The One-and-one-half-cent Prexie

International printed matter use

The international printed matter rate was one-and-one-half cents per two ounces from April 1, 1932 until November 1, 1953.

This wrapper sent to Sweden appears to have contained a newspaper or magazine, and was given a parcel post cancel.

A lodge notice sent from the Canal Zone to Costa Rica in 1944, using a Canal Zone overprint. Possessions and territories used the same international printed matter rates as the U.S.

The UPU required mail to indicate the amount of postage paid, so the government penalty clause wasn't sufficient to send this package to Czechoslovakia in 1946.

Christmas cards and the like could be sent internationally under the printed matter rate so long as the written content was limited to five words or five conventional initials.

A Christmas card sent from Hawaii to India on the day before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It was held and censored by the Information Control Board before being released.

This mailing came into the U.S. from Guatemala at a printed matter rate. The recipient had moved to Costa Rica in the meantime, so one-and-one-half cents was added to forward it back out of the country. Civil censorship was performed in Chicago.

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