door ‘Spoorwegbriefkaarten’ (Railway postcards) are a popular collector’s item these days. Both postal stationery collectors and railway collectors are interested in them.
With the publication of ‘De kleine Geuzendam‘ in 2014 (full title: Geuzendam’s catalogus van de particulier bedrukte postwaardestukken van Nederland en Nederlands-Indië), interest increased sharply.
Price list
This catalogue also contains valuations, but they do not do justice to the market value. One problem here is, that no distinction is made between used and unused ‘spoorwegbriefkaarten’. For example, there are cards where only a few thousand were printed, but which are worth very little unused and many hundreds of euros used! A catalogue listing of €20 does not do justice to this, of course.
Most cards were used to announce that goods had arrived at the station.
However, the card pictured here (Geu. HYSM23d) is an acknowledgement of receipt of a customer’s complaint.
The reclamation on this card must be quite a unique one. It reads: ‘Reclame over niet franco aflevering van een hond’ (Advertisement about non-frank delivery of a dog). The question is, did the dog not have money in its pocket….
The ‘spoorwegbriefkaart’ (of the company Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij), with a 2½ cent stamp imprint, is used locally in Amsterdam, and tied with a double ring postmark on July, 10, 1894.
