Iceland Reykjavik British Censored Cover Postage to USA 1941 Europe WWII

Item Specifics

Country

Iceland

Condition

Cover (Postal History)

Stamp Format

Single

Item Description

Grade: Ungraded
Postal History Item Report: Item Type: Cover. Usage: Postally used. From: BERNH. PETERSEN, REYKJAVÍK, ÍSLAND. To: The National Oil Products Company, Inc., First and Essex Streets, Harrison, N.J., U.S.A. Additional Visible Features: Printed sender's details on the front bottom left. Typed recipient address. British Censorship: Tan paper sealing tape applied vertically on the left front and wrapping to the back, printed in black "OPENED BY EXAMINER 5163". Small black handstamp "P.C. 90" on reverse (Postal Censorship form designation). Postmark Date and Location: REYKJAVÍK, March 20, 1941, 15:00 (3 PM). Travel Route and Approximate Distance: The cover was sent from Reykjavík, Iceland, to Harrison, New Jersey, USA. Approximate direct distance Reykjavík to Harrison, NJ: ~4,200 km (~2,600 miles). Wartime mail routes could be indirect and subject to delays. Historical Context: The date March 20, 1941, falls during World War II. Iceland was under British occupation (Operation Fork, May 1940) to secure its strategic location in the North Atlantic. The United States was still officially neutral. However, the Lend-Lease Act had been signed into law by President Roosevelt on March 11, 1941, just nine days prior to this cover being postmarked. This act authorized the U.S. to provide extensive military aid to Allied nations, marking a significant shift in American foreign policy and a major step towards deeper involvement in the war. The Battle of the Atlantic was a critical ongoing campaign, with German U-boats actively trying to sever supply lines between North America and Great Britain. Mail from Iceland to the neutral United States was subject to British censorship due to Iceland's occupied status and the strategic importance of communications. The "OPENED BY EXAMINER 5163" tape and "P.C. 90" marking are evidence of this. The sender, Bernh. Petersen, was an Icelandic merchant, and the recipient was an American oil products company. Correspondence concerning commodities like oil would have been carefully scrutinized by censors.

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