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France: World War I
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Another fifty-cent postal card ... It was posted in France and has a single ring CDS that reads CRÉCY EN PONTHIEU / SOMME inside the ring and 8. -8 in the centre. Contextual evidence suggests the year was 1915.
As near as I can make out, this one is addressed as follows ...
Correspondance des prisonniers de Guerre [Correspondence for Prisonniers of War]
au Soldat de Neuil Henri [To Solider Henri de Neuil]
sapeur du 3ème Génie, Cie 4/4 [Sapper, 3rd Engainer Corps, Company 4/4]
Interné au Camp de [Interned at the Camp at]
Friedrichsfeld, Baraque 5 [Friedrichsfeld, Barrack 5]
Wesel, N° 2208 [Wesel, No. 2208]
(Prusse Rhénane) via Pontarlier [Rhenish Prussie, via Pontarlier]
There is a lot to unpack here. A woman named Catherine is writing to Henri, her younger brother, a French soldier who is interned at Friedrichsfeld POW camp in Germany during World War I. She writes,
Mareesquelt, le 8 août 1915
Cher petit frère,
Sommes heureux d’avoir reçu ta carte de bonne santé.
C’est nous souhaitons qu’elle te trouve de même.
Je t'envoie un mandat ce Mardi.
Notre frère Charles et
notre Grand père, grand’mère, tantes, les cousins ainsi
que ta sœur Marcelle t’embrassent.
Je termine en t’embrassant bien fort.
Ta sœur qui pense à toi,
Catherine
[Maresquel, August 8, 1915
Dear little brother,
We were happy to receive your card letting us know you're in good health.
We hope this one finds you in the same condition.
I’m sending you a money order this Tuesday.
Our brother Charles, our grandfather, grandmother, aunts, cousins, and your sister Marcelle all send their love.
I’ll close now, embracing you warmly.
Your sister who is always thinking of you,
Catherine]
Maresquel was about 25 kilometers from where the card was postmarked.
The letter is being sent to the German POW camp via Switerzland. As can be seen, it is being routed to the French town of Pontarlier. From there, it will be moved accross to the border to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Switzerland (ICRC) who as a neutral party will facilitate the POW mail exchange between France and Germany. In August 1914, the ICRC established l'Agence Internationale des Prisonniers de Guerre [International Agency for Prisoners of War] in Geneva. Each side maintained the right to inspect and censor mail.
On the cover, we can see on the lower right a blue hand-stamp. This is a censor mark from the authorities at the Friedrichsfeld Camp. I can make out part of the printed text (Friedrichsfeld) confirming it was applied to the card at the camp.
Kriegsgefangenenlager Friedrichsfeld was a significant German POW camp during WW1. It was one of the larger camps and was located near the town of Wesel, in the Rhineland region (then known as Prussian Rhineland or "Prusse Rhénane"), close to the Rhine River. This area is in present-day North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
The picture side of the card shows a photo titled: MARCHEVILLE (Somme). — Entrée de Marcheville sur Danvast.
The Publisher appears to be Lèon Cueillez of Marcheville.
That was a lot of fun for fifty cents.
I wrote in the January newsletter about my first stamp album, which was part of a collectors set I was given in 1967. I am fond of any box of supplies that is intended to introduce someone to a new pastime, so I was absolutely thrilled to find this Canada Post Stamp Travellers Club box at the KSC auction last week:
It was less than $10 - ridiculously inexpensive, compared to listings on eBay, which want almost $40 just to ship the binder! I didn’t look in the box before bidding, beyond seeing the binder. I just opened it today, and found so much more:
The binder, a package of precision ruled “make them yourself” pages and country name labels, an unopened package of hinges, and a stock book with the Stamp Travellers Club logo.
The stock book was full of Machins - an iconic stamp I cannot get enough of. And the bottom of the box contained a selection of kiloware:
I am so glad I was there to get this fabulous item! We are very fortunate to have a club with such frequent auctions, and members with such wonderful stuff to sell.
See the thread at the top of this Forum for what's going on!
These are the participation gifts available leading up to the meeting for February 12.
