LATVIA AS PART OF IMPERIAL RUSSIA





AIZPUTE

ГАЗЕНПОТЪ [GAZENPOT] is in Imperial Russia the indication for the present Latvian place Aizpute.
This Russian name we see in the postmark.

All pictures, if not mentioned otherwise: scanned about 300 dpi. Then set right and resized 25 % of this image and saved as jpg.



The postmark, resized 50 %.

The Russian name in the postmark is more a transcription of the German name Hasenpoth or the Polish name Hazenpot. In the postmark is also indicated the Government: КУРЛ Г. (KURL G.), short for КУРЛЯНДСКАЯ (KURLYANDSKAYA) ГУБЕРНIЯ (GUBERNIYA), Courland Government.

The EESTI-handbook of Hurt and Ojaste is the handbook about Estonia, but the classification of circular date-stamps is also useful for Latvia as part of Imperial Russia.
In this classification this postmark of ГАЗЕНПОТЪ [GAZENPOT] is type 6: type post office below and gubernia (when given) at top. (handbook type 6). This postmark has date in three lines, month in letters, with gubernia: type 6A.

The subdivion of type 6A:

  • 6A1: indication П.Т.К. or ПОЧТ. ТЕЛ(ЕГР). КОНТ. , the abbrevation for ПОЧТОВО-ТЕЛЕГРАФНАЯ КОНТОРА (POCHTOVO-TELEGRAFNAYA KONTORA = Post-Telegraph Office)
    So this postmark of ГАЗЕНПОТЪ [GAZENPOT]: type 6A1.
  • 6A2: indication П.Т.О. or ПОЧТ. ТЕЛ(ЕГР). ОТД, the abbrevation for ПОЧТОВО-ТЕЛЕГРАФНОЕ ОТДЬЛЕНIЕ (POCHTOVO-TELEGRAFNOE OTDELENIE = Post-Telegraph Sub- Office)
  • 6A3: indication П.О. or ПОЧТОВОЕ ОТДЬЛЕНIЕ (POCHTOVOE OTDELENIE = Sub Post-Office
  • 6A4: indication П.С or ПОЧТОВОАЯ СТАНЦIЯ (POCHTOVAYA STANTSIYA = Postal Station (coach station)


EESTI = Estonia : philately & postal history handbook catalogue = Estland : Philatelie & Postgeschichte Handbuch Katalog / Vambola Hurt, Elmar Ojaste. - 1986 . - 767 p.. - With supplement 1988



Here (resized 50 %) you see a part of a map with the Government Courland.
The map is from a Dutch boek of 1880:
Wereld-Atlas voor Kantoor en Huiskamer / door J. Kuyper. - 1e Deel Europa. - Amsterdan : G.L. Funke, 1880

Aizpute is located on this map somewthing north-east of Libau (the Latvian Liepāja) and has on the map the German indication Hasenpot.
According Baedeker (1914) from Libau to Hasenpoth is 46 Versts (31 Miles) and it takes by light railway 2½ hrs. The description of Hasenpoth in Baedeker 1914: "a town of 3800 inhab., picturesquely situated on the Tebber. On the left bank is a ruined castle of the Teutonic Knights, while on the right bank lay the bishop's castle. Parts of the church-walls date from the 15th century."

This Easter-postcard is sent from ВИНДАВА [VINDAVA], Ventspils in present Latvia, to ГАЗЕНПОТЪ [GAZENPOT].



The postmark, resized 50%.


The arrival-postmark of ГАЗЕНПОТЪ [GAZENPOT], something unclear, is a later postmark, type crossed-date: in the middle the day stays first, under it the month (in Roman numerals), left of the whole the century and right the rest of the year.
On suggestion of the U.P.U., the Universal Postal Unionthe new stamps had to use Roman numerals for the month and in Russia circular 13 of 5 April 1890 were distributed the instruction for the new postmarks. According the EESTI-clasification this is type 6C: month in numerals with gubernia (the 'crossed-date'-type).

