Private Stamped Envelopes

In September 1907 the Swiss Postal Administration issued regulations allowing the application of printed postal indicia to privately prepared envelopes. Envelopes were submitted to the Post Office that was responsible for the printing of the postage. This provided a great convenience to businesses that could thus avoid the bother of maintaining, controlling, and affixing a separate supply of adhesive postage stamps.

The unused example prepared for a private Aarau company shows the printing of multiple indicia on individual envelopes. Numerous combinations of two indicia are recorded. Several combinations of three indicia and one combination of four are known.

Used 10-cent Helvetia profile on cover prepared for a legal firm. Mailed at the Lausanne train station at 7:00AM on February 25, 1910. Receiving mark on reverse indicates receipt in Porrentruy at noon the same day.