Boxer Rebellion/SMS Kurfurst Friedrich Wilhelm Enroute to China/at Aden 8/3/00

Description

This post card was mailed out from the Aden(in present-day Yemen)  Post Office to Germany, on August 3, 1900. It was sent by a German sailor of the Imperial German battleship, SMS Kurfurst Friedrich Wilhelm. The SMS Kurfurst Friedrich Wilhelm was at Perim Island, Aden, until August 1st or 2nd coaling for the next leg of its journey to China to support the international coalition attempting to suppress the Boxers. They would not arrive at Shanghai, China, until August 30th. The brown, 1-Anna, British Indian stamp is in pristine condition! The original cancel from the Aden Post Office is not as legible as one would like, but the first two letters of, "Aden," are clear. "Aden," is also written on the back and front of the card. The receiving cancel(August 12, 1900) from the post office at Deep Stettin, Germany, is superb! The mostly, black and white picture on the back is of the famous, old water tanks of Aden. While my ability to read early 20th Century German is limited, I believe that one of the last couple of words of the message on the card is, "Chine." All in all, it is a unique piece of Boxer-Rebellion postal history!