The Michael Manning Collection

N.S.W. - SYDNEY - UNIQUE COVER WITH BOTH “INDIA LETTER/BRIGHTON” & “INDIA LETTER/WEYMOUTH” MARKS; 4 Mar. 1837 E (edge wear; some faults folded under) from “Sydney” to London “Per [Ship] Florentia” prepaid “6[d]” outgoing NSW Ship Letter rate but charged “1¾ oz 6/2” (7 times rate) because it enclosed several letters - a PS asks the addressee to “...hand the two letters for [St.] Petersburgh to...John Kitching and request him to forward them - he will refund the postage incurred additional...” - extraordinarily having mainly very fine matching orange-red strikes of both the boxed “INDIA LETTER/BRIGHTON” (Rob. In.2) and the boxed “INDIA LETTER/WEYMOUTH” (Rob. In.1); the Weymouth strikes cancel and replace the Brighton mark. Clear proof that these orange-red India/Ship Letter marks were applied in London (where a full set of the ports was kept). Unique(?) combination of marks and a rare wrapper for mail sent to Russia.

N.S.W. - PARAMATTA - RED “INDIA LETTER/PENZANCE” AFTER INDIA LETTER RATES HAD ENDED; 25 Jan. 1840 EL (long cross-written family letter) from “Dunhered”(?) to Scotland prepaid “7[d]” (4d inland rate + 3d outgoing Ship Letter) with a fair red boxed “PARAMATTA/POST PAID” on the front (overstruck by the red oval Sydney Ship[letter d.s.; posted before the news of the end of the India Letter rate system had reached Australia but landed in GB c. 16 Jan. 1840 with a mainly very fine orange-red “INDIA LETTER/PENZANCE” (Rob. In.2) on the flap slightly overlapped by a mainly fine black crowned “GENERAL POST OFFICE/SYDNEY” d.s., and so charged “8[d]” on arrival the new (from 10 Jan. 1840) standard India or Ship Letter rate. Good example of an early Uniform Penny Postage arrival cover.

TASMANIA - 1st-TYPE OVAL “HOBART TOWN/V.D.L” ON “INDIA LETTER/DEAL” TO G.B.; 23 Mar. 1832 E (one side-flap removed) from a Missionary “On his way to Maq[uarie Harbour]” posted in Hobart with a fine small undated oval “HOBART TOWN/V.D.L” on the front, charged “1/-” (4d India Letter + 8d inland) with fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/DEAL” on the top flap beside the London c.d.s. (20 Aug.). Good early India Letter the low rates for which had applied to Australian mails from Jan. 1830.

TASMANIA - HOBART - “INDIA LETTER/GRAVESEND” COVER REF. THE DISASTROUS WRECK OF A CONVICT SHIP; 24 Apr. 1835 EL (full typed transcript; reinforced folds) from “Hobart Town” to London prepaid “4” (outgoing Ship Letter rate) an then charged “10[d]” (4d India Letter + 6d inland) on arrival with a superb boxed “India Letter/Gravesend” (Rob. In.3) nicely placed on the top flap (slightly overstruck by the red London arrival c.d.s.); the letter mentions “...the dreadful loss of life by the wreck of the George 3rd convict ship entering the river here; no blame is attached to anyone - the rock on which they struck is not shown on any chart. 134 lives lost and nothing saved. I fear we all lost letters, and I have just heard that the Cleopatra, the ship I sent a document [by]...is also lost. If you have not received it by now, you may conclude it is lost.” Graphic insight into the perils of 1830s travel.

TASMANIA - CROWNED OVAL “HOBART TOWN/VDL” D.S. ON “INDIA LETTER/BRIGHTON”; 18/19 Dec. 1837 EL (worn folds and so address-panel page silk-backed) from “Hobart Town” to Yorkshire “P.[Ship] Elphinstone” with a very fine large crowned oval “HOBART TOWN/VDL” d.s. nicely placed on the front; charged “1/4” with a fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/BRIGHTON” on the top flap. Scarce port of entry for Australian mail.

RIO DE JANEIRO - INDIA LETTERS LANDED AT EASTBOURNE OR MARGATE; Fine 16 Aug. 1834 E from “Rio” (filing notes) to London charged “1/-” with a very fine orange-red boxed “INDIA LETTER/RAMSGATE” (Rob. In.4) (closed seal tear) nicely placed on the top flap, 15 Mar. 1842 E (some toning and edge faults; ex Robertson himself) from “Rio” (file note) to Stroud “P [Ship] Jack” with mainly very fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/EASTBOURNE” (Rob. In.1; late usage) on the flap slightly overstruck by red London c.d.s. [with small 1842 newspaper cutting ref. this ship having brought a vast amount of mail - mainly from Sydney - that was landed from the ‘Jack’ at Eastbourne]; rare pair of S. America covers treated as India letters because they were taken by ships from Australia that called in to Rio en route. Plus plain 1829 EL from “Calcutta” to London (redirected to Scotland) with overstruck boxed “INDIA LETTER/RAMSGATE”. (3 covers)

BAHIA & PERNAMBUCO - BRIGHTON/LONDON INDIA LETTERS INCL. GRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF DESTRUCTION & MURDER IN BAHIA; 26 Mar. 1838 EL (divided into two pages; flap fault) from “Bahia” to Hereford charged “1/3” with a mainly fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/BRIGHTON” (Rob. In.1) nicely placed on the front - interesting contents ref. recent Civil war (the rebels having just been expelled from the city but not before they set many public buildings alight; “...the dead bodies were in heaps about the whole town for two days and some of them put into the flames...”); plus 19 Apr. 1839 EL (typed transcript) from “Pernambuco” to London “P [Ship] Roslyn Castle” (from Sydney, NSW) charged “4” (India Letter rate alone) with mainly very fine rare red boxed “INDIA LETTER/LONDON” (Rob. In.7 - only known 1838-39; filing crease) on the top flap. Rare pair from Brazil carried by ships originating in India/Australia. (2 covers)

RIO DE JANEIRO - UNIQUE(?) NEWHAVEN INDIA LETTER - UDC WITH BOXED “INDIA LETTER/BRIGHTON”; Fine 20 Sept. 1839 E from “Rio” (pencil note - as usual for this Rothschild correspondence) to London “[Per Ship] Andromeda” charged “1/8” with a mainly fine small “NEWHAVEN” UDC on the top flap (landed at this tiny port which never had its own Ship or India Letter marks) with a mainly very fine orange-red boxed “INDIA LETTER/BRIGHTON” (Rob. In.2) alongside (part overstruck by the London c.d.s. of 18 Nov.). Rare port of entry - specially for India Letter mails - and exceptional on a letter from South America. Exhibition Item.

RANGOON - UNUSUAL COVER TO INDIA WITH “KEDGREE/POST OFFICE/SHIP LETTER”, ETC.; 10 Mar. 1832 EL (folds to show internal heading beside address panel) from “Rangoon” to a ship (“Barque Rajah Wali”) “Pr Schr. Thistle” at Calcutta (redirected to “Diamond Harbour” and then to “Saugor Roads”) with various backstamps incl. v. fine oval-framed “KEDGREE/POST OFFICE” and matching boxed “KEDGREE/POST OFFICE/SHIP LETTER” on the top flap. Rare thus.

CAPE TOWN - RARE INGOING LONDON “POST PAID WITHDRAWN SHIP LETTER” COVER; 27/28 Feb. 1815 E (flap faults; cut to display mark) from “London” to “Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope” “P [Ship] Theodosia, Capt. Flynn” with a mainly very fine 2-ring “POST PAID WITHDRAWN SHIP LETTER/[Crown]/LONDON” c.d.s. (Rob. PPWSL 1) on the reverse (across the seal as per regulations); prepaid “2/4” (a third of the double Packet rate of 2x3s-6d); apparently the ship that carried this letter was not an East Indiaman though most ships to the Cape were at this date. Most unusual; we cannot recall having seen a Withdrawn Ship Letter to the C.G.H. before (they are usually to North America or Madeira).

UNIQUE (?) “ARUNDEL/SHIP LETTER” WITH SEPARATE BOXED “INDIA” ON COVER TO LONDON; Very fine 6 Apr. 1820 EL (Huth correspondence; in Dutch) from “Cape G. Hope” to London charged “2/4” (triple rate) with a very fine framed step-type “ARUNDEL/SHIP LETTER” (Rob. S2; 1820 only - one of only two recorded?) nicely placed on the front, but carried by an East Indiaman and so also with a mainly very fine boxed “INDIA” nearby to confirm the cheaper India Letter rate. Unique combination of marks; the very rare Arundel Ship Letter with the rare London “INDIA” mark. The March 1942 ‘Philatelist’ article regarding the numbers of ship letters in the recently unearthed Huth correspondence - 10,285 covers in all - notes only this single Arundel cover! Illustrated in Robertson, p.E10B. [With 1798 print of the castle showing a sailing ship in the river, and two similar PPCs. One of the rarest of all British Maritime Markings. Exhibition Quality and one of Michael’s favourites!

GRAVESEND/LIVERPOOL - SHIP LETTERS STRUCK IN ERROR (ONE OVERLOOKED) + INDIA LETTER; 1823/33 pair of Es from Cape Town/Calcutta to London/Edinburgh with fine to very fine “INDIA LETTER/GRAVESEND” or downward step-type framed “SHIP LETTER/GRAVESEND”; the first with mainly fine oval “POST OFFICE/CAPE of GOOD HOPE” d.s. and correctly charged, the other endorsed “Per Andromache” but wrongly charged Ship Letter rates. Plus unusual 28 May 1836 E from Cape Town to London “Pr [Ship] Briton” charged “3/1” (4d India + triple inland 11d rates) with fair boxed “LIVERPOOL/SHIP LETTER” (crease) on the flap struck in error and so overstruck by a fair “INDIA LETTER/LIVERPOOL” (crease) with a second strike (partly lost across seal) alongside, also having a v. fine crowned oval CGH d.s. on the front. (3 covers)

ELIZABETH TOWN - ‘FALMOUTH - SHIP LETTER ERROR CANCELLED BY VERY RARE BLACK LONDON SHIP LETTER OFFICE “CROWN”; 26 May 1826 long E (minor edge wear) from “Port Elizabeth” (unusual - P.O.? - manuscript mark beside crossed out encircled CGH “[Crown]” namestamp on the flaps, and part oval Cape Town transit d.s. of 1 Aug. on the front) to London with a very fine red framed step-type “FALMOUTH/SHIP LETTER” on the top flap cancelled by a superb very rare black London Ship Letter Office “[Crown]” mark (in place of the more normal Crutched Cross) with a mainly fine replacement boxed “INDIA LETTER/FALMOUTH” (struck in London) nearby; charged “2/4” in total. Unique(?) combination of marks. The London Ship Letter Office Crown mark (Jay L1328) is only recorded for 1827. Exhibition Item.

FOWEY/GRAHAMSTOWN - RARE BOXED “INDIA LETTER/FOWEY” ON C.G.H. COVER TO LONDON; Attractive neat 23 Feb. 1830 EL from “Grahams Town” (fair encircled ‘Crown’ namestamp on the front to London prepaid “1/4” in C.G.H. and charged “1/.4” on delivery (4d India Letter + 1/- inland rate) with a very fine (especially for this) boxed “INDIA LETTER/FOWEY” nicely placed on the front. A much less attractive (overstruck) example in the Peter Stone Collection realised £860 in 2010.]

SCILLY ISLANDS/ST. IVES - COVER WITH UNIQUE (?) BOXED “INDIA LETTER/ST. IVES. CORN” PLUS RARE BOXED STEP-TYPE “ST. IVES/SHIP LETTER”; 16 Apr. 1830 EL (very long 2-sheet family contents; some professional silk restoration does not detract) from “Cape of Good Hope” to Daventry [Per Ship Mary Ann] charged “2/4” then “2/7”on arrival (4d India Letter + 2/3 inland postage) with a mainly fine rare boxed step-type “ST. IVES/SHIP LETTER” (Rob. S1; only three examples known?; just crossed by fold) nicely placed on the top flap, but also having a very fine very rare boxed “INDIA LETTER/ST. IVES. CORN” (Rob. In.1; still the only recorded India Letter mark for this tiny Cornish port) alongside. Only four covers are recorded from this voyage; all were landed by the ‘Fly’ Scilly Islands pilot boat at St. Marys (Scilly Is.) before being taken on to Hayle (the Indian mail bag) or St. Ives (the C.G.H. mail bag); all four covers have differing postal marks. This one C.G.H. cover was landed at St. Ives (see the India Letters section for two of the others that were landed at Hayle). Fascinating story. [See 25 June 1830 ‘West Briton’ newspaper for full details.] This is the cover illustrated in Robertson, p.E264. Highly Important and Unique India Letter. [Ex Sidney Raine & ex Alan Robertson.]

POOLE/PORT ELIZABETH - THE UNIQUE(?) RED BOXED “INDIA” WITH SOLE RECORDED BOXED “SHIP LETTER/POOLE”; Spectacular 29 Dec. 1838 EL (one sheet now divided in two) from “Tindals, Port Elizabeth” to London prepaid to Cape Town with a poor encircled PO “[Crown]” mark on the front beside a partly fine crowned oval CGH PO d.s. (5 Jan. 1839); charged “1/1” on arrival with a set of four different orange-red marks (all of London presumably) on the flap; two London d.s.’s (5 Mar.) the very rare red boxed “INDIA” (Rob. In.8; now known not be struck in India!) and the sole recorded example of the boxed “SHIP LETTER/POOLE” (Rob. S7; Tabeart notes this cover only - slightly across the join). Superb Exhibition Item. [Ex Sothebys 1982 auction; this cover illustrated by Alan Robertson as a new discovery in the PHS ‘Bulletin’ of Jan. 1971.]

POINTE DE GALLE - NAPOLEONIC PERIOD - UNUSUAL COVER FROM INDIA REDIRECTED TO “EAST INDIA HOUSE”; 15 Feb. 1814 EL from “Madras” addressed to a passenger on “H[onourable]. C[ompany’s]. Ship Union, Pointe de Galle” with fair oval-framed “Post Paid/Fort St George [12f[anam]s]” (HG4) with separate h.s. “16 Feb” on the front; but redirected (in red) to “East India House” so presumably too late to catch the ship that must have been bound for G.B., and so having a partly fine small encircled “SHIP LETTER/[Crown]/LONDON” (30 Aug.) on the front and a “4” charge changed to “8[d]” (full Ship Letter rate) with two red London P.O. Inspector’s “[Crown]” marks. Rare early ingoing cover to Ceylon and exceptional being redirected on to G.B.

COLOMBO - RARE “CEYLON/PACKET LETTER” OVAL D.S. - CLARET-PURPLE STRIKES WITH “COLOMBO/POST PAID” MARKS; 11 Oct. 1816 E (side-flaps removed and lower flap slightly reduced) from “Colombo” (note on the front) to London “Pr [Ship] Eclipse” with fine to very fine strikes of the rare oval “CEYLON/PACKET LETTER” datestamp on the front (16 Oct.) and on the back (7 Nov.) with mainly very fine matching “COLOMBO/POST PAID” marks back and front with red manuscript “3/6”; charged a further “1/1” in error and cancelled. These Ceylon Packet Letter marks are rare, and exceptional on prepaid mail such as this. [A similar strike, but in the usual black ink on an unpaid cover in Cavendish’s Apr. 2004 auction, lot 401, realised £750.]

COLOMBO - PREPAID COVER TO INDIA SENT ON TO G.B. AS AN UNPAID “MADRAS/PACKET LETTER”; 22 Sept. 1817 E to London sent “Via Madras [from] Colombo” with a mainly fine claret-purple “COLOMBO/POST PAID” on the front endorsed “Pt. Pd. 60 fan[am]s.” and so charged “1oz 14/-” (quadruple 3s-6d rate) with very fine framed Madras “UNPAID” and matching oval “GPO” d.s. (5 Oct.) and fair to very fine oval “MADRAS/PACKET LETTER” d.s. (HG SD5; 5 Oct.) also on the front. Rare example of Ceylon Packet mail having to be routed via Madras. Exhibition item.

COLOMBO - RARE “CEYLON/PACKET LETTER” OVAL D.S. - BROWN STRIKE WITH MATCHING RARE “INDIA/Packet Letter/PAID” IN CIRCLE; 29 Sept. 1819 E from Colombo to London “Post paid to England By way of Madras” with a very fine rare brown oval “CEYLON/PACKET LETTER” datestamp nicely placed on the front with fine (as overstruck) matching rare brown “INDIA/Packet Letter/PAID” in circle (not previously recorded struck in Ceylon?) with very fine red boxed “INDIA LETTER/PORTSMOUTH” alongside overlapping a crowned London “FREE” d.s. 8 Apr.) because the addressee was the Bishop of London. These Ceylon Packet Letter marks are rare, and exceptional on prepaid/Free mail such as this; we cannot recall having seen the “Packet Letter” mark used in Ceylon before. [A similar strike of the oval d.s., but in the usual black ink on an unpaid cover without the “INDIA/Packet Letter/PAID” mark, in Cavendish’s Apr. 2004 auction, lot 401, realised £750.] Important Exhibition Item.

JAFFNA - PAIR OF COVERS TO G.B. WITH ATTRACTIVE SEPARATE “JAFFNA” + “POST PAID” IN DIFFERENT COLOURS; 9 June 1827 E (reduced at right just affecting address but clear of marks) plus 21 Aug. 1833 E both from Jaffna to London “Via Madras” (with fine oval backstamps) both having very fine rare “JAFFNA” + “POST PAID” marks nicely placed on the front in very different colours (purple or red), also having mainly fine red boxed “INDIA LETTER/DEVONPORT” or “INDIA LETTER/DEAL” on their reverse respectively. Fine pair. (2 covers)

COLOMBO/TRINCOMALEE - OCTAGON POST PAID MARKS (COLOMBO WITH MALTA LAZARETTO MARK); 14/21 Mar. 1836 E (one side-flap removed) from “Trincomalee” to London “Per [Ship] Rattlesnake” with a mainly very fine small crowned octagon-framed “TRINCO/POST PAID” d.s. (21 Mar.) on the front and Madras backstamps with very scarce red double-framed “INDIA LETTER/PORTSMOUTH” across the join; plus fine 21 May 1842 EL from “Colombo” to London “Pr [Ship] India from Galle Overland via Marseilles” charged “1/-” with a v. fine crowned octagon-framed “COLOMBO/POST PAID” on the front and a very fine 3-ring “PURIFIE AU LAZARET/MALTE/*” on the top flap. Scarce pair. (2 covers)

WHAMPOA(?) - VERY EARLY INGOING COVER FROM G.B. VIA INDIA - PACKET LETTER + KING’S POSTAGE MARKS; Remarkable 14/16 Apr. 1819 E (cross-written family contents) from London to “Mr. Clark, [Ship’s] Surgeon, H[onourable]. C[ompany’s]. S[hip]. Waterloo, Post Office, Calcutta” and endorsed “[Per Ship] Thomas Grenville” with partly fine crowned 2-ring “INDIA PACKET LETTER/G.P.O/LONDON” c.d.s. on the front with “3/6” rate, with mainly fine boxed Calcutta “KING’S POSTAGE [1-8]/INLD. do.” (3 Sept.) across the join on the reverse, but also endorsed “N.10/13 Septr. 1819” (by the Calcutta P.O.?) on the front, and redirected in red to “China”. The letter was endorsed on an internal flap; “I think this Letter is from Ann & I have not read it. R.MM. China, Feby. 7 1820” (folds to display this beside the address-panel), showing that the letter did indeed reach Whampoa (the usual port for E.I.C. vessels at this date). Thought to have been carried from Calcutta to Whampoa on the E.I.Co. ship “Streatham” that sailed from New Anchorage (Calcutta) to Penang (26 Dec.) via Malacca & Singapore to Whampoa (9 Feb. 1820). One of the earliest known letters delivered TO China. Unique?

CANTON - EARLY LETTER TO INDIA WITH “KEDGREE/POST OFFICE/SHIP LETTER”; 27 Sept. 1829 EL (folds to show internal heading beside address; small fault at top right of address, well clear of marks) from “Canton” to Calcutta “Per [Ship] Agnes” with a very fine boxed “KEDGREE/POST OFFICE/SHIP LETTER” (HG S3) on the lower flap along with Calcutta charge & date marks. Interesting long letter ref. a recent voyage from India affected by pirates and storms; plus opium prices and mentioning a sample of cloth enclosed (no longer present). Possibly one of the earliest known covers from China to India. Rare thus.

CANTON - EARLY LETTER TO INDIA WITH “KEDGREE/POST OFFICE/SHIP LETTER”; 17 May 1834 EL (folds to show internal heading beside address; faults at top/right of address) from “Canton” to Calcutta “Per [Ship] Mermaid” with a mainly fine boxed “KEDGREE/POST OFFICE/SHIP LETTER” (HG S3) nicely placed on the lower flap along with Calcutta charge & date marks. Interesting letter; “The Opium trade is in a very depressed state at this moment, owing to the seizure by the Mandarins of one of the Smuggling Boats. The Brokers have nearly all run away...” Pre-1840 mail from China to India is rare.

CANTON - PLYMOUTH INDIA LETTER MARK STRUCK IN ERROR & REPLACED BY SHIP LETTER; Fine 29 Aug. 1838 E from “Canton” to London “[Per Ship] Silvia” charged “3/2” with a mainly very fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/PLYMOUTH” (Rob. In.1) struck in error slightly across the join on the reverse, but overstruck by a mainly fine framed step-type”SHIP LETTER/PLYMOUTH” with a mainly fine second strike alongside. Unusual Post Office error on a letter from China.

MACAO - UNIQUE(?) COVER WITH BLUE EASTBOURNE INDIA LETTER REPLACED BY RED EASTBOURNE SHIP LETTER; Attractive 27 Jan. 1836 EL (in Portuguese; divided into two sheets to show internal heading beside address-panel) from “Macao” to London “Per [Ship] Abercromby, [Capt.] Robinson” charged “1/4” (8d Ship Letter + 8d inland rate) but having a very fine blue boxed “INDIA LETTER/EASTBOURNE” (Rob. In.1; very scarce colour) on the top flap overstruck by a very fine rare red framed step-type “EASTBOURNE/SHIP LETTER” (Rob. S2a - the finer of only two recorded examples both carried on the same ship - the other from Canton) with a second equally very fine strike (closed seal tear) alongside. Remarkable combination of marks; Chinese mails were not entitled to the lower India Letter rates. [The other example of S2a - similarly cancelled - was in Cavendish’s Sept. 2001 ‘Martlet’ auction, lot 223; realised £1,265.] Superb Exhibition Item.

MACAO - “KEDGEREE/POST OFFICE/SHIP LETTER” COVER VIA CALCUTTA BY STEAMER TO G.B.; Fine 9 Mar. 1844 EL from “Macao” to London via a Calcutta Forwarding Agent having both mainly fine boxed “KEDGEREE/POST OFFICE/SHIP LETTER” (HG S4) and “CALCUTTA/SHIP LETTER/Bearing” marks on the top flap, but also endorsed “via Falmouth p. Bentinck Steamer” on the front with red boxed “INDIA” and “1/-” rate. Unusual routing from Macao.

