RARE OVAL "SHIP-LETTER/[Crown]/ROCHESTER" ON DISINFECTED TRANSATLANTIC COVER EX RESTIGOUCH; 14 Oct. 1805 E (folds neatly and professionally backed with silk) from missionary "Edward Pidgeon" in "Restigouch" (modern Campbeltown in remote northern New Brunswick) to London, but clearly sent to New York and carried from there on the ship 'Orb' (Captain Ceet; the only Standgate Creek transatlantic arrival recorded in Lloyd's List - pcopy included - that fits the London 21 Jan. 1806 arrival cds) with a remarkably clear double-oval "SHIP-LETTER/[Crown]/ROCHESTER" (Rob. S2; few examples known, all 1803-12) nicely placed on the front. The letter has the distinctive light vinegar-staining of Standgate Creek back and front and to quote Robertson (p.E.255); "Almost without exception the Rochester ship-letters which have survived bear the unmistakable signs of disinfection at Standgate Creek... all types are of some rarity". Very few pre-1850 disinfected transatlantic covers from anywhere in North America have been recorded; presumably there was an outbreak of cholera or yellow fever on the 'Orb' in mid-Atlantic. Spectacular Item of undoubted Exhibition Quality. [Ex Alan Robertson himself; illustrated by him on p. E.256.]Cross Reference: SHIP LETTERS, KENT, TRANSATLANTIC MAIL, DISINFECTED MAIL (Image)