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.

Plain and simple

2.30 kr brown fulfilling its purpose

The Three Crowns series was originally designed to have single stamps for the most common postal rates for domestic parcels and Cash On Delivery domestic parcels. The first stamps in the series released in 1939 covered parcels up to 1 kg, 1 - 2 kg and 2 - 3 kg for those postal rates. There was also a complementary denomination, the 1 kr orange Three Crowns, which could be used for heavier parcels.

The domestic parcel card below was sent on Friday March 25 1966, almost 26 years after the first issue of the Three Crown series and it was still doing its job. A single 2.30 kr dark brown Three Crowns was all that was required.

Domestic parcel address card  - 1 kg fee: 2.30 kr
1965, 24 September. 2.30 kr  dark brown Three Crowns. Qty: 9,600,000

However, things had already started to change. The new postal rates for parcels effective from July 1965 was like this: [all amounts are in öre, 100 öre = 1 krona]

- 1 kg	1 - 3 kg	3 - 5 kg	5 - 7 kg	10 kg	15 kg	20 kg
230	300	350	550	800	1100	1400

The Three Crown series was for the first time no longer covering the three most common parcels rates with a single stamp since the highest denomination in the series was the 3 kr blue Three Crown issued in 1964. Instead the rate for  parcels 3 - 5 kg now was covered by the new 3.50 kr Ale's Stones. It was a single definitive stamp, no more long definitive series issued over decades. That was a novelty in 1965.

The incorporated company Swedish Mullard (Svenska Mullard AB) sent some vacuum tubes to the Sahlgrenska Hospital, Oncology Department, in Gothenburg (Göteborg). Swedish Mullard was a subsidiary to Mullard Ltd. which originally was an English firm that pioneered in producing high quality vacuum tubes. They also pretty early teamed up with Dutch Philips. Mullard is not anymore, there last production facility closed down in the early eighties.

First the parcel arrived at the Post Office Göteborg 7 at 41 Linné Street (Linnégatan 41) and then it went to the Post Office at the hospital, Göteborg 33.

Some other single uses for the 2.30 kr Three Crowns at the time were domestic letter 500 - 1,000 g or domestic registered letter with advice of receipt 20 - 125 g.


Where are the places:
Gothenburg (Göteborg) is Sweden's second largest city and it is situated 397 km SW of Stockholm.
The distance by road is 470 km between Stockholm and Gothenburg.

Stamp on stamps

Receipt

Some postal matters do not give you hardly any additional information. Often there are more question marks than answers. This is one of them, it is a receipt from the Post Office Tyringe in the south of Sweden. This receipt form could be used for several purposes:
    - Stamps
    - Postage due
    - Christmas stamps
    - Stamp taxes, excise duties
    - Custom duties
    - Cash on delivery fee

There are five stamps on the receipt, four green 80 öre Rock Carvings type II issued in 1957. Type II means that the stamps belongs to the second or third issue of the Rock Carvings, the first one came 1954. Type II also meant that the initials of the designer (del. = latin  delineavit) and the engraver (sc. = latin sculpsit) were both added at the bottom of the stamps. A feature introduces by the Swedish Post in 1957. That feature is the easiest way to distinguish between the two types.

A fee of 3.60 kr was probably paid, but for what?
1957, 1 June. 80 öre green Rock Carvings type II. Qty: 57,000,000
1957, 15 October. 40 öre green Gustaf VI Adolf type II. Qty: 38,400,000

The Rock Carvings was an attempt to modernize the Swedish definitive stamps and it mostly complemented the long running Three Crown series that was issued from 1939. The design of the Rock Carvings felt fresh and modern at the time and it connected to Swedish ancient history instead of the usual theme for definitive series like the king or formal Swedish symbols. The motif was modern in a modest way.

The 40 öre green Gustaf VI Adolf type II was aimed to cover the rate for international letters  -20 g. The background of type II consisted of a cross pattern, which resulted in a tighter background pattern and the colours became more noticeable. Compared with type I that had a linear background engraved and that turned out to be to light and the colours were not distinct enough. The type II also got the initials of the designer and the engraver added at the bottom of the stamp.

A 40 öre green Gustaf VI Adolf type II was applied, this is an old stamp since the receipt is from September 3 1962. Why use an old stamp? The successor 40 öre green type II was issued already in October 23 1961 and should by September 1962 be already in use at the Post Office Tyringe. That is puzzling. It does not stop there.

The sum of the stamps are 3.60 kr but we do not know what was bought. Stamps? The receipt is not filled in correctly. There is no signature by the Post Office clerk, it is not specified what kind of purchase that have been done. Maybe they were a little careless that day in Tyringe and just hand over the receipt in a hurry?

Or maybe the purchase did not happen? Something went wrong . . .


Tyringe is situated 442 km SW of Stockholm. The distance by road is 532 km.

International letter for Christmas

1972 Christmas stamp

This letter has a yellow label where the sender informs that the letter has a philatelic franking and advises that the cancellation stamping should be done with a light hand. The philatelic arrangement of the stamps was not that well done and the cancellation stamp was done by a machine, not by hand. Well, sometimes the Swedish Post did not care about philatelists' demands.

