Austria and other European nations maintained an extensive system of post offices in the Ottoman Empire, typically motivated by the unreliable postal system of the Ottomans.

First and last service period

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

gained permission in 1721 from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

to operate a postal service for official correspondence only and subsequently this was extended to the opening of post offices and carrying mail for merchants. This resulted in 1748 with the establishment of a post office in Galata outside of

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

, and eventually extended to 65 locations throughout the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

and the eastern

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

. The oldest known cancellation is a double linear "CONSTAN-TINOPEL" in 1787. The latest remaining Austrian post offices in Turkey area were closed on 30 September 1914.

Stamp issues

Beginning in 1863, stamps of Lombardy-Venetia were used: 2 to 15 soldi, which can be recognized only by the cancellation. After the losses of Lombardy in 1859 and Venetia in 1866, Austria issued in 1867 and 1883 specific stamps, in appearance identical to Austrian stamps of the same period, but valued in soldi (2 to 50 soldi). Details on Levant Austria post-offices using the 1867 issue are given in Part III ''Postämter in der Levante''. In 1886 this was changed to paras and

piaster The piastre or piaster () is any of a number of units of currency. The term originates from the Italian for "thin metal plate". The name was applied to Spanish and Hispanic American pieces of eight, or pesos, by Venetian traders in the Levant i ...

s to match the Turkish money already used by other countries, by surcharging the existing stamps of the offices, with further issues between 1888 and 1907: values ranging from 10 paras to 20 piasters. The Jubilee issue of 1908-1914 included directly values in paras and in piasters.

Gallery

File:Prevesa Austrian 1 02 sld 1863.jpg, 2 soldi, 1863 Lombardy Venice issue, cancelled at

Preveza Preveza ( el, Πρέβεζα, ) is a city in the region of Epirus, northwestern Greece, located on the northern peninsula at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the regional unit of Preveza, which is part of the region of Epiru ...

, Rare. File:Prevesa Austrian 1 05 sld 1866.jpg, 5 soldi, 1864 Lombardy Venice issue, cancelled at

File:Prevesa Austrian 1 15 sld 1865.jpg, 15 soldi, 1864 Lombardy Venice issue, cancelled at

File:Cavalla rare blue cancellation.jpg, Rare blue CAVALLA cancellation (

Kavala Kavala ( el, Καβάλα, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia and the capital of Kavala (regional unit), Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across ...

) File:Prevesa Austrian 3 05 sld 1875.jpg, 5 soldi, 1867 issue, cancelled at

early in 1875 File:Prevesa Austrian 3 10 sld 1877.jpg, 10 soldi, 1876-83 issue, cancelled at

in 1877 Image:Stamp Austrian PO Turkish 1876 10sld.jpg, 10 soldi, cancelled Costantinopoli Lloyd

in 1883 File:Austrian Levant 1888-1pi.png, 1888, 1 piaster overprinted, possibly used at

Herakleion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban Ar ...

(Candia) File:Austrian Levant 1895-1pi.png, 1 piaster overprinted, used at Canea in 1895 File:Rodi Oesterr Post 1895.jpg, 2 piasters at

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

in 1895 Image:Stamp Austrian PO Turkish 1906 10pa.jpg, 1906, 10 paras used at

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Image:Stamp Austrian PO Turkish 1908 2pi.jpg, 1908, 2 piasters Some of the 1867-1883 soldi issues are rather common in unused state, contrary to the kreuzer equivalent. An extreme case is the 2 soldi yellow ''fine beard'', lately issued in 1882: the ratio in value is 5000!

Postal stationery

HolyLand Austrian Post 1899 envelope stamp

The first items of

Postal stationery A piece of postal stationery is a stationery item, such as a stamped envelope, letter sheet, postal card, lettercard, aerogram or wrapper, with an imprinted stamp or inscription indicating that a specific rate of postage or related serv ...

to be made available to Austrian post offices in the Turkish Empire were envelopes in 1863. A total of 10 different envelopes in soldi currency were issued up to 1877, these were valid for use till 31 October 1884. Only one envelope was ever issued in French currency in 1908 (5 Centesimi for Jerusalem). Postal stationery postcards were first issued in 1873 in soldi currency, 5 different postcards were issued. Then in 1888 these were replaced by an issue in Turkish currency, a total of 13 different items were issued before these were replaced by postcards in French currency in 1903. A total of 8 different postcards are known in French currency. Only one 10 soldi lettercard was issued in 1886. Four different 1 Piaster lettercards were issued in 1888, 1890, 1900 and 1908. During the period of Turkish currency three different newspaper wrappers were issued in 1899, 1900 and 1908.Ferchenbauer Streifbänder p.552 One newspaper 5 Centimes wrapper was issued in 1908 for Jerusalem. Higgins & Gage World Postal Stationery Catalog

References and sources

;References ;Sources * Stanley Gibbons Ltd: various catalogues
AskPhil – Glossary of Stamp Collecting Terms

* Rossiter, Stuart & John Flower. ''The Stamp Atlas''. London: Macdonald, 1986. * Shaw, Stanford J. & Shaw, Ezel Kural, ''History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey Volume 2'', 1977, Cambridge University Press,

External links