FRANCE--Napoleon's Minister of Posts--The Second Republic--The
Presidency--Empire--French Expeditions to China and
Mexico--Sedan--Metz--Strasburg--The Siege of Paris--Balloon
Post--Pigeon Post--Peace--Military Frank Stamps--The German
Invasion, 1914--Red Cross Stamps--War Postcards and Postmarks.
The postal arrangements of France have been deranged oft-times within
the past century by war and revolution. It is just a century since the
famous episode of the Lavalettes occurred. The Count de Lavalette was
Director of Posts under Napoleon, and in 1814 he did his best to upset
the organisation and fled on the approach of the Allies. The following
year he returned to his post, and after Waterloo he was arrested on
a treason charge and sentenced to the guillotine. The Countess made
desperate efforts to gain the clemency of Louis XVIII., but without
avail. In the end she gained permission to go to her husband in
his prison. She went in a sedan chair with her daughter, and an
old servant of the family. The gaoler left the couple to their last
farewell, and on his return saw the broken-hearted wife assisted out
by her two companions. A little later he approached the Count, who lay
collapsed upon his bed covered in a large cloak, and his face buried
in his hands. It was some time after ere the gaoler discovered that
his prisoner was the lady, and that the Count had got clear away.
French stamps provide a very interesting record of the political
changes in the country, and provide one of the best illustrations of
how stamps demarcate the periods of a nation's history. We have dealt
at some length with this aspect of French stamps elsewhere,[5] and
limit our account here to a short pictorial one. The first French
stamps (_Fig._ 137) are inscribed REPUB. FRANC., and followed in the
wake of the revolution of 1848 when M. Etienne Arago was in charge
of the post office. They were first issued January 1, 1849, after the
election of Prince Louis Napoleon to the Presidency. The head on the
stamp engraved by the elder Barre is not the head of Liberty, as is
commonly supposed, but that of Ceres, the Italian goddess of Agriculture,
who was the same as the Greek Demeter or "Mother Earth," appropriate for
the design of the stamps of a country which is "one of Ceres' chiefest
barns for corn." Napoleon's _coup d'etat_ of December, 1851, was
followed by the issue in 1852 of stamps in which his portrait takes
the place of Ceres (_Fig._ 138). Late in the same year the Empire was
proclaimed, so in 1853 the abbreviated inscription REPUB. FRANC. was
altered to EMPIRE FRANC. (_Fig._ 139). Napoleon's successes in Italy
and elsewhere were acclaimed by adding the victor's crown of laurel
to the portrait on the stamps in 1863 (_Fig._ 140). His various
expeditions are marked for the collectors in a most interesting range
of Army postmarks, used in the Crimea, China, Mexico, etc., and of
French stamps used in the French post offices in the Levant, similar
to the British ones described in chapter I., and now rendered obsolete
by the closing of the post offices in October, 1914, as a result of the
"abolition of the capitulations." The Mexican expedition, largely
owing to the Civil War troubles in the States, led to the placing of
Emperor Maximilian on the throne of Mexico, and to the issue of stamps
of the Mexican Empire bearing that ill-fated ruler's portrait (_Fig._
141).
[Footnote 5: "All About Postage Stamps." By Fred J. Melville. London,
1913. T. Werner Laurie, Ltd.]
[Illustration: 137 138 139 140 141]
The Franco-German War has left the stamp collector an interesting
series of stamps catalogued as Alsace and Lorraine (_Fig._ 233), but
more properly called the stamps of the German Army of Occupation,
as they were used in the parts of France occupied by the German Army
during the war and afterwards in the two annexed provinces until
superseded by the German Imperial issues. September 2, 1870, witnessed
the surrender of Napoleon to the Prussians at Sedan, and in November
we find the head of Ceres recur on the stamps lithographed at Bordeaux
during the siege of Paris (_Fig._ 142).
[Illustration: 142]
This period is undoubtedly the most interesting one in modern postal
history. There is a vast array of Army postmarks of the war, special
postcards issued by the auxiliary committee of the Red Cross at
Strasburg, letters sent from Metz during the siege by free balloons,
and letters sent by a variety of ingenious methods from Paris. M.
