WORLDWIDE STAMPS AND POSTAL HISTORY continued...

On March 6, 1905, the steam ship S.S. "Cairo" ran ashore while entering the port of Alexandria. Mail bags, which this cover was in, were placed on deck and were washed away. Some bags were later recovered and each salvaged letter received a handstamp. Many envelopes lost their stamps and contents and those found unsealed were resealed in Alexandria with interpostal seals. (Image)

The "Posta Europea" was a private mail carrier service based out of Alexandria started by Pietro Santo Michele Meratti which, as the name suggests, wanted to emulate Europeans posts by providing reliable and efficient service of letters between Alexandria and Cairo. After Meratti's death in 1843, Tito Chini took control of the company. It is during his time that these handstamps began. The service quickly expanded and was eventually bought over by the Egyptian government in 1864. (Image) (imagea)

These handstamps were not applied in Alexandria but rather at their destination port, in this case, Trieste. The handstamp, most likely, had removable names that could be changed when the mail arrived by sea (i.e. Trieste, Constantinople and Smyrna are known). This is due to the fact that a good proportion of mail shipped from the Austrian P.O. in Alexandria was brought directly sea-side for mailing onboard or by a moveable letter box. This often occurred right until the outbreak of WWI. (Image)

This cover was most likely sent by Lieutenant Hyde Parker (1861-1887) to his mother during the Arabi Revolt of 1882. On July 11th, 1882, the British bombarded Alexandria and ultimately landed marines and soliders to restore order against the Egyptian army under control of Under-Secretary of War, Lieutenant-Colonel Ahmedt Arabi. The revolt lasted just over two months from July to September with the surrendering of Arabi. (Image)

The Smith Type II-4 cancel with "REGIE" removed was only in place from between June or July 1869 to January 1870. The Sultan of Turkey felt that the word "regie" was too pretentious for the Egyptian Viceroy and ordered it to be removed. According to Jean Boulad d'Humieres in his article in "The Quarterly Circular", this cover is believed to be the latest recorded cover with this cancel from Serapeum. (Image)