RARE "ROCHESTER/SHIP LETTER" ON COVER WITH STANDGATE CREEK DISINFECTION SLITS, ETC.; 3 Sept. 1816 letter from “Demerary” to Liverpool “P. [Ship] Julius Caesar” disinfected (three chisel-slits plus faint vinegar staining – both indicative of disinfection at Standgate Creek near Gravesend) and then taken to the P.O. at Rochester, hence the rare step-type framed “ROCHESTER/SHIP LETTER” (very little-used Rob.S4 – found almost exclusively on disinfected letters from vessels held at Standgate Creek) nicely placed on the front. The “2/4” rate (double 8d Ship Letter + double 6d inland rate from Rochester to London; 29 miles) was amended to “3/4” (double 8d Ship Letter + double 1s-0d inland rate from Rochester to Liverpool; 285 miles). This letter was probably disinfected because a passenger or member of the crew had contracted yellow fever during the voyage – the disease was very prevalent in British Guiana at the time. Rare disinfected cover from South America of Exhibition Quality.Cross Reference: SHIP LETTERS, DISINFECTED MAIL, KENT (Image)