French Entry Stamps on India Mails, 1837-39
French paquebots in the Mediterranean
The 1830s and 1840s were exciting times for mails sent across the seas and oceans. These two decades saw a rapid transition in the carriage of letters from sailing ships (wind-assisted) to steamships (coal-assisted though they did have sails as an additional source of propulsion if needed).
This meant that mails could be carried regularly adhering to fixed schedules since ships no longer had to depend on when and how favourably the winds blew. Further, mails could be carried quicker since steamers were usually faster than their sailing cousins.
The first steamship to carry mails from India to the Red Sea so that they could be sent overland across Egypt and then through the Mediterranean to Europe was the East India Company’s (EIC) Hugh Lindsay. Leaving Bombay on 20 March 1830, she possibly carried mails on her first journey; however, no letters are known from that voyage.
In the coming years, EIC steamers made just a few voyages until they started doing so on a regular (monthly) contracted basis from mid-1837.1
French Steamers in Mediterranean
Prior to the involvement of the French government, certain private companies2 such as the Compagnie Bazin run by the Bazin Brothers of Marseilles operated steam packets between Marseilles and Naples. The problem was that they operated on a small scale and did not have the financial strength to run regular services beyond Italy.
The English navy started operating packet services to Malta since 1830. In 1835, the route was extended to Alexandria. So, the French were keen to have their own steamers in the Mediterranean.
In 1829, a first law was passed for the transport of correspondence by regular steamers at the expense of the state. Another law was voted on 30 May 18353 granting permission and money to the Ministry of Finance (under whom the postal administration was placed) to construct ten steamships, each of about 400 tons, and organise a regular postal service in the Mediterranean.4
On 7 April 1837, a undated notice by the Postal Administration was published in Le Moniteur Universel, the official government journal from 1799-1869 (Figure 1).
Among other things, it announced:
Establishment of a steamship line between Marseilles and Constantinople (with calls at Livorno, Civita-Vecchia, Naples, Malta, Syra, and Smyrna) effective 1 May 1837 (the so-called ‘Levant Line’)
To maintain communications with Greece and Egypt, another line between Alexandria and Athens (Le Pyrée) (with a stop at Syra) would be set up (‘Egypt Line’)
Departures and returns would take place every 10 days
Steamers on the Marseilles-Constantinople line would depart Marseilles on the 1st, 11th, and 21st of each month. And they would leave Constantinople on the 6th, 16th, and 26th (but in practice, it became the 7th, 17th, and 27th).
On the Alexandria-Athens route, steamers would leave Alexandria on the 6th, 16th, and 26th (in practice, 7th, 17th, and 27th) and from Athens on the 1st, 11th, and 21st of each month.
There would be 10 steamships of about 160 hp each
Each steamer would be commanded by an officer of the Royal Navy and manned by a crew of 42
The two lines intersected at Syra (Figure 2). So, incoming and outgoing Indian mails was carried between Alexandria and Marseilles as under:
Alexandria-Syra on a steamer of the Egypt Line
Syra-Malta and Malta-Marseilles on steamers of the Levant Line5
To identify letters carried by French packet steamers, certain entry stamps were applied at Marseilles, Paris, and Alexandria on Indian mails carried to France or via France to places in Europe and beyond.6
Entry Stamps at Marseilles
The two stamps applied at the French entry port of Marseilles to identify letters brought in by a French steamer operating in the Mediterranean were the large and small ‘PAQUEBOTS / DE LA / MÉDITERRANÉE’ (‘Steamships of the Mediterranean’).
The first stamp used was the large (32 x 16.5 mm) sized one (Figure 3 left).
Salles (1962, p.14-15) (see Appendix II for a brief biography of this great postal historian) says that this stamp was applied in black colour between 18 June 1837 and 3 March 1839 i.e. for a period of about 20 months. Later, red ink started being used and they are common.
A letter from the French enclave of Pondicherry in south India to Bordeaux, France is illustrated as Figure 4.
The letter was sent to a forwarding agent at Bombay under cover. It was received on 7 September 1838 and put into the Bombay General Post Office (GPO) on the same day (see manuscript on rear: ‘Received in Bombay 7th Septr./38 & forwarded on the following / day by Skinner & Co.’) Since the letter weighed under 1 tola (1 tola is about 0.4 oz), the agent paid 8 annas (see red ‘8’ on front top right) for the steamer conveyance from India to Alexandria.
(1 anna = 1½ pence; so 8 annas = 1 shilling. Also 16 annas = 1 Rupee. A table of inland and steam postage rates are in the Appendix.)
