https://kingstonstampclub.ca/forum/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 23:23:35 +0000 MyBB https://kingstonstampclub.ca/forum/showthread.php?tid=381 Sat, 04 Jul 2026 13:45:50 +0000 Hugh]]> https://kingstonstampclub.ca/forum/showthread.php?tid=381
It's a commercial airmail cover from Buenos Aires to German-occupied Paris that was returned to sender in 1941.


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It was posted on February 19,1941 and routed by the Axis-controlled Condor–LATI South Atlantic service.

The single-ring CDS reads VIA AEREA*BUENOS AIRES*E*ARGENTINA* inside the ring and 19?FEB41.19½ in the centre.


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I don't have a comparator, so my working assumption is that the 'E' after Buenos Aires stands for Expedición ... the dispatch section of the Buenos Aires Central Post Office. I don't think it means Exterior based on a discussion I read on an Argentine forum. 

Source: https://foro.filateliaargentina.org/view...t=60&t=601

The 19½ after the posting date would appear to be a time-stamp ... 7:30PM.


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The typed instructional marking POR AVION – via CONDOR LATI. indicates that it was to be sent by air mail using the Condor-LATI route. LATI (Linee Aeree Transcontinentali Italiane) inaugurated a regular Rio de Janeiro to Italy service in December 1939. Although it extended it's route to Beunos Aires in July 1941, when this cover was sent the connection between Rio and Buenos Aires was supplied by other airlines ... in this case Condor. From Rio it would have travelled via LATI to Cape Verde, Spain and Italy.

The stamps total 1 peso 45 centavos ... not an inexpensive flight.

There is a large purple hand-stamp on the front. It reads, COMMISSIONE PROVINCIALE DI CENSURA TORINO inside the ring and VERIFICATO in the centre.

That is, the Provincial Censorship Commission in Turin and the word 'Examined'. During this examination, the cover was opened on the left side and resealed with a buff-coloured tape [Verifi]cato par censura / TO = Examined by censorship, Turin. 


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There is evidence that the Italian censor stamp was also applied on the back. It is partially covered by a German examiner tape used over the flap reading Geöffnet = Opened. On the tape is a large black circular hand-stamp with the German Eagle and Oberkommando der Wehrmacht. There is also a lower case 'e' at the bottom of the hand-stamp indicating that the cover was examined in Frankfurt am Main by the Auslandsbriefprüfstelle (Foreign Letter Examination Service) which was one of two offices tasked with examining mail to and from North and South America. Another German hand-stamp, in purple, has been applied with the number '2' under the eagle. Possibly an additional control or examiner's number. 

Source:  https://www.postalcensorship.com/example...codes.html


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Following the Italian and German examinations, the cover appears to have been sent to Marseilles where the following three-line purple hand-stamp was applied:


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RETOUR À L’ENVOYEUR = Return to sender
RELATIONS POSTALES = Postal relations
INTERROMPUES = Interrupted

I say Marsailles based on a specialist French Postal History study which labels this unframed hand-stamp as the "griffe retour de Marseille" and records its dimensions as:

ETOUR À L’ENVOYEUR — 37 mm
RELATIONS POSTALES — 32 mm
INTERROMPUES — 23 mm

These measurements match those on my cover. According to the study mail addressed to the occupied zone of France (in this case Paris) but entering through unoccupied France was redirected to Marseille where this hand-stamp was frequently applied. It noted that the hand-stamp was applied in red ink until October 1940 and, after that, in purple. The exact reason for the return is not clear as Argentina was a neutral country.

Source: https://www.histoire-et-philatelie.fr/pa...cupee.html

Cheers, Hugh

Note: One marking on the  cover I can't explain is this one. It's not German (too big). Is it an Argentine censor mark? The number of the examiner in Italy? A ghost impression. Suggestions welcome.


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It's a commercial airmail cover from Buenos Aires to German-occupied Paris that was returned to sender in 1941.


  Image 7.jpg (Size: 562.38 KB / Downloads: 0)

It was posted on February 19,1941 and routed by the Axis-controlled Condor–LATI South Atlantic service.

The single-ring CDS reads VIA AEREA*BUENOS AIRES*E*ARGENTINA* inside the ring and 19?FEB41.19½ in the centre.


