Letter Mail: France and the Netherlands

The Project
Postal agreements prior to the General Postal Union/Universal Postal Union in 1875 were highly diverse, though they show increased uniformity over time from 1850 to 1875 in Europe. This post focuses on letter mail between France and the Netherlands.
Last edited: Dec 16, 2018

Organization of this Post

• Postal Arrangements
• Prepaid Letter Rates - France to the Netherlands
• The Mystery of the Blue Dutch Markings
• Prepaid Letter Rates - the Netherlands to France
• Unpaid Letter Rates - Received by France
• Resources
• Open Questions

Other Postal Rate posts of interest to this one:
France and Belgium Letter Mail Rates

**Postal Arrangements Between France and the Netherlands**

Les Pays-Bas
The French know the Netherlands as "Pays-Bas" or "Les Pays-Bas," which is literally translated as "Low Country (ies)."  This shouldn't sound odd since the English refer to it as "the Netherlands" with "nether" being defined as "lower in position."

Rayons in the Netherlands
Part of the internal rate for the Netherlands was calculated by the letter size/weight and part was calculated by the distance to be traveled.  The Postal Convention of Sep 12, 1817 set five rayons in the Netherlands.  Those closest to the border with France (note, Belgium and Luxembourg were part of the Netherlands at this time) were in the first rayon.  Letters incoming to France were to be marked with a handstamp indicating the rayon from which the letter originated.  The handstamp was of the form: L.P.B. 1R  (or 2R, etc).

Oct 10, 1836 Postal Convention
This agreement between post offices confirmed the 1817 convention's use of rayons with rayon 2 removed (this was now Belgium) and rayon 1 consisting only of Luxembourg.  Valenciennes (France) and Breda (Netherlands) were the entry/exit points designated for mail (exchange offices).

Letter Rates - France to the Netherlands as of Oct 10, 1836

Effective Date	Rate	Unit
1st rayon	30 centimes	7.5 grams
3rd rayon	60 centimes	7.5 grams
4th rayon	70 centimes	7.5 grams
5th rayon	80 centimes	7.5 grams

As near as I can tell - and in agreement with Bourgouin, it seems paid and unpaid letters are the same rates.  It is possible - maybe even likely - that a difference wasn't really considered at this point because the push to get mail prepaid had not yet begun until postage stamps became more common.  Note, the Bourgouin website gives the date for these starting on Jan 1, 1828.  I am not certain what that date applies to in terms of postal acts, etc.  The 1836 postal convention seems to be where I can trace the information to at this time.

The 1851 Postal Convention

Article I of 1851 Convention

This convention was completed on the 1st of November and ratified the following January.  It was put into effect on April 1st of 1852.  The convention allowed for conveyance either via Belgium or Rhenish Prussia (article I).  Mails were to be transferred between the two countries once per day via Belgium and this was considered the primary route for mail.  The Prussian route was to be used when the its use was "advantageous."

An advantageous situation could possibly have been mail to or from northern Holland where rail travel via Emmerich in Prussia would be more efficient.  One could also surmise that mail received too late to go via Belgium might be able to take a second mail train routing through Prussia.

It is assumed that the Belgian route entered the Netherlands at Breda.  Entry from France to Belgium seems most likely to be Valenciennes on the Paris mail train through there.  It is unclear whether some mailbags may have been routed from MIDI station to enter Prussia at Aachen and enter the Netherlands at Emmerich.  The Prussian mail route would cross the border of France at Forbach and take the rail north to Emmerich.

Article IV - 1851 Convention

 The fourth article sets the letter mail rate between the two countries.  "Lettres simples" were letter mail items that weighed no more than 7.5 grams.  The lettres simple then served as the standard letter mail unit.  Each additional 7.5 grams required payment of another rate (60 centimes).  A simple progression is interesting when one considers that both nations had more complex internal rate structures than this at the time.


1868 Postal Convention
The 1868 conventions does much more to spell out the use of each other's postal systems for mail transiting each country for another destination.  For the purposes of this post, the primary change in the convention is the postal rate reduction, which was significant both the for the rate amount and the increase in weight per rate.