The subdivion of type 6C:

  • 6C1: indication П.Т.К. or ПОЧТ. ТЕЛ(ЕГР). КОНТ. , the abbrevation for ПОЧТОВО-ТЕЛЕГРАФНАЯ КОНТОРА (POCHTOVO-TELEGRAFNAYA KONTORA = Post-Telegraph Office)
    So this postmark of ГАЗЕНПОТЪ [GAZENPOT]: type 6C1.
  • 6C2: indication П.Т.О. or ПОЧТ. ТЕЛ(ЕГР). ОТД, the abbrevation for ПОЧТОВО-ТЕЛЕГРАФНОЕ ОТДЬЛЕНIЕ (POCHTOVO-TELEGRAFNOE OTDELENIE = Post-Telegraph Sub- Office)
  • 6C3: indication П.К.
  • 6C4: indication П.О. or ПОЧТОВОЕ ОТДЬЛЕНIЕ (POCHTOVOE OTDELENIE = Sub Post-Office
  • 6C5: indication П.С or ПОЧТОВОАЯ СТАНЦIЯ (POCHTOVAYA STANTSIYA = Postal Station (coach station)
  • 6C6: indication В.П. (Parish Council)


EESTI = Estonia : philately & postal history handbook catalogue = Estland : Philatelie & Postgeschichte Handbuch Katalog / Vambola Hurt, Elmar Ojaste. - 1986 . - 767 p.. - With supplement 1988


On this card from Aizpute to Liepāja is used the double circle datestamp of ГАЗЕНПОТЪ [GAZENPOT]. From 1903 double-ring-postmarks are used: circular nr. 9 of 3 February 1903 introduced the double-ring-postmarks. The old postmarks are replaced when they are worn out. Also a detailed description is given of the new postmarks.The postmarks consist of two rings, with the name of place in between. Day-month-year now stood on one line (in the year "19" has been omitted. There came two sorts of postmarks: bigger for the mail and smaller for receipts.


The postmark, resized 50 %.

In the EESTI-handbook of Hurt and Ojaste is also given a clasification of the double circle postmarks: type 7.


The handbook of Harry v. Hofmann gives a table with the standard Russian postmarks, used in Aizpute (part I, page111-112): 12 different in this little place. Harry v. Hofmann distinguishes two different types of double circle postmarks, both reported for ГАЗЕНПОТЪ [GAZENPOT]: with date bridge thin and with date bridge thick.



AIZTERE

This postcard is sent from АЙСТЕРНЪ [AISTERN]. This is the Russian indication for Aiztere in present Latvia.
The German indication is Aistern.


The postmark, resized 50%.

According the handbook of Harry v. Hofmann (part I, p. 98) this is the only standard Russian postmark of АЙСТЕРНЪ [AISTERN], used January 14, 1881 - August 28, 1893.
At the bottom is indicated the government КУРЛ Г. (KURL G.), short for КУРЛЯНДСКАЯ (KURLYANDSKAYA) ГУБЕРНIЯ (GUBERNIYA), Courland Government.
In the classification of the EESTI-handbook this postmark with gubernia below is type 5.
Subdivision: type 5A (without numbers at sides) and -as here- type 5B (single circle with numbers at sides). There is a further subdivision of 5B:

  • 5B1: П.К.
  • 5B2: П.О.
  • 5B3: П.С.

So the postmark here with П.С. is type 5B3: a coach station.
П.С. is short for ПОЧТОВАЯ СТАНЦIЯ [ POCHTOVAYA STANTSIYA], Post Station.
In present Latvia Aistere is a very little village, according information of the Parish council 29 inhabitants in 2005. The village is located something north-east of Liepāja, part of the Tadaiķu Parish, Durbes County. There is a country house, Aisteres Manor with park, 1850-1870.



AKNĪSTE

Aknīste is the present Latvian name for the tsaristic ЭЛЛЕРНЪ (EHLLERN), a transcription of the German name Ellern.

Original print size of this image: 14,309 x 9,483 cm (is something more as the postal item). This picture and all pictures, if not mentioned otherwise: scanned about 300 dpi. Then set right and resized 25 % of this image and saved as jpg.

On Wikipediais a list of German names of Latvian places: according this list the German Ellern is Elkšņi. This has been also a Latvian indication for this place and there are more: Akniši, Okniste.
Aknīste is located in southern Latvia, near the Lithuanian border.
Aknīste formed part of the Polish-Lithuanian area and after the war of independence is was Lithuanian. In the early 1920s Lithuania exchanged Aknīste for Palanga.





The postmark, resized 50 %.


