Bidspirit auction | War of Independence – Mail

War of Independence – Mail to Egyptian Arab P.O.W. held in Israel, Cairo 29 December 1948 – via Sinai and the Red Cross to POW Camp No. 1 in Israel - Envelope sent from Egypt to an Egyptian prisoner of war captured by Israel during the War of Independence. The cover was sent through the Egyptian civilian postal system and bears a 10 mills Egyptian stamp depicting King Farouk. The envelope bears a Cairo postmark dated 29 DEC 1948 on the reverse, from where it traveled eastward through the Sinai Peninsula. During transit it underwent several censorship inspections and was forwarded through the International Committee of the Red Cross (Comité International de la Croix Rouge – Genève), as indicated by the red Red Cross cachet on the front. The mail was addressed to: Ali Abd AlKarim Muhammad Aseid Egyptian prisoner of war held in an Israeli POW camp (Camp I). The envelope bears several postal and censorship markings documenting its route and processing, including: • local Egyptian postmark • Cairo postmark on reverse (29 DEC 1948) • Egyptian / military censor marking from the Sinai area • International Red Cross marking • Arabic censor marking • Israeli bilingual censor marking • Israeli censor number 53 • triangular censor marking Historical background: During the fighting between October 1948 and January 1949 more than one thousand Egyptian soldiers were captured and held as prisoners of war in Israel. Mail addressed to them was generally transmitted through the International Red Cross, examined by several censorship authorities along the route, and finally delivered to the POW camps in Israel. The exchange of prisoners between Israel and Egypt was completed in March 1949. Condition: signs of age and postal wear consistent with a cover that traveled a long route and passed through multiple censorship examinations. Philatelic reference: I.P. pp. 4895ff, 4939ff Items from the collections of Jacob Yablok - VirtualJewishmuseum.com. The items are placed in a quality proactive nylon sleeve and can be easily and safely taken out from the display page. Displayed on a thin cardboard sheet.