Rate Structure - 1868 Convention article IV

Of interest in the table above is the difference in paid versus unpaid letters as well as the amount owed by each postal administration to the other for each item transmitted.  Column 2 holds the postage due per letter (prepaid first and unpaid in the last two rows).  The third column shows what is owed by France to the Netherlands per letter and the final column shows the reverse.  The lowest number on the right is a "10" NOT a "40."


**Prepaid Letter Rates - France to the Netherlands**

Letter Rates - France to the Netherlands

Effective Date	Rate	Unit
Prior to Apr 1, 1852	**	7.5 grams
Apr 1, 1852	60 centimes	7.5 grams
Apr 1, 1868	40 centimes	10 grams
Jan 1, 1876 (GPU)	30 centimes	15 grams
May 1, 1878 (UPU)	25 centimes	15 grams
Oct 1, 1907 (UPU)	25 ctm / 15 ctm	15 g / add'l 15 g

** rates prior to 1852 were subject to both weight and distance units.  See 1836 Convention section.

Countries that required the transit of mail from France via another nation were given a 'second tier' of rates.  While mail in 1856 to Belgium would cost only 40 centimes, the same weight letter to the Netherlands would cost 60 centimes.  At least some of the additional postage would cover transit costs via the intermediate postal system(s).  Sometimes the intermediate system would transit material via closed mail bags (not to be opened in transit) and sometimes via open mail bags (and thus some processing in the transit country might be made).  The postal convention would normally identify the transit cost and which postal system was to pay for that cost.

With the General Postal Union agreement, rates for countries that were not contiguous required the same rate as those that shared a border.

**60 centimes per 7.5 grams - Apr 1, 1852-Mar 31, 1868**
This rate period actually runs much longer than I might have thought it would given the number of advances and changes in treaty mail for most other western European pairings. 

Unknown Route

Bordeaux 13 Oct 56 Bordeaux A Paris  13 Oct 56 (verso) Amsterdam 15 Oct 1856 (verso)

There is no evidence as to the route this item took from France to the Netherlands, though it is likely to have gone through Belgium.  The ambulant office on the Bordeaux to Paris train served as the exchange office, as was Amsterdam for the Netherlands.  This item was kept in a closed mailbag for most of the trip until it reached its destination.

via Belgium

Reims May 6, 1867 Givet A Paris  May 7, 1867 (verso) Amsterdam May 8, 1867 (verso)

Reims is in northeastern France and would normally use the Givet crossing into Belgium for mail heading in that direction.  Once again, the ambulant office aboard the mail train likely served as the exchange office on the French side (Givet A Paris).  The two day transit was mildly confusing as it doesn't seem that this should have happened with Reims being fairly close to the French/Belgian border.  However, the clue to look further was in the ordering of the ambulant marking.  Typically the departure station is first and the arrival station is second.  This must have been placed on the mail train heading TOWARDS Paris.  It was placed in a mailbag for Dutch mail and then taken on the return trip via the daily mail trip via Belgium to Amsterdam.

 **40 centimes per 10 grams - April 1, 1868- Dec 31, 1875**

Double Rate Letter

note blue pencil marking and numerals Paris P De La Bourse  3 Jun 68 Amsterdam   4 Jun 68 (verso)

This letter gives no real evidence with markings as to the actual routing of the letter between Paris and Amsterdam, likely indicating the use of closed mail transit via Belgium.  Belgium was also clearly used to having closed mail transiting from one of its borders to the next as it did so with high volumes of mail to the Prussian system with entry via Belgium to Aachen.

Triple Rate Letter

Paris P De La Bourse  Jun 22, 1870 Amsterdam   June 23, 1870 (verso)

Once again, there is no indication of route, with Paris serving as the French exchange office.  The black ink marking at the top left on the front seems to indicate a double weight letter, though we are clearly paying a triple weight item with 1 france and 20 centimes franked on the cover.  A blue "3" on the verso may confirm the triple rate.