Steenackers was the Director of Posts under the republic
proclaimed September 4, 1870, and his endeavours to maintain postal
communications between Paris and the outer world are among the most
fascinating of postal records. A cable was laid under the Seine to
Rouen, but the Germans dragged the river and destroyed it. Telegraph
wire had to be smuggled into the country, as the Swiss Government
declared it to be contraband. Letters were enclosed in different forms
of hollow spheres and thrown into the river; the spheres were flanged
so that they would rotate with the current. Hundreds of gallant
messengers, ladies as well as men, strove to reach the city with
concealed messages, mostly without success. One lady is said to have
succeeded in getting through with a letter which had been secreted in
a hollow tooth and the tooth stopped with gold. Even dogs were sent
with messages to Paris, but most of them were shot by the enemy. The
chief means of sending letters out of Paris was the balloon post,
and almost the only messages received within the city came by carrier
pigeons. There were free balloons and passenger balloons, a higher
rate of postage being charged for the latter. Letter sheets, etc.,
were issued for both services inscribed "PAR BALLON NON-MONTE," or PAR
BALLON MONTE. A register was kept of the services of aeronauts during
the siege.
The messages sent by pigeons were at first written in very small
handwriting, but afterwards they were photographed in microscopical
minuteness, so that a very large number could be carried by one
pigeon. These photomicrographs were projected on to a screen by
means of an optical lantern to read and transcribe the messages when
received in Paris. The films were placed in tubes attached to
the pigeon's tail. One pigeon arriving in Paris January 28, 1871,
delivered 40,400 messages by this means.
The later and more peaceful history of France has been typified on
its stamps by M. Jules Sage's allegory (_Fig._ 143) representing Peace
clasping hands with Commerce across the world by means of the post,
and by the late M. Roty's pleasing Semeuse or Sower design (_Fig._
144).
[Illustration: 143 144]
By a law promulgated February 9, 1900, a long discussed project to
allow soldiers and sailors serving with the colours a limited
free postage was brought into operation. Each man coming under the
description was allowed to send two letters a month free, and by
another law of December 29, 1900, the _Franchise Militaire_ stamp
system was introduced. These were at first the then current 15 centimes
stamps with the overprint F.M. (_Fig._ 145); their distribution is in
the hands of the military authorities, who allow two stamps a month to
each private or non-commissioned officer in the Army and Navy, enabling
them to send two letters not exceeding 20gr. free of postage. The two
types of the 15 centimes "Rights of Man" issue exist with the F.M.
overprint, issued in 1901 and 1903 respectively (_Figs._ 145, 146), and
the succeeding Sower type (_Fig._ 147) appeared in 1904. When the French
inland postage rate was reduced from 15 centimes to 10 centimes, April
16, 1906, the 10 centimes stamps were overprinted F.M. instead of the
15 centimes, two of the Sower types of 10 centimes value receiving the
overprint F.M. respectively in 1906 and 1907 (_Figs._ 148, 149).
Since January 30, 1912, these stamps have been used on the official
correspondence of the French civil service as well as by the military.
[Illustration: 145 146 147 148 149]
After forty years the fair fields of France are once again ravaged by
the German invaders, and already our allies across the channel have
issued special stamps which serve the double purpose of denoting postage
and of collecting small contributions to the French Red Cross. The
following is the official decree:
Le Pr['e]sident de la R['e]publique Fran[,c]aise.
Sur le rapport du Ministre du Commerce, de l'Industrie, des
Postes et des T['e]l['e]graphes,
D['e]cr[`e]te:
Article premier.--Il est cr['e]['e] un timbre-poste sp['e]cial,
d['e]nomm['e] "Timbre de la Croix-Rouge Fran[,c]aise." Le public aura la
facult['e], dans le r['e]gime interieur seulement, d'utiliser ce timbre
qui vaudra affranchissement jusqu'[`a] concurrence de 10 centimes
seulement.
