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Description
[War of 1870–1871]
Le Ballon-Poste, first issue
“LE BALLON POSTE No. 1 SUNDAY 30 OCTOBER 1870”
Newspaper covering the Siege of Paris published for the departments; maximum weight of the newspaper 3.5 g.
On the reverse, a black ink stamp reading ‘Par Ballon monté’, unpostal
Newspaper-letter printed on tissue paper; its weight must not exceed 3.5 g in order to be transported by air.
47 x 29 cm (traces of folding)
During the siege of Paris by Prussian troops (September 1870–January 1871), the French capital found itself completely cut off from the rest of the country (the departments) and the world. To break this isolation, the Post Office organised a mail transport service using manned balloons.
To enable Parisians to send both general news and private correspondence without overloading the balloons, several publishers launched newspaper-letters. *Le Ballon Poste* was one of these leading titles. It was founded and edited by Richard Gabriel (1825–1892). The complete collection comprises 22 issues published between 30 October 1870 and 29 January 1871.
Issue 1 is dated Sunday 30 October 1870. Notably, the front page features an editorial entitled ‘To the Besieged of Paris’.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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