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;) ;) ;) | THE UNITED FRUIT COMPANY, Jamaica postal history 1901 cover and enclosure on printed sender address envelope and letterhead to Mrs. L. D. Baker, Hotel Tourraine, Boston, Massachusetts posted with QV 2½d Keyplate pmk'd Port Antonio DEC 18 01. This letter from Joshua on Capt. Lorenzo Dow Baker letterhead to Mrs. L.D. Baker would infer that this is from a second son. The letter mentions dear old Bowden, having a vaccination which did not take, and children Edith and little Dow. £225 |
;) ;) | NEW ZEALAND postal history 1870 mourning cover from the Reverend A. Stock to the Reverend E.H. Heywood, Cathedral Library, Auckland with the interprovincial rate paid by 1d pale orange-vermilion and 2d blue pmk'd Wellington "070" duplex dated JU 25 70, backstamped Auckland JU 29 arrival. Reverend Arthur Henry Stock (1823-1901) was a photographer and the b/w photograph shows his house in the Te Aro district of Wellington. £225 |
;) ;) | MAIL TO THE WRITER OF THE WHITE HORSES OF WILTSHIRE, Canada postal history 1868 cover to The Reverend W. Ch. Plenderleath (1831-1906), Cherhill Rectory, Calne, Wiltshire with QV 12½c tied Quebec oval of bars with cds dated FE 1 68, reverse very fine Chippenham A/FE 21 68 arrival. Accompanied by good condition copy of his illustrated book. Travelled by Allen Line "S.S. Austria" sailing from Portland FE 9 68 arriving Liverpool FE 20 68. £225 |
;) ;) | "Grace Worthington" (immigrant ship), British Honduras postal history 1867 entire headed "Belise Jany 10 1866" (sic) from B. Cramer to New York marked p. "Grace Worthington" showing handstruck "SHIP6" and NEWPORT FEB 5 67 landing, docketing dated 1867. Contents include "your favor of 15 August which only came to hand a short time ago, the Cleaver having been detained at the Bahamas on Account of an Accident she met with during the Gale in August last.".... and "With regard to your remarks about the short comings of the Editor of the "Colonist" nothing can be done, the paper not being issued any longer, as the Editor and Proprietor is supposed to have fallen in a late engagement with the Indians." £225 |
;) ;) ;) ;) ;) | Boer War Irreconcilable F.C. LAUNSPACH (carved wooden serviette ring fame), Bermuda postal history 1902 cover to F.C. Launspach, Burts Island, Bermuda with 2 x Transvaal 1d ovp'd "E.R.I." tied BRAAMFONTEIN, B.O. JOHANNESBURG 4 FEB 1902 9.30am and b/stamped JOHANNESBURG 4 FEB 1902 10.30am where PASSED PRESS CENSOR worn handstamp applied to face, on arrival b/stamped HAMILTON MR 15 1902/C with "Not Darrells" and directed "Hawkins" in red manuscript, the cover opened left edge and at top leaving tears through flap. Very few Bermuda Boer War POW covers can be matched to actual events. F.C. Launspach is listed as one of the prominent personalities amongst the Boer War prisoners detained at Bermuda, and as an irreconcilable was one of the last to leave on 20 August 1904 bound for the United States. Many of the prisoners occupied themselves by making handcraft which were sold in many of the stores in Bermuda. The POWs on Burts Island eventually formed the Industrial Association for Carvings and Curios, and some of these items are preserved in the South African National Museum of Military History including a wooden serviette ring with carved name F C Launspach (see photo of similar type serviette rings). £240 |
;) | MAIL TO YALE UNIVERSITY SCROLL AND KEYS SECRET SOCIETY CO-FOUNDER 1875 cover to William L. Kingsley, New Haven, Connecticut with GB QV 2½d rosy mauve pmk'd London AU 2 75 duplex showing New York Paid All, forwarded with U.S. 3c green to Keene Flats, Essex County, New York arriving AUG 14. £240 |
