Showing posts with label Express. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Express. Show all posts

11 July 2015

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.


26 February 2015

Express letter from 1952

Göterstad in a hurry


 According to the back of the cover a person with the family name Göterstad sent an express letter to Mrs. Anna Wassberg in Stockholm in May 1952. The letter was handed over to the Post Office Falun 2 at Kyrkbacksvägen 23 ( 23 Church Hill Streeet) in the town Falun 196 km north west of Stockholm and delivered to Mrs. Wassberg living at Västmannagatan 24 (24 Västmanna Street) in Stockholm. The letter was mailed on Saturday 24 May and arrived at the Post Office Stockholm 1 the next day, also according to the back of the cover. Stockholm 1 was co-located with the head quarters of the Swedish Post at Vasagatan (Vasa Street), where the Swedish Post filled up two blocks. Falun is the capital (county seat) of Kopparberg County in the part of Sweden that is called Dalarna.

Domestic  - 20 g fee: 25 öre + express delivery fee: 65 öre
5 öre red New Numeral Type, type I. Issued 29 November 1951.
10 öre green Gustaf VI Adolf, type I. Issued 6 June 1951.
20 öre red Gustaf VI Adolf, type I. Issued 6 June 1951.

The domestic  - 20 letter fee was in 1952 25 öre and the express fee was 40 öre. The total sum was then 65 öre. To accomplish that five stamps were used. The stamps were applied from the right to the left. The two right most stamps, the 20 öre red Gustaf VI Adolf and the 5 öre New Numeral Type were used as the fee for the domestic letter rate and then a two strip of 10 öre green Gustaf VI Adolf followed by one 20 öre red Gustaf VI Adolf were used for the express fee. In May 1952 these stamps were the latest definitive stamps.

However they did not last for long, the first one to be discontinued was the 20 öre red, already in July the same year it was replaced by the 20 öre grey. The 10 öre green was replaced by the 10 öre brown in 1954. The 5 öre New Numeral Type, type I, was around for the longest time and replaced by the 5 öre red New Numeral Type, type II, in 1957. Read more about Gustaf V Adolf, type I - here, and about the the New Numeral Type - here.

Below is a picture of were the Post Office Falun 2 used to be. Well, Falun 2 seemed to have been a pretty small Post Office to me. I wonder when it closed down and how many that worked there. Did the Postmaster live in the attached house?

Where the Post Office Falun 2 used to be (Google)