383. Auktion

1872, cover franked with 3c carmine rose, ample to large margins, cancelled with black target, used in combination with 10c brown Jefferson,  postmarked Christiansted (9 Apr), St. Thomas (13 Apr), and N York Steam Ship, the last tying the 10c United States adhesive, to New York, a rare and desirable mixed franking; with 1981 Philatelic Foundation and 1993 Moller certificates.

1873, folded letter to Portland, Maine, franked with 1871 30c brown horizontal pair, tied by dotted lozenge cancel, postmarked with Guadeloupe / Pointe a Pitre c.d.s. (10 Jul), passed to the British Post Office and cancelled on front with scarce “Guadeloupe / PAID” c.d.s. (11 Jul), and backstamped with “Guadeloupe / A” c.d.s. (11 Jul), manuscript “4” (pence) in red crayon for the journey to St. Thomas, endorsed “Per U.S. & Brazil Mail Str via St. Thomas”, the United States portion unpaid and thus struck with crisp “N.Y. STEAMSHIP / 10” entry mark (21 Jul), trivial light filing fold, an unusual and important entire conveyed from the French P.O. in Guadeloupe by the British Agency through the USBMSC via St. Thomas.

1873-5 (circa), large part folded letter to Bangor, Maine, franked with 1873 10c brown, tied by St. Thomas c.d.s. of the D.W.I. Post Office, oval handstamp of forwarding agents Lamb & Co at lower left, endorsed “pr Barque ‘Caracas’ via New York”, adhesive further cancelled with partial N. YORK STEAMSHIP c.d.s., vertical fold.

1876 (circa), cover from the Roche Brothers in St. Croix, struck on front with blue oval “Forwarded by / G.W. SMITH & CO / St. Thomas W.I.”, franked with 1875 5c blue in prepayment of the U.P.U. rate to Islesboro, Maine, tied by N.YORK STEAMSHIP c.d.s., cover opened on three sides, slightly reduced at left, yet a scarce usage following the dissolution of the United States & Brazil Mail Steamship Co.

1876, folded letter to New York, datelined St. Thomas, 9th of February, postmarked with St. Thomas c.d.s. (12 Feb) of the D.W.I. Post Office, struck with oval Lamb & Co (Forwarding Agents) anchor handstamp, affixed with two 1875 1c blue, cancelled with intaglio corks, paying the 10c rate for carriage on the King Line, whose King Richard called at St. Thomas on its final northbound journey on February 12, postmarked on arrival in Baltimore with two “BALT / PAID ALL” c.d.s., edge creasing and vertical filing folds, of trivial importance given the tremendous rarity of this cover, being the only recorded example carried on this final trip of the King Line.

Following the expiration of the United States Brazil Mail Steamship Co. contract in October, 1875, the King Line began advertising its service from Baltimore to Rio de Janeiro via St. Thomas. The King Line made only three apparent journeys, with a notice being published in January, 1876 indicating that their steamers would be withdrawing from service. There is no record of further journeys following the 12 February stop in St. Thomas.

1878, Wreck of the Metropolis, undenominated United States Postal Service / Post Office Department / Office of the Third Ass’t Postmaster General / Division of Dead Letters / Official Business penalty cover, postmarked Philadelphia (Feb 12), to Captain Amundsen, care of the Norwegian & Swedish Consul in St. Thomas, backstamped with St. Thomas receiver (23 Feb), imprint on back flap “The inclosed letter was recovered from the wreck of the / Steamer Metropolis, lost on Currituck Beach,/ North Carolina, January 31, 1878”, light adhesion marks on two back corners from prior mounting, a rare entire.

In January, 1878, the Steamer “Metropolis”, then owned by the Lunt Brothers shipping company, set sail for Brazil with over 700 tons of steel for the construction of a railroad, along with 248 passengers.  It began taking on water in Delaware Bay, and despite rising seas, the Captain pressed on, until water flooded the engine room, forcing him to ground the ship on a sandbar near Currituck Beach. A delay in arranging a rescue led to the deaths of 102 passengers.  Mail that was salvaged was forwarded on under official covers such as the example offered here.

1883, folded letter from the firm of Hellmund & Co, franked with 25c brown orange of Curacao, 10c brown Bank Note issue of the United States below, cancelled with St. Thomas c.d.s., the 10c paying for transit via the United States & Brazil Mail Steamship Co, to Bangor, Maine, endorsed in manuscript “per Steamer Valencia via NYork”, with New York PAID ALL and New York c.d.s. backstamps (23 Mar), vertical fold, a rare mixed franking.