This was an international letter  - 20 g and the fee was 1 kr. A 15 öre blue Mailplanes and a 75 öre multi-coloured 1972 Christmas stamp did not quite add up to the fee. The Mailplane stamp was taken from the 21st slot machine booklet issued in September 1972. The motif is the mighty Junkers Ju-52 with pontons. The plane was called Södermanland and own by ABA, the predecessor to  SAS. The 75 öre Christmas stamp had been issued just two weeks before the letter was sent. The motif is a S:t Lucia procession and was from a drawing competition for children. A 15 öre stamp had no single use in 1972, but the 75 öre was the postal rate for domestic letter   - 20 g.

1972, 8 September. 15 öre blue Mailplanes. Qty: 4,600,000 (21st slot machine booklet)
1972, 6 November. 75 öre multi-coloured Christmas stamp. Qty: 18,200,000

On Tuesday 21st November 1972 Mr. Alf Lilja in Luleå decided to cheer up his stamp collecting friend Mr. Stefan Münch in East Germany. The letter was handled by normal procedures by the Post Office Luleå 1 and no consideration was taken to Mr. Liljas request for a nice cancellation of the stamps. Maybe because only 90 öre was paid? The letter went to the small city of Meerane in Saxony. Hopefully Mr. Münch appreciated the letter anyway.

One went flying, the other went by ship

These two letters were sent the same day Thursday 3 August 1950 by the same sender. The peculiar thing is that one was sent as an air mail letter and the other one as an ordinary international letter to the same address. The airmail letter has three  20 öre red Gustaf V, right profile. They are all perforated on three sides, one pair and one single stamp and hence came from a booklet, actually from the 64th booklet by Swedish Post first issued in 1942. It contained 20 stamps and the cost was 4 kr. Three 20 öre stamps makes 60 öre and that was the fee for   - 5 g air mail to North America in 1950. The other letter, which is a  - 20 g international letter, has two 15 öre brown Gustaf V, right profile. They are also perforated on three sides and they are from the 71st booklet first issued in 1945. A closer look at the 15 öre stamps tells me that these are of version I. For example the band of medals on the king's chest are less detailed and light. (This post deals with the two versions.)

Top: airmail letter to North America fee: 60 öre
7 March, 1942, 20 öre red Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 98,000,0000 (pairs), 3-sided perforation
Bottom:  - 20 g international letter fee: 30 öre
14 February, 1945, 15 öre brown Gustaf V, right profile, version I. Qty: 18,400,000 (pairs both versions), 3-sided perforation

The letters were taken care of the Post Office Stockholm 1, the Post Office was co-located with the head quarters of the Swedish Post at 28 - 34 Vasa Street (Vasagatan 28 - 34), where the Swedish Post filled up two blocks.

On the the other side of the letter covers the following is printed "Josef Kastengren, Buhlsjö, Österbymo". It turns out that Mr. Kastengren got the first formal driver license in Sweden in January 1907. Well, people were driving along without a license in those days, but this guy was the first one to get a permit the right way. He was a driving instructor and taught the Swedish royals to drive as well, actually he taught the king on the stamps, he was also a car salesman and a business man in the Swedish car industry. Quite a legend.

Eventually both letter reach their destination. 1100 E. Hector Street, Conshohocken, PA.
(Google street)

43 years after he got his license he still seemed to be in the business because the letters were sent to the well known Lee Tire and Rubber Company in maybe less known Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Famous for its car tires.The factory was built in 1910 by John Ellwood Lee, in 1965 it was bought by Goodyear and it closed down in 1980. But it did not end there. The old factory ground was turned into offices and called Lee Park and lately it has undergone some major renovations. It got a new name too, Spring Mill Corporate Center. In 1984 it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

The odd thing is that the letter that not was sent as an air mail letter has "5 gr" written by hand, indicating that some one bother to put in on a scale. It seems like it was supposed to be sent by air too, the way that the stamps are applied and that they are from booklets indicates to me that it was most likely not done by Swedish Post.
. . . ah well, the mystery will remain unsolved.

Postage rates effective April 1942

Raises of the postage rates were still decided by the Swedish Parliament in the 40s and it was not always that they granted a raise. In spring 1942 the second world war was going on in Europe and sometimes the war was awfully close to the Swedish border. Both fiscal years 1940 and 1941 had meant drastically increased defense costs and a higher inflation. The Swedish government introduced in 1942 both a price and a wage freeze to get control of things. They also wanted to raise the postal rate for domestic letters in order to bring in more income to finance the defense. The Swedish parliament granted that request. This raise was therefore unique since it was not required to cover increasing costs for Swedish Post and also it only affected a few postage rates.

Domestic Postal Rates

From left to right:                                                                                             

1939, 12 November. 10 öre violet Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 367,000,000
1940, 13 April, 20 öre red Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 880,000,000
1940, 8 April. 40 öre olive-green Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 84,100,000
1939, 10 February 10. 60 öre red-carmine Three Crowns. Qty: 77,900,000
1941, 23 January. 5 öre green Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 415,000,000
1940, 13 April, 20 öre red Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 880,000,000
1940, 8 April. 30 öre blue Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 57,300,000

The Gustaf V right profile type II definitive series covered well almost all rates except one, the heaviest weight class that required 60 öre. There was no 60 öre in the series and there were not supposed to be one either. The reason was that one of the purposes of the Three Crowns definitive series was to cover the three lowest weight classes for parcels. 60 öre was the rate for a parcel  - 1 kg, as well as for domestic letter  - 500 g. Besides the raise of the  - 20 g letter from 15 öre to 20 öre the  - 250 g weight class vanished and the rate for  - 125 g was raised from 30 to 40 öre.