HAVANA/MATANZAS - UNUSUAL PAIR OF INDIA LETTERS INC. COWES SHIP LETTER IN ERROR; 1 Apr. 1830 EL (printed prices current) fro “Havana” to London “[Per Ship] Noble” with mainly very fine oily-black boxed “SHIP LETTER/COWES” (Rob. S2; scarce) on the top flap, but also having a very fine grey-black boxed “INDIA LETTER/COWES” (Rob. In.2; also scarce - filing crease) nicely placed on the front with “1/1” charge (4d India Letter + 9d inland rate) alongside; oddly the Ship Letter mark was not cancelled, but it seems likely that the India Letter mark was applied in the London Ship Letter Office (a very differently coloured ink) and the rate correctly assessed there. Plus 17/18 Apr. 1839 2-sheet EL (part typed transcript) from “Matanzas” to London “P. [Ship] Sandersons” charged “1/4” with a mainly very fine boxed “Gravesend/Ship Letter” (filing crease) (Rob. In.3) on the top flap. Rare pair; Cuban mail was very rarely carried by East Indiamen and so treated as India Letters. (2 covers)

TAHITI - PRESTAMP COVER TO G.B. VIA NEW SOUTH WALES WITH RED BOXED “INDIA LETTER/DEAL”; Fine 22 May 1838 EL (signed by three Missionaries; folds neatly to show internal heading beside the address panel) from “Tahiti” to London with a very fine oval red “PAID SHIP LETTER’[Crown]/* SYDNEY *” d.s. (8 Sept.) nicely placed on the front with a mainly fine red boxed “INDIA LETTER/DEAL” (Rob. In.1} on the top flap with London backstamp (25 Jan.). Unusually fine for an early letter from the Pacific Islands. [Ex Alan Robertson.]

PENANG - INTAGLIO “PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND/POST OFFICE” WITH RARE ROMNEY BOXED “India/LETTER”; Fine 1 Oct. 1834 EL (divided into two sheets to show the internal heading with the address) from “Penang” to London “Via [Ship] St. Helena” with a faint red circular Intaglio “PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND/POST OFFICE” with clear “8th Octr. 1834” manuscript date in centre (RL HS10; rare) on the top flap slightly across the join, but also with a superb brown boxed “New Romney”India/LETTER” (previously Rob. London In.10, but now known to have been used in Romney itself - only c.12 known and a design Unique to Romney) nicely placed on the top flap with a mainly very fine orange-red (struck in London) boxed “INDIA LETTER/ROMNEY” (Rob. In.1) on the lower flap; charged 2 Oz 6/4” (8 times 8d inland plus a single India Letter 4d). Rare early letter from Penang and a most attractive example of the eccentric system at Romney of using an anonymous “India /LETTER” mark while London applied the normal mark. [This cover illustrated in Robertson, p.E.256/B.] [Ex Alan Robertson.] Exhibition Item.

PENANG - RARE “INDIA LETTER/LEWES” ON COVER LANDED AT TINY VILLAGE OF “SEAFORD” (UDC); 1 Apr. 1835 EL (bad rust stains) from “Penang” to London “Per [SHip] Blenheim” charged “2/4” with a very fine “SEAFORD” UDC on the flap (part overstruck by red London c.d.s.) but also having a very fine rare boxed “INDIA LETTER/LEWES” (Rob. In.2; few known; affected by light stain at right) nicely placed on the front. Exceptional port of entry for an India Letter and from an unusual place of origin.

SINGAPORE - RARE BOXED “INDIA LETTER/ISLE OF WIGHT” ON COVER REF. SIR STAMFORD RAFFLES; Very fine 25 Jan. 1823 EL (fascinating contents; sheet divided to display heading beside address) from “Singapore” to London charged “1/1” with a very fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/ISLE OF WIGHT” nicely placed on the front. The letter concerns the recent arrival of Governor “Sir Stamford Raffles” and his plan to reallocate all land in the Colony; complete with a copy of the letter the writer had sent to Raffles about a new land claim for the Missionary buildings, and a copy of Raffles’ Secretary’s reply (23 Jan. 1823) confirming that the new property allocation for the Mission has been approved by Raffles even before the letter had been receive, with rare detail of the early work of “The Founder of Singapore”. Important Historical Letter from the very start of the “Stamford Raffles” period in Singapore. Exhibition Quality.

SINGAPORE - THE RARE & DISTINCTIVE STEP-TYPE FRAMED “SWANAGE/INDIA LETTER” ON COVER TO G.B.; 26 Nov. 1833 EL (asking the addressees, Huth & Co. to forward an enclosed letter; some reinforced folds) from “Singapore” to London “P [Ship] Hannover” charged “2/-” with a very fine rare framed “SWANAGE/INDIA LETTER” (Rob. In.2; an odd design being a step-type India Letter - unique from this port?) across the join on the reverse. This India Letter is only recorded for 1833 and we do not recall having seen it before. Rare thus.

PORT LOUIS + CALCUTTA - PAIR OF BOXED “INDIA LETTER/BRISTOL” COVERS INC. UNRECORDED RED; 8 Nov. 1819 EL (mentions the writer’s letters having been stolen by a messenger and never posted! - faults and worn) from “Calcutta” to Birmingham “P. [Ship] Bristol” charged “1/1” with a mainly very fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/BRISTOL” (Rob. In.1, 11 years earlier than previously recorded; creases) in UNRECORDED RED INK; plus 6-10 Jan. 1837 EL (long typed Missionary contents transcript) from “Mauritius, Mahebourg” to London charged “1/2” with two partly fine strikes of the same Bristol In.1 mark on the front in black. Good pair. (2 covers)

BATAVIA - RARE POOLE + RED PORTSMOUTH “INDIA LETTER” MARKS ON COVER TO G.B.; 16 Jan. 1822 EL (beautifully written copper-plate merchant’s contents) from “Batavia” to London “Pr the Ship Borneo, Captain J.C. Ross” with a mainly very fine red boxed “INDIA LETTER/PORTSMOUTH” (Rob. In.2) on the front; plus 25 Jan. 1842 E from “Batavia” to Glasgow “P. [Ship] George” with an unusually late strike of the very rare boxed “INDIA LETTER/POOLE” (Rob. In.3 - only one other example recorded - see Tabeart p.250 - light crease) nicely placed on the front with Uniform “8[d]” charge. (2 covers)

BATAVIA - PORTSMOUTH SHIP LETTER CANCELLED BY ‘CRUTCHED CROSS’ & REPLACED BY INDIA LETTER; 22 Dec. 1835 EL (single sheet divided to display internal heading beside address) from “Batavia” to Manchester “P [Ship] Koophandel” charged “1/8” and then “2/4” with a very fine black framed step-type “PORTSMOUTH/SHIP LETTER” (Rob. S1) nicely placed on the front but struck in error and so cancelled by a mainly fine orange-red London ‘Crutched Cross’ Inspector’s Mark with a matching orange-red framed “INDIA LETTER/PORTSMOUTH” (Rob. In.2) on the lower flap. Rare thus. Exhibition Quality. [Ex Alan Robertson himself.]

MANILA - IRISH ROUTING - SCARCE BOXED “INDIA LETTER/COVE” ON COVER TO LONDON; Fine 17 Oct. 1836 EL from “Manila” to London “[Per Ship] Solway” charged “1/9” with a mainly very fine scarce boxed “INDIA LETTER/COVE” (Rob. In.1) on the front matching the backstamp (10 Mar. 1837) on the top flap. India Letters are seldom seen routed via Ireland. Plus c.1830 hand-coloured print of the harbour. (2 items)

MANILA - SCARCE RED BOXED “INDIA LETTER/COWES” ON COVER TO LONDON; 28 June 1837 E from “Manila” to London “Per Cecilia” charged “2/7” (treble rate) with mainly very fine orange-red boxed “INDIA LETTER/COWES” (Rob. In.3; scarce colour - filing crease) on the top flap. The London usage of a Cowes India Letter marking, and a scarce port of entry for Philippine mails.

MANILA - UNIQUE(?) USAGE OF THE DISTINCTIVE (NEW) ROMNEY BOXED “India/LETTER” ON COVER TO LONDON; 21 June 1838 EL (one sheet divided to display heading alongside address; two small repairs to filing folds) from “Manila” to London “[Per Ship] Molson” charged “1¼ Oz 4/1” (5x 9d inland + single India Letter 4d) with a mainly fine rare black boxed New Romney “India/LETTER” (previously listed as London Rob. In.10; now known to have been used only at Romney - filing crease with small closed hole adjacent). Of the 12 or so recorded example of this unusual “India/LETTER” mark of Romney, this appears to be the only recorded example that does not also have the London orange-red “INDIA LETTER/ROMNEY” mark (e.g. the 1834 Penang cover above). Probably Unique thus.

PRESTAMP MAIL TO FRANCE - UNUSUAL “INDIA LETTER/GRAVESEND” COVER TO BORDEAUX; Fine 16 June 1838 EL (in French; folds neatly to display internal heading beside address) from “Ste. Helene” to Bordeaux with a mainly fine (though parts overstruck) red boxed “INDIA LETTER/GRAVESEND” (Rob. In.2; scarce colour - only recorded previously for 1833 in red) on the top flap with London Foreign Branch, Paris & Calais backstamps, also with a fair larger red 2-ring “ANGLETERRE PAR CALAIS” c.d.s. on the front; charged “32 [decimes]” on delivery. An early date for mail sent directly to France, rather than via a London agent. From the St. Helena “Closed Post Office Period” (1821-39). [A similar 1835 letter to France (but via a London Agent) in Cavendish’s Richard Payne auction, Sept. 2013, lot 95, realised £1,140.] Exhibition Quality.

MADRAS - VERY EARLY LETTER SENT BY EAST INDIA CO. “SHIP PRESIDENT, Q.D.C.” TO LONDON; Very fine 7 Apr. 1681 EL (contents sheet separate from address-panel sheet and so easy to display; no postal markings because sent by an East India Co. agent to a major London merchant) from “Madrafs” addressed “To the Right Worshipfull Sir John Moore In London” and clearly endorsed “P Ship Presid[en]t. Q[uem]. D[eus]. C[onservet]. [i.e. ‘whom God preserve’], signed by the one-time East India Co. “Chief of Mesulipatam”, “Richard Mohun”, regretting that he has recently lost his E.I.Co. job. The Ship ‘President’ is recorded as having been a 3-tiered 500-ton vessel with 36 guns; she reached England on 13 Jan. 1682 on this voyage via Mauritius & St. Helena (which therefore took 281 days in all). Attractive and rare; very few pre-1700 letters from India remain in private hands. Excellent Indian Postal History ‘Page One’ item.

CALCUTTA/DACCA - EARLY “LONDON/SHIP LRE” TO G.B. “P. THE [SHIP] WORCESTER”; Fine 19 Feb. 1771 EL (some later annotations slightly affecting address-panel at right but folded neatly to cover this with the internal dated heading alongside the address) written from “Bengall” (the writer was apparently en route from Calcutta to Dacca) charged “1” and then “In all 5” (because addressed to Chudleigh in Devon) with mainly fine small “LONDON/SHIP LRE” nicely placed on the front matching the very fine “23/IA” London transit Bishop Mark on the top flap. The ‘Worcester’ was a 3-tiered 755-ton vessel; this voyage went from Culpee via Ingeli (on the Hooghly River) and then via St. Helena (8th June). Attractive and early.

CALCUTTA - RARE OVAL-FRAMED “No./OZ.D/Weight/B.P. St Rs. [3]” PREPAID SHIP LETTER MARK WITH “LONDON/SHIP LRE”; Fine 14 May 1794 EL (family news) from “Calcutta” to “Rothesay” (Isle of Bute, Scotland) with a very fine rare oval-framed Calcutta “No./OZ.D/Weight/B.P. St Rs. [3]” nicely placed on the top flap with a mainly very fine large “LONDON/SHIP-LRE” on the front; charged “1” and then “1/1”. The oval mark is H-Giles Fig. SD1 of which he only records three examples (all of 1794); this cover is earlier than the much poorer strike that was in the H-Giles Collection. Exhibition Quality.

MIRZAPORE/CALCUTTA - 1st-YEAR USAGE OVAL “Bengal/G.P.O/SEP: [30]/POST PAID” ALONE ON COVER TO G.B.; Fine 9 Sept. 1799 EL (family letter from a judge on circuit) from “Mirzapoor” to London with no postal marks at all except for a very fine large oval-framed “Bengal/G.P.O/SEP: [30]/POST PAID” nicely placed on the top flap; this is HG SD2 which is rare pre-1800. [Presumably the writer and addressee had influence with the East India Company ship’s Captain and so the letter avoided the P.O. system in London.] Exhibition Quality.

ALLAHABAD/CALCUTTA - OVAL “Ship Letter/[Crown/]LONDON” WITH OVAL “Bengal/G.P.O/POST PAID” D.S.; 22 Aug. 1800 EL (2 sheets; from a junior doctor accompanying a VIP up country; one flap cut and stuck to show oval backstamp) from “Allahabad” to Scotland with a fair oval-framed “Bengal/G.P.O/POST PAID” d.s. (1 Sept.) across the join but also having a mainly very fine oval-framed “Ship Letter/[Crown]/LONDON” (inner oval frame oddly absent) nicely placed on the front.

VELLORE - RARE OVAL “Post Paid/Vellore/P.O” ON COVER EX SOLDIER GUARDING TIPU SULTAN’s SONS & WIVES; 7 Feb. - 12 Mar. 1800 EL (small closed tear above address barely detracts) from “Vellore” to Scotland with a mainly very fine rare oval-framed “Post Paid/Vellore/P.O” nicely placed on the front with m/s “4½F” rate (closed tear) nearby along with a mainly very fine double-oval “Ship Letter/[Crown]/LONDON”; charged “8” then “1/4” then “2/8” on arrival. With good contents - partial typed transcript - from a British soldier (74th Regt.); “I am at present detached...at Vellore as Honorary Guards to the young Princes (Tippoo’s sons) [the recently deceased Tipu Sultan had 15 sons] and his women, who are about 600 in toto....A pretty stock of wives for a King...”, referring to planned Expeditions to Batavia and Ceylon, and “Seringapatam Prize Money” still due. This Vellore mark is rare. [There was no example in the H. Giles or Contractor Collections.]

MYNPOOREE/CALCUTTA - PAIR OF DIFFERENT LARGE “SHIP LETTER/[Crown]/LONDON” C.D.S. COVERS; 28 Mar. 1802 & 10 Mar. 1807 ELs (first a part letter; latter with worn crease through address but clear of marks) from Calcutta (fair oval-framed “Bengal/G.P.O” d.s.) or “Mynpoorie” (similar Bengal oval d.s.) to G.B. “Per [Ship] Sarah Christian” or “by the first ship”; the first with a mainly very fine scarce large 2-ring - the second with a very fine scarce large single-ring - “SHIP-LETTER/[Crown/LONDON” c.d.s. (6 Sept. 1802 or 16 Nov. 1807) both nicely placed on the front. Good pair; the latter with mention of “Col. Richardson has charge of two young princes, sons of Tipoo Sultan who was killed at Seringapatam...”. (2 covers)

SYLHET/POONAMALEE/FUTTYGHUR/CALCUTTA - LONDON “SHIP LETTER” COVERS TO G.B.; 1803- 10 group inc. 1810 pair ex Sylhet to Scotland (one privately carried, one with mainly v. fine HG1 - “scarce” - double-oval “*SYLHET*/POST OFFICE” on the flap and oval “SHIP LETTER/LONDON” on the front), 25 Mar. 1803 EL (some faults) ex “Camp Futtihe Ghur” with large 2-ring London SL c.d.s. (contents mention taking the “Fort of Beache Ghur” and a battle at Cutehourah), and 1807/10 ELs pair ex Calcutta/”Poonamalee” to Scotland with v. fine or small London SL c.d.s.’s (latter “Per Ship Montezuma”). Useful lot. (5 covers)

CHITTAGONG - THE “RARE” STRAIGHT-LINE MARK WITH “post paid” ON COVER TO G.B.; 15 Apr. 1811 EL (from an Ensign with mention of the recent capture of the “Isle of France” and the “Expedition” to Batavia) from “Chittagong” to Ireland endorsed “Europe Letter” but apparently initially missent to the GPO of Calcutta in error for “Collon” (Ireland), having a mainly very fine “CHITTAGONG” on the flap and a matching “post paid” on the front (H Giles HS 1; described by him as “Rare”), charged “1/5” then “1/6” with a poor small London Ship Letter c.d.s. on the front. Few known. [There was no example of this Chittagong mark in either the H Giles or the Contractor Collections.]

START OF INDIA LETTER/PACKET LETTERS - PARLIAMENTARY BILLS + EAST INDIA AGENTS’ MEMORIAL; May/June 1815 trio of printed British Parliamentary documents (minor binding faults); two “BILLS” ref. new postal rates and arrangements, along with matching printed text of a “Memorial of...East India Agents” to the Treasury seeking better postal services and Packet ships, etc. Rare group from the very start of the new India Letter and Indian Packet Letter systems; the first examples of these three that we can recall having seen. (3 items)

GWALIOR/BOMBAY/CALCUTTA - LONDON SHIP/INDIA SHIP LETTERS JUST BEFORE & JUST AFTER THE NEW ACT; 1813/16 ELs to GB; 1 Aug. 1814 (inc. mention of Calcutta celebrations of the “Peace” and; “A short time ago I received back the fragments of a letter which I sent off for Susanna; some Mahrattas stopped our Postman and..out of spite they tore up all the letters into little bits and sent them back with their compliments to the Gentlemen at the Residency.”!) ex “Sindea’s Camp, Gwalior” to Biggleswade (redirected to Bath) with a mainly fine 2-ring “INDIA SHIP LETTER/[Crown]/LONDON” c.d.s. (25 Apr. 1815; a few weeks after the start of India Letters), Mar. 1813 ex Bombay with Ship Letter c.d.s., Apr./Nov. 1815 ex Calcutta with “DEAL/SHIP LETTER” just after the new Act, and Jan./July 1816 EL ex Calcutta to London charged “8” with fine 2-ring “INDIA SHIP LETTER/[Crown]/LONDON” c.d.s. incl. “In consequence of the lately enacted Letter Act, I have reluctantly abstained from writing as the import postage I learn is enormous”! Scarce lot. (4 covers)

TIPPERAH - LONDON SHIP LRE OFFICE RED “MORE TO PAY” WITH “PAID” C.D.S. + CALCUTTA “KING’S SEA/POST PAID”; Remarkable and fine 9/13 June 1816 EL from “Tipperah” (fine octagon-boxed “TIPPERAH/[1]Sr.WT/[12]PtPd” - HG2 - “Scarce” - on flap) to GB “p. First Ship” with fine octagon-boxed “KING’S SEA/POSTAGE PAID./CALCUTTA” (HG SD5 - “Rare” - only in black Mar. to July 1816) on the front; so having a very fine red “PAID SHIP LETTER/[Crown]/LONDON” c.d.s. (15? Dec.) across the join beside a matching rare red Ship Letter Office “MORE TO PAY”; endorsed “Europe 8as/King’s Postage 4a 9p” [=] 10a 9p” on the flap and “Paid only [8], to pay 2/-” on the front. Spectacular example of this rare period.

CALCUTTA - “KING’S SEA/POST PAID./CALCUTTA” IN RARE BLACK INK ON COVER TO LONDON; 24 June 1816 EL from “Calcutta” to London “P. [ship] Babnier(?)” with a very fine octagon-boxed “KING’S SEA/POSTAGE PAID./CALCUTTA” (HG SD5 - “Rare” - only known in black Mar. to July 1816) on the front beside a fair red “PAID SHIP LETTER/[Crown]/LONDON” c.d.s. (14 Dec.); redirected locally on arrival in london and so with a mainly fine h.s. “2” charge-mark (slightly overlapping the “SEA POST” mark). The King’s Post prepayment covered all postage to the port of arrival but not inland rates.

CALCUTTA - “KING’S SEA/POST PAID./CALCUTTA” IN RED (COVER WITH “MORE TO PAY”) OR RARE BLACK INK (FRONT); 31 Dec. 1816 EL from “Calcutta” to London with a very fine red octagon-boxed “KING’S SEA/POSTAGE PAID./CALCUTTA” (HG SD5; early usage in red) on the front unusually along with a mainly very fine rare boxed London “MORE TO PAY” mark with “9[d]” charge (overweight?); plus a 1 June 1816 front with a very fine octagon-boxed “KING’S SEA/POSTAGE PAID./CALCUTTA” (HG SD5 - “Rare” in black; only known Mar. to July 1816) beside a framed step-type “LIVERPOOL/SHIP LETTER”. Good pair. (2 items)

EARLY PACKET LETTER TO G.B. BEFORE ARRIVAL OF THE DATESTAMP - WITH LONDON OVAL “INDIA PACKET LETTER” D.S.; 1 Aug. 1815 EL (some dusting of left-hand half of address-panel and reinforced fold at left) from “Bombay” to Edinburgh “p. Partridge” with a very fine long oval-framed “BBAY SHIP PGE. NOT PAID” (filing fold) nicely placed on the front but no “BOMBAY/PACKET LETTER” d.s. - presumably because it not yet arrived from London - alongside a mainly fine (part overstruck) rare London crowned oval “INDIA/PACKET LETTER” d.s. (9 Dec.). Rare thus.

POONA - UNIQUE(?) COVER WITH CRUTCHED CROSS CANCELLING “BOMBAY/PACKET LETTER” D.S. WITH “MORE TO PAY”; 16 Nov. 1816 E (neatly closed tear affects address) from “Poona” to Glasgow with a fair framed “BBAY POST PAID” at left and a very fine rare “BOMBAY/PACKET LETTER” d.s. (17 Nov. - date inverted & reversed - early use) at top right, but presumably carried by a private ship rather than a Packet, and so this d.s. overstruck by a superb rare London “Crutched Cross” mark and replaced by a fine small boxed London “SHIP LETTER” (closed tear) alongside; also having a very fine rare London Ship Letter Office boxed black “MORE.TO.PAY” (closed tear) nicely placed on the front. Probably a Unique example of the Bombay d.s. cancelled b the London Crutched Cross. Exhibition Item.

ANJAR - HIGH POSTAL RATE ON PACKET LETTER TO SCOTLAND & MISSENT THERE; 30 Apr. 1817 EL from “Anjar” to Scotland “p. Argo” with fair boxed “BBAY SHIP PGE NOT PAID” and fair oval “BOMBAY/PACKET LETTER” d.s. (27 Apr.; part date inverted) on the front; in GB charged “7/1” then “9/2” then “9/4” (double 3s-6d Packet rate + double 1s-2d inland) but also with the rare curved-name boxed “IRVINE/434 - E” mileage mark unusually endorsed “Mifsent to” on the front. Good example of how high the postal rates were.

