1840 (Aug. 31) London, England to Philadelphia Pa. Folded letter with red "Paid Ship Letter - London, 1 SP 1840" crown oval postmark, London "Paid" (8.31) tombstone postmark and matching large "1" penny late fee handstamp, carried as endorsed by British & American Steam Navigation Co. "British Queen" from Portsmouth Sep. 1st to New York arriving Sep. 16th, red "New York 'Ship' Sep 17" cds with manuscript "14½" due rating for 12½¢ letter rate plus 2¢ ship fee, Extremely Fine and choice, ex-Winter.
Estimate; $500 - 750.

THE ONLY RECORDED NON-CONTRACT STEAMSHIP LETTER WITH EXTRA PENNY FEE PAID. Est. $500-750 (Image)

Est. $500-750

1842 (Oct. 3) Alexandria, Settra Kroo, South Africa (Liberia) to New York N.Y. via Philadelphia. Datelined folded letter carried by private ship from Africa to Philadelphia, entered mails with blue "Philadelphia Pa. Dec 9" cds and matching "Ship" handstamp with red manuscript "14½" due rating for 12½¢ inland postage plus 2¢ ship fee; fold splitting, some toning, F.-V.F. and scarce use from this Liberia forerunner.
Estimate; $300 - 400. Est. $300-400 (Image)

Est. $300-400

1844 (Sep. 9) London, England to Philadelphia, Pa. forwarded to New York. Folded letter with "Moorgate S" receiving house backstamp with red manuscript "1/" shilling prepaid rating, red London (9.10) datestamp, carried by Cunard Line Caledonia from Liverpool Sep. 19th to Boston arriving Oct. 3rd, Philadelphia red "20¾" due handstamp for 18¾¢ inland postage plus 2¢ ship fee, forwarded with red "Philadelphia Pa. Oct 5" cds and matching "Forwarded" framed handstamp, blue manuscript 20¾¢ plus 12½¢ to forward letter to New York for total postage due of 33¼¢, Very Fine and scarce forwarded transatlantic use, One of only 9 recorded Philadelphia 20¾ rate handstamps struck in red.
Estimate; $300 - 400.

Letter rated at Philadelphia and not at arrival port of Boston. Italicized version of Philadelphia rate stamp in red quite scarce with only a few copies known. Est. $300-400 (Image)

Est. $300-400

1844 (Nov. 19) Liverpool, England to Philadelphia Pa. Folded letter with bold red octagonal "Paid At Liverpool, 1844 No 19" handstamp with matching "1/" handstamp for 1sh packet rate, carried by Cunard Line Caledonia from Liverpool Nov. 19th to Boston arriving Dec. 7th, Philadelphia
blue "20¾" rating handstamp for 18¾¢ inland 150-400 miles plus 2¢ ship fee, Extremely Fine and attractive, One of the finest known examples of this marking, ex-Hugh Feldman.
Estimate; $300 - 400.

The Philadelphia "20¾" rating handstamp is struck in blue with 12 examples recorded from Oct. 1844 to Jun. 1845. Est. $300-400 (Image)

Est. $300-400

1845 (May 18) Taibach, Wales to Philadelphia Pa. Folded letter with sharp "Taibach, MY18, 1845" and red manuscript "1/-" updated to "2/-" prepaid double the 1s packet rate, Liverpool (5.19) transit backstamp, carried as endorsed by Cunard Line Cambria from Liverpool May 20th to Boston arriving Jun. 1st, red "Boston Ms. 'Ship' Jun 1" cds and matching bold "39½" in circle rating handstamp for double the 18¾¢ inland plus 2¢ ship fee, Very Fine, The finest recorded strike of the Boston "39½" rate handstamp..
Estimate; $200 - 300. Est. $200-300 (Image)

Est. $200-300

1845 (Dec. 30) Ipswich, England to Philadelphia Pa. Folded letter bearing 2d blue (2) irregular block of six, large margins except in at top, small scissor cut between pos. 3/5, tied by sharp "405" barred oval cancels, matching "Ipswich, DE 30, 1845" origin backstamp, endorsed "Post Office Liverpool - pr Boston Steamer" and "6 - 2d Stamps" beneath block, red London (12.31) transit backstamp, Liverpool (12.31) transit oval, carried by Cunard Line Hibernia from Liverpool Jan. 4th to Boston arriving Jan. 23rd, Philadelphia blue "12" in lined circle handstamp for 10¢ inland plus 2¢ ship fee, docketed as received Jan. 24th.
Estimate; $2,000 - 3,000.