Local Postal Rates

From left to right:                                                                                          
1939, 12 November. 10 öre violet Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 367,000,000
1940, 13 April, 20 öre red Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 880,000,000
1940, 8 April. 30 öre blue Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 57,300,000
1940, 8 April. 40 öre olive-green Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 84,100,000

This is a beautiful suite of Gustaf V right profile type II, 10 - 20 - 30 - 40 öre in a row. The special postal rates for local letters still existed in 1942 and would do so for ten years more. There is an extra weight class compared with the domestic postal rates. The   - 125 g weight class was kept for local letters, to the benefit of the customers. There were no changes of these rates either.

International Postal Rates

From left to right:                                                                              
1940, 13 April, 20 öre red Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 880,000,000
1940, 8 April. 30 öre blue Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 57,300,000
1940, 8 April. 40 öre olive-green Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 84,100,000
1939, 10 February 10. 60 öre red-carmine Three Crowns. Qty: 77,900,000
1939, 12 November. 10 öre violet Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 367,000,000
1939, 22 September. 90 öre light blue Three Crowns. Qty: 29,700,000
1939, 22 September.1 kr orange Three Crowns. Qty: 141,000,000
1939, 12 November. 10 öre violet Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 367,000,000

So far single stamps have covered each rate. In 1942 there was not yet a 70 öre Three Crown nor a 1.10 kr stamp either so two stamps were required for  - 60 g and  - 100 g letters. As you can see the stamp for postcard and letter  - 20 g are UPU-coloured. Red for postcard and blue for letter. The rates were not changed.

From left to right                                                                                    
1941, 23 January. 5 öre green Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 415,000,000
1940, 13 April, 20 öre red Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 880,000,000
1939, 10 February 10. 60 öre red-carmine Three Crowns. Qty: 77,900,000

The stamp for printed matter has also the right UPU-colour which is green in this case.

Parcel Postal Rates

From left to right
1939, 10 February 10. 60 öre red-carmine Three Crowns. Qty: 77,900,000
1939, 22 September. 90 öre light blue Three Crowns. Qty: 29,700,000
1939, 22 September. 1 kr 20 öre rose-lilac Three Crowns. Qty: 9,200,000
1939, 20 November. 1 kr 45 öre yellow-green Three Crowns. Qty: 2,800,000
 1941, 23 January. 35 öre carmine-violet Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 20,000,000
2 x 1939, 22 September.1 kr orange Three Crowns. Qty: 141,000,000
1940, 8 April. 40 öre olive-green Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 84,100,000

The parcel rates were not raised and they had been the same since 1922. As mentioned above one of the purposes with the Three Crown definitive series was to cover the most common parcel weight classes and it did for many years.

Overview

Domestic [öre]

Postcard	- 20 g*	- 125 g*	- 500 g	Printed matter	Registred fee	Express fee
10	20	40	60	5	20	30

*) raised from 15 öre to 20 öre and from 30 öre to 40 öre

Local [öre]

- 20 g	- 125 g	- 250 g	- 500 g
10	20	30	40

International [öre]

Postcard	- 20 g	- 40 g	- 60 g	- 80 g	- 100 g	Printed  matter	Registred fee	Express fee
20	30	50	70	90	110	5	20	60

Parcels [öre]

- 1 kg	1 - 3 kg	3 - 5 kg	5 - 6 kg	6 - 7 kg
60	90	120	180	240

Read more:

You can read more about the Gustaf V right profile type II series - here and 

more about the Three Crowns series - here.

Heavy forms

Epoch-making stamps on parcel address card

There is only one thing that could come from the village Tandsbyn in the northern Swedish province Jämtland - paper forms. The print shop in Tandsbyn was where almost all bank paper forms were printed in Sweden. At least in the old days. The sender is just "Tandsbyn", as printed on the parcel address card, no more information was needed and of course the content is "printed matter", as always.

This time it was the Bankgirocentralen that had ordered 12 kg of paper forms. The Bankgirocentralen is the money transfer system, clearing service, that is owned jointly by the banks in Sweden. The Swedish Post's Postgirot was the main competitor from 1959 and for many decades until the Swedish Post sold the Postgirot to one of the Swedish banks when it ceased acting as a bank. Bankgirocentralen or rather Bankgirot is still prosperous, but hardly any paper forms are used anymore.

Domestic parcel 10 - 15 kg fee: 14 kr.
1966, 18 April, 3.50 kr grey/olive-green Ale's Stones,. Qty: 24,500,000

The postal rate for a 12 kg parcel was 14 kr since January 1967 and it would remain so until January 1969. The stamp used are the beautiful 3.50 kr grey/olive Ale's stones, four was required in this case. The Ale's Stones was a new kind of definitive stamps when it came in April 1966. The Ale's stone was a single definitive stamp aimed for domestic parcels. One stamp only, no series. Until this stamp showed up covering the rates for the three most common parcels rates was the job of the the Three Crowns definitive series and before that its predecessor the Crown and Posthorn definitive series. Not anymore.

