The Cholera epidemic of 1831/32
At this time different post offices operated in Hamburg. The Thurn-und-Taxis post office is one of them. Letters that were disinfected there (circa October to December 1831) had been pierced by a rastel.
The rastel leaves behind a specific pattern of holes:
– three rows, each with 3 / 4 / 3 holes
– the distance between the outer holes is 70 mm in the first and third row
– the distance between the outer holes is 103 mm in the second row