"Après le départ" postmark
We do not know the exact date when the "Après le départ" postmark was introduced into the equipment inventory of post offices in the departments. All we know is that it first appeared in Paris at the beginning of 1850 and in the larger provincial post offices at the beginning of 1854.
Its purpose was to indicate that a letter had been posted after the final collection from the post office’s letterboxes. Consequently, the letter would not be dispatched on the day it was posted and would therefore be subject to a slight delay.
This indication was important because, at the time, recipients of letters sent within mainland France could generally expect to receive them the day after they entered the postal system or even on the same day if delivered within the post office’s locality. Delays beyond D+1 could lead to complaints from users.
At the same time, post office letterboxes were emptied several times a day, and in most towns with a post office, mail was also delivered multiple times daily.
The General Instruction of 1856 outlines the procedure to be followed for letters posted after the final collection.
1850: Letter from SOMMAING (rural box M) for SOLESMES. The letter was brought back to the office on 15 October (presumably) after the last distribution and was delivered on the 16th.
From 1854 onwards, the "Après le départ" stamp was introduced, eliminating the need to apply the date stamp of the day of dispatch.
1858: Letter mailed in CAMBRAI on December 18, 1858 after the last collection of the post office. Left CAMBRAI, the 19, it arrives on December 20 at CONDE-SUR-L'ESCAUT.
1859: Letter weighing over 7.5 g franked at 20 c from AVESNES to SEMERIES. The "Après le Départ" mark indicates that the letter was posted after the last collection. This mark is locally made, as it does not correspond to the regulatory model.
1861: Letter given to the postman during his round in the village of FELLERIES (OR mark) for AVESNES.
The "Après le Départ" mark is also locally made, but of a different type.
1866: Letter deposited at the post office of LOURCHES on June 26, after the last collection.
The new General Instruction published in July 1868 followed the same procedure as in 1856.
Article 372, General Instruction on the Postal Service of 1868.
However, it should be noted that the "Après le départ" stamp does not appear to have been compulsory, as a post office could still apply two date stamps to a letter posted too late. Nevertheless, the inventory of post office equipment appended to the General Instruction does indicate the presence of this stamp.
Additionally, since the General Instruction of 1856, a new type of date stamp had come into use, displaying not only the day's date but also the mail collection number. In post offices using this new type of date stamp (mainly in Paris), the "Après le départ" stamp was no longer required.
Furthermore, the "Après le départ" stamp presented in the General Instruction of 1868 now included the office's serial number.
Appendix 9, General Instruction of 1868.
Instruction no. 1 in the Monthly Bulletin of July 1868 put an initial stop to the use of this stamp.
Extract from instruction no. 1 of the July 1868 Monthly Bulletin.
The datestamps in question are types 16, 17, 23 and 24, as they are known to philatelists. The number of mail collection is shown on the left-hand side of the date block. Users were well aware of the number of times the mailboxes were emptied, as this was widely publicised in the press, local almanacs and at the post office entrance.
Type 17
Type 16
Type 23
Type 24
The deployment plan for these new date stamps was planned over 5 years, but in fact by 1870 these date stamps had equipped all the post offices.
The second stop came with the Monthly Bulletin of February 1869 and the impossibility of ordering this stamp from the usual supplier, Mr Virey.
Extract from the February 1869 issue of the Monthly Bulletin.
However, some post offices equipped with new date stamps continued to use their "Après le départ" cachet.
1874: Letter posted at the SOMAIN office after the 5th and last collection. This post office is still uselessly using its "Après le départ" postmark.
The end this stamp was pronounced with Instruction no. 196 published in the April 1876 issue of the Monthly Bulletin.
Extract from the April 1876 Monthly Bulletin.
Article 406, General Instruction on the Postal Service of 1856.
Special type 1867
Type 1854
Before 1856, if a letter was deposited at the post office after the final collection, the office would apply the date stamp of the day of deposit on the front of the letter, followed by the date stamp of the day of departure (or delivery).
English translation:
406. When letters posted at or received by a post office are addressed to another post office and cannot be dispatched on the day of their receipt or posting, the postmaster shall apply the office's dated postmark a second time, bearing the date of dispatch, on the side opposite the address.
When letters posted at or received by a post office are intended for delivery by that same office or within its postal district, and cannot be delivered on the day of their receipt or posting, they must likewise bear the office's dated postmark on the reverse, showing the date of delivery.
In post offices to which the Postal Administration has supplied the Après départ (“After Dispatch”) handstamp, the ordinary dated postmark shall not be applied a second time.
In both cases covered by this article, the Après départ handstamp shall be applied to the address side of the letter.
English translation:
372. When postal items posted at or received by a post office are intended for another post office and cannot be dispatched on the day of their receipt or posting, postal employees shall apply their office's dated postmark a second time, bearing the date of dispatch, on the side opposite the address.
When postal items posted at or received by a post office are intended for delivery by that same office or within its postal district, and cannot be delivered on the day of their receipt or posting, they must likewise bear the office's dated postmark on the reverse, showing the date of delivery.
