Description:

INWARDS MAIL: 1920 late usage of Imperial Russian 3k Postal Card with message of "15-2-20" that states "Expecting to reach Madeira today", two weeks later a South African 1d added & tied by superb 'CAPETOWN/2MAR20/PAQUEBOT' cds. Fascinating. [Presumably the sender obtained the card aboard the [Russian?] ship. Under UPU rules, foreign postage was accepted from arriving vessels. However, Imperial Russian issues were no longer valid so it was required to add the Empire rate postage of 1d, which should have obscured the printed stamp]