Lot 253
1857 (Dec. 22) Boston Ms. to La Rochelle, France, folded letter bearing 5¢ red brown (12) strip of three, rich color, three large margins, top full to barely touching on one stamp, tied by two strikes of Boston "Paid" grids, reverse with "Boston Br. Pkt. Dec 22" origin and exchange office c.d.s., red Liverpool "1858 JA 4" transit backstamp, "Angl. Amb. Calais 4 Janv. 58" entry c.d.s. with framed "G B / 1F 60C" debit handstamp and manuscript "16" (décimes) due rating, reverse with a French transit and "La Rochelle 6 Janv. 58" arrival c.d.s., strip with minor wrinkling due to application, Very Fine and fresh usage, over-weight letter prepaying the single 15¢ treaty rate for ¼ ounce carried by British packet, actually handled via British open mail. Illustrated in Frajola and Mayer, p. 76, fig. 6-24.
Estimate 20,000 - 30,000
THE LATEST RECORDED 1856 5¢ USAGE WITH THE FRAMED "G B / 1F 60C" DEBIT HANDSTAMP.
Provenance: Emerson, Knapp, Lehman, Haas
When the letter reached New York, it was apparently recognized as being overweight for the 15-cent convention rate and was handled as an overpaid double 5-cent British open mail rate. The letter was carried on the Cunard Line steamer Europa, which departed New York on December 23 and arrived at Liverpool on January 4. It was processed through Calais with markings used during the Three Months Period, including the framed 1F 60c bulk debit to Great Britain handstamp and a manuscript 16 décimes due for a letter between 7.5 and 15 grams. Coincidently, the postage due amount was the same as that charged for the convention rate.
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| Realized $10,500 |
