A letter at Christmas time

The letter cover is really thin and grey, an old fashion ink pen was used and it looks like the sender maybe was a little bit uncomfortable using a pen. Hardly any capital letters were used. The sender was Mr. Emil Göransson living in the small hamlet of Fagerhult, about 10 km north of the Post Office Göteryd.

The letter was handled by the Göteryd Post Office on Thursday 6 December 1945. The postal fee was 95 öre and indicates that the weight was under 5 g.

International letter  air mail, fee: 0.30 kr  + 0.65 kr = 0.95 kr, max 5 g.
1941, 26 April. Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 18,600,000
1940, 8 April. 40 öre olive-green Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 84,100,000
Commemorative stamp:                                                                            
1945, 29 May. 5 öre green Tercentary of Swedish Press. Qty: 80,600,000

The clerk at the Post Office had good use of the Gustaf V, right profile, series in this case, but a commemorative stamp sneaked in at the right corner. They could have used the 5 öre green Gustaf V. Note that the commemorative stamp is also coloured in the correct UPU-colour - green for international printed matter. Göteryd Post Office closed its door for good in spring 1967.

The letter went by air to Mrs. Antosa U. Johnson living in Minneapolis, MN, in U.S.A.

The letter went from this Post Office to America. (Photo: Google Maps).

. . .  and ended up here in the household of Mrs. Johnson in Minneapolis. (Photo: Google Maps).

Where is the place:
Göteryd is situated 394 km SW of Stockholm, the distance by road is 472 km.

Stamps in the back

The last post showed a domestic address parcel card where both sides of the card had to be used for stamps. This post's parcel card uses the back side of the card for the required stamps. There is more space there . . .

The amount 4 kr 80 öre is written where the stamps should be and the note in blue ink to the left says "stamps - turn", in other words: for stamps please look at the back of the card. 4.80 was in February 1971 the rate for domestic parcels weighing more than 1 kg, but less than 3 kg. The weight of this parcel was 2 kg.

Domestic Parcel Card, - 3 k g fee: 4 kr 80 öre.
1968, 21 February. 1 kr green-black Dancing Tranes. Qty: 140,000,000
1968, 21 February. 50 öre green Gustaf VI Adolf type III. Qty: 65,200,000
1969, 17 November. 30 öre multi-coloured 300th Anniversary of the Swedish Lighthouse Service*. Qty: 14,200,000
                                                                            *a commorative stamp

The parcel was handed over to the Post office in Österjörn on Wednesday 17 February 1971 by Mrs. Stenlund. It contained 2 kg of pillows, must have been pretty small pillows and heavy ones too. The Post Office clerk brought out four  1 kr Dancing Tranes, one 50 öre Gustaf VI Adolf type III and in addition, a commemorative stamp, the 30 öre 300th Anniversary of the Swedish Lighthouse Service. That last stamp should have been sold out by then, normally commemorative stamps were for sale six to eight months or so, not for well over a year like in Österjörn.

The pillows went from Österjörn to Gilleby, and arrived the following Tuesday. That is a pretty long time, six days. The receiver Mrs. Olsson picked it up the same day. Both Österjörn and Gilleby are rural places indeed. The village Österjörn is situated in the inland of the province of Västerbotten in the north and Gilleby village is on the island of Orust at the Atlantic coast of Sweden. The Gilleby Post Office was closed 31 March 1973 and the Post Office of Österjörn lasted three more years.


Some domestic parcel rates effective 1 January to 30 September 1971: (öre)

- 1 kg	1 - 3 kg	3 - 5 kg	5 - 7kg	7 - 9 kg
380	[480]	580	900	1300

Where are the places:
Österjörn is situated 644 km N of Stockholm, the distance by road is 826  km.
Gilleby is situated 398 km SW of Stockholm.
The distance between Österjörn and Gilleby is 1,175 km by road.

Philatelistic cancellation of new New Numeral Types

Colour varieties

The postal rate for international letter first weight class (- 20 g) was 50 öre in 1964. This letter uses six stamps to add up to that sum. One of them is a commemorative stamp, the 25 öre green World Ice-hockey Championship from February 1963. The others belong to the definitive low denomination series New Numeral Type. The 5 öre red and the 10 öre brown New Numeral Type, type II. The letter was sent on Thursday 13 August 1964. The New Numeral Type II showed up for the first time in June 1957 but the stamps on this letter cover are pretty much brand new at the time.

International letter - 20 g fee: 50 öre
1964, 25 June. 5 öre red New Numeral Type type II. 3-sided perforation. Qty: 11,000,000 (pairs)*.
1964, 25 June. 10 öre brown New Numeral Type type II. 3-sided perforation. Qty: 2,260,000 (pairs).
1963, 13 February. 25 öre green World Ice-hockey Championship**. 3-sided perforation. Qty: 6.000.000.