It is a one-ring postmark and in the postmark we see also КУРЛ Г. (KURL G.), short for КУРЛЯНДСКАЯ (KURLYANDSKAYA) ГУБЕРНIЯ (GUBERNIYA), Courland Government.
It is a 'crossed-date'-postmark: type 6 with month in numerals is type 6C (with gubernia) and 6D (without gubernia), the 'cross-date'-types. So here type 6C.
Here we see the indication ПОЧТ. ТЕЛ. ОТД, the abbrevation for ПОЧТОВО-ТЕЛЕГРАФНОЕ ОТДЬЛЕНIЕ (POCHTOVO-TELEGRAFNOE OTDELENIE = Post-Telegraph Sub- Office), so according the EESTI-classification this is type 6C2.




AUCE

In Latvian this place has more names: Auce, Vecauce or Wezauce. The German name is Alt-Autz. (Old Autz in English). The town is located in the south of present Latvia, near the Lithuanian border.
With the construction of the Jelgava-Mažeikiai railway in 1889 Auce developed rapidly.
Near the town Vecauce Manor is situated, built 1839-1843 for count Karl von Medem. Now Vecauce Manor houses a tourist and culture centre and a hotel, managed by the Latvian University of Agriculture.


Original print size of this image: 14,131 x 9,280 cm (is something more as the postal item)



In the postmark -resized 50 %- we see:
АЛТЪ-АУЦЪ (ALT-AUTS).
In the EESTI-handbook of Hurt and Ojaste is also given a clasification of the double circle postmarks: type 7.
In the postmark is also indicated КУРЛ Г. (KURL G.), short for КУРЛЯНДСКАЯ (KURLYANDSKAYA) ГУБЕРНIЯ (GUBERNIYA), Courland Government, so this is type 7A (with gubernia).
In the subdivision: 7A1: * * a etc.
In the postmarks of this type 7A1 are used diffent serial letter: the 'written' letters of the cyrillic alphabet.
On this picture the first letters (in the order of this alphabet).

In the indication of the sender we see the German name is Alt-Autz. (Old Autz in English).



On the detail of the map above we see the Dutch indication:
Oud-Autz. It is near the border of the government Kowno in the south.


The map is from a Dutch boek of 1880: Wereld-Atlas voor Kantoor en Huiskamer / door J. Kuyper. - 1e Deel Europa. - Amsterdan : G.L. Funke, 1880




DOBELE

Dobele is the Latvian name. In tsaristic time this place was called ДОБЛЕНЪ (DOBLEN), a transcription of the German name Doblen.






Original print size of this image: 13,978 x 9,152 cm (is something more as the postal item)




As you see on the map ['Ostsee-Provinzen' from Meyers Konv.-Lexicon, 6th ed., about 1905] Dobele is a little place near Mitau, the German name for the Latvian Jelgava. In the postmark you see the Russian name for Jelgava: МИТАВА (MITAWA), where the card is sent.

The postmark, resized 50%.


The postmark of ЛИБАВА [LIBAVA], in Latvian Liepāja, in German also known as Libau.
In the arrival postmark is also indicated the governement: Courland: abbreviation of КУРЛЯНДСКАЯ (KURLYANDSKAYA) ГУБЕРНIЯ (GUBERNIYA), Courland Government.


According Beadeler (1914) Dobele was in that time a very small town: "... Doblen, a small town with 2000 inhab., picturesquely situated on the Behrse. It is commanded by the well-preserved ruin of s Castle of the time of the Teutonic Knights, which stands on the top of a hill descending precipitously to the river."
From: Russia with Teheran, Port Arthur, and Peking : handbook for travellers / by Karl Baedeker. - First English edition published 1914, - This edition reprinted in 1971 and jointly published by David & Charles Newton Abbot and George Allen & Unwin London. - p. 50.
This Baedeker - the English edition of 1914 is also complete on internet::
archive.org/details/russiawithtehera00baed: Russia with Teheran, Port Arthur, and Peking : handbook for travellers (1914). - Translation of 7th German ed. (Leipzig : K. Baedeker, 1912). - With 40 maps and 78 plans. - Maps by: Wagner & Debes' Geogr. Estab., Leipzig. - Railway map of Russia on back endpaper. - Includes index. - Bibliography: p. lxii-lxiv.