Furry bulky box

Another domestic parcel address card. This time the parcel was filled with furs and it was bulky too. The furs were delivered from Tranås Furs Inc. (Tranås Pälsvarukompani AB) in Tranås to the shop Hats & Furs (Hatt & Pälsvaru AB) in Stockholm owned by Mr. Tore Gustafsson. Actually it looks like Mr. Gustafsson himself has signed the card, look in the lower left corner. The 4 kg parcel was delivered pretty fast, it took only one business day between Tranås and Stockholm in mid-November 1968.

Tranås used to be the fur hub of Sweden and fur was a big business there. The consumers' view on furs have drastically changed since 1968 and now there are hardly any fur shops at all in the country.

Domestic parcel 4 kg and bulky; fee 4.50 + 50% = 6.75 kr
1967, 16 June, 45 öre ultramarine Gustaf VI Adolf, type III. Qty: 364,000,000, 2-sided perforation.
1958, 17 September. 5 kr blue The royal Palace, Stockholm II. Qty: 16,500,000, 2-sided perforation.
1962, 2 July. 30 öre violet Gustaf VI Adolf type III. Qty: 123,000,000, 2-sided perforation.
1968, 21 February. 1 kr green-black Dancing Cranes. Qty: 140,000,000.

At the time the 45 öre ultramarine was the stamp used for the most common postal rate, the one for domestic letter  - 20 g. The 30 öre violet from 1962 seems correct as well, there was a 30 öre red available to at the time but only in booklets (released in 1966). The first version of the 5 kr blue The Royal Castle was released as early as in 1941. It was not until 1958 it was released in coils, it is the coil version we can admire on the card above. The 5 kr blue was phased out in the beginning of the seventies when it was replaced by the 5 kr blue-green National Seal 1439.

The 1 kr Dancing Cranes is of a more modern design and belongs to the series of new definitive stamps that were issued from 1967 and on. One might say that the 1 kr Dancing Cranes during the end of the sixties replaced the 1 kr orange Three Crowns from 1939.

Where are the places:
Tranås is situated 230 km SW of Stockholm, the distance by road is 270 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.

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/