30 Mar 1824 Horatio Hardy MN 1 Cover

30 Mar 1824

RARE "HORATIO HARDY" SIGNED (FORWARDED FROM LONDON'S JERUSALEM COFFEE HOUSE) COVER TO INDIA; 30 Mar. 1824 E (side-flaps removed; partial cross-written contents, probably ex Peckham) addressed to Hezekiah Clark [1792-1868; a surgeon of the Bengal Medial Service] although intended for his wife (endorsed at lower left "Mrs. Clark" as was the custom at the time). Sent from London to Calcutta (via the Jerusalem Coffee House; signed by its famous proprietor in London) with the distinctive flourished "Horatio Hardy" Forwarding Agent's signature on the top flap; then forwarded by another Agent (Messrs Mackintosh & Co.) from Calcutta to "Guruckpore" with a fine black handstruck "Inld. Ptge./Ship/Do." (similar to Giles type SR9a) and a partly fine red "CALCUTTA/2 SEPTr. 2/1824/GENL POST OFFICE" (Giles type G5) arrival cds on the reverse. Endorsed as having been "Recd. Septr. 1824" on the front. Hardy was proprietor of the famous Jerusalem Coffee House from c.1815 - 1840, but his signed Forwarded letters (always to India) are only recorded occasionally from 1823 to 1837, and this is a very early example. In his way he was as important a character in Anglo-Indian Postal History as Thomas Waghorn. We have only recorded six other "Horatio Hardy" covers. [The complete cover from this same correspondence in Cavendish's 4 Dec. 2019 auction, lot 748, realised £5,500 + BP]. Exhibition Item with great eye-appeal. Cross Reference: FORWARDING AGENTS, OVERSEAS DESTINATIONS, LONDON POSTAL HISTORY