France 1805 Seine 25c Stamp – Postmark from the document

France 1805 Seine 25c Stamp – Postmark from the document

“1805” and “Seine”: The year 1805 is in the pre-philatelic era (before stamps). Mail from this period used handstamps or postmarks applied directly to the letter or document to indicate the origin, date, and sometimes the postal rate paid or due.

• “Seine” refers to the Department of Seine (which included Paris), and the postmark would typically be a handstamp showing the town name and date. For a major office like Paris/Seine in 1805, the postmark would most likely be a straight-line or curved-line town name mark, possibly with a separate date and month mark.

“25c”: The 25 centimes was a common postal rate for internal mail in the early to mid-19th century. Since there was no adhesive stamp, the “25” or “25c” would have been an applied handstamp (often called a “tax mark” or “rate mark”) or a handwritten notation on the cover to indicate the postage due or paid.

“Postmark from the document”: The postmark is the handstamp itself, applied directly to the folded letter (the “document” or “cover”).