Introduction

I will end this marcophil study by a “Prévert-style” article, as I am going to include in this end of section all the items I was not able to put somewhere else. Most of the time, the shown covers are rather “stamp-collecting curiosities” that I find fun to show.

Pseudo postal stationary

A pseudo postal stationary was produced by a Valence company. An official report (shown below) was drawn up by the PTTs against this company because the size and the color of the stamp printed on the stationary are the same than those of the official stamp. This is forbidden in France: according to a document of the PTTs, the size of the reproduced stamp must be increased or decreased by a minimum of more or less 25 % with regard to the original size. If the stamp is reproduced with the original colors and size, a cancellation oblique stroke has to appear in one of the angles of the postage stamp.
 

These minutes were followed by a note from the Direction Départementale des Postes et Télécommunications de la Drôme addressed to its Directorate-General in Paris:

Following these minutes, the printing house which produced these pseudo postal stationaries recovered those not yet distributed and overprinted the stamp 0.50 F Marianne de Béquet with a black square. If we see this stationary through the light, we can distinguish the stamp Marianne de Béquet under the black square.

Curiosities

• Two letters with postmarks of the Army Post Office. Maybe letters posted in the U.S. Embassy in Paris?
   

  

   

  

   

• A postcard of the “BUREAU COMMUN AUTOMOBILE” pre-stamped with a stamp 0,50F Marianne de Béquet and a similar used card with an additional amount by a postage meter impression to the postage value.
   

  

   

  

   

• Game MOBBY
   

  

   

  

   

The two above images show elements part of a game entitled “Bureau de Poste” by the company MOBBY. This game allowed children to stamp envelopes with labels roughly representing the French stamps 0.10F "Troyes", 0.30F green " Marianne de Cheffer " and 0.50F red " Marianne de Béquet ". These "stamps" were perforated on-line, with a 150 mm x 200 mm size and had no phosphore band.

• A letter cancelled in Rennes with a stamp 0,50F Marianne de Béquet and a worthless breton postage label.
   

  

   

• A letter date-stamped in DIEPPE the first day of 1973.
   

  

   

• A letter transported by air balloon for the centenary of balloon mail and the reverse side of this letter with the postmark showing that the balloon landed at BETZ.
   

  

   

  

   

• A letter with a torn stamp (without visible face value) normally cancelled and not taxed.
   

  

   

• A letter with a postage stamp which must have been restuck by the PTTs after a passage through a franking machine (we may see that the stamp 0,50F Marianne de Béquet is situated over the imprint of the franking machine) and which was cancelled by a manual postmark.
   

  

   

• A letter with a stamp 0,50F Marianne de Béquet cut in half and a letter with a stamp 0,60F Marianne de Béquet cut in half for supply disruption in stamps in the postage office of Bréval (Yvelines). 164 such letters would have been forwarded this day. These covers are a curiosity and perhaps a fantasy.
   

  

   

  

   

• A letter sent to the USA stamped at 0,90F and cancelled in Pertuis on 31.12.1971. As the 0,50F air surcharge had not been taken into account, the letter was sent back to the sender (his address appears on the back of the envelope) and a 0,50F stamp was added and cancelled at St Martin de la Brasque on 3.1.1972.