Chamber of Commerce of Valenciennes postal service
The VALENCIENNES Chamber of Commerce stamp is emblematic of the German occupation. No town in occupied territory issued a postage stamp during the first months of the occupation.
It all began on 25 August 1914, the 1st day of the occupation. In the days that followed, the German military authorities ordered businesses to reopen. Economic life began to resume in the district. At the same time, the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Jules Turbot, asked the VALENCIENNES Kommandantur for authorisation to set up a postal service, as the French post office was no longer operating.
This authorisation was quickly obtained and on 5 September the Chamber of Commerce informed the population of the creation of the “provisional postal service” as well as its terms and conditions and its start-up on 7 September.
The printer produced 376 sheets (i.e. 9400 stamps) of which he delivered 364 to the Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber of Commerce was responsible for distributing the letters and collecting them from towns outside Valenciennes. Only simple letters were accepted.
Initially, this service concerned VALENCIENNES and the towns served by the tramway. There were 4 tramway lines departing from VALENCIENNES.
Extract from the tramway timetable in 1914.
Letter delivered to the Chamber of Commerce on 21 September 1914. The postal control is materialised by the presence of the stamp of the Kommandantur of VALENCIENNES. Only a small minority of letters bear a control stamp.
Posters signed by Lieutenant-Colonel KINTZEL, Commander of VALENCIENNES, and Jules TURBOT, Present of the Chamber of Commerce, were put up in the town.
The stamp to be used represented the French domestic rate, i.e. 10 c. The design was very basic. It was printed lithographically by the DEHON printing works in VALENCIENNES. Lithographic printing is a fairly fast printing process, which is probably why the stamps were printed in such a short time between authorisation by the Kommandantur and the start of the service. The perforation (11 1/2) is rough, and the stamps were printed in sheets of 25.
These stamps were on sale in tobacconists' shops and at the Chamber of Commerce.
It soon became possible to send mail to, and receive it from, communes in the cantons of SOLESMES and LE QUESNOY. The postal link was extended as far as CAMBRAI and LILLE areas.
The first posters did not mention any postal checks by the German authorities, but letters had to be left open, which probably facilitated any checks. Postal checks probably took place at random, because at the beginning of the service, a minority of letters bore the stamp of the VALENCIENNES Kommandantur, where the checks were carried out.
The Chamber of Commerce affixed its oval consular stamp and the date stamp to the stamp.
On 16th September, VALENCIENNES, which until then had been occupied by the 1st Army, saw the arrival of troops from the 7th Army. On 24 September, Lieutenant-Colonel KINTZEL was replaced by Major von MEHRIG, who authorised the continuation of the provisional postal service, but attached an additional condition: letters would henceforth have to bear the visa of the German authorities, i.e. the Kommandantur stamp.
In practice, checks were still carried out at random, as there were far fewer letters bearing the Kommandantur stamp than those without.
Letter delivered to the Chamber of Commerce on 16 October 1914. Postal examination carried out by the Kommandantur of VALENCIENNES.
An interesting stamp, but difficult to collect
Since the Chamber of Commerce stamp has attracted a certain amount of attention from collectors, fakes do exist and can be recognised by the 13 1/2 perforation and the much better centring than the original.
But in fact, it's not these fakes that are the most dangerous, it's rather the postage made from genuine stamps.
Of the 9400 stamps printed, the Chamber of Commerce sold less than half. The remaining stock was destroyed. The Chamber of Commerce stamp quickly attracted the interest of collectors, firstly German soldiers, then collectors in Germany and in non-belligerent countries. There is no doubt that some stamps sold (and perhaps even some stock remaining before destruction) were bought by the Germans. Some made souvenir postcards. These letters were stamped with a Feldpost postmark. However, military mail was postage-free, so Chamber of Commerce stamps were of no use on this type of mail.
Finally, there are a few letters bearing the Chamber of Commerce's imperforate stamp that could raise questions. These letters all date from 8 September 1914, the 1st day of service.
Some blank (unaddressed) envelopes made by soldiers were cancelled at the Chamber of Commerce and, to make things even more authentic, they also bore the stamp of the Kommandanture.
More insidiously, in September and early October 1914, there were letters bearing all the features of authenticity, but with German postmarks that did not exist at the time of the stamp.
As a result of a movement of German armies, the 6th Army moved into the CAMBRAI, DOUAI, VALENCIENNES and part of the LILLE districts in October 1914. It was around this time that von MEHRIG authorised the provisional service to operate between LILLE and VALENCIENNES. Except that the High Command of the 6th Army, newly installed and unaware of this service, decided to ban it entirely, so that the Chamber of Commerce's postal service had to cease operating on 30 October 1914. In fact, the Chamber of Commerce postal service was an exception in the Western Lines of communication area, as the German authorities (regardless of the Army) had banned all exchanges of mail between inhabitants of occupied zones.
Letter of the town hall of VALENCIENNES deposited at the Chamber of Commerce on September 8, 1914. Unperforated 10 centimes stamp.
The first 2 stamps with "NORD" in small and large characters are frequently found on mail bearing the Chamber of Commerce stamp, as the VALENCIENNES town hall sent out a lot of mail.
The 3rd stamp (larger than the previous ones) with "Nord" in small letters is only found on mail bearing the imperforate stamp.
To date, I know 7 pieces of correspondence addressed to:
Monsieur Risbourg, meunier à Bouchain (Mr Risbourg, miller in Bouchain)
Monsieur Fauville, brasseur à Bouchain (Mr Fauville, brewer in Bouchain)
Monsieur Mallez, entrepreneur à Denain (Mr Mallez, contractor in Denain)
Messieurs Delerue Frères, sucrerie à Raismes (Delerue Frères, sugar mill in Raismes)
Monsieur Davaine, distillateur à St Amand (Mr Davaine, distiller at St Amand)
Monsieur Plumecocq, chaudronnier à Douchy (Mr Plumecocq, boilermaker at Douchy)
Monsieur Hélard maire de Bruay sur l'Escaut
These recipients were professionals working in different fields that had nothing to do with philately. At the time of these letters, they were living in the VALENCIENNES area.
The date stamp of 8 September 1914 is identical to that of the letters of the same date, bearing perforated stamps.
Finally, these stamps are authentic and have all been authenticated by different experts. They could therefore be stamps belonging to a sheet that had escaped the serration.
Most of the evidence suggests that these letters are entirely authentic, even if certain questions about the town hall stamp and the sender's handwriting remain unanswered.
In conclusion, it can be said that this stamp went through a complicated period during the early months of the war when things were not yet stabilised. With the German authorities able to authorise, amend or remove provisions that other authorities had validated before them. This troubled period makes the Chamber of Commerce stamp an interesting subject, but one that is difficult to collect.
It requires a few precautions before any purchase. Careful examination of the marks and addresses of the addressees can avoid certain disappointments. Finally, it is important to ensure that the recipients are all in the towns served by the tramway.
The first 3 marks are from Etappen-Kommandantur 6/XIV in VALENCIENNES, but only during the period of the 6th Army (i.e. from mid-October 1914). Letters bearing them are often dated September 1914.
The mark reads "Mob. Et. Kommandantur 158/Deutsche Feldpost 45" cannot have coexisted with the Chamber of Commerce stamp, as the words "Deutsche Feldpost..." appear in February 1917.