Domestic parcel rates from January 1967 until January 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

In 1966 the Ale's stones covered parcels of a weight between 3 and 5 kg, it did that until January 1967. After that there was no obvious single use for a 3.50 kr stamp. As  you can see above the Post Office in Tandsbyn had good use for the Ale's stones anyway, but from January1969  it became even better when the postal rate for parcels  - 1 kg required 3.50 kr. What happened to the three Crowns series? well it faded away slowly along with the raises of the rates.

This heavy parcel was sent from Tandsbyn on Friday 5 July 1968 and it arrived at the Post Office Stockholm 1 the next day. On Monday it was picked up by Bankgirocentralen at the special parcel office in the corner of Brewer Street and North Klara Church Street (Bryggargatan/Klara Norra Kyrkogata). The funny thing is that the parcel office was facing the building where the competitor Postgirot was located. Another funny thing is that they had to pick up the parcel at Stockholm 1. There were Post Offices much closer to S:t Paul Street where Bankgirocentralen had their office. One might wonder why?

Tandsbyn is situated 446 km NW of Stockholm.

Hardware for hardware store

Pair of Three Crowns

A parcel with spare parts and accessories, at least according to the printed text in the box where the sender declares the content. It seems reasonable, the receiver is the Bergman's Hardware Inc. in Hudiksvall. They had probably good use for spare parts. The parcel was picked up at the Post Office Hudiksvall 1 located at 1 Station Street (Stationsgatan 1) on Wednesday 24 July 1968 and it was sent two days earlier from Post Office Stockholm 23 at 16 Yngliga Saga Street (Ynglingagatan 16), the Ynglinga saga is an old Icelandic traditional folk saga. The weight of the parcel was under 1 kg so there might not have been much metal in that parcel.

Cash on delivery; domestic parcel   - 1 kg fee: 2.80 kr  +  C.O.D. fee: 70 öre
1939, 22 September. 1 kr orange Three Crowns. Qty: 141,000,000
1961, 21 August. 2 kr 50 öre green Three Crowns. Qty: 19,600,000

The weight was under 1 kg and that required 2,80 kr, since the amount of 51.50 kr was paid to the Swedish Post's money transfer system, the Postgiro, the C.O.D fee was then 70 öre and the the total sum of the postal rate became 3.50 kr. Often the customer paid for the postal rates as well and it is probably included in the sum 51.50 kr. The stamps of the Three Crown series was made for this type of postal services and the two denominations 1 kr and 2.50 kr came in very handy in this casew. Easy to sum up. The 1 kr orange had at the time been used for almost 29 years. Quite a long time even for a definitive stamp. However the denomination 1 kr was always easy to use.

This a beautiful pair of Three Crown stamps. Things were changing tough. In February 1968 the 1 kr Dancing Cranes was issued and that stamp would eventually replace the 1 kr orange Three Crowns. It looks like that the Dancing Cranes stamps had not yet reach the Post Office Stockholm 23 in the summer of 1968. The 2.50 kr green was a left over from previous parcel postal rates, in 1961 it covered 3 - 5 kg domestic parcels and after the raise in 1964 it covered 1 - 3 kg parcels. It could be used for other less common rates through out the 60s.

The Swedish Postal History Society (SSPD) has a really good website about single use of the Three Crowns series, among many other things. Check it out - here.


Where are the places:
Hudiksvall is a coastal town situated 272 km N of Stockholm.
The distance by road is 298 km between Stockholm and Hudiksvall.

A parcel that never was

Bank notes for the country side

This domestic parcel was not sent . . .
On Tuesday 9 October 1962 a parcel with bank notes was meant to be sent and for that purpose the parcel was handed over to the Post Office Uppsala 1 at 3 Railroad Yard Street (Bangårdsgatan 3). It was the Swedish Bank of Commerce (Svenska Handelsbanken) that wanted to distribute some bank notes from its head office in Uppsala located at the Big Square (Stora Torget) downtown Uppsala to Österbybruk, a distance of 40 km. The weight of the bank notes was not more than 2 kg. Two kilos of bank notes sounds like a lot of bank notes. May be not, in the sixties a Swedish bank note weighed about 9 to 11 grams depending on the size and denomination. That would be about 200 bank notes in this parcel, two bundles. The parcel is insured for a 1,000 kr and there might be 200 bank notes in there, may be it was 5 kr bank notes? Most likely.

Domestic parcel 1 - 3 kg fee: 2 kr + insurance 1,000 kr fee: 80 öre
1962, 2 July. 1.05 kr blue-green Three Crowns. Qty: 9,300,000
1957, 1 June. 70 öre orange Rock Carvings type II. Qty: 10,900,000

The parcel address card has a pink insurance label marked with the letter "V" as in V for Value. Two 1.05 kr blue-green Three Crowns and one 70 öre orange Rock Carvings were required for the postal rate that summed up to 2.80 kr. The insurance fee was since June 1962 70 öre + 10 öre for every 1,000 kr. This is a nice set of definitive stamps and shows well how the Rock Carving series with its lower denominations complimented the Three crown series. The 1.05 kr Three Crowns stamp was pretty new, issued as late as in July 1962. Its single use was domestic letter  - 500 g. The 70 öre Rock Carvings could be used as a single stamp for domestic letter  - 125 g. The stamps have cancellation stamps and it seems that the parcel is ready to go, but it did not.

