The North American Intervention (4)

Included among the initial shipment of postal paper to Cuba on December 27, 1898, were about 70,000 unoverprinted U.S. 2-cent stamped envelopes. Since these could not be sold across the counter together with the revalued overprinted stamps, Major Rathbone, American Postal Administrator for Cuba, wrote to the Post Office Department at Washington for permission to have the stamped envelopes overprinted locally in Havana in a format similar to that used on the postage stamps. Approval of the request was granted, and the printing works of Ruiz y Hermano of Havana was contracted to do the work.

Tome II, p.8: Havana to Leipzig, Germany. 28 August, 1899.

This envelope is one of those overprinted locally. Addressed to stamp dealers Gebruder Senf in Leipzig, Germany, the cover is franked additionally with a 3 centavos de peso stamp to pay the 5 centavos de peso international rate, and a 10 centavos de peso stamp to pay the registration fee. It was mailed at Havana on August 28, 1899, and received at Leipzig on September 11.