Postage stamp of the Dutch East Indies

Mail items with 'something special' always catch my attention. Like an envelope that was sent from Ambon (Amboina) on December 18, 1934, and arrived in Bandung on December 25, 1934. Despite Christmas, no Christmas thoughts occurred to the official handling the letter.

For a small stamp T was imprinted on the envelope with 5c written next to it. The letter was apparently too heavy for the rate that was affixed: 2 x 12½ cents = 25 cents. According to the Bandung stamp impression on the back, the letter arrived at four o'clock that afternoon. Between four and five o'clock, he affixed a 5-cent postage stamp and stamped it with the Bandung stamp at five o'clock. It cannot be determined whether the letter was also delivered on that Christmas Day. The addressee had a post box in Bandung.

The addressee then caught my attention: the chairman of the Association for the Improvement of the Lot of Lepers. Who could that have been? The internet often provides the answer. And so it was in this case. In a notice from Saturday, November 19, 1932, I found that the Association for the Promotion of Leper Care had been founded and that the President of the Provisional Committee was Miss Dr. C.J. Wyckerheld Bisdom. I searched further. Another notice, this time from Saturday, February 11, 1933. There, the association was mentioned under the name: Association for the Improvement of the Lot of Lepers, VVLL, with the same chairman. The notice announced that one could subscribe to the magazine Pro Leproos. One could also become a member for a monthly contribution of 50 cents. Returning to the envelope with the postage due stamp. I was aware that the postage due stamps of the Dutch East Indies were printed from the same printing plates as the Dutch blue postage due stamps. The first printings of these stamps consisted of two runs: first, the border without the value indication and without the cent. These were only added later in a second run. Collectors call this the double print run. This can be seen in small color differences between the border and the value, and sometimes the value indication is not positioned exactly centered. Was the postage due stamp on the envelope from a double or a single print run? From 1915 onwards, the stamps were printed as complete plates, meaning the border and value were in a single plate. This was the single print run. This is evident from the color, which is exactly the same for the border and value, and the fact that the value is always positioned precisely in the center. The postage due stamp on the envelope came from the single print run. I doubt whether that was acknowledged by the chairman of the Association, but it is certain that she did not throw the envelope away! That Christmas spirit after all: keeping it and not destroying it?