3rd MARATHA WAR - “CANDEISH CAMP” - BOMBAY PACKET LETTER TO SCOTLAND; Fine 12 June 1817 EL from a British Officer at “Camp, Ootraim(?) in Candeish” to Edinburgh endorsed “via Bombay from Jaulnah” on the front and with a Military P.O. “Camp Pd 6 f[anam]s 12a[nnas]” on the flap, having a mainly very fine rare oval “BOMBAY/PACKET LETTER” d.s. (15 June) nicely placed on the front with framed “BBAY SHIP PGE NOT PAID”. Good contents ref. various military stations etc; “...[problems with] the uncertainty of the Pots from the interior to the coast & my situation has of late been remote indeed...”; written during the build-up to the 3rd Maratha War. Rare Military Packet Letter.

3rd MARATHA WAR - “CAMP JAULNAH” - BOMBAY PACKET LETTER WITH LONDON CROWNED “INDIA/PACKET LETTER”; 1/13 Sept. 1817 EL (some slight stains clear of marks) from a British Officer in the “Horse Artillery” at “Jaulnah” to Scotland endorsed “via Bombay from Jaulnah” on the front and with a Military P.O. “Camp Jaulnah P. Pd 4½ f[anam]s to Bombay” on the flap, having a very fine rare oval “BOMBAY/PACKET LETTER” d.s. (15 Sept.) nicely placed on the top flap beside a framed “BBAY SHIP PGE NOT PAID”; unusually also having a mainly very fine London crowned oval “INDIA/PACKET LETTER” d.s. (19 Feb. 1818) on the front (slightly overlapped by a very fine London boxed “½” Scottish Mail Tax mark). Family letter written during the build-up to the 3rd Maratha War. Rare Military Packet Letter.

MADRAS - BOMBAY PACKET LETTER WITH LONDON CROWNED “INDIA/PACKET LETTER”; 20 Sept. 1818 E from “Capt. Brown, Madras” (filing note) to London endorsed “via Bombay” and “Per Gaunt(?)” on the front with a manuscript P.O. “Inland Postage paid to Bombay 20th Sept. 1818” on the flap, having a partly fine rare oval “BOMBAY/PACKET LETTER” d.s. (18 Oct.) across the join on the reverse beside a partial framed “BBAY SHIP PGE NOT PAID”; unusually also having a mainly very fine London crowned oval “INDIA/PACKET LETTER” d.s. (29 Mar. 1819) on the front and charged “3/6”. Unusual to have a Madras cover routed via the Bombay Packet service.

RARE COMBINATION OF THE BOMBAY PACKET LETTER D.S. WITH BOXED “INDIA LETTER/DEAL”; 18 Nov. 1819 E (side-flaps removed; some edge stains) from Bombay to Scotland endorsed “Dble” and “P Marquis of Hastings” on the front with a very fine rare oval “BOMBAY/PACKET LETTER” d.s. nicely placed on front beside a mainly very fine framed “INDIA LETTER/DEAL”, which was applied because the 1815 Act establishing the Packet system had been repealed on 14 July 1819 but news had not reached India when this letter was posted (with London transit c.d.s. of 9 May 1820 on flap). Rare thus.

RARE LONDON OVAL “PAID/INDIA/PACKET LETTER” D.S. & “KINGS’ SEA/POSTE. PAID/CALCUTTA”, ETC.; 26/29 Nov. 1816 E (closed tear through address) from “Calcutta” to London “[Per Ship] Prince Regent” with a very fine red octagon-boxed “KING’S SEA/POSTA PAID/CALCUTTA [3/6]” at top left and a very fine black “CALCUTTA/PACKET LETTER” d.s. at top right, but also having two fair to very fine strikes (one with closed tear) of the rare red oval-framed London “PAID/INDIA/PACKET LETTER” d.s. alongside, with no postage charged on arrival. Rare combination of marks and an early usage of the Calcutta d.s. Exhibition Item.

TIPPERAH - RARE LONDON OVAL “PAID/INDIA/PACKET LETTER” D.S. & “KINGS’ SEA/POSTE. PAID/CALCUTTA”, ETC.; 24 Aug. 1817 EL from “Tipperah” (v. fine octagon-boxed “TIPPERAH/[1] ScWt/1r 14as]Pt Pd” on the top flap) to Bath (redirected to Richmond with fair very rare double-framed “RETURN’D/FROM BATH” on the front) “P [Ship] Richmond” with a very fine red octagon-boxed “KING’S SEA/POSTA PAID/CALCUTTA [3/6]” at top left and a very fine black “CALCUTTA/PACKET LETTER” d.s. below, but also having a partly fine rare red oval-framed London “PAID/INDIA/PACKET LETTER” d.s. alongside (overstruck by later transit London “PAID” tombstone d.s.) with only inland & redirection postages charged. Rare combination of marks.

UNIQUE(?) COVER WITH LONDON BOXED “INDIA” + CRUTCHED CROSS ON CALCUTTA C.D.S.; 17 Mar. 1819 EL (full typed transcript; minor toning) from “Calcutta” to Ireland “By H.M. Ship Phaeton” with a mainly very fine “CALCUTTA/PACKET LETTER” d.s. on the front beside a fine double circle “CALCUTTA/POST NOT PAID” h.s. oddly cancelled by a partly fine rare London “Crutched Cross” (Jay L1330). The letter was posted whilst the 1815 Act was in force but arrived (6 Sept. backstamp) just after it had been repealed, so there is also a very fine rare London boxed “INDIA” on the front; an exceptional (probably unique) combination of marks. [Ex Harper, Cavendish Mar. 2009; lot 2289, realised £432.]

ALMORA - RARE CALCUTTA RED ENCIRCLED “INDIA/Packet Letter/PAID” WITH PACKET LETTER D.S. & “INDIA LETTER/DEAL”; Very fine 18 Nov. 1819 EL (part interesting letter from “the jungul” near the Himalayas) from “Almora (P.O. “King’s Pd 3rs/Company Pd 2r 6as [=] 5-6” dated endorsement across join of flaps) to London (redirected to Cheltenham) endorsed “Pr H.M. Ship” on the front with a very fine early usage of the very rare red encircled Calcutta “INDIA/Packet Letter/PAID” mark and a very fine rare oval “CALCUTTA/PACKET LETTER” d.s. slightly overstruck by a large part framed “INDIA LETTER/DEAL”, which was applied because the 1815 Act establishing the Packet system had been repealed on 14 July 1819 but news had not reached India when this letter was posted (with London transit c.d.s.’s of 26 Jan. 1820). Exhibition Quality.

FORT WILLIAM - OVAL CALCUTTA/PACKET LETTER D.S. WITH BOXED “INDIA LETTER/DEAL”; Very fine 18 Nov. 1819 EL (partly printed Bill of Exchange) from “Fort William” to London with a very fine rare oval “CALCUTTA/PACKET LETTER” d.s. at top left and a fine 2-ring Calcutta “POST NOT PAID” d.s. (slightly overstruck by a large part framed “INDIA LETTER/DEAL”) at top right; the India Letter mark was applied because the 1815 Act establishing the Packet system had been repealed on 14 July 1819 but news had not reached India when this letter was posted (with London transit c.d.s.’s of 26 Jan. 1820). Exhibition Quality.

THE VERY SHORT-LIVED & RARE INTAGLIO “[Crown]/MADRAS SHIP LETER/GPO” D.S. ON PREPAID COVER TO G.B.; Spectacular 8 July 1816 E (one side-flap removed) to Harrow “Pr H.M.S. Horitio. Kings Postage paid” with a wonderfully clear strike of the fully dated black Intaglio “[Crown]MADRAS SHIP LETER/GPO” d.s. (H Giles SD2; “very scarce”) nicely placed on the front beside a matching very fine oval-framed “POST PAID” with a very fine red oval-framed London “PAID/INDIA/PACKET LETTER” d.s. (12 Nov.) alongside; charged “8[d]” inland rate in England. Very few examples of this unusual (and mis-spelled) Madras mark are known; it was used as an emergency measure - for Packet Letters of only three months (May, June & July 1816) - pending the arrival from London of the regular oval datestamp. It is even rarer on prepaid mail such as this. Superb Exhibition Item and one of the gems of the Manning Collection.

HYDERABAD - RARE RED LONDON “PAID/INDIA/PACKET LETTER” D.S. WITH “MADRAS/PACKET LETTER” D.S.; 8 July 1816 EL (some wear/dusting) from “Hyderabad” to “lagan, Ulva...Isle of Mull” (the McLean Correspondence; “this day 6 years I was wounded at [the Isle of] Bourbon” = Reunion) “P. H.M.S. Amphitrite” with a partly fine black “MADRAS/PACKET LETTER” d.s. at top right just overlapped by a fair rare red oval-framed London “PAID/INDIA/PACKET LETTER” d.s. (9 Aug.) with fine oval-framed Madras “POST PAID” at top left. [Prepaid “3/6” and charged “1/2[½]” inland GB rate.] Rare combination of marks and an early usage of the Calcutta d.s. Long interesting cross-written contents from a British Army Captain who has been in Hyderabad for 18 months and seeks promotion or invaliding home.

VELLORE - FINE “MADRAS/PACKET LETTER” OVAL D.S. WITH RARE LONDON SHIP LETTER OFFICE “MORE TO PAY”; Sept. 1816 E (cross-written part letter - typed transcript - “...being at Vellore...”) to London “P. H.C. Ship Larkins” with very fine matching “MADRAS/PACKET LETTER” oval d.s. (25 Sept.) and matching oval-framed “POST PAID” (beside “8d”) nicely placed on the front, but underpaid (should have been the 3s-6d rate) and so with a mainly fine rare large boxed London Ship Letter Office “MORE TO PAY” on the front beside the “2/10” balance of the 3s-6d rate. Most unusual to have an underpaid Packet letter from India. Exhibition Quality. [Ex Hammond Giles, 2000; lot 303.]

MADRAS COVER TO G.B. BY “[WARSHIP] H.M.S. LYRA” THE DESIGNATED PACKET SHIP; Fine 31 May 1817 EL from “Madras” to Scotland “P. H.M.S. Lyra” with a mainly very fine oval “MADRAS/PACKET LETTER” d.s. nicely placed on the front with matching fair boxed “UNPAID” and so charged “3/6” in transit in London (28 Oct. backstamp) and then “4/9½” in all. Fine example of Packet mail entrusted to a Warship.

HYDERABAD - RARE OVAL “POST.PAID/HYDERABAD” WITH “MADRAS/PACKET LETTER” D.S. ON COVER TO G.B.; Fine and attractive 20 Aug. 1817 E from Hyderabad to London with a very fine large oval-framed “POST.PAID/HYDERABAD” (HG Type 1; “Rare”) endorsed “7½ f[anam]s to Madras” nicely placed on the front beside an equally very fine “MADRAS/PACKET LETTER”, with matching oval-framed “UNPAID” and (unusually) a mainly fine Madras “GPO” d.s. (HG Type MX1; “Very scarce”) nearby; charged “3/6” on arrival in London (23 Apr.). Exhibition Quality.

MADRAS - THE VERY RARE RED DOUBLE-FRAMED “INDIA/PACKET LETTER/PAID TO/LONDON” MARK; Attractive 18 Mar. 1818 E (minor dusting at left) from Madras to Edinburgh “P [Ship] Union” with a very fine oval “MADRAS/PACKET LETTER” d.s. at top left (slightly affected by filing note) with a matching oval-framed “POST PAID [7/-]” on the front, but also having a partly overstruck (but otherwise very fine) very rare red double-framed Tombstone “INDIA/PACKET LETTER/PAID TO/LONDON” (Earliest Known Date; frame shaved by filing fold) on the front and so charged “2/2” inland double rate on to Edinburgh (21 Sept. arrival d.s.). We are only aware of two other examples of this tombstone mark (originally attributed to India by Robertson, but now known to have been applied in London); the other two covers (neither strike clear - ex Calcutta & Bombay; one ex H-Giles & the other in the Heddergott Collection) are addressed to London, so this is the only cover which had a real need for this unusual and short-lived Instructional Mark. Most Important Exhibition Item.

OVAL “MADRAS/SHIP LETER” STRUCK IN ERROR & CANCELLED BY LONDON “CRUTCHED CROSS” MARK; Unusual 20/22 Jan. 1819 EL from “Madras” to Scotland with a mainly very fine oval “MADRAS/SHIP LETER” (spelling error) d.s. at top left but cancelled on arrival in London by the rare ‘Crutched Cross’ mark because the letter was carried “Pr. Asia” (the designated Packet ship for that month) and so charged “4/7” with a mainly very fine crowned “INDIA PACKET LETTER/LONDON” 2-ring d.s. nicely placed on the front. (a couple of weeks later the rules would have changed and the letter would only have been charged 1s-5d instead of “4/7”!). Rare combination of marks.

PACKET LETTER TO G.B. WITH BOXED “INDIA” + PORTSMOUTH SHIP LETTER CANCELLED BY CRUTCHED CROSS; 16 Apr. 1819 E from Madras to GB “Pr Phaeton” with a fine “MADRAS/PACKET LETTER” oval d.s. at top left but overstruck by a fine blue (scarce colour) boxed “PORTSMOUTH/SHIP LETTER” and both cancelled by the rare London ‘Crutched Cross’ mark on arrival (the Ship Letter identification was also wrong; it was an India Letter!), with a partly fine rare black boxed London “INDIA” alongside Part red 1 Sept. backstamp); various charges inc. redirection from Sittingbourne to Northampton. Sent before the repeal of the 1815 Act but received in GB after the rules has changed, hence the change of charges and treatment. Possibly a unique combination of markings. Spectacular and rare.

PACKET LETTER TO G.B. WITH BOXED PLYMOUTH INDIA LETTER DUE TO THE REPEAL OF THE ACT; 15/19 July 1819 EL (long cross-written letter) from “Madras” to GB “P H.M. Ship Conway” with a mainly fine oval “MADRAS/PACKET LETTER” oval d.s. (small mark/fault) at top left overstruck by a partly fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/PLYMOUTH” (small mark/fault); various charges inc. redirection from Sittingbourne to Lichfield. Sent just after the repeal of the 1815 Act but sent from India long before news of the change had been received there. Rare combination of the Indian “PACKET LETTER” mark with a GB “INDIA LETTER” mark.

VEPERY/MADRAS MATCHED PAIR OF COVERS TO G.B. WITH “SHIP LETER”/”SHIP LETTER” OVAL D.S.’s; 13/19 Mar. 1817 EL (long Missionary contents) from “Vepery” to Devon with a very fine rare oval “MADRAS/SHIP LETER” d.s. (error of spelling) nicely placed on the front; plus 29 Dec. 1819 E from Madras to London with a very fine matching “MADRAS/SHIP LETTER” oval d.s. (correct spelling) nicely placed on the front (overstruck by a light red boxed “INDIA LETTER/PORTSMOUTH”. Good pair. (2 covers)

MADRAS - MATCHED PAIR OF COVERS TO G.B. WITH “SHIP LETER” (ERROR OF SPELLING) OVAL D.S.’s; 2 Oct. 1817 E (side-flaps removed) & 19 Mar. 1819 EL from “Madras” to GB, each with a very fine rare oval “MADRAS/SHIP LETER” d.s. (error of spelling) on the front, also having fair 2-ring “INDIA SHIP LETTER/LONDON” or fine boxed “SHIP LETTER/HASTINGS” (struck in error but not cancelled, although the postal charges were reduced to the India Letter rate) nearby. Good pair showing the change from India Ship Letter to Ship Letter treatment. (2 covers)

MADRAS - MATCHED PAIR OF PLYMOUTH INDIA/SHIP LETTER COVERS WITH “SHIP LETER”/”SHIP LETTER” D.S.’s; 20/21 Apr. 1818 & 12 Jan. 1820 ELs (latter a part letter) from Madras to GB endorsed “P Ship Letter Mail; [by ship] Hastings” or “P. Princess Charlotte” with a very fine rare oval “MADRAS/SHIP LETER” d.s. (error of spelling) nicely placed on the front or with a very fine matching “MADRAS/SHIP LETTER” oval d.s. (correct spelling) nicely placed on the front, also having mainly very fine boxed “SHIP LETTER/PLYMOUTH” or mainly fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/PLYMOUTH” on the front respectively. Good pair showing the changes of rates just after the repeal of the Act. (2 covers)

CALCUTTA MISCELLANY INC. KENT/SUSSEX SHIP/INDIA LETTERS & MUCH LATER BOXED “REGD. LETTER No.” COVER; 1817-57 covers inc. 1817 quartet that left India as the rules were changing with 2-ring “CALCUTTA/POST NOT PAID” c.d.s.’s along with mainly fine “SHIP LETTER” marks of Dover, Deal & Gravesend (2); plus 1822 fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/BRIGHTON”, and 1857 stampless unpaid env. to London “Per Steamer Bentinck overland via Marseilles” charged “1/3” with very fine red boxed “REGD. LETTER No.” etc. (7 covers)

MADRAS/BOMBAY/VIZAGAPATAM INC. HAMBURG COVER WITH RARE RED WAX LONDON “INDIA SHIP LETTER OFFICE” SEAL; 1820-96 covers inc. Unique(?) 17 June 1821 E from “Hamburg” (pencil note) - sender’s name”Solo Heine” - to London charged “2/-” with a very fine “SHIP LETTER/[Crown]/LONDON” c.d.s. on the front, but also extraordinarily endorsed “Recvd. Open at the Ship Letter Office H[enry]. B[all]. 22 June” on the flap [Ball was the 1st Clerk of the London Ship Letter Office] beside a mainly very clear red wax oval “GENERAL POST OFFICE/[Arms]/G.P.O/INDIA SHIP LETTER OFFICE” (illustrated in Robertson, p.A16/A), 1820/24/27 trio ex Madras(2)/Vizagapatam with oval MADRAS/SHIP LETTER d.s.’s and “INDIA LETTER” marks of Plymouth/Portsmouth/Dover. and 1896 env. regd. ex Bombay with India 1a(2)+2a6p and “SEA POST OFFICE” backstamp. Eclectic lot. (5 covers)

CALCUTTA - RARE EARLY “CALCUTTA” STRAIGHT-LINE ON COVER BESIDE MATCHING “POST PAID”; Fined 23 Mar. 1787 EL (two sheets) to “Bungpour” with a mainly very fine “CALCUTTA” and matching “POST PAID” (HG 1a + HG2a; struck all-in-one? - just clear of the seal area) nicely placed on the top flap with a small manuscript “2” rate on the front. Long letter about local revenue department appointments inc. “I think James Grant totters & that the country will [be] taken by the Company”. Calcutta straight-line marks are rare.

CALCUTTA/MADRAS - EARLY USE OF OVAL “Post Paid/Fort St. George” WITH RARE CALCUTTA “GEN POST OFFICE/BEAR. POS.” D.S.; Fine 20 Jan. 1789 EL from “Fort St. George” to Calcutta with a very fine “Post Paid/Fort St. George” (HG1 - early usage - part oval frame) nicely placed on the front with separate matching “20 Jan” mark (filing fold) alongside; also having a partly fine rare large Calcutta “GEN POST OFFICE [5as]/BEAR. POS. FEB 1789” arrival mark (HG8; “Very scarce” - 1788/89 only) on the reverse. Exhibition Quality.opposite.

CALCUTTA/MADRAS - THE UNIQUE(?) EARLY TINY HANDSTRUCK “SHIP” MARK ON MADRAS COVER TO CHANDERNAGORE; Very fine 14 May 1795 EL (in French) from “Madras” to the French Settlement of “Chandernagor” endorsed “by favour of Capn. Thomson” but having a very fine double-oval Calcutta “G.P.O./JUNE [1]/BSPSg[1as]” nicely placed on the top flap with a matching tiny handstruck “SHIP” alongside. This “SHIP” mark is listed by Hammond Giles under Madras (HG Type SDA), but this cover shows clearly that it was struck in transit through Calcutta; this is believed to be the sole example recorded. [With 1969 letter from Robson Lowe himself to Michael Manning authenticating this cover and likening the SHIP mark to the “BEARING POSTAGE” Calcutta Bishop Mark cover illustrated in the RL ‘Asia’ Encyclopaedia.] Important Indian Maritime Item.

PATNA - THE RARE BOXED RED “PATNA/PT:PD” ON COVER TO CALCUTTA; 7 Aug. 1795 EL (superb red wax seal; stains affect mark and part of the address panel) from”Patna” to Calcutta with a mainly very fine claret-red boxed “PATNA/PT:PD” (HG Type 2; “Rare” - earliest known example?) nicely placed on the front with manuscript date and “5fs” rate alongside. One of the earliest known Indian markings struck in a colour other than black; few examples are known.

TANJORE - RARE EX-TERRITORIAL PERIOD “Tanjore” MARK WITH NEWS OF CAPTURE OF CEYLON; 5 Mar. 1796 EL from “Tanjour” to Calcutta with a mainly fine rare “Tanjore” (HG1; “Rare”) on the front endorsed Post paid 11 Fas.” and “6th March 1795” all nicely placed on the front; also with a mainly very fine double-oval Calcutta “G.P.O/MAR[22]/BgPg[5]” (HG11a; early usage) on the top flap. The letter is from a British soldier recently returned from taking part in the Capture of Ceylon and a shipwreck; “Our Flank Company were on the late Expedition at Trincomalee...One great misfortune...was my being [shipw]racked on Board the Diomede, Man of War, when she was going at the rate of 9 Knots an Hour - we fortunately lost no lives, but every thing else in the ship was lost...all went down.” [H.M.S. Diomede sank in Trincomalee harbour on 2 Aug. 1795 during the Invasion.] Rare early Ex-Territorial period cover

CALCUTTA TO CHANDERNAGORE - EARLY PREPAID COVER WITH OVAL CALCUTTA “GPO/PtPd” D.S.; Fine 24 June 1796 EL from Calcutta to “Chandernagore” with a lovely strike of the early double-oval Calcutta “G.P.O./JUNE [24]/PtPd.[1]” (HG Type 11; early usage) inverted on the top flap. Exhibition Quality.

MADRAS (FORT ST. GEORGE) - RARE SHORT-LIVED LARGE OVAL “POST PAID/SERVICE/FORT ST GEORGE”; 14 Aug. 1799 EL (slightly reduced contents; toned and re-backed) from “Fort St. George” [Madras] to “Salem” with a mainly fine rare large oval-framed “POST PAID/SERVICE/FORT ST GEORGE” (HG Type 5; only known for part of 1799) nicely placed on the lower flap beside a matching fine “16 Aug [4½f]” mark. Few known.

