Petite Treasures – Mai 2026

1906, DERA 20/6/06 bilingual c.d.s. on postcard to France bearing 1905 issue 20 para on front, clear cancelled, on reverse Malain 1/7/06 arrival mark. Fine and scarce (Coles & Walker no.50)

1916, DJISRICHOUOUR 6.10.16 cds. (AP no.3, Coles-W. no.78 / Jisr-esh-Shugur) two times clear on envelope bearing 1 pia. blue and 10 pa. green war orphans issue to BEIT UL LAHM Palestine (Coles-W. no.115) with arrival mark 15.11.16 on front, crescent and star censor of Jerusalem on front and on reverse transit marks of Alep, Damas and Jerusalem, tiny vertical crease, otherwise fine. In AP catalogue this cancellation is unrecorded on cover. An important rarity of Syria and Ottoman Empire postal history.

SANAA: 1892 (ca.), cover franked with pair 20 pa. violet of 1892, coat of arms issue and tied by SANAA (A&P type 2, R) datestamp to cover to Constantinople with arrival mark on reverse, tiny shortened on top and two pinholes, otherwise fine and very attractive. Certificate Holcombe (1991).

1894, "HODEIDA" clear blue all arabic on cover back only. Coat of Arms 2 piaster 1892 issue used bisect diagonally and blue "HUDEIDA 7 MART 310" c.d.s. alongside, black arrival mark Istanbul five weeks later "MAKRIKEUY 13 NISAN 310" cds., european date "93" adjustment wrong as often, arabic date 1894 is correct, very scarce and attractive Turkey forerunner!

1911, "HODEIDA 5" c.d.s. clear blue (Isfila no.13, scarce colour) on commercial cover with imprint bearing 1 Pia. blue block of four, transit mark PORT TAUFIQ and arrival mark BEYROUTH alongside, shortened at left, extremely rare and attractive 4 Piaster rate for a heavy letter from Yemen to Lebanon!

1913, "HODEIDA 1 - 25.11.909" (Coles-Walker type 69, no.1 unrecorded, isf.no.8) on commercial cover Max Klein (Aden) bearing two 20 pa. 1908 issue, on reverse transit mark SUEZ 5.12.09 and arrival mark Cairo 5.12.09, vertical fold, otherwise fine and attractive, very clear cancellations.

1915, official registered cover from Ministry of Health in Istanbul to the Camaran Island hospital showing bilingual "Hodeida 6" ds. and "SALIF (YEMEN) 27.9.915" cancellation (Coles-Walker no.71, 76) with annotation of the Salif postmaster "Camaran Island sea way closed due to the War time situation return to sender" a remarkable postal history item demonstrating the disruption of the First World War in Yemen, tiny border crease and tear on top, otherwise fine.

1856, Folded envelope from Manchester DE/20 1856, ms. ‘Via Marseille’ on top left, with several transit marks including, Piccadilly, french ‘Angl. Amb. Calais’, forwarding agent ‘G. Belfante Alexandrette’ adressed to Aleppo, tiny file fold and border crease, otherwise fine and scarce forwarding agent 

1948,  POW AIR MAIL: 2 p. and 2½ p. tied to air mail cover by BANGHAZI 9/8/1948, addressed to US Zone Germany, sent by a German P.O.W. from Benghazi Cirenaica, fine and scarce

1861, folded envelope with full content from Calcutta, cancelled boxed "India Unpaid" in black, double rate tax mark “18”, on top left “VIA SUEZ & FRANCE” in blue and “POSS.ANG.V.SUEZ MARSEILLE 12 NOV 61” cds. in red, sender cachet 'Camin & Lamouroux Calcutta" in blue, addressed to famous architect P. Nandin in Nantes, on reverse red “G.P.O. EX CALCUTTA OC.” cds. Paris transit and Nantes arrival marks, usual file fold, otherwise fine.

1851, Lettersheet from Buenos Aires dated 30.Juil bearing boxed red straight line "Pays d"outre mer" and tax mark “10”, via Anvers and Belg. Valenciennes to Marseille with arrival mark of Oct.8 on reverse, tiny file fold otherwise fine.