;) ;) | Nebik, SYRIA to ST. CROIX postal history 1945 cover to Fru Lawaetz, Lille La Grange, Fredericksted, St. Croix , The Virgin Islands, USA with Syria 25c Aircraft and 25c Army Fund stamp pmk'd NEBIK 16.3.45, printed CONTROLE label and F. Sivertsen sender name on reverse. The Lawaetz family migrated from Denmark in 1890. The Little La Grange Farm was established in 2015 to operate as a working organic farm and St. Croix's Lawaetz Museum. £275 |
;) ;) ;) ;) | SMITH'S ISLAND, BERMUDA internal postal history In July 1609 Sir George Somers left Plymouth on the flagship Sea Venture as part of a fleet of 9 vessels with supplies for the new English colony at Jamestown, Virginia. In a severe storm she was separated and driven onto the reefs at Bermuda with all 150 sailors and settlers saved, this event is thought to be Shakespeare’s inspiration for The Tempest. With materials primarily stripped from the Sea Venture two new ships, The Deliverance and The Patience, were built and most set sail again on May 10 1610 for Jamestown. Smith’s island in St. George’s became Bermuda’s first settlement when three of the survivors, Christopher Carter, Edward Waters and Edward Chard (two were mutineers), set up camp becoming the first accidental permanent colonists. They built cabins, planted beans, melons, tobacco, maize, fished the coast and hunted wild hogs left there from an earlier visit by the Spanish. When the Plough arrived from England July 11 1612 with the first part of planned colonists Governor Moore was delighted with the garden produce because the Somer Isles Company in London had supplied him with some 80 varieties of seeds to try in Bermuda. Many of the first European crops Virginia and later American colonies saw were planted on Smith’s Island. The illustrated QV ½d Post Card, postmarked St. Georges 14 JA 1901, is addressed to C. W. McCallan, perhaps the only resident family on the 61 acre island, and perhaps the replied pricing for pupils at the Grammar School was intended for E.A. McCallan, the 1948 Bermudian author of “Life on Old St. David’s”. Also included u/m commemorative set plus pre-owned Gail Langer Karwoski's book "Miracle - The true story of the Wreck of the Sea Venture" (64 pages). £325 |
;) | FIRST ANNUAL HORSE RACING AT CEDROS, Trinidad social and postal history 1884 use of the QV 2d blue Post Card (for India and Countries in the Far East via UK) to Hampstead, London pmk'd "T.21" duplex dated C/SP 25 84 (Type 0.9, used Cedros). Writer says he has written "giving an account of the Races" and that he saw Luther "at the Races" with mention of Palmcole Estate. Cedros, one of the most isolated areas in Trinidad, had little in the social calendar. In 1884, some of the colonial officials and larger planters of the area joined to hold a series of races at Columbus Bay, the sands being firm enough for their purpose. The event, which came off on September 18, was held under the patronage of the Governor, Sir F.B. Barlee. He came down for the occasion along with many guests aboard the island steamer. It was then an annual event, being held on New Year's Day, thereafter. The last races were held in 1950. £325 |
;) ;) | The GHOSTS of POINT ELLICE HOUSE, the most haunted house on VANCOUVER ISLAND 1898 cover to Mrs (Caroline Agnes) O'Reilly (1831-1899, thought to appear as an apparition in the grounds of her house) at Point Ellice, Victoria, Vancouver Island pmk'd KINGSTON AU 10 98 and then mysteriously spirited some 4,432 miles to DUBLIN (AU 24 98, husband Peter originated from Ballybeg, Co. Meath, only 45 miles from Dublin) before travelling a further 4,502 miles to VICTORIA, B.C. PM/SP 6 98 per b/stamp) with I/SP 7 98 and "10" cents tax due handstamp added the next day, some soiling. Husband Peter, former Indian Reserve Commissioner, is the subject of supernatural investigations at the house which went live on a YouTube video October 31 2020. Visitors and volunteers have had spooky encounters with lights switching on and off, a piano playing on its own, and apparitions chasing them away. In later years "a nice young lady in a blue dress" had shown visitors around the house giving many previously unknown facts, when questioned they went back inside the house and pointed to a blue gown lying across a bed, "that's the one she was wearing" in daughter Kathleen O'Reilly's bedroom. Kathleen had returned! For many years the whereabouts of the grave of Caroline Agnes was a mystery, but in her final year, being so ill, she made a last visit to her family in England, dying only a few days after arrival. Her remains lie in the cemetery at Cheriton, Folkestone (only 2.1 miles down the road, a 39 minute walk, from me!). £475 |
