;) ;) | AN EXCEPTIONAL 1860 GREAT BRITAIN QV 2d BLUE COVER to ANTIGUA 1860 cover marked "Very important inheritance" with GB QV 2d blue Plate 8 (DG, DH, DI) pmk'd London JY 5 60 to Antigua with lengthy addressing "Matthew Christian by Son of Mr. Robert Christian Esq who died at Antigua in 1777 or to the Relatives of the said Robert and Matthew Christian, Antigua (West Indies) .... Expressly Recommended to the post to be Enquired for those Relatives and to be delivered to one of them". Marked in manuscript "Not Known", b/stamped C/ANTIGUA/AU 1 60 (arrival) and C/ANTIGUA/DE 29 60 (date returned to London). Fine heraldic embossed flap. Mathew Christian, owner of various estates in Antigua, Biffins (200 acres), Red Hill (400 acres), Elme’s (158 acres), and Windward (180 acres). Died in London in 1778. Son of Robert Christian died in Antigua in 1776. He is supposed to have left Antigua about the year 1777 and come to London, and it is believed that in 1778, he was living in Southampton-street, Strand, in the city of Westminster, where he died. He had a brother, John, who died in Antigua shortly before 1777, and a sister, Margaret, who was married to William Gunthorpe of Antigua. £950 |
;) | GREAT BRITAIN to TOBAGO postal history 1875 cover marked p. Royal Mail Steamer 2nd Dec. 1875" with GB QV 1/- green (rounded top right corner perf.) pmk'd HASTINGS "342" duplex dated E/NO 30 75 to James Hamilton, Scarbro', Tobago, b/stamped light TOBAGO JA 1 1876 dbl-arc arrival. Rare destination for GB surface printed covers. On or about FE 28 1872 the twice monthly visit by RMS steamer was terminated, and no steamers called until the new contract of JA 1 1875 whereby Tobago was to have a single monthly visit by RMS steamer. £275 |
;) | GREAT BRITAIN (Elgin, Scotland) to VICTORIA, Australia postal history (Ex von Uexkull) 1872 cover with sender's "North Street Elgin" albino embossed flap to The Reverend William Ross, c/o Solicitors, Queen Street, Melbourne with two GB QV 3d rose Plate 7 pmk'd ELGIN "133" duplex dated E/AP 8 72, on arrival re-directed with VICTORIA QV 2d brown-lilac tied MELBOURNE 8H/MY 31 72 duplex to Mrs. Ross's Lodgings, Campbell Street, Castlemaine, b/stamped London AP 9 72, Melbourne A/MY 31 72 and Castlemaine MY 31 72. Ex Jakob von UEXKULL (1997). Few covers from Great Britain forwarded with VICTORIA QV adhesives locally or to other Australian States exist, and I can only currently record GB 1/- (DE 5 1855) forwarded Melbourne to Castlemaine with 2 x 3d; GB stampless (JA 21 1856) forwarded Melbourne to Tarrengower with 1d, 3d, 1/- REGISTERED stamp; GB 1d x 3d, 6d (AP 10 1860) forwarded to Encounter Bay, S. Australia with 6d; GB 1d, 9d (MR 19 1872) Dublin to Melbourne forwarded Minnebah Reefs, Tasmania with 3d. The only other Victoria QV 2d forwardings known to me are on cover USA 5c (DE 28 1880) Adelaide to Sydney, NSW with 2d (von Uexkull), and USA 6c rose pair (JA 19 1882) forwarded Brisbane to Sydney, NSW with 2d (Edward S. Knapp). £1200 |
;) | EXHIBITION COVER SHORT-LIVED 14 CORNER DOTS GREAT BRITAIN QV 1d LILAC to BARBADOS 1881 cover with five copies GB QV 1d Venetian red and seven copies GB QV 1d lilac (SG.166,170) pmk'd London S.W/32 duplex dated AU 2 81 to Mrs. Belfield, Chelston, Barbados being the penultimate 1/- rate prior switching to the 4d U.P.U. rate on SP 1 1881, backstamped BARBADOES AU 18 1881 dbl-arc arrival clear of largely missing flap. A spectacular exhibition cover for the short band of use 14 dots in each corner GB QV 1d lilac. The 1d Venetian red stamps do not have the Orbs watermark error Cat.£27,000 apiece. £600 |