1892 Mourning envelope, 1943 & 1941 cards of Travancore.

1892 One Chuckram (Die Type11) envelope  which carried a mourning letter from Varapuzha to Mutholi, Pala-Mennachil.

The envelope (obverse) is bordered by a thin black (inkpen) line, to inform the Anchal runner, that it's a letter which carried information of a deceased person, so as to rush the envelope to the recipient at the earliest.

2) 1943 Six Cash BRV portrait post card from Vechur to Kaduthuruthy, informing the death of a daughter (Rev: Sister Maria Annjala).

3) 1941 Mourning card from Trivandrum(32/12/1116) to Cochin (1/1/1117).

Mystery circular bar cancel....Rajakamangalam to Muttom Lighthouse.

Enigmatic 8 thick bar cancel (20 mm), with blank space inset, probably a trial run? 

One Chuckram envelope is 1890 (die type 11)...destined to reach Mutham (Muttom) Lighthouse, which is 5 k.m. from Rajakamangalam...addressed to C. P. H. Plummer, Sub Divisional Officer, Light House, Muttom.

Rajakamangalam Anchal office was operational only for a few months from 1064 (1888-'89) to 1065-'66 (1889-'90). Then reopened as Village post office, later in the year 1078 .

The envelope is devoid of despatch & delivery frankings.

 

1893 British Imperial India 'POSTAGE DUE' on Travancore 8 Cash card

1893 (13 April) Travancore Cash Eight perforated (10) post card from Kanjirapally (addressed to Appu Ayengar, Sub postmaster of Kottayam Post Office-British India) to Kottayam local Travancore anchal office (15 April) 

& then transferred/posted to British Imperial Kottayam office, attracting a Postage Due fine of One Anna...(normal post card rate is 1/4 Anna,  since this is a (part of) double card..normal rate for a double card is 1/2 Anna...hence taxed by 1 Anna).

Travelled thru' the green Travancore post box & red box of British India. 

 

 

1930 D.L.O. King George V envelope to Colombo from Nagercoil

1930 British Travancore registered  King George V One Anna with 2 Anna stamp affixed envelope from the District Court, Nagercoil (signed by the clerk) to British Occupied Colombo, Ceylon. 
Addressee ' Not Known' in  blue manuscript (obverse) along with UNCLAIMED  (boxed), sent to D. L.O MADRAS...returned to Nagercoil on 4 Oct 1930 



 

Eight Cash...thin card ..1889 with delivery cancel on the reverse.

22 July 1889...Eight Cash...'thin' post card written from Mulagumudu, posted from Colachel (as there is no Travancore post office then, in Mulagumudu. ..only British India post office) to Puthukkada, but was undelivered at Puthukkada (cancel not seen), probably the recipient Priest was at Kuzhithura (Kuzhithura cancel seen on the reverse).

 Another interesting fact is that it was delivered on the same day itself (22 July 1889), probably by the same Runner mail man, who must have found en-route, that the Priest is not at Puthukkada, have taken it straight to Kuzhithura. 

What is unusual, the delivery franking are seen on the reverse, instead of the obverse of the post card. Very rarely, delivery franking are seen on the reverse, rather than on the obverse...and it is mandatory that it should be on the face of the card.

Travancore first issued stamps & cards in October 1888.

'FOUR CASH' hand stamped in violet on Five Cash post card..Provisional issue

1902 a.d....'FOUR CASH' (rubber stamped in violet) surcharged on Five Cash (Perf:10) post card...hardly in use for a few months (2 to 4 months). Very Scarce.

These surcharged cards ceased to exist with the issue of the new Four Cash postcard, with the portrait of the Maharaja Sree Moolam Thirunal in 1902.

The despatch /delivery cds cancel of Trivandrum was uncatalogued in Dr Mooss's book of Travancore. This franking was a revised form of earlier cancel (with the day & time - used only for delivery, which was in use, from 1899 to 1902...day & time).

 

 

 

Travancore Instructional Markings...Express (അടിയന്ത്രം) ..2 different ..in English & Malayalam.

These instructional 'Express'(അടിയന്ത്രം) markings were seen affixed on registered postal articles which are meant to delivered urgently within few hours of posting.
The postal fees were calculated on the basis of distance per mile.
As these 'Express' delivery system were not accepted by the public, due to the high postal charges, they were seldom seen used on postal articles.

 These markings were never found used as cancellations, but only as directions to the postman as to the the importance of its expedite delivery.