Why was it not sent? We do not know. Maybe the bank just changed there mind, or maybe it was meant to be sent to Östhammar instead, Österbybruk and Östhammar tends to get mixed up sometimes. Östhammar is also close to Uppsala (60 km).

Here is were the head office for Svenska Handelsbanken used to be in Uppsala. (Google Street)

The parcel was meant to be sent to this bank office. Still in business. (Google Street)

Where are the places:
Uppsala is situated 63 km NW of Stockholm.
Österbybruk is situated 97 km N of Stockholm.
The distance by road is only 45 km between the two places.

The last of its kind - the UPU-colouring principle

UPU colours and its consequences on the Gustaf VI Adolf type I series

UPU, the Universal Post Union, was founded in 1874 in Bern Switzerland. Among other things they established uniform flat postal rates for the most common internationally sent items; letter (first weight class), postcard and printed matter; to be sent anywhere in the world. That was quite an achievement and made things much easier for the postal administrations. Some years later, in 1897, UPU decided that the stamps used for these international flat postal rates should each have a distinct and uniform colour. Blue was choosen for letter, red for postcard and green for printed matter. In order to make things even easier for the postal administrations. That seemed like a pretty good idea.

There was also another rule connected to the rules of colours and that stated no other colours were allowed for the stamps with the these particular denominations (for letter, postcard and printed matter). The implication was when ever those postal rates were changed, often raised, the existent stamps have to be cancelled and new ones issued in the right colours.

An interesting matrix of Gustaf VI Adolf type I. From top left . . .

1951, 1 June, 10 öre green Gustaf VI Adolf type I. Qty:      7,900,000

1954, 12 April. 10 öre brown Gustaf VI Adolf type I. Qty:320,000,000

--

1951, 1 June. 20 öre red Gustaf VI Adolf type I. Qty:     70,100,000

1952,25 July. 20 öre grey Gustaf  VI Adolf type I. Qty:231,000,000

--
1951, 1 June. 25 öre grey Gustaf VI Adolf type I. Qty:      161,000,000
1952, 25 July. 25 öre red Gustaf VI Adolf type I.  Qty:      286,000,000
1954, 4 February. 25 öre blue Gustaf VI Adolf type I. Qty: 456,000,000
--
1951, 1 June. 30 öre blue Gustaf VI Adolf type I. Qty: 21,800,000
1952, 1 July. 30 öre brown Gustaf VI Adolf type I. Qty:   9,300,000
1954, 15 March. 30 öre red Gustaf VI Adolf type I. Qty: 14,900,000
--
1952, 1 July. 40 öre blue Gustaf VI Adolf type I. Qty:          12,600,000
1954, 20 January. 40 öre green Gustaf VI Adolf type I. Qty: 24,300,000

In June 1951 the new definitive series of the new king Gustaf VI Adolf was issued. Sweden still tried to be compliant to the UPU-colours and the 10 öre had to be green, the 20 öre had to be red and the 30 öre had to be blue.

International postal rates affected by the UPU-colours in June 1951:

Postcard	Letter - 20 g	Printed- matter
20 öre	30 öre	10 öre

As a comparison some domestic postal rates effective from 1 June 1951:

Postcard	Letter - 20 g	Printed- matter
15 öre*	25 öre	10 öre

* since 1948

Swedish post was UPU compliant in 1951, still in 1952, but they had gave up in 1954.

The rates for international postcard and letter  - 20 g was raised in June 1952, but the rate for printed matter was untouched.

International postal rates from June 1952:

Postcard	Letter - 20 g	Printed- matter
25 öre	40 öre	10 öre

UPU-colour consequences after June 1952.

The  biggest change in the Gustaf VI Adolf series were caused by the raise of the postcard rate. First the old 20 öre red had to be cancelled and since a 20 öre denomination still was needed a new 20 öre stamp had to be issued, it became grey. Since there already existed a  grey 25 öre stamp and grey now was the wrong colour it had to be cancelled. It was replaced with the new 25 öre red - right colour for postcard. The new 40 öre blue was a new denomination in the series. Therefore the old 30 öre blue had only to be replaced by the new 30 öre brown. This time seven stamps were affected.

This was the problem with the UPU-colours. The changes "consumed" a lot of stamps if the old rate's denomination was going to be kept and if there already existed a denomination of the new rate, which of course was of the wrong colour. In addition a new stamp in the right colour had to be issued, just in the case with the 20 to 25 öre raise above. In worst case four stamps were affected by each raise.

Up to four stamps were affected by the UPU-colouring principles.

Further back, especially before the first world war when the rates were changed after many years, sometimes after over a decade, this was not a big deal. However the postal rates were changed quite often in most countries during the first years after the first world war which caused quite a few countries to choose to be not complaint anymore. Sweden hanged on to the UPU-colours and issued compliant stamps until 1953*. Swedish Post was one of the last postal administrations that tried to be compliant.