  Image 8.jpg (Size: 334.68 KB / Downloads: 0)

I don't have a comparator, so my working assumption is that the 'E' after Buenos Aires stands for Expedición ... the dispatch section of the Buenos Aires Central Post Office. I don't think it means Exterior based on a discussion I read on an Argentine forum. 

Source: https://foro.filateliaargentina.org/view...t=60&t=601

The 19½ after the posting date would appear to be a time-stamp ... 7:30PM.


  Image 9.jpg (Size: 92.8 KB / Downloads: 0)

The typed instructional marking POR AVION – via CONDOR LATI. indicates that it was to be sent by air mail using the Condor-LATI route. LATI (Linee Aeree Transcontinentali Italiane) inaugurated a regular Rio de Janeiro to Italy service in December 1939. Although it extended it's route to Beunos Aires in July 1941, when this cover was sent the connection between Rio and Buenos Aires was supplied by other airlines ... in this case Condor. From Rio it would have travelled via LATI to Cape Verde, Spain and Italy.

The stamps total 1 peso 45 centavos ... not an inexpensive flight.

There is a large purple hand-stamp on the front. It reads, COMMISSIONE PROVINCIALE DI CENSURA TORINO inside the ring and VERIFICATO in the centre.

That is, the Provincial Censorship Commission in Turin and the word 'Examined'. During this examination, the cover was opened on the left side and resealed with a buff-coloured tape [Verifi]cato par censura / TO = Examined by censorship, Turin. 


  Image 10.jpg (Size: 181.61 KB / Downloads: 0)

There is evidence that the Italian censor stamp was also applied on the back. It is partially covered by a German examiner tape used over the flap reading Geöffnet = Opened. On the tape is a large black circular hand-stamp with the German Eagle and Oberkommando der Wehrmacht. There is also a lower case 'e' at the bottom of the hand-stamp indicating that the cover was examined in Frankfurt am Main by the Auslandsbriefprüfstelle (Foreign Letter Examination Service) which was one of two offices tasked with examining mail to and from North and South America. Another German hand-stamp, in purple, has been applied with the number '2' under the eagle. Possibly an additional control or examiner's number. 

Source:  https://www.postalcensorship.com/example...codes.html


  Image 11.jpg (Size: 424.57 KB / Downloads: 0)

Following the Italian and German examinations, the cover appears to have been sent to Marseilles where the following three-line purple hand-stamp was applied:


  Image 12.jpg (Size: 265.5 KB / Downloads: 0)

RETOUR À L’ENVOYEUR = Return to sender
RELATIONS POSTALES = Postal relations
INTERROMPUES = Interrupted

I say Marsailles based on a specialist French Postal History study which labels this unframed hand-stamp as the "griffe retour de Marseille" and records its dimensions as:

ETOUR À L’ENVOYEUR — 37 mm
RELATIONS POSTALES — 32 mm
INTERROMPUES — 23 mm

These measurements match those on my cover. According to the study mail addressed to the occupied zone of France (in this case Paris) but entering through unoccupied France was redirected to Marseille where this hand-stamp was frequently applied. It noted that the hand-stamp was applied in red ink until October 1940 and, after that, in purple. The exact reason for the return is not clear as Argentina was a neutral country.

Source: https://www.histoire-et-philatelie.fr/pa...cupee.html

Cheers, Hugh

Note: One marking on the  cover I can't explain is this one. It's not German (too big). Is it an Argentine censor mark? The number of the examiner in Italy? A ghost impression. Suggestions welcome.


  Image 13.jpg (Size: 157.15 KB / Downloads: 0) ]]> https://kingstonstampclub.ca/forum/showthread.php?tid=111 Sun, 28 Sep 2025 16:11:19 +0000 Hugh]]> https://kingstonstampclub.ca/forum/showthread.php?tid=111
In 1962 Peru issued a series of stamps with the image of the ruins of a large pyramid structure, with four levels, built on a hill near what is today the town of Paramonga.

During the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire in the early 16thC, the structure reminded those who saw it of a European Fortress. And, so it became known as the Fortress of Paramonga. In 1541 Pedro Cieza de León wrote, "The buildings were very handsome, and many wild beasts and birds were painted on the walls, which are now all in ruins and undermined in many places by those who have searched for buried gold and silver. In these days the fortress only serves as a witness to that which has been" [Wikipedia].

