Lot
4214 
1870 Engineers' Papillon to Blaisy, datelined "Metz le 15 7bre 1870" with "Neufchâteau, 17 Sept. 70" transit postmark; text includes, "Je vous envoie de mes nouvelles sur ce petit morceau de papier" (I send my news on this small scrape of paper), Very Fine. Estimate $3,000 - 4,000.
The Engineers' Balloon Mail Service, September 16 - October 3, 1870
On August 27, Captain Schultz of the artillery and George Robinson, correspondent for the Manchester Guardian, met with Général Coffinières, military commander of Metz, to propose an unmanned balloon service managed by the military garrison of Metz. Coffinières immediately approved the idea and introduced them to Colonel Goulier, commander of the "École d'Application et du Génie," who supervised the construction of the unmanned balloons that would carry messages out of besieged Metz. Because they were constructed at the school of engineering, they are known as Engineers' balloons. A September 14 Order of the Day announced the Engineers' balloon service: "Balloons carrying messages will leave Metz, starting in the morning of 15 September. To permit the dispatching of the greatest number of letters, they must be written on thin paper, 10 x 5 centimeters; they will be sent open and without envelope to the Headquarters of the Commanding General of Metz, to be sent as and when balloons are built." Eleven Engineers' balloons were sent out between September 16 and October 3, with an estimated total of 165,000 papillons carried. A detailed census of surviving Engineers' papillons includes just over 200 survivors, with 40% of those bearing arrival postmarks. Some papillons were sent to their destinations inside of another envelope provided by the post office. These "enveloppes de ré-expédition" are greatly prized by collectors, and only 26 are known today. Finally, only 20 papillons are known addressed to foreign destinations.
The 1st Engineers' balloon left besieged Metz on September 16th with about 5,000 papillons. It was recovered near Neufchâteau later that same day.
In its nacelle was found a package, carefully wrapped and covered with a white rubberized cloth. It was opened, and on a piece of parchment, a statement dated this morning, 16 September, signed by General Coffinières, Commandant of the City of Metz, and sealed with his seal, by means of which this Superior Officer asked the person, in whose hands the package in question would fall, to take it to the nearest French post office. The mayor of Pargny informed of this discovery, hastened to comply with the request of the General, and took the package to the office at Neufchâteau. The Neufchâteau post office postmarked the papillons on September 17.