Postal History of the Holyland & Forerunners

Outbound mail: 1903 printed-matter wrapper (envelope cut open on both sides) from SAFFED to Jewish liqueur business in HOLLESCHAU, Moravia ("via Vienna Post"), posted via Ottoman PO & franked 10pa per printed-matter rate using Ba165 (oddly not the 'matbua' overprinted type for printed-matter mailed abroad) & tied by scarce blue local postmark (PM5/Ba 812b); backstamped 25-3-03 arrival; scarce as w...

Ottoman Turkish post GAZA date bridge postmark (Ba #794) dated 3 Nov 1906 (last digit inverted as "9") tied to stampless official mail cover sent from local court to court in JAFFA, backstamped next day JAFFA-2 arrival; with 2x intaglio negative seals on tied to front & back; cut open at right. Muenz certification enclosed....

Superb strike of red JAFFA-JEROUSALEM travelling post office TPO postmark (Ba #977r - rarity rated S4) dated 27 March 1908 tied to stampless official mail cover addressed to a court; cut open at bottom & left and partially resealed by the collector. The strike bears the name JERUUSALEM as the letter "O" is documented damaged through use. This example is better than the red and black strikes in the...

Holyland stampless mail: 1910 dated cover on Union Bank stationary, sent from Bishop Papken of the Armenian Patriarchate in JERUSALEM to "Father Hakob Karamanukyan, Halep" (ALEPPO Syria); tied at back with the Patriarchate's cachet. Although eligible for free mail as a religious institution, under the Ottoman postal service the cover was likely couriered as it does not bear a postmark and the addr...

Rare Turkish Ottoman JAFFA 7 postmark (Ba #831 / PM 16) in black error dated 28 Nov "1916" (for 1912), tied to 5 para frank serving as printed matter postage on color picture postcard of Alexandria Egypt (Pacha Street) addressed to PARIS France, with short salutation handwritten on front (less than 5 words for "printed matter" postcard rate)....

Full strike of Ottoman NASRE (Nazareth) postmark in blue (Ba #808b), dated 3 Oct 1913 & tied to 20 Para imprinted prepaid Ottoman postal card (Ba #726) with same-day dated message in French, sent to ZURICH; backstamped with faint CAIFFA transit postmark in black (Ba #791) - Bale unlisted in black for "Chaiffa"....

Outbound mail: 17-4-1914 superb strike of ERIHA (JERUSALEM) violet postmark (PM3/Ba865v) tied to 20 Para frank with black star overprint (for mail abroad; Ba 331) on picture-postcard of Bedouins baking bread, to NUSSBAUMEN Switzerland; backstamped 21-4-14 octogonal JERUSALEM6 transit postmark (PM26/Ba 872a); marginal small top tear amended....

Double franked WWI era Ottoman-Turkish mail: 30 Dec 1915 postmarked postal card, sent from HAIFA to addressee at Anglo-Austrian Bank in GRAZ Austria, franked 20 para per period postage rate - but here with stamp affixed over the imprinted frank, as of 1915 imprinted franking on postal stationary was no longer valid for overseas postage; tied by single strike of the local postmark; front-stamped 3 ...

Ottoman Palestine/Holyland WWI correspondence: lot of 5x covers sent during Ottoman & British control of the Holy Land, 1915/1918-1919, all to same addressee in THE HAGUE Holland and most appear to be sent from JAFFA + British SZ 45 & SZ 20; the covers are mostly in poor condition, most missing the stamps - but mostly complete physically and bear many dispatch, transit & censor marks: some Turkish...

HALASA 1 (Halutza/Khalasa) - Major Rarity: 2x strikes of the PM1 postmark dated 1 Oct 1917 tied to uprated 1914-issue Ottoman 20 Para imprinted postal stationary envelope (Ba #799) addressed to officer at telegraph station in DIYARBAKIR (southern Turkey), written by a sender at the local roadside inn (manuscript at bottom right); 3x stamps are visibly missing, constituting the postage for an overs...

World War I era Turkish Beersheva BIR-ES-SEBA 2 (Ba 883) rare all-Arabic postmark: 1918-dated 5 full strikes tied to block of 20x 1916 3rd series War Orphans overprinted 20pa stamps (Ba 464/289) - 400 Para - gummed on back of partially torn ledger sheet of 5 attached telegram receipts (with signatures & Arabic manuscript), i.e. 80 Para per receipt....

Holy Land French post office pre-philatelic / pre-franked double weight mail to Ireland: 10 April 1857 postmarked stampless cover sent from the French post office in JAFFA to FOULKESMILL Wexford (Ireland "England"), tied by pearl ringed JAFFA SYRIE postmark (Ba #304) & charged "1/6" (1 Shilling + 6 pence = 18 pence) in manuscript on arrival.As of 1840 postage rates to/from any part of the United K...

