1944 Dead Letter Office (D.L.O.) 'Ambulance' envelope

This privelege 'ambulance' (serves the purpose of an Ambulance which carries the deceased to its home)  envelope was used to return the  unclaimed / refused / D. L. O.  letters/envelopes to the office of despatch (only if the senders address is written on the dead cover), for delivery to the sender, free of charge.

An unclaimed envelope addressed to K.Kunjulakshmi Amma, enclosed in the D.L.O. envelope was posted from D. L.O. office @ Trivandrum (19 Vri 1120..Dec 04, 1944) to the Official Receiver, Trivandrum  (21 Vri '20..6/12/'44).

'Detter' for Letter...erroneously printed.

 Very Rare.  

British India 'Postage Due' on Travancore Cash Eight card

1) Travancore to Calcutta. 

1892...Travancore 8 Cash card posted from Tiruvella Anchal office (Medam 11, 1067...April 24) to Changnacherry Anchal office (Medam 12..April 25) ...Pre-stamp era cds.

 & transferred to Changnacherry (manuscript in Malayalam by the Anchal postmaster) Imperial post on April 25  for onward transmission to Calcutta with boxed Postage Due (1/2 Anna..in red manuscript). Delivered @ Calcutta  (April 30).

Postcard rate is 1/4 Anna, hence taxed by 1/2 Anna..twice the deficient.

 2) Travancore green Anchal postbox to Imperial  red postbox.

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 double card is 1/2 Anna...hence taxed by 1 Anna).

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

British Imperial India combination envelopes.

1) 1892 Travancore One Chuckram envelope tied with Victoria Half Anna stamp cancelled with squared circle of Tenkasi on the reverse....posted from Tenkasi (25 April 1892) to  British post @ Shencottah (26 April)...then transferred to Travancore Anchal post @ Shencotta..Thi-54 barred circle (Medam 15, 1067...27 April) & to the final destination @ Quilon (Medam 16...28 April).

2) 1889 Private envelope tied with One Chuckram stamp affixed on the reverse with  Thi 50 barred circle of  Mavelikara  (Kanni 5, 1065) posted to Kayamkulam  (Kanni 6) & then transferred to British Post of Kayamkulam (27 Sept, 1889) with Queen Victoria 1/2 Anna stamp tied with 'M' in barred circle of Kayamkulam, addressed to Tellicherry (29 Sept).

Reverse of the envelopes..1 & 2

Obverse of the envelopes..1 & 2.

 

Travancore...covers affixed with only Travancore stamps travelled to Australia & England...with Postage Due.

 1936 & 1942...Unusual to find envelopes with Travancore stamps only,  travelled abroad with censor markings ...Usually these envelopes would be affixed with British India stamps.

Probably this must have escaped the postal authorities attention, and passed thru', only because they are official envelopes with Travancore service stamps.

Experimental Office cancel No 3

7 th July 1919 (Midhunam 22, 1094)....the earliest cover, as mentioned by P. Wells in ISC journal, was despatched registered from Cochin State  Pazhayannur (C-22) to Kazhakambalam (Travancore), with Parikshartham (പരിക്ഷാർത്ഥo ആപ്പിസ്  No 3) cancel.

No 3...office, though an Experimental Office (only for 6 months) was in the limelight for almost 12 years..(1919 to 1930).

 

Interstate Cochin Half Puttan envelope to Quilon, Travancore State..

 1904 ...Cochin Half Puttan green envelope to Quilon via Travancore mail exchange station.. Edapally to Quilon.

1932 envelope from British Imperial post to Travancore post.

1932, April 26

 from Manaparai (British Post) to Ettumanoor (British Post..27 April) & then transferred to Travancore Ettumanoor post office (16 Medam 107...27 April 1932) with postage due (Kuli... കൂലി)...and delivered on the same day to the destination...Kidangoor (കിടങ്ങൂർ...'ർ' is missing)...Malayalam...single line circular cancel.

 Scarce usage, for these are hard to find..British India & Travancore cancellation in one cover. Postage Due (Kuli) 'probably' be 1 1/2 Chuckram (24 cash..double the deficiency of 3/4 ch (12 cash). 

There was no mention of rate of postage due, in the rectangular slab.

In 1932, there was a change,after 12 years, from 10 cash to 12 cash for  normal postage.