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Louis XV(1715-1774)The oldest letter I have is an entire of December 10, 1764, sent from Genes to Narbonne, during the reign of King Louis XV. This has, on the address side, a marking of a black handwritten "26" on it.
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(1792-1804)The second entire is written during the French Revolution and one can see the adressee is "Citizen" (Citoyen) instead of "Monsieur".It is meant for a gentleman from Florence (Italy), poste restante at Dijon.It has a big black tick, (a 7 ?) probably the marking of the postman.
The date that it is written is a mixture of the revolutionary calender: Lyon 12 7 brm, which means 12 Brumaire of year 7 of the revolution and 1799. Probably for the benefit of the Italian. The new Revolutionary calender started counting from September 22, 1992, with each year consisting of 12 months and each month having 3 periods of 10 days. At the end of the year, there were 5 holidays. The calender lasted until December 31, 1805, when Napoleon abolished it.
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(1792-1804)This entire is written in Sedan (The place where the Prussian War (1870-71)will be lost) and sent to Colmar in the province of Haut Rhin. Here we see the revolutionary calender being used next to the Gregorian: 2 Messidor An 7 or 20 June 1799. It is funny to see Mr Chevalier (Knight) being addressed as citoyen,(citizen). On the address side, there is a mark from the postman and a hand stamp in red of "7 SEDAN".
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( 1802 Napoleon 1st Consul)This entire was sent from Toulouse to Carcassonne on 4 Germinal 10 Année (1802) and addressed to citizens Castel Brothers. It has the black postman's mark and a hand stamp "TOULOUSE".
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(1792-1804)Next entire is also written during the French Revolution. Although the addressee is Monsieur, the date is the revolutionary calender, viz "14 Messidor an 12" or 14 Messidor in 12th year of the revolution 1804. It has a stamped "37 Grenoble" on it and a big black tick, (a 7 ?) which I assume are markings of the postal authorities. It is bound from Grenoble to St Marcellin. The letter is written on a sort parchment.
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(1792-1804)Next is an entire from Lille to Bruxelles (which was then French), also written in the Revolutionary period viz 3 Frimaire an 9. An 9 is supposed to be 1801 (The confusion is caused by the fact that the Revolutionary calender started on September 22 and not on January 1) The markings are the black tick again and a stamped "57 Lille". Most of these letter seem to have a personal seal from the sender.
(1804-1814)The next entire was written in 1806, during Napoleon's time, who had crowned himself Emperor in 1804.This letter is from Aubourne-Devizac to Carcasonne. It is written on some sort of parchment and the term Monsieur is back again. It has the usual black tick and an illegible stamped marking.
Surrender of MadridThis entire is sent from Montauban to the Brothers Cassel at Carcassonne and this time it is "messieurs" again, instead of citizens.The date is the 6th of the 8th month, 1807. The usual postman's mark and a black handstamp "MONTAUBAN".
(1804-1814)The next entire is from Lyon to Carcassonne. It is still in Napoleon's time and apart from the black mark, it has some illegible black stamping in the right top corner. It is dated the 2nd of July 1808.
(1804-1814)The following letter is from Auxonne in France to somewhere in Italy. It was dated June 30, 1810 (Napoleon's time), written in Italian and the usual black mark looks like an "8"
(1804-1814)On the first of January 1810, this note was sent from Lyon to Carcassonne. On the address was the usual "7" and black stamped Lyon. It is apparently a circulaire that told the clients of the firm "Gayet et Comp", that the firm would be known from now on as "Gayet, Gourd et Villard".
The following entire was written on May 26, 1811 and travelled from Tours to Carcassonne. The address has a stamped "TOURS" and a number above it and the usual black mark looks like a "9". The seal has an imprint of the initials of the sender.
1812--- Fatal decision: "Attack Russia"--- 
This entire was written on August 31, 1812 and sent from Toulon to Ravona in Italy. It is written in Italian and has a different black mark and stamped "78 TOULON" on it.
