;) | BERMUDA to TURKS ISLAND ONE FARTHING DENOMINATION COVER 1901 reg. cover to Reginald Frith, Turks Islands with twelve ONE FARTHING on QV 1/- pmk'd Hamilton JY 5 1901/c d/rings with New York transit reg. label, four worm-holes, one affecting second adhesive. £165 |
;) ;) ;) ;) ;) | 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 |
;) | BAILEY'S BAY, BERMUDA postal history 1902 cover with ONE FARTHING on QV 1/- slate strip of five and two pairs paying the correct 2½d rate to Nancy, France pmk'd BAILEY'S BAY B/JA 17 1902 d/rings with Nancy 29-1 02 arrival struck on upper reverse flap, minor faults. £140 |
;) | BERMUDA postal history 1898 cover to Mrs. Alexander Smith, "Durnford", St. Georges with pair QV ½d deep grey-green pmk'd BAILEY'S BAY B/JU 6 1898 with St. Georges C/JU 6 1898 backstamp. Durnford House (36 Wellington Street, St. George) was built in 1795 by Mayor Andrew Durnford as his residence; he was the first mayor of St. George and came to Bermuda to look after the construction work of the forts in St. George's. It is said that a part of the fund allocated for forts were diverted to build this house, and it was called 'The Fifth Fort' by some of his enemies. Durnford did not live long enough to enjoy the grounds and views of the town and harbour as he died September 11th 1798 and was buried in the grounds. £60 |
;) | BERMUDA postal history 1902 illustrated Princess Hotel cover to Cambridgeport, Massachusetts with two pairs and single ONE FARTHING on QV 1/- dull grey and QV 1d carmine tied HAMILTON FE 25 1902 d/rings, arrival backstamps. £120 |
;) | BERMUDA postal history 1881 local cover to Warwick with QV 1d Crown CC wmk tied St. Georges K3 "2" duplex dated A/DE 19 81. £75 |
;) | The rare PRIVATE SHIP LETTER RATE to England, Bermuda postal history 1883 private ship letter rate cover (opened at top, reduced at left) with QV 4d orange-red (SG.20) tied black K3 "2" ST. GEORGES A/DE 1 83 duplex to St. John Wood, London, landed with red LIVERPOOL/A/DE 24 83/SHIP cds clear of address. Only three Bermuda QV adhesive covers are currently known landed by LIVERPOOL SHIP cds. All from St. Georges, the other two arriving Liverpool A/JA 29 84 (carried by "Nubian"). Ludington (lot 752) mentions that on NO 30 1883 H.M.S. Northampton was driven onto Stagg Rock in violet weather. £350 |
;) ;) ;) ;) | 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 |
;) | BERMUDA postal history 1901 use of QV ½d Post Card underpaid to Cupar, Fife, Scotland pmk'd Hamilton NO 6 1901 with tax handstamps. £24 |
;) | K3a "4" used MANGROVE BAY, Bermuda postal history 1885 cover via New York to Larbert, Stirlingshire with pair QV 4d orange-red Crown CC wmk (SG.20) pmk'd full upr. duplex dated A/DE 3 85, reverse fine strikes Falkirk, Carron, Larbert for DE 18/19 85, central vertical crease. A DE 3 1885 cover to Hechler/Halifax, Nova Scotia carried S.S. Beta with QV 1d strip of three tied K3a "4" was estimated £4/500 in Ludington sale and realised £920 £275 |
;) | BERMUDA postal history ST. GEORGES (H1) two strikes of this elusive cds dated B/DE 17 95 on QV 1d Reply Post Card portion pencil addressed with full pencil text to East Kirkby, Nottinghamshire. £185 |
;) ;) | K3a "8" R.O. duplex, Bermuda postal history (ex LUDINGTON) 1880 cover with QV 1d pmk'd St. GEORGES K3 "2" duplex dated B/JU 2 80 (during 1st period blue ink DE 1879 to JU 1880) to Eden Grove, Warwick, reverse SAMUEL CHAPMAN/BERMUDA sender's oval with HAMILTON K3 "1" C/JU 2 80 transit and K3a "8" arrival dated B/JU 3 80. Ex LUDINGTON. £325 |
