France-Belgium border postage
The entire eastern boundary of the Nord Department runs along the Belgian border. Long before the introduction of the postage stamp, a preferential rate known as the "border rate" existed. The postal convention of 27 April 1849 between Belgium and France formally established the rules governing this rate.
Under this agreement, a letter posted at a French post office, whether franked or not, and addressed to a Belgian town with a post office located within a maximum distance of 30 km (in a straight line), would benefit from a lower rate than letters sent to all other Belgian post offices.
Letter from VALENCIENNES to PERUWELZ franked at 20 c (Convention of 1/04/1858). PD stamp meaning "Paid to destination".
On 27 February 1865, a new agreement was signed, but the terms and conditions of the border port remained the same.
Extract from the Franco-Belgian postal agreement of 27 February 1865 applicable from 1 January 1866 (Monthly Bulletin no. 123).
Circular no. 16 of 20 September 1849 lists the French post offices concerned by the application of the border tariff. For the Nord, the list includes:
ANZIN, ARMENTIERES, AVESNES-SUR-HELPE, BAILLEUL, LA BASSEE, BAVAY, BERGUES, BERLAIMONT, BOUCHAIN, CASSEL, COMINES, CONDE-SUR-L'ESCAUT, CYSOING, DENAIN, DUNKERQUE, ESTAIRES, FOURMIES, HAUBOURDIN, HAZEBROUCK, HONDSCHOOTE, LANNOY-DU-NORD, LILLE, MARCHIENNES, MOULINLILLE, MAUBEUGE, MERVILLE, ORCHIES, PONT-A-MARCQ, LE QUESNOY, QUESNOY-SUR-DEULE, ROUBAIX, ST-AMAND-LES-EAUX, SECLIN, SOLESMES, SOLRE-LE-CHATEAU, STEENVOORDE, TOURCOING, TRELON, VALENCIENNES, WAZEMMES, WORMHOUDT.
This agreement was renewed in December 1857, although the first weight step was increased from 7.5 g to 10 g, but the rate remained at 20 c for a single letter.
Extract from the postal agreement of 27 April 1849, applicable from 1 October of the same year.
Letter weighing more than 10 g franked at 40 c from ESCAUPONT to WASMES. This letter was put in a mobile box on the route from VALENCIENNES to CONDE SUR ESCAUT.
Letter from SOLRE LE CHATEAU to BEAUMONT.
Letter from ESTAIRES to YPRES.
Extract from the Franco-Belgian postal agreement of 3 December 1857, applicable from 1 April 1858 (Monthly Bulletin no. 31).
Letter from CONDE SUR L'ESCAUT to TOURNAI.
Letter weighing less than 10 g from LINSELLES to ROULERS franked at 20 c.
Letter franked at 20 c from LILLE to COURTRAI.
To learn more about French postal rates ?
To find out about French postal rates without necessarily having to consult postal regulations: les tarifs postaux français by Jean-Louis Bourgouin.
English transaltion:
Article 1. The postage rates to be taken into account reciprocally by the French and Belgian Postal Administrations for letters exchanged between them shall henceforth be determined, letter by letter, according to the following weight scale:
Letters weighing no more than seven and a half grams shall be considered single-rate letters.
Letters weighing more than seven and a half grams and up to and including fifteen grams shall be charged twice the postage of a single-rate letter.
Letters weighing more than fifteen grams and up to and including twenty-two and a half grams shall be charged three times the postage of a single-rate letter, and so on, with one additional single-letter rate being charged for every further seven and a half grams or fraction thereof.
Article 2. Letters sent from France or Algeria to Belgium and, conversely, letters sent from Belgium to France or Algeria shall henceforth be subject to a uniform charge of forty centimes per single-rate letter.
Of this amount, twenty-three centimes shall accrue to the French Postal Administration and seventeen centimes to the Belgian Postal Administration.
However, the postage on letters sent from one country to the other shall be reduced to twenty centimes per single-rate letter when the straight-line distance between the post office of origin and the post office of destination does not exceed thirty kilometres.
This charge of twenty centimes shall be divided equally between the French and Belgian Postal Administrations.
