1864 issue tied by Hoog-carspel straight-line mark on cover - a stunning discovery!

Folded letter from Hoogkarspel to Tourcoing (France) 28-12-1866 franked by two Willem III 5c stamps (1864 issue) both tied by a HOOG-CARSPEL straight-line mark. The letter was sent to France but the sender/postal clerk put insufficient stamps on the item for a letter of this weight (up to 7½ grams). I suspect a sample of seed was included but not charged... If the sample would have been charged a letter up to 7½ grams to France in 1866 meant that 30c should have been put on the letter. The French Post taxed 12 decimes (120 centimes) which the recipient had to pay (60 Dutch cents (2x the original 30c rate)). The exchange rate Franc-Guilder was about 1:½ in 1866. The French post had already been warned by two Dutch ONTOEREIKEND (insufficient) marks in both black and red. Another mistake was certainly made by the postal clerk at Hoogkarspel, since the stamps shouldn't been cancelled by the HOOG-CARSPEL straight-line mark at all as the letter was sent to a destination located outside the rayon of Hoorn (franked letters sent within the Hoorn district were allowed to be cancelled by local straight-line marks). In Hoorn they corrected the mistake by placing two Boxed Franco cancellations over the stamps. Bureaucracy at its finest. A proper gem. 

Yesterday I came across this item by chance. By the kind permission of its owner I'm allowed to use several scans of it to demonstrate a rare - maybe even unique - item in West-Frisian philately.

Years of searching finally came to an end yesterday, when this letter surfaced. Since I live in Hoogkarspel, finding an item cancelled by one of Hoogkarspel's straight-line markers (either Hoog-carspel or Hoogcarspel) topped my search lists on Ebay and Delcampe for years. But due to the small and largely illiterate population of Hoogkarspel in the 3rd quarter of the 19th century (a dozen persons?) I had already given up hope of ever finding such an item. And now this letter crossed my path by pure chance! And what a gem it is.

Reverse with transit postmark Lille 29 DEC 66 and faint arrival mark Tourcoing 30 DEC 66  

Hoogkarspel was upgraded to a sub-post office in 1866 and the Hoog-carspel postmark had been delivered on the 28th of June that year - just 6 months prior to the date on which the cover was sent. Maybe this novelty in the village caused the postal clerk to accidentally cancel the stamps... How many franked letters would have been sent with a destination outside the rayon of Hoorn since the introduction of the Hoog-carspel postmark only a couple of months earlier. A dozen again? We don't know, but it's properly rare.

1864 issue (Utrecht printing) with HOOG-CARSPEL straight-line cancel. 

Apart from very early use of this straight-line postmark, the stamps on the cover also gave me a little shock. The 1864 issue were to be replaced by a totally new design the next year. The stock of the blue 1864 5c stamps would have dried up soon - even in a small village like Hoogkarspel - after they stopped printing them. So the combination of the Hoog-carspel mark on this issue and this stamp in particular could have only been possible for a few months to one year at most... Extraordinary that this entire survived! I just cannot imagine there would have been sent over a 100 franked letters from Hoogkarspel in 1866-1867 cancelled by the Hoog-carspel mark. Moreover, they all should have been addressed to people/businesses within the Hoorn district, if not the mark should have been placed on the letter instead. So this mistake or happy accident was probably already unique in 1866. I repeat: extraordinary that this item survived all these 153 years largely unscratched. Extraordinary it turned up.

From mayor of Hoogkarspel to representative in The Hague

Letter written by Klaas Harshoorn de Jong. Transcription:

                                                                                                                    Hoog carspel, ce 28 Dec. 1866

                               Monsieur J Toulemonde

                                        à Tourcoing

                               Après un absence de quelques semaines, j'ai trouvé votre honoré [?] des 19 de l'écoulé.

                               Selon votre desire je vous envoie un Prix courant des graines de notre pays. Moi je fais le commerce de                                                                             Carvis et Moutarde brun tandisque c'est un des mes cousins qui cultive  tous les autres graines. 
                               Je serai bien heureux si vous pouviez me donner des ordres.

                                     En attendant le plaisir de vous lire Agnecy [?] Monsieur mes salutations sincères.

                                                                                                                   K. H. de Jong

Klaas Harshoorn de Jong (1815-1866) was born in the so-called Medemblikker Tolhuis on the 14th of December 1815. This toll house had been constructed in 1729 on the new junction of the old paved road between Hoorn and Enkhuizen (Streekweg) and the newly built Tolweg to Medemblik. Napoleon travelled to Medemblik over this road 4 years prior to De Jong's birth. His father Melchert farmed several pastures in Hoogkarspel and was innkeeper of the toll house. After having finished school Klaas de Jong became wholesaler and merchant in cheese, wine and liquor in Hoorn which he combined with his occupation as farmer and agriculturalist in Hoogkarspel. Besides this already busy lifestyle for a person in the early 1800s he trained himself to become a teacher. A remarkable person!