No more UPU colours for the Gustaf VI Adolf series.

Even if Swedish Post could have kept the UPU-coloured stamps and not issue new ones in 1954 they choose to change the colours. The major reason was not to make a clean break with the UPU rule, instead the Swedish Post was not pleased with the colouring of the Gustaf VI Adolf type I series, they thought the background was not coloured enough. It was believed to to be too light. The next raise of the postal rates occurred in June 1957 and that brought the updated Gustaf VI Adolf type II series with a better background.



* The last stamps that complied to the UPU-colours were from the commemorative series 50th Anniversary of the National Athletic Federation in May 1953.

As good as new

Imprecise Address

Here is a letter cover that resisted time. It looks almost like it was mailed a few weeks ago, white and shiny. Actually it was posted late in the afternoon on  Friday 23 July 1937. It was received at the Post Office Stockholm 16 at 3 Ore Square Street  (Malmtorgsgatan 3) and started its journey to far away Portland, Oregon, from there. This was an international letter    - 20 g and the rate was 30 öre. The stamp used is the 30 öre blue Gustaf V, left profile. The blue colour was the correct UPU-colour for international letters of the first weight class which was  - 20 g in metric Sweden.

International  - 20 g letter fee: 30 öre.
1923, 28 November, 30 öre blue Gustaf V left profile. Qty: 20,700,000 (white paper)

The 30 öre blue Gustaf V left profile was issued the first time in November 1923. The paper used then was not as white as the one above, instead the paper was tinted. In October 1925 the rate for international letter  - 20 g was lowered to 25 öre and since Swedish Post was compliant to the UPU-colour a new blue coloured stamp had to be issued with that denomination and the 30 öre blue was withdrawn, also the old red 25 öre Gustaf V left profile had to be withdrawn as well. The 30 öre brown Gustaf V left profile replaced the 30 öre blue for the time being. In July 1936 the rate for international letter  - 20g was again raised to 30 öre and the 30 öre blue Gustaf V left profile made a come back but now printed on white paper. Finally the 30 öre blue was replaced by the Gustaf V right profile type II in April 1940. You can read about the Gustaf V right profile type II - here.

The sender is the incorporated company Nilsson & Blide, they were in the fruit import business and they also imported coffee. It was only wholesale, no retail. In those days they called fruit and coffee colonial merchandise even if Sweden did not have any colonies. Mr. Wilhelm Nilsson and Mr. Ivan Blide founded the company in 1925 and it seemed to have been pretty prosperous.

The letter is addressed to Balfour, Guthrie & Co. That company was a shipping company based on the west coast of U.S. (offices in San Francisco, Tacoma and Portland). It also operated other kind of businesses like a cement plant in Bellingham, Washington.

The letter ended up here: 733 SW Oak Street, Portland, Oregon. In the corner of Park and Oak. (Google Street)

The address on the cover is "Park and Oak Street", what the Swedes meant was the corner of Oak and Park Street. Obviously they did not know the precise address to Balfour, Guthrie & Co. The address should have been 733 SW Oak Street. Maybe there was no need to be precise, the building is still called the Balfour-Guthrie building. It was built in 1913 and represents somewhat of a milestone in the concrete industry. It was the first office building on the American west coast to be constructed with reinforced concrete. Probably with cement from the Bellingham plant . . .   it is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The building looks well kept.

Read more about the building: www.portlandoregon.gov/bps/article/112500

The anatomy of slot machine booklets

Cuts and more cuts

In younger days I had a hard time to understand the different kind of perforations on pairs. Especially the se-tenant pairs from the 50s and 60s. Some of them had this peculiar vertical 2-sided perforation. One of the lower or upper corner were cut. Why did that occur? My album did not give much further information either.

Puzzling perforation.
1962, 3 September. 35 öre blue Gustaf VI Adolf type III. Vertically 2-sided perforation (corner cut).
1963, 3 September. 10 öre ultramarine-blue New Numeral type II. Vertically 2-sided perforation (corner cut).

Those corner cut stamps origin from slot machine booklets. They contained the Gustaf VI Adolf series and was issued from 1954 to 1966, and from 1957 they also contained the New Numeral Type. (After 1967 the slot machine booklets were not corner cut anymore.) During that time the value of a booklet was 1 kr but since the postal rates were  raised constantly new combinations of denominations were required in order to offer useful stamps in the booklets.

We will use the 10th slot machine booklet issued by the Swedish Post to understand the principles of how the cuts were done and what kind of varieties and combinations that became the results.The booklet contains se-tenant pair with one column (vertical row) of two 35 öre blue Gustaf VI Adolf type III and one column of three 10 öre ultramarine-blue New Numeral Type type II, and an empty slot, a blank stamp, in order to add up to 1 kr.


The way the stamps were glued on the cover and the way they were cut resulted in four different combination of the 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.


Lets have a look how different se-tentant pairs forms a booklet.

Top Left

Top Left

The margin is above the stamps, on top, and the highest denomination is at the left.

