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Overland Mail Baghdad Haifa Pages

The Route Instruction Handstamps

 

A large number of route instruction handstamps have been recorded and many others are known but so far not recorded in the literature. On my site I will only show handstamps which are either in my own collection or hand stamps which I could measure my self to verify the size. Therefore the listing will not be complete (but growing) and is already very much representative.

Previous writers have listed the handstamps with number HS-1 till HS-94 in a sequence, largely based on the inscription of the handstamp and I will follow the same sequence.

Image

Handbook Number

Handbook Size

Measured size (from items in my collection)

Comment


 

HS 05

(200 dpi)

30 x 9 mm

39,25 x 9,50 mm

I believe there was a typing error in the handbook (“0” for “9” in 39). Unfortunately, only one such hand stamps was known to the author, mine might be only the second one known,  so proving my theory is my next task


 
HS-06 40 x 10 mm 40,80 x 11,10 mm On cover front from Iran

HS-06 (1) 40 x 10 mm 40,00 x 10,70 mm On cover from Iran to London, England


 

HS-07 50 x 15 mm 48,40 x 11,40 mm  

 
HS-08
blue color
59 x 17 mm 58,20 x 17,40 mm  

 
HS-08
(2. copy)
59 x 17 mm 56,80 x 17,10 mm Width not possible to measure due to weak handstamp
Sender Orodski-Back

 
HS-08
violet color
59 x 17 mm 58,60 x 17,80 mm Sender Abdeni

 
HS-08, similar 59 x 17 mm 58,10 x 17,30 mm Sender Abdeni

 
HS-08, similar
red colour
59 x 17 mm 58,10 x 17,30 mm Sender Abdeni

 
HS-13 43 x 14 mm 44,00 x 14,50 mm  

 
HS-15-1 46 x 9.5 mm 46,99 x 9,9 mm  

HS 15-2 46 x 9.5 mm 46,70 x 9,7 mm  

 
HS-17 43,5 x 13 mm 43,70 x13,50 mm Sender address unknown but cover was sent from Mosul. Color of the cachet is now confirmed as violet


 

HS-20 68 x 10 mm 62,40 x 10,50 mm  

 
HS-25 58 x 15 mm 60,20 x 13,00 mm  


 

HS-34

 50 x 15 mm

 50,30 x 15,80 mm

 


 

HS-35

 63 x 22 mm

 62,90 x 22,70 mm

 


 
HS-38 85,50 x 4 mm 83,70 x 4,50 mm  

 
HS-43 89 x 4 mm 88,20 x 4,10 mm  


 

HS-50

 70 x 11 mm

 70,50 x 11,50 mm

 


 
HS-51 61 x 14 mm 61,40 x 14,80 mm  

 
HS 53  55 x 10.50 mm 55.10 x 12.60 mm On cover dated 09. November 1925. New earliest date.
Difference in height eventually due to thick lines on top and bottom?
 

 
HS-57 57 x 4 mm 56,70 x 4,00 mm  


HS-63 69 x 6 mm 69,90 x 6,80 mm  


HS-65 55 x 11 mm 56,20 x 11,7 mm Letter franked with 3 Annas, before curreny change in 1932! 


HS-65-1 55 x 11 mm 56,30 x 11,7 mm Letter dated 29. February 1932 to France


 

HS-74

 57 x 6 mm

 55,50 x 6,40 mm

 


 
HS-76 59,50 x 12 mm 58,10 x 12,70 mm  

HS-77 62 x 16 mm 67,3 x 16,9 mm On cover from Eldorado Photo, Baghdad, privioulsy unrecorded sender. The size of the handstamp is slightly different as mentioend in Collins book. Dated 12. June 1929


HS-79 (1) 65 x 6 mm 64,7 x 8,10 mm On Cover from H.G. Tufenkdjian, Teheran, Iran, to Cleveland, Ohia, USA, dated  10.09.1941
  HS-79 (2) 65 x 6 mm 64,4 x 7,20 mm On Cover from H.G. Tufenkdjian, Teheran, Iran, to Cleveland, Ohia, USA, dated  14,.09.1941
Slightly different dimension from the Handstamp as listed above. 

 
HS-81 53 x 9 mm 52,10 x 8,70 mm On cover from Baghdad 10. FEB 1932) to Sweden

 
HS-82 30 x 13 mm 30,00 x 13,70 mm  


 

HS-86

 61,50 x 17 mm

 61,50 x 17,30 mm

 


 
HS-87 56 x 21 mm 55,30 x 21,20 mm  

HS-N01a

 Not listed

 42,10 x 12,60 mm

This handstamp and the one below I have on a cover  sent February 1925 from Iraq, Basrah (Busrah) to England. Although the size of the two handstamps is identical (as I can make out based on the poor strikes and my measurement), the appearance of the handstamp and its colour is somehow different. So far, these are the only ones known.


 
HS-N01b  Not listed 42,10 x 12,60 mm See comment above

 
HS-N02a  Not listed 53,70 x 6,60 mm This handstamp I only have seen on a "sample" post from the "Iraq Automobile Association" Baghdad to USA.

 
HS-N02b Not listed 53,30 x 6,10 mm This handstamp is again on a "sample" post from the "Iraq Automobile Association" Baghdad to USA. The measurements are very slightly different from the one above but this might be due to the nature of the handstamp.

 
HS-N03 Not listed 52,50 x 12,90 mm similar to HS-28. HS-28 is listed with a more or less identical size but the line below "BAGHDAD - HAIFA in my copy is much shorter.

 
HS-N04 Not listed 53,90 x 5,80 mm On cover from Bahrain

 
HS-N05 Not listed 51,80 x 6,90 mm On cover from Bahrain

 
HS-N06 Not listed 58,20 x 7,20 mm On cover from Bahrain

 
HS-N07 Not listed 72,00 x 10,20 mm On postcard from Palestine

 
HS-N08 Not listed 48,70 x 19,40 mm On (part) cover from England? to Isphahan. No sender address, no franking

 
HS-N09 Not listed 70,70 x 12,80 mm On a 25.02.1930 cover from Baghdad to Marseilles/France, no senders address.

 
HS-N10 Not listed 55,20 x 16,30 mm  

 
HS-N11 Not listed 50,34 x 13,70 mm

 

On a July 1924 cover from Abdullah Y. Ftaya, Baghdad to Jerusalem.

 
HS-N12 Not listed 67,00 x 21,10 mm On a July 1924 cover from New York to Basrah, handstamp applied in New York
HS-N13  Not listed  49,50 x 13,12 mm  On  1920th cover form basrah to UK, London, no sender address 
         
     

Copyright by:
Rainer Fuchs
Am Burkardstuhl 31
97267 Himmelstadt
Germany
E-Mail to: briefmarken@gmx.de