Lot 20456 – 1817 (Jan 13) Entire letter from Siena to an official in the H.Q. in Poland, « N° 10/GRANDE ARMÉE »

1817 (Jan 13) Entire letter from Siena to an official in the « Garde d’Honneur » of Tuscany in operations zone, forwarded through the courier which connected Tuscany to the « Grande Armée », initially charged with « 3 » decimi (maybe due to the Art. 5 of the postal law which stated the fee to be paid to the first border only), reaching Poland where the « N° 10/GRANDE ARMÉE » postmark in red, and the manuscript endorsement « Lettre venant de Sienne » (letter coming from Siena) and « Au gd. quartier général » (to the Guard of the Headquarters). Probably due to the fact that the addressee was an officer, the charge was amended to 14 decimi for the 1,600 km. distance. Incoming mail to the H.Q. is already very rare by itself, this being the first example we record with a « Grand Armée » postmark applied in transit, and additionally, sent to an Italian officer.