A Danish letter as an interesting item of Czechoslovak philately? And with lots of "traces of transport"?
The meter cancellation from Copenhagen dated 22.01.1934 covers the postage for an international letter of the first weight category. The sender is a factory for marine paints, the recipient a paint wholesaler. Being not particularly attractive at first glance, the letter reveals its extraordinary character on the back side. Its journey was far from over when it arrived in Hrušov nad Odrou. There are no less than twelve postmarks here! That doesn't happen every day, even with forwarding.
The following list contains all the places mentioned on the cover, even if they do not appear or appear only as a postmark:
| No. | Date | Place | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24.I.34 | Hrušov nad Odrou | Moravian Silesia, today part of Ostrava: post office Ostrava 11, postmark on front and back | |
| 1 | 25.I.34 | Chotětov | Central Bohemia; to the east lies a village named Hrušov |
| 2 | 26.I.34 | Písek | Southern Bohemia |
| 3 | 6.II.34 | Senohraby | Central Bohemia; to the east lies the locality of Hrušov, which belongs to the municipality of Hrusice |
| 4 | 8.II.34 | Bzí | Southern Bohemia, today post office Žimutice; Žimutice has a part named Hrušov |
| 5 | ?.II.34 | Dolnie Saliby | today Dolné Saliby, Western Slovakia; includes a settlement of Hrušov |
| 6 | Somotor | Southeastern Slovakia; to the northeast lies the village of Rad with a part named Hrušov | |
| 7 | 28.I.34 (?) | Nekyje na Ostrove (?) | Southwestern Slovakia, today part of Vrakúň, postmark on front |
| 8 | 30.I.34 | Borský Svätý Mikuláš | today Borský Mikuláš, Western Slovakia |
| 9 | Jablonov nad Turnou | today Jablonov nad Turňou, Southeastern Slovakia; to the southwest the village Hrušov | |
| 10 | Voderady (?) | today Voderady pri Trnave, Western Slovakia | |
| 31.I.34 | Dojč | Western Slovakia | |
| 3.II.34 (?) | Hořetice / Horatitz | Northern Bohemia, post office closed in 1975 | |
| 7.II.34 | Cerekvice nad Loučnou | Eastern Bohemia | |
| 14.II.34 | Polepy / Polep | Northern Bohemia | |
| 15.II.34 | Hrušovany u Brna | Southern Moravia |
In view of this odyssey - the letter probably covered a longer distance in the recipient's country than from Copenhagen to the original destination address - the abundant traces of transport should no longer surprise anyone. How the list of places noted on the front and its almost complete "working off" on the back came about can at least be speculated from the references that can be found in Wikipedia.
We thank D. Pestlin from the FG Nordische Staaten for permission to reproduce the document.