Auction 333-341 Europe & Overseas - Day 5

Russian P.O. in Aleppo, Ingoing 1869 (Jan 22): Entire letter from Constantinople via Alexandretta to Aleppo, bearing Russian Levant 1868 5 kop. deep blue perf. 15½, tied by mute retta cancellation in blue, reverse with KONSTANTINOPOL despatch (Tchilinghirian fig 3) and "PORT ALEXANDRETTA” transit cds's (Tchilinghirian fig 799), both in blue. Upon arrival in Aleppo struck by extremely rare two-line “POSTE-RUSSE / d’ALEP” (Tchilinghirian fig 205). Some foxing, nevertheless a most interesting cover, one of only four covers known to date, one of only two of them in combination of the elusive handstamp with a Russian Levant franking. Cert. Buchsbayew (2014).

Note: The existence of a Russian post at Aleppo remained unsuspected for a long time. Most letters were transported by the Turkish post from Aleppo to Alexandretta, where they were transferred to the foreign postal services. Vice versa, incoming mail was charged and Turkish postage due was added. However, Tchilinghirian (1958) described in the collection of Franz See an ingoing stampless cover from the Marcopoli correspondence which was struck in Aleppo by a two-line “POSTE-RUSSE / d’ALEP”. In the 1960 supplement of their work, Tchilinghirian & Stephen noted two additional covers with this cancellation, another stampless item from the same correspondence ex Liphschutz and the present cover from Smyrna ex collection Matuhin, franked with 5 kop Levant adhesive. These covers establish that some sort of a Russian post was functioning in Aleppo. In between a fourth cover was found, all ingoing to Aleppo on the two dates of January 22 and January 28, 1869.
Interestingly, this cancellation looks were similar to the French “POSTE FRANCAISE / d’ALEP” and may have been manufactured by the same craftsman.
All four covers show a taxation of ‘1’ (piastre) in red crayon.

Reference: Described in detail in Tchilinghirian “Stamps of the Russian Empire used abroad”, part VI on pp. 536-537 (1957).