Great Britain, 1884, 2½d lilac. Tied by "London, Nov 25, 1886" Ethridge Machine Postmark on cover to France; small cover tone spots, a Very Fine strike, very rare. Scott No. 101. SG No. 190  Estimate $500 - 750. The American Postal Machines Company of Boston, Massachusetts, furnished the British Post Office in London with one of their "Ethridge" steam-powered postmarking machines for testing in 1886. The Post Office rejected the machine because of its size, its high cost and little or no advantage compared to Hoster Machines being concurrently tested. $0 (Image)