Description
1950 1st airmail / PO's, rates & routes: 3-8-1950 registered military cover from Central Army Pay Office KABA 369 in JAFFA to TEL AVIV franked 40pr at the DO-2 period rate (15pr letter + 25pr registration) using single 1st Airmail 40pr (Ba34, damaged at lower right perforation) frank tied by single strike of JAFFA-1 postmark on front + 2 on back + triangular Kaba handstamp on front & back, with boxed "Official Mail" and Mandate R-label Sacher-RK on front; slit open at left, very fine. The dispatch from the civilian post office was probably necessary in order to use the registered mail service; as the "official" handstamp was used, the sender was probably not entitled to postage-free military mail and the Kaba handstamp was probably pre-applied prior to use - however the sender, oddly, paid the full postage anyway. Official mail was free for regular mail until February 1951 (and then again from July 1952).