The stamps at the end have their lower corners cut. [Facit: RH]

Top Right

Top Right

The margin is still above the stamps, on top, but the highest denomination is now at the right.

The stamps at the end have their lower corners cut. [Facit: RV]

Bottom Left

Bottom Left

The margin is now below the stamps and highest denomination is at the left.

But the stamps are kind of upside down compared with the Top versions when the margin is glued on to the cover.

The stamps at the other end (actually at the top) have their upper corners cut. [Facit: OH]

Bottom Right

Bottom Right
The margin is below the stamp and the highest denomination is at the right.
The stamps are in this case also kind of upside down compared with the Top version.
The stamps at the end (actually at the top) have the upper corners cut. [Facit: OV]

The principles of the combinations

This is how it works:

Overview of the parts of the booklet and the configuration of pairs.

If the stamps have the margin above them it is the Top version. The stamps at the other end have their lower outer corner cut.

When the stamps have the margin below them it is the Bottom version. The stamps at the other end have their upper outer corner cut.

When the highest denomination is at the left it is the Left version.

When the highest denomination is at the right it is the? . .           yes, the Right version.

The reason why the Top or the Bottom versions occur is because how the stamps are printed and cut. Six rows of stamps are printed with two margins in between and then they are cut into a block of six stamps with a margin.

This is why there are a Top and a Bottom version.

How about the Left and Right versions? The reason why its shifts between high denominations to the right and to the left is that the vertical cuts, because of some technical reasons, shift a stamp column. At least that is how it is described in the literature. I have not figured out how that works in detail. The sheet is 270 mm wide and a pair of stamps are 44.1 mm which makes it possible to print six columns of stamps. Six is an even figure  . . .

I think that the Swedish Post maybe also wanted to create some more interesting combinations. During the 50s the Swedish Post was criticized rather heavily by philatelist for issuing to few stamps and boring stamps. Maybe this was one way to do stamp collecting more challenging within the rather rigid issuing policy that was in effect. Just a thought.

Note about Facit abbreviations :

The Swedish well-known stamp catalogue Facit uses the term normal mounting for what I call Top. It is abbreviated R (as in "rättvänd"). If the marging is below the stamps Facit calls that inverted mount, abbreviated O (as in "omvänd"). If the lowest denomination is at the right Facit calls it right and it is abbreviated H (as in "höger"). Or if the lowest denomination is to the left Facit calls it left and it is abbreviated V (as in "vänster").

Top Left is then RH, Top Right is RV, Bottom Left is OH and Bottom Right is OV.

A kilo of boots

Contemporary use of definitive stamps

Here is a good example of how definitive stamps where used in the beginning of the 70s. A mix of old and new. This is yet another domestic parcel and its weight is below 1 kg. The postal rate at the time was 3.80 kr. At the top we find the 1 kr Dancing Cranes from February 1968, the 1 kr was a complimentary denomination. In the middle the 2 kr wine-red Three Crowns from January 1969. It was the last stamp issued in the Three Crown series. The series consists of 30 stamps and they were issued during almost three decades. The Three Crown series was by 1971 aging and the 2 kr was probably the last denomination in use. There was however a single use for that stamp, it covered the rate for domestic letter  - 250 g until October the same year. At the bottom the 80 öre blue/brown the Waxholm Boat issued in January 1971, 80 öre was a complimentary denomination as well. 1 + 2 + 0.80 makes 3.80, three stamps were required this time. That was not always the case further back.

Domestic parcel  - 1 kg fee: 3.80 kr
1968, 21 February. 1 kr green-black Dancing Cranes. Qty: 140,000,000
1969, 20 January. 2 kr wine-red Three Crowns. Qty: 67,700,000
1971, 22 January.80 öre  blue/brown the Waxholm Boat. Qty: 58,100,000

In the 60s the three most common parcel rates for the lowest weight classes each had a stamp covering each rate. Covering those rates was for along time the purpose of the Three Crown series. That changed in the 70s  and one reason is because the rates were raised more often from now on. In the 60s the rates were raised every second year or so, in the early 70s once a year and sometimes even twice a year. Issuing specific stamps for parcel rates were not practical anymore.

According to the parcel address cars the parcel contained boots. It was sent on Friday 13 August 1971 from the Post Office in Stenungsund to the Post Office in Ytterby and picked up there on the following Monday. The sender was the firm Cykel & Fritid in Stenungsund a shop were you could buy bikes, sports equipment, camping gear and other items to make your leisure time more enjoyable. The receiver of the parcel was the incorporated company Hefa AB in Ytterby, outside the small town of Kungälv. Hefa was in those days mainly in wholesales of sports products, shoes, boots, bags and garden furniture. How many boots can there be in a parcel weighing 1 kg? not too many pairs, most likely just one pair. My guess is that this parcel contained a pair of boots that had to be returned to Hefa. A customer complaint.

Where are the places:
Stenungsund is situated 387 km south west of Stockholm.
Ytterby is situated 392 south west of Stockholm.
The distance by road is only 23 km between the two places.

