101 - Schweizerischer Ganzsachen-Sammler-Verein

Expanding the Space on a Swiss Postal Card
by Harlan F. Stone (P.O.B. 770334, Woodside, NY 11377-0334, USA)
When a postal card with finite space is forwarded more than once, it can
sometimes run out of space for still another address. In the case of the
Swiss card in Figure 1, a correspondent in Venezuela found a clever way
to expand the space. In doing so, however, did he end up with a card or
some other form of mail?
Fig. 1
This 5-centime domestic card (Zumstein No. 26) began its extended journey
at Lyss where it was mailed on April 1, 1905 (upper right postmark on
card), to St. Moritz. However, at St. Moritz the card was refranked with a
10c Cross & Numeral adhesive stamp (next to the 5c indicium) and remailed
on April 3 to Valencia, Venezuela, at the Swiss 10c international
rate, without taking credit for the initial 5c payment.
In Valencia the card was refranked again with two 5 centimos adhesives
canceled with a “Correo Ambulante / Valencia a Caracas” railroad postmark
without a date, and forwarded within Venezuela. (It is impossible to
read the new destination without cutting open the band.) One of these adhesives
was folded over the lower left front edge of the card and the second
was placed on the front of the card at the bottom center (now out of
sight). These two stamps paid the 10c domestic rate within Venezuela.
From the new address the card went back to Switzerland with three more
5c centimos adhesives to pay the 10c international rate plus the 5c seapost
surtax in effect in Venezuela from 1901 to 1914. These stamps were
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