 6A4 resealing label, recorded used in Mumbai from 10/1939 to 3/1941.

This label type with Govt of india insignia (size: 3.2cm×2.3cm) and OPENED BY CENSOR inscription (dimension: 57mm×5mm) is also recorded used at censor stations in Chennai, Dilli, Dorjeling, Kolkata, Nagappattinam, Peshawar and Rawalpindi.

Port Blair CS is also recorded being allotted type 6A4 label in Specimen of Labels, Handstamps and Seals Used in India Ref. MoD File No. DEFE1/144A, but it has yet not been recorded used.

Morenweiser gives rarity rating of the resealing label alone as 8 which is equivalent to $15 back in 2011 but this valuation should not be taken too literally but only as a guide.

References:
1. Postal Censorship in India 1939-1945.
Diljit Sinh Virk.
Philatelic Congress of India, New Dilli 1983
Censor Stations Bombay; p.9
Description of Censor Labels, Printed Slips and Forms
Censor Labels; p.23

2. British Empire Civil Censorship Devices World War II (Section 4: British Asia).
Konrad Morenweiser.
Civil Censorship Study Group, Wiveliscombe, England 2011 6th Ed.
India
Labels and Tapes; pp.38-9

Short History of Mumbai Censor Station
Mumbai Censor Station was opened on September 9,1939 at the Mumbai GPO on Mint Road. It was shifted to Ballard Pier alongside the Office of the Superintendent of Foreign Post in November 1939 and in January 1943, it was relocated at New India Assurance Building (87 Mahatma Gandhi Road).

Mumbai CS handled all sea mails to and from Central Procinces, Mumbai, North West Provinces, Pañjab and Rajputana Circles, airmails of Mumbai Circle, censored outgoing airgraphs from late 1942. By May 1944, Mumbai CS had 59 officers, 564 examiners, 25 scrutinizers, 78 clerks, 117 Class 4 staffs and 167 Posts and Telegraphs personnels.

Postage: The franked Br. India 1937 ½A Sc 151, 1937 1A Sc 153 and 1937 2A Sc 154 paid 3½A postage which was basic surface rate from India to USA for weight upto 28.35gm (1oz) from 12.03.1931. to 11.30.1950.

@hy-brasil



It is actually the other way around.

Initially, covers were closed with strips of plain brown paper or Scotch tape, an example of which is Morenweiser type 1A label used at Mumbai CS.

These were soon replaced by resealing labels with printed GoI crest and different inscriptions.
As the labels were printed locally in different batches in accordance with the requirement, there are numerable differences in printing of these labels, thus resulting in different subtypes.

Mumbai CS alone used 28 different basic types of resealing labels during the entire period of WW2.

This is a HUGE subject to explore.

Thanks Joy!

Hello,

Could someone pls throw light on the censor stamps and Experimental PO postmark on this cover?

Thanks

You may wish to consult this monograph
Hope this helps.
http://www.rockymountainstampshow.c...5-2018-2.pdf