1813-- Napoleon lost the Battle of Leipzig and is exiled to Elba.
This entire was written on December 19, 1813 and postage was paid by the addressee in Paris. That is what the mark "PsPs" stands for.It also has a circular date stamp and a stamped "T 4.5".
Napoleon at Elba--- House of Bourbon returned April 1814
This entire is from Lyon and sent to St Chamond. It is written on November 4, 1814, during the short reign of Louis XVIII.(The short reign of Louis was before Napoleon escaped from Elba and had his 100 days of power.) The usual black postman's mark is there and a stamped "68 LYON".
Kingdom restored.Louis XVIII(1814-1824)The next letter is sent from Nantes to St Michel a Angers. It was written on February 2, 1815,( 24 days before Napoleon escaped from Elba). It has a black stamped "42 NANTES", the usual black postman's mark and an cicular red arrival stamp: ANGER Feb 1815, with a 3 in the centre.
--Louis XVIII(1814-1824)The following entire is a letter from a Napolitan ship's captain to the consul of the Kingdom of Naples for Toulon, residing at Marseilles. It was written on March 14, 1816 and notifies the consul, that the ship is in port, at the moment in quarantine and he awaits with usual impatience, his mail and orders from His Majesty the King of the two Sicilies. The address has the usual black postman's scribble and a stamped "TOULON" on it.
--Louis XVIII(1814-1824)The next two entires are very interesting. They are both addressed to "Prince Castelcicala" in Paris and one is sent from London and the other from Le Havre.
( Prince Castelcicala represented the King of Naples at the English Court in 1808 and was Neapolitan Ambassador to the French Court in 1819.In 1808 he sailed with Admiral Nelson in the "Alexander" from Palermo to Livorno in the company of 7 other princes and princesses and an entourage of 27 servants and a priest, as mentioned in Nelson's memoirs. He also received a letter from Lord Grenville, wherein he was informed that His English Majesty had been pleased that the Lords of the Admiralty had allowed Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson to accept and bear the Great Cross of the Order of St Ferdinand and of Merit). The letter from LeHavre has a Paris circular receipt stamp on it with the date of August, 17, 1819. Also a red hand stamped LEHAVRE with the number 74 and the usual postman's scribble of an 8.---The letter from London was written on January 5, 1819 and received in Paris on January 9, 1819 (Red circular stamp) and black ANGLETERRE.The black circular stamp denotes that it went through the Foreign Post Office in England.The black scribbling over the English must be the cost in England and the 18 over the address, the cost in France.
--Louis XVIII(1814-1824)This entire was written on September 6, 1820 and seems to me, a bill for a carriage, hired by the Marquis of Delescheraine. The letter was sent from Frangy to Savoy. A black stamped "CHAMBERY" and a " GEN", plus the black mark of the postman.
--LOUIS XVIII(1814-1824)This letter was sent from Toulouse to Castelnaudarry, on the 6th of June 1822. There is the usual black postman's mark and a stamped "30 TOULOUSE".
--LOUIS XVIII(1814-1824)This letter seems to be a bill for goods. On one side it seems to be written in Lyon on June 25, 1823, while on the sender's side, it says: Paris June 28, 1823.Apart from the usual black postman's mark, it has a stamped :"68 LYON".
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Charles X(1824-1830)The next entire seems to be an official one from the tribunal at Bourgoin to a Monsieur Horcourt at Grenoble. It was sent on October 13, 1827. No arrival stamp, only the postman's mark and the handstamp in black:"37 BOURGOIN".
--Charles X(1824-1830)The next entire is interesting as it shows the postal agreement between France and Switzerland. France and the Canton of Bern signed an agreement about the postage arrangements for mail between the two countries. Both were divided in zones; in France, it was Delle and Ferney. As Chambery was in the border zone of Ferney, it received a black stamp of "C.F.2.D".(2D probably means a charge of 2 decime) Apart from this stamp it also carried the circular "LYON" departure hand stamp and a different type of postman's mark.
