Sale 341


 
Lot 1181



Elaborate Positive Geometric (Weiss GE-EP3), multiple strikes tie 1869 2¢ brown (113) used in combination with 1873 3¢ green and 10¢ brown (158, 161), three 3¢ and 10¢ pair, and Cuba 1875 50c. Blue Green (65), each also tied by oval Spanish cancel, on 1875 cover from Cuba to Barcelona, Spain, red "New York Jul 3" exchange c.d.s., Barcelona arrival backstamp, Commission Merchant's printed return address on back, ms. notation in Spanish translates "Duplicate of the letter 23 July 75"; 2¢ scuffed at left, Cuban stamp has small faults at left, cover has small edge tears, a Very Fine use.
Estimate $15,000 - 20,000

A SPECTACULAR AND RARE MIXED-COUNTRY AND ISSUE FRANKING ON COVER FROM CUBA TO SPAIN VIA THE UNITED STATES— ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE RICHARDS COLLECTION.

Provenance: Coulter

This is the latest of ten 2c 1869 covers listed in the 1869 PRA Census addressed to Francisco Quadrada in Barcelona, Spain. All have mixed frankings adding up to 31c or 32c U.S. and 50 or 100 centavos Cuban postage, and they usually are overpaid. The postage on this cover was apparently intended to prepay a multiple of the pre-July 1875 rates, but it was received at New York's foreign exchange office on July 3, 1875, the third day of the new General Postal Union rates, which presumably explains the absence of credit and transit markings found on covers from the earlier treaty-rate period.

This cover is one of the most attractive of the Quadrado correspondence, because it has a large number of stamps, all of which are tied on the front, and the condition is superior to many of the fragile covers from this group.

Illustrated in color in the 1869 PRA Census (p. 142) and described in Forster's 1982 Register article on mixed frankings (p. 89).


 
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