MADRAS [FORT ST. GEORGE]/2nd MARATHA WAR - OVAL FRAMED NAMESTAMPS WITH SEPARATE DATES; c.1796 E to “General Chermont A Pondichery” (the French India Commander from 1793 to 1798) with fine 2nd-type oval-framed “Post Paid/Fort St. George” (HG4) with v. fine matching “15 Jun” nearby; plus 23 May 1803 EL to an Officer “with Gen[era]l Wellesley’s detachment of the Army” with a partly fine strike of the same “Post Paid/Fort St. George” (frame not visible) with separate “23” and “May” marks plus m/s “9½ fs” rate - the future Duke of Wellington was in the Deccan at this time fighting the Maratha forces near Poona. Good pair from the Napoleonic period in India. (2 covers)

GOOTY - THE ONLY KNOWN(?) PRE-1839 MARK - 2-LINE OVAL-FRAMED “POST PAID/GOOTY” COVER TO MADRAS; 16 June 1809 long E (some wear and folded down) to Madras with a vert fine rare “POST PAID/GOOTY” (HG Type 1; “1 example recorded”) on the flap endorsed “w[eighin?]g 2 oz. Packet 60 fan[am]s” with date on lower flap. One of the rarest pre-1830 Indian markings.

BENARES - “RARE” 1st-TYPE OVAL NAMESTAMP ON COVER TO CALCUTTA REDIRECTED TO G.B.; Fine 26 Nov. 1812 EL from “Benares” to Calcutta with a very fine large oval “BENARES/POSTAGE PAID” (HG1; “Rare”; with manuscript date & “8as” in centre - light fold) nicely placed on top flap; redirected to “London” endorsed “P [ship] London” with red 21 Dec. Calcutta “G.P.O” transit c.d.s but no other postal marks, so perhaps delivered by the ship’s Captain.

BUILD UP TO 3rd MARATHA WAR - RARE RED “CAMP/POST PAID” MARK ON COVER TO BANGALORE; 16 Apr. 1815 EL (one large sheet all cross-written; reinforced folds) from “Camp” (possibly in the Belgaum area) to Bangalore with a mainly very fine red “CAMP/POST PAID” (filing fold just affects “D”) endorsed “6 f[anam]s” nicely placed on the front. The long interesting letter includes; “This being Sunday...I paid my respects to the Commander in Chief...He told me that he had no idea when we should move northward or when we might return, that as for his own part he did not believe we should cross the Rivers at all, but move up & down this one until all was settled in Bengal...”! Sent during manoeuvres at the start of the 3rd Maratha War period. Rare early Military marking.

BANGALORE/BAREILLY - RED OVAL “POST PAID” OR OVAL “PT. PD.” ON DARTMOUTH/DOVER INDIA LETTERS; Fine 2 July 1824 EL from “Bareilly” to Scotland “P. [Ship] Clyde” with a very fine large oval-framed “BAREILLY/PT. PD. [1r 1a]” (HG2; only recorded 1824-29 in black) across the join on the reverse beside transit marks of Calcutta/London & a black boxed “INDIA LETTER/DOVER”; plus 17 Mar. 1834 E to Devon with fine red framed “BANGALORE/POST PAID” & fair boxed “DARTMOUTH/INDIA LETTER”. (2 covers)

BELGAUM - BOXED “POST FREE” OR “POST PAID” MARKS ON LIVERPOOL INDIA LETTERS TO G.B.; 7-20 Dec. 1832 & 12 Sept. 1835 pair of ELs from “Camp Kolhapoor” (and then on the march “to protect the Waree Rajah’s capital” - news of some bloody engagements with “the Rebels”, etc.) or from “Belgaum”, having very fine boxed orange-red “BELGAUM/POST PAID” or “BELGAUM/POST FREE” marks respectively; each with fair to fine boxed India Letter marks of Liverpool (two types) on the reverse. Good pair. (2 covers) [1836 ex Contractor Collection, 1999.]

BELLARY/BERHAMPORE - FRAMED “POST PAID” MARKS IN RED OR BLACK ON INDIA LETTERS; Fine 3 Dec. 1833 EL to Scotland with v. fine framed red “BELLARY/POST PAID” (HG4) nicely placed on the front and v. fine large double-oval Madras S Lre d.s. on the top flap beside a boxed “INDIA LETTER/PLYMOUTH”; plus 19/20 Aug. 1820 EL to Devon with v. fine oval-framed “BERHAMPORE/Post Paid” (HG3; early type - just touched by closed seal tear) nicely placed on the top flap with a partial boxed?Margate India Letter on the front. (2 covers)

BHAUGULPORE/CALCUTTA - FANCY LARGE OVAL D.S. WITH UNRECORDED(?) CALCUTTA DATESTAMP; Fine and attractive 29 June 1825 E (typed transcript of the part contents) to London with a very fine large double-oval “BHAUGULPORE/POST OFFICE/[ppd 6as/ship P 2as/29 June.1825]” (HG Type 4; tiny fault to frame due to seal) nicely placed on the top flap beside an unusual mainly very fine octagon-boxed “CALCUTTA/G.P.O.” d.s. (4 July) which appears to be the “SHIP LETTER” type (HG SD9) but with those two words omitted (unrecorded?), and with a very fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/PORTSMOUTH” on the front with 2-ring Calcutta c.d.s. Exhibition Quality.

BOMBAY - VERY RARE DOUBLE-OVAL “SHIP/POSTAGE FREE/B.G.PO.O” ON DEAL INDIA LETTER COVER; Very large but fine June(?) 1831 E from “Bombay” to London with a very fine double-oval “SHIP/POSTAGE FREE/B.G.P.O” (HG Type SD5; “V. Scarce”) on the front, but endorsed “1¼ Oz” and charged “3/8” on arrival in GB with partly fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/DEAL” on the top flap with London c.d.s. (9 Dec.). Hammond Giles notes that this rare FREE Ship Letter mark was reserved for mails sent via the Cape, and that he had only recorded two examples (both of 1831, and presumably including this one). One of the rarest of all Indian Maritime Markings. Exhibition Item.

CANNANORE - UNIQUE(?) BOXED “CANNANORE/POST FREE” ON SOLDIER’s CONCESSION RATE COVER + LATER RED PAID; 20/21 Feb. 1823 EL (full typed transcript of contents about a southern India march and fever, etc.; some wear. slightly affecting address panel) from “Cannanore” to Somerset headed & countersigned or a Corporal for the Concession Rate and so with a partly fine unique(?) octagon-boxed “CANNANORE/POST FREE” (similar to HG Type 2, of which only a single example - possibly this cover? - is noted, also dated 1823; otherwise this is a totally unrecorded type) on the lower flap; charged “1/3” on the front with two fine/partly fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/MARGATE” marks but no clear reason why the Concessionary Rate was disallowed. Plus 1 Jan. 1845 EL (internal faults) “By Steamer Hindostan” to Aberdeen with v. fine red boxed “CANNANORE/Paid” d.s. (HG5) on the top flap. Rare pair. (2 covers)

CUDDAPAH - DIFFERENT TYPES OF “POST PAID”/”Paid” MARKS ON DEAL/DOVER INDIA LETTERS; 15/16 July 1837 & 18 Mar. 1840 pair of ELs (latter with flap cut for display) from the same correspondence from “Cuddapah” to London with very fine purple-red boxed “CUDDAPAH/POST PAID” (HG4; scarce) or pale red partly fine boxed “CUDDAPAH/Paid” (HG5) respectively; with mainly fine (but across join) strikes of the red boxed “DEAL/INDIA LETTER” or unboxed black “INDIA LETTER/DOVER”. Good pair. (2 covers)

DELHI - SCARCE 1st-TYPE “Pt Pd” OVAL MARK WITH RARE LONDON RED BOXED “INDIA LETTER”; Colourful Aug. 1833 E (paper wmk. 1830) from Delhi to Scotland with a very fine bright red oval “DELHI/Pt Pd [14as]” on the top flap slightly overlapped by London/Edinburgh backstamps and part of a very fine rare orange-red boxed London “INDIA LETTER” (Rob.In.9; very seldom seen, thought to have been used for mail from smaller ports without any India Letter mark of their own, because the normal “INDIA LETTER/LONDON” types were used for letters landed at London itself throughout the 1830s alongside this much scarcer mark); charged “1/1” then “1/7” and then “1/9” (4d India Letter rate plus 1s-5d inland rate) which must have been for a distance above 700 miles, which means the letter travelled at least 50 miles before it reached London, because Inverness was measured at only 651 miles from London at this date). Intriguing and rare item.

DUM DUM/FUTTYGHUR - BLACK OR PURPLE OVAL “POST OFFICE”/”POST PAID” MARKS; Fine 6 May 1828 EL (detailed account of a recent local tiger attack on an Officer who was badly injured but not killed because the animal broke off one of its teeth in his gun barrel!) to Reading “Pr [Ship] Norfolk” with a mainly very fine claret-purple double-oval “FUTTYGHUR/POST PAID [15ans]” (HG1; early usage in this distinctive colour) nicely placed on the top flap with a mainly fine red boxed “PORTSMOUTH/INDIA LETTER” on the front; plus 24 Mar. 1829 E (cross-written part contents) with 1st-Type “DUM DUM/POST OFFICE” oval mark (HG1; only known 1828-30) on the flap partly overlapped by a fine Liverpool India Letter mark. Scarce pair. (2 covers)

FUTTYGHUR - RARE “INDIA” PACKET LETTER COVER REDIRECTED IN G.B. WITH 4-MARGIN IMPERF. 1d BLACK; Attractive 1/5 June 1843 EL to London “Overland via Suez & Falmouth” with a very fine claret-purple boxed “FUTTYGHUR/Paid [10as]” on the top flap, but redirected by the Agents “Messrs. Grindlay & Co.” with the “1/-” charge paid by them and sent on to a woman in London with a 4-margin 1d Red Imperf. (KG) just tied by a very fine black Maltese Cross with “T.P/Cornhill” alongside. Rare example of an 1840s cover from India with a Postage Stamp. Exhibition Quality.

JALNAH - THE RARE BOXED BLACK “CAMPJALNAH/POSTPAID” ON “INDIA LETTER/PLYMOUTH” TO G.B.; Fine May/June 1823 EL from “Camp at Jaulnah” (from a young Adjutant in the Rifle Corps; long interesting contents about military life) to London with a mainly very fine rare black boxed “CAMPJALNAH/POSTPAID” (HG2; only known 1823-26 in this colour and only for 1831 in red) on the lower flap, with 22 June endorsement of “Messrs Macdonald & Campbell” in Jaulnah who prepaid it to Bombay and so with a fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/PLYMOUTH” on the front, redirected to Edinburgh with the Paid mark lightly crossed through to avoid confusion. Few examples of this unusual Military P.O. mark have been recorded.

KAMPTEE - PORTSMOUTH INDIA LETTERS PAIR WITH THE BOXED “POST PAID” MARKS IN BLACK OR RED; 22 Aug. 1825/12 June 1832 pair of Es (latter with side-flaps removed & both with slight stains) to GB with mainly very fine boxed “KAMPTEE/POST PAID” marks (HG2/HG3) in black (scarce; 1825 only) or claret-purple on the flaps beside large oval Madras “SHIP LETTER” d.s.’s, and each with a fair or fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/PORTSMOUTH” on the front. Good pair. (2 covers)

KAMPTEE - PORTSMOUTH/PORTSMOUTH INDIA LETTERS BOXED “POST FREE” OR “POST PAID” MARKS IN RED OR BLACK; 22 Aug. 1833/1-3 Sept. 1836 pair of ELs to GB with mainly very fine black boxed “KAMPTEE/POST FREE” (HG1; 1831-36 only) or a mainly very fine red “KAMPTEE/POST PAID” (HG3) in claret-purple both nicely placed on the lower flaps beside large oval Madras “SHIP LETTER” d.s.’s, having very fine or fair boxed “INDIA LETTER/PORTSMOUTH” on the front or overstruck red boxed “INDIA LETTER/PENZANCE” on the reverse. Good pair; the FREE mark is rare. (2 covers)

KAMPTEE - BOXED “Paid” TYPE IN COVER REACHING G.B. DURING THE UNIFORM 4d-POST PERIOD; Fine 21 Oct. 1839 EL from “Kamptee” to Clifton (near Bristol) “P. Overland Mail via Marseille” with a very fine claret-purple boxed “KAMPTEE/PAID [A8]” nicely placed on the top flap (HG3; slightly overstruck) with very fine red oval “INDIA” on the front and so charged “2/8” with a mainly very fine London “BRITISH/FOREIGN” mark on the lower flap beside m/s “2-6[+]-4[+]1-1[=]3-11” and a matching “LONDON” Foreign Branch c.d.s. (10 Dec.; during the brief Uniform 4d Postage Period in GB). Attractive and unusual.

LODIANAH/MOUNT [MADRAS] - BOXED “POST PAID” MARKS ON DEAL/z\PORTSMOUTH INDIA LETTERS; 3 Aug. 1827 E to London with v. fine early [ex-Territorial] boxed “LODIANAH/POST PAID” (HG1) on the reverse (tiny part of frame over join) on the flap beside a poor boxed “INDIA LETTER/DEAL”; plus fine 15 Nov. 1835 EL (2 sheets; long contents) from “St. Thos. Mount” (near Madras) to Cornwall with mainly v. fine red boxed “MOUNT/POST PAID” (HG4; seal tear) on the flap beside a large oval Madras Ship letter d.s. (with fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/PORTSMOUTH” on the front. (2 covers)

NUDDEA/PALAVERAM - BOXED FANCY “POST OFFICE” OR PLAIN RED “POST PAID” TYPES; 12/16 Apr. 1829 EL to London with mainly fine rare large boxed “NUDDEA/POST OFFICE/Pt Pd [6as]/Sa. m./1829” mark (HG1; earliest known mark of this P.O.?) across the join beside a partial boxed “INDIA LETTER/LIVERPOOL”; plus 21 Sept. 1826 E (side-flaps removed and flap cut for display) to Surrey with a very fine red boxed “PALAVERAM/POST PAID” (HG1; earliest known mark of this P.O.?) on the flap beside the Madras SL d.s. and a fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/DEAL”. Good early pair. (2 covers)

OOLUNDOORPETTAH/OOTACAMUND/POONA/POONAMULLEE - VARIED PAID MARKS INC. RARE TYPE; 2 Apr. 1831 EL (long cross-written family letter; flap faults) from “Camp Oolundoorpettah” to Scotland with a mainly very fine rare red oval-framed “OOLUNDOORPETTAH/POST PAID” (HG1; only known 1831 and rare - a small sub-office of Cuddapah - light fold) on the flap with fair red boxed “INDIA LETTER/DEVONPORT” on the front, 6 Feb. 1845 EL (cut flap) “Per Precursor steamer from Madras” to Scotland with mainly fine boxed red “OOTACAMUND/Paid” (HG4), 9 Apr. 1823 E (side-flaps removed) to Ireland (blue mileage mark for redirection) with mainly fine bold red encircled “Poonah/POST PAID” c.d.s. with v. fine boxed “INDIA LETTER./DEAL”, and 31 July 1824 E (side-flaps removed) to London with rare oval-framed “POONAMULLEE/POST PAID” (HG1; in black in 1824 or in red in 1834 only) overstruck by fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/BRIGHTON”. Scarce group. (4 covers)

POONAMULLEE/TANJORE/TRICHINOPOLY - FINE OVAL-FRAMED “POST PAID” MARKS ON PLYMOUTH INDIA LETTERS; 12 Oct. 1824 EL (flap/internal faults, otherwise v. fine) to Lincs. with v. fine rare black “POONAMULLEE/POST PAID” (HG1) nicely placed on the lower flap, 25/26 July 1830 EL (slight flap faults) to Scotland with a mainly very fine orange-red “TANJORE/POST PAID” on the lower flap, and 20 Dec. 1833 EL to Cornwall with superb bright red “TRICHINOPOLY/POST PAID” nicely placed on the front; all with fair to very fine boxed “INDIA LETTER” marks of Plymouth. Good set. (3 covers)

KEDGEREE/BOMBAY - COVERS TO DUTCH EAST INDIES OR TO HONG KONG; 28 Mar. [1817; pencil notes] E (toned) to Batavia “Pr [Ship] Baroness Van der Capellen” with v. fine double-oval “KEDGEREE/POST OFFICE” (HG1; first year of usage) nicely placed on the lower flap; plus 16/18 Aug. 1851 EL from Bombay to Hong Kong “[Per Ship] Pekin” with a very fine red encircled “BOMBAY/B.P.P/PAID. [1/-]” (HG SD10; “Scarce”) on the front and a mainly fine “HONG KONG” c.d.s. (10 Sept.) on the top flap. Scarce pair. (2 covers)

FRANCE - COVERS TO BORDEAUX INC. ONE WITH NEWS OF AFGHAN & CHINESE WARS; 1828 E ex Mauritius with v. fine red boxed “INDIA LETTER/PORTSMOUTH” on the front beside part red “D’ANGLETERRE” with m/s “R.L.O./5102” on the front (Returned Letter Office in London; the onwards postage to France was paid by the addressees’ Agent, fine 14 May - 8 June 1842 EL from Madras with superb red “MADRAS/STEAM LETTER” d.s. and fine red boxed “PAQUEBOTS/DE LA/MEDITERRANEE” with interesting contents (in French mentioning ongoing problems at “Cabool” and the negotiations for the release of prisoners, and comment on the latest problems in China with the Russians help the Chinese build defences in Peking...!), and fine 19 Dec. 1845 E from Calcutta with boxed red “STEAM POSTAGE...” (HG SR44) and red “INDES OR./1/MARSEILLE” c.d.s. (3 covers)

FRANCE VIA BRITISH P.O. IN EGYPT - RARE RED “INDIA/Packet Letter/PAID” IN CIRCLE COVER EX BOMBAY; 30 JUne 1839 EL (mainly printed contents; part flap lost, possibly with Bombay backstamp?) from Bombay to Bordeaux “Paid via Marseilles” most unusually with a mainly very fine (for this) red encircled Bombay “INDIA/Packet Letter/PAID” (filing fold) on the front along with part Malta Lazaretto mark (two chisel-slits), v. fine British P.O. “ALEXANDRIA” c.d.s. (21 Sept.) and v. fine red boxed “PAQUEBOTS/DE LA/MEDITERRANEE”. Most unusual combination of marks; the Paid India Packet Letter mark was little used at this late date.

NEGAPATAM/CALCUTTA - 1850s MAIL TO MAURITIUS (PAIR VIA MADRAS) OR U.S.A. Mar./June 1851 pair of ELs (one silk-backed due to address ink-etching) to “Mauritius” with mainly very fine bright red boxed “NEGAPATAM/Paid[2as/3as]” marks on the flap plus fine large oval Madras “OUT STATION/SHIP LETTER” d.s.’s on the front with St. Louis “Ship Letter” and crowned c.d.s.’s; plus 22 Nov. 1855 unpaid env. ex Calcutta to Maine “Pr Str. Oriental” and routed “via Southampton” charged “45” with New York “BR. PKT.” transit c.d.s. (23 Jan.1856). Unusual trio. (3 covers)

AGRA + ARRAH - BOXED (3 TYPES) OR CIRCULAR “PAID” TYPES; 1830/43/44 E/EL trio to Calcutta (2) or Sukutpur with - all boxed - mainly very fine “AGRA/POST PAID” (1830 HG1 - ex-Territorial period; filing crease), “AGRA/Bearing” (1843 HG5) or “AGRA/WEIGHT TOLA/PAID” (1844 HG8); plus 3 Mar. 1834 E (ink mark just clear of postmark) with mainly very fine scarce encircled “ARRAH/Pt.Pd.[2AS]/18” (HG2; scarce) on the flap. (4 covers)

AZIMGURGH - DOUBLE-CIRCLE “POST OFFICE” MARK ON UNPAID COVER TO POORNEA; 22 Jan. 1824 E (cross-written contents) to “Purneah” with a very fine scarce 2-ring “AZIMGURGH/POST OFFICE” mark (HG1; 1822- 25 only) with “[22 Jany]/18[24]” in centre having a fine large red Calcutta transit c.d.s. alongside. Attractive.

BANGALORE - TRIO OF DIFFERENT “POST PAID” OR “POST NOT PAID” OVAL/BOXED MARKS; 1822/27/31 EL/Es (3; the first with mainly internal faults, the third with some toning) to Mysore/Vellore/Mysore with fine to very fine strikes of the oval-framed “Post Paid/Bangalore” (HG2; remarkable ‘double’ strike - one inverted with an upright strike directly over the top), boxed red “BANGALORE/POST PAID” (HG6) or boxed “BANGALORE/POST NOT PAID” (HG5) respectively. Good set. (3 covers)

BARRACKPORE - THE VERY RARE INTAGLIO CIRCULAR “POST/OFFICE” TYPE ON FREE MAIL; Attractive 13 July 1832 E (splendid red wax seal) from future Governor General of India, the ‘King of Calcutta’, “C[harles] T. Metcalfe” (1785-1846; signed below the address as a Free frank) to Bangalore with a mainly very fine Intaglio circular “BARRACKPORE/POST/OFFICE/+” (HG3; only two other examples known, one of which is largely off the edge of the cover) on the flap beside Calcutta and Madras datestamps. Rare marking on a rare Indian Free frank.

BURDWAN - THE DISTINCTIVE OVAL “POST OFFICE” MARK WITH THE BOXED “Post Paid/Sa Wt/Rs As” MARK; Fine 22 Apr. 1829 2-sheet EL from “Burdwan” to Chowringhee with a very fine rare small oval-framed “BURDWAN/POST OFFICE” (HG1; “Scarce”, only known 1828-29) on the flap beside a fair matching boxed “Post Paid...” mark (HG2 “Scarce”; closed tear). [The similar cover from this correspondence in the 1999 Contractor Collection auction realised £437.]

CALICUT - THE RARE OCTAGON-BOXED “CALICUT/POST PAID/[Manuscript date]” COVER TO HYDERABAD; 21 Mar. 1823 E to Hyderabad with a very fine rare boxed “CALICUT/POST PAID” (HG1; “2 examples known”) nicely placed on the top flap. One of the rarest of all Indian marks, apparently with only two other prestamp covers from this small P.O. known. Exhibition Quality.

CANNANORE - THE RARE OVAL-FRAMED “POST.PAID” MARK ON COVER TO SECUNDERABAD; 24 May 1823 E to Secunderabad with mainly very fine rare oval-framed “CANNANORE/POST. PAID [12as]” (HG1; “Rare”) nicely placed on the lower flap. Only one other example known. Exhibition Quality.

CHITTAGONG - BOXED “POST OFFICE” & “Post Paid/[1]Sa Wt/Rs [7] As” COVER TO CALCUTTA; 2/3 July 1834 E to Calcutta with a mainly fine small boxed “CHITTAGONG/POST OFFICE/....” on the top flap and a partly fine matching boxed “Post Paid....” on the front (both slightly affected by ink-through from the contents) along with red Calcutta arrival backstamps. Scarce.

DACCA - THE THREE DIFFERENT OVAL-FRAMED “POST PAID” TYPES INC. AN INDIA LETTER TO G.B.; 1820 pair of Es to Nuddea/Jessore(?) with mainly fine to very fine “DACCA/POST PAID” marks with upright or inverted “POST PAID” (HG3 & HG5; latter across the join); plus 10 Jan. 1829 E to London with a mainly very fine scarce double-ring “DACCA/+POST PAID+” on the flap and a fine red boxed “PORTSMOUTH/INDIA LETTER” on the front. Good set. (3 covers)

DIAMOND HARBOUR - THE RARE DISTINCTIVE DIAMOND-FRAMED “POST OFFICE” MARK; 5 Mar. 1833 EL (good contents from a ship’s Captain ref. a lost anchor and the ship being overloaded because of an elephant’s provisions (and presumably an elephant!) to Calcutta with a mainly very fine rare large diamond-framed “DIAMOND HARBOUR/5 March]/18[33]/POST OFFICE” mark (HG2; 1833-35). Only a handful of prestamp covers from this P.O. have been recorded, and nothing after 1835.

