1948-1949 Foreign Postal Links

Very early (incoming) postal censorship: 20 AUG 1948 airmail cover from NEW YORK (United States/America) to HAIFA "Palestine", franked 25c per period overseas letter rate; [torn] opened at back & sealed with Haifa censor's cream & blue Israeli "Army Censor" label 1005 and tied by "Chet-25" (Haifa) censor cachet (unusual design - fonts/spacing, different from the period types usually seen) + backst...

Rare Late Fee & FDC combination: 26 Sept 1948 postmarked surface mailed printed matter cover sent from BAT YAM to TEUFEN Switzerland, franked 8 mils for 5m base surface mailed printed matter + 2m Late Fee, using 5m & 3m New Years/Flying Scroll stamps (Ba #10-11) on their first day of use; unsealed per printed matter regulations.A rare combination of rates & franking possible for only 5 days as the...

Late Fee with Full tabbed 65 mils News Years/Flying Scroll stamp affixed to 11 Oct 1948 postmarked airmail cover sent from TEL AVIV to BERN Switzerland, serving as franking for the FA-1 period 40m postage rate + 5m late fee (per the DO-2 period postage rate, newly raised from 2m as of 1 Oct.), with 20m overpaid & tied by single strike of Daled shift (late shift) index lettered TEL AVIV-29 post...

1948 "Flying Scroll" stamp airmail to US: 22-10-1948 cover from JERUSALEM to NEW YORK CITY franked 65m at the FA-1 period airmail rate to US (10 days before start of new rate period) using 1948 New Years with long tabbed 65m Ba14, tied by JERUSALEM-2 (sorting office) postmark; arrived arround 1 NOV and marked "unknown" / "not at address given" and returned to Bowling Green Station (backstamped), b...

Triple weight airmail in FA-2 period: 18 Nov 1948 postmarked commercial air mail cover sent from TEL AVIV to NEW YORK, franked 210m for 3x weight at the period 70m letter rate, using 4x 50m + 1x 10m Doar Ivri stamps, tied by 3x strikes of the TEL AVIV-28 postmark; slit open at top. The FA-2 period postage rates came into effect on 1 Nov....

Early Israeli postal links: 7 DEC [unclear] airmail cover from TRIPOLITANIA to TEL AVIV, franked 30L using 3x BMA Tripolitania 10 MAL overprinted 5d stamps (Sa-7) & tied by 2 strikes of local date-bridge postmark, cover marked "A.V.2" (M-type-14) using local instructional marking handstamp - used on 'top of pile' cover of small batch of airmail, grouped together with other batches intended for...

Early 1948 era [air] mail to Beersheva - rare combination: 4 Dec 1948 postmarked registered airmail cover sent from tiny locale TITISEE Germany (return addressed tiny locale ELTERS in American occupation zone) to a Michael Turk in Beersheva "Palestine", likely franked 1.20 DM for the period postage rate (30pf letter + 50pf non-Europe airmail + 40pf registry fee) - but some stamps fell off already ...

Early Israeli telegrams: 16 Dec 1948 transmitted telegram sent from ISTANBUL Turkey to TEL AVIV, with ticker-tape pasted to telegram form; tied 17 Dec receipt using Mandate era Cable & Wireless handstamp & stamped by the Tav 10 military censor in Tel Aviv...

Unusual TEL AVIV-26 Israeli trilingual postmarks dated 11 Jan 1949 tied to 4x Chaim Weizmann JNF Jewish National Fund labels affixed to imprinted business postal stationary cover addressed to NEW YORK; unsealed at back. Possibly philatelic....

RARE - 1949 wartime mail to Israel directly from an Arab country: 17 (Jan-Feb) 1949 postmarked commercial cover sent from AMMAN Jordan to the Shell Oil Company in HAIFA "Palestine", likely franked for air mail service though at least one stamp is missing, the remainder totalling 40 mils & tied by 2 weak strikes of the local postmark - part of the date is visible. At this time Transjordan was i...

1949 "Flying Scroll" stamp mixed franking airmail to US: 31-01-1949 cover from JERUSALEM to BEVERLY HILLS franked 70 Pr at the FA-2 period airmail rate to US using 65pr 1948 New Years Ba14 with bottom gutter + tabbed 5m Doar Ivri Ba2 tied by special Cyprus detainees slogan cachet & single strike of local Head Post Office postmark (with inverted Hebrew date). Slit open at top; small piece of upper ...