Palestine Forerunners - the French Holyland Post: 3rd pre-UPU period OCT 1874 folded commercial letter (dated 28 Oct) from JERUSALEM to COGNAC France, franked 80c at the 1871-76 5th postage rate period's letter rate using French Ceres stamp; although a French-run postal agency existed in JERUSALEM (under the Damiani family), here letter transmitted by non-affiliated forwarding agent "W. Duisberg" ...

Undocumented violet oval cachet of the ship LLOYD AUSTRIACO PIROSCAFO EUTERPE (Steamer 'Euterpe') tied to 10 Para overprinted imprinted 5 Heller frank on front of 1900 edition prepaid wrapper of the Austrian Holy Land post office (Ba #151); undated; addressed to addressee in KARLSRUHE Germany & tied by carmine illustrated return-address handstamp of Reinhold Aberle of JERUSALEM.The sender is docum...

Taxed French post office Holyland mail + discovery: 27 Aug 1906 postmarked picture postcard (Jerusalem - Mosque of Omar; Hermann Striemann) with 25 Aug. dated message numbering 5 words, sent from JERUSALEM to DRESDEN Germany & franked 5c for the printed matter rate (as bearing 5 words or less); likely deposited into a letter box and subsequently postmarked - but also marked for postage dues wi...

Hall & Company Jaffa forwarding agents via German Holy Land post office: 1907 era postmarked picture postcard (Jerusalem - Dome of the Rock interior), sent from JAFFA to addressee at hotel in BRIGHTON (Britain); the franking is missing but as the postcard bears a message longer than 5 words (on front) the rate was likely overseas postcard at 20 para, here tied by the local German post office postm...

German Holy Land post office + forwarding agent: unlisted ALBERT R. MIZRAHI | JERUSALEM PALESTINE light green oval cachet hand dated 24/6/10 in red pen, tied to picture postcard (Bedouin from Jericho) manuscript endorsed "Imprime" (printed matter) on top back in black pen, addressed to VEVEY Switzerland + further manuscript marked in red ink "3/4" & "verso" (turn over) in corner area for the posta...

Holyland Palestine Austrian Post domestic taxed mail: 20 May 1914 postmarked printed matter cover on imprinted postal stationary of the Social Democratic Workers Party ('Poalei Zion'), sent from JAFFA to JERUSALEM; endorsed with red handstamp as "printed matter" but posted unfranked (likely entered that way into a letter box and postmarked later, rather than refused upon presentation at the public...

Rare - free mail postal concession of the German Holy Land post office: 3 June 1914 postmarked stampless cover sent locally within JAFFA, addressed in German to a Mr. Harari ("herrn Harari") at the English Girl's School ("Engl. Madschenschule"); backflap missing.A rare example of civilian free mail - not stampless "official mail" - offered by the German post office: this is as yet an undocumented ...

EXTRAORDINARY WWI postal link - Austria-Hungary via British Censor to Ottoman Palestine (Central Powers mail facilitated by Britain): 24 Sept 1914 postmarked uprated postal card (stamp missing) bearing message in Hebrew-written Yiddish, sent from BUDAPEST to JERUSALEM & tied by local machine cancel (with offset imprint on reverse); subsequently tied by boxed violet handstamp FORWARED BY BRITISH CE...

WWI enemy mail transited by the Allies: 2 Oct 1916 postmarked cover sent from JERUSALEM to NEW YORK, franked 1.10 Piastre per period 20g letter rate abroad using 2x 1915 1st series war overprinted stamps & tied by JERUSALEM-2 octogonal postmark; the cover may have been sent northwards by rail where subsequently tied by BEIRUT star & crescent censor handstamp. As of 5 Nov. 1914 Britain and Turkey w...

WWI German military post: 29-12-1917 large registered cover from Deutche Feldpost 663 (unit located in NAZARETH since 9 Dec) to DAMAS (Damascus), unfranked as military mail and tied by postmark Ba M-14/FPOP 281 + very rare registry-label Ba R-40-7 of unit 663 & hand-marked "einschreiben"; received by postal service of the Fuel Storage Depot of Army Group F & backstamped twice 'Brief-Stempel Stokra...

WWI Austro-Hungarian military mail in Palestine via the German military post in Syria: Jan. 1918 era stampless registered cover sent from Austrian "Liquidierender Rechnungsführer der | k. u. k. Gebirgshaubitzdivision i. d. Türkei" (Paymaster of the Austrian Mountain Howitzer Division) in Palestine to War Ministry, VIENNA; unfranked as military mail - handstamped "einschreiben" and "Portofreie Di...

WWI Austrian military post with Turkish civilian mail routing: 13(?) Feb. 1918 postmarked photo picture postcard of Absalom's Tomb in Jerusalem, published by Yaakov Bentov (Bezalel) publishers of Jerusalem, with message in Hungarian dated 6 Feb., sent by sender in the Austro-Hungarian Sanitation Service in Syria from DAMASCUS to locale in HUNGARY (unclear): originally posted stampless & tied b...