DINAPORE/GORUCKPOOR - THE DOUBLE-OVAL OR DOUBLE-CIRCLE “POST PAID/OFFICE” TYPES; Fine 3/5 Feb. 1834 EL to Calcutta with a very fine large double-oval “DINAPORE/.POST PAID.” (HG2) on the reverse (slightly across join); plus 22 Apr. 1822 E (side-flaps removed) to “Bhagulpore” (redirected to “Monghu” with a further 2as postage charged) with a mainly very fine 2-ring “GORUCKPOOR/.POST OFFICE.” (slight seal tear/fault at foot) on the flap. Good pair. (2 covers)

HOSHUNGABAD/KEDGEREE - CIRCULAR/OVAL “Pt Pd” OR “POST OFFICE” MARKS; Fine 10/12 Mar. 1830 EL to Calcutta with a very fine large circular framed “HOSHUNGABAD/Pt Pd” d.s. nicely placed on the top flap [ex Contractor, 1999; realised £150]; plus 31 Oct. 1840 EL from Calcutta to an American ship “to await arrival at Khejeiree [sic]” with a fine to very fine large unframed oval “oKEDGEREEo/POST OFFICE” (HG5) nicely placed on the top flap. (2 covers)

LOODIANA/Bearing & BOXED “L.P.O.” - 1st AFGHAN WAR CAMPAIGN COVER EX “FUTTEABAD” (AFGHANISTAN); Very fine 23 Oct. 1842 EL (folds to show internal heading beside address-panel) to Calcutta (red 11 Nov. d.s.) from “Futteabad, two marches Cabool side of Jullalabad” from an Officer with the returning forces en route from Cabool to the Khyber Pass with a very fine brown boxed “LOODIANA/Bearing [14as]” (HG4) nicely placed on the top flap beside a matching mainly very fine boxed “L.P.O.” (HG9; closed seal tear; used on Military mail handed over to the Civil P.O.) alongside. Fascinating Campaign contents inc.; “We are at last getting out of Affghanistan...such as road as this from Cabool to where we now are I never travelled...our cattle starved...out of 6 camels which cost me 900Rs...when we left Cabool, I have two dead. 3 able to crawl...& 1 carrying his load...Our rear guard has...had 5 or 6 Officers wounded & some 150 men killed & wounded in the 8 marches to Gundamuck...3 days in Khyber [Pass] will I hope end our toil...our 25 days’ stay at Cabool was a disgrace to British Arms...the Lady Prisoners truly said in a quiet way that they thought Genl. P[ollock]. was going on much in the same was as Genl. E[lphinstone]. had gone the former year...Nott brought away the famed Hindoo Gates from Guznee & they are thus far all safe...”, and much more. Important Afghan War Campaign letter.

MADRAS, MEERUT, MIDNAPORE & MOUNT PAID MARKS INC. UNIQUE(?) EARLY “MOUNT/POST PAID”; 1820-54 covers with 30 Sept. 1820 E to Seringapatam with v. fine large oval-framed “MOUNT/POST PAID” (HG1; “1 example recorded”) on the front, 1838 EL to Calcutta with mainly v. fine red large encircled “MIDNAPORE/Pt Pd/18” (HG3), battered 1839 EL to Saugor with fine red boxed “MEERUT/Paid”, and Jan. 1854 EL from Calcutta to Madras with v. fine scarce black encircled “MADRAS/B.P.P./Bg.” (HG SR7) and partly fine large matching boxed “BEARING” (not recorded in HG?). Plus a c.1830 print of Fort George. (4 covers + 1 print)

MOUNT/NAGPORE - PAID & POST OFFICE MARKS INC. LARGE DOUBLE-OVAL NAGPORE TYPE; c.1822 (wmk. “1820”) E to Secunderabad with fine to very fine large black double-oval “NAUGPORE RESIDENCE/POST/OFFICE” (HG1; “Scarce”) and red circular unframed “NAGPORE/POST/PAID” (“Scarce”) both on the top flap (note the differing spellings!), stained 24 Nov. 1834 E (side-flaps removed) to Madras with fine boxed “MOUNT/POST NOT PAID” (HG2; scarce), and 1840/56 env./part E with boxed “ST THO’ MOUNT” marks for “Bearing” (HG6; black) or “Paid” (HG5; red with India ½a - fault - tied by “112” Numeral). (4 covers)

PALAMCOTAH - UNRECORDED “POST PAID” WITH DISTINCTIVE SCARCE CIRCULAR ‘STAR’ NAMESTAMP; 13 Dec. 1819 E (minor fault) to Tanjore with a slightly over-inked but mainly very fine rare fancy circular “PALAMCOTTAH/[Star]” (HG2; “scarce”) on the front beside a very fine matching small “POST PAID [6 As]” (Not recorded by Hammond Giles). A significant addition to the record and a good example of this rare fancy circular mark.

PATNA/POONA - PATNA “POST PAID” + POONA “POST NOT PAID” OR “FREE” MARKS; 30 Nov. 1823 EL from “Barrackpore” to Calcutta with v. fine 2-ring “PATNA/POST PAID” (HG6) across the join on the reverse, 15 June 1833 EL from “Poona” to Mahableshwer” (redirected back to Poona) with mainly v. fine large encircled “POONA/POST NOT PAID” d.s. (HG2; “Scarce”) on the flap, and Sept. 1847 EL (old sellotape inside) to Sitara with v. fine red oval-framed “POONA/FREE” d.s. (HG11; signed by the Bishop of Bombay but written by someone else!). (3 covers)

SYLHET/WALLAJAHABAD - SCARCE DOUBLE-OVAL “POST OFFICE” OR OVAL-FRAMED “POST PAID”; Fine 15 Nov. 1820 EL to Bundelkund with a very fine double-oval “*SYLHET*/POST OFFICE” (HG1; “Scarce” Ex- Territorial period; plus 11 Dec. 1823 EL to Nusseerabad “Via Ganjam” with a mainly very fine oval-framed “WALLAJAHBAUD/POST PAID” (HG4) with 3 transit backstamps inc. Calcutta 25 Dec. c.d.s. (2 covers)

VIZIANAGARUM - SUPERB RARE OCTAGON-BOXED “VIZIANAGM./POST PAID” ON COVER TO CALCUTTA; Remarkable 20 May 1822 EL (cross-written contents; minor wear with some reinforced folds) to a man “en route to Cawnpore” endorsed “Via Ganjam” and “post paid to Ganjam” with an undoubtedly superb strike of the large spectaular octagon-boxed “VIZIANAGM./POST PAID” (HG1; “Very Scarce”) nicely placed on the lower flap beside red Calcutta “P.m” mark and oval “G.P.O/BgPg.” (HG11a). One of the scarcest of all Indian prestamp marks and one of the most attractive covers in the Manning Collection. Exhibition Quality.

DOVER - THE VERY RARE “INDIA SOLDIER &c/3/DOVER” ON COVER TO CHESHIRE; Feb.(?) 1838 E (wmk. “1835”; side-flaps removed) from India to Northwich headed & countersigned for a Bombay Artillery Gunner with no Indian marks but with a fine to very fine very rare large encircled “INDIA SOLDIER &c/3/DOVER” (Rob. In.Sol.1) on the front (small part struck off the edge), with London transit backstamp (6 June 1838); plus Dec. 1848 letter (no wrapper) from the same correspondence headed at “Sukker Bukker” (Scinde) with interesting contents. We cannot recall having seen this “INDIA SOLDIER/3/DOVER” mark before, of which only a handful are recorded; a major British Maritime Rarity. (2 items)

LIVERPOOL/CAWNPORE - “INDIA SOLDIER &c/3/LIVERPOOL” COVER WITH RARE BOXED “CAWNPORE/FREE”; 1 May 1833 EL (some wear, dusting, etc.; long interesting contents about military life and wildlife in India) to Scotland headed & countersigned for the Soldier’s Concession Rate for a Horse Artillery Sergeant with a mainly very fine boxed “CAWNPORE/FREE/18” (HG8; “Scarce” - only known for 1836) nicely placed on the top flap with a large part large encircled “INDIA [SOL]DIERS &c/3/LIVERPOOL” on the front, crossed through on redirection from Ayr (faint backstamp) to Edinburgh with the only other charge being a fine boxed Scottish Mail Tax “½” mark (unusual charged alone).

LONDON/MERUT - RARE LARGE 2-RING “INDIA.SHIP.LETTER/4/LONDON” COVER WITH OVAL “MERUT./Pt. Pd.”; Very fine 18 Mar. 1831 EL (part letter) from Merut (v. fine oval-framed “MERUT/Pt. Pd.” on the top flap) to London (10 Dec. backstamp) via Calcutta (poor boxed d.s. matching the slightly unsightly offset ink marks on the front) having a mainly very fine rare large 2-ring “INDIA.SHIP.LETTER/4/LONDON” (Rob. In.3; few known - one edge just crossed by file fold) nicely placed on the front and a very fine oval-framed “MERUT./Pt. Pd.” (HG2; “Scarce”) nicely placed on the top flap. This “4” mark is not a Concession Rate marking but intended for use on the few letters (of 1827-40) that were addressed to the port of entry and so had no inland rate to pay. Exhibition Item.

LONDON/KAMPTEE - “INDIA SOLDIERS/3/LONDON” WITH BOXED “KAMPTEE/POST FREE”; 13 June 1831 EL (corner fault; unnecessarily professionally silked back-and-front, with contents sheet separated for display) from “Camp Kamptee” to Ireland (faint Waterford backstamp) having a mainly fine large encircled “INDIA SOLDIERS/3/LONDON” (Rob. In.Sol.4) on the front and a superb boxed “KAMPTEE/POST FREE” (HG1; early usage) on the lower flap. [Could benefit from the silk being removed to make the marks more readily visible.] Rare thus.

LONDON/MEERUT - “INDIA SOLDIERS/3/LONDON” WITH OVAL “MERUT/Pt. Pd. [Penny]” (WASTED PAYMENT); 7 Mar. 1833 E (side-flaps removed; some dusting and edge wear) from Meerut to London headed & countersigned for the Concession Rate for an Artillery Gunner with a very fine (for this) large encircled “INDIA SOLDIERS/3/LONDON” (Rob. In.Sol.4) on the front and a mainly fine oval-framed “MERUT/Pt. Pd.” mark on the reverse oddly endorsed “Penny” so presumably the sender paid a penny but the full 3d was still charged on delivery?

LONDON/MOUNT - “INDIA SOLDIERS/3/LONDON” WITH FRAMED “MOUNT/Free” VIA MADRAS; 3 Aug. 1833 EL (stained top left corner of address side) from Madras to Ireland headed & countersigned for the Concession Rate for a Horse Artillery Gunner with a remarkably fine large encircled “INDIA SOLDIERS/3/LONDON” (Rob. In.Sol.4) on the front alongside a very fine framed “MOUNT/Free” mark (stain) alongside. Attractive usage.

LONDON/POONAMULLEE - “INDIA SOLDIER &c/3/LONDON” WITH UNFRAMED “POONAMULLEE/POST FREE”; 18 Aug. 1837 EL (some dusting & wear) from Poonamullee to Scotland headed & countersigned for the Concession Rate for a Private with a mainly fine large encircled “INDIA SOLDIER &c/3/LONDON” (Rob. In.Sol.3) on the front alongside a very fine unframed “POONAMULLEE/POST FREE” mark alongside. Attractive.

LONDON/BELLARY - “INDIA SOLDIERS/3/LONDON” WITH OVAL “BELLARY/FREE” + “MADRAS/SHIP LETTER/FREE”; 28 June 1838 EL (dusting and some edge wear) from Bellary to Leeds headed & countersigned for the Concession Rate for an Infantry Private with a mainly fine large encircled “INDIA SOLDIERS/3/LONDON” (Rob. In.Sol.4) on the front alongside a fair oval framed “BELLARY/FREE” mark alongside, and unusually also with a very fine encircled red “MADRAS/SHIP LETTER/FREE” transit d.s. on the flap.

LONDON/GHAZEEPORE - RARE UNFRAMED “INDIA SOLDIERS/3/LONDON” WITH OVAL “GHAZEEPORE/FREE”; 14 July 1839 EL (minor dusting) from Ghazeepore to Blackburn headed & countersigned for the Concession Rate for a Private with two mainly fine rare smaller unframed “INDIA SOLDIERS/3/LONDON” (Rob. In.Sol.6 - 1838-40 only)on the front with a fair red oval-framed “GHAZEEPORE/FREE” on the flap, having a fine red London 13 Dec. 1839 transit backstamp - this letter arrived in Britain during the brief Uniform 4d-Postage Period. This unframed “3” type is seldom seen. [Ex Contractor, 1999; realised £259.]

LONDON/BELGAUM - CONCESSION RATE COVER WITH OVAL “BELGAUM/FREE” & LONDON H.S. “1” MARK; 22 May 1840 EL (some dusting and edge wear) from Belgaum to Leeds headed & countersigned for the Concession Rate for a Private unusually only with a very fine black London Handstruck “1” (red 24 Aug. transit backstamp) on the front alongside a partly fine red oval-framed Bombay “INDIA” mark on the front and a fair red oval-framed “BELGAUM/.FREE” d.s. on the flap. It is not immediately obvious why this letter was not charged the usual 3d or 4d. Attractive usage.

LONDON/FALMOUTH/DINAPORE - “SOLDIERS & SEAMANS LETTER/4/BY SHIP” + RED “INDIA LETTER/FALMOUTH”; 10 Sept. 1840 EL (typed transcript of interesting contents; overall dusting and some worn/reinforced folds) from Dinapore to Preston (redirected to Manchester with c.d.s. on the front) headed & countersigned for the Concession Rate for a Private with a remarkably fine rare unframed “SOLDIERS & SEAMANS/4/BY SHIP” (London 15 Mar. 1841 c.d.s. on flap) on the front, also having a fine red boxed “INDIA LETTER/FALMOUTH” across the join on the reverse beside a fair red oval-framed “DINAPORE/FREE” d.s. (HG6). Good example of this rare “4” marking.

LONDON/BANGALORE - “INDIA SOLDIERS/3/LONDON” WITH OVAL FRAMED “BANGALORE/FREE” D.S., ETC.; 23 Oct. 1840 EL (good contents ref. Army horses, races, etc.; faint ink used for address and heading) from “Bangalore” to London “Via Falmouth” (redirected to Cheltenham & then to Weymouth) headed & countersigned for the Concession Rate for a King’s Hussars Sergeant with a fair red oval framed “BANGALORE/FREE” d.s. on the top flap and a remarkably fine large encircled “INDIA SOLDIERS/3/LONDON” (Rob. In.Sol.4) on the front alongside a faint red oval Bombay “INDIA” and a partly fine scarce boxed London “L[etter].C[arriers’].O[ffice]./POSTAGE NOT PAID/TO LONDON” (applied upon redirection) with a manuscript “2” and then “3” charge for the redirection postage. Rare thus. [Ex Alan Robertson.]

LONDON - H.S. “2” MARKS WITH OVAL “FREE” D.S. OF POONA, WUZEERABAD OR MEERUT; 1849/50/51 trio of ELs Somerset/Ireland/London all headed & countersigned for soldier’s Concession Rates with fine or very fine black London h.s. “2” arrival charge-marks and red oval-framed Bombay “INDIA” marks, and all with red oval-framed “FREE” d.s.’s of “POONA” (fair), “WAZZEWERABAD” (mainly very fine) or “MEERUT” (fair & across join) respectively. Some interesting contents inc. (Wuzeerabad, 1850) “There is great talk of disturbance this season up at Cabul; the troops up there had some fighting lately. I think we will be sent there in a short time...”. (3 covers)

PLYMOUTH/MADRAS - RARE “INDIA SOLDIER &c/3/PLYMOUTH” WITH “MADRAS/FRee/SOLDIeRS LeTTeR” C.D.S.; 22 Jan. 1832 EL (in 2 sheets; originally one; family letter including the writer’s Will; some faults and edge wear etc.) to London headed & countersigned for a Sergeant of the 54th Regiment having a very fine rare encircled “INDIA SOLDIER &c/3/PLYMOUTH” mark (Rob.In.Sol.1; only in use 1829-37) on the front, with a mainly very fine Madras Soldiers Free c.d.s. (HG SD10; “Scarce”) on the lower flap; there is also a boxed London “TP/Rate/2” Local Post charge struck in error on the front and cancelled by a fine red h.s. ‘Spring’ mark with a v. fine London “In All” nearby. Rare combination of marks. [The poorer example in Cavendish’s Nov. 2005 auction, lot 1364, realised £253.] Only a few examples of this Plymouth “3” mark are known. Exhibition Item.

PORTSMOUTH/MADRAS - RARE “INDIA SOLDIER &c/3/PORTSMOUTH” WITH SUPERB “MADRAS/FRee/SOLDIeRS LeTTeR” C.D.S.; 4 Feb. 1827 E (side-flaps removed) to Yorkshire headed & countersigned for a Private in the 1st Madras Regiment having a partly fine rare encircled “INDIA SOLDIER &c/3/PORTSMOUTH” mark (Rob.In.Sol.1; only in use 1824-27) on the front, with a superb Madras Soldiers Free c.d.s. (HG SD10; “Scarce”) nicely placed on the top flap. Rare. Only a few examples of this Portsmouth “3” mark are known.

PORTSMOUTH/MADRAS - RARE “INDIA SOLDIER &c/3/PORTSMOUTH” WITH SUPERB “MADRAS/FRee/SOLDIeRS LeTTeR” C.D.S.; 26 May 1826 EL (side-flaps removed but contents intact; address panel affected by toning/dusting) to Shropshire headed & countersigned for a Sergeant in the 46th Regiment having a partly fine rare encircled “INDIA SOLDIER &c/3/PORTSMOUTH” mark (Rob.In.Sol.1; only in use 1824-27) on the front, with a mainly very fine red Madras Soldiers Free c.d.s. (HG SD10; “Scarce”) nicely placed on the top flap, with an assisted black boxed “BELLARY/POST FREE” on the other flap. Interesting contents (typed transcript) ref. the recent Siege of Bhurtpoore and the end of the Burmese War. Rare. Only a few examples of this Portsmouth “3” mark are known.

PATNA/BOMBAY - COVER TO LONDON “VIA THE RED SEA” & “VIA SUIZ” WITH CIRCULAR “PAtnA/Post/PAid” MARK; 12 Oct. 1833 E (side-flaps removed) from Patna to London with a partly fine encircled “PAtnA/Post/PAid” (HG10) on the top flap with a faint red Bombay c.d.s. (16 Oct.) nearby, unusually endorsed “By the despatch from Bombay via the Red Sea as notified in the Govt. Orders” on the front and “Pr Company Cruzer via Suiz” [sic] on the flap, oddly also having a dotted London Foreign Branch “FPO” arrival c.d.s. (26 Apr.) on the flap; a slow journey.

“PER STEAMER FORBES VIA RED SEA” COVER RETURNED TO CALCUTTA DUE TO BOILER FAILURE & SENT AS “INDIA LETTER”; Fine 28 Feb. 1834 E from “J.AP. Durand” (up-country?) to London endorsed “P. Steamer Forbes via Red Sea 15 April 1834” on the front with mainly fine black boxed “CALCUTTA/G.P.O./SHIP LETTER” d.s. (13 Apr.) on the top flap, but the small river steamer suffered boiler failure near Madras on this voyage and limped back to Calcutta where the mails were sent again on the sailing ship ‘Pallamban’ which eventually reached Falmouth in early November, hence the fine black boxed “INDIA LETTER/FALMOUTH” on the top flap and the “1/4” arrival charge (4d India Letter + 1/- inland rate) with 6 Nov. London arrival backstamp. Rare cover from this ill-fated pioneer steamer voyage.

PATNA “BY THE FORBES STEAM VESSEL TO SUEZ” COVER RETURNED TO CALCUTTA DUE TO BOILER FAILURE; 7/8 Apr. 1834 E from Patna (fair encircled “PAtnA/Post/PAid” on the flap) to Kent endorsed “By the Forbes Steam Vessel direct from Calcutta to Suez” on the front with partial black boxed “CALCUTTA/G.P.O./SHIP LETTER” d.s. (13 Apr.?) on the lower flap, but the small river steamer suffered boiler failure near Madras on this voyage and limped back to Calcutta where the mails were sent again on the sailing ship ‘Pallamban’ which eventually reached Falmouth in early November, hence the mainly very fine black boxed “INDIA LETTER/FALMOUTH” on the top flap and the “1/4” arrival charge (4d India Letter + 1/- inland rate) with 6 Nov. London arrival backstamp. Rare cover from this ill-fated pioneer steamer voyage.

PERSIA/MERUT/BOMBAY - “PER HUGH LINDSAY STEAMER VIA BOMBAY” COVER - VIA PERSIAN GULF ROUTE - WITH RARE RED “INDIA/Packet Letter/PAID” IN CIRCLE; 27/29 Aug. 1836 EL (internal stains) from “Merut” to London endorsed “Per Hugh Lindsay Steamer via Bombay” with a very fine oval-framed “MERUT/Pt. Pd.” on the top flap and having a mainly fine rare red encircled Bombay “INDIA/Packet Letter/PAID” across the join on the reverse; charged “3/6”(?) with a fair 6 Feb. 1837 “LONDON” (Foreign Branch) arrival backstamp. The dates of this cover fit the Hugh Lindsay’s voyage from Bombay via the Persian Gulf to Basra, where the mails were taken part way by Col. Chesney and then returned to the more normal overland Suez route due to the failure of Chesney’s river steamer. Fine example of a letter carried via the Persian Gulf route by this small Pioneer Red Sea steamer and then sent via Egypt and the Mediterranean. Exhibition item. [The similar cover from this voyage in Cavendish’s Nov. 2004 Auction, lot 460, realised £4,370.]

MADRAS “PER STEAMER [FORBES] HUGH LINDSAY” COVER RETURNED TO CALCUTTA DUE TO BOILER FAILURE & SENT “P. PALLAMBAM”; 21 Apr. 1834 E from Madras (very fine “MADRAS/GPO/SHIP LETTER” oval d.s. - crossed through in transit - on the top flap) to London endorsed “Per Steamer Forbes” but this changed to “Hugh Lindsay” and then “P. Pallambam” because the small river steamer ‘Forbes’ suffered boiler failure near Madras on this voyage and limped back to Calcutta where the mails were sent again on the sailing ship ‘Pallambam’ (presumably because the ‘Hugh Lindsay’ - the Bombay to Suez steamer - had already left) which eventually reached Falmouth in early November, hence the very fine red boxed “INDIA LETTER/FALMOUTH” on the front and the “1/4” arrival charge (4d India Letter + 1/- inland rate) with 6 Nov. London arrival backstamp. Rare and unusual cover from this ill-fated pioneer steamer voyage.