1948 "Flying Scroll" mixed tabbed franking airmail to US: 7-02-1949 cover from JERUSALEM to NEW YORK, franked 70pr at the FA-2 period airmail rate to US using long tabbed 65m Ba14 + tabbed 5m Doar Ivri Ba2, tied by 2 strikes of JERUSALEM-2 (sorting office) postmark; manuscript notation "Contents in German"; slit open at top, flap tear resealed, vertical fold. Estimated value $450+...

1949 Diplomatic Pouch mail using Doar Ivri: undated surface-mailed US Foreign Service airmail stationary cover from TEL AVIV to NEW YORK CITY, franked 20Pr using Doar Ivri single (with mismatching horizontal perforations); dispatched uncancelled and transported in diplomatic pouch; upon arrival, tied by FEB 15 1949 WASHINGTON (DC) transit postmark + numbered obliterator & 2-lined cachet in red (th...

Rare postal service & route - Locked Bag mail: 2 March 1949 postmarked commercial air mail cover on imprinted business postal stationary, sent from tobacco company in RICHMOND USA to the Maspero Brothers cigarette company in TEL AVIV, addressed specifically to their "Locked Bag Service" at the General Post Office, meter franked 25c per period postage rate & backstamped 6 March SAINT JOHN'S Newfoun...

1948 "Flying Scroll" stamp multiple tabbed franking airmail to US: 3-04-1949 commercial cover from JERUSALEM to NYC franked 70 Pr at the FA-2 period airmail rate to US using short tabbed 65pr & long tabbed 5pr Ba11/14, with 2 strikes of JERUSALEM-11 (Mea Shearim) postmark (none on 5pr frank). Back flap missing but does not detract from cover. Estimated value $650+....

Late Fee on surface mail: 21 Apr 1949 postmarked surface mail cover sent from HAIFA to NORTH OLMSTED USA, franked 32pr for the SU-2 postage period 30pr base surface letter rate - but as the sender used 9x 3pr + 1x 5pr Doar Ivri stamps, in light of the head post office postmarks bearing the Daled ("D") late shift index letter, the sender probably intended to pay 35pr for the 30pr base letter rate +...

Double printed matter weight surface mail postage of 15 mils (10m base rate + 5m additional weight) applied to June 1949 postmarked large illustrated printed matter cover sent from the Zionist Executive in JERUSALEM to THE HAGUE Netherland; unsealed per printed matter regulations. The illustrated woodcut picture is the work of Yossi Stern (1923-1992) depicting Zion square in central Jerusalem....

1949 6x heavy weight airmail: 19 June 1949 postmarked medium sized registered cover on imprinted postal stationary of the Mandate postal service, sent from the Philatelic Service in TEL AVIV to addressee in ZURICH Switzerland & franked 235 prutot per FA-2 period postage rate - 25pr registry fee + 35pr base airmail letter + 5x 35pr additional weight, paid using vertical strip of 3x 65pr Flying Scro...

Rare bilingual Hebrew-English RADIO TELEGRAPH ISRAEL departmental oval handstamp tied to 11 Aug 1949 incoming teleprinted telegram from WASHINGTON to TEL AVIV; tied by large military censor mark of Tav 33 + office dated initialled censor approval....

Rare postage rate - 1st rate period printed matter air mail: 6 Sept 1949 postmarked mini-sized printed matter airmail cover sent from HAIFA to LOCHEM Netherlands & franked 25m, tied by 2x strikes of the head post office postmark; unsealed at back per printed matter regulations. This is a very rare instance of printed matter air mail whose existence is not documented in the specialist literature (e...

Registered sea mail to USA - transmitted as airmail: 28 Oct 1949 postmarked registered commercial surface mail cover on imprinted business postal stationary, sent from TEL AVIV to MADISON, franked 55pr for the SU-2 postage period 30pr base surface mail letter rate + 25pr registry fee, using 5x 10pr Doar Ivri + 5pr IDF Insignia stamps & tied by 3x strikes of the TEL AVIV-39 postmark on front + ...

Zalman Shazar / Discounted printed matter postage rate: 21 DEC 1949 stampless pre-paid printed matter wrapper for the "Das Neue Israel" publication, sent from ZURICH to Minister Zalman Shazar at the KIRYA government complex in TEL AVIV & stamped in German "Discounted Printed Matter" (Verbilligte Drucksache); torn open at bottom, complete. Shazar served as Israel's 3rd president from 1963 to 1973; ...

1948-49 War era postal boycott air mail to Israel via Iran - discovery piece: 9 JULY 1949 airmail commercial cover on business stationary from COPENHAGEN Denmark to HAIFA "Israel", franked 1.40Kr per period postage rate plus extra weight (per pencil notation on front extra 50 ore for 8g additional weight - hence 'orphaned' stamp below the rest tied by handstamp postmark) & tied by local machine ca...