Quiz:
Question 1: the feather indicated the missive, or message, was URGENT. CORRECT
Question 2: For what reason was this done? Not Answered.
I am trying to bring some philatelic levity in a time of dire incertitude, fear and pain.
If a moderator chooses to move this item to another thread, so be it. I would welcome it with an open heart.
Please, go to the thread The Weekly Comedy Show for my newest contribution.
Q2. so the carrier would know that it had to go as fast as possible?
Was there a reason why you stated a black feather rather than just a feather in your original question?
The wave form with a horizontal line meant that it had to go directly.
Hello,
The answer, according to Prof. David Lank of McGill University, Canada, is that in those days in Sweden--and I surmise other areas, other countries--"post offices" were staffed by many illiterate individuals who neither knew how to read nor write. Thus, these symbols or representations were easily understood by such individuals when handling the postal materials.
Sweden established laws that required Post Offices to have at least two staff members who could read in order to handle the mail.
Dr. Lank's lecture. Every Stamp a Story, can be accessed on YouTube. I wonder how many other signs and symbols--among them the Wave--were used by people using the postal services around the world. These symbols "adorn" covers and often are not easily understood.
