The Cover above was sent on December 17, 1922 from Geneva, Switzerland  to Miss Elizabeth W. Chace at 190 Hope Street in Providence, Rhode Island. The stamps are tied by 3 double ring Geneva circular date stamps, (CDS) and are from the William Tell  issue of 1914 to 1930. They are respectively the 10 centimes green type II on buff issued in 1921, (Scott #168) and the 20 centimes red-violet type II on buff also issued in 1921, (Scott #174). This issue was printed on granite paper with a perforation of 11.5. Granite Paper is produced with minute cloth or paper fibers of various colors and lengths. Many of the Swiss stamps were produced on Granite Paper.  Type II - William Tell issues can be readily identified by the cross bar in the H of Helvetia which is high on the type II's and in the middle on the type I's.

SEE ALSO: 1924 Geneva Switzerland Express Letter to Elizabeth Chase

Elizabeth M. Chase was born in Lonsdale, Rhode Island in 1869. The family had just recently moved there from Pennsylvania. The 1930 Census lists Elizabeth as living with her sister and still unmarried.

Geneva is the second largest city in Switzerland and is located where Lake Geneva flows into the Rhone River. During the Protestant Reformation, Geneva was the center of Calvinism, (after John Calvin). The Geneva Conventions were formulated there and set the standards of international law concerning humanitarian efforts during war. The first Geneva Convention was enacted in 1864 by Henri Dunant. Geneva is also the European seat of the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the International Committee of the Red Cross.