The Bombay GPO applied a red oval ‘INDIA’ (Giles SD6 used July 1838 to 1856). This was done to help London GPO distinguish steamer letters from ship letters and apply the correct incoming postage.
When it arrived at the French Post Office in Alexandria, the letter was struck with a datestamp of 7 October 1839 as well as a black ‘INDES ORIEN. / PAR / ALEXANDRIE’ (more on this mark a bit later).
Traveling in three different French steamships, the letter arrived at Marseilles on the Leoindas (Figure 5). At the Post Office there, a black ‘PAQUEBOTS / DE LA / MÉDITERRANÉE’ was impressed. Note that the letter was disinfected at Malta as evident from the ‘PURIFIE AU LAZARET / MALTE’ and two vertical slits.
On delivery at Bordeaux, 19 decimes (front center) postage due from the recipient for a single weight letter weighing less than 7.5 gm; this comprised of 10 decimes French sea rate between Alexandria and Marseilles plus 9 decimes French inland postage for the straight-line distance of 500-600 km between Marseilles and Bordeaux.
From 15 January 1839 to 1 April 1839 or just under three months, a small (29 x 12 mm) black ‘PAQUEBOTS / DE LA / MÉDITERRANÉE’ (Salles 726) (Figure 3 right) was used. From 12 April 1839, the stamp is seen in red. The former is rare.
A ‘Waghorn’ cover bearing a red mark is illustrated as Figure 6 (more on Thomas Waghorn, the famed propagator of the ‘Overland Route’ can be found in one of my earlier articles).
The letter was posted in Calcutta where the rectangular ‘INDIA’ (Giles SD16 used 1838 to 1845) was applied.
The sender paid the single inland rate of 15 annas to Bombay plus 8 annas steamer postage from Bombay to Alexandria for a total of 1 Rupee 7 annas (see rear). Apart from the Post Office’s charges, the sender would have also paid Waghorn’s fees of 1 Rupee (see ‘1/’ inside the oval ‘Care of / Mr Waghorn / Suez) to Samuel Smith & Co., his Calcutta agent
At Marseilles on 2 July 1839, the small red ‘PAQUEBOTS / DE LA / MÉDITERRANÉE’ was applied since the letter was carried from Malta to Marseilles by the French Rhamses.
At London, the GPO impressed the ‘BRITISH {1.10} / FOREIGN {1 10½}’ stamp (Willcocks and Jay L1010 recorded as used 6 March 1838 to 15 April 1840) for a total postage due of 3s8½d. The former number is British postage of 1s10d on letters containing one sheet of paper while the latter is French postage of 1s10½d on letters weighing up to ¼ oz.
Entry Stamp at Paris
Only one entry stamp is recorded as having been used at Paris - a bright red oval (38 mm x 22 mm) ‘PAQUEBOTS / DE LA / MÉDITERRANÉE’ (Figure 7) - from 14 October 1837 to 20 June 1848. However, it is seen mainly in the period 1837-38 and 1842-45.
The French Post Office in Alexandria sent certain letters to the Paris Post Office for processing. They may or may not bear entry stamps of Alexandria but will not have any of Marseilles.
Which letters were sent to Paris? Those for destinations like Paris, Le Havre, and Nantes as well as those for foreign countries mainly Great Britain.
An entire letter bearing this mark is shows as Figure 8. It does not bear any stamps of the French Post Office in Alexandria since the carriage from that port to Malta was by a British Admiralty steamer.
Written at Bombay, the letter was put into the Bombay GPO on 5 January 1838. The sender paid 2 rupees (red ‘R2-’ top left) for the conveyance from India to Alexandria on letters weighing 1-2 tolas.
At Bombay GPO, a black oval ‘INDIA’ (Giles SD6) was struck. This mark in black is very scarce and known used only from late-1837 to July 1838. It was followed by the red which ‘INDIA’ we saw in Figure 4.
On arrival at Paris, the scarce red oval ‘PAQUEBOTS / DE LA / MÉDITERRANÉE’ was impressed.
Sent across the English Channel, the London GPO struck the ‘BRITISH {5.6} / FOREIGN {5 7½}’ stamp (Willcocks and Jay L1010 used 6 March 1838 to 15 April 1840) for a total postage due of 11s1½d. The former number is British postage of 5s6d on letters containing three sheets of paper (1s10d single) while the latter is French postage of 5s7½d on letters weighing between ½ and ¾ oz.
Entry Stamps of Alexandria
The first entry stamp used at the French Post Office in Alexandria was a rectangular ‘INDES ORIEN. / PAR / ALEXANDRIE’ (‘East India by Alexandria’) (Figure 9 left) on mails from the East, primarily India, brought to Suez by EIC steamers.
