1853 (Jan. 20) Dudley, England to Philadelphia Pa. Datelined folded letter with "Dudley, JA20, 1853" double-arc origin backstamp bearing Great Britain, 1s green embossed (5) horizontal pair, mostly large margins, cancelled by blurry ovals, prepaying double the 1s packet rate, Liverpool (1.21) transit backstamps and red "10/Cents" credit to U.S. handstamp for double the 5¢ inland postage, carried by Cunard Line Canada from Liverpool Jan. 22nd to Boston arriving Feb. 5th, red "Boston, Br. Pkt. Feb 6" exchange cds with matching "Paid" and "48" rating handstamps for restatement of prepayment, Very Fine.
Estimate; $400 - 600. Est. $400-600 (Image)

Est. $400-600

1854 (Jan. 6) Manchester, England to Philadelphia Pa. Blue folded letter with blue "Manchester, JA 6, 1854" double-arc datestamp, green Liverpool (1.7) oval backstamp and matching "19/Cents" debit handstamp, carried by Cunard Line Niagara from Liverpool Jan. 7th to Boston arriving Jan. 25th, black "Philadelphia Br. Pkt. '24' Jan 26" due exchange cds for 19¢ debit plus 5¢ inland postage; vertical file fold, F.-V.F., The Earliest Recorded Use of the "Philadelphia Br. Pkt. '24'" exchange cds.
Estimate; $200 - 300.

The Philadelphia Exchange Office

Philadelphia became an exchange office on I January 1854, and was to correspond in closed bags with the exchange offices at Liverpool, London or Southampton. Although mail despatched by the Philadelphia exchange office could originate any-where, British bags sent to Philadelphia were to comprise only mail to addresses within the Philadelphia city limits. Est. $200-300 (Image)

Est. $200-300

1855 (Apr. 7) Calcutta, India to Philadelphia, Pa. Folded letter with Calcutta (4.7) origin cds backstamp, London (5.18) backstamp and matching "India" framed handstamp, manuscript "54" cents debit to U.S., carried by Collins Line Pacific from Liverpool May 19th to New York arriving May 30th, sharp "Philadelphia Am. Pkt. May 30" exchange cds with two strikes of "75" due handstamp, Philadelphia manuscript "77" at lower left includes 2¢ carrier fee, Very Fine and choice, ex-Winter.
Estimate; $400 - 600.

Letter carried by P&O steamers "Oriental" from Calcutta to Suez via Madras and Ceylon and "Vectis" from Alexandria to Marseille via Malta. British debit included 34¢ British and 20¢ French transit fees. Letter in closed mail bag from London to Philadelphia, an exchange office since January 1854. Est. $400-600 (Image)

Est. $400-600

1855 (May 26) Liverpool, England to Philadelphia Pa. Folded letter bearing G.B. 1s green embossed (5) vertical strip of five, margins to touched, tied by "466" oval grids, "Liverpool F.R.H. MY 26 1855" floating receiving house backstamp and red manuscript "20" cent credit rating to U.S., carried as endorsed by Cunard Line Africa from Liverpool May 26th to Boston arriving Jun. 7th, closed bag to Philadelphia where red "Philadelphia Br. Pkt. 'Paid' Jun 7" exchange cds and matching red "96" cent rate handstamp struck; vertical file fold affects center stamp; cover nick lower right, otherwise Very Fine and rare, ex-Seybold, Gibson.
Estimate; $1,500 - 2,000.

A REMARKABLE PREPAID QUADRUPLE-RATE TRANSATLANTIC PACKET USE SHOWING THE ONE SHILLING LATE FEE FOR POSTING AT THE FLOATING HOUSE.

This cover was prepaid 5 shillings for four-times the 1s transatlantic packet plus 1s floating receiving house fee. Proper credit of 20¢ to the U.S. for four times 5¢ inland postage. Philadelphia struck the scarce "96" rating handstamp in red as a restatement of the rate (four times 24¢ rate). The 1848 U.S. G.B Treaty did not permit a triple rate. Late fees were not addressed by the treaty, but were established by GPO London in 1849 at 1/- per letter regardless of weight, reduced to 6d in 1859. Est. $1,500-2,000 (Image)