;) | 73 used Buckland, TASMANIA postal history 1863 cover to Mrs. Parsons, Queen's Orphan School, New Town with Chalon 4d imperforate tied Buckland "73" with postmaster's manuscript "Buckland 19/11/63" at left and red Pre-Paid NO 20 1863 at right, no reverse markings. Settled in 1820 and originally known as Prosser Plains. Best known for its historic Church of St. John the Baptist, convict built in 1846, and its mysterious East Window possibly from an Abbey built by William the Conqueror on the spot that King Harold died in 1066. In the early years the majority of the children at the Orphan School, built 1833, were born to convict women under sentence. £475 |
;) ;) | RMSPCo “PARA” (Colombian War of a Thousand Days, Spanish La Guerra De Los Mil Dias 1899-1903) Colombia 10c rate cover pmk’d Cartagena FEB 20 1900 with purple handstruck "PARA" mailboat arriving Weymouth MR 15 1900. (Civil War between Liberals and mainly Conservative Government that resulted in between 60,000 and 130,000 deaths, extensive property damage and national economic ruin. The Liberal party represented the coffee plantation owners and import-export merchants, and due a drastic downturn in the international price of coffee many growers were operating at a loss by 1899. The Conservatives, suffering from reduced customs revenues, responded by issuing unbacked paper currency, causing the value of the peso to drop precipitously and war broke out, the first phase, lasting about seven months, ended with defeat of the Liberal forces at Palonegro on 25 May 25 1900. During the next two years guerrilla-style warfare raged in the rural areas being finally ended by the Conservatives offering amnesty and political reform on 12 June 1902). Michael Rego research shows that RMSP had no Atlantic main line packet link to South America and German vessels filled the gap from 1897 to 1914. The HAPAG monthly route during this period was Hamburg, St. Thomas, Trinidad, La Guaira, St. Thomas, La Havre, Hamburg. HAPAG ship Valdivia sailed from Colombia, Venezuela, Curacao for St. Thomas and landed there 1 March 1900. The mail from Venezuela for the UK was probably landed at Trinidad and transferred to Barbados for connection with RMS Para. The RMS Para left Southampton on a fortnightly service on JA 24 1900, landed Barbados FE 4 1900 for Jacmel, back to Barbados, Plymouth MR 15 1900. (In 1900 the RMSP no longer called at Colombia, Venezuela or St. Thomas, but stuck to a short time-table with main ports). £625 |
;) ;) ;) ;) | Massive 27mm LONG PLATE SCRATCH on QV 12½c black, Nova Scotia postal history 1866 cover with colourless embossed "R.T. MUIR, 125 GRANVILLE ST." envelope manufacturer name under flap to the Inner Temple, London with QV 12½c black/yellowish paper showing massive 27mm long vertical plate scratch at left tied oval grid with red London Paid 12 FE 66 arrival alongside, reverse partial WOLFVILLE N.S. JA 27 1866 and oval H/JA 30 1866/N.S. Halifax transit. British packet mail carried by British Steamer Cunard Line "Asia". £625 |