The stamp measures 30 mm x 16 mm. It is known to have been applied in black ink only and used from 27 October 1837 to 17 February 1839 or 16 months.
The letter in Figure 4 contains an application of this stamp on 7 October 1838. Below, I discuss another letter sent from Madras to Bordeaux with the earliest application of this on 27 October 1837 (Figure 10).
The letter was posted in the southern city of Madras. The sender paid 13 annas inland postage to Bombay as it weighed up to 1 tola (see ‘As13 to Bombay’ rear bottom). It also paid 1 Rupee steam postage for conveyance to Alexandria since the letter weighed 1 tola (see ‘wg 9/16Rs Steam Postage Rs / 1’ where ‘wg’ is ‘weight’ and ‘9/16 of a Rupee’ is 0.5625 of a Rupee coin or 1 tola). The Madras GPO applied a red oval ‘MADRAS / POST PAID / 7 AU 7 / 1837’.
Arriving at Bombay, the letter was put on the Berenice. However, she returned to Bombay twice and the letter was subsequently put on the Atalanta (for more details, see sections #4 and #5 of one of my earlier articles).
At the French Post Office in Alexandria, the ‘INDES ORIEN. / PAR / ALEXANDRIE’ and datestamp of 27 October 1837 was applied - its earliest use.
The letter was taken to Syra by the French Minos. At that place it was put on the Sesostris. Unfortunately, this steamer developed engine trouble and could not make it to Marseilles; letters were offloaded at Toulon where they were disinfected. While two vertical slits can be seen, a ‘Purifié à Toulon’ (Purified in Toulon) must have also been applied, but is too faint (again, see #8 and #9 of my aforesaid mentioned article for more).
On delivery, 29 decimes on delivery paid by the recipient on letters weighing 7.5 gm to less than 10 gm i.e. 1.5 rates
In early 1839, the rare double circular ‘INDES / {Date} / ALEXANDRIE’ (Salles 729) (Figure 9 right) replaced the undated rectangular stamp.
Always struck in black, Salles (1962, vol. II, p.16) records its application between 27 March and 7 September 1839 i.e. just over five months (Figure 9).7
A letter with the earliest use of this is shown as Figure 11.
Similar to the letter discussed earlier (Figure 4), this letter was sent from Pondicherry to Bombay under cover. As it weighed less than 1 tola, the forwarding agent would have paid 8 annas for the conveyance from Alexandria.
The Bombay GPO applied the red oval ‘INDIA’. Arriving at the French Post Office in Alexandria, the letter was struck a black double circular ‘INDES / 27 / MARS / 1839 / ALEXANDRIE’; this being the earliest known use of this mark (per Salles).
At Marseilles the red ‘PAQUEBOTS / DE LA / MÉDITERRANÉE’ was impressed.
38 decimes (front center) was collected from the recipient for this letter since it weighed 10 gm to less than 15 gm.
End of Alexandria Entry Stamps
Unlike their Marseilles and Paris counterparts, the two entry stamps of Alexandria saw usage for a short while only.
The boxed stamp was replaced by the double circular one in early 1839 and the latter’s used was itself stopped after just a few months. The reason being the execution of an Additional Anglo-French Postal Convention in May 1839 effective 12 August 1839. To overcome the hassles of disinfecting items individually, Article VI allowed mails coming from the East to be sent to / through France in hermetically closed cases made of plate-iron or tin. Hence, letters no longer needed to be processed and stamped at Alexandria.
Resurrection
The ‘INDES / {Date} / ALEXANDRIE’ stamp saw a resurrection in the late 1850s, similar to the fictitious Rip van Winkle who awoke after 20 years!
This stamp is only known on mails from India for Smyrna (modern day İzmir in Turkey) or Beyrout. Salles presumes that the stamp was lying at the French Post Office in Alexandria and it was convenient to use it.
In its second avatar, Salles (1962, supplement to vol. II, p.1) gives the dates of use as between July 1860 and December 1861.
A front of a cover bearing this stamp of date 19 December 1859 i.e. an earlier than recorded use, is shown in Figure 12.
A part entire with a later than recorded use of the mark - ‘INDES / 15 / JANV / 61 / ALEXANDRIE’ - is illustrated as Figure 13.
These letters from India to Alexandria to Smyrna are almost always addressed to J. Barth, Director of the English College at Smyrna.8 Most letters are in a not-so-good condition and are often found as a front only.
Appendix I: Inland and Steam Postage Rates
Appendix II: On Salles and Tristant, maritime experts par excellence
Much of the French information in this piece comes from the works of the great French postal historian, Raymond Salles (1899-1976).
