Lot 1260
1882, 5¢ yellow brown (205), light target cancel, on 1886 cover to Norfolk Island, via New Zealand, clear "Westport Point Mass. Aug. 13" c.d.s., marked "Held For Postage" in fancy handstamp, manuscript. "Due 7¢" with purple "Foreign" straightline (matching San Francisco c.d.s. on reverse), blue crayon "4" ship captain's fee; cover with small opening tear at right edge, certificate mentions light gum staining in perfs which has been subsequently removed, Very Fine.
Estimate 5,000 - 7,500
A UNIQUE COVER AND ONE OF THE RAREST DESTINATIONS IN 19TH OR 20TH CENTURY U.S. POSTAL HISTORY.
Expertization: 1991 P.F. certificate.
Provenance: Gallagher
Possibly franked under the assumption that New Zealand, like the Australian States, was part of the U.P.U., the 12¢ treaty rate via San Francisco was still in effect. Norfolk Island's close association in the public mind with Australia may have also influenced the use of a single 5¢. Until the 1850s it was part of England's vast convict transportation system, with Norfolk Island conceived as a terrifying, ultimate punishment for the worst incorrigibles on the Australian mainland. At 1000 miles east of Sydney and 400 miles north of New Zealand, it was the nadir of the English penal system; its reputation was not exaggerated.
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