**The Mystery of the Blue Dutch Markings** 
On more than one item received in Amsterdam, I have noted a blue markings that I had once thought was a "2" for double weight letters.  Now, I have seen a number listing on more than one item as seen at the right of each folded letter below.  At this point, I am unsure what these markings mean. 

Options, as I see it include the following:
1. Like the 'slash' on Roman States items, it could indicate that the item is fully paid.  I have seen one item that has a red marking that might have indicated that it was not fully paid.  But, that was crossed out and replaced with a blue marking.
2. This could be a credit/debit marking.  For example, it could indicate to decimes due for Belgian or Prussian transit services.
3. This could indicate single, double and treble letter rate levels.  Perhaps this marking is a stylized "1" for a single rate?  Another letter that appears to be triple rate shows a series of numbers including a clear, blue "3."

**Prepaid Letter Rates - from the Netherlands to France**

Prepaid Letter Rates - Netherlands to France

Effective Date	Rate	Unit
Prior to Apr 1, 1852	**	7.5 grams
Apr 1, 1852	centimes	7.5 grams
Apr 1, 1868	centimes	10 grams
Jan 1, 1876 (GPU)	centimes	15 grams
May 1, 1878 (UPU)	centimes	15 grams
Oct 1, 1907 (UPU)	ctm /  ctm	15 g / add'l 15 g

table in progress

**Unpaid Letter Rates - Received by France**

Letter Rates - Unpaid Letters Due Amount: Netherlands to France

Effective Date	Rate	Unit
Prior to Apr 1, 1852	**	7.5 grams
Apr 1, 1852	60 centimes	7.5 grams
Apr 1, 1868	60 centimes	10 grams

** rates prior to 1852 were subject to both weight and distance units.
Unpaid letters from the Netherlands were due an additional amount.  It seems that short paid letters were treated as unpaid between the two countries?

**Resources**
Les Tarifs Postaux Francais: Entre 1848 et 1916 by Jean-Louis Bourgouin
Mr. Bourgouin's site is a well-researched work and an excellent resource.

Lagemans, E.G., "Recueil des Traites et Conventions Conclus par le Royaume des Pays-Bas,"  vol V & VI, 1873
     Above are volumes 5 and 6 of a series of texts with the treaties of the Netherlands.  Page 167 of volume 6 shows the North German Confederation treaty of 1868 with the Netherlands..  Page 101 shows the 1868 Dutch-Franco postal convention.  This volume covers 1866-1872.  Prior volumes would have to be located for the earlier conventions.  Page 119 of volume 6 has the convention of 1868 with Switzerland.


Recueil des traites de la France, Vol 6, p 117-125.
The 1851 postal convention can be found here (in French). 

General Treaty/Final Act of the Congress of Vienna, June 9, 1815
     This is the actual treaty text in English (language used for official documents was French - the language of diplomacy at that time).  It is located on WikiSource which is getting better at providing access to the text of original documents such as this.  It is instructive to read how this treaty set up Europe after the defeat of Napolean at Waterloo (which was not at all certain at the time of the Congress of Vienna).

Lewis, Geoffrey, "the 1836 Anglo-French Postal Convention: How this Agreement Between Great Britain and France Made It Easier to Send Mail to All Parts of the World," Royal Philatelic Society, 2014.
     Could be an interesting and useful read.  A short presentation paper by Lewis can be found here.

**Open Questions**
1.  Shortpaid letters.  Did France/Netherlands letters go with  shortpaid treated as unpaid until the General Postal Union?
2. I suspect not all mail went between Breda and Valenciennes by the time we reach the 1850's and 1860's. Were there other routes?  Did one of these routes exit by train at Emmerich in Prussia and re-enter Belgium at Aachen/Verviers?

3. Accountancy between the countries, including the transit fee for Belgium (and who pays it) is currently unknown to me.  The 1868 convention shows amounts of postage owed to the country who did not collect postage, but I have yet to identify the part of that convention that indicates which postal service is liable for transit fees.