English transaltion:
For letters circulating within a radius of 30 kilometres, postage is fixed at 20 centimes per 10 grams or fraction thereof when prepaid, and 30 centimes per 10 grams or fraction thereof when postage is unpaid.
The postmasters of the neighbouring post offices responsible for applying these exceptional rates of 20 and 30 centimes shall receive special instructions on this matter (1).
(1) The post offices designated to receive these special instructions are as follows:
Aniche, Anzin, Armentières, Aubenton, Audun-le-Roman, Avesnes-sur-Helpe, Bailleul, la Bassée, Bavay, Bergues, Berlaimont, Bouchain, la Capelle-en-Thiérache, Carignan, Carvin, Cassel, Charleville, Comines, Condé-sur-l'Escaut, Cysoing, Damvillers, Denain, Donchéry, Dunkerque, Estaires, Flize, Fontoy, Fourmies, Fumay, Givet, Haubourdin, Hazebrouck, Hirson, Hondschoote, Lannoy-du-Nord, Laventie, Lille, Longuyon, Longwy, Marchiennes, Marville, Maubert-Fontaine, Maubeuge, Merville, Mézières, Monthermé, Montmédy, Moulinlille, Mouzon, Onnaing, Orchies, Pont-à-Marcq, le Quesnoy, Quesnoy-sur-Deûle, Raismes, Raucourt, Renwez, Rimogne, Rocroi, Roubaix, Roussy-le-Village, Rumigny, Saint-Amand-les-Eaux, Saint-Venant, Seclin, Sedan, Signy-le-Petit, Solesmes, Sorel-le-Château, Somain, Spincourt, Stenay, Steenvoorde, Tourcoing, Trélon, Valenciennes, Villers-la-Montagne, Wazemmes and Wormhoudt.
English transaltion:
For letters circulating within a radius of 30 kilometres, postage is fixed at 20 centimes for every 10 grams or fraction thereof when prepaid, and 30 centimes for every 10 grams or fraction thereof when postage is unpaid.
The post offices located near the border and required to apply these exceptional rates of 20 and 30 centimes shall receive special instructions on this matter.¹
¹ The post offices designated to receive these special instructions are:
Aniche, Anzin, Armentières, Aubenton, Aubigny-les-Pothées, Audun-le-Roman, Aumetz, Avesnes-sur-Helpe, Bailleul, La Bassée, Bavay, Beaumont-en-Argonne, Bergues, Berlaimont, Béthune, Bouchain, Bourbourg, Braux, Bruanchemel, Bruinoisse, La Capelle-en-Thiérache, Carignan, Carvin, Cassel, Charleville, Comines, Condé-sur-l'Escaut, Consorre, Crespin, Cysoing, Damvillers, Denain, Donchéry, Douzy, Dunkerque, Elseghem, Estaires, Estréaupont, Etreungt, Flize, Fontoy, Fourmies, Fournes-en-Weppes, Fumay, Givet, Halluin, Harnes, Haumont, Hazebrouck, Hirson, Hondschoote, Hou, Jeumont, Landouzy-la-Ville, Lannoy-du-Nord, Laventie, Leschelle, Lille, Longuyon, Longwy, Loupny, Lourches, Maing, Marcinelle, Marcq, Marville, Maubert-Fontaine, Maubeuge, Merville, Mézières, Monthermé, Montmédy, Mortagne-Nord, Mouzon, Nouvion-en-Thiérache, Nouzon, Onnaing, Orchies, Origny-en-Thiérache, Plomion, Pont-à-Marcq, Le Quesnoy, Quesnoy-sur-Deûle, Raismes, Raucourt, Renwez, Revin, Rimogne, Rocroi, Roubaix, Roussy-le-Village, Rumigny, Sains-du-Nord, Saint-Amand-les-Eaux, Saint-Venant, Seclin, Sedan, Signy-le-Petit, Solesmes, Sorel-le-Château, Somain, Spincourt, Stenay, Steenvoorde, Templeuve, Tourcoing, Trélon, Valenciennes, Vendresse, Vervins, Villers-la-Montagne, Vireux-Molhain, Vrignes-aux-Bois, Wallers, Wormhoudt and Xivry-le-Franc.
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