Lot 138
"Hakodada Japan June 1855", manuscript note of origin and matching "Pr Caroline E. Foote Via San Francisco, Cal." ship endorsement written at top of white envelope to Philadelphia, bold "San Francisco Cal. 20 Sep." c.d.s. with matching "SHIP" AND "12" handstamps, pencil receiving note of Oct. 17th; cover with light toning at top edge otherwise Very Fine, the earliest recorded transpacific from Japan.
Estimate 10,000 - 15,000
The Caroline E. Foote which arrived in San Francisco on Sept. 17th was one of only a handful of ships leaving Japanese ports in the early 1850s that was not bound for Shanghai or Hong Kong. Although it carried dispatches intended for the Russian government, until now no mail was believed to have been handled on this voyage, recently discovered, this important and unique cover predates the previously earliest known usage by five years, and precedes by one year the arrival of the first foreign consul to take up residence in Japan. Accompanying this is a 2nd cover from the same correspondence, mailed Dec. 9, 1854 from Hong Kong and postmarked Philadelphia.
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| Realized $7,500 |
