Dated 11.7.1934 (it was Wednesday), this letter was stamped at 16:00 in the evening and the flight has departed from Helsinki at 17:15 (during a period between 9.4.1934 and 15.8.1934) flying a route Helsinki – Turku – Stockholm and flown by Aero O/Y (later Finnair Oy). Arrival to Stockholm at 19:00 in the evening. The letter has then been transferred to an overnight train heading to Oslo. The train departure time from Stockholm was at 22:05 and it’s arrival to Oslo at 9:46 in the following morning.

The letter has an arrival postmark to Stockholm 11.7.1934 and also to Charlottenberg 12.7.1934. Charlottenberg is a tiny border town between Sweden and Norway and also happens to be a connection point between Swedish and Norwegian railway systems. It is not clear whether the postmark indicates a train switch or is it simply a mail processing indication. Other postmarks are unidentifiable so the latter part of this letter’s trip remains unknown; although someone has written the date 13.7.1934 on the cover perhaps indicating arrival to Kristiansund?

Kristiansund is a town in a municipality of the same name about 200km North-West of Oslo. The letter rate from Finland to other Nordic countries was 2 marks between 1.12.1931 and 31.3.1940. Additional air mail surcharge was 1 mark between 27.4.1928 – 30.9.1942. The M1930 definitive series stamps of 1,5 marks each thus form a correct rate. The 1,5 mark stamp was issued in 1932.

It is noteworthy that between a period of 1.5.1934 and 30.9.1934 also regular letters would be carried by air if possible during the days other than Saturday and Sunday. Providing the extra air fee and marking the letter clearly with “Par avion” markings would guarantee it’s sending via an air route; otherwise it was dependent on circumstances.

This letter’s stamp is the first Red Cross stamp issued in Finland and as such it’s the first commemorative stamp as well as all the earlier stamps were of a variety of lion-themed definitive stamps. The stamp was issued 15.5.1922 in a quantity of 655.650 exactly. The stamp was plagued by defective plates and printing and many such defects are today quite sought after curiosities of this issue.

This letter is from Helsinki to Hyvinkää stamped at 23.8.1923 and has reached it’s destination in just a couple of hours! Granted the two cities are not far apart but still the markings reveal a travel time of only three hours between the sending post office and receiving post office.

The domestic letter rate between 1.2.1921 – 14.1.1926 (lowest weight rate) was 1 mark. The Red Cross stamp fulfills that so this letter has a correct rate.

Starting from 16.1.1926, and according to postal agreements, postcard rate from Finland to other Nordic countries was the same as postcard rate within Finland. Domestic postcard rate was between 15.1.1926 – 30.11.1931 exactly 1 mark. This postcard (postmarked 13.8.1930) from Helsinki to Gimo (a small industrial center about 50 kilometers east of Uppsala) is stamped with a 1 mark Red Cross stamp fulfilling the correct rate for postcards.

The Red Cross stamp was issued 6.2.1930 in quantity of 312.000. It’s single use on postcards to abroad is not common as many preferred the M1930 definitive series stamps for their wider availability and also because it was valid only to 28.2.1931 (so a period of little over a year).

The postcard’s picture side depicts a small public square in Helsinki (nowadays simply called Erottaja). The FInnish word “erottaja” means quite simply just “a separator”. It’s original intent was just that: it separated the areas west from it from those east of it. It also has a curious geographical interest as all the official distances from Helsinki to other cities use this square as the center point of distance calculations.

Air mail letter 13.10.1934 from Helsinki/Finland to Rorschach/Switzerland. Rorschach is a small town in the canton of Sankt Gallen. Letter rate from Finland to Switzerland was 1.12.1931 – 31.10.1936 2,50 marks. Air mail surcharge to Switzerland was 2 marks per every starting 20 grams between 1.4.1928 – 30.9.1942. The stamps on the letter form the correct rate (2,50 marks + 2 marks).

The violet 2 marks commemorative stamp of Aleksis Kivi was issued only four days prior so it’s a rather early use for that stamp. The M1930 definitive stamps on the cover were issued in 1930.

The letter was stamped in the morning of 13.10.1934 and was stamped in Berlin the same evening. While air route from Helsinki to Stockholm would eventually connect to Berlin (via Malmö and Copenhagen), this letter could not have been on that route. That’s because the plane started from Helsinki at 15.45 (between 16.8.1934 and 15.10.1934) and landed in Stockholm at 17.30. However, the connection from Malmö to Berlin started at 8.30 the next morning and mail was transported by rail – not by air – from Stockholm to Malmö.

So the only route possible for this letter to make it to Berlin in the same day was via a Tallinn connection. Aero O/Y (later the Finnish Finnair Oy) flew a route between Helsinki and Tallinn daily starting from Helsinki at 9.30 and landing in Tallinn at 10.00 (between 15.4.1934 and 15.12.1934). From there on, Deruluft (a long since defunct airline company) picked up the mail and flew a route Tallinn – Riga – Tilsit – Königsberg – Danzig – Berlin making touchdown in Berlin at 18.15 in the evening. This is consistent with the markings on the letter. Further markings are not readable and how fast the letter would have arrived in Switzerland is pure conjecture. Although the connecting flight from Berlin to Zürich left two hours earlier than the Deruluft flight landed to Berlin it is pretty sure that the letter was not forwarded the same day.

A few locations in Finland were crowded and active enough that they required their own post office and remote enough that the nearest city or village just wasn’t going to cut it. The Finnish Sports Academy at Vierumäki near the city of Heinola was one of these locations. The academy was established in 1927 by the Finnish sports activist, Lauri “Tahko” Pihkala, who also invented the Finnish variant of baseball (called “pesäpallo” in Finnish) which is still a major sport in Finland. The location is still in existence although it is no longer simply a sports academy but also also a recreational center, coaching center and sports educational center.

The postcard depicts a popular swimming location within the sports academy’s area. The main buildings of the academy are located within a short a walking distance from the swimming area. The location is still today in similar use. The water body displayed is called Valkjärvi. Here is a Google Maps link to the specific location of the post card.

The stamp in question, 2 marks carmine, was issued in 11.12.1936 (based on earliest known verified cancellations of the stamp) . It’s intended use was for foreign postcards. The rate for post cards from Finland to abroad was 2 marks between 1.11.1936 – 30.9.1942.

The post card has thus correct rate. Single use of the stamp on it’s intended use is not common and having an interesting special cancellations adds to the card’s appeal. The cancellation was in use from 1.2.1938 to 1.6.1972. It was then changed to “Vierumäki 2” to serve a wider area not entirely connected to the sports academy. The date of cancellation is 21.6.1938 so it is also rather early use for this post mark.