Austrian Post Offices In The Ottoman Empire on:
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Austria and other European nations maintained an extensive system of post offices in the Ottoman Empire, typically motivated by the unreliable postal system of the Ottomans.
File:Prevesa Austrian 1 02 sld 1863.jpg, 2 soldi, 1863 Lombardy Venice issue, cancelled at
Some of the 1867-1883 soldi issues are rather common in unused state, contrary to the kreuzer equivalent. An extreme case is the 2 soldi yellow ''fine beard'', lately issued in 1882: the ratio in value is 5000!
The first items of Postal stationery to be made available to Austrian post offices in the Turkish Empire were envelopes in 1863. A total of 10 different envelopes in soldi currency were issued up to 1877, these were valid for use till 31 October 1884. Only one envelope was ever issued in French currency in 1908 (5 Centesimi for Jerusalem).
Postal stationery postcards were first issued in 1873 in soldi currency, 5 different postcards were issued. Then in 1888 these were replaced by an issue in Turkish currency, a total of 13 different items were issued before these were replaced by postcards in French currency in 1903. A total of 8 different postcards are known in French currency.
Only one 10 soldi
AskPhil – Glossary of Stamp Collecting Terms
* Rossiter, Stuart & John Flower. ''The Stamp Atlas''. London: Macdonald, 1986. * Shaw, Stanford J. & Shaw, Ezel Kural, ''History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey Volume 2'', 1977, Cambridge University Press,
List of post office locations, opening and closing dates
{{PostalhistoryEurope Buildings and structures of the Ottoman Empire Communications in the Ottoman Empire Communications in Austria 18th century in the Habsburg monarchy 19th century in the Habsburg monarchy Philately of Turkey Philately of Austria
First and last service period
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
gained permission in 1721 from the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
to operate a postal service for official correspondence only and subsequently this was extended to the opening of post offices and carrying mail for merchants. This resulted in 1748 with the establishment of a post office in Galata
Galata is the former name of the Karaköy neighbourhood in Istanbul, which is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn. The district is connected to the historic Fatih district by several bridges that cross the Golden Horn, most notabl ...
outside of Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
, and eventually extended to 65 locations throughout the Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
and the eastern Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
. The oldest known cancellation is a double linear "CONSTAN-TINOPEL" in 1787.
The latest remaining Austrian post offices in Turkey area were closed on 30 September 1914.
Stamp issues
Beginning in 1863, stamps of Lombardy-Venetia were used: 2 to 15 soldi, which can be recognized only by the cancellation. After the losses of Lombardy in 1859 and Venetia in 1866, Austria issued in 1867 and 1883 specific stamps, in appearance identical to Austrian stamps of the same period, but valued insoldi
"Soldi" (; ) is a song recorded by Italian singer Mahmood. It was released on 6 February 2019, as the fifth single from his debut studio album, ''Gioventù bruciata'' (2019). Mahmood co-wrote the song with Dario "Dardust" Faini and Charlie Cha ...
(2 to 50 soldi).
Details on Levant Austria post-offices using the 1867 issue are given in Part III ''Postämter in der Levante''.
In 1886 this was changed to paras and piasters to match the Turkish money already used by other countries, by surcharging the existing stamps of the offices, with further issues between 1888 and 1907: values ranging from 10 paras to 20 piasters.
The Jubilee issue of 1908-1914 included directly values in paras and in piasters.
Gallery
Preveza
Preveza ( el, Πρέβεζα, ) is a city in the region of Epirus, northwestern Greece, located on the northern peninsula at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the regional unit of Preveza, which is part of the region of Epiru ...
, Rare.
File:Prevesa Austrian 1 05 sld 1866.jpg, 5 soldi, 1864 Lombardy Venice issue, cancelled at Preveza
Preveza ( el, Πρέβεζα, ) is a city in the region of Epirus, northwestern Greece, located on the northern peninsula at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the regional unit of Preveza, which is part of the region of Epiru ...
File:Prevesa Austrian 1 15 sld 1865.jpg, 15 soldi, 1864 Lombardy Venice issue, cancelled at Preveza
Preveza ( el, Πρέβεζα, ) is a city in the region of Epirus, northwestern Greece, located on the northern peninsula at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the regional unit of Preveza, which is part of the region of Epiru ...
File:Cavalla rare blue cancellation.jpg, Rare blue CAVALLA cancellation (Kavala
Kavala ( el, Καβάλα, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit.
It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the Egnat ...
