Los-Nr. 8062

1842 (Nov 30): Entire letter from Westminster to 'David King, Surgeon of H.M.Ship Cornwallis, Chinese Expedition' struck on despatch with London 'T.P. / Charles St. West.r' in blue and tombstone 'Paid' datestamp in red (Nov 30), endorsed 'Overland Mail' at left and 'Via Falmouth, Paid 1/-' at top right with further red manuscript '1/-' alongside. Rare and most attractive entire. HMS Cornwallis was a 74 gun „Third rate ship“ of the line of the Royal navy, launched 1813 in Bombay. After China’s defeat in the First Opium war, representatives from the British and Qing Empires negotiated a peace treaty aboard Cornwallis in Nanjing. On 29 August 1842, British representative Sir Henry Pottinger and Qing representatives, Qiying, Ilibu and Niujian, signed the ‚Treaty of Nanking‘ aboard  HMS Cornwallis!