This picture postcard went into the mail in
Casablanca on the
northwest coast of Africa about 350 km southwest of the Strait of
Gibralter.
The colorful and exotic illustration must have sold many cards.
The cover is franked with a 1917 5c yellow green
Mosque of the Andalusians at Fez (Scott 58).
The card received a Casablanca CDS on both sides.
The destination was Gjentofte
(a suburb on the northwest side of Copenhagen
and the site of the Boy Scouts' 2nd World Jamboree in 1924)
where the recipient
appears to have marked a March 8 arrival.
Can someone locate this destination for us?
The card is marked Imprimé to qualify as printed matter.
From November, 1899, when a post card contained
only a date and a signature, other than the address,
and Imprimé was substituted
for post card, it was charged 5c instead of 10c.
This rate lasted until the charge was increased to 10c on 14 July 1922.
Similarly, from January 1901, a post card containing no more than 5
words of text,
with Imprimé substituted for
post card, was also charged the lesser rate.
This rate was increased from 5c to 10c on 1 January 1917. *
Apparently, the CBlanca origination was considered part of the date and
this card escaped the second criterion and thus avoided the 10c rate of
1917.
I believe that the large circle A is a handling mark from Denmark.
*Thanks to Paul Barsdell for this explanation of the Imprimé
rate.
Index
Today in Postal History
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Pastnotes
Index - The First 300 and the Next 208
provides more tidbits about stamps and collectors.
Comments? Send me an e-mail
Please include a reference to this item.