)
File:Prevesa Austrian 3 05 sld 1875.jpg, 5 soldi, 1867 issue, cancelled at Preveza
Preveza ( el, Πρέβεζα, ) is a city in the region of Epirus, northwestern Greece, located on the northern peninsula at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the regional unit of Preveza, which is part of the region of Epiru ...
early in 1875
File:Prevesa Austrian 3 10 sld 1877.jpg, 10 soldi, 1876-83 issue, cancelled at Preveza
Preveza ( el, Πρέβεζα, ) is a city in the region of Epirus, northwestern Greece, located on the northern peninsula at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the regional unit of Preveza, which is part of the region of Epiru ...
in 1877
Image:Stamp Austrian PO Turkish 1876 10sld.jpg, 10 soldi, cancelled Costantinopoli Lloyd Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
in 1883
File:Austrian Levant 1888-1pi.png, 1888, 1 piaster overprinted, possibly used at Herakleion
Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban Ar ...
(Candia)
File:Austrian Levant 1895-1pi.png, 1 piaster overprinted, used at Canea
Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion.
The muni ...
in 1895
File:Rodi Oesterr Post 1895.jpg, 2 piasters at Rhodes
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...
in 1895
Image:Stamp Austrian PO Turkish 1906 10pa.jpg, 1906, 10 paras used at Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
Image:Stamp Austrian PO Turkish 1908 2pi.jpg, 1908, 2 piasters
Postal stationery
The first items of Postal stationery to be made available to Austrian post offices in the Turkish Empire were envelopes in 1863. A total of 10 different envelopes in soldi currency were issued up to 1877, these were valid for use till 31 October 1884. Only one envelope was ever issued in French currency in 1908 (5 Centesimi for Jerusalem).
Postal stationery postcards were first issued in 1873 in soldi currency, 5 different postcards were issued. Then in 1888 these were replaced by an issue in Turkish currency, a total of 13 different items were issued before these were replaced by postcards in French currency in 1903. A total of 8 different postcards are known in French currency.
Only one 10 soldi lettercard
In philately, a lettercard or letter card is a postal stationery item consisting of a folded card with a prepaid imprinted stamp. That it is folded over gives the writer twice as much room for the message compared with a postal card. The messag ...
was issued in 1886. Four different 1 Piaster lettercards were issued in 1888, 1890, 1900 and 1908.
During the period of Turkish currency three different newspaper wrapper
In philately a wrapper is a form of postal stationery which pays the cost of the delivery of a newspaper or a periodical. The wrapper is a sheet of paper, large enough to wrap around a folded or rolled newspaper and with an imprinted stamp to pay t ...
s were issued in 1899, 1900 and 1908.Ferchenbauer Streifbänder p.552 One newspaper 5 Centimes wrapper was issued in 1908 for Jerusalem.Higgins & Gage World Postal Stationery Catalog In philately, the ''Higgins & Gage World Postal Stationery Catalog'' is the most recent encyclopedic catalogue of postal stationery covering the whole world. Despite most volumes not having been updated for over thirty years, the catalogue and the ...
See also
*Postage stamps and postal history of Austria
This article deals with the stamps and postal history of the Austrian Empire, Cisleithania within Austria-Hungary, and the Republic of Austria.
The historical context
The Austrian Empire stamps were first issued on June 1, 1850: a coat of arms ...
*Austrian post offices in Crete
This article provides an overview of the Austrian post-offices presence in Crete and the use of French currency on Austrian stamps in the Ottoman Empire.
Postal History
Along with several other nations, the Austro-Hungarian Empire maintained it ...
*Postage stamps and postal history of Palestine The postage stamps and postal history of Palestine emerges from its geographic location as a crossroads amidst the empires of the ancient Near East, the Levant and the Middle East. Postal services in the region were first established in the Bronze ...
* Stamps of the Levant on Wikimedia Commons
References and sources
;References ;Sources *Stanley Gibbons
The Stanley Gibbons Group plc is a company quoted on the London Stock Exchange specialising in the retailing of collectable postage stamps and similar products. The group is incorporated in London. The company is a major stamp dealer and philat ...
Ltd: various catalogues
AskPhil – Glossary of Stamp Collecting Terms
* Rossiter, Stuart & John Flower. ''The Stamp Atlas''. London: Macdonald, 1986. * Shaw, Stanford J. & Shaw, Ezel Kural, ''History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey Volume 2'', 1977, Cambridge University Press,
External links
List of post office locations, opening and closing dates
{{PostalhistoryEurope Buildings and structures of the Ottoman Empire Communications in the Ottoman Empire Communications in Austria 18th century in the Habsburg monarchy 19th century in the Habsburg monarchy Philately of Turkey Philately of Austria