1948 1st day besieged JERUSALEM interim mail cover to TEL AVIV

Description: **EXTRAORDINARY ONLY KNOWN MAIL FROM 'BESIEGED' JERUSALEM DURING THE SIEGE SENT THROUGH THE POSTS**: undated 'first day' cover written by the sender "Eliezer Datz" at "Grasi House" on Abyssinian Street in JERUSALEM and addressed to a Moshe Levi at "Mizrachi House" on the corner of Yesod Hamaalah and Ein HaKoreh streets in TEL AVIV (Neve Shaanan neighborhood) with an additional notation at the bottom left corner "For Yosef Levi Grasi"; the cover was franked 10 mils per the inland letter rate using a horizontal pair on 5m Mandate pictorial stamps and postmarked at one of the 3 branch post offices of the interim Jerusalem postal services which began operations on 9 May, tying the franks with the interim postmark; the cover is manuscript docketed in English "First Day Cover Collected on the 9the(sic) of May 1948 from the Letterbox" - a critical proving mark, confirming that the cover was posted that day and also delivered that same day to the addressee's "letterbox" (i.e. not couriered or carried outside of the mails, but actually delivered by the interim postal service). This is the only known cover definitively confirmed to have left Jerusalem during the 'siege' period and carried through the mails; here also on the 1st day of Jerusalem's interim postal service: As per research published by this cataloguer in "JerusalemStamps Bulletin #3" (esp. p.105-107), Jerusalem was never hermetically besieged and land access to and from the city existed through most of the period usually called "the siege", 20 April - 20 June 1948; based on documentary and postal history proof the research shows that on and around 9 May there was land access to the city & this cataloguer has handled a 10 May postcard with correspondence attesting to mail received from Jerusalem on the 9th. Mail from Jerusalem was not flown, and although a few outbound (and inbound) mail items from this period are known, these were carried by land transport and none except this cover originate with the interim Jerusalem postal service being delivered still during the national interim postal service. Very little mail transited between Jerusalem and the rest of Israel, not because of "the siege" but rather owing to its very low priority on transportation routes critically needed for the army and supply of the civilian homefront. As regards the postal elements on this cover: archival documents show that the interim postmarks were received by the city's postal service accountant on 9:30 in the morning of May 9th - the post offices opened late that day and there were long lines to secure the first 'Jewish' postage stamps (the locally prepared "Jerusalem local" stamps): the sender evidentally saved himself time and used pre-existing Mandate stamps and quickly had his letter accepted - and unexpectedly also transported and delivered. Of particular note is the pedigree of the correspondence: the sender�s address belongs to a Levi Gerassi who Hebraicized his name in 1932 from Rafael Yusuf Gerassi to Rafael Yusuf Levi Gerassi; the intended addressee, Yosef Gerassi (1908-1966), was a post office clerk in Jerusalem from 1931 and became the city�s postmaster from 1961-1966 � this may explain the pedantic docketing message written on the front, documenting postal history in real time. The destination address was in the neighborhood of the central bus station, and in this period was partially on the border with Arab Jaffa (a 'frontier' neighborhood). Opened gently at back, two verical and one horizontal folds. A postal history showpiece of the highest order, with its context understood, it rewrites the postal history of 'besieged' Jerusalem. Included in the image display is the referenced 10 May postcard (from Givat Hayim to Jerusalem) where the sender thanks the addressee, "Thank G-d may we live that our Jerusalem Post Office already produced for me a letter from you". Ben-Arieh certificate enclosed. --- Most of our merchandise ships out from Israel | orders are combined | additional items are charged 75c: DOMESTIC services available are Registered mail (default) and courier mail. Please contact us if you desire courier mail. BUYERS IN ISRAEL: eBay does not recognize Israel as being a "domestic" mailing destination - please contact us to be invoiced and charged $5 for registered mail. --- OVERSEAS services available are Priority ECO Post registered airmail (default - $15 flat fee) and express EMS mail (3-day / 5-day to-door delivery - $40 flat fee). These options can be selected on check-out. We recognize that the shipping overseas is expensive - only ECO Post shows tracking up to delivery; for less expensive purchases on the understanding of the customer that tracking is not available we can user $5 standard registered mail overseas - please contact us so we can invoice you at this rate. --- Prospective buyers in countries without postal relations with Israel can receive orders via a third country. Please contact us for this option. --- To see higher end specialized philatelic items + materials from countries which cannot be displayed on ebay, add d o t com to our our handle name

Price: 49999 USD

Location: Jerusalem Israel

End Time: 2025-01-13T08:18:02.000Z

Shipping Cost: 50 USD