--Charles X(1824-1830)The following is an entire from Vienne to Monsieur La Tour, solicitor at Briançon,Haute Alpes. It has the usual postman's mark and a black handstamp:"37 VIENNE". It also has a round date stamp: 1 Dec 1828, but I can't see, whether that is departure or arrival date.
--Charles X(1824-1830Next is an entire from St Marcellen to Grenoble and it was written on March 17, 1830. The addressee is a Notary at Grenoble and that address seem to be sufficient.There is a black handstamp: "ST MARCELLEN" and two circular date stamps. The letter might have been presented two days after it was written.
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Louis Philippe (1830-1848)I start these letters during Louis-Philippe's reign with two interesting items of mail to England. They are both sent by the same person, who calls himself "The General" and they are both addressed to Mrs Gilchrist in London. No 1 is an entire, sent from Paris on April 1, 1831 and received in England on April 4. It has the FPO, AP 4, 1831 stamp in black and an "8", which is probaly the charge from Dover to London. On the address side it has a circular green stamp 1 Avril, 1831, a black hand stamp "PORT-PAYÉ" and a scribble resembling 1/2. But then there is a hexagon stamp in red :"60 P.P.E". This stamp was introduced in 1792 and the "E" indicated the particular Post office in Paris. It was supposed to be phased out in 1830, but here it is, still in 1831.
The 2nd item is a cover/wrap, which was sent from Marseilles and the return address is "The Toulon area". There is a black handstamp "P.12.P MARSEILLES", which means the postage was paid. Also a circular black date stamp "13 MAR 1831". The black circular stamp of the English Foreign Post Office indicated that it arrived on March 22, 1831. The strange thing about these letters is that the last item was received before the previous letter, but this time the postman marked it twice as "not known at this address".Did she arrive between March 22 and April 4 ??? We will never know.
--Louis Philippe (1830-1848)The next item is an entire, written on April 24, 1835 and sent from Vannes to Drucour. It contains two circulair datestamps, one is Vannes 24 Avril 1835 and the other is Thiberville 27 Avril 1835. The usual postman's mark looks like a "6" this time. The interesting oval hand stamp of "1D" is what they call the "rural decime". This stamp was to be put on all the letters coming or bound for a rural village without a post office. It came into use on April 1, 1830 and was used until January 1847. It was struck in red if the letter came from a locality without a postoffice and struck in black , if it was going to such a locality.
--(Louis Philippe 1830-1848)The next entire is in Italian and sent from Marseille to Livorno in Italy on February 1, 1834.The postman's marking looks like a "16", while it has a circular departure stamp from Marseille, dating 2/2/1834.There is a small stamp with the name of the sending firm (Audric et Bartholemy) and the "C.F.2.D" (Letters going through the Ferney zone). On the back is a illegible black hand stamp and on the address side is a handstamp, which says:"NIZZAdiMARE", which probably meant that it had to go by ship.
--Louis Philippe(1830-1848)The following entire really belongs in the Belgian Postal History, as Belgium became independent in 1839, after having been part of the Dutch Kingdom since 1815. This letter was written in Louvain (Leuven) on February 3, 1840 and sent to Liège (Luik). There is a red circular departure stamp from Louvain and a illegible circular red arrival stamp on the back. It has "franco" written and PP in a red square, so that the addressee does not have to pay. Also a different postman's mark.
--Louis Philippe (1830-1848)The last item, that I enter under Louis Philippe's reign, is an advice of payment due. Here the Receiver of Public Moneys at Chambery, invites Mr. Le Syndie at St. Sulpice to pay six Livres, which was part of the judgement of the Tribunal at Chambery on May 11, 1847. The weird part of this is, that this is an official note and the "livre" was phased out much earlier and replaced by the Franc. There is only a black handstamp "Chamberry 16" and I am almost sure that the addressee had to pay the postage.
