COVER N. 314 - FRANCE - DROM-COM - TAAF - TERRES AUSTRALES ET ANTARCTIQUES FRANÇAISES

Postmark: Port-aux-Français - Kerguelen T.A.A.F.  02.04.2023

Posted on the 2nd April; Received on the 23rd September 2023

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Another nice cover for which I have to thank Jean-Pierre. This time from Port-aux-Français, on the main island - Grande Terre - of the Kergulen archipelago, one of the four districts of the Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises.

Jean-Pierre was also very kind to use a beautiful aviation themed stamp on the cover, knowing my soft spot for all things that fly. Thanks a lot!

On the subject of the Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises I can't resist telling a story that happen to me just a week ago, on a weekend visit with my wife to the beautiful city of Nantes.

I had read that there was a Bureau Philatélique in the city's main Post Office and since I wanted to send a couple of covers an postcards and also to buy some TAAF stamps I went there, with this purpose in mind.

Unfortunately, just the day before in the wake of the outrageous attack in Israel by Hamas, there had  been a terrorist action in Arras with one unfortunate teacher having been stabbed to death  and three other persons having also been badly injured, 

This had brought increased security in public service buildings, so the entry to the post office was a bit crowded, with a gentleman there asking each person what they were there for. 

When my turn come, I told him I wanted to buy some stamps and so he directed me to a colleague in one of the counters.

"Good morning, I want to buy some stamps of the TAFF, Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises" said I to her in my best French, which was of course, less than optimal, since the kind young lady looked at me with what I would classify as a slightly awed expression...

"I am sorry, but we don’t have stamps from Australia here..."

"Sorry, it is not Australia, what I want are stamps from the TAFF, and again I  explained what the acronym stood for "les Terres Australes et Antarctiques...."

"Un moment s'il vous plait, je vais appeler un collègue..." and she took to the phone, but since she was quite close I overheard her part of the conversation...

"Hi, there's this gentleman here who wants to buy stamps from Australia,...."

Her colleague must have explained her what I was looking for, since she answered, "I see, ok, Thanks" and got back to me.

"Sorry, we don't have those, just regular issues".

Disappointed by the fact that I couldn't get my "Austral" stamps, I bought some Marcel Marceau stamps for the covers I wanted to send out and once glued I asked her to postmark them manually, to which she said, "well, of course", and proceeded to postmark the envelopes with a quite curious postmark, which hadn't any mention on it as to the place of dispatching.

The unusual postmark at Nantes Post Office, under a mechanical postmark that was also applied

I saw by the corner of my eye that the postmark on two of the envelopes was not even touching the stamp, and called her attention to it... "Please put the postmark on the stamps also, not only on the envelope."

"Don't worry, I just did" she answered me with a disarming smile signalling that our talk was over…. and so I gave up, comforted by the fact that I now knew that it was not only in my own country that my requests at some post offices for a manual postmark on the stamp and the cover  can be regarded as rather unusual...  😀

The main 1,16 € stamp on the cover, issued on 02JAN2023, is illustrated with a painting depicting a Potez 452 flying boat, in service with the colonial aviso ship Bougainville near the Kergulen Islands in 1939.

To complete postage a 50 cent stamp was used, this being part of a two 50 cent set also issued on 02JAN23, illustrated with images  of Afverdsonite crystal. Arfvedsonite Is a rather rare mineral, found in just a few places around the world (so I presume the Kergulen islands to be one of them), named after Johan August Arfwedson (1792–1841), the Swedish chemist who discovered lithium

A usual with TAAF covers, further to the Postmark identifying the place of dispatching – Port-aux-Français, there is another stampmark with the local coordinates, which of course also correspond to Port-aux-Français.