* 161st booklet
** commorative stamp

The 5 öre pair can be find in the 161st booklet or in the 15th or 16th slot machine booklets. The latter booklets were not issued until 1966 so this pair must have come from the 161st booklet that contained 20 stamps and was issued on 25 June 1964.

When I think of 10 öre New Numeral Types I see blue colours. Indeed that was usually the colour for 10 öre, but both 10 and 15 öre were issued in a brown colour as well. That is a little odd. The problem was that in 1964 it was still not possible to print different coloured stamp for the same booklet. (That capability came in 1966 when they bought a new press.) There was however a need for a slot machine booklet with the 10, 15 and 25 öre denominations aimed for the postal rate of postcards, which was 25 öre in 1964. The awkward solution was to give up the colouring of the New Numeral Type stamps and print the new booklet in brown, the same colour used for the 25 öre Gustaf VI Adolf, type III. The result was the 13th slot machine booklet by the Swedish Post.

In the 50s and the 60s these kind of booklets came in different varieties combining the se-tenant stamps. The way the stamps were glued on the cover and the way they were cut resulted in four different combination of the 13th booklet. The margin could be at the Top or at the Bottom of the stamps, the stamps could also be placed in the way that the highest denomination was at the Right or at the Left, hence defining the four combinations: Top Right, Bottom Right, Top Left or Bottom Left. That results in the following setup:

Top Left			Bottom Left			Top Right			Bottom Right
<margin>	<margin>		25 öre	15 öre		<margin>	<margin>		15 öre	25 öre
10 öre	10 öre		25 öre	15 öre		10 öre	10 öre		15 öre	25 öre
25 öre	15 öre		10 öre	10 öre		15 öre	25 öre		10 öre	10 öre
25 öre	15 öre		<margin>	<margin>		15 öre	25 öre		<margin>	<margin>

I have previously posted a post that covers this well, you can find it here.

The 10 öre brown pair on the letter cover must come from the Bottom Left or Bottom Right since you can still see the margin.


The letter was sent to West Germany, but not to some average Herr Müller, it was sent to Baron Georg von Blomberg. Baron Blomberg lived at the time in Frankfurt am Main in a pretty modest apartment (according to Google Street view). That had not always been the case the von Blombergs used to live in the castle Buchelsdorf in Silesia. They lost everything in 1945 when that part of Germany became Poland. The Baron did pretty well as a business man in West Germany and he was also a philatelist. The letter was sent by Mr Egon Bernhard Wehner living in the small town of Västervik. Mr. Wehner used to operate a pottery business there. He was also originally from Germany and most likely a stamp collector as well.


Where is it?
Västervik is situated 194 km SW of Stockholm, the distance by road is 282 km.

Urgent needs and fragile

Overflow of stamps

By some reason Lingbo Manufacturing Incorporated (Lingbo Verkstäder AB) at the absolute beginning of the new year 1968 needed some thermometer glass and quickly.  The weight was under 1 kg, but of course it was fragile. Labels with the text Colis Fragile, Exprès and Urgent in French were attached.

Domestic Parcel - 1 kg fee: 2,80 kr  + express fee 100 % +  fragile fee; all sums up to 8.40 kr
1967, 15 February, 3.70 kr violet the Lion Fortress. Qty: 16,000,000
1967, 12 January, 45 öre orange Gustaf VI Adolf type III. Qty: 13,700,000 (3-sided perforated pairs). 190th booklet.

The first stamp we notice is the upside-down 3.70 kr violet the Lion Fortress. It was issued in February 1967 and its main purpose was to cover the rate of domestic parcels, 1 - 3 kg.

Then there are four 45 öre orange Gustaf VI Adolf type III series. That is maybe more surprising in the beginning of 1968. It is the 3-sided perforated version and they came from the 190th booklet. Unfortunately they are vertical pairs and not the preferred horizontal ones and there by not really interesting for stamp collectors. The 45 öre orange Gustaf VI Adolf came in October 1964, but then only in the 2-sided perforated format. It was not until January 1967 until the booklet showed up. The reason was that the postal rate for domestic letter  - 20 g was raised from 40 öre to 45 öre effective 1 January 1967. Since 1957 the Swedish Post had followed a policy that the stamp for domestic letter - 20 g (first weight class) should have a blue colour. Quite like the by now abounded UPU-colouring policy, but for domestic letters. It had the same side effects which meant that existing stamps had to be cancelled and new blue ones printed. But orange is not blue, it was not until June 1967 when the 45 öre ultramarine Gustaf VI Adolf arrived and replaced the orange one. It is remarkable that it was almost six months after the raise of the postal rate.

However in January 1968 the 45 öre ultramarine should have been used. Maybe the Post Office Johanneshov 4 had a surplus of the old 45 öre booklets and they wanted to get rid of those stamps first. Johanneshov 4 was situated in Bagarmossen a suburb to Stockholm.

