Saudi Arabia: Development Of The Postal Service (1801 - 2001)

Introduction | Pre-Stamp | Free Franking Ottoman Official Mail | Ottoman Mail 19th C | Ottoman Mail 20th C | Ottoman Mail WWI | Hijaz - King Hussein | Hijaz - King Ali | Najdi Sultanate Post | Hijaz and Najd | Saudi Arabia | Map

1 Pre-Stamp (1801 - 1865)

Letter from British ship headed "Red Sea, on Bd the ship Rockingham June 18^th 1801 ..." to GUERNSEY during the campaign against Napoleon's troops in Egypt. As opposed to other entires from this correspondence, this letter has no postal markings. The contents give some clue as to sending. The writer gives considerable detail about problems encountered by the ship after it struck reefs off the Arabian Coast and that "it has been judged necessary by the Capt. & officers to put in to Gedda to receive some repairs". As a result of this unexpected delay, he further states "there is a ship just passing us, going with troops to Cosseir by which I send this, to take its chance of a passage to Europe by Madras or any other way that may present itself."

Entire sent from Jeddah by "Principal Doctor, Surgeon in Chief of the Army of the Hijaz and Yemen" (name unclear), a Frenchman attached to the Egyptian army of Mohamed Ali Pasha, then on the fifteenth month of a campaign to regain control of the highlands and coastal plain south of Taif all the way to Yemen. Pre-stamp letter sent from JEDDAH on 6/1/35 to a military officer at Grenoble, France. The cover travelled up the Red Sea to Egypt and then across country to Alexandria; the two m/s charges (139 p.p. and p.p. 213) are for these two legs of the journey, charged in Turkish paras to the account of the writer or possibly pre-paid in Jeddah. It then travelled across the Mediterranean by private ship to MARSEILLES 19/6/35. The '11' is the decime charge made up of two parts: 10 decimes internal French postage between Marseilles and Grenoble (10 g weight in top left hand corner = 10 d rate for 150 - 220 km) plus 1 decime charge for transport by private ship from Alexandria. Upon arrival in GRENOBLE 21/6, the letter was forwarded to BAGNERES as the officer had been transferred; there was no extra postage charged for redirection of service mail.

Manuscript "JIDDAH IN ARABIA 14 HOURS DISTANT FROM MECCA 7 OCTOBER 1836" from Anglican missionary Joseph Wolff; double concave MALTA transit (in use from c.1807); DOUBLE RATE 3s 2d (1/7 x 2), written across the front,due fromaddressee for letter from Malta via France,paid on arrival in LONDON 26/11/36. Written 29 years before the opening ofthe first Post Office in Jeddah, this letter was presumably privately carried from Jeddah to Malta.

From A. Ogilvie, first native British Vice-Consul to be appointed in Jeddah, 4/8/1838. Fascinating contents mention erratic sailings and arrival of mail, and refer to Thomas Waghorn, pioneer of a mail service between Britain and India via Egypt. Some pages show criss-cross writing, to avoid higher cost of extra weight. Manuscript heading "JUDDAH DEC.14th 1842" at top of letter; transits of ALEXANDRIA 7/2/43, MALTA LAZARET (marking in use 1839-73), where two parallel disinfection slits were made on the front, via PARIS 25/2 and LONDON to BRIGHTON 27/2. Charged in London short-lived rate of 2s 8 ½ d for mail from India and Middle East carried on French ships via Malta and Marseilles; paid on arrival in Brighton. As the P.O. in Jeddah was still not open, this letter would have been carried privately for posting in Alexandria.

From MELBOURNE 14/9/1857; endorsed "per EMU via MARSEILLES", franked 6/2d Victoria postage to HAMBURG. The S.S. EMEU struck a reef 190 km west of JEDDAH on October 23^rd and slipped off it after 53 hours. She was run aground nearby; the captain and a few others left with the mail for mainland Europe in a native boat, reaching JEDDAH in 4 days. They put to sea again to signal passing ships, and after 17 days transferred the mail to the P. & O. "MADRAS", which reached SUEZ on 19/11. The mail went overland to ALEXANDRIA, and was put on the P. & O. "VECTIS" for MARSEILLES, arriving 27/11, then to PARIS next day and HAMBURG on 30/11. The letter refers to the writer's problems with mail because of some weeks of bad weather, mentioning two recent shipwrecks. It is ironic that this also met the same fate!