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Country: All Subject: QV covers (early) Clear | Sort: Newest listed first |
(28 April 2020) During the Napoleonic wars correspondence was almost exclusively sent unpaid in duplicate or triplicate by different vessels in the hope that one entire would reach its destination. The contents of each incoming or outgoing letter were entered into Copy Books keeping a complete record of transmissions should loss occur. After the war mail continued to be sent mostly unpaid but with confidence growing in the safety of the seas and some writers using courtesy prepayment the Crowned Circle PAID AT handstamp was introduced having been proofed at the GPO, London on JA 30 1852. Prepayment to foreign ports was already established. Over the period JU 4 1852 to JU 6 1866 some 59 covers are currently recorded with the PAID AT ST. VINCENT mark showing varying uses. The strikes are always in red ink with the exception of the unique black strike on cover to Paris dated AU 10 1858. Examples on Perkins Bacon “loose” stamp are rarely found and their use, as such, has no ready explanation. The illustrated example on 1877 QV 6d pale green P.11½ to 12½ x 15 sideways star wmk (SG.23 , invoiced DE 30 1876, Ex Becker collection) shows that the instrument survived the Fire at the Kingstown Post Office on October 29 1866.
(28 April 2020) Two spectacular covers dated MY 8 1871 and NO 7 1874 showing the two distinctly different accountancy handstamps. On the earlier cover the accountancy triplex was used as a "killer" on the 8c stamp, but as it could not be applied twice the 2c stamp is tied by black "A03".
(Updated 27 April 2020 thanks to emails from Ed Barrow and Mike Kitson) It is becoming clear that not only the stamps of Great Britain were used at their postal agencies abroad but a more formal arrangement existed covering mail arrangements to and from those territories in the Caribbean basin. Early Jamaica QV stamps exist pmk’d “C51” (St. Thomas), “D60” and red “D63” (whereabouts unknown), “E88” (Colon) and one 1876 ingoing cover shows a spectacular Cuba 50c, Great Britain 4d. and Jamaica 2d combination.
(25 April 2020) Mail which has travelled across the Atlantic and cannot be delivered is found with “Unclaimed”, “Deceased”, “Left the Island” etc handstamps or manuscript endorsements and assumed to be returned to sender, when known, free of further charge. Mail which has crossed “both ways” falls into two groups. Unpaid mail, as a result of the Act of 1847 made it compulsory for the sender to pay postage on returned unpaid letters, and short-lived handstamps surmounted by a Crown and inscribed “The Party to whom this letter/is addressed has not Called for it/(date)" were applied at London, Edinburgh, or Dublin. The second group is prepaid additional postage adhesive mail, with illustrations from Barbados (JU 9 1860), and Trinidad (MR 8 1864).