To avoid the lengthy journey through the Danube delta where navigational and political problems were inclined to arise, the DDSG organised an overland route between the Rumanian port of Czernavoda (now Cernavoda) and Constanza (now Kustendje) on the Black Sea.
In 1860, a British-owned railway link was built along the route. Special stamps were issued by the railway for mail it carried. The originals were lithographed in blue-green, and inscribed D.B.S.R. (Danube and Black Sea Railway). Later, reprints were made on various coloured papers (the illustrated specimen is on pale lilac).
Also within this region, mail carried on Rumanian vessels between about 1890 and 1914 would receive a pictorial cancellation in the form of a steamer showing the date and service involved.
Further up river, the much smaller Serbian Shipping Company (S.B.D.) carried local mail between Serbian ports on the Danube and Sava rivers. Forgeries and reprints abound, and genuinely used material is hard to find.
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©Andy Taylor. Last updated 25 Oct 2000