9) Besieged Jerusalem (20 April-20 June)

Last day Mandate interim JERUSALEM mail from Dead Sea Potash company: 14 May 1948 postmarked local JERUSALEM commercial cover on imprinted business postal stationary of Palestine Potash Ltd., addressed to Anglo-Palestine bank, franked 10 mils per domestic letter rate; evidentally entered into a letter box as subsequently cancelled by the rosette postmark of the sorting office; slit open at top. Th...

UNIQUE 15 May 1948 true 1st day Israel mail from JERUSALEM: 15 May 1948 postmarked cover on requisitioned official mail (OHMS) postal stationary, addressed to a lawyer in TEL AVIV & franked 10 mils per the domestic letter postage rate. As the postmark bears the "rosette" device of the city's interim sorting office, this cover was evidently deposited into a letter box and processed once that bo...

JERUSALEM siege era outbound couriered mail: 16 May 1948 1st day Israeli postal service postmarked cover addressed to lady in TEL AVIV and return addressed to lady in JERUSALEM, franked 10 mils per domestic letter rate using a still valid interim stamp (of a type unavailable in Jerusalem) & postmarked in TEL AVIV by the head post office Israeli trilingual postmark on its first day of use + tied by...

Landmark postal history - last known transport of Mandate mail OUT of besieged JERUSALEM to besieged JAFFA: 24 April 1948 postmarked miniature business-card sized cover with enclosed Arabic message of condolences on business card, from lawyer Johannes Merguerian in JERUSALEM to Magistrates Court judge Daoud Abu-Ghazaleh in JAFFO; franked 10 mils per domestic letter rate using Pictorials single & t...

SHOWSTOPPER - Latest Known Mandate Mail FROM BESIEGED JERUSALEM: [Wednesday] 5 MAY 1948 office-dated Mandate Governmental mail on Palestine Posts, Telegraphs & Telephones PT.750 postal stationary cover, sent from the P&T Accounts Branch to a business in GOTHENBURG Sweden; franked 60m using a block of 4x 5m + a block of 4x 10m pictorial stamps - uncancelled & backstamped with undocumented departmen...

Rare 1948 incoming mail to siege era Jerusalem: 2-14 May 1948 interim period undated commercial cover sent from law firm in TEL AVIV to Government department in JERUSALEM, franked 10m per period domestic letter rate using interim stamp & tied by single strike of one of the city branch post office's postmark (not of the Head Post Office which was in violet). In this period civilian access to Jerusa...

Extremely Rare REGISTERED TEL AVIV-JERUSALEM siege era convoy mail: undated May 1948 era postmarked registered commerical cover sent from lawyer in TEL AVIV to addressee in besieged JERUSALEM, franked 25m (10m letter + 15m registry fee) using interim stamps & tied by 2x strikes on front + 1x on back of the violet head post office interim postmark - as clear strikes, likely early interim period c.6...

Jerusalem siege period rarity: undated 6-14 May 1948 period interim REGISTERED cover sent from TEL AVIV to JERUSALEM, franked 30 mils for 10m letter + 15m registry fee + 5m for the 6m additional weight & tied by 2x strikes of the violet postmark of the head post office on the front + 1x on back; backflap missing, horizontal fold. Incoming mail to Jerusalem in this period is very rare - registered ...

JERUSALEM siege era newspaper wrapper, addressed to the Teachers College ("Beit Midrash"; the present-day David Yellin College for Education) in the Beit HaKerem neighborhood; franked 5 mils for the period 3m printed matter rate using a 1st local issue stamp & tied by superb undistorted strike of the interim postmark of a city branch office, likely Rehavia and as such likely on the 1st day of the ...

**EXTRAORDINARY ONLY KNOWN MAIL FROM 'BESIEGED' JERUSALEM DURING THE SIEGE SENT THROUGH THE POSTS**: undated 'first day' cover written by the sender "Eliezer Datz" at "Grasi House" on Abyssinian Street in JERUSALEM and addressed to a Moshe Levi at "Mizrachi House" on the corner of Yesod Hamaalah and Ein HaKoreh streets in TEL AVIV (Neve Shaanan neighborhood) with an additional notation at the bott...

Besieged Jerusalem scarce interim mail combination: Mandate Pictorals 10m stamp tied to local commercial cover on business stationary & struck by interim canceller - a combination only possibly between 9-14 MAY (the interim period began only on the 9th in Jerusalem, but as early as the 2nd in the secondary towns and villages); moreover the Mandate era stamps were not sold over the counter and coul...