1917, 10c ultramarine Registry stamp, with 2c Washington, tied by Christiansted c.d.s., to cover from the National Bank of the Danish West Indies, to Staten Island, New York, with “Christiansted / Registered” (19 May), “Charlotte Amalie, Saint-Thomas / Reg’d” (21 May), New York (28 May) and Staten Island (29 May) backstamps, some edge creasing and tone spots, but a scarce usage of the 10c registry stamp on mail from the Danish West Indies.

Brazil: 1893, 200reis postal stationery cover, postmarked with Rio de Janeiro double-circle (29 May), to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, endorsed “via N. Orleans & Belize”, with St. Thomas (10 Jul) and Tegucigalpa (1 Sep) c.d.s. transit, an unusual routing. 

British Guiana: 1875, folded entire datelined Demerara, to Philadelphia, United States, franked with 2c orange and 8c pink, cancelled with “A03” grid, Georgetown c.d.s. (6 Jul) despatch backstamp, St. Thomas c.d.s. transit (15 Jul), manuscript “4” (pence) notation on front, cancelled on arrival in the United States with “NEW-YORK / DUE 6 CTS” c.d.s. (30 Jul), partial Philadelphia arrival backstamp, trivial vertical filing fold, 8c adhesive with a few light wrinkles, else a scarce and fresh entire.

Colombia: 1852 folded letter to New York, with neatly-struck Santa Martha double-arc despatch on reverse (22 Dec), corresponding red PAID AT SANTA-MARTA Crown Circle on front, conveyed via St. Thomas with British Post Office double-arc transit backstamp (16 Jan), red “1/“ manuscript and STEAMSHIP / 10 Cts due marking on front, light file fold, a remarkably fresh entire with high-quality strikes.

Dominican Republic: 2c postal stationery card, postmarked Monte Cristi (9 Mar), to Bremerhaven, Germany, neatly-struck St. Thomas transit (16 Mar), equally-crisp Bremerhaven c.d.s. receiver (8 Apr), quality strikes.

Guadeloupe: 1889 cover, franked with 25c on 20c red on yellow-green Commerce, cancelled with Guadeloupe / Pointe-a-Pitre double-circle c.d.s. (5 Mar), paying the registered letter rate to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, endorsed “voie Anglaise”, with Basse-Terre (6 Mar), St. Thomas (9 Mar), New York (23 Mar), St. John NB (26 Mar), and Halifax (27 Mar) backstamps, scarce and most attractive.

Italy: 1868, three-colour franking on folded cover, paying the 1l50c rate, cancelled with “13” dotted obliterator and postmarked Genova (28 Oct), endorsed “voie d’Inglaterra”, prepaid to London, with further “1.20” manuscript rate notation adjacent, struck on receipt by the British Post Office with red PAID c.d.s. (30 Oct), manuscript “1” (shilling) due, thence to St. Thomas, with c.d.s. arrival backstamp (16 Nov), horizontal fold clear of adhesives, a scarce early incoming cover.

Netherlands: 1876, folded cover to St. Thomas, franked with 1872 15c brown orange and 50c bister, cancelled by dotted numeral, the 50c tied by Amsterdam c.d.s. (16 Aug), endorsed “per mail via Southampton”, struck at bottom with London PAID c.d.s. (17 Aug), red “110” manuscript notation beside, c.d.s. arrival backstamp (2 Sep), wax seal cut from back, light filing fold, else a fine incoming cover.; with 1984 Albert Louis certificate.

Newfoundland: 1852, folded letter to Newfoundland, datelined St. Johns P.R. [Puerto Rico], with printed commercial contents, reverse with fair SAN JUAN PORTO RICO despatch strike of the British Post Office (15 Jun), St. Thomas double-arc transit alongside (22 Jun), manuscript notation “Paid at D.I. 1/8cy”, adjacent “1/6” due marking, “St. John’s Newfoundland” arrival backstamp (12 July), trivial filing folds, a rare destination.

Puerto Rico: 1857, folded cover to Rivadeo, Spain, franked with 1/2r p deep greenish blue, mostly large margins, just touching at upper right, tied to folded cover by oval obilterator, postmarked with blue "Admon. Gral Puerto Rico” double-circle c.d.s. (29 Nov), conveyed to the British Post Office, with “SAN-JUAN-PORTO-RICO” double-arc backstamp (29 Nov) and fine “PAID AT SAN JUAN PORTO RICO” Crown circle on front, red “1/11” single-weight rate notation, red British PAID c.d.s. (18 Dec), “ANGL AMB CALAIS” c.d.s. entry mark (19 Dec), Paris (19 Dec) and Rivadeo (26 Dec) backstamps, some trivial edge flaws, small portion of outer sheet missing, else fine.

Puerto Rico: 1873, folded letter to New York, datelined November 11, franked with 1865-73 4d vermilion, plate 12, tied by oval C61 San Juan duplex, endorsed “Vap. Ingles”, with clear N.Y. STEAMSHIP 10 (20 Nov) c.d.s. on front, filing fold barely touching bottom perfs of adhesive, else a fresh an appealing entire.

