Egypt (1954) Cover / El Cairo to Charlottenburg (Germany)

1954 Egypt Post-Revolutionary Registered Airmail Cover to West Berlin

Overview: An excellent commercial postal history item from the transitional post-revolutionary period in Egypt, sent registered via airmail from Cairo to Charlottenburg, West Berlin (Federal Republic of Germany).

• Total Franking: 97 millièmes, covering the international registered airmail rate.
• Stamps Block: Three-stamp combination consisting of:
  • 1x 30 mills green (Mosque definitive issue).
  • 1x 17 mills green (King Farouk definitive, obliterated with three black bars).
  • 1x 50 mills (King Farouk definitive, obliterated with three black bars).

• Front Markings:
  • Manuscript registration notation in pencil reads “R 38”.
  • An oval-shaped purple/violet cachet featuring Arabic text.
  • Cairo departure datestamps are partial and lightly struck, yet remain clear enough to definitively confirm the departure date of March 11, 1954.
• Back Markings (Transit & Arrival):
  • Circular transit datestamp: Aerodrome du Caire (March 13, 1954).
  • Circular arrival datestamp: Berlin-Charlottenburg (March 16, 1954).

• Sender: Chambre de Commerce Allemande (German Chamber of Commerce in Cairo), highlighting the rapid re-establishment of post-war Mediterranean trade routes.
• Recipient: Berliner Absatzorganisation (BAO – Berlin Marketing Organization), a vital institution tasked with promoting West Berlin’s isolated economy and industrial exports during the Cold War.
• Historical Significance: The “three-bar” overprints reflect the immediate economic measures taken by the young Egyptian Republic to use up existing royal stocks while symbolically erasing the face of the deposed King Farouk I.

Genuine commercial usage. Cairo postmarks are partially struck/faint but legible for dating purposes. Transit and arrival backstamps are cleanly applied and fully readable.