RAJPOOTANA/BOMBAY - “PER BERENICE TO SUEZ” COVER WITH RARE RED “INDIA/Packet Letter/PAID” IN CIRCLE; 5 Aug. 1837 E (side-flaps removed) from “Nusseerabad” to Kent endorsed “Per Berenice to Suez” with a mainly fine encircled “RAJPOOTANA/Pt. Pd.” on the reverse and having a partly fine rare red encircled Bombay “INDIA/Packet Letter/PAID” on the flap; charged “2/6” with a mainly fine 4 Dec. “LONDON” (Foreign Branch) arrival backstamp. Fine example of a letter carried by this small Pioneer Red Sea steamer via Egypt and the Mediterranean. This “INDIA/Packet Letter/PAID” mark was for a while only used on Red Sea mail. Rare thus.

DUM DUM/CALCUTTA - “VIA EGYPT PER BERENICE” COVER WITH RARE RED “INDIA/Packet Letter/PAID” IN CIRCLE; 15 Nov. 1837 EL (some wear) from “Dum Dum” to London endorsed “Via Egypt Per Berenice” with a very fine red boxed “CALCUTTA/STEAM LETTER/Paid” d.s. on the top flap and having a mainly fine rare red encircled Bombay “INDIA/Packet Letter/PAID” on the front; charged “2/6” with a mainly fine 31 Jan. 1838 “LONDON” (Foreign Branch) arrival backstamp. Fine example of a letter carried by this small Pioneer Red Sea steamer via Bombay, Egypt and the Mediterranean. This “INDIA/Packet Letter/PAID” mark was for a while only used on Red Sea mail. Exhibition item.

RARE “HORATIO HARDY” SIGNED (FORWARDED FROM LONDON’s JERUSALEM COFFEE HOUSE) COVER TO INDIA; 25 Sept. 1832 E (one side-flap removed; family contents) to Calcutta [from the Jerusalem Coffee House signed by its famous proprietor in London] “Per [Ship] Andromache” with the distinctive flourished “Horatio Hardy” Forwarding Agent’s signature on the top flap; forwarded by another Agent (“Mackintosh & Co.”) from Calcutta to “Patna” with only Calcutta (11 May 1833) arrival backstamps. 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. 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 similar 1828 cover from this same correspondence in Cavendish’s Sept. 2009 auction, lot 1256, realised £805.] Exhibition Item.

RARE “HORATIO HARDY” SIGNED (FORWARDED FROM LONDON’s JERUSALEM COFFEE HOUSE) COVER TO INDIA; 15/27 Mar. 1837 EL (minor edge wear; family contents) from “Blackheath” & “Norwood” (mother’s & son’s letters on one sheet) to Calcutta [from 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; forwarded by another Agent (“Turner, Stopford & Co.”) from Calcutta to “Nusseerabad” with Calcutta (11 July) and fair oval “RAJPOOTANA” arrival backstamps. 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. 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 similar large part 1828 cover from this same correspondence in Cavendish’s Sept. 2009 auction, lot 1256, realised £805.] Exhibition Item.

THE VERY RARE “CARE OF MR. WAGHORN/COSSIER” MARK ON CALCUTTA COVER TO G.B. VIA FRANCE; Spectacular 5 Dec. 1836 EL (amusing family contents in two sheets from a British cloth merchant; minor edge wear to address panel) from “Calcutta” to Glasgow endorsed “Overland despatch via Cosseir” on the front with a mainly very fine black oval-framed Calcutta “G.P.O./Pt. Pd.” nicely placed on the lower flap, but also endorsed “Full Post Paid to Calcutta” on the top flap beside a fine “MADRAS” transit d.s. (16 Dec.); also on the front is a very fine very rare “CARE OF MR. WAGHORN/COSSIER/[Regd. No. 401 W & Co.]” cachet along with a very fine 2-ring “MARSEILLE” transit mark (22 May 1837) and the matching boxed “PAYS D’OUTREMER” with - unusual on a Waghorn cover - a mainly very fine double-oval “ROBERT GOWER & CO/* MARSEILLE *” Forwarding Agent’s cachet and the boxed London Scottish Mail Tax “½” mark. The other backstamps include a very fine “PURIFIE LAZARET/MARSEILLE” (there are four small disinfection chisel-slits through the whole letter) and London (27 May 1837) and Glasgow c.d.s.’s (charged “6/1” on delivery). Only one other cover with this Waghorn Cossier mark has been recorded (illustrated in Sidebottom and ex-Rudi Jeidl; with transit marks of the very same dates as this cover - now in an institutional collection in London); it may have only been used on letters carried on this one voyage from Calcutta. Michael’s father gave him this cover for Christmas in the 1960s, and we have no record of it having appeared on the market before; together with two c.2005 photos of the small modern Egyptian port of Al Quesier, which Michael took when he visited the place as a direct result of having this cover in his collection. The centre-piece of the Manning Collection. Highly Important Indian/Egyptian Overland Mails Exhibition Item.

ARUNDEL - THE VERY RARE BOXED “INDIA LETTER/ARUNDEL” ON SURAT COVER “Pr. [SHIP] FLORENTIA”; 21 Mar. 1825 EL (toned address panel and unnecessary hinge-mount on reverse, neither affecting the marks) from “Surat” to London “Pr [Ship] Florentia” charged “1/-” with a mainly very fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/ARUNDEL” (Rob.In.1; only 5 examples known). on the reverse (a tiny part of the frame across the join). Plus a PPC. [The similar 1825 cover - carried on the same voyage - in Cavendish’s ‘Martlet’ Collection auction, Sept. 2001, realised £920.] One of the rarest of British Maritime entry-ports. Exhibition Item.

BEAUMARIS (ISLE OF ANGLESEY) - THE VERY RARE BOXED “INDIA LETTER/BEAUMARIS” ON BOMBAY COVER “Per. [SHIP] DOROTHY”; Dec. (?) 1823 E (side-flaps removed and lower flap slightly reduced) from “[I am still stationed at] Bombay” to Herts. “Per [Ship] Dorothy” charged “1/4” with a fine to very fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/BEAUMARIS” (Rob.In.1; only 2 examples known) on the reverse (small part overlapped by red 12 Apr. 1824 London backstamp). [Robertson did not originally record, but in 1962 he noted an 1829 cover, which was in Cavendish’s Feb. 1990 ‘Cymru Collection’ auction; this is the second known example.] One of the rarest of British India Letter mars. [There was no example in the Peter Stone Collection.] Important Maritime Item.

BRIGHTON - QUILON/DINAPORE “POST PAID” COVERS WITH BOXED “INDIA LETTER/BRIGHTON” MARKS; 22/23 Aug. 1824 EL (part flap lost with seal) from “Quilon” to London “Via Madras” with a very fine scarce blue framed “QUILON/POST PAID” nicely placed on the front (HG1; only known in blue for 1825 and in red only in 1824 - filing crease) and (on flap) a large part v. fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/BRIGHTON” (Rob.In.1); plus similar 24 Dec. 1824 E to London with very fine double-oval “DINAPORE/POST PAID” (HG2) slightly overlapped by a similarly very fine boxed In.1 “INDIA LETTER/BRIGHTON” on the flap. Good pair. (2 covers)

BRIXHAM - STEP-TYPE “BRIXHAM/SHIP LETTER” ON COVER REPLACED BY BOXED “INDIA LETTER/BRIXHAM”; July(?) 1831 E (part interesting contents ref. secret marriage plans and risking instant dismissal by going to GB for a year while pretending to be in Persia!) from India (the Sarah sailed from Bombay and lost her Captain en route when he boarded a drifting US wreck - of the ‘Columbine’ - which sank while he was on board her!) to Edinburgh “P [Ship] Sarah” charged “2/8” with mainly very fine strikes of both the framed step-type “BRIXHAM/SHIP LETTER” (Rob.S4; scarce and 6 years earlier than recorded in black) and scarce boxed “INDIA LETTER/BRIXHAM” (Rob.In.1; previously only known for 1828 in black - struck across seal tear) on the reverse with London (6 Feb. 1832) and Haddington backstamps. Rare example of mail mistakenly treated as a Ship Letter and then immediately re-classified at the cheaper India Letter rate. Unique combination?

BRIXHAM & DARTMOUTH - DEHLI/MASULIPATAM COVERS WITH BOXED “INDIA LETTER” TYPES IN RED OR BLACK; 29 Feb. 1836 E (side-flaps removed) from “DEHLI” (red oval “PtPd” mark) to London with fine red (scarce colour) boxed “INDIA LETTER/BRIXHAM.” (Rob. In.1) partly struck over a avery fine boxed black “CALCUTTA/SHIP LETTER” transit d.s.; plus 30 Aug. 1825 EL from “Masulipatam” (filing note) to Scotland “Per [Ship] Atlas” with a mainly very fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/DARTMOUTH” (Rob.In.1; earliest known usage?) partly over the filing notes and slightly overlapping the oval “MADRAS/SHIP LETTER” d.s. Plus small c.1830 print of Dartmouth harbour. (3 items)

CHICHESTER - THE ONLY KNOWN MARITIME COVER - UNIQUE STEP-TYPE “CHICHESTER/SHIP LETTER” WITH LONDON BOXED “INDIA” MARK; Remarkable and fine 31 Dec. 1820 EL (partly printed Bill of Exchange) from “Fort William” to London with mainly fine 3-ring “CALCUTTA/GENERAL POST OFFICE” d.s. (3 Feb.) nicely placed on the front alongside a mainly very fine very rare boxed step-type “CHICHESTER/SHIP LETTER” (Rob.S1; the only recorded Ship or India Letter of this port - this is the cover illustrated in Robertson, page E44/A), but also having a very fine boxed London “INDIA” mark (Rob.In.8; perviously thought to be an Indian marking, but clearly struck in London), charged “1/-” (4d India Letter + 8d inland rate). This remains the only known cover with a Chichester Ship Letter mark (and no India Letters are known)! Highly Important Indian Exhibition Item.

CORK - UNIQUE(?) SOLDIER’s CONCESSION RATE COVER WITH THE RARE RED 1st-TYPE BOXED “INDIA LETTER/CORK”; 2 Nov. 1835 EL (full typed transcript; worn central fold and some reinforced edges, etc.) headed & countersigned for the Concession Rate for a Drummer of the 38th Regiment at “Kurnal” to Reading with a mainly fine strike of the rare smaller 1st-Type boxed red “INDIA LETTER/CORK” on the front beside a wrongly charged “1/9” letter rate and the corrected “3[d]” Soldier’s Concession Rate. Rare; we cannot recall having seen this red India letter mark before (though there was an 1835 example dumped in a mixed lot in the Peter Stone auction in 2010). The letter did not transit London hence there is only the Manuscript “3” rate.

DEAL - ALL-DIFFERENT BOXED “INDIA LETTER/DEAL” MARKS INC. ONE WITH SCARCE RED LONDON H.S. “A” MARK; 1821/27/29 trio of Es (the 1827 E damaged & stained but not affecting the India Letter mark) from India to London (two being much redirected) with mainly fine to very fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/DEAL” marks (Rob. In.2, In.3 or In.1 respectively); 1821?ex Meerut or Madras, 1827 with mainly fine 2-ring “BENARES/PST PAID” (HG3), and 1829 with mainly fine bright red encircled “Poonah/Post PAid” d.s. but also much travelled and endorsed “Redirected at Wigtown” and with fine rare London red h.s. “A” (Jay L190;?Allowed without local London rate?). (3 covers)

EXMOUTH - UNIQUE COMBINATION - BLUE FRAMED “EXMOUTH/SHIP LETTER” WITH BOXED LONDON “INDIA” & MISSENT; Striking 28 Oct. 1824 EL (mainly printed contents) to “South Wales” endorsed “Pr [Ship] Mellish” and (eventually) charged “2/2” with a mainly very fine Blue (rare colour) boxed step-type “EXMOUTH/SHIP LETTER” (Rob.S1; only known in this colour for 1825) on the top flap beside a mainly very fine rare London boxed “INDIA” (Rob.In.8), but also having a mainly very fine boxed “MISSENT TO/LONDON” across the join on the reverse;. This must be a Unique Combination of very scarce to rare markings! Fine Exhibition Item.

EXMOUTH - PAIR OF RARE BOXED “INDIA LETTER/EXMOUTH” COVERS EX QUILON/BOMBAY; 5 June 1824 E (stained corner) to London “via Bombay” charged “2/-” with a faint blue framed “QUILON/POST PAID” on the front along with a mainly very fine rare boxed “INDIA LETTER/EXMOUTH” (Rob.In.1; only known 1824- 31 - just affected by stain); plus v. fine 22 Mar. 1831 EL from “Surat” to London “P. [Ship] Cumbrian” with a mainly fine light red double-oval “SHIP/B.G.P.O./POSTAGE PAID” (Bombay; HG SD4 - “Very Scarce”) on the front (affected by filing note) with a mainly very fine rare boxed “INDIA LETTER/EXMOUTH” (slightly overstruck by red London arrival c.d.s.) on the top flap. Rare pair. This India Letter mark is seldom seen. [The single 1824 cover in Cavendish’s Mar. 2013 ‘Peter Burden’ auction, lot 1106, realised £368.] (2 covers)

FALMOUTH - BOXED INDIA LETTER MARKS IN BLACK (WITH “MISSENT TO/LONDON”) OR IN RED; Nov. 1828/July 1829 pair of ELs from Merut/Calcutta to Devon/Scotland (latter redirected with “FORT GEORGE” & stained address side) with fair black or v. fine black or red boxed “INDIA LETTER/FALMOUTH” on the flap (Rob. In.1; latter partly affected by seal); the first with v. fine oval-framed “MERUT/Pt. Pd.” nicely placed on the top flap and with a mainly very fine boxed “MISSENT TO/LONDON” nicely placed on the front.

FOWEY - RARE BOXED “INDIA LETTER/FOWEY” ON BERHAMPORE COVER “PER [SHIP] ALBERTON”; 29 Aug. 1832 EL from “Berhampore” to Surrey endorsed “Per [Ship] Alberton” with a fine oval “MADRAS/SHIP LETTER” transit d.s. (29 Sept.) on the top flap beside a mainly fine rare boxed “INDIA LETTER/FOWEY” (Rob.In.1; “Very Scarce” - only known 1830-33) partly overstruck by the red London backstamp. [The similarly overstruck example in the 2010 ‘Peter Stone’ Collection auction realised £860; the unrecorded red 1839 example in Cavendish’s Sept. 2002 ‘John Gunn’ auction, lot 24, realised £690.] Rare India Letter port.

GREENOCK - TRIO OF “INDIA LETTER/GREENOCK” (2) OR GREENOCK/INDIA SHIP LR” COVERS EX BOMBAY/SECUNDERABAD; 14 Sept. 1827 E (side-flaps removed) & 7 July 1835 EL (2 sheets) both from “Bombay” to Doune/Greenock with mainly fine to very fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/GREENOCK” marks (Rob. In.2; 1822-36 only) both nicely placed on the front; the first charged “1/10½” (4d India Letter + double 9d inland rate) or a mere “4[d]” (being under 3 ounces but landed at port of addressee) respectively. Plus 27 Nov. 1834 E (side-flaps removed; address scribbled out) to London with mainly fine boxed “GREENOCK.INDIA SHIP LR” (Rob. In.1) on the front and v. fine claret-purple double-oval “SECUNDERABAD/POST PAID” (HG1; “Scarce”) on the flap. (3 covers)

HASTINGS - BOXED INDIA LETTER ON POONAMULLEE COVER WITH “POSTAGE NOT PAID/TO LONDON” & “BEAULY/PENNY POST”; Remarkable 25 July 1834 E from Poonamullee” to London (redirected to Scotland) with a mainly very fine red boxed “POONAMULLEE/POST PAID” (HG1; short-lived scarce mark) on the lower flap, but also having Madras transit marks and an overstruck boxed “INDIA LETTER/HASTINGS” alongside, while - on the front - there are also partly very fine “BEAULY/PENNY POST” and mainly very fine boxed “POSTAGE NOT PAID/TO LONDON” marks. The final charge was “4/4” (4d India Letter plus double 2s-0d inland rates for the two journeys). Spectacular.

SCILLY ISLANDS/HAYLE - UNIQUE(?) MANUSCRIPT “Ship Letter” BESIDE UDC WITH LONDON BOXED “INDIA” AS WELL; 30 Jan. 1830 EL (overall light toning; modern wax seal removed) from “Madras” to London “Per [Ship] Mary Ann” with a faint 2 Feb. oval “MADRAS/SHIP LETTER” d.s. on the top flap, charged “1/4” on arrival (4d India Letter + 1/- inland postage) with a very fine “HAYLE” Undated Circular Namestamp on the front clearly endorsed “Ship Letter”, but also having a very fine London boxed “INDIA” (Rob. In.8) nicely placed on the top flap with red 28 June arrival c.d.s. Only four covers are recorded from this voyage; all were landed by the ‘Fly’ Scilly Islands pilot boat at St. Marys (Scilly Is.) before being taken on to Hayle (the Indian mail bag) or St. Ives (the C.G.H. mail bag); all four covers have differing postal marks. The one C.G.H. cover was landed at St. Ives (see the C.G.H. section of this catalogue), while the other two covers ex India have the same markings as this cover but without the “INDIA” mark (Lot 24 in the 1989 Tom Roberts Manuscript Marks auction) or - see next lot - with the UDC alone. Fascinating story. [See 25 June 1830 ‘West Briton’ newspaper for full details.] This is the cover illustrated in Robertson, p.E114/A. A Unique Scilly Isles India Letter!

SCILLY ISLANDS/HAYLE - UNIQUE(?) “HAYLE” UDC COVER CHARGED AS INDIA LETTER WITH “MADRAS” D.S.; 19 Jan. 1830 EL (edge wear and some slight staining, well clear of UDC) from “Madras” to Scotland “Per [Ship] Mary Man [error for Ann]” with a fine 5 Feb. oval “MADRAS/SHIP LETTER” d.s. on the top flap, charged “4/1½” on arrival (4d India Letter + triple 1s-3d inland postage) with a very fine “HAYLE” Undated Circular Namestamp also on the top flap slightly overlapped by red 27 June Edinburgh transit c.d.s. Only four covers are recorded from this voyage; all were landed by the ‘Fly’ Scilly Islands pilot boat at St. Marys (Scilly Is.) before being taken on to Hayle (the Indian mail bag) or St. Ives (the C.G.H. mail bag); all four covers have differing postal marks. The one C.G.H. cover was landed at St. Ives (see the C.G.H. section of this catalogue), while the other two covers ex India have the UDC endorsed “Ship Letter” (see previous lot + lot 24 in the 1989 Tom Roberts Manuscript Marks auction). Fascinating story. [See 25 June 1830 ‘West Briton’ newspaper for full details.] A Unique Scilly Isles India Letter!

HOLYHEAD - RARE BLACK BOXED “INDIA LETTER/HOLYHEAD” MARK ON COVER “PER CHARTERED SHIP LAYTON”; Unusual 16 Sept. 1822 E (toned file fold across address but well clear of postal marks) to London with a remarkably fine rare boxed “INDIA LETTER/HOLYHEAD” (Rob. In.1; only known in this colour in 1822/3) nicely placed on the front with London backstamp (6 Jan. 1828) across the join. [Similar to the 1822/3 cover in Cavendish’s July 2004 auction, lot 621; realised £720.] Rare port of entry for Indian mails and one of only a handful of this mark recorded in black.

HOLYHEAD - RED BOXED “INDIA LETTER/HOLYHEAD” MARK ON SAUGOR COVER TO LONDON; Fine 24/26 Sept. 1824 EL to London with a fine red boxed “INDIA LETTER/HOLYHEAD” (Rob. In.1) on the lower flap just overlapped by a corner of the Calcutta transit d.s. with a fair encircled “SAUGOR/Pt./ Pd.” on the top flap. Very elusive mark; this is the cover illustrated in Robertson, p.E.120/B. Rare port of entry for Indian mails.

KINGSBRIDGE - SCARCE PAIR OF DIFFERENT BOXED INDIA LETTER MARKS INC. ONE IN RED; 1 Jan. 1824 EL (typed transcript) from “Calcutta” to London (redirected to Scotland) “P [Ship] Abberton” with mainly very fine black Rob. In.3 mark (very early usage) nicely placed on the front (overlapped by Calcutta c.d.s.); plus 12 Feb. 1835 E from Calcutta (boxed “SHIP LETTER” d.s. on flap) to Scotland “P [Ship] Duke of Northumberland” with very fine rare RED Rob. In.1 type (rare in this colour) nicely placed on the front (but part overstruck by a messy London Scottish Mail Tax boxed “½” mark. Good pair. (2 covers)

KINGSBRIDGE/SAHARUNPORE - INDIA LETTER WITH 2-RING “SAHARUNPORE/POST OFFICE/Pt Pd”, PENNY POST, MISSENT, ETC.; 25 Aug. 1831 EL from “Saharunpore” to Devon with a very fine rare 2-ring “SAHARUNPORE/Pt. Pd./POST OFFICE” (HG1; “Scarce” - only known 1828-31) on the bottom flap, but also (on the top flap) having a Calcutta Ship Letter d.s., mainly v. fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/KINGSBRIDGE” (Rob. In.3) and a fine boxed “Launceston/Penny Post” (closed seal tear); also on the front, due to redirections from Lew Trenchard to Okehampton to Teignmouth is a very fine “OKEHAMPTON” UDC endorsed in red “Mifsent to” in the centre. Unusual combination of marks.

LEWES/BERHAMPORE - SCARCE RED “INDIA LETTER/LEWES” WITH OVAL “BERHAMPORE/Post Paid” MARK; Fine 5 Oct. 1836 EL from “Berhampore” to London with mainly fine oval-framed “BERHAMPORE/Post Paid” (HG3) on the top flap beside the Calcutta “SHIP LETTER” transit d.s. and a mainly fine rare red boxed “INDIA LETTER/LEWES” (Rob. In.1) which is slightly overstruck by the London arrival c.d.s. (11 May) This Lewes India Letter mark is usually seen on covers with the UDC of Seaford or Newhaven; in this case it seems that the East Indiaman off-loaded its pilot at Lewes itself. One of the scarcest of India Letter marks and seldom seen.

