See "BUY THE BEST" for records of postmarks, scans of covers with text, provenance, maintained over 45 years. BUY YOUR OWN DIGITAL PDF FILE ................... Knowledge puts you ahead in the game
| Country: All Subject: QV covers (early) Clear | Sort: Newest listed first |
;) | BAHAMAS postal history 1868 cover to Henry Dunn, New York with QV 4d Chalon tied "A05" with fine BAHAMAS OC 17 1868/C dbl-arc on upper flap which can fully display showing NEW YORK OCT 25 arrival with "3" due. Handstruck "CANNOT BE FOUND" and NEW YORK POST OFFICE/OCT 30/ADVERTISED oval with New York NOV 30 return cds on reverse. £525 |
;) ;) | QUEENSLAND postal history 1875 Wagstaff family cover from California with U.S. 3c x 2, 10c tied segmented cork cancels with adjacent red SAN FRANCISCO PAID cds dated MAR 8 and marked "per City of Melbourne Ship" to John Wagstaff, Agricultural (Station?), Rockhampton, Queensland forwarded with tied Queensland QV 2d blue to Lily Vale via Gainsford, backstamped Brisbane AP 5 75 with Rockhampton AP 9 75 arrival and forwarded Rockhampton AP 22 75 with Lilly Vale MY 3 1875 arrival. An exceptional combination. On JA 1 1874 the rate to all Australian Colonies, New Zealand and Fiji was reduced to 2d. £3000 |
;) ;) ;) | MAIL TO CRIMEAN WAR GENERAL WHO INVENTED A HEATED CANNONBALL AS A BED-WARMER, Canada postal history 1863 cover to General Higginson, 9 Wilton Crescent, London with QV 12½c tied Montreal duplex dated AP 17 63. Grenadier Guards General Sir George Wentworth Alexander Higginson was born in Wilton Crescent Belgravia and during the Crimean War improvised a bed-warmer for the freezing nights by heating up a cannonball in the campfire. £225 |
;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) | BRITISH KAFFRARIA WRAPPER from a SURVIVOR OF THE H.M.S. BIRKENHEAD TROOPSHIP DISASTER In response for requests for testimonies from survivors the only surviving letter from the Cape: 1858 wrapper docketted "Andrews 20 Nov 1858" (the content removed but published) to David Seton, Portabello, near Edinburgh marked "Registered at King W Town 25.11.58" and "K.W.T. C.G. Hope" at lower left with two damaged copies 4d blue tied triangular handstamp with CAPE PACKET DEVONPORT JA 26 1859, red Crown/REGISTERED and red oval REGISTERED/LONDON 27 JA 59 alongside address panel, reverse red CAPETOWN DE 2 1858 transit, black Edinburgh and blue PORTABELLO JA 28 1859 arrivals. Younger brother (Major) David Seton was quite determined from an early stage to gather as many facts as possible. He met many of the survivors personally and continued with his determination that the heroism displayed by his elder brother Alex should always be associated with the ‘Birkenhead’. Personal interviews, and correspondence with testimonies from survivors, continue as late as 1858-59 and he printed a little book on the Wreck of the ‘Birkenhead’ in Edinburgh in 1861, and again in 1873 and 1890 which was initially intended for private use and not for publication or sale. The Andrews testimony is published on pages 134/5 in "A Deathless Story" by A.C. Addison being a 318 page account of the Birkenhead. £7250 |
;) | THIS COVER STOLEN FROM MY STAND AT THE BANGKOK INTERNATIONAL 27/11/2023 - DO NOT ORDER PONDICHERRY, FRENCH INDIAN SETTLEMENTS to MAURITIUS 1867 REYNAUD SOUPRAYA & Co, PONDICHERY sender cachet entire with strip of four QV 2a orange pmk'd PONDICHERRY "111" duplex dated FE 11 67 to Piper Adam & Co, Mauritius backstamped Madras transit and 2/MR 2 67 arrival, address panel with handstruck "6d TO PAY" in black. Exhibition item. £1250 |
;) ;) | NEW ZEALAND to FRANCE postal history Ex WOOLFE, HACKMEY 1873 registered cover with "FORWARDED BY/CRUICKSHANK & Co/AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND" sender cachet on reverse to Libourne, France with Chalon 2d orange, 3d, lilac, 2 x 6d pale blue tied "1" numeral obliterators with REGISTERED, AUCKLAND FE 15 7318 despatch, routed via ALEXANDRIE (7/4) showing full transit and arrival marks on reverse plus boxed French rate mark, reverse flaps opened for display. Exhibition item ex WOOLFE, HACKMEY (2006 RPS Certificate). £4500 |
