Hotel post
Encyclopedia
Hotel Post was a service offered by remote Swiss hotels for the carriage of mail to the nearest official post office
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developed an important tourist industry. Guests enjoyed Alpine air and spas at hotels in remote areas that were not serviced by the Swiss Post Office. Some of these hotels offered a service to guests of carrying their mail to the nearest official post office for a fee paid by the purchase of a specially printed stamp. The first hotel stamp was issued by Rigi Kaltbad in 1864, followed by hotels at Rigi Scheideck, Belalp, Kurort Stoos, Maderanerthal and Rigi Kulm.
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
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Origins
In the nineteenth century, SwitzerlandSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
developed an important tourist industry. Guests enjoyed Alpine air and spas at hotels in remote areas that were not serviced by the Swiss Post Office. Some of these hotels offered a service to guests of carrying their mail to the nearest official post office for a fee paid by the purchase of a specially printed stamp. The first hotel stamp was issued by Rigi Kaltbad in 1864, followed by hotels at Rigi Scheideck, Belalp, Kurort Stoos, Maderanerthal and Rigi Kulm.
Last usage in Switzerland
These services became unnecessary as the Swiss railway was extended and a normal postal service introduced. After 20 September 1883, all remaining services were prohibited by the Swiss government.Use in other countries
Hotels in several other countries have issued stamps including in Austria, Hungary, Egypt (Shepherd's Hotel, Cairo), Japan (The Imperial Hotel, Tokyo), Romania and Singapore (Raffles Hotel). In Hungary stamps were issued at Carpathian resorts for Kurhaus auf der Hohen Rinne between 1895 and 1926, Magura in 1903 and 1911, and Bistra in 1909 to 1912. These resorts were part of Rumania after World War One. In Austria stamps were issued for Kesselfall-Alpenhaus and Moserboden between 1927 and 1938 and Katschberghohe in 1933-38. Stamps were also issued at a hotel in the Kulmi Mountain region of Liechtenstein.Further reading
- Kottelat, Marcel. Studie über die schweizerische Hotelpost 1864-1900. Bern: Zumstein & Cie/Inhaber Hertsch & Co., 1995. ISBN 3-909278-09-4
- Leemann, Hans. Die schweizerische Hotelpost. Basel: Sandoz A.G., 1960. Also published in French and English.
- Leutwyler, Hans. Die schweizerische Hotelpost und der Hôtel-Telegraphen- und Telephondienst im 19. Jahrhundert. Bern: H. Leutwyler, 1962.
- Williams, L.N. and MLeon Norman WilliamsLeon Norman Williams , originally a barrister, was a noted British philatelic writer, who collaborated with his brother Maurice as "L. N. and M. Williams" until Maurice's death in 1976....
. Hotel posts of Hungary & Roumania: being a handbook & catalogue of the private local stamps of Hohe Rinne, Magura, and Bistra. London: L.N. Williams, 1962.
