A stagecoach from Zwolle (with the city arms) depicted on a watercolor by Gesina ter Borch from 1661 (collection Rijksmuseum Amsterdam).
Registered letter, sent "per coach at Zwolle" on 7 August 1804 and onward to Hasselt. No postmark. Postage to be paid by the addressee 3 stuivers, indicated in red chalk on the front.
The postmaster of Zwolle IJsbrant Loots used a handstamp GRON / ZWOL / L. between 1804 and 1806 in frame (L. is his initial).
GRON / ZWOL / L. in frame: Gron (ingen) Zwol (le) L (oots), handstamp of horse postmaster Loots in Zwolle on reverse of a letter from The Hague (French troops) to Hoogeveen, 31 July 1806.
Five letters with this handstamp applied are known to me:
01-09-1804 from The Hague to Meppel (State Archives Drenthe, see Ter Braake page 56)
31-07-1806 from The Hague to Hoogeveen (ex collection C. Muys; GvW)
03-08-1806 from Deventer to Staphorst (ex collection Colonia, Corinphila NL auction 2013; van Dieten auction 632, 2015; 644, 2020)
21-08-1806 from The Hague to Meppel (ex Wolff de Beer, Van Dieten, Salinger and Dreikurs collections)
09-09-1806 from Zwolle to Staphorst (van Dieten auction 632, 2015, shown in PEP1 page 584)
In 1807 the state received a monopoly on letter transport. Other carriers, such as stagecoach and river boat companies, also took letters, but then it had to be their own correspondence or address letters with parcels.
Concordia
The stagecoach service Concordia of Willem and Adam Visscher in Zwolle was the first concession in 1830 to maintain a regular service on the street road that was completed in October that year along the Zuiderzee to Amersfoort. The "Nieuwe Hollandsche Postwagen Onderneming Concordia" did not start its services until 1 May 1831, daily departures at 5.30 in the mourning of the lodge "De Keizerskroon". The company was based in the Praubstraat (the current theater Odeon).
Letter to Amsterdam, 29 October 1846 with oval cachet CONCORDIA / ZWOLL. Top left noted "Own business of W. & A. Visscher". Own correspondence did not fall under the postal monopoly.
Bouricius
In 1833, A.F. Bouricius from Arnhem announced that he would also start a stagecoach service with a new type of diligence. The first left in March 1834. He set up an office in Zwolle in "De Nieuwe Keizerskroon".
Letter from Almelo via Zwolle to Amsterdam, 5-9-1836, sent by Bouricius's diligence. Framed handstamp ZWOLLE upper right. Bottom left ïndicated: Hierbij een geemballeerd kistje, droog te houden" (here an unassembled box, keep dry) marked CD N ° 1. Five cents is prepaid: indicated on top "Franco 05 Cents". Delivery wage 5 cents + postage 170 cents = NLG 1.75 was paid by the addressee. N 7 top left and 9/6 N 2 in the handstamp are registration numbers.
Van Heumen, Koens & Kiesbrink
The postal service of Diligence and en Spoorweg-ExpeditieVan Heumen, Koens & Kiesbrink had no handstamp but stuck a yellow label on the transported item.
Letter with documents from Zutphen to Zwolle, 17 June 1848, sent by stagecoach of Diligence and Railway Expedition Van Heumen, Koens & Kiesbrink". On reverse the yellow label of the office of Kiesbrink in the lodge "De Keizerskroon"
The former lodge De Keizerskroon in the Korte Kamperstraat.
Van Gend & Loos
In 1856 Van Gend & Loos became the most important stagecoach service. This company dates back to 1796, when the Antwerp coachman Jan Baptiste van Gend married Maria Franciska Loos. In 1849 their stagecoaches appeared between Zwolle and Amersfoort.
Letter from Zwolle to Assen, 1857. Oval hand stamp EIGEN DIENST DER ONDERNEMING / VAN GEND & LOOS / ZWOLLE (Own service of the company / Van Gend & Loos / Zwolle) in blue. Own correspondence could be transported outside the postal service.
Overview of mail coach rides from and to Zwolle.
Last update 10.09.2024 5:56 PM
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G.L. van Welie FRPSL
Secretary of the Nederlandse Academie voor Filatelie
Representative of the Royal Philatelic Society London for the Netherlands
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