Make your post, reply or comment in the proper forum and then come here and "Reply" to this post, say where you posted and claim one of the following gifts for delivery at the club on February 12, 2026. Webmaster (Roy) will put it aside with your name on it. Pick it up at the club. If you miss the meeting, so sorry, gift goes back into the pool. (We want you at the meetings too!)
More than one of each of these is available, but supplies of each are limited. Webmaster may not get to posting "This Gift is gone" in time, so it is possible you may be asked to pick an alternate.
#1
US $3.20 Space Shuttle used
#2
Bermuda Map Maximum Card
#3
Iceland FDC Maximum Card: ancient books
#4
GB Isle of Jethou FDC
#5
GB Lundy Island FDC
#6
Canada Trains FDC
We’d like to encourage more members to take part in our discussion board.
Launching "Participate and Pick up a Gift" !
Here’s how it works:
• Make any post on the discussion board (a new article, doesn't matter how long, a question, a comment, or a reply)
• Visit the “Gifts Available” post below and choose one available item
• Pick up your gift at the next club meeting
Gifts are donated by the webmaster and will vary from meeting to meeting (covers, stamp packets, individual stamps or sets).
One gift per member, per meeting.
Please note: Gifts are picked up in person at the meeting -- if you miss the meeting, the gift goes back into the pool for next time. (We want you at the meetings too!)
Hope you like the gifts! Claim a new one every meeting. Just participate!
Roy
25-01-2026, 08:03 PM
Forum: Announcements from Club Executive / Webmaster for everyone
- No Replies
We’d like to encourage more members to take part in our discussion board.
Launching "Participate and Pick up a Gift" !
Here’s how it works:
• Make any post on the discussion board (a new article, doesn't matter how long, a question, a comment, or a reply)
• Visit the “Gift Selection” post and choose one available item
• Pick up your gift at the next club meeting
Gifts are donated by the webmaster and will vary from meeting to meeting (covers, stamp packets, individual stamps or sets).
One gift per member, per meeting.
Please note: Gifts are picked up in person at the meeting -- if you miss the meeting, the gift goes back into the pool for next time. (We want you at the meetings too!)
Hope you like the gifts! Claim a new one every meeting. Just participate!
Roy
Germany adopted meter franking later than many other countries. However, during the currency crisis in 1923 prototype machines were rushed into use in several cities. The three biggest players merged and formed FRANCOTYP GmbH. Their first commercial, multi-value, lever machines were heavily marketed in 1924.
Over ten thousand machines were in use for commercial and bulk mailings by early 1932. In 1934, the new regime ordered all new meter dies to carry state symbols. Initially this was a small swastika but it was quickly replaced with a larger eagle and swastika by the end of the year. By 1939, there were 25,000 such machines in use.
The operator fed the mail through a lever operated printing head and, in one motion, the dater and value frank was struck. Values were selected by a hand-wheel and counter-wheels reduced the prepaid credit.
Here is an example of a FRANCOTYP meter franking on a cover (actually a folded advertising reply card) from August 7, 1939. The metered postage of 3Pf (for printed matter) was applied with red ink (the UPU standard for such mail). This commercial cover was sent by Förster & Borries courting distributors for its 1940 “Föbo” line of calendars.
The single ring dater die reads, around the inside rim, ZWICKAU (SACHS) / II. The II suggests the firm had two machines. In the centre is the date ... 7 . 8 . 39 / 19‑20. [Evening, August 7, 1939]
Here is an example of a metered cover, using the same type of machine, during the occupation after the war.
It's the same basic die but Deutsches Reich and the swastika have been ground off. Allied directive No. 30, on May 13, 1945, ordered the removal of all emblems of the Third Reich. Francotyp meter dies were literally milled away and, as with adhesive stamps, become examples of local or provisional franking. The ink colour is no longer a red but a violet or brown ink which was common toward the end of the war and during the occupation (until late 1946) when aniline red ink was scarce. The UPU still required red ink, but the violet/brown ink was tolerated until red became available. The printed matter postage rate is now 6Pf. The Allied Control Commission increased the Drucksache [printed matter] rate on March 1, 1946. The 1946 dater die is a double ring with bar.
These are catalogued as aptiert [altered] dies. The term describes any cancel, meter die, or printing plate whose design was physically excised or re‑engraved.