The sum of the stamps are 5,50 kr. The rate for domestic parcel  - 1 kg was 2,80 kr. The fee for express delivery was a 100% extra, which was 5,60 kr and the fee for fragile had to be added as well. Where are the rest of the stamps? - on the backside of course:

1961, 7 June. 10 öre ultramarine-blue New Numeral Type, type II. Qty: unknown
1967, 11 April, 35 öre red-violet World Table-tennis Championships. Qty: 3,300,000 (3-sided perforated pairs).
. . . from the 189th booklet. [commemorative stamp]

The stamps on the backside are the 10 öre ultramarine-blue New Numeral Type, type II from 1961 and the commemorative stamp 35 öre red-violet World Table-tennis Championship. The championship was played 11 - 21 April  1967 . . .  Also a quite obsolete booklet stamp in January 1968.

There are stamps for 8,40 kr on the parcel address card which indicates that the fee for fragile was in this case also a 100% of the ordinary rate. 2,80 kr parcel  - 1 kg + express fee 2,80 + fragile fee 2,80 kr = 8,40 kr. The Post Office Johanneshov 4 in Bagarmossen sure had good use for their surplus booklets that day.


The  domestic parcel rates 1 January 1967 until December 1969:
- 1 kg 1 - 3 kg 3 - 5 kg 5 - 7 kg 7 - 10 kg 10 - 15 kg 15 - 20 kg
[2.80 kr] 3.70 kr 4.50 kr 7.00 kr 10.50 kr 14.00 kr  17.00 kr


Where are the places:
Bagarmossen is a suburb of Stockholm situated 7 km SE of the city centre.
Lingbo is situated 205 km NW of Stockholm.
The distance by road is  233 km between the two places.

International letters in the summer of 1964

Business letters to West-Germany

Govenius & Dahlgren was a company in the chemical industry with a focus on wood conservation and protection from insects - the ones that like to chew on wood. They even publish some books about this and the author was one of the partners, Mr. Bertil P. Govenius. The firm corresponded by this time with a company in Germany called Dedelux Chemie GmbH (GmbH is like Limited). The Dedelux Chemie is actually still registered as a company in Swabia which is a part of  Bavaria, but Govenius & Dalhgren seem to be long gone.

The first letter was posted Wednesday 20 May 1964 at the Post Office Stockholm Ban, the Post Office at the Stockholm Central Station. In May the postal rate for an international letter  - 20 g was still 50 öre and there was of course a suitable stamp in the Gustaf VI Adolf, type III definitive series that covered that, the 50 öre olive-green.

1962, July 2, 50 öre olive-green Gustaf VI Adolf, type III. Qty: 20,100,000.

The rates for international postcards and letter from July 1962 until June 1964:

postcard	- 20 g	- 40 g	- 60 g	- 80 g	- 100 g
30 öre	[50 öre]	80 öre	1.10 kr	1.40 kr	1.70 kr

The next letter was posted on Friday 31 July at the Post Office Stockholm 1, it was co-located with the head quarters of the Swedish Post at Vasa Street (Vasagatan), where the Swedish Post filled up two blocks of buildings. The 60 öre red was a new and fresh stamp in the Gustaf VI Adolf, type III series issued in June.  As it seems those new stamps were not around when the letter below was posted. If the stamps were applied by the firm themselves or by a service minded postal clerk I do not know, but someone used a 10 öre blue New Numeral Type, type II, the 15 öre red Gustaf VI Adolf, type III and the 35 öre blue Gustaf VI Adolf, type III . The last stamp, the 35 öre blue was the stamp that used to cover the most common postal rate; the one for domestic letter  - 20 g, but since 31 days it was obsolete in that role. Maybe the stock of that stamp had to be finished before the new ones could be used?

1961, May 8. 10 öre blue New Numeral Type, type II. Qty: 239,000,000 (both type I & II)
1961, March 20. 15 öre red Gustaf VI Adolf, type III. Qty: 105,000,000
1962, July 2. 35 öre blue Gustaf VI Adolf type III. Qty: 366,000,000 

The new rates for international postcards and letter from July 1964:

postcard	- 20 g	- 40 g	- 60 g	- 80 g	- 100 g
35 öre	[60 öre]	95 öre	1.30 kr	1.65 kr	2.00 kr

I have actually a third letter from the Govenius & Dahlgren firm. It was posted Wednesday 16 September and this time it was handed over to the care of the Swedish Post at Stockholm Ban again. The stamp is a commemorative stamp, the booklet version of the 60 öre brown 800th Anniversary of the Archbiscopric of Uppsala. That stamp really do not belong to this blog, but it is okay.

1964, June 12. 60 öre brown 800th Anniversary of the Archbiscopric of Uppsala. Qty: 2,700,000

You can read more about the New Numeral Type series  - here and about the Gustaf VI Adolf type III series - here.