Salles is best known for his nine-volume work (La Poste Maritime Française) on the maritime mails of France which was published between 1961 and 1975. For his contributions to philately, he was invited to sign the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1974. Despite the years gone by, the works of Salles have, by and large, stood the test of time.
The other postal historian who built on Salles’ works and extended them was Henri Tristant (1909-1995). He wrote a number of articles and books on French maritime mails.
Tristant was a full member of the Académie de Philatelie from 11 June 1967. Owing to disagreements with a number of other members, he resigned on 4 April 1987. He gives a full account of his version of the circumstances that lead to his resignation in his 1987 book.
References
Abensur Robert. “L’administration des Postes de France en Méditerranée (1837-1851).” In Beyond the Sea: Maritime Mail before 1878, edited by Paul Wijnants, 111-117. Begijnendijk, Belgium: Paul Wijnants, 2019.
Chauvet, Michèle. Introduction A L’Histoire Postale Des Origines A 1849. 2 - Les Tarifs Postaux (= Introduction to Postal History from Its Origins to 1849. 2 - Postal Rates.). Vol. 2. 2 vols. Paris: Brun & Fils, 2000.
Giles, D[erek]. Hammond. The Hon. E.I.C’s Steamers of 1830 - 1854. Handbook of Indian Philately. London: The India Study Circle for Philately, 1995.
Kirk, R[eginald]. The P&O Bombay & Australian Lines 1852-1914. Vol. 1. 4 vols. British Maritime Postal History. Heathfield, East Sussex: Postal History International (A Proud Bailey Division), 1981.
Salles, Raymond. La Poste Maritime Française. Addendum au Tome I. (=The French Maritime Post. Addendum to Volume I.). Vol. I. IX vols. Encyclopédie de la Poste Maritime Française Historique et Catalogue. Paris: The Author, 1963.
———. La Poste Maritime Française. Addendum au Tome V. (=The French Maritime Post. Addendum to Volume V.). Vol. V. IX vols. Encyclopédie de la Poste Maritime Française Historique et Catalogue. Paris: The Author, 1966.
———. La Poste Maritime Française. Tome II. Les Paquebots de la Méditerranée de 1837 à 1939. (=The French Maritime Post. Volume II. The Ships of the Mediterranean from 1837 to 1939.). Vol. II. IX vols. Encyclopédie de la Poste Maritime Française Historique et Catalogue. Paris: The Author, 1962.
Tabeart, Colin. Admiralty Mediterranean Steam Packets 1830 to 1857. Limassol, Cyprus: James Bendon Ltd., 2002.
Tristant, Henri. Franco-Maltese Postal Relations from Their Origins to 1870. Translated by Godwin Said. Valletta, Malta: Emmanuel Said, 1983.
———. Les Lignes Regulières De Paquebots-Poste: Du Levant Et D’Égypte 1837 - 1851 (=The Regular Lines Of Packet-Posts: From the Levant and Egypt 1837 - 1851). Paris: The Author, 1987.
In mid 1837, the EIC concluded an arrangement with the British government “for establishing a monthly packet to Alexandria, and from Bombay to Suez; the whole expense to Alexandria, and half the expense from Suez to Bombay, to be paid by the Government (the Government receiving the postages).” establishing a monthly packet to Alexandria. This was reported in The Asiatic Journal (vol. XXIII, May-August 1837, pg. 259) quoting the Chairman of the East India Company, Sir James Rivett-Carnac.
For more details see Henri Trisatant’s privately produced Poste Maritime Coloniale et Méditerranéenne: Publications de Presse, 1979-1988 (=Colonial and Mediterranean Maritime Post: Press Publications, 1979-1988). It contains a long work titled Les Premiers Paquebots à Vapeur de la Méditerranée (=The First Steam Ships of the Mediterranean) which was originally published in l’Echo de la Timbrologie a publié between February 1983 and March 1985.
This date comes from Salles (1962, vol. II, p.10). On the other hand, Tristant (1987) mentions that the relevant bill was adopted in the Chamber of Deputies (Chambre des députés) on 27 May 1837 and in the Chamber of Peers (Chambre des pairs) on 29 June 1837.
These steamships also carried passengers and cargo, of course. Just carrying mails would not have been remunerative.
When services started in May 1837, the same steamer operated on the entire route between Marseilles and Constantinople. Starting December 1837, two different steamers operated on the Levant Line.
While the stamps of Marseilles and Paris were used beyond 1839 until 1843-44, I will restrict myself to the the former date as I want to cover only the earliest mails.
However, Abensur (2019, p.115) says that the stamp came into use by the end of January 1839.
The British College was established in 1851 by Mr. Samuel Sheppard, an Englishman, to impact a thorough English training to its inmates.