Today in Postal History
This registered cover was sent from Niue,
a dependency of New Zealand since 1902.
The capital of Alofi is 19° 1' south and 169° 55' west.
It qualifies as a south seas island.
The website states: "The population of the island
continues to drop
(from a peak of 5,200 in 1966 to about 2,100 in 2002),
with substantial emigration to New Zealand, 2,400 km to the southwest."
There are three simple CDS with only Niue but no town name.
In addition, there is a registry label with a stamped serial number.
Blue crosses were crayoned on both sides.
The cover arrived in Cristobal, Canal Zone, on October 30.
The ship it was on made a passage through the Panama Canal.
Cristobal on the Atlantic side was the transfer point for Central
American mail.
The destination was San Jose, the capital
of Costa Rica.
It is near the center of the nation at 9° 56' north and 84° 5'
west.
The cover's arrival in San Jose was marked by a double
rimmed
CDS.
I'm not sure but I believe the CDS is marked R.R. Exterior indicating
arrival by rail.
The addressee was the Consul General of Colombia.
Three of the stamps are pictorials, including a 1920
½d black and green Landing of Captain Cook (SG 38),
a 1925 1d black and deep carmine Wharf at Avarua (SG 45?),
and a 1920 1½d black and red Captain Cook (SG 40).
There are also two 1920 2½d blue New Zealand Admirals
overprinted NIUE in
red (SG 28).
The sender used an official On His
Majesty's Service envelope which
suggests that this was philatelic mail used to send an order for stamps.
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