LIVERPOOL/KEDGEREE - INDIA LETTER REPLACING SHIP LETTER + KEDGEREE P.O. COVER “MISSENT/TO/GLASGOW”; 6 May EL from “Saugor” to Edinburgh “Per Perseverance” with a mainly very fine double-oval “KEDGREE/+POST OFFICE+” (sic; HG2, 15 June) on the top flap beside a fine boxed “LIVERPOOL/INDIA SHIP LR” (partly across filing notes) also with a very fine boxed “MISSENT/TO/GLASGOW” on the front; plus fine 30 Oct. 1832 E from “Bombay” to London “Per [Ship] Dorothy” with a large part framed step-type “LIVERPOOL/SHIP LETTER” (Rob. S9) cancelled by a very fine boxed “LIVERPOOL/INDIA SHIP LR.” (Rob. In.1; slightly across join) - attractive example of the erroneous use of a Ship Letter mark duly corrected. (2 covers)

LONDON - 1st-TYPE BOXED “INDIA LETTER/LONDON” MARKS ON MAIL TO G.B. (ONE REDIRECTED TO FRANCE); Oct.(?) 1828 E (side-flaps removed) from Bombay to Scotland “P [Ship] Thorne” with a mainly very fine In.4 on the top flap beside a very fine oval-framed “FORWARDED BY/FORBES & CO./BOMBAY” FAC (part overstruck by London arrival c.d.s.), 1822 E (minor toning) with v. fine oval-framed “Post Paid/Bangalore” (HG2; late usage) nicely placed on the front beside a very fine London In.4 and a faint red “Postage to London/Not Paid”, and unusual 6 Sept. 1824 EL (minor wear) from “Bombay” to London with mainly v. fine London In.4 on top flap, redirected to Italy with “ANGLETERRE” + “CHAMBERY”. (3 covers)

LYMINGTON - NAGPORE/RAJPOOTANA - PAIR OF COVERS CARRIED ON THE SAME VOYAGE; 6/16 Apr. 1837 pair of Es (first with faults; latter with amusing part contents - typed transcript) ex “Nusseerabad”/”Nagpore Residency Post Office” to London/Scotland each with mainly v. fine orange-red boxed “INDIA LETTER/LYMINGTON” marks (Rob. In.1 - scarce colour) on the reverse (part overstruck or across join) with fair encircled “RAJPOOTANA/Pt Pd” (HG3) or mainly fine small red circular “NAGPORE/POST/PAID” (HG2; “Scarce”) alongside. Both arrived on the same ship with 9 Sept. London backstamps. Good pair. (2 covers)

MARGATE - HYDERABAD/CALCUTTA - PAIR OF DIFFERENT BOXED “INDIA LETTER/MARGATE” TYPES; Fine 20 Jan. 1824 EL (in French; love letter?) from “Hydrabad” to London “via Madras” (part transit d.s. of 27 Jan.) with a mainly very fine inky black boxed “HYDERABAD/POST PAID” (HG3) nicely placed on the top flap, also having a very fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/MARGATE” (Rob. In.1) nicely placed on the front; plus fine 1 Aug. 1825 EL from Calcutta to London “P [Ship] Palmyra” with 2-ring Calcutta c.d.s. on the front and a mainly very fine smaller boxed “INDIA LETTER/MARGATE” (Rob. In.2; scarce) on the top flap. Very good pair. (2 covers)

MILFORD HAVEN/SECUNDERABAD - RARE BOXED “INDIA LETTER/MILFORD” WITH “MISSENT TO/LONDON”; 19 Aug. 1826 E (minor toning) with unusual all-manuscript P.O. “Secunderabad 19 August 1826” on the top flap matching the “A 12 to Madras” on the front - dated just before the first recorded Handstruck mark for this P.O. and so apparently an Unrecorded postal mark - to Ireland “via Madras” with oval Madras transit marks across the join but also with a mainly very fine rare boxed “INDIA LETTER/MILFORD” (part overstruck by light red Dublin transit d.s.; neatly closed seal-tear) on the top flap beside a mainly very fine boxed “MISSENT TO/LONDON” (which is odd as the letter is addressed to Cork!), hence with complex postal rates on the front. Unusual combination of scarce/rare postal markings.

PENZANCE - THE UNIQUE(?) MANUSCRIPT “India”-ENDORSED STEP-TYPE “PENZANCE/SHIP LETTER” COVER; c.30 Nov. 1821 E (two reinforced folds) from “On River between Barhampore & Baglipoor” to Exeter endorsed “P [Ship] Boyne” in red above the address and carried by that ship that left Calcutta on 1 Dec. 1821 and reached Falmouth on 13 Apr. 1822; the mails were clearly landed from the pilot boat at Penzance and there is a mainly fine, framed step-type “PENZANCE/SHIP LETTER” (Rob. S3) on the top flap most exceptionally endorsed “India” before “SHIP” in the same manuscript ink as the “2/2” postal rate on the front. Penzance had no “India Letter” mark before 1823, so this Provisional manuscript usage must have been very rarely used (perhaps only for mail addressed to the west of London such as this?). The only recorded example of this Unique style of Penzance “India SHIP LETTER” mark. [Ex Alan Robertson.] Important Exhibition Item.

PENZANCE - SAUGOR/CALCUTTA - PAIR OF DOUBLE-BOXED INDIA LETTER MARKS IN RED OR BLACK; 31 Oct. 1832 EL from “Calcutta” to Edinburgh “Per [SHip] General Palmer” with a very fine orange-red double-framed “INDIA LETTER/PENZANCE” (Rob/ In.1; rare colour) across the join on the reverse; plus 4 Nov. 1830 EL from “Saugor, Bengal” to Cirencester with a mainly fine scarce small encircled “POST/SAUGOR/OFFICE” (HG1; seldom seen) on the flap beside a mainly fine double-framed In.1 in black, also having a very fine boxed “Cirencester/Penny Post” on the front. Good pair. [The 1832 red strike ex Alan Robertson - £50 in 1972 - and ex Hammond Giles himself.] (2 covers)

PLYMOUTH - HURRYHUR/BELLARY - DIFFERENT INDIA LETTER MARKS IN BLACK OR RED; 8 June 1829 EL (not posted until 13 Aug.) from “Hurryhur” to London (redirected fully prepaid to Switzerland) with a really superb claret-purple “HURRYHUR/POST PAID” (HG1; “Scarce” - 1829-31 only) nicely placed on the top flap along with a mainly fine boxed black “INDIA LETTER/PLYMOUTH” (Rob. In.1), two oval Madras transit d.s.’s and backstamps of London and (faint” “GENEVE”; spectaular Exhibition Item. Plus long 28 Nov. - 4 Dec. 1837 E from Bellary to London with a mainly very fine red boxed “BELLARY/Paid” mark (HG6; early usage) on the top flap beside Madras oval transit “SHIP LETTER” d.s. and a very fine scarce red boxed “INDIA LETTER/PLYMOUTH” (Rob. In.3; scarce in red). Good pair. (2 covers)

POOLE/BANGALORE - RED BOXED “INDIA LETTER/POOLE” COVER WITH FRAMED “BANGALORE/POST PAID”; 21 Oct. 1837 long E (side-flaps removed) from “Bangalore” to Plymouth “via Madras” with a faint boxed “BANGALORE/POST PAID” on the flap overstruck by two red boxed “INDIA LETTER/POOLE” marks (Rob.In.1; very scarce and probably applied in London) - one fine but part over the edge, the other very fine (across join). Carried on the same voyage - by the ‘Minerva’ - as the next lot. This red India Letter is seldom seen. [Ex Harold Wilson, Cavendish Aug. 2002, lot 4620; realised £253.]

POOLE/MADRAS - RED BOXED “INDIA LETTER/POOLE” COVER BY SHIP “MINERVA” TO G.B.; 29 Sept. 1837 EL (typed transcript) from “Madras” to London “p. Minerva” with a mainly very fine red boxed “INDIA LETTER/POOLE” marks (Rob.In.1; very scarce and probably applied in London) with a small part over the edge. Carried on the same voyage as the previous lot. This red India Letter is seldom seen.

PORT GLASGOW - BOXED INDIA LETTER MARK ON POONA COVER TO EDINBURGH; 8 Sept. 1830 E (some edge wear) from?Poona (mentioned in PS) to Edinburgh “Per [Ship] Fortune” charged “1/9½” with a very fine boxed 61.“INDIA LETTER/PORT GLASGOW” (Rob. In.1) nicely placed on the front.

PORTSMOUTH/GORUCKPOOR - THE INDIA LETTER MARKS INC. RED & SCARCE DOUBLE-BOXED TYPES; 1821/22 pair of Es from Mysore/Madras to London/Scotland (per “H.M.S Alligator” or ship “Glasgow”) with very fine oval Madras “SHIP LETTER” d.s.’s nicely placed on the front beside mainly fine red boxed “INDIA LETTER/PORTSMOUTH” marks (Rob. In.2) one also with v. fine red unframed curved-top “POSTAGE/TO/EDINBURGH/NOT PAID” on the front; plus 1828/32 pair of Es to London from Goruckpoor /Madras (latter “P H.M.S. Cruizer”) with the scarce double-framed “INDIA LETTER/PORTSMOUTH” (Rob. In.4) in black or red respectively - the latter toned and with closed tear & the former slightly overlapping a mainly fine 2-ring “GORUCKPOOR/POST OFFICE” mark (HG1). Good group. (4 covers)

[NEW] ROMNEY - SHIP LETTER MARK CANCELLED BY RED LONDON “CRUTCHED CROSS” MARK ON INDIA LETTER, ETC.; 10 Aug. 1835 EL (not posted in Calcutta until 20 June 1836!) from “Fort William” to Edinburgh “P. [Ship] Hector” with a very fine black boxed step-type “ROMNEY/SHIP LETTER” (Rob. S3) nicely placed on the front but overstruck (slightly) by a mainly fine rare orange-red London “Crutched Cross” Ship Letter Office Inspector’s Mark, matching the mainly fine (but overstruck) boxed “INDIA LETTER/ROMNEY” (Rob. In.1; closed tear) on the top flap. Some half dozen covers treated like this - all from the same voyage of the Hector arriving at Romney in Dec. 1836) are known. [A similar cover but from C.G.H., realised £805 in Cavendish’s Apr. 2006 auction, lot 791.] Very rare. Plus similar 30 June 1841 EL from “Fort William” (posted from Calcutta on 19 Aug.) “Per [Ship] Hotspur” to London (redirected to Edinburgh and so charged “9” - the standard 8d rate plus an extra redirection 1d) with a partly very fine black boxed “NEW ROMNEY/INDIA LETTER” (Rob. In.3) on the top flap. Good pair with the two different names for this P.O. (2 covers)

RYDE - RARE BOXED “INDIA LETTER/ISLE of WIGHT” ON COVER ADDRESSED TO FRANCE VIA LONDON; Unusual and fine 28 Apr. 1825 EL (typed transcript) from “Calcutta” addressed to “...Bordeaux, c/o Messrs. Rickards, Mackintosh & Co., London” because mail from India could not be sent to France directly at this date; endorsed “Per [Ship] Adrian” with a Calcutta c.d.s. on the front, but also having a mainly fine rare boxed Ryde “INDIA LETTER/ISLE of WIGHT” (Rob. In.1; only one example, dated 1830, recorded? - but we have recorded one of 1820 as well as this 1825 cover - certainly rare) on the top flap (light fold and part overstruck by a London Foreign Branch transit c.d.s.), redirected to France with part red “ANGLETERRE” and extra 1s-2d prepayment. Doubly rare item.

SHEERNESS - THE UNIQUE BOXED “INDIA LETTER/SHEERNESS” ON COVER EX DUM DUM TO THE ORKNEY ISLANDS; 22 May 1833 EL (long cross-written family letter) from “Dum Dum” to Stromness (Orkney Isles) “P [Ship] Bengal” with a boxed CALCUTTA/SHIP LETTER” transit d.s. (15 July) across the join, but also having a mainly fine red boxed “INDIA LETTER/SHEERNESS” (Rob. In.1; the sole example recorded and noted as being in his own collection on p.E.270) on the top flap, partly overlapped by the London transit c.d.s. (7 Nov.); the final postal charge of “1/11” (with a faint Scottish Mail Tax “½” mark) is 4d India Letter plus one of the highest recorded inland single letter prestamp G.B. rates of 1s-7d (46 miles to London plus 818 miles on from there, but charged at the 900-1,000 miles rate!). It appears that this may have been the only occasion when an East Indiaman’s mails were off-loaded at Sheerness, as no other Sheerness India Letter covers have been recorded. [With a small hand-coloured c.1830 print of Sheerness harbour.] Important British/Indian Maritime Exhibition Item.

SIDMOUTH - THE VERY RARE MANUSCRIPT “India Ship Letter”-ENDORSED MILEAGE MARK COVER EX MYSORE/HYDERABAD; 16 Dec. (?; internal pencil note) 1823 E (minimal edge wear) from “Residency Mysore” (internal pencil note) and/or “Hydrabad” (ink filing note) to Maidenhead endorsed “Per [Ship] Woodford 10 January 1824” above the address with a very fine oval Madras “SHIP LETTER” transit d.s. (9 Jan. 1824) on the top flap; the mails were clearly landed from the pilot boat at Sidmouth and there is a mainly fine “SIDMOUTH/168” mileage mark on the top flap most exceptionally endorsed “India Ship Letter” in the same manuscript ink as the “2/2” postal rate on the front. Sidmouth never had an India Letter mark and its very rare Ship Letter is only recorded for 1839- 46, so this Provisional manuscript usage must have been very rarely used. The only recorded example of this Unique style of Sidmouth India Letter marking. [Unrecorded by Robertson but Tabeart, in his 2012 Supplement illustrates one other ‘Woodford’ cover with similar markings to this lot and of the same date, but addressed to London with the mileage mark partly overstruck by the London c.d.s.] Important Exhibition Item.

SOUTHAMPTON/GHAZEEPORE - BOXED INDIA LETTER & RARE 2-RING “FULL POST Pd” MARKS, ETC.; Fine 7 Nov. 1824 EL (long family letter; full typed transcript) from “Ghazipore” to London with a mostly fine large rare distinctive 2-ring “GHAZEEPORE FULL POST Pd” (HG2; “Scarce” - believed to be only one other example recorded!) on the top flap alongside a very fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/SOUTHAMPTON” (Rob. In.1); plus 5 Jan. 1822 EL (typed transcript) from “Nuseerabad” to London “Per Ship Fairlie” with a Calcutta c.d.s. (25 Jan.) and a very fine boxed “INDIA LETTER/SOUTHAMPTON” (Rob. In.1) both nicely placed on the front. Good pair; the Ghazeepore mark is an Important Indian Prestamp Exhibition Item. (2 covers)

SWANAGE/NAGPORE - RARE RED INDIA LETTER ON COVER WITH CIRCULAR “NAGPORE/POST/PAID”; Fine 12 July 1837 E (part letter; typed transcript) from “Nagpore Residency Post Office” to Scotland routed “via Bombay” with a faint red circular “NAGPORE/POST/PAID” (HG2; “Scarce”) on the flap beside a mainly very fine rare orange-red boxed “INDIA LETTER/SWANAGE” (Rob. In.1; scarce) - probably struck in London in this colour. Scarce port of entry for Indian mails.

TEIGNMOUTH - ONE OF ONLY FOUR KNOWN “INDIA LETTER/TEIGNMOUTH” MARKS ON COVER TO G.B.; 24 Feb. 1838 E (side-flaps removed; with mention of plague ending in the East - “...they have given over fumigating the letters &c”) from? (8 days from Calcutta) to Aberdeen with a very fine rare orange-red boxed “INDIA LETTER/TEIGNMOUTH” on the top flap, slightly overlapping the mainly fine red boxed Calcutta “SHIP LETTER” transit d.s. (4 Mar.). Tabeart only records two Teignmouth India Letter covers (ex Stone and Peter Burden Collections - latter realised £408 in Mar. 2013); all four (incl. this and the next lot) have London transit c.d.s.’s of the same day (11 Aug.) so it seems that only one East Indiaman ever dropped off her mail at this small Devon port.

TEIGNMOUTH - UNIQUE COVER WITH SHIP LETTER OVERSTRUCK BY “INDIA LETTER/TEIGNMOUTH”; 1 Mar. 1838 E from “Calcutta” to London “Per [Ship] Zenobia” with a partly very fine rare orange-red boxed “INDIA LETTER/TEIGNMOUTH” (Rob. In.1) on the lower flap over a filing note and replacing the overlapping black downward step-type framed “SHIP LETTER/TEIGNMOUTH” (Rob. S3; few known and previously only for 1840). Tabeart only records two Teignmouth India Letter covers (ex Stone and Peter Burden Collections - latter realised £408 in Cavendish in Mar. 2013); all four (incl. this and the previous lot) have London transit c.d.s.’s of the same day (11 Aug.), so it seems that only one East Indiaman - the ‘Zenobia’ - ever dropped off her mail at this small Devon port. Unique combination of rare marks.

WEYMOUTH - ALL-DIFFERENT INDIA LETTER MARKS (THE 3 TYPES + ONE IN RED) ON COVERS TO G.B.; 1830-39 covers (4) from Calcutta (3) or Madras to London/Chippenham by different named ships; very fine 1839 black boxed In.1, mainly fine 1830 black boxed In.2, and 1838/39 pair with partly fine red framed/unframed In.1 or rare In.3 (latter with “Chippenham/Penny Post” etc.). Good set. (4 covers)

IRELAND TO MADRAS - EXCEPTIONALLY EARLY PREPAID MAIL WITH ARRIVAL D.S. & “Post not Paid” MARKS; 4 Aug. 1791 EL (long interesting contents ref. Indian despatches about to go from “India House”, Tippoo, the Indian Campaigns, lack of Revolution in England, etc.; minor dusting) from “Dublin Barracks” prepaid 7d to an Officer of the “76th Regiment, Madras, India” with fair Dublin “AU/4” Bishop Mark on the flap and matching brown Dublin “POST/PAID/D” in circle on the front with London 3-ring “PAID” transit c.d.s. alongside; also having a mainly fine early usage of the Madras oval-framed “Post not Paid” (HG3) with matching “1 May” [1792] d.s. nicely placed on the lower flap and endorsed “from Europe 3 f[anam]s” with the endorsement “Camp” on the front. The earliest ingoing cover to India in the Manning Collection. Rare ingoing Campaign cover with very early Madras markings.

CALCUTTA - EARLY DOUBLE-OVAL “G.P.O./JUNE/Bg. Pg.” ON EASTBOURNE COVER TO MADRAS/TRICHINOPOLY; Fine 28 Sept. 1795 EL (two sheets with long letter in French) from “East Bourne, Sussex” to Ensign De Havilland at Madras c/o “Messrs. Perchard, Booth & Le Mesurier, London” and so initially charged “8[d]” (double inland 4d rate), but then forwarded to “Trichinopoly” with Agents’ endorsement on the flap; “London 29th Sept. 1795 Forwd. by Y H Sts Perchard, Booth & Le Mesurier”. So also having a very fine double-oval framed Calcutta “G.P.O./JUNE/Bg. Pg.” (HG11; rare so early) on the side-flap with a second partial strike (but with wording reversed with “Bg. Pg. at top and “G.P.O.” at foot?) struck legibly across the red wax seal and endorsed “With Calcutta Pal...[?] 1fs/25fs”(?) alongside. Rare and attractive early ingoing cover.

GUERNSEY/MADRAS - EARLY COVER WITH MADRAS MANUSCRIPT “Ship Letter” MARKING, ETC.; 9 Jan. 1798 EL (minor toning) from “Guernsey” to Ensign De Havilland at “Madras, India” but presumably sent via London Forwarding Agent being endorsed to “Trichinopoly” and “P [Ship] Stavanger” on the front; on arrival in India (Madras presumably) the letter was endorsed “Ship Letter” on the front (rare thus) and on the flap “from Europe P[ostage] N[ot] P[aid] 3 f[anam]s”. Handstruck Ship Letter marks were not the norm at Madras until 1815, and only a sole tiny 1795 “SHIP” is known, so this Manuscript type fits in well.

MADRAS/CALCUTTA - NAPOLEONIC PERIOD COVER WITH BOTH MADRAS “Post not Paid” & CALCUTTA OVAL D.S.; 4 Jan. 1802 EL from London (part c.d.s. but no postal charge or prepayment) to Doctor Dinwiddie (the scientist James Dinwiddie, 1746-1815; see D.N.B.) in Calcutta but having a mainly fine oval-framed Madras “Post not Paid” with separate “18 Jun” (HG3) on the lower flap and also having a very fine double-oval Calcutta “G.P.O./JULY [3]/Bg. Pg.[1 8]” (1 rupee & 8 annas). Written in the third person on behalf of the blind General [Robert] Melville (1723- 1809; with copy of D.N.B. article); an amusing letter of reminiscence referring to his West Indies Governorships, etc. Exhibition Item.

BOMBAY - CIRCULAR OR OVAL FRAMED “B BAY NOT PAID” TYPES ON UNPAID/PREPAID PAIR EX SOMERSET; 9 Aug. 1804 EL from “Deer Park” (near Taunton) and 25 Feb. 1810 EL prepaid from Bagborough (with fair Taunton mileage mark) to the same Lieut./Capt. Shuldham in Bombay; the first (interesting contents ref. the French stirring up trouble in Ireland) without postal marks except for a mainly very fine encircled “B.BAY/P. NOT/PAID” (HG3; “Scarce” - 1806 only) on the top flap and redirected to Gujarat. The other prepaid 9d (“Pd 9”) with London transit “PAID” d.s. also redirected (to “Poonah”with mainly v. fine long oval-framed “BBAY SHIP PGE NOT PAID” (HG SD1; “Scarce”) and “BBAY POST NOT PAID” (HG5; earlier than recorded) on different flaps. Fine pair. (2 covers)

SCOTLAND/LONDON - SHIP LETTERS TO CALCUTTA/MADRAS INC. EARLY “INDIA SHIP LETTER/LONDON” C.D.S.; 1806/11 pair of ELs from Scotland (Edinr./Burnfoot) prepaid/unpaid to Calcutta/Madras -first with London “PAID” marks and v. fine large red “SHIP LETTER/B Ptge/[2 ANS]/CALCUTTA” d.s. (HG SR3; flap endorsed as forwarded by “Mr. P. Lumsdane China Bazar”), the second with no GB marks but a mainly v. fine “Post Paid/Fort St George” with separate “30 Jul” d.s. (HG4; also endorsed as forwarded from Madras by “H&W” - redirected to Bombay); plus fine 10/19 Aug. 1815 E to Calcutta with v. fine 2-ring “INDIA SHIP LETTER/[Crown]/GPO/LONDON” (Rob. In.1; new scheme only started from 11 July) and faint Calcutta backstamp. (3 covers)

GUERNSEY/MADRAS - CONCAVE “GUERNSEY” ON COVER VIA AGENTS TO MADRAS, ETC.; 14 June 1807 EL (a couple of slight tone marks on the front) to Capt. de Havilland in Madras via London Agents (some ink-etching where they deleted their names) with a mainly fine concave “GUERNSEY” nicely placed on the front beside the initial “1/-” rate from Guernsey to London, redirected to “Seringapatam” and then (on reverse) to “Vellore” (with further - Madras? - Agent’s endorsement of “Chinno” on top flap along with mainly fine oval-framed Madras “Post not Paid” with separate “1 Feb” d.s. endorsed “from Europe 6 f[anam]s”. Exceptional early overseas cover from the Channel Islands.

