SIEGE OF PARIS - ATTEMPTED INGOING BALLON MONTE COVERS TO PA...

Hammer

£240

SIEGE OF PARIS - ATTEMPTED INGOING BALLON MONTE COVERS TO PARIS - EX DIEPPE & MONTPELIER; 20 Oct./1 Nov. 1870 tiny or small size ELs (fully typed transcripts & translations for both) each with 20c Blue (tied by Dieppe "1299" or by Montpelier "2046") addressed to Paris and both clearly intended for delivery into Paris by balloon (a service advertised by the French PO in newspaper). The first has no arrival marks so was probably delivered after the siege had ended, while the other has a faint Lille transit cds (26 Feb. 1871) but includes reference to the special Tours route and secret mails into Paris; "...[a friend, whose] husband, an engineer of the Compagnie du Gaz, is in Paris, arranged to send three of our [previous] letters by a privileged route. We are now using a way that the Government at Tours has announced, or rather 'Le Moniteur' [newspaper] has, to try to send you this letter." Attempted ingoing mail to besieged Paris like these covers are very rare. [Both ex Alan Wood.] (2 covers)Cross Reference: FRANCE, MILITARY, BALLOON MAIL