Postmaster or Philatelist Provisionals?

The imperforate Russian Imperial Arms stamps issued by the Kerensky [Provisional] government in 1917 were occasionally perforated locally by postmasters, private companies or by philatelists. Unfortunately, you probably need several examples to establish to what category a perforation belongs, though if you have a Money Transfer Form or Parcel Card it is almost certain that you are looking at a Postmaster Perforation. Normally, it's not that easy.

Above is an ordinary letter from ZOLOTONOSHA [ Polatava Gub.] 26 8 17 addressed to Petropavlosk in Akmolisnk Guberniya - there is a weak receiver cancellation on the reverse dated 3 9 17. The 7 kopeck stationery envelope has been uprated with a strip of 3 imperforate 1 kopeck stamps which have been neatly perforated 11.5 [line perf I think]. It is impossible to say who did this in the absence of more examples.

What is perhaps most surprising is that if this perforation was done locally, then someone had a very good perforating machine out in mainly rural and poor Poltava guberniya. Perhaps a printer of Zemstvo stamps had one ...

Other Uses for 3 kopeck Imperial Arms stamps

Every Russia collector must be familiar with 3 kopeck Imperial Arms stamps used to frank postcards and picture postcards in the period between, say, 1900 and 1917. That was undoubtedly their main use.

But 3 kopecks was also a tariff for other categories of mail and these are worth looking for. Above you will see a "Sample Without Value" [ text saying this on the left of the envelope] sent from PETROGRAD / 53 OTDEL / 18 7 17 to Helsinki, with Finnish censor cachet in red dated 2 VIII 17. The envelope was sealed only with a string or metal tag [ now missing] so that it could be easily opened. The franking is provided by a 3 kopeck imperforate from the 1917 provisional issue of the Arms stamps

I think this is a nice item and it's not for sale :)

British Society of Russian Philately

I am down to present a display at the annual meeting of the British Society of Russian Phlately in London on 23 - 24 October.

It's a display largely made up of material you would find in dealers' boxes rather than in serious auctions: 1917 - 1919 Russian covers and cards franked with Imperial Arms stamps in the IMPERFORATE versions issued by the Provisional (Kerensky) government in 1917 and later by the Soviets.

I am looking only at the period in which these stamps are used at face value. Some of them, like the 4 kopeck, are more common used at the later period (1920 - 22)when they were revalued into roubles.

Most of the exhibit comes from other dealers' boxes, a few have been pulled from large auction lots of mixed covers and cards, and just one item was bought as a single lot in an auction - a cover which shows imperforate stamps locally perforated. I got this from Cherrystone.

Anyone reading this with stuff to sell in this category, then I am interested :) The exhibit is only the beginning of what I hope will be a larger project.