Puerto Rico: 1900, United States 5c postal stationery cover, “Porto Rico” in blue below indicia, uprated with 5c Garfield, to Paris, France, backstamped with St. Thomas transit (20 Mar), endorsed “p. vapor Espanol”, crossed-out and “Francais” written overtop, postmarked “Le Havre” (4 Apr), piece torn from back flap, else fine.

Trinidad: 1864, folded cover franked with 4d violet and 6d green, paying the double rate to Philadelphia, United States, cancelled with “1” numeral, adjacent Trinidad double-arc (7 Jul), smudged red PAID AT TRINIDAD Crown Circle below, endorsed “p. Mail via Havana”, with St. Thomas transit (13 Jul) backstamp, maunscript red “8” credit notation, struck on receipt in United States with NY STEAMSHIP 10 handstamp, light wrinkles, scarce.

Venezuela: 1858, folded cover dateline Ciudad Bolivar [Venezuela], 11 March, to Hamburg, Germany, reverse with St. Thomas double-arc despatch (31 Mar), London split-ring transit (19 Apr), “1/6” due in red, oval arrival backstamp, (21 Apr), light filing fold, else fine.

Venezuela: 1872, folded cover, internally docketed “Caracas, Sept 6”, endorsed “via St. Thomas & Havana”, presumably carried privately to St. Thomas, where the first portion of the routing instruction was likely crossed-out, handstamped there with oval marking of Maduro & Cie, “forwarding” written in manuscript within, franked with two single 4d vermilion, plate 12, tied by crisp St Thomas PAID C51 duplex (16 Sep), to New York, where struck with “NEW YORK / U.S. NOTES / 20” c.d.s. (4 Oct), light wrinkles, a fine and desirable franking.

This cover would have been carried to Havana via British steamship, then transferred to an American vessel for the journey to New York.  The United States portion was unpaid, leaving the recipient with 20c due

1875, cover from St. Thomas to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, struck with Jürgens & Co. cachet at left, posted from the Danish Post Office with ST. THOMAS c.d.s. (1 Jul) in black, carried on the Steamer “Maracaibo” and franked by top marginal HAPAG 1875 10c black, blue-green & yellow, cancelled by target handstamp in black, steamer endorsement “Maracaibo” crossed-out upon arrival in San Juan and altered to the “Mersey”, the letter prepaid with Great Britain 1865 4 d. vermilion pl. 14 boldly tied by "C61" obliterator in black with 'Porto Rico' cds below (4 Jul), thence to Puerto Plata (internal docketing of receipt July 7), small tear in “to” or “Porto”, trivial imperfections of no importance given the immense rarity of this extraordinary combination usage; signed Alberto Diena. 

Provenance: 

Collection Julius Steindler, Robson Lowe, Basel, 14 March 1972, lot 555; 
David Feldman, Zurich, 16-22 Oct 1983, lot 32608;
Collection “Dubois”, Corinphila, June 2021, Lot 4117

1875, Hamburg America Packet Company, 10c black, blue-green, & yellow, on folded letter datelined La Guaira, 9 October, cancelled with black target, endorsed “por Lotharingia”, to Carupano, conveyed via St. Thomas where the adhesive was affixed, light filing folds, an unusual usage between two Venezuelan cities, a direct route between La Guaira and Carupano being shorter; with 1898 Holcombe certificate.

1875, 10c black on greyish-green-blue and yellow, Type I, horizontal imperforate strip of four, with sheet margin at foot, large part original gum, roughly separated at right, vertical fold in margin between third and fourth stamp, small thin in lower left margin, a rare multiple, each stamp signed Engel, with 1978 Dr. Debo certificate.

1877, folded letter from Schon, Wilson & Co, datelined Maracaibo, 13 December, franked with 10c black, dark yellow & bluish green, the rare second printing, the left-hand stamp with clear double embossing shift to upper right, oval cachet “LESEUR ROMER & Co. PUERTO CABELLO”, to St. Thomas, with Puerto Cabello despatch postmark on front, reverse with St. Thomas c.d.s. of the Danish Post Office (22 Dec), negligible horizontal fold and trace of ink erosion on reverse, inconsequential given this rare multiple franking, particularly desirable with the double embossing; exJulius Steindler.

1877 folded letter from the firm of A.E. & A Jessurun of Curacao, datelined 29 June, franked with 10c black, dark yellow, and blue-green, cancelled in manuscript, to St. Thomas, with c.d.s. arrival backstamp (18 July), some separation to upper fold, else a fine and scarce usage of this second printing.