Art. 2.--Ce timbre-poste est vendu 15 centimes. La diff['e]rence entre
le prix de vente et le valeur d'affranchissement, d['e]duction faite de
la remise r['e]glementaire de 1p. 100, sera vers['e]e [`a] la Commission
institut['e]e par le d['e]cret du 8 ao[^u]t, 1914, au minist[`e]re de la
Guerre, sous l'autorit['e] du service de sant['e] militaire et avec le
concours des Soci['e]t['e]s formant la Croix-Rouge fran[,c]aise.
Art. 3.--Par mesure transitoire et en attendant l'impression
du nouveau timbre, le public aura [`a] sa disposition des
timbres-poste ordinaires [`a] 10 centimes, portant en surcharge
le signe de la Croix-Rouge et le chiffre 5.
Art. 4.--Le ministre du Commerce et le ministre des Finances
sont charg['e]s, chacun en ce qui le concerne, de l'execution du
pr['e]sent d['e]cret.
Fait [`a] Paris, le 11 ao[^u]t, 1914.
R. POINCARE.
Par le Pr['e]sident de la R['e]publique:
_Le Ministre du Commerce, de l'Industrie, des Postes et des
T['e]l['e]graphes_,
GASTON THOMSON,
_Le Ministre des Finances_,
J. NOULENS.
[Illustration: 150 151 152]
As indicated in the decree, the first stamp (_Fig._ 150) was only of
provisional character, the ordinary French 10 centimes stamp
being surcharged "+ 5c", and selling for 15 centimes, two-thirds
representing the postage, and one-third the Red Cross contribution.
This was issued on August 18, 1914, and in all 600,000 were printed
before the definite Red Cross stamp (_Fig._ 151) was issued on
September 10. The Principality of Monaco has also issued a similarly
overprinted stamp for the French Red Cross (_Fig._ 152), and yet
another of this class of stamp has been issued for the French
Protectorate in Morocco (_Fig._ 153).
[Illustration: 153 154]
Special postcards have been furnished to the French troops and
there is a special postcard for the use of the public in writing to
soldiers. They are decorated with the flags of the Allies in colours,
and the first kind, "Mod[`e]le A," bear instructions to the effect
that "This card must be handed to the Quartermaster. It must bear no
indication of the place of sending nor any information relating to
military operations, past or future. Otherwise it will not be
forwarded."
On "Mod[`e]le B" (_Fig._ 154), for the use of the public, it is stated
that "if it is to be forwarded immediately the card shall contain
_personal news_ only." Messrs. Alfred Smith & Sons report the
existence of an unofficial imitation of "Mod[`e]le B" sold in the
streets of Paris. It differs from the genuine variety in the following
details:
(i) The flags are misplaced so that the French flag leans over
to the right, instead of being vertical;
(ii) The red and blue colours are shaded with black lines
only, instead of white and black lines;
(iii) The ruled line at the back is plain, instead of being
composed of square dots.
There is also a variety of plain letterpress cards, headed
"CORRESPONDANCE MILITAIRE--REPUBLIQUE FRANCAISE--CARTE POSTALE", and
other textual inscriptions, or in some cases with only the first two
words, with an arrangement of space for the address.
[Illustration: 156]
Many military postmarks have already been noted by collectors in
connection with the present campaign, but it is too early yet to
arrange them with proper regard to their use and significance. One
interesting episode is marked by the postmark of the Central Military
Postal administration of Paris (_Figs._ 155, 156). This establishment
accompanied the French Government when the latter moved to Bordeaux on
September 3, and continued to use the postmark inscribed Paris there,
so that impressions of _Fig._ 155 bearing dates between September 3
and October 13 (the date of the return to Paris) originated not in
Paris, but in Bordeaux.
[Illustration: 155 157 158 159 160 161 162]
A somewhat pathetic interest attaches to the mark _Fig._ 157
indicating "LIEU DE DESTINATION ENVAHI" (place of destination
invaded), and it appears that Tours has been a temporary centre for
civil correspondence undeliverable to parts of the country which have
been invaded (_Figs._ 158-160).
_Figs._ 161-168 represent various types of army postmarks, regimental
franks, etc., being used during the present campaign.
[Illustration: 167 168 163 164 165 166 167 168 169]