Lot# 640 - Auction 265-273

1896: 1 g. blue postal stationery card (H&G 3), prepaying inland rate on Sept 24, 1896 cancelled by light strike of all amharic "ENTOTTO" in black; sent registered to Zurich, Switzerland with Somali Coast 1894 10 c. green & brown and 25 c. blue & rose imperforate (Ceres 10+12) cancelled by "Djibouti / Postes" datestamps in blue (Oct 10) applied for onward transmission (10 c. postage + 25 c. registration). Octagonal Paquebot datestamp "La Reunion a Marseille / L.V. No.2" in black (Oct 18) and Zurich arrival (Oct 30). The earliest recorded usage of the postal stationery card. The card is written by Alfred Ilg who helped Leon Chefneux establish the Concessionary Post Offices in Addis Abeba, Harar and Entotto, it is the sole recorded usage with an Entotto amharic datestamp and the only known usage in 1896. Cert. J-F. Brun (2017).rnrnProvenance: Collection Nachum Kaplan, Corinphila sale 169, Sept 2011, lot 753.

INFO: this card  is not the only known usage of this type in 1896. A similar postcard exists mailed on the same day but sent to another person