Lot 164
1856 (Sep. 5) Trenton N.J. to Hong Kong, China, cover bearing 5¢ red brown (12) strip of four, deep bright color, large margins at left but narrowing towards the right, 2nd and 3rd stamps just touched and 4th cut in at upper right, 1¢ blue type IV (9) huge margins with portion of stamp below, tied by red "Trenton N.J. Sep 5 1856" c.d.s., endorsed "Via English Mail Steamer", red "New-York Br. Pkt. Sep 9" exchange office c.d.s., red British "22 SP 1856" transit and "Hong Kong 1 DE 1856" double-arc receiving backstamps; strip with small scissor cut in margin between left stamps and tiny cover tear just affecting third stamp, some soiling neatly reduced at left, small piece of backflap missing, Very Fine, prepaid the 21¢ British open mail rate via American Packet, actually handled via British Packet and rated 2 shillings postage due. Illustrated in Frajola and Mayer, p. 126, fig. 11-2.
Estimate 30,000 - 40,000
ANOTHER STUNNING STRIP OF FOUR USAGE TO HONG KONG TRANSMITTED BY DIFFERENT MEANS OF CONVEYANCE PROVIDING A CONTRAST TO THE PREVIOUS COVER.
Provenance: Grunin
A second cover from the Lt. English correspondence prepaid 21¢ sufficient for carriage on the Saturday American packet sailing of the following day from New York. The cover evidently missed the American packet sailing and was marked at New York with the British packet datestamp of September 9. Transmitted as an overpaid 5¢ British open mail cover by British packet, it was carried on the Cunard Line steamer Niagara, which departed from Boston on September 10 and arrived at Southampton on September 21.
The cover was rated 2 shillings due as an overweight collect letter, weighing between one and one-quarter and two ounces to Hong Kong. At the time, the rate progression on mail from Great Britain to Hong Kong was 6 pence up to ½ ounce, 1 shilling for ½-1¼ ounces, and 2 shillings for 1¼-2 ounces.
The letter traveled next on the Peninsular & Oriental Line steamer Pera, which departed Southampton on October 10 and arrived at Alexandria on October 18. After an overland trip, the letter reached Suez and was carried from there on the P&O steamer Hindustan, which departed October 21 and arrived at Galle, Ceylon, on November 8. From Ceylon, the letter was taken by the P&O steamer Norna, which departed Galle on November 9 and arrived in Hong Kong on December 1, 1856. The cover bears a Hong Kong arrival backstamp of that date.
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| Realized $57,500 |