Some domestic parcel rates 1 January 1971 until 30 September 1971:
- 1 kg 1 - 3 kg 3 - 5 kg 5 - 7 kg 7 - 9 kg
[3.80 kr] 4.80 kr 5.80 kr 9.00 kr   10.50 kr

Hefa is still out there: http://www.hefa.se/en/

When the warship Wasa became a definitive stamp series

Man-of-war Wasa F.D.C.

The warship Wasa is a pride of Sweden. This magnificent warship sunk unexpectedly at the very beginning of her maiden voyage in August 1628. The reason she sunk was that in those days they had not yet figured out completely the mathematics to build stable ships. They just use some rule of thumb calculations that were well proven. In this case the Swedish King Gustaf II Adolf demanded in the last minute an additional deck with canons for his flagship and those canons affected the center of gravity in a less favourable way, one might say . . . Well, the ship sunk in the harbour of Stockholm and soon it was forgotten where. The ship wreck was eventually found in 1956, she was salvage in 1961 and renovated for decades. Now one can admire her beauty in a museum in Stockholm not far from where she sunk.

The 225th Swedish Post booklet was issued 1969, 10 August.
55 öre red Hercules head. Qty: 11,400,000
55 öre brown Lion head . Qty: 11,400,00
55 öre blue National coat of arms. Qty: 5,700,000
55 öre blue Wasa warship. Qty: 5,700,000
55 öre brown Lion mask. Qty: 11,400,000
55 öre red Male head. Qty: 5,700,000
Single use domestic letter  - 20 g.

If the old stamp issuing policy of the Swedish Post that was in effect for decades The Wasa booklet would have been a commemorative series and issued on 10 August 1968. That did not happen. The issuing policy changed pretty drastically in the mid 60's when the new Director General Nils Hörjel started to reform the Swedish Post. He was mostly focusing on how the Swedish Post would become more effective and profitable, but also the stamps were affected, especially from 1967 and onward.

The Wasa booklet was not even released the 10th of August, just an ordinary Wednesday in September. In the old times there was basically three kind of stamps issued, definitive stamps, commemorative stamps and special stamps for international purposes (like UPU, UN or CEPT stamps). One change in the mid 60s is that stamps were now also issued to promote Sweden and especially tourism. The idea behind the Wasa booklet was actually to promote tourism and the newly opened Wasa museum, not a jubilee. Five years earlier that would have been unthinkable. Wasa would for sure have been a commemorative stamp series.

Here is the English version of the text card that came along with the F.D.C., the information was also printed in Swedish, German and of course in  French, which still was the official language of postal administrations.

The stamps are beautiful. The designer and engraver was the master himself Czeslaw Slania. Clean design, a lot of details and he has really capture the feeling of wooden sculpture. This is a master piece. The two large stamps are one of the largest stamps issued in the 60's.

I have to admit that I am not a big fan of First Day Covers, especially if they have not been distributed in the mail as letter covers. The letter cover above has no address and was delivered to its first owner in an envelope. The only thing I like with F.D.C.s is if the text card is still there. The Swedish Post started to print cards with information about the stamps in the 40s (maybe in the 30s even?) and they might be interesting to read.

In the card above the Swedish Post announces that the stamps are ordinary stamps, which means definitive stamps. The Swedish Post sometimes uses the word definitive or ordinary. Another way of identifying a Swedish definitive stamps from the era is that definitive stamps do not have the year of issue printed below the motif.

Seven kilos for seven Krona

Printed matters to Ödsmål

It must have been a pretty heavy parcel that Ms. Bäckström dragged to the Post Office Karlstad 2 on that Thursday, 15 Februari 1968. Seven kilos of some kind of printed matters. The Post Office was situated at 48 Våxnäs Street (Våxnäsgatan 48) and luckily it was not too far from her apartment.

Domestic Parcel weighing 5 - 7 kg required 7 kr and from spring 1967 there was a special dedicated definite stamps for that rate, the 7 kr blue/red Gripsholm Castle. That is a pretty well designed stamp, actually one of my favorites from the 60s. It was a two colour print.Which was still unusual in the 60s, by spring 1967 only the 20 öre Posthorn from 1965 and the 35 öre the Fjeld also from 1967 were printed using two colours. The technique was still new. The 20 öre Posthorn have had some problem with the colours floating which resulted in some varieties. In order to avoid that the colours are more separated in this stamp. That is why it looks like an aura around the castle, a nice effect.

Domestid parcel card fee: 7.00 kr.
1967, 11 April, 7 kr blue/red Gripsholm Castle. Qty: 6,300,000

The receiver of the parcel was Mr. Sundberg living in in Ödsmål. Ödmål is a village close to the Atlantic coast in the province of Bohuslän. The parcel arrived two days later. The funny thing is that the card is stamped three times, at arrival 17 February, a Saturday, a second time on the following Monday by some reason and finally on Wednesday 21 February when Mr. Sundberg picked up the parcel. Normally the card is stamped only twice, at arrival and at pick up.

Note that a postal code was not yet required, the postal codes were introduced in Sweden on 12 May 1968.


Some domestic parcel rates 1 January 1967 until 31 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:

Karlstad is situated 259 km west of Stockholm.

Ödsmål is situated 384 south west of Stockholm

The distance by road is 215 km between the two places.

This is where the Post Office Karlstad 2 used to be. (Google)
It is a barber shop now.