United States & Worldwide Stamps and Postal History

1863 cover, endorsed at top "Chartum Central Africa", presumably carried overland (camel runner) up to the first available river post office in Egypt. It went along to Cairo, where a blue "Posta Europea Cairo 17 Sep 1863" postmark was applied, from there to Alexandria, where a vertical pair of 15sld perf. 14 1/2 Austrian Levant was added to pay for transmission, via Trieste to Vienna (15sld for steamboat passage and 15sld for inter-Austrian rate), stamps tied by "Alexandrien 18/9" in blue, with "Wenden in Wien 25/9" arrival postmark on back, some cover wear, otherwise fine, with 1989 Diena and 2012 Dr.Ferchenbauer certificates ("one of the very few covers posted from Sudan prior to the opening of the Egyptian Post Offices (1867) and the only one known franked with stamps")