Orient Express Stamps/Covers Never Seen Before

Hello all stamp masters,

I recently saw a documentary on the Orient Express, and found out that the train also carried mail.
I wondered whether there were special philatelic items from that era and train, and found these fascinating covers online:






My question is:
What is the history on these? Are they widely available, or are they rather scarce?
What is their value?

Thanks!

Can't answer your philatelic question, but Stamboul Train by Graham Greene is well worth a read!

I am a bit puzzled by the first item. It looks like a letter. The basic UK foreign letter rate from 1875 until 1921 was 2 1/2 d. The 1d was the UPU postcard rate.

add: As for Ottoman stamps used at a British Post Office. Was that possible?

Thé covers you show have significant value.The added stamps were perfectly normal.(added fee).
Several posts in other forums about these stamps ...one with your first cover...?

Could you post links to other topics that cover this?

Thanks!

I do not recall seeing those cinderellas prior.
Interesting.
I'll check my notes.

Two Items of the Express

I am guessing this fragment used the service.


Romania 2010

The Item was posted in Turkey.

"Concurrently with these surcharged stamps (Paras Piastres etc me)
the ordinary current halfpenny, 1d, 1s and 5s of Great Britain Without overprint in Turkish Currency were on sale for the full rate of exchange, at the post offices in the Turkish Empire.

Bib : The stamps of the Levant Post Offices
D. B. Armstrong
London 1913
Page 75

The Halfpenny vermilion stamp of 1887 shown affixed to the cover,
translates to 40 Paras.

Here's a link to other examples of the Express d'Orient label with GB stamps used in Constantinople:

https://1887jubileeissue.com/the-st...ls-on-cover/

It is not known whom produced the labels, or why there were two colours,
but makes an interesting conundrum

Spink

They share a similar design to the diagonal Luggage labels.

Indeed a mystery:

https://www.sandafayre.com/blogs/th...ostal-labels

@22crows,




That is not completely correct. The stamp on the entire show in the picture was issued for the post offices in the Ottoman Empire and not valid for use in GB. The basic stamp, indeed, was a GB stamp. The particular stamp was not. It is a 'British Levant' stamp.

My question was not so much about the use of British stamps at British Post Offices in the Levant as it was about the rate. The item looks like it would have required a stamp prepaying the UPU rate for letters, as it is addressed outside both the Ottoman and British Empire.

"... post offices in the Turkish Empire." Should I understand post offices of the Ottoman Empire, or just British Post Offices in the Ottoman Empire.

As for the second item: did, then, the British Post Offices in he Ottoman Empire accept mail franked by stamps that were issued by the Ottoman Empire itself; i.e. not the British stamps, whether overprinted or not?

Bearing in mind, I am just a student of Turkey
some of this is bordering on my limits of knowledge.

This is how I see it,
Mails are received and despatched daily by all the foreign post offices in Constantinople.
and thence distributed to the outlying agencies.

The rates of postage are uniformly 1 Piastre per 20 grammes and 30 paras for each additional 20 grammes, or fraction thereof for letters.

20 paras for Post Cards
10 paras per 50 Grammes for printed matter

2½d appears to be the rate, ( 40 paras surcharge on the 2½d Jubilee series)

25th February a shortage of the 40paras, resulted in a Telegram for fresh supplies
(here is where the (broken) handstamp of the 40 paras opt, rose)
as a measure to supply the 40 paras rate.

These temp opts, were not supposed to be sold to the public,
but used by postal officials for mail handed over the counter
--------------------

"Should I understand post offices of the Ottoman Empire, or just British Post Offices in the Ottoman Empire."

I understand it as just the British Post Offices.
------------------------------

As for the second item: did, then, the British Post Offices in he Ottoman Empire accept mail franked by stamps that were issued by the Ottoman Empire itself; i.e. not the British stamps, whether overprinted or not?

Have yet to read anything focusing on that.
What I can offer is that, bearing in mind the Ottomans were losing on average £500,000
annually in revenue, from the competition of foreign Post Offices.

Ideas to compete rose in 1901 with a special series of postage stamps, that offered a certificate of posting on external letters. handed in over the counter.

In 1906 we see the familiar Ottoman Postage stamps with the ubiquitous 20% discount
and the Turkish "B" on face, on foreign correspondence to induce business.

Best I can do (Any corrections welcomed)

Source D.B.Armstrong 1915

Armstrong:
1880 The Turkish Post Office makes efforts to enter into competition with foreign Post Offices, and took on the services of an English expert Mr. F.J Scudamore.

Under his direction a special international post office was organised in the business quarter of Constantinople, and regulat postal communication with Europe was established by means of an express steamship comm. with VARNA
(At that time the terminus of the Trans European railway)
Thus avoiding the use of lines which conveyed the foreign mails to and from Marseilles and Brindisi.