The cover is a commercial cover. That is, a folded flyer from Erwin M. Meine, a Berlin stamp wholesaler / dealer. The meter reads, BERLIN SW 11 / am and 11.9.46. -16 [September 11, 1946] Berlin 11 would have been postal district Kreuzberg in the American Zone.
Later in the year, new replacement dies with the more neutral DEUTSCHE POST began to appear across all four occupation zones.
One other interesting change, I suppose, is in the area of language used in correspondence. It changed too. The text of the 1939 marketing material included a phrase at the end of the copy ... Mit Deutschem Gruß [With German Greetings]. In 1933, Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick ordered this phrase be used for traditional sign-offs on all government correspondence. In other words, it become a compulsory closing to a letter. Over time it also become common in commercial correspondence and was added to contemporary 'style manuals'. The copy of the 1946 flyer doesn't use this expression. The phrase was banned by the Allied Control Commission. It was classified as verfassungsfeindliche Kennzeichen [an unconstitutional sign].
As for the stamp dealer .. his product offering is quite interesting. On the surface he is simply promoting the few German issues he is allowed to trade. Yet, he seems to be doing a good job of positioning the local and occupation stamps aa a patriotic tokens of Germany's physical and economic reconstruction.
He writes, "These lots contain only officially recognized issues in splendid assortments, and the material sells quickly. ... The print‑runs of these issues are almost universally far smaller and therefore full of future promise!"
I got both covers from one of Roy's approval boxes. With apologies to Forrest Gump, you never know what you're going to find.
Cheers, Hugh
Here are some 1944-45 sets of North China Japanese Occupation stamps.
They were issued for use in Hunan, Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong and Norther Jiangsu.
Stamps:
North China Japanese Occupation Stamps
Overprints on earlier stamps of Sun Yat-sen and Martyr / Chen Ying-shih
[Note: Lower overprints are printed R to L on stamps]
Series: 6th Anniversary of the General Post Office of North China
Issued on August 15, 1944
Upper Overprint, black: 北 華 [North China]
Lower Overprint, red / blue: 郵政總局成立 / 六周年紀念 [The establishment of the General Post Office / Commemoration of the sixth anniversary]
Sc. 8N95 - 98
The Japanese set up a regional GPO at Beijing in June 1938.
Series: Commemoration of the Death of Wang Ching-wei (Wang Jingwei (1883-1944)
[President of the Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China (1940-1944), a puppet state of the Empire of Japan]
Issued on December 5, 1944
Upper Overprint, black: 北 華 [North China]
Lower Overprint, black / blue: 汪主席 / 葬典紀念 [Chairman Wang / Funeral Commemoration]
Sc. 8N99 - 102
Following the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, Wang accepted an invitation from the Japanese to form a collaborationist government in Nanjing, of which he served as the head of state until his death shortly before the end of World War II in Asia.
Series: Commemoration of the 2nd Anniversary of the Declaration of War
Issued on January 9, 1945
Upper Overprint, black: 北 華 [North China]
Lower Overprint, red / black: 參戰二周年 / 紀念 [The second anniversary of the war / Commemoration]
Sc. 8N103 - 106
These four stamps refer to the 2nd anniversary of the January 9, 1943 declaration of war on the US and UK by the 'Reorganized Government' in Nanjin
A 2002 joint issue between Canada and Hong Kong, China ...
13-01-2026, 11:56 PM
Forum: Worldwide -- anything else that doesn't fit
- Replies (2)
While perusing the Home Front History page on Facebook, I discovered these lovely cigarette cards from the 1930s, filled with tips for safety. I collect slogan cancels issued by governments attempting to modify citizen behaviour (e.g., USE A POSTAL CODE; MAIL EARLY FOR CHRISTMAS; PRAY FOR PEACE; BUY WAR BONDS) and I therefore found these cards to be irresistible. One of the best images posted was related to philatelic safety. I won’t post that because I have ordered an album of these cards for a gift, but perhaps the intended recipient will add the image to my post …
Sunday, February 22nd, 2026
10:00 am to 4:00 pm
The Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (This is on the east side of the city before the downtown traffic snarl!)
6 Sakura Way
Toronto M3C 1Z5
$10 admission includes free parking
17 dealers confirmed so far
https://torontopostcardclub.com