To Pay and Postage Due
Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 6:00 pm
Dear Maurice,
I can't quite figure out what happened in what sequence on this cover and any insight will be welcome!
Here's what I think happened...
1) The 1d Scarlet was cancelled with a CDS 14 DE 36, from Wallasey, Cheshire, and was stamped 1d TO PAY 466J and then went off to London for delivery.
2) At Knelting 22 the surcharge of a penny was refused and the postman wrote in pencil across the lower corner, "Refused" and initialed it. (This is faint, and looks as if it were erased by some philatelic vandal).
3) Back at the local sorting office in LONDON, a POSTAGE DUE 1d label was attached, and stamped on top with a cachet, CHARGE NOT ACCEPTED/FRESH LABEL REQUIRED. This cachet has a large St Andrew's cross in it and the whole is in purple ink.
What happened next is where I'm wondering... a new CDS from the London sorting office is stamped on the Postage Due label, there is a pencilled initial beside this, and in the right margin in blue pencil is "P S PAID".
On the reverse is a CDS that reads LONDON E C/G 14 DE 36/14 which is almost certainly the same CDS stamped onto the Postage Due label.
Apart from anything else it all seemed to have happened on the 14th December!
Cheers,
Robin