Indochina, Completion of the Trans-Indochinese Railway, June 8th, 1938, Michel Nr. IND 227-230; Four stamps in nominals of 5C, 6C, 18C and 37C were issued in perforation 13.5.

Here is a complete sheet of the 18C value. Note that all margins of the sheet are intact just cut off in the scan due to size limitations.

Here is the postally used set.

Very rare single franking of the 5C value on a printed matter mailing sent from Saigon to Batavia in Indonesia. These type of mailings were mostly tossed out and hence are very hard to find these days. The letter was most likely routed through Singapore were the English censured it (no banderoles were necessary as the letter was left open for inspection). It was again censured by the Dutch upon arrival. Germany had occupied the Netherlands already in May of 1940 but the Dutch Government in exile controlled the Dutch East Indies until the Japanese occupation in 1942.

International registered air mail letter sent from Saigon to Marseille in France in September of 1941. France was already occupied by Germany after the invasion in 1940 but the Southern part of France (where Marseille is located) was still governed by the German affine Vichy Government. Nevertheless, the letter was censured twice. First by the Japanese that occupied Indochina at the time but this is invisible as they used the old French censor banderoles and hand stamps that had been used by the French prior. The letter was censured a second time in Vienna which was already part of Nazi Germany at the time as indicated by the German banderole and censured stamps. A cachet in French “Vise Par La Douane” (intended for the border) can be found on the reverse.

Mixed franking of the 18C Railway Opening stamps (2) together with stamps from the Domestic Scenes II set paying an overall postage of 43C on an international air mail letter sent from Saigon to India in April of 1939. Indian transit and arrival cancels on the reverse.

Mixed franking of the 18C Railway Opening stamps (2) together with a 1C stamp from the Domestic Scenes II set paying an overall postage of 37C on an international air mail letter front sent from Phong Saly (small post office)  to France in February  of 1939. Indian transit and arrival cancels on the reverse.

Mixed franking of the 37C Railway Opening stamps (2) together with stamps from the Domestic Scences II, Air Mail and San Francisco Exhibition sets paying an overall postage of 1.30P on an international air mail letter sent from Hanoi to the United States in June of 1940. The letter was censored by the French military in Indochina and then again by the British as it was routed through Hong Kong. Victoria (HKG) transit cancel on the reverse.

Mixed franking of the 37C Railway Opening stamps (2) together with stamps from the Domestic Scences II set paying an overall postage of 80C on an international air mail letter sent from Bien Hoa to Germany in January of 1941. The letter carries the remark “FM” (= Franchise Militaire) as it was mailed by a French soldier (S.P. 51009). However, only mail from Indochina to France was postage free. Letters to third countries had to be paid for.

Mixed franking of the 37C Railway Opening stamps together with the 1C stamp from the Domestic Scences II set paying an overall postage of 38C on an international first flight letter sent from Hanoi to China in March of 1939. Blue First Flight cachet in English and Chinese as well as the signature of the pilot in front.

Mixed franking of the 37C Railway stamp together with the 18C Domestic Scences II stamp paying an overall postage of 55C on an international registered air mail letter sent from Ba-Na (small post office) to France in July of 1939. Tourane and Hanoi transit cancels.

Mixed franking of the 37C Railway Opening stamps together with 6C stamps from the Domestic Scences II set paying an overall postage of 43C on an international air mail letter sent from Saigon to India in May of 1939. Indian transit and arrival cancels on the reverse.

International air mail letter sent from Hai Phong to France in June of 1940. Since civilian and military convoys were attacked ferociously at that time the letter got stuck at some point in its route and a violet hand cachet “Retour A L’Enyoyeor Relations Postales Interrompues” was applied (most likely still in Indochina) that sent the letter back to the sender. Red manuscript “Retour a la expediteur” on front. The letter was quite a bit on the road. It left Hai Phong on June 22nd, 1940 and then was back in the same city on November 11th, 1941 more than a year later. It was then re-directed to Saigon where it passed through the central post office on November 15th, 1941.

Mixed franking of the 37C Railway Opening stamps together with 3C stamps from the Domestic Scences II set paying an overall postage of 40C on an international air mail letter sent from Vientiane in Laos to France in April of 1940. WW II was raging so the letter was censured by the French military as indicated by the censure banderole and cachets. French arrival cancel on front.

Mixed franking of the 37C Trans-Indochinese Railways (4) together with the 3C brown Domestic Scenes II stamps (4) paying an overall postage of 1.60P on an international air mail letter sent from Memot, Cambodia (rare cancel) to France in April of 1948.

Registration Nr. 090220

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