Lawyer's mail from Vienna to the French Atlantic coast

Remarkable frankings are often on covers of heigher weight or with special treatment (here: “recomanded” – “registered”). Lawyer’s mail is usually important for longer period, so it is kept much more often than bills or daily newspapers.

The content of this letter must have been valuable – there are five wax seals on the back, that heat marks are responsible for stains on the front. However, these wax seals are also responsible for the application of the registration fees on the address side – contrary to postal regulations, as Dr Ferchenbauer notes in his certificate.

Usually on Austrian registered cover, the registration fee is affixed to the backside of the cover, on folded letters in a matter, that the stamp must be destroyed when opening the cover. The stamps for the registration fee ensures that nobody can read the contents unnoted. In this case, the wax seals fulfil this purpose – so the meaning – not the wording – of the regulation was satisfied.

In 1871, we are in a turbulent period – the Prussian-German siege of Paris ended in January and the German Empire had been founded in Versailles. When this cover travelled from Vienna across the German-Austrian Postal Union (DÖPV) to Paris and onwards to Bordeaux in less than three days, the signing of the peace agreement in Frankfurt was only 14 days ago. Therefore, the missing French border-crossing postmark is not surprising – Strasbourg, the former exchange post office with Baden, which is his shortest route through the DÖPV from Austria, was now German and certainly no longer applies French entry postmarks. The P.D. on the front, the “Charge” with the corresponding registration number and the railway postmark “PARIS A BORDEAUX” on the reverse clearly show that this cover was handled by the French Post Offices and certainly reached its destination – otherwise we would find completely different markings.

In any case, thanks to the lax interpretation of the regulations by the postal clerk in Vienna, we have an attractive piece displaying the complete franking on one side, which allows an exhibitor to omit the reverse from the exhibit – everything essential can be seen on the front.

The not common 50 kr stamp, legibly tied, complete this cover, which is offered as lot 4094 in our October auction.