1906, ½ Cc. red postal stationery wrapper used uprated with 2 c. slate blue to Stockholm / Sweden and redirected to St. Petersburg Russia with several "T" for taxe marks, russian label affixed and blue boxed arrival mark, usual crease and flaws, otherwise fine and a very scarce destination.

1861, folded envelope from “Rio de Janeiro 7.8.61” cds. on reverse, blue “TRANSATLANTICO 25/8” ds. alongside, arrival mark “PORTO 31.8.1861”, on front ‘150’ for tax, usual file fold, otherwise fine

1903, HAVANA CUBA JAN/22/1903 c.d.s. on postcard bearing France 10 c. red, tiny toned, otherwise fine, a very scarce and unusual usage

1924/25, two commercial envelopes from same corrospondance to St.Gall Switzerland, each with postage due 20 c. and 50 c., clear cancelled, some crease, otherwise fine and attractive.

1909, "LA PHOCEENNE SOCIETE ANONYME D€ARMEMENTS ET NAVIGATION A VAPEUR AGENCE CHIO" violet oval cancellation on stampless cover from Alexandrie / Egypt with maritime content, to Chio Greece, corner repaired, otherwise fine and attractive, scarce early ship document of Levant area

1898, 5 c. greyish black, horizontal pair with cds. “PORT-AU PRINCE 28.MARS.98” on cover with dutch “KONINKLIJKE WEST-INDISCHE MAILDIENST OTTO BIEBER & Co. PORT AU PRINCE AGENTS.” in blue alongside, on reverse Miesbach Germany arrival mark 15.4.98, tiny crease, otherwise fine, scarce and attractive

1904, Haiti 20 c. orange uncancelled on cover, on top blue oneliner ‘Prins der Nederlanden’, ‘via New York’ and ‘PAQUEBOT (N.Y.2D Div.)’, on reverse NY transit and Lausanne arrival mark, some border crease, otherwise fine and unusual

“BASRA” (Coles & Walker no.43, RRR*) cancellation on 1876 cover with 20 Para green / violet to Kermanchah / Irak with arrival mark on reverse, shortened on top and corner flaw, this cancellation is unknown on cover at Isfila, great rarity of Turkey & Iraq postal history 

“KIAZIMIE 23/9/07” c.d.s. (Coles-Walker no.31) on 1908 cover with 1 Pia. blue to Teheran with arrival mark, fine and very clear Iraq forerunner

“KERYE BACHI (BAGDAD)” Turkish cancellation (Isf. no.2) on telegram form.  A scarce ottoman forerunner, very clear cancelled

1913, "MOUSSOUL 1" (Coles-Walker no.70, 20 pts.) on reverse of parcel card from Hungary cancelled "SOPRON 916 JUL 3", via Zimony, to the Bank Imperial Ottoman Mosoul, for parcel fee at arrival Turkey 10 pia. blueishgreen block of four affixed on reverse and clear cancelled, minor corner faults and flaw at border, otherwise fine, a scarce destination and very high parcel fee.

1880 ca., NEDJEF ECHREF: “Necef” all Arabic octagonal negative seal (Isfila no.3, RR), extremely fine strike on 1 pia. on reverse of small envelope with adjacent bilingual Nedjef date stamp to Teheran with arrival marks; some crease and tiny flaw, otherwise fine and scarce.

1918, Ahmad Shah 2 ch. red postal stationery card cancelled “RECHT (DEPART) 28 III 18” cds., addressed to Makina Mesopotamia, but redirected from Bagdad to India with transit marks Base Office M.E.F. 21 SEPT 18, Bombay Base Postal Depot 22 Oct 18, AGRAM-BANGALORE 27 OCT 18, endorsed in red “Returned to England on leave Base Postal Depot Bombay”, full message on reverse, pre-dates the Dunsterforce sent to Baku, tiny flaw, crease and spots, otherwise fine and a scarce destination (Persiphila PC32) 

"JAFFA-JEROUSALEM" railway ds. on postcard bearing 5 Para ochre, flaw on top right, to Constantinople, very scarce 5 Para imprimes maritime rate, two tiny corner crease, otherwise fine and very attractive