;) | Mail to the "U.S.S. Michigan" (Fenian Raids/Canada), MALTA postal history 1872 cover marked "Via Italy & Germany" to a U.S. Naval Lieutenant on the U.S.S. Michigan, Erie, Pennsylvania with GB QV 1d, 3d, 6d pmk'd Malta "A25" duplex dated B/NO 18 72 showing London Paid (NO 26) but without arrival backstamps, small corner fault. U.S.S. Michigan was the first iron-hulled ship in the U.S. Navy and was built in response to the British Government arming two steamers in response to the Canadian rebellion in the late 1830's and operated on the Great Lakes out of Erie, Pennsylvania. Irish immigrants in the Fenian Brotherhood, after the American Civil War, saw their opportunity to attack the British Empire at their weakest point on the borders with Canada, and seize a sufficient portion of Canada to form a belligerent government recognised by the United States. In early June 1866, 850 Fenians led by Col. John O'Neill crossed the Niagara River. Battles with Canadian Volunteer Forces and British regiments were fought at Ridgeway and Fort Erie, and with some 2,000 to 3,000 re-inforcements unable to cross from Buffalo the raid was effectively over. In 1866 the 'Michigan' intercepted and interned the army of the Fenian Brotherhood as it returned from its invasion of Canada near Buffalo. £625 |
;) ;) | BAHAMAS postal history 1871 cover and newsy 8-page letter headed "St. Mary's Parsonage, Nassau October 14th 1871" to The Reverend Herbert Todd, Derry Downs, St. Mary Cray with QV 1/- green P.12½ (SG.38) tied "A05" with red PAID LIVERPOOL U.S. PACKET 1 NO 71/3A alongside, reverse BAHAMAS OC 16 1871 dbl-arc, Chislehurst and St. Mary's Cray NO 1 71 arrivals. Adhesive with pulled base perf. Contents include "In August we had the edge of a hurricane, the full force of which was experienced in Andros, Biminis and Grand Bahama. Whole settlements are utterly ruined and many ships are lost. We had terrible weather here at the time, but people battened up early and so not much damage was done. Altogether we have had a terribly hot and tempestuous summer, with thunder storms sent as have never been known for 15 years". £725 |
;) ;) ;) ;) ;) | "V" day, Meikles shop celebrates with "a dummy of Hitler in a real coffin", Rhodesia postal history 1945 use of 3d Victoria Falls ACTIVE SERVICE AIR LETTER headed "V" day!!! Tuesday 8th May pmk'd GWELO 8 MAY 45 to F/Lt E. Thompson, No.2. E.V.T. Instructors School, R.A.F. Middle East from his very worried and loving wife with salutation "My own adorable little Welsh Husband" with contents including "listening to London last night when we heard the news flash - it seems almost too good to be true" and "we shall listen to Mr. Churchill at 3, and again to the King at 9 o'clock". There is mention of "Gwelo looking "quite gay" with flags flying everywhere", and that Meikles Window for "V" day is lined with black crepe and they have "obtained a real "coffin" in which they have placed a dummy of Hitler". An exceptional end of war item for the KG6 collector; a Waterfalls thematic collector; and a sensational item for anyone exhibiting Postal Stationery. VE Day stands for Victory in Europe Day which took place on Tuesday May 8, 1945, VE Day was the day on which the allied forces announced the surrender of Germany in Europe. It marked the end of Adolf Hitler's war and sparked celebrations around the world. The day before at 2.41pm on May 7, 1945 Germany had surrendered. This special Active service Letter Card was for use by servicemen, and civilian use was forbidden and any such usage resulted in surcharge. £925 |
;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) | HERO of the H.M.S. "BIRKENHEAD" SHIPWRECK DISASTER, Sierra Leone postal history 1852 letter from Lt-Colonel Alexander Seton written at Sierra Leone 29th January posted in GB QV 1d pink PSE to Edinburgh with MR 15 and MR 15 transit and arrival backstamps. This is the only letter he wrote from Sierra Leone and the penultimate letter before the tragic disaster in Simon's Bay in the early hours of 26th February 1852 which took about 445 lives. A 4 page account of the disaster accompanies as prepared for the December 2018 British West Indies Study Circle journal. £1200 |