;) | BERMUDA postal history 1884 cover to London with pair QV 2d bright blue CC wmk (SG.4) tied black K3 "2" ST. GEORGES duplex dated A/SP 11 84, b/stamped red London SP 26 84 arrival. Only three such covers currently recorded with this franking K3 "2" black period MY 22 1883 until DE xx 1886 (release QV 2d blue Crown CA wmk) £225 |
;) | BERMUDA postal history 1883 cover to New York with QV ½d stone CC wmk, QV 2d dull blue (SG.19,3) pmk'd ST. GEORGES K3 "2" duplex dated A/OC 25 83, some faults including 2d adhesive with large tear but this combination seemingly very scarce from St. Georges to the USA. £115 |
;) | BERMUDA postal history 1884 cover marked "per Orinoco" to Roxbury, Massachusetts with QV ½d stone, QV 2d bright blue CC wmk (SG.19,4) tied K3a "5" duplex used Paget East dated A/AP 10 84. A rare combination as such. The David Pitts chart only recorded K3a "5" on one example 2d blue CC (SG.3/4) and two examples on ½d stone. My own chart could only record K3a "5" on one 2d blue CC and one copy ½d stone. £1750 |
;) | BERMUDA postal history 1887 cover to St. John's Wood, London marked "Builder etc" at lower left with QV 1d rose-red, QV 3d grey (SG.23,28) pmk'd St. Georges K3a "2" duplex dated A/JU 16 87 with London N.W. JY 1 87 arrival backstamp, some soiling etc. £150 |
;) ;) | BERMUDA postal history 1883 cover p. S.S. "Orinoco" to Troy, Ohio with QV ½d stone, pair QV 1d rose-red (SG.19,23) tied HAMILTON K3 "1" duplex dated A/DE 6 83 during the first blue ink period March 1882 to January 1884. This is a very rare combination as the few covers known in this band of use are normally made up with QV ½d, 2d franking. The OC 1 1876 USA-Bermuda postal convention set a 2d rate effective OC 3 1876 between the two countries but allowed Bermuda to charge 2½d per half ounce. Bermuda had no ½d adhesive until the ½d stone was issued MR 25 1880 and accepted the loss during the interim years. £375 |
;) | PRIVATE SHIP "NUBIAN" (second voyage), BERMUDA postal history 1884 cover marked per "Nubian" with 1880 QV 4d orange-red (SG.20) pmk'd ST. GEORGES K3 "2" duplex dated A/FE 21 1884 to London locally directed with crowned "R" handstamp to denote no additional charge, reverse with (early) black HAMILTON (H1, first period blue ink ended January 1883) dated B/FE 21 84 and red London MR 13 84. A rare cover from the second voyage of the "Nubian". The first voyage of the "Nubian", in transit from Virginia on an experimental new service for the Union Line, was announced to call at Hamilton on JA 10 1884. The ship was five days late and single covers are known from St. Georges pmk'd JA 10 1884 and JA 15 1884 and both landed with red LIVERPOOL SHIP cds. £450 |
;) ;) | PRIVATE SHIP "NUBIAN" (first voyage), BERMUDA postal history 1884 cover with strip of four QV 1d dull rose (SG.22) tied ST. GEORGES "2" numeral duplex dated A/JA 15 84 to St. John's Wood, London showing red LIVERPOOL/A/JA 29 84/SHIP arrival cds, reverse blue HAMILTON B/JA 15 84 and London JA 30 84 cds. The "Nubian", in transit from Virginia, on an experimental new service for the Union Line, was announced in the local newspaper as calling at Hamilton on 10th January 1884. The ship arrived five days late and sender added this cover to the mailbag (having already written to same addressee with St. Georges B/JA 10 84 on 4 x QV 1d franking cover marked per "Nubian"). Only two covers are known - one dated JA 10 84 (expected arrival) and JA 15 84 (actual arrival) £725 |
;) ;) | K3 "2" (handstamp II) used ST. GEORGE'S, Bermuda postal history The short-lived K3 "2" duplex (Handstamp II) dated A/NO 20 80 on 50% top half cover to Warwick West b/stamped Hamilton B/NO 20 80 and very poor K3a "8" arrival. This elusive Handstamp II recorded OC 21 1880 to DE 22 1880 £120 |