1879, cover front, struck with violet oval commercial handstamp of J. Sala Y Ca. of St. Thomas, to Puerto Plata, endorsed “Via Cabo Haitian / per German Steamer”, franked with 10c black, blue-green, & dark yellow, Second Printing, paying the rate for letters up to 30g, tied by “Buhrow Schutt / Agents” forwarding agent two-line handstamp in blue, a few light spots mostly near left, a scarce late usage, handstamped W. Engel, with 1981 Dr. Debo certificate; ex “Hogensborg”

Venezuela: 1893, 10c postal stationery card, postmarked with neatly-struck “Aus Westindien / Uber Coln / P. Hamburg-Dampfer” c.d.s. (15 Oct), to Hamburg, Germany, bold violet TEUTONIA ship marking struck on front, Hamburg c.d.s. receiver (16 Oct), a choice steamship handstamp.

1896, 2c postal stationery entire, uprated with 12c lilac & green, 10CENTS on 50c, 1c single, tied by St. Thomas c.d.s. (2 Feb), cancelled with straight-line violet BOLIVIA purser’s mark, to Cap Haitien, Haiti, there handstamped with violet oval of forwarding agent Otto Schutt & Co, backstamped Cap Haitien, address crossed-out and redirected to Sommer Herrmann Y Cia in Mexico City, with LIGNE B French paquebot transit (8 Feb), Mexico c.d.s. arrival backstamp (28 Feb) and violet oval Herrmann Y Cia commercial datestamp (29 Feb) on front, a scarce entire, signed Wahl, with 2003 Nielsen certificate.

1896, cover to Hamburg, Germany franked with 1c, 3c, 4c, and 5c, cancelled “26/IX.96” in manuscript and cancelled with violet POLARIA purser’s handstamp, c.d.s. arrival backstamp (15 Oct), some light edge wear not detracting from this rare ship’s marking, signed Alberto Diena.

1898, HAPAG ship-illustrated cover, franked with 10c grey-blue & red-brown, inverted frameline, cancelled in manuscript and tied by faint FLANDRIA straight-line in violet, to Altona, Germany, endorsed in manuscript “per S.S. Flandria”, postmarked “AUS WESTINDIEN / UBER COLN / P. HAMBURG DAMPFER” and “Coln(Rhein) - Verviers / Bahnpost / Zug 5” railway transit (30 Mar), same-day Altona c.d.s. arrival backstamp, edge creasing and the odd toning spot, a difficult purser’s mark.

1899, St. Thomas postcard franked with 3c light blue & carmine, inverted frameline, cancelled in manuscript and tied by bold violet SYRIA purser’s mark, manuscript dated “10/6/99” below, to Hamburg, with c.d.s. receiver (27 Jun), a very fine cancellation.

Puerto Cabello Steam Ship Co, 1864, Rasco issue, 2 r. green, on 1866 folded letter to Genoa, Italy, tied by neat strike of 'La Guaira' despatch c.d.s. (25 Feb), carried to St. Thomas on the steamer “Robert Todd”, thence  to London, with red transit cds on reverse (16 Mar), struck there with 'GB / 1F 60c.' accountancy mark in black, next-day Paris transit c.d.s., taxed on arrival in Genoa with manuscript '10' for the 1 lire due from the recipient, boxed arrival backstamp (19 Mar), Dietrich/Leipzig dealer mark at lower left, a scarce and most attractive entire, with exceptional colour and roulettes for this issue; with 1971 Fiecchi and 2014 Moorehouse certificates.

Puerto Cabello Steam Ship Co, 1866 folded entire, datelined Porto Cabello, 24 October, to Bordeaux, France, the 2r fee presumably paid in cash, endorsed “p. R.M. Stmr” in manuscript, choice strike of scarce sailing-ship illustrated “St Thomas La Guayra & Po. Cabello Steam Packet” handstamp, blue London c.d.s. transit backstamp (12 Nov), boxed black “G B / 1F60c” accountancy mark on front and black “10” (decimes) due mark of France, indistinct Calais entry mark on front, backstamped Paris, Paris a Bordeaux (13 Nov) and Bordeaux (14 Nov), light filing folds, a fine rare entire with visually-appealing ship marking, of which only a handful are recorded.

Puerto Cabello Steam Ship Co, 1866, 2 r. rose red, perforated 11.5 x 12.5, tied to cover to Bordeaux, France, by Caracas double-circle, endorsed “voie Anglaise”, with boxed “G B / 1F60c” accountancy mark, black “20” (decimes) due, London (30 Aug), Paris (31 Aug) and Bordeaux (1 Sept) c.d.s. backstamps, some creasing, two small holes near address, slight perf toning to adhesive, but a rare franking, with only five examples recorded with this perforation variety; with 1984 Holcombe certificate.