Weird Covers in our Collections

[kannik]

Here is a truly weird cover from my collection of two so far.
There is certainly nothing weird about the stamps - 1 cent
and 3 cent stamps George VI - 1942-43 Second World War
Issue.  However, I liked the sewing machine needle thrust 
through the envelope.  I thought that was pretty strange, but 
even stranger are the two other holes, set at about a 30 degree
 angle with no needle in them, but the upper one of
which is covered by the one cent stamp.  It only shows on
the back side.  The second (lower) hole is just barely visible
at the lower left corner of the one cent stamp.  I`m not sure
what the notation "correspond juillet 1945" means (juillet
means July), but July 1945 was a month before I was born.
That`s about how close I`ve come to finding a cover that
was mailed on my actual birthdate!  (I think I paid 50 cents
for it!)

I`ll contribute my other weird cover after a few more people
give us some!

[kannik]

Here`s the other side of that cover, in case anybody
really wants to see it!  Unfortunately, the sewing machine
needle is too rusty to read either the brand name or
the size!

[Admin Bear]

that is very interesting... i wonder if a previous owner just used it to hold the needle while they were busy or if it was a unique accident...

[khj]

There other set of "needle holes" on the envelope makes me wonder if the needle was simply the only thing they had handy to temporarily "pin" the envelope to something a couple of times. The needle holes were clearly made after the letter was delivered (you can tell by the cancels on both the stamp and envelope). The notation suggests a reminder of the correspondence time frame or a reminder to write back -- hence perhaps the envelope was pinned to a curtain/fabric board to make it conspicuous (like a post-it note!). Best guess.

[Gordon Lee]

Greetings Fellow SB Boarders and Ms. kannik
.
Indeed, interesting. It does seem that a right-handed person was very exact in sticking the needles through the envelope. I think I can agree with Mr. khj on his best guess.
.
Respectfully,

Gordon Lee

[kannik]

I`d like to, except that the 1 cent stamp
covers one of the other holes. It seems to
me that needle was first thrust into the first
two holes, then the stamps were stuck over one
and close to the other, THEN thrust into the
second lot of holes, and the envelope mailed.
That it was unceremoniously RIPPED open at the
left side is obvious, but wouldn`t the needle
have poked holes in whatever the contents were?
Anybody care to make up a story?

[kannik]

Yes, Mister Lee, definitely a right-handed person.
An excellent observation for forensic purposes!

[khj]

except that the 1 cent stamp covers one of the other holes.

I thought I saw both holes visible from front and back, but as I don't have the cover in hand, perhaps I am mistaken.

I think I see a hole in the 1 cent stamp near the lower right corner (at the lower right "1").  The other hole is not covered by the stamp and is just off the lower left corner of the stamp.

Also, I assumed the contents were no longer in the envelope -- that maybe it was just used as a reminder.

Like I said, just a guess.

[kannik]

I see that Mr. khj has come to a similar
conclusion as I have. I just posted a photo
of an 1862 envelope on "1900s covers ..."
and IT has a similar set of holes in its
upper left hand corner which suggests that
they might have been used to pin the enve-
lope to something else, perhaps its contents.

Why there should be TWO sets of holes is harder
to imagine. It would seem that nobody actually
CARED much for the contents! Perhaps it was a
demand for money or a good-bye to a rejected
lover ...

However, I would like to assure khj that the
upper hole on the unoccupied set of holes in
the above cover does ONLY show on the back
of the envelope. The 1 cent stamp covers it
on the front!

[kacyds]

I believe this cover must be from a "pin pal"......

[philatelius]

[*BA-dum tsh*]

[kannik]

Definitely - thanks for that, kacyds!