The Philadelphia blue "12" in lined circle handstamp is recorded used from Jul. 1845 to Nov. 1850. Est. $2,000-3,000 (Image)

Est. $2,000-3,000

1846 (Mar. 17) Liverpool, England to Philadelphia Pa. Datelined folded letter with "Ship Letter, Liverpool, MR 19, 4 6" rimless crown backstamp and red manuscript "8" pence prepaid rating for ship letter fee, endorsed "p 'Unicorn' Steamer", carried as endorsed by Unicorn from Liverpool Mar. 19th to Boston arriving Apr. 17th, New York large "12" due handstamp for 10¢ inland plus 2¢ ship fee, Very Fine and rare.
Estimate; $1,000 - 1,500.

THE ONLY KNOWN "UNICORN" COVER TO PHILADELPHIA, THE LAST OF SEVEN VOYAGES OF THIS PIONEER STEAMSHIP.

Unicorn formerly had run on the Cunard feeder mail service between Pictou, Nova Scotia and Quebec. In November 1845, she was purchased by James Whitney to be placed on the Halifax to St. John's, Newfoundland service. Returning to North America in March 1846, Unicorn carried ship letters one last time to Boston. Very few covers have been recorded from this voyage. Est. $1,000-1,500 (Image)

Est. $1,000-1,500

1847 (Jun. 14) Manchester, England to Philadelphia Pa. Datelined gray folded letter with red "Manchester, JU 14, 1847" double-arc origin cds and initially rated in red manuscript "1/" for packet but updated to "8" pence uniform ship letter due, flap with "Ship-Letter, Liverpool" crowned rimless cds and blue Liverpool (6.15) cds, carried by Red Cross Line Sarah Sands from Liverpool Jun. 15th to New York arriving Jul. 19th, entered mails with red "New-York, Ship, 7 cts, Jul 19" integral-due cds for 5¢ inland plus 2¢ ship fee, F.-V.F., This was the second voyage of Sarah Sands.
Estimate; $150 - 200. Est. $150-200 (Image)

Est. $150-200

1847 (Jun. 12) Birmingham, England to Philadelphia Pa. Datelined folded letter with blue "Birmingham, JU 12, 1847" double-arc origin cds and magenta manuscript "8" pence uniform ship letter due, flap with "Ship-Letter, Liverpool" (6.15) crowned rimless cds, carried by Red Cross Line Sarah Sands from Liverpool Jun. 15th to New York arriving Jul. 19th, entered mails with red "New-York, Ship, 7 cts, Jul 19" integral-due cds for 5¢ inland plus 2¢ ship fee, inside with red Custom House Philadelphia handstamp, Very Fine, This was the second voyage of Sarah Sands.
Estimate; $200 - 300. Est. $200-300 (Image)

Est. $200-300

1848 (Apr. 1) Liverpool, England to Philadelphia Pa. Datelined blue folded letter with red "Liverpool, Paid, AP 1, 1848" origin cds and magenta "8" pence uniform ship letter due, endorsed "Per 'Sarah Sands' " at top, flap with "Ship-Letter, Liverpool" (4.1) crowned rimless cds, carried by Red Cross Line Sarah Sands from Liverpool Apr. 3rd to New York arriving Apr. 21st, entered mails with bold strike of red "New-York, Ship, 7 cts, Jul 19" integral-due cds for 5¢ inland plus 2¢ ship fee, choice and Extremely Fine.
Estimate; $150 - 200. Est. $150-200 (Image)

Est. $150-200