Today in Postal History

Lebanon to Egypt
March 12, 1925

This attractive registered, special delivery, advertising cover was sent from Beirut to Cairo.
There are three Beyrouth CDS on the front.
There is a transit mark on the reverse lower right dated March 14.
Unfortunately, I cannot decipher the mark although I think I can see HAJD.
There are also two Cairo marks on the reverse, on of them indicating arrival on March 21.
There is a very sharp rectangular registry mark on the
front along with a boxed EXPRES (special delivery) stamp.

While the stamps would lead one to believe that this
was an airmail cover, I cannot find anything which confirms that.
There was an air post operating Beirut-Latakia-Bagdad from
January 21, 1924, and a route operating from Bagdad to Cairo from August 1923.*
This is most likely the carrier of this cover.

The cover is franked with a complete set of four values
(2, 3, 5, and 10p) of the 1925 airmail overprints (Scott C9-C12).

The advertising is a delight with an open touring car racing
across the desert and a Bleriot-style monoplane.
In the center there is a ship.  Both vehicles are marked POSTE.

Below the touring car is the legend "PAR EXPRES D'BAGDAD."
Below the airplane is the legend "PAR AVION D'EGYPTE."
There is a little Sphinx to the right.

*Thanks to Jim Whitford-Stark for his additions
concerning the airmail route from Beirut to Cairo.

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