1894 (20 Aug) Сombination cover of a letter sent from the village of Istorop (Исторопъ) in the Lebedin district (Kharkov province) to Moscow.

To pay for the service of the Imperial Russian Post, a blue 7-kopek stamp (issued in 1889) has been affixed to the ordinary cover of the first weight class and canceled in the Lebedin post & telegraph office 22.08.1894 (PTK), repeated on the reverse. The Imperial datestamp is damaged (date inverted compared to the text), as it happens sometimes. The letter arrived in Moscow on 24.08.1894.

To pay for the preliminary service of the Lebedin Zemstvo post from Istorop or Velikiy Istorop to Lebedin, an indigo-blue and bright sky blue 5-kopek Lebedin Zemstvo stamp has been affixed to the cover (Schmidt #7 = Chuchin 7). The Zemstvo stamp on this cover was endorsed by a blue oval (49x29 mm.) district datestamp. The cover bears also on the reverse a rectangular handstamp "Л. З. П. ИСТОРОПЪ" which means "Zemstvo Post of Lebedin district Istorop" and the date in manuscript “20 Августа 1894” (20.08.1894). Velikiy Istorop (the Volost center close to Istorop) is on the Zemstvo route (тракт) N°2.

The sender of the cover is a member of the noble family Podolskiy (Подольский) who was known to have estates in the Lebedin district. The recipient is the company "Immer and son" (Иммер и сын) which worked in gardening. Known several other Zemstvos covers sent to the same address from other districts.

Covers with Zemstvo stamp handled by the Zemstvo post of the Lebedin district are very rare. Up to now, less than 8 genuine without doubt covers of the district were recorded.

According to V.Katsman, it comes from a Cherrystone auction (New York), 06.10.1981 lot 4217.

Bernard Furnon A.I.E.P. certificate