Postal Censorship in Russia is a popular collecting field. The interest of the cover above is that - according to Robert Taylor - it shows the earliest recorded use of a Three Triangle censor mark. The ordinary letter has been sent during the Post Free period from a small town in Nizhni-Novgorod guberniya to Nizhni - itself. Here it received two strikes of a rather strange NIZHNI NOVGOROD * 1 C 5 12 19 cancel - Taylor says this is a machine cancel but there is something odd about "* 1 C" - I would expect "* 1 * " . I will have to find some more examples of the machine cancel to see if my expectations have any basis ... [Note added: Go to Ivo Steijn's Comment below for a response to my doubts]
It also received one strike of a NIZHNI - NOVGOROD 5 12 19 with three triangles at base. These are so clearly struck (as are the letters "NIZH.." that it is clear a brand new device is being used. According to Taylor, the only other Three Triangle censor mark known used in 1919 is one from SARATOV used on 19 December 1919.
Trevor, the Nizhnii machine postmark is legit, it just has a weird inscription, suggesting it was at the 1st (sub-?)office, and has serial letter "S". It was in use at least since 1915.
ReplyDeleteAlso nice about the Nizhnii 3 Triangles marking is that it was Nizhnii in the new spelling.