Australia: Christmas 1965 Aerogramme Variety

This is Australia A-24A Christmas 1965 aerogramme, the "N" instead of"M" in "Christmas" variety. 



Reference:
Stein, The aerogrammes of Australia and its dependencies 1944-1980

India: Air Letter with Enclosure Diverted to Surface Mail

Air letter India #AL3 sent from Benares ( 17 FEB 49) to Bethlehem, US. 

Interestingly, the four ½ AS stamps on the back panel that were required to pay the 8 AS air letter rate to the US in 1949 were cancelled with a taxation "T" handstamp. Probably, these were only detected, when the air letter was sorted out for taxation.

Later at Delhi, it was detected that the aerogramme contained an enclosure. The postal clerk then encircled the admonition on the front panel and diverted the air letter to surface mail. A boxed 3-line handstamp was applied "BY / SURFACE ROUTE / DELHI AIR".


Reference:
Lang/Saunders, A guide to the postal stationery of India., vol. 4: Aerogrammes & Inland Letter Cards, 1984

India: 1945 Christmas Greetings Air letter

This is the quite scarce air letter India AL2a, according to the Lang & Saunders catalogue, with a colorful imprint with Christmas greetings and wishes for a Victorious New Year 1946 on the writing panel.

Before the decisions of the 1952 Brussels UPU congress came into effect on July 1, 1953, air letters were accepted in international mail only if a bilateral agreement of the involved postal authorities with respect to air letters was in place.

This air letter was sent from ALLEPEY (16 DEC 45) to Silkborg, Denmark. As no bilateral agreement was in place at that time, the air letter got the 3-line handstamp " AIR MAIL LETTER CARD SERVICE / NOT AVAILABLE FORWARDED / BY SURFACE ROUTE" and was diverted to surface mail.

Air letter services between India and Denmark started on September 1, 1950.


Reference:
Lang, D. & Sauners, R. (1984), A guide to the postal stationery of India. Vol 4: Aerogrammes & Inland Letter Cards

Czechoslovakia: 1967 Aero Bratislava Aerogramm

This is Czechoslovakia #7b. The early aerogrammes of Czechoslovakia show some variants according to the width of the first line of the admonition "Vložite-li  do aerogramu ..." on the back panel.

This is type III with a width of 100.5 mm, with the "AERO_BRATISLAVA 67" imprint in brownish red.

Kenya Uganda Tanganyika: No Air Letter Service to Switzerland in 1946

Air letter form sent from KAMPALA (17 JAN 46) to Geneva, Switzerland (30. 1. 46).

The acceptance of air letters in international mail was subject to bilateral agreements between postal authorities, before aerogrammes were established as a standard UPU mail item category on July 1, 1953.

At the time of posting, air letter service between KUT and Switzerland was not yet established. „T“ handstamp applied in the country of origin. The air letter was treated as a short paid ordinary air mail letter, for which the applicable rate was 1 s 30 cent. Hence, the air letter was short paid 80 cent.

The Swiss postal authorities calculated the postage due as follows:

Swiss international letter rate / Foreign country international letter rate x deficiency x 2

The Swiss foreign letter rate was 30 Rappen, the KUT foreign letter rate was 30 cent, which gives a postage due of 160 Rappen. The payment of the postage due is documented by four postage due stamps with a total value of 160 Rappen.


Reference: Wilms (2004), Schweizer Nachporto ab 1910.

Burma: Short-paid Aerogramme

Burma #1 sent to New York, US, on 30 DEC 53. At the time of posting the aerogramme rate to the US was 12 AS, so the uprated aerogramme still was 2 AS short-paid. Taxed 16 UPU centimes in the circular "T" handstamp.

The standard rate fixed at the 1952 Brussels UPU congress was UPU letter rate = 20 UPU centimes, but the regulations allowed for deviations in a given range. The Indian postal authorities set the exchange rate to 1 AS = 4 UPU centimes (instead of 1 AS = 5 UPU centimes).

In the US the conversion rate was 3 UPU centimes = 1 cent, i.e. a postage due of 5 cent after rounding down, as is documented by the endorsement to the single line postage due handstamp. A 5 cent postage due stamp shows that the addressee has made the required payment.

Malaysia: Postage Due Aerogramme

Malaysian aerogramme (Wiegand #14, imprinted "Security Printers Malaysia" on bottom) sent from Sungai Petani (5 MEI 1982) to London, UK. At the time of posting, the aerogramme rate was 40 cent. Hence, the aerogramme was short paid by 10 cent.

The Malaysian postal clerk applied a triangular "T" handstamp and endorsed the tax fraction "20 / 40" in red. Double the deficiency in the numerator, however, was the rule of taxation established at the 1964 Vienna UPU congress, which had already been abolished by the decisions of the 1974 Lausanne UPU Congress. The new regulations, which came into effect on January 1, 1976, stipulated that single deficiency has to be noted as the tax fraction's numerator.

In the UK, a green boxed "To pay" handstamp was applied and a postage due of "29 p" was endorsed. The UPU letter rate of the UK was 19 ½ p. So, the postage due was 20 / 40 x 19 ½ p = 9.75 p, which was rounded down to 9 p, plus a fixed surcharging fee of 20 p for a total of 29 p.

The payment of this amount is documented by four postage due stamps with a total face value of 29 p.

Reference:
Wiegand, Katalog der Aerogramme von Asien, 2000.

 

Belgium: Announcement of 1958 Aerogramme Issue

Postcard of the Belgian postal services announcing a new aerogramme issue (November 7, 1958). The text also informs about aerogramme rates:

• 4 F aerogramme rate to Belgian Congo
• 5 F to European countries
• 6.50 F to any other country