In both cases covered by this article, the dated postmark may be replaced by an Après départ (“After Dispatch”) handstamp (see the illustration of this handstamp in Appendix No. 8). This handstamp bears the identification number of the post office and must be applied to the address side of any postal item whose dispatch or delivery has been delayed.
The provisions of this article do not apply to post offices whose dated postmarks indicate, in addition to the date, the sequential number of the mail collections prescribed by the internal regulations.
English translation:
APPENDIX No. 9
INVENTORY OF EQUIPMENT AND DOCUMENTS SUPPLIED BY THE POSTAL ADMINISTRATION
TABLE A — MOVABLE EQUIPMENT
Datestamp
Numeral cancel consisting of conical dots, bearing the identification number of the post office.
Descriptive handstamps for chargé letters, bearing the identification number of the post office.
Affranchissement insuffisant (“Insufficient Postage”) handstamp.
Retour à l'envoyeur (“Return to Sender”) handstamp, bearing the identification number of the post office.
Chargé handstamp.
Imprimés déclarés (“Declared Printed Matter”) handstamp.
Imprimés non déclarés (“Undeclared Printed Matter”) handstamp.
Handstamp prescribed by the Ordinance of 17 November 1844.
O.R. et O.L. handstamp.
P.D. handstamp.
P.F. handstamp.
P.P. handstamp.
Après le départ (“After Dispatch”) handstamp.
B.M. handstamp.
Postage-due handstamps indicating amounts in centimes.
Postage-due handstamps indicating amounts in décimes.
Box containing a duplicate set of movable characters for assembling the dated postmark.
Screwdrivers.
Handstamp indicating the name of the post office and the department number.
Special handstamps for the postage-stamp service.
Box containing weights and standards for a double-hectogramme weight and its fractions.
Wallet for postage-stamp booklets.
Postal scales and accessories for travelling post offices.
Keys for railway-station letterboxes.
Keys for supplementary letterboxes.
Keys for rural letterboxes.
TABLE B — DOCUMENTS AND INSTRUCTIONS
General Postal Instructions.
Monthly Bulletins.
Circulars.
Special instructions for postmen, railway-station postal agents and mail couriers.
Franchise Manual.
Postal Dictionary.
Supplement to the Postal Dictionary.
List of French Post Offices.
General Schedule of Foreign Postage Rates.
Regulations of 26 December 1866.
Map of France on canvas, showing the departments, district capitals and railway lines.
English translation:
FORTHCOMING MODIFICATION OF DATESTAMPS — ABOLITION OF THE APRÈS DÉPART HANDSTAMP
§ 8. In the near future, the datestamps used by post offices with permanent offices will be modified so as to indicate not only the date on which they are applied, but also the sequential number of the mail collections prescribed by each office's internal regulations and, consequently, the approximate time at which correspondence enters or passes through the postal service at each establishment.
This measure, referred to in the final paragraph of Article 372, will be implemented over a period of five years.
Upon receiving the present instruction, postmasters shall draw up a list, divided into four sections and arranged in order of importance, of the post offices within their department whose latest collection takes place at the distribution offices.
This list shall be forwarded to the Equipment Office, which will use it to implement the measure within the period specified above.
The dated postmarks of newly established offices shall be manufactured according to the new design, and the Après départ handstamp will no longer be supplied.
English translation:
CORRECTIONS TO BE MADE TO THE SUPPLIERS’ PRICE LISTS FOR WHICH THE EQUIPMENT OFFICE ACTS AS INTERMEDIARY WITH POSTAL ADMINISTRATION EMPLOYEES
Under the heading Handstamps and Stamped Marks, Mr Virey, supplier, delete the entries Après le départ handstamp and Affranchissement insuffisant (“Insufficient Postage”) handstamp.
Also delete the corresponding prices. (The first of these handstamps has been discontinued; the other is now supplied free of charge by the Postal Administration.)
Opposite the entry Datestamp, replace the price of 5 francs with 7 francs.
Under the heading Postal Seals, Mr Lelièvre, supplier, replace the words “50 cords, etc.” with “Circular No. 316”, and replace the reference “Appendix No. 24 of the General Postal Instructions” with the wording specified above.
English translation:
INSTRUCTION No. 196
1st Division — 2nd Office — Organisation of the Local Postal Service
ABOLITION OF THE APRÈS LE DÉPART HANDSTAMP
§ 1. As all post offices are now equipped with dated postmarks consisting of four movable components, indicating, in addition to the date, the sequential number of the mail collections prescribed by the internal regulations, the Après le départ handstamp has become unnecessary.
§ 2. Consequently, this handstamp shall be generally and permanently withdrawn from use upon receipt of the present instruction.
§ 3. All existing Après le départ handstamps held by post offices shall immediately be returned by postal employees to the postmasters responsible for their respective districts. These postmasters shall collect them and forward them to the Postal Administration (Equipment Office), accompanied by a statement indicating their number and origin.
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