Contemporary map of Hoogkarspel and surroundings which dates from ca. 1864. In the red balloon you could just read Medemblikker Tol. The red arrow points to the location of the Medemblik Toll House and the blue arrow to the Church and Ons Huis of Hoogkarspel.



Location of Hoogkarspel in West Frisia in 1866 

Klaas also aspired a political career in later life which culminated in his function as representative of the Hoorn District between 1871 and 1884 and again between 1884 until his death in 1886. Before this he had been local council member of the Hoogkarspel municipality and he even served as mayor of Hoogkarspel between 1859 until his death. Apparently he had established himself as a popular political figure in the 3rd quarter of the 19th century and in the light of his various additional functions (Poldermeester, i.e. chair of a the Grootslag polder water board; church warden of the Dutch reformed church of Hoogkarspel; agricultural consultant to the Dutch Lower House etc. etc.) on may conclude Klaas Harshoorn de Jong certainly thrived as public man.

Klaas Harshoorn de Jong and (I suppose) his second wife Ietske Rodenburg with his children (f.l.t.r. Aaltje, Grietje and Melchert de Jong). Klaas' first wife Elisabeth Pool died after Grietje was born in 1848. I assume the little girl holding Ietske's hand is a child of a previous marriage of her... The painting dates from 1855 and was allegedly painted by H. Vorderman. All rights reserved Het Westfries Museum Hoorn.      

  
On the painting above you can see the old reformed church of Hoogkarspel through the window. Klaas convinced the church board of replacing this medieval church by a new one in 1860. Above his sons head you could see a fictional (?) painting of 'Ons Huis' (Our House). Klaas thrived as business man as well and his earning allowed him to construct this large and modern mayor's residence/wine storage right beside the old church. After Klaas died in 1886 (he survived all his 3 wives) his house was subsequently owned by Klaas Koster, his son-in-law who was a merchant in wine too. He sold the building in 1903 to 't Nut (Society for Public Welfare) for fl. 5000,- The specific purpose of t' Nut in Hoogkarspel was to educate the villagers in things culturally and several rooms were used to exhibit photo's, moving images etc. Alas, Ons Huis was demolished in 1970, along with several other buildings in the center of the village to make room for a modern shopping mall, church and town hall. 

Sadly Klaas de Jong would not have been able to recognize his Hoogkarspel if he would be alive today. Not only his own house is no more: his newly constructed church was demolished in 1966 - it's said the foundations were in such a bad shape the building was beyond repair. His birthplace managed to survive until 1973 when fire ruined this historical building. Although in 1881 Medemblik had stopped levying the tolls over the Tolweg, the Toll House remained a place of community and an inn to its last days when it accommodated as snack bar. Only a few buildings which were built prior to De Jong's death in 1886 survive - most remarkable is the so-called Zonnehuis which he had commissioned in 1860 - but most of them have been replaced by modern structures, all inferior to their predecessors... Below I've attached a few photo's of the Toll House, De Jong's church and his house when they were still intact and palatable to observe. 

Medemblikker Tolhuis (Toll House and inn) looking eastwards  around 1900-1910 - birthplace of mayor and representative Klaas Harshoorn de Jong

Another image of the Medemblikker Tolhuis now looking westwards again between 1900-1910. The chariot right seems to have come from Medemblik over the Tolweg and is about to turn on the paved road between Hoorn and Enkhuizen. Also notice the way how the Toll House inn is described on the card: as an Hotel and Café Restaurant - brilliant. 

Reformed Church of Hoogkarspel which replaced the older medieval church on Klaas de Jong's initiative of 1860. This Gothic Revival place of worship barely survived its centenary - it was demolished in 1966. The tree in the front - a variegated Norway maple - still exists and is probably the oldest tree of Hoogkarspel by now.   

Ons Huis (lit. Our House) where Klaas de Jong lived and had his office as merchant in wine and cheese. The name Ons Huis is coined after 1903 when the building was purchased by 't Nut (Society for Public Welfare). It was demolished in 1970.

Another photograph of Ons Huis looking to the east which almost resembles the 'painting in the painting' of Klaas de Jong's family from 1855.  

Both the very interesting philatelic and historical value of this letter from 1866 make it a true document of note for Hoogkarspel. 

With special credits to a friendly collector and the Westfries Museum for making this blog understandable and attractive.