;) ;) | POLIGNAC COVER DENIED DESTINATION DUE SIEGE OF PARIS, St. Vincent postal history This Duke de Polignac wrapper arrived at Calais NO 29 1870 on the same day that the “Jacquard”, the 34th ballon monté, crashed into the Irish Sea off the Scilly Isles killing the pilot Alexandre Prince; some bags of mail were later recovered. Paris, at this time, was surrounded and besieged by the Prussian army period SP 17 1870 until the FE 28 1871 Armistice. No mail could get in, hence the re-routing to the small hamlet of St. Jean du Cardinay, Maromme in Normandy. French aeronauts suggested to the postal authorities in Paris that balloons be used to maintain communications with the provisional government in Tours, and beyond. In total 67 well documented outgoing flights were made carrying over 2 million pieces of mail to places around the world with rare survivors having reached Mauritius, Hong Kong, and Japan. This unique NO 9 1870 cover bears the earliest recorded use of the QV 1/- brown in combination with printer’s guide-line positional strip of three, and single QV 1d rose-red, the former invoiced AU 13 1869 but held back for 14 months as seemingly not a suitable oil-lamp match for the latter. All further uses of the 1/- brown pay the single rate to England, and a replacement QV 1d in black was hastily ordered on JA 6 1871. £6000 |
;) | GREAT BRITAIN USED TWO DIFFERENT COUNTRIES, Malta postal history 1861 mourning cover to Lt. Colonel Duncan Munro Bethune (1816-1870), 1st Battalion. 9th Regiment, Vernon House, Farnham, Surrey with GB 6d pmk'd "A25" duplex dated A/MALTA/JA 23 61, backstamped Farnham JA 23 61 arrival and forwarded to London with GB QV 1d red pmk'd "292" numeral on JA 25 61 with London transits. Such GB combination covers are seldom found and extremely rare, and do not exist for most countries and agencies that were supplied with GB stamps. £1200 |
;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) | HERO of the H.M.S. "BIRKENHEAD" SHIPWRECK DISASTER, Sierra Leone postal history 1852 letter from Lt-Colonel Alexander Seton written at Sierra Leone 29th January posted in GB QV 1d pink PSE to Edinburgh with MR 15 and MR 15 transit and arrival backstamps. This is the only letter he wrote from Sierra Leone and the penultimate letter before the tragic disaster in Simon's Bay in the early hours of 26th February 1852 which took about 445 lives. A 4 page account of the disaster accompanies as prepared for the December 2018 British West Indies Study Circle journal. £1200 |
;) | The "1d GALLE SURCHARGE", New South Wales postal history 1874 cover "Ellora via Galle and Brindisi" to Lower Norwood, Surrey, England with NINEPENCE on QV 10d, QV 1d pmk'd Sydney D/MY 15 74, reverse London JY 10 74 arrival. Edge tear at top, soiling. When the new P&O contracts came into force in 1874 NSW refused to contribute to the P&O service because Melbourne was made the mail terminus, and because NSW favoured the route via San Francisco. To use the route via Melbourne and Pt de Galle NSW had to pay a fee to Victoria based on the number of letters sent by that route. In order to defray that expense, and also to discourage NSW writers from using the route, a 1d surcharge was added to the 9d rate via Brindisi from February 10th 1874 to May 27th 1875. £325 |
;) ;) | 10 (used Brighton), TASMANIA postal history 1861 cover "per Tasmania" to James S. Harrison, 22 Charlotte Place, Sydney, New South Wales with Chalon 2d slate-green pair (uneven setting), single superbly pmk'd Brighton "10" numerals with red PRE-PAID 4 SP 1861 alongside, reverse Sydney C/SP 9 61 arrival. James Start Harrison (1837-1902) arrived Sydney in January 1849 with his parents after a voyage of 157 days on board the Penyard Park and eventually took up the profession of an accountant working with the new partnership formed 1861 of Alexander Learmonth & Samuel Dickinson, merchant and commission agents. He is best known as a philanthropist and local newspapers capture his interests and service given to the Sydney Ragged Schools, Sydney City Mission, Sydney Female Refuge. £3500 |
;) | 13 used Kingston, TASMANIA postal history (Ex TINSLEY, BOMBIERI, BLAKE, CHARTWELL) 1864 drop letter mailed within Kingston with Chalon 1d brick-red imperforate superbly tied "13" addressed Mr. Dixon, Browns River with postmaster's manuscript "Kingston 11-1-64" alongside, no reverse markings. Ex TINSLEY, BOMBIERI, BLAKE, CHARTWELL. The settlement known as Browns River had its name changed to Kingston by the Governor of Tasmania in 1851, so the postmaster followed this edict which was not acknowledged until a Government Gazette in 1881. It was then changed to Kingston Beach in 1900. £825 |
;) | SHORT DURATION CHALON 2d with INTRODUCTION OF SIDEFACE NEW RATE, TASMANIA postal history 1870 FIRST DAY OF ISSUE OF SIDEFACE with new rate paid by Chalon 2d yellow-green pmk'd Hobart Town NO 1 70 to The Hon. Joseph Archer, Panshanger, Longford. Ex CHARTWELL collection. APS (1994) Certificate. This adhesive had short duration, compounded by survival, adding to rarity. £1250 |
