Gallery

>> THE POLISH POST OFFICE IN DANZIG 1920-1925

A red handstamp was applied to the right side of the card; the first three lines translate as follows:
From America
via Gdansk Nr. . . . . 
receiver to pay

The next five lines are indistinct, but evidently provide spaces for figuring the charges due under various headings. The bottom line of the handstamp is for the total. The charges (3 and 6 = 9 Marks) are added in pencil.

In the bottom right corner the office of destination has added a delivery fee in the space provided on the card. Another red handstamp appears in the lower middle of the card: “Wolne od cla”, meaning “duty-free”. In the lower left corner the weight of the parcel (3 g.) has been penciled in.

The parcel is addressed to Jan Sokolowski in Rzeszow, a town in Galicia (Southern Poland). While there is no indication of the date, the card was filled out in Gdansk, the reverse (not shown) has a transit circular date stamp of Tarnow 2 (i.e., the railroad station) 19.XI. and a receiver of Rzeszow dated 20.XI.20. The parcel probably left Gdansk on the 18th of October, 1920, but quite likely arrived there much earlier due to the long delays in clearing foreign shipments through customs, which were typical of this period.

I would be very happy to hear from any members who have similar items, especially if you have a clear strike of the handstamp. Also, who knows of any items indicating dates of earlier usage ?

Figure 2: SITE OF THE POLISH FORWARDING OFFICE IN NOWY PORT, or Neufahrwasser. Formerly Nr. 1, it became Nr. 3 in 1925.

*-  Polski Urzad Pocztowy Gdansk 3 (Wymiana Zamorska)

Danzig Report  Nr. 29 - October - November - December - 1980, Page 6.