Today in Postal History
This picture postcard was sent from Cabinda on the Atlantic Coast of
the
Portuguese Congo.
Cabinda in the Cabinda
district is just north of the mouth of the river Congo.
It is a detached portion of present-day Angola however there is ongoing
unrest in the area (Pravda version).
It is about 400 km southwest of Leopoldville now Kinshasha.
Cabinda has been a center of unrest for years.
A google search for cabinda comes up with lots of interesting sites.
The postcard is franked with four 1898 5 reis orange King
Carlos definitives (Scott 14).
It was struck with three characteristically Portuguese
octagonal Cabinda date stamps.
The sender requested routing via Lisbon.
The destination was Anvers (Antwerp), Belgium where it
arrived in July.
The date in the Anvers receiver is illegible.
There is a second CDS transit mark dated July 26 which may
be from Lisbon.
Can anyone identify it?
There is also a '22' in a circle.
This is believed to be a Belgian carrier's stamp.
Can someone confirm this?
There is also a 6 over 6 notation which probably
indicated the bundling of the mail for Lisbon from Cabinda.
The writer dated his message on June 26 so he took three days to get the card in the mail.
The illustration presumably shows a significant street (Mossamedes) in Cabinda.
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.