Returned 1948 1st convoy mail from besieged JERUSALEM: scarce regular mail cover from JERUSALEM to TEL AVIV franked at the period letter rate 10m using 1st local issue Ba102 tied by local Minhelet Ha'am postmark and linear dater 9 MAY 1948 (unclear but corroborated by 1st issue's 1st date of issue as 9 May); transported by the 1st convoy which carried Jerusalem mail dated 9-12 May which accumulate...

1948 outbound JERUSALEM siege mail: commercial cover to HAIFA franked 10m per letter rate using 1st Jerusalem locals (Ba102) on 2nd day of issue, tied by local interim postmark & 10 MAY 1948 dater. Transported on the 1st convoy of 18 June (lacks backstamp as not registered letter - this rare on convoy mail); opened roughly at back but complete. Estimated value $175+...

Rare 1948 interim period NAMED mail addressed TO besieged JERUSALEM, sent from TEL AVIV likely at the head post office as per the violet interim postmarks tying 10 mils interim stamp as franking for domestic letter. Owing to the siege conditions on Jerusalem mail to the city was held up at Tel Aviv and transported with one of the two convoys that carried mail to Jerusalem on 18 and 21 June; opened...

JERUSALEM rosette postmark on mail during the Israeli postal administration: local JERUSALEM cover addressed to relative in the Rehavia neighborhood, franked 10 mils for the base domestic letter rate & entered into a letter box; subsequently processed by the city's sorting office when the box was emptied & tied by near full strike of the rosette postmark in black with 19 May 1948 dater in black in...

1948 Jerusalem siege period couriered cover: inland letter franked 10 mils per domestic letter rate using Jerusalem locals II stamp apparently withheld from being deposited at the local post office, as unpostmarked and instead given to someone who took it with them to TEL AVIV, where entered into the mail stream on 18 June 1948 where it was refranked 10m using a Doar Ivri stamp at the TEL AVIV-3 p...

1948 siege period interim era local JERUSALEM registered cover, franked with full series of 2nd local issue stamps (Ba #104-106) for a total of 40m (10m base letter + 15m registry fee + 2x 6m additional weight, 3m left over) & tied by multiple strikes of the Machane Yehuda branch post office postmark (with characteristic nip distortion on outer ring); per the registry label number 3994 the cover w...

Extremely rare Doar Ivri franked registered mail to Jerusalem during the siege period: 26 May 1948 postmarked registered cover sent from HAIFA to the Rehavia neighborhood in JERUSALEM, franked 25 mils per the postage rate (10m domestic letter + 15m registry fee) using Doar Ivri stamps, including 10x11 perforated 10m single & tied by 1x strike of HAIFA-1 (Hadar HaCarmel branch office) on front & 2x...

1948 Jerusalem Army processed civilian mail DOUBLE proving cover: 11 June 1948 postmarked cover sent from a civilian in TEL AVIV to soldier Avraham Ziskind of the "Kvutzat Portzim" unit at KIRYAT ANAVIM "near Jerusalem", franked 10 mils per domestic letter postage rate using a tabbed rouletted right marginal single stamp (Ba #3c) & tied by full strike of TEL AVIV head post office cancellation (on ...

Unusual couriered [official] mail into JERUSALEM: 17 June 1948 postmarked printed matter cover addressed to a kindergarten in JERUSALEM and imprint return addressed to the Education Department of the National Jewish Council ("Vaad Leumi") in TEL AVIV - and franked with a 1st issue Jerusalem local 5 mils stamp (rarely seen used in this late period) & posted from the Mea Shearim branch post office (...

RARE '1st day' first mail to Jerusalem after siege + docketed arrival: 18 June 1948 postmarked registered cover sent from HAIFA to optician in JERUSALEM, franked 25 mils per period postage rate (10m domestic letter + 15m registry fee) & tied by 2x strikes of HAIFA-2 postmark on front + 1x on back; cut open at left.Mail addressed to Jerusalem in the siege period of late April - mid-June is quite ra...

1948 JERUSALEM siege era couriered mail: cover return-addressed to a female in JERUSALEM & addressed to female in TEL AVIV, prepared in Jerusalem & franked 10 mils for the inland letter postage rate using a local interim 2nd series stamp (Ba #105); not posted in Jerusalem but rather couriered to TEL AVIV where posted locally at the head post office on 23 June 1948 & tied by trilingual postmark (pe...