LONDON/CALCUTTA - 2-RING “[Crown]/POST PAID WITHDRAWN SHIP LETTER/LONDON” COVER; 2/6 Apr. 1815 E (one side-flap removed [from Inverness; a known correspondence signed by the addressee’s father - see next lot] to “Calcutta, Bengal” with a very fine large 2-ring London PPWSL1 mark across the seal (as per P.O. regulations at the time), prepaid “1/2” (a third of the single Packet Rate) with a mainly very fine red “SHIP- LETTER/Bg-Ptge/CALCUTTA” d.s. (HG SR3) alongside; probably carried on the ship ‘Sir William Pulteney’. Withdrawn Ship Letters to India are rare (they are much more common sent to Madeira or N. America).

LONDON/CALCUTTA - 2-RING “[Crown]/POST PAID WITHDRAWN SHIP LETTER/LONDON” COVER; 30 Apr./8 May 1815 EL (slight toning in places) from “Inverness” to “Calcutta, Bengal” with a very fine large 2-ring London PPWSL1 mark across the seal (as per P.O. regulations at the time), prepaid “1/2” (a third of the single Packet Rate) with a faint red “SHIP-LETTER/Bg-Ptge/CALCUTTA” d.s. (HG SR3) alongside. Withdrawn Ship Letters to India are rare (they are much more common sent to Madeira or N. America).

GUERNSEY/MADRAS - SCROLL-FRAMED “GUERNSEY” ON COVER WITH BOXED H.S. MADRAS “FROM EUROPE”, ETC.; 25 Apr. 1815 EL (massively long single-sheet family letter) to Major de Havilland in Madras via London Agents with a mainly very fine scroll-framed “GUERNSEY” on the front beside the initial “1/1” rate from Guernsey to London but also having a fair small red “PAID SHIP LETTER/LONDON” c.d.s., redirected to “Chitoor” (Agent’s endorsement “With Chinno’s best compts.” on lower flap) having (on the top flap) a mainly fine oval-framed Madras “Post not Paid” with separate partly very fine small boxed Handstruck “FROM EUROPE” (Unrecorded by H-Giles?) alongside. Exceptional early overseas cover from the Channel Islands.

MADRAS - RARE PROVISIONAL MANUSCRIPT “King’s Postage” ENDORSEMENT ON LONDON ‘INDIA SHIP LETTER’; 6 Sept. 1815 EL (some reinforced folds) from London (?) to Madras with a very fine early usage 2-ring “INDIA SHIP LETTER/[Crown]/G.P.O./LONDON” c.d.s. (9 Sept.) nicely placed on the front, having a clear Madras P.O. endorsement “King’s Postage 6f[anam]s 45C[ash]/Inland Do 6fs” on the top flap; redirected to “Bellary”. For a short period the Madras P.O. used manuscript annotations for the King’s Postage because the London P.O.’s instructions had not initially reached them. Rare.

GUERNSEY/MADRAS - RARE PROVISIONAL MANUSCRIPT “King’s Postage” ENDORSEMENT ON LONDON ‘INDIA PACKET LETTER’; 5 Jan. 1816 EL from “Guernsey” (partial scroll-framed “GUERNSEY” mark nicely placed on the front) to Major De Havilland in Madras via London Agents (who paid the “1/1” rate from Guernsey in transit) with a very fine 2-ring crowned “INDIA PACKET LETTER/[Crown]/G.P.O./LONDON” c.d.s. (17 Jan.; month oddly inverted) nicely placed on the front, having a clear Madras P.O. endorsement “King’s Postage 19f[anam]s 55C[ash]/Inland Do 6fs” nicely placed on the lower flap; redirected to “Chittoor”. For a short period the Madras P.O. used manuscript annotations for the King’s Postage because the London P.O.’s instructions had not initially reached them. Rare.

CALCUTTA - EARLY BOXED “KING’S POSTe/Cos. INLd d0.” 3-LINE DATESTAMPS ON LONDON ‘INDIA SHIP LETTERS’; Fine 10 Jan. 1816 EL from London the C-in-C’s “Military Secretary” in Calcutta charged “1/2” with a faint 2-ring “INDIA SHIP LETTER/[Crown]/G.P.O./LONDON” c.d.s. on the front, having a mainly very fine Calcutta boxed “KING’S POSTe...[8 ans]” (closed seal tear) across the join on the reverse and endorsed “P [Ship] Hero”; plus toned/worn 5 Feb. 1818 & 6/12 Feb. 1818 pair of ELs from London to Calcutta both “P [Ship] Castle Huntley” with similar King’s Postage and Ship Letter c.d.s. marks. (3 covers)

MADRAS/LONDON - EARLY “KINGS POSTAGE” + “INLAND POSTAGE” WITH LONDON “INDIA PACKET LETTER” C.D.S.; 23 Feb. 1816 EL (from Shropshire?; most unusual paper-strip seal) to Madras charged “3/6” with a mainly very fine crowned “INDIA PACKET LETTER/G.P.O/LONDON” c.d.s. (16 Mar.) on the front with mainly very fine Madras Handstruck “KINGS POSTAGE [19f 55C]” with “INLAND POSTAGE [4f 40C = 24-15]” (HG SR1; early usage) nicely placed on the flap; redirected to “Trichinopoly”. Madras finally got its own Handstruck King’s Postage marks.

MADRAS/CALCUTTA/LONDON - RARE COVER WITH TWO DIFFERENT P.O.s’ “KINGS POSTAGE” MARKS; 29 July 1816 E (side-flaps removed) to Madras “P. [Ship] Lord Cathcart” (on flap) charged “1/2” with a very fine “INDIA SHIP LETTER/[Crown]/G.P.O/LONDON” c.d.s. (slight fold) on the front with a remarkably fine Calcutta boxed “KING’S POSTe/Cos. INLd. do./[8an]” d.s. (2 Jan. 1817) nicely placed on the flap; then redirected to Pondicherry and so with Madras mainly v. fine oval-framed “Post Paid/Fort St George” with “19/Jan” on the front, but also with very fine matching Handstruck “KINGS POSTAGE [f6 45]” with “INLAND POSTAGE [from Calcutta fs 16]” (HG SR1) nicely placed on the flap and so then also having a very fine small boxed Madras “Post.not.Paid” on the front. Possibly a Unique combination of markings - exceptional to have the Kings Postage marks of two POs on one cover. Exhibition Item. Madras finally got its own Handstruck King’s Postage marks.

MADRAS/LONDON - LONDON “INDIA PACKET LETTER” C.D.S.’s PAIR - ONE WITH”KINGS POSTAGE”; 13/17 June 1816 EL from “DUMFRIES” (mileage mark on front) to Madras “P. [Ship] Robt. Alexr.” charged “4/7½” (1s- 1½d inland + 3s-6d Packet rate with a mainly very fine crowned “INDIA PACKET LETTER/G.P.O/LONDON” c.d.s. (17 June) nicely placed but no King’s Postage mark; plus 28 Aug. 1817 EL (overall toning & some reinforced folds) from London charged “3/6” to Madras “P [Ship] P[rince] Regent” with a partly fine strike of the same London Packet Letter d.s. on the front having a very fine Madras Handstruck “KINGS POSTAGE [19f 55C]” (HG SR1) on the top flap (delivered at Madras so no Inland element needed). Good pair. (2 covers)

3rd MARATHA WAR, ETC. - LONDON “INDIA SHIP LETTER” PAIR TO “HOLKAR’s CAMP”/MADRAS; 16/26 Nov. 1817 EL (toned) from London to Madras “P. [Ship] Success via Calcutta” with a partly fine London 2-ring India SL c.d.s. redirected to “Holkar’s Camp via Hyderabad” (received just as the 3rd Maratha War ended) with v. fine Madras “KINGS POSTAGE” + “INLAND POSTAGE [1RS 8As 6Pi]” (HG SR1) on the lower flap; plus 5/25 Mar. 1819 E from London to a General in Madras “P [Ship] Surrey(?)” with a very fine 2-ring “INDIA SHIP LETTER/[Crown]/G.P.O/LONDON” nicely placed on the front and a fine Madras “KINGS POSTAGE [8 a 2p]” nicely placed on the top flap. Good pair. (2 covers)

LONDON/MADRAS - 3rd MARATHA WAR - PACKET LETTER WITH “INDIA SHIP LETTER” C.D.S. CANCELLED BY CRUTCHED CROSS; Fine 9 June - 13 Aug. 1818 EL from London to “Major General J. Doveton, Cavalry” in Madras (c/o “Messrs Arbuthnot De Monte & Co.”) endorsed “P. [Ship] Asia” but with a fair 2-ring “INDIA SHIP LETTER/[Crown]/G.P.O/LONDON” c.d.s. on the front cancelled by a very fine rare London Ship Letter Office ‘Crutched Cross’ Inspector’s Mark in matching black and so with a mainly fine crowned “INDIA PACKET LETTER/G.P.O/LONDON” c.d.s. alongside and with the rate increased from “1/2” to “3/6”; on arrival the letter was redirected (town not mentioned) and so has mainly very fine Madras “KINGS POSTAGE [1r-8a-6p]” + “INLAND POSTAGE [1-2-]” (HG SR1) on the flaps. Later (1890s?) annotated on reverse in purple pencil ref. the contents mentioning recent actions of the addressee’s forces being well reported in the English press; with p.copy of ‘Morning Chronicle’ article of 7 May 1818 reprinting the addressee’s letter ref. a successful Battle at Nagpore on 14 Dec. 1817. Rare postal markings and significant historical connections.

LIVERPOOL/MADRAS - RARE CORRECT USAGE OF “LIVERPOOL/INDIA SHIP LR” (WITH RARE LINED “KINGS.POSTAGE/COMPYs. INLAND Do.”); Remarkable 12 Feb. 1819 EL (minor toning) - possibly written in Dublin (full typed transcript of long family contents) to Madras “P the [Ship] Bengal via Calcutta”, but most unusually not posted in London (as per regulations) and so with a very fine boxed “LIVERPOOL/INDIA SHIP LR” (Rob.In.1; rare prior to 1819 - use prior to 12 July 1819 were for outgoing mails, from that date it was used, very commonly, for incoming India Letters to GB); charged “1¼ oz 5/10” (5 times the regular 1s-2d rate as if from London); exceptionally also having the “KINGS POSTAGE” marks of both Calcutta (HG SR7; 14 July 1819) and Madras (rare HG SR2; “Very Scarce” - only used June-Aug. 1819) across join, or on lower flap, respectively. There is also a very fine oval “MADRAS” d.s. (1 Aug.) on the front with a fair matching Madras boxed “Post not Paid”. Rare correct usage of the Liverpool India Ship Letter mark for outgoing mail and a rare example of the short-lived lined Madras “KINGS POSTAGE...” mark. [Ex Hammond Giles; with long PHS Bulletin 1970 article by Alan Robertson illustrating and explaining this cover.] Exhibition Item.

MADRAS/LONDON - RARE LINED “KINGS.POSTAGE/COMPYs. INLAND Do.” ON INDIA SHIP LETTER COVER; 11 May 1819 E (light toning and some minor faults) with mainly fine 2-ring “INDIA SHIP LETTER/[Crown]/G.P.O/LONDON” d.s. on the front to “Vizagapatam” via Agents in Madras “P [Ship] W. Miles” also having the rare lined Madras “KINGS POSTAGE...[8A-2P + 12A]” mark (HG SR2; “Very Scarce” - previously only known used June-Aug. 1819) nicely placed on the top flap. There is also a very fine oval “MADRAS” d.s. (21 Sept.) just across the join on the reverse. Good example of this very elusive Madras KINGS POSTAGE marking.

LONDON - PREPAID SHIP LETTERS TO CALCUTTA, MADRAS & BOMBAY - ONE WITH RARE LONDON OVAL D.S.; 1819-34 group of covers all with red oval London Paid Ship Letter marks inc. attractive 9/13 Oct. 1819 EL (damp-affected & so reinforced) from “HONITON” (mileage mark) to Bombay with v. fine double-oval “Poft Paid Ship Le/[Crown]/LONDON” (Rob. S41; rare colour - only recorded in red for 1819) nicely placed on the front with v. fine black double-oval London Ship Letter Office ‘Mystery’ d.s. (Jay L1424, 1817-19 only) nicely placed on the top flap; the other covers (2 being badly toned) with mainly very fine red oval London Paid Ship Letter marks (5; S45, S46, S47 or S48). (6 covers)

LIVERPOOL/DACCA - INGOING COVER REDIRECTED WITH RARE DACCA OVAL-FRAMED “D.P.O.” MARK; Fine 4 Oct. 1824 printed Liverpool Prices Current (in French) to “Dacca” with fair boxed Kedgeree “SHIP LETTER” mark on the flap beside two large Calcutta c.d.s.’s (one with inverted month) and a superb strike of the rare 2nd- Type oval framed Dacca “D.P.O.” Mark (HG8; hand-over mark for mail transferred from Military P.O. to Civil P.O.) due to redirection to “Chandernagore” (French India). These Military P.O. Hand-over marks are seldom seen.

“KEDGREE/POST OFFICE/SHIP LETTER” - PAIR OF DIFFERENT TYPES ON MAIL EX BATH/LIVERPOOL; 22 Apr. 1824 EL ex Bath to Calcutta with v. fine 2nd-Type (HG S2) nicely placed on the flap; plus 10 Apr. 1830 EL (flap cut and glued for display) from Liverpool to Meerut with v. fine 3rd-Type (HG S3; closed seal tear) nicely placed on the flap. Good pair. (2 covers)

PATNA - INGOING MAIL EX BRISTOL/LONDON WITH OCTAGON-FRAMED OR SUPERB OVAL “PATNA” MARKS; Sept./Oct. 1834 pair of ELs from Bristol/London Patna (redirected to Allahabad/Simla with fair to fine octagon-boxed “PATNA/BEARING” marks (HG8) - one with mainly fine boxed “THOS. HAVISIDE & Co./147, LEADENHALL STREET” London FAC across the join - and similar Apr. 1835 EL (repair to top of address-panel where damaged by hinge-mounts but still attractive) to the same addressee in Patna ex London with superb oval-framed “PATNA/BEARg” (HG12; recorded for 1835 only) nicely placed on the top flap (redirected to Simla) beside a very fine boxed “THOS. HAVISIDE & Co./147, LEADENHALL STREET” London FAC across the join. (3 covers)

CALCUTTA - INGOING MAIL WITH BOXED SINGLE/DOUBLE “Tolas” MARKS, “SHIP LETTER/FREE” C.D.S., ETC.; 5 Dec. 1836 EL from “LImerick” with v. fine rare boxed double-rate “Ship Postage ‘3/Inland do. ‘6/An. 9/2 Tolas” (HG SR43; “Scarce” - only recorded 1837-38), Sept. 1837/May 1838 pair of ELs ex London with very fine strikes of the similar “1 Tolas” type (HG 42a; 1837-39 only), fine 21 Jan. 1838 EL prepaid from Birmingham with red oval London SL d.s. but addressed to the “Advocate General” and so with mainly very fine red encircled “CALCUTTA/SHIP LETTER/FREE” d.s. (HG SR46; 14 June 1838 - rare pre-1840) on the flap, and prepaid June 1840 EL from Limerick with red oval London SL d.s. and v. fine black boxed “CALCUTTA/SHIP LETTER/Bearing” d.s. (5 covers)

LATER LONDON MAIL TO BOMBAY, CALCUTTA OR MERUT - ONE PREPAID 13s/- VIA FRANCE; 1836 E/EL to Bombay/Merut with v. fine oval-framed “BOMBAY/POST NT. PAID” (HG15; scarce) or v. fine octagon-boxed “MERUT/Bg: Pg:” (HG4; only known 1835-37) both across th join; plus Aug. 1839/1857 prepaid pair to Calcutta/Bombay at “13/-” (via France; with red oval-framed London “P-D”) or “6[d]” (env. with several enclosures) rates. (4 covers)

BOXED “KEDGREE/POST OFFICE/SHIP LETTER” MARKS ON COVERS EX PHILADELPHIA OR A SHIP TO CALCUTTA; 1830/34 pair of ELs from “Phila[delphia]” to Calcutta (the first with scarce orange-red boxed “CALCUTTA/G.P.O.” d.s. - similar to HG G8; the latter with Forwarding Agent’s endorsement) with very fine or mainly fine strikes of this Kedgeree mark; plus 1833 EL from a ship at “Sand Heads” (from an American ship leaving Calcutta) regarding the writer’s cargo of live elephants (!) with a very fine strike of the same Kedgeree mark (filing fold). Early mail from USA to India is seldom seen. (3 covers)

BIHAR 1934 EARTHQUAKE EMERGENCY FLIGHT:30 Jan 1934 Dum Dum to Darbhangha Bihar earthquake emergency flight cover by F/O Knocker, franked with Indian 3pi & ½a pair, has triangular label tied by “EARTHQUAKE EMERGENCY FLIGHT” h.s. in violet. Signed by Stephen Smith on reverse. Scarce.

BIHAR 1934 EARTHQUAKE EMERGENCY FLIGHT:2 Feb 1934 env. Muzzaffarpur via Darbhangah to Dum Dum emergency earthquake env flown by F/O Knocker, with large Union Jack vignette tied by violet “EARTHQUAKE EMERGENCY FLIGHT” h.s. and red “Delayed in Transit/Plane Damaged” h.s. Signed on reverse by Stephen Smith. Fine and scarce.

TWO OF THE FIRST COVERS SENT FROM THE EARTHQUAKE AREA:31 May 1935 (the d.s. still reads 30 May as it was not changed until later) env headed in m/s “EARTHQUAKE AREA” from Quetta to New Zealand without adhesives with m/s “Via Indian Transcontinental Airways/Singapore-Australia” and “T” h.s. and on reverse part “QUETTA R.M.S./SET-2” c.d.s. Another similar env. to Lahore taxed 1a on arrival. Also two photographic PC’s and eight photos depicting the devastation. (2 covers + 10 photos).

EARLY EARTHQUAKE COVERS & ROCKET MAIL:7 & 8 June 1935 env to Mango Range P.O. with m/s “Earthquake Area/No stamps available” charged 2a postage due in error and m/s “Cancelled/2”. Another env of the same date to UK with similar m/s note & red m/s “T 50c” crossed through and an inspectors h.s. applied. 8 June local env with m/s “Quetta Earthquake/Postage Free” and a fair “QUETTA EARTH QUAKE POSTAGE FREE” h.s. Also two items with special appeal labels flown by rocket in aid of the Quetta relief fund. Both signed by Stephen Smith. (5 items).

THE EMERGENCY “FREE” HANDSTAMP ETC:6 June 1935 env with contents to Purley sent without adhesives, having a fine strike of the scarce “Quetta Earthqu ake. e/Postage Free” h.s (made up from a loose type “John Bull” set) applied at the staff college and countersigned by an officer. Also four more envs. dated 4th (2) & 8th (2) June to Ireland, UK & India without adhesives with various m/s headings inc. “By Air Mail/earthquake Area/No Stamps Available” & “EARTHQUAKE/-SERVICE/POSTAGE FREE”. Three with m/s p. due charges cancelled on arrival and triangular framed “I.S.” plus initials. (5 covers).

RARE LARGE EARTHQUAKE POSTAGE FREE WITHOUT COMMA HANDSTAMP:6 June 1935 env (creased & small tears at top) to London with a fine strike of the large red “Quetta Earth Quake/Postage Free” without comma after “Quake” h.s. “QUETTA R.M.S./SET - 2” h.s. on reverse. Few recorded.

RARE LARGE EARTHQUAKE POSTAGE FREE WITH COMMA HANDSTAMP: June 1935 env (creased and small faults) to Cleckheaton with m/s “Earthquake Area” and a good example of the large red “Quetta Earth Quake,/Postage Free” with comma after Quake h.s. Few recorded.

THE STRAIGHT LINE “QUETTA EARTH QUAKE POSTAGE FREE” HANDSTAMP:7 to 14 June 1935 covers (10) plus a part cover (with interesting contents - “What a party!!! It really was to frightful...and now all women & children are being evacuated”) to UK (6), India (4) and New Zealand. All with “QUETTA EARTH QUAKE POSTAGE FREE” h.s. and various m/s earthquake headings and “QUETTA R.M.S./SET-2” c.d.s. Three with triangular inspectors “I.S.” h.s. (11 items)

A GROUP OF FREE LETTERS INCLUDING ONE TO NEPAL FROM THE BISHOP OF LAHORE: 11 to 14 June 1935 envs. (11) with examples to UK (5), India (5), Canada & Nepal, mostly with earthquake m/s notes with “QUETTA EARTHQUAKE POSTAGE FREE” h.s. Inc. 13 June env from The Bishop of Lahore (who had no right to be at Quetta) to British Legation, Nepal. 13 June env sent via GB to Canada. 11 June env from Head Quarters, Baluchistan without the “FREE” h.s. but still sent without charge to UK. A good lot.

AN INTERESTING GROUP OF COVERS INC. ONE REDIRECTED TWICE AND ONE INWARD UNDELIVERED ITEM: 12 to 14 June envs and a form with “QUETTA EARTH QUAKE POSTAGE FREE” h.s. inc. 12 June 1935 env. to Bombay re-directed within Bombay and then onward to Colombo. 14 June Information Bureau form requesting information about missing persons to Hyderabad. Also a “window” env from the Amritsar Distillery with on reverse violet “Undelivered owing to/earthquake disaster/returned to sender” and D.L.O. unclaimed label.

THE END OF THE FREE POSTAGE CONCESSION - THE RAREST OF ALL THE QUETTA EARTHQUAKE HANDSTAMPS: c15 June 1935 env from the Staff College at Quetta to London re-directed to Caversham headed “Quack area” with on reverse a fine strike of the v. rare red “Quetta Earth Quake./Free Postage Concession/Withdrawn” h.s., the cover has Indian tax h.s. and a framed “T/Cts./50” charge mark on the front. A very rare item of Exhibition quality.

THE END OF THE FREE POSTAGE CONCESSION - A RARE COVER CHARGED POSTAGE DUE ON ARRIVAL:15 June 1935 env from Quetta to UK without adhesives and m/s “Earthquake Service Quetta/No Stamps available” with on reverse a clear strike of the rare “Quetta Earthquake/Free Postage Concession/Withdrawn” red h.s. Plus on front framed “T/CTS,/50”, boxed “INSUFFICIENTLY PAID FOR/TRANSMISSION BY AIRMAIL”, “2D/I.S./N” and bearing GB 2d p. due neatly tied by a “HYTHE/KENT” c.d.s. A scarce item. RPSL Cert (2011). Also post earthquake period covers to UK at the 2a 6pi rate with the “EXPERIMENTAL P.O./K -36” c.d.s., and a modern cover. (4 items).

THE RELIEF FUND LABELS: April to August 1935 envs (3) to UK each with a tied example of the ½a purple Silver Jubilee fund label. Also two unused examples of the label. Plus a rare 7th June 1935 postal notice “Sale of the “Silver Jubilee Postal Seals” for the benefit of His Excellency the Viceroy’s Quetta Earthquake Relief Fund” as issued in New Delhi. (5 items).