Lot No. 2067

1920, Incoming mail from Germany via USA: ppc from ”ALTENA 29.4.20” to Kotka/Finland with arrival mark 10.7.20 and attached label ”POST OFFICE, NEW YORK, N.Y. / Returned to sender for the reason that service is suspended. There are no means available for transmission of the article to destination”. The label must have been applied between around the end of May 1920 (to allow for surface transmission to the USA after posting in Germany 29 Apr) and before the end of June 1920 to allow for its delivery in Kotka/Finland on 10 Jul. There were problems between Soviet Russia and Finland in 1918 and after but this does not explain why this item was sent to the USA or why the label was applied before delivery except this item was missent to the USA who then considered there to be no means of communicating with Soviet Russia, see the endorsement ”(Try) Russia”. Most unusual and interesting!