The 2nd Republic (1848-1852)The revolution took place in February and this entire was written on the 8th of July 1848 and sent from La Verylliere to Grenoble, where it was received the next day. It has the circular date stamps of departure and arrival and the P.P. in red, indicating that postage was paid by sender.
The 2nd Republic (1848-1852)The following entire really belongs to Italian Postal History. It was sent from Saluzzo to Turin (both in Piedmont, Italy) on November 11, 1848 and although that area had been annexed by France in 1801, the congress of Vienna had restored the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia in 1815. It has the hand stamp "SALUZZO and 11 NOVE" in black and "14 NOVE" in red(Probably Turin). There is also a post man's mark.
The 2nd Republic(1848-1852)The next entire is similar to the previous one. It is also sent from Saluzzo and seems to me a job application for a professional soldier. It has the black hand stamp "SALUZZO 14 DEC" and the arrival red date stamp of "15 Dic". A post man's mark and a circle in black.
The 2nd Republic (1848-1852)Here we have a very small entire from Abrevard to Grenoble. It was written on March 27 and has two black circular date and place stamps on it and the post man's usual mark.
The 2nd Republic (1848-1852)Although the first adhesive postage stamp in France was issued in 1949, not every post office seem to have been provided with them in the early stages. Here we have an entire, addressed to the solicitor at St. Etienne, written on May 24, 1852. It has the usual circular departure and arrival stamps and this time no post man's mark, but a hand stamped "25", representing the postal charge and paid by the sender.
The 2nd Republic (1848-1852)The last entry here is an entire from Paris to St. Chamond. The interesting part here is, that although there is no adhesive stamp, Paris apparently included the charge of 25c in their circular departure stamp.
Napoleon 3rd (2nd Empire 1852-1870)After President Bonaparte had been installed as Emperor Napoleon 3rd, the 2nd Empire started.
The first entry for the 2nd Empire is still without postage stamps and is an entire from Anduze to Loriol. Written on September 13, 1853 and full of departure and arrival date stamps. The green oval stamp contains the names of the sender (Fesqu et Fils Anduze)The postage is a hand stamped "25".
Napoleon 3rd (2nd Empire 1852-1870)The next entry is from the same sender, but this entire is from Anduze to Nimes. The strange part is that it also has a circular handstamp of Valence-S-Rhone, which is about 100km to the north. Maybe there was a little confusion about the destination, as Valence is in the departement Drome and that is written very small in the corner.
Napoleon 3rd(2nd Empire 1852-1870)This entire is written from Saluzzo in Italy and addressed to Mr. Despine in Turin. We have seen a couple of letters to him before, but now he seems to have moved from Turin to Chambery. He has been addressed as having different functions in the military, but now he is a Commander and deputy in Parliament. The letter went from Saluzzo on September 6, 1856 to Turin, where it arrived on September 7 and was then sent through to Chambery, where it was received on September 8. Under the several circular hand stamps is an orange hand stamp, that I can't read too well, but that seems to me, "redirected" in Italian. It does have the familiar post man's mark.
Napoleon 3rd(2nd Empire 1952-1870)This entire, written on November 29, 1858, went from St. Etienne to Nimes and was carried by the train traveling from Lyon to Marseilles. (It was well after 1842, that France started to devellop a proper railway system.)The circular mark of the train is beneath the arrival stamp of Nimes. The postage aparently has increased to 30 centimes.
Napoleon 3rd(2nd Empire 1852-1870)This entire is in Italian and is written in Bonifacio on October 12, 1859 and arrived in Marseilles on the 16th or 18th. Bonifacio being in Corsica, the letter must have travelled over sea. It is addressed to the Sicilian Consul. There is a oval black hand stamp, on which I can decypher Bonifacio, but I do not know whether this is a postal mark or a seal. Corsica being French, carried the same postage: 30 centimes.
Napoleon 3rd (2nd Empire 1852-1870)This is a note from the Baillif of Voiron to a Mr.Chapel at Grenoble. It was written on the 21st, sent on the 21st and received in Grenoble on the 21st. And all that for 30 centimes.
