"1904 Poste Payé" surcharge
Does anyone know why the Haitian Postal Administration made use of this surcharge instead of using a conventional circular date stamp ?
Does anyone know why the Haitian Postal Administration made use of this surcharge instead of using a conventional circular date stamp ?
Comments
The overprint was applied as a control mark to ensure the stamps had been purchased at a Haitian post office, because initially the postal administration feared the plain issue might become available through other channels. A CDS would have canceled the stamps, but this overprint did quite the opposite: Only stamps with it were valid for postage - for a few months anyway.
The whole story is told by Frederick Melville in his booklet The Postage Stamps of Hayti, Charles Nissen & Co., London, 1905. (PDF)
Thank you for your explanation. Also, the Melville booklet reference is quite helpful.