It was old when the Inca Empire was new.

More recent archaeology suggests, however, that the complex had a more religious purpose. But who knows? Fort or Temple? As de León suggested, it is a silent witness to a distant past.

Stamp:
Peru: Definitive Series of 1962
Fortaleza de Paramonga, Ruinas Incas
Issued on November 19, 1962
1s [Peruvian Sol], Rose-carmine
Mi.Nr. 622


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Satellite photo by Peru-Sat1


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In 1962 Peru issued a series of stamps with the image of the ruins of a large pyramid structure, with four levels, built on a hill near what is today the town of Paramonga.

During the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire in the early 16thC, the structure reminded those who saw it of a European Fortress. And, so it became known as the Fortress of Paramonga. In 1541 Pedro Cieza de León wrote, "The buildings were very handsome, and many wild beasts and birds were painted on the walls, which are now all in ruins and undermined in many places by those who have searched for buried gold and silver. In these days the fortress only serves as a witness to that which has been" [Wikipedia].

It was old when the Inca Empire was new.

More recent archaeology suggests, however, that the complex had a more religious purpose. But who knows? Fort or Temple? As de León suggested, it is a silent witness to a distant past.

Stamp:
Peru: Definitive Series of 1962
Fortaleza de Paramonga, Ruinas Incas
Issued on November 19, 1962
1s [Peruvian Sol], Rose-carmine
Mi.Nr. 622


  Image 2.jpeg (Size: 548.17 KB / Downloads: 1)

Satellite photo by Peru-Sat1


  Image 3.jpeg (Size: 579.66 KB / Downloads: 0) ]]> https://kingstonstampclub.ca/forum/showthread.php?tid=71 Thu, 14 Aug 2025 20:30:33 +0000 Hugh]]> https://kingstonstampclub.ca/forum/showthread.php?tid=71
In August 1942, Brazil had entered the war on the Allied side, responding in part to Axis submarine attacks on Brazilian shipping. The Força Expedicionária Brasileira (FEB) or the Brazilian Expeditionary Force in English, arrived in Naples in the summer of 1944. It was was the only Latin American ground force to fight in Europe during World War  2. Roughly 25,000 Brazilian troops served alongside the Allied forces in the Italian Campaign. These troops were integrated into the U.S. 5th  Army under the overall command of General Mark Clark. Much of their combat operations took place in northern Italy’s mountainous terrain.

Brazilian troops sported an emblem of a pipe-smoking snake nicknamed 'Cobra Fumando', referencing a popular saying at the time: “It’s more likely for a snake to smoke a pipe than for Brazil to send an expeditionary force overseas.” Once Brazil did go to war, the ironic image stuck as a badge of pride.

Stamps:
Brazil - Honouring the B.E.F. and the U.S. 5th Army
Issued on July 16, 1945
20c
Sc. 635
40c
Sc. 636
1Cr
Sc. 637
2Cr
Sc. 638
5Cr
Sc. 639

This display page appears to have been a dealer's sample and was included in a 2-hole 25 x 27cm loose leaf stamp album. 


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In August 1942, Brazil had entered the war on the Allied side, responding in part to Axis submarine attacks on Brazilian shipping. The Força Expedicionária Brasileira (FEB) or the Brazilian Expeditionary Force in English, arrived in Naples in the summer of 1944. It was was the only Latin American ground force to fight in Europe during World War  2. Roughly 25,000 Brazilian troops served alongside the Allied forces in the Italian Campaign. These troops were integrated into the U.S. 5th  Army under the overall command of General Mark Clark. Much of their combat operations took place in northern Italy’s mountainous terrain.

Brazilian troops sported an emblem of a pipe-smoking snake nicknamed 'Cobra Fumando', referencing a popular saying at the time: “It’s more likely for a snake to smoke a pipe than for Brazil to send an expeditionary force overseas.” Once Brazil did go to war, the ironic image stuck as a badge of pride.

Stamps:
Brazil - Honouring the B.E.F. and the U.S. 5th Army
Issued on July 16, 1945
20c
Sc. 635
40c
Sc. 636
1Cr
Sc. 637
2Cr
Sc. 638
5Cr
Sc. 639

This display page appears to have been a dealer's sample and was included in a 2-hole 25 x 27cm loose leaf stamp album. 


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