;) ;) | HRH Prince Alfred round-world-voyage ended by Fenian assassination bullet, Gibraltar postal history 1867 cover from Tinahely to W.H. Symes, HMS 'Galatea', Gibralter (sic) with pair GB QV 1d red Plate 84 and strip of three, single Plate 85 pmk'd Rathdrum "388" diamond numerals when Ireland was a part of Great Britain, Tinahely and Rathdrum backstamps for MR 16 67 with London MR 18 67 transit. Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Victoria's second son (1844-1900) was never expected to be King and joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman aged 12. In 1867 he commissioned and commanded the 'Galatea' for a voyage around the world which would include the first royal visit to Australia. On FE 26 1867 the 'Galatea' left Plymouth Sound for the Mediterranean with stops at Lisbon, Gibraltar (MR 14 to 26), Malta, a stay at Marseilles prior a crossing to Rio de Janeiro, returning via Tristan Da Cunha, staying at Cape of Good Hope prior onwards to Adelaide, South Australia with subsequent stays at Melbourne, Victoria and Tasmania. The tour was abruptly curtailed in Sydney NSW on MR 12 1868 when Henry James O'Farrell, a Fenian sympathiser, attempted to assassinate the Prince - the Duke fell forwards on his hands and knees exclaiming "Good God! I am shot; my back is broken". On board was surgeon James Young, M.D. and Assistant Surgeons William L. Powell and William H. Symes (1851-1933 of Tinahely), the two former names being mentioned as giving immediate assistance to His Royal Highness who was tended back to health by six recently arrived nurses trained by Florence Nightingale. Full details of the voyage can be found in the 487 page book entitled "The Cruise of H.M.S. Galatea" by John Milner and Oswald Walters Brierly. Prince Alfred was the first serious stamp collector in the royal family. He sold his collection to King Edward VII who shared his enthusiasm, who in turn gave it to his son King George V. Keenly expanded by the latter the two collections became the basis of what is now the Royal Philatelic Collection. £1250 |
;) ;) ;) ;) | A UNIQUE IMPERFORATE PROOF SHEET SHOWING THE UNISSUED TRANSPOSED AMERICAN PRESIDENTS ERROR 1975 200th Anniversary of American Independence issue: Two differing mint imperforate proof sheets exist (this one having LIGHTER BLACK BACKGROUND behind portraits of those Presidents than found on the issued stamps) showing wrong portrait of Franklin Pierce on the 5c, and wrong portrait of Andrew Johnson on the 10c (transposed portraits error). The other transposed Presidents error sheet, also mounted by the printers on white card, has a much darker pink background to the lower middle label than found on issues stamps, and is marked "Q541 BLACKS" in lower white selvedge being the House of Questa printers reference number presumed connected with the black printing. The error was noted after completion of printing with ALL SHEETS DESTROYED by the Crown Agents and printers, and the corrected printing sent to St. Vincent (the two error sheets accepted by O.J. Urch, philatelic adviser, from Prime Minister of St. Vincent Milton Cato per photocopy of "accountable items" text enclosed). For the complete story of how this error occurred see BLOGGS SECTION and newspaper article "A NEW STAMP ISSUE IS BORN". £1500 |
;) ;) ;) ;) | Mail to the former ACTING GOVERNOR of BRITISH EAST FLORIDA (1763-84) from educated negro slave Entire from Nassau, Bahamas June 22nd 1795 to John Moultrie, London with salutation “My Dear Master” and “deliver’d by Doctor Bailey who was on your plantation since we left St. Augustine” and “my kind love to Mistress Sally” signed "Your ever faithfull servant Quamino”. Moultrie was a planter who moved his 200 slaves from South Carolina to St. Augustine in 1771 having been appointed acting lieutenant governor. When England handed over Florida to Spain in July 1784 Moultrie sailed to England and lived at Aston Hall, Shropshire. £1500 |