334 / September 2008

1824, 'POST PAID SHIP LR. LONDON/30 SP 1824', clear strike in red on entire letter to Calcutta with 'MADRAS SHIP LETTER' on reverse; unusual pre-paid letter

1840, Mulready letter sheet 1 d. black with red MC used from "BROMPTON MY 28 1840" via Kingston to Plymouth, showing clear "blade hair" through most of righthand side of design, fine May cover

Mulready letter sheet 1 d. black with black MC and indistinct violet straight line April 1841 to East Acton, fine

1840, 1 d black, plate 1B, QG, large margins, red MC, faint vertical crease and 1 d black, plate 3, AB, large margins, black MC, slight surface rub at lower right

1 d. black, DJ, plate 4, large margins three sides, slightly cut into at right and the slightest trace of a faint horizontal filing crease, tied by two red MC's in slightly different shades of red to entire letter to Aix La Capelle (Aachen) in Rhenish Prussia. The entire was posted in "BIRMINGHAM NO.11.1840" (cds. on reverse) and routed via the London Foreign Brauch P.O. where it was noted in manuscript "Postage not paid", marked "Returned for '1/10' Postage" (handstamp in red) on front. The cover was returned on Nov. 12, arriving in Birmingham on Nov. 13 (cds. on front). The missing 1 sh. 10 d. postage was collected from the sender on Nov. 14, confirmed by the red "PAID 14.NO.14 1840" thombstone. The cover was then sent to Prussia and delivered to the addressee, confirmed by the small Prussian delivery marking on reverse. A fantastic "New Find" of a Penny Black on cover from "beyond London" to a foreign destination in an extremely fresh state of preservation

1 d. black, plate 4, EL, good margins all around, tied by red MC to small envelope of November 9 1840, fine

1840, 1 d black, pl. 5, OJ, very fine used with black MC

1 d. black, plate 6 II, just touched at upper right, otherwise good to wide margins and fresh deep colour, unused without gum; very slight vertical creasing due to cracky gum; a fine stamp, K.-A. Louis BPP certificate

1 d. red-brown, tied by numeral '700' to entire commercial letter from 'SHEFFIELD JU 18 1852' to Philadelphia with tax stamps '19 CENTS' and blue '24'; light crease through the stamp, nevertheless attractive and very scarce part paid letter

2 d. blue, horizontal strip of 4 (NC/NF), the left stamp cut into at left, otherwise good margins, tied to envelope with red dispatch mark 'ETON' without date to Gibraltar with transit marks of Windsor and London; scarce destination

2 p. blue, plate 3, Ivory Head, full margins all around with o.g., very fresh and fine, Raybaudi certificate

1854, 6 d. dull lilac, cut square with margins in places, and 1855, 2 d. blue, pl. 5, QA, wmk small crown, perf 14, tied by Scots local "INDIA STREET" to envelope (opened out for display) posted AUG 31, 1855 to Lüneburg in Hannover, very fresh state of preservation (Mi.-Nr. 5, 9B)

1858, 1 d. red, horizontal pair and single, 3 d. pale rose and 6 d. grey, each tied by duplex cancel "94" to folded cover to Lisbon, reverse with arrival mark, horizontal filing fold, otherwise in good condition

1 d. red, two singles (plate 78 and 81) and 4 d. vermillion, tied by duplex cancel "SOUTHAMPTOPM MR9 68" to folded letter to Lisboa, front showing "INSUFFICIENTLY STAMPED" and taxstamp "200", besides some imperfections an interesting item

1 d. lake-red, pl. 118, vertical pair and 6 d. lila without hyphen, tied by duplex 'JERSEY JY 17 71' to cover to Gibraltar with arrival mark on front and adjacent scarce transit mark 'S', very fine and scarce cover

1847/54, embossed issues: 1 sh. pale green, good to wide margins with numeral cancellation and tied by bowed 'PAID' to small envelope from 'LIVERPOOL OC 14 1853' to New York with adjacent red '5 CENTS', very fine

1 sh. green and 10 d. red-brown, cut to shape round, unusually applied on 1 d. pink postal stationery envelope and used in 1855 from Fakenham to Funchal, Madeira; Manuscript 'Paid 1/10 d.' at upper left, reverse with Fakenham dispatch cds. in green (July 27) and London transit, on arrival struck with '160' (reis) due marking; an unusual franking and destination

1855, 4 d. rose-carmine, tied by duplex cancel "JERSEY MY20 58" to folded letter to Anvers, reverse with transit and arrival mark, fine

1 s. tied by duplex cancel "466" to cover to Marblehead (USA), front endorsed "America paid" and with red "5 Cents" and "BOSTON 24 JUN 4 PAID", reverse with "....LIVERPOOL MY 1857 8.30 LAST NIGHT", despite some imperfections an interesting item

1 s. green, 6 d. lila and 1 d. red, each tied by numeral "8" to folded lettersheet to Cadiz, front showing red "PD" and oval "CADIZ FRANCO...", fine

1862/64, 6 d. lilac with hair lines with 3 copies 1865/67, 6 d. lilac and 1858/79, 1 d. lake-red on entire letter from "MANCHESTER MY 23 1865" to Montevideo with transit marks on front; slight transportation faults, but nice letter with paid late fee to abroad

1867, 3 d. rose pl. 9, tied by Ilford duplex to cover to St. Omer. On arrival the cover was readressed and forwarded to Charenton Lew Port; however it was mailed in the post box and the re-adressing remained unpaid. Therefore straightline "TROUVEE DANS LA BOITE" and "40" in black was applied, the Great Britain adhesive beeing erased by pen strokes, scare and despite same faults an appealing cover with rare Intructional marking

3 d. rose, pl. 10 used on underpaid cover 1873 to Nassau, Bahamas, tied by London duplex (July 11), charged 1/3 d. in manuscript to pay, further manuscript at top of cover 'Defi(ciency) 9 d. 1/2 fine 6 d.' and charged 1/3 d. in manuscript accordingly, Bahamas date-stamp on reverse (Sept 9) and manuscript 'Not Known' in red ink at left; an unusual usage to a scarce destination and very fine

6 d. dull violet, tied by numeral "498" to folded letter to Porto with adjacent oval "FRANCA" and boxed "P.BRIT" and red "MANCHESTER PAID", reverse with transit and arrival mark, horizontal filing fold, otherwise fine

1873,80, 6 d. grey, pl. 16, tied by duplex 'BOURNEMOUTH AU 6 79' to envelope to the Cape of Good Hope, returned to England and here readdressed several times; the envelope somewhat toned and slight transportation faults; interesting item