;) ;) ;) ;) | 74 used Hobart, TASMANIA postal history 1860 cover to The Right Reverend Bishop Goold in Melbourne, Victoria with Chalon 2d green showing some DOUBLING OF VALUE TABLET and engine turning and Chalon 4d (pencil marked "cobalt blue, fluorescent ink" on reverse) pmk'd Hobart "74" with part red Hobart Town alongside, reverse with ornate seal impressed black wax and Melbourne A/FE 4 60 arrival. James Alipius Goold, Roman Catholic Archbishop, was born NO 4 1812 into a prosperous family in Cork, Ireland. Ordained in Rome, returned Ireland where he gained permission to volunteer for missionary work in New South Wales arriving Sydney FE 24 1838. Visited Ballarat gold fields 1854 and 1855 and pacified Catholic miners particularly after the Eureka affair. £925 |
;) | 52 used Launceston, TASMANIA postal history 1875 cover to London with mixed franking Chalon 6d and QV 3d Sideface pmk'd "52" with Launceston L/JN 10 75 and London AU 3 75 alongside. £525 |
;) ;) | 52 used LAUNCESTON DROP LETTER CIRCULAR, Tasmania postal history (Ex CHARTWELL) 1867 printed circular from William A. Collins requesting William John Johnstone, St. John Street (Launceston) to attend a Special Meeting of the Committee of the Northern Railway Leauge at the Mechanics Institute mailed with Chalon 1d brick-red P.10 tied upright Launceston "52" numeral. Ex CHARTWELL £650 |
;) ;) ;) | NEW SOUTH WALES postal history 1877 printed circular for two lots of land at Pottinger County (Premer Run and Moredevil Run) for SALE AT THE POLICE OFFICE, GUNNEDAH on May 2nd 1877 posted with exceptionally rare SG unlisted diagonally bisected QV 2d correctly tied Gunnedah AP 16 1877 "145" to James Wilson, Llangollew, Cassilis which can display TAMBAR SPRINGS (AP 8), COOLAH (AP 19), CASSILIS (AP 22) transits. Age marks and hinge reinforcements. £925 |
;) | GIBRALTAR postal history 1859 land route "via France" to London with GB QV 1d red strip of three, GB 6d lilac pmk'd "G" with greenish-blue A/JA 7 59 despatch, backstamped London JA 17 59 arrival. Flap with tape stain. £825 |
;) ;) ;) ;) | ST. BARTHELEMY taken to St. CHRISTOPHER for posting to TURKS ISLANDS postal history 1879 entire headed "St Barths 11 Septr 1879" to The Post Master, Grand Turk, Turks Islands, enclosing a letter for Mr. Gibbs (presumed George Gibbs, the Salt Merchant, and Commission and Forwarding Agent at Grand Turk). Conveyed to neighbouring St. Christopher for onward transit where QV 6d green affixed and tied by the "APMY" dumb cds with weak ST. KITTS despatch (thought SP 12 79), rated red "4". On arrival most unusually handstruck internally with pristine TURK'S-ISLAND code removed/OC 10 79 cds probably as a record of receipt to show date acted upon for any future reference. Additionally unique for being the only known St. Christopher UPU member cover to a non-UPU member commanding a 6d rate (St. Christopher was full member from JY 1 1879, Turks Islands did not join the UPU until JA 1 1881). An exceptional showpiece conveyed through British Colonial Post Offices during the second year of French reoccupation. On NO 26 1781 St. Eustatius was captured by the French under Marquis De Bouille, St. Martin was seized the following day, and Saba and St. Bartholomew soon after. The latter island remained French until 1784 when it was suddenly sold by one of Louis XVI's ministers to Sweden in exchange for trading rights in the Swedish port of Gothenburg. In 1877 France bought back the island from Sweden for 400,000 francs with the agreement ratifield in Stockholm NO 9 1877 and in Paris MR 4 1878. On MR 16 1878 the French officially reoccupied St. Barthelemy. A census in 1875 indicated there were around 2,300 inhabitants on the island. (Note: this is similar to the expectation of how a Cayman Island cover for the period would travel, if one existed, and equally as rare). £12500 |
;) | Exceptionally rare "BOTH WAYS" COMBINATION COVER, VICTORIA postal history 1858 cover with GB QV 6d pmk'd London S.W. duplex dated DE 21 58 to Melbourne, South Australia arriving MR 20 59, returned with tied 6d Queen on Throne to Shinfield, Reading. Soiling with some perf. toning. 144 days total in the mails. By THAMES Southampton JA 12 59 to Alexandria, COLUMBIAN sailed JA 30 from Suez to Melbourne MR 20 59. Back home by P&O MALTA Melbourne AP 18 to Suez, CEYLON Alexandria to Southampton JU 10 1859. Mail 89 days out, 54 home. £425 |