Est. $1,500-2,000

1856 (Nov. 8) London, England to Philadelphia Pa. Salmon buff cover bearing G.B. 6d purple embossed (SG 60) horizontal pair, cut to shape, one cut into right stamp, each cancelled by "51" barred ovals and tied by Liverpool "L, NO 9, A" transit, red "21/Cents" credit handstamp to U.S., carried by Collins Ericsson from Liverpool Nov. 12th to New York arriving Nov. 26th, bold strike of red "Phila. Am. Pkt. '24 Paid' Nov 26" integral-rate cds restating rate, Very Fine and pretty use.
Estimate; $300 - 400. Est. $300-400 (Image)

Est. $300-400

1857 (Mar. 9) Soutshields, England to Philadelphia Pa. Cover bearing G.B. 1s green tied by "704" barred oval, "Southfield, MR 9, 1857" origin and Liverpool (3.10) transit backstamps, large red "21/Cents" credit to U.S. handstamp, carried by Havre Line Arago from Mar. 11th to New York arriving Mar. 27th, red "Phila. Am. Pkt. 'Paid 24' Mar 28" integral-rate cds.
Estimate; $200 - 300. Est. $200-300 (Image)

Est. $200-300

1857 (Oct. 24) St. Helena to Philadelphia Pa. Cover with red "St. Helena, OC24 1857" oval backstamp and endorsed "Ship Letter", sent unpaid via British Packet, carried by Ship Sir Edward Paget from St. Helena to London arriving Dec. 18th, London manuscript "3" cent debit in error updated to "28" cents debit to U.S. for 12¢ (6d) uniform rate to London plus 16¢ transatlantic packet, carried by Cunard Line Niagara from Liverpool Dec. 19th to Boston arriving Jan. 3rd, "Philadelphia, Br. Pkt., Jan 4" exchange cds and matching "33" due handstamp including 5¢ inland postage.
Estimate; $1,000 - 1,500.

THE ONLY RECORDED LETTER FROM ST. HELENA TO PHILADELPHIA, AND THE ONLY RECORDED USE OF THIS PHILADELPHIA "33" RATING HANDSTAMP.

The Philadelphia Exchange Office

Philadelphia became an exchange office on I January 1854, and was to correspond in closed bags with the exchange offices at Liverpool, London or Southampton. Although mail despatched by the Philadelphia exchange office could originate anywhere, British bags sent to Philadelphia were to comprise only mail to addresses within the Philadelphia city limits. Est. $1,000-1,500 (Image)

Est. $1,000-1,500

1859 (Dec. 9) London, England to Philadelphia Pa. Blue folded cover with "London, DE 9, 59" duplex and two strikes of small "19/Cents" handstamp debit to U.S., carried by Cunard Line Asia from Liverpool Dec. 10th to New York arriving Dec. 22nd, "Philadelphia Br. Pkt. '24' Aug 22" exchange due cds, but insufficiently addressed, so passed to the Directory Section with "REC'D, DEC 23" framed handstamp and advertised the same day with "ADV^D/1Ct." two-line handstamp, addressee did not respond so marked with bold strike of "Philadelphia, DEAD, Feb 1" cds backstamp and forwarded to the Dead Letter Office in Washington and returned to England, carried by Cunard America from Boston Feb. 8th to Queenstown arriving Feb. 20th, London red "Sent Back to England/Without a Reason/For Non-Delivery"; no net charges to either country; small edge tear and refolded, Very Fine.
Estimate; $400 - 600.

A SCARCE UNDELIVERABLE AND RETURNED TO SENDER TRANSATLANTIC USE.

The Philadelphia "ADV^D/1Ct." two-line handstamp and "Dead" cds are the earliest recorded strikes. Est. $400-600 (Image)

Est. $400-600

1859-66 (c.) Liverpool, England to Philadelphia Pa. Cover bearing G.B. 1d deep rose-red (SG 41), horizontal strips of five and six plus a single, prepaying 1s packet rate, each tied by "A92" mail-boat barred ovals prepaying 1s packet rate, Liverpool red "5/Cents" credit to U.S. for inland postage, Philadelphia failed to apply an exchange datestamp per Treaty, with 1975 B.P.A. certificate.
Estimate; $1,000 - 1,500.

The British post office pioneered the establishment of shipboard mail-sorting offices. In the Atlantic, numeral handstamps were issued to clerks aboard Cunard and Allan Line steam packets from 1859-1870. Few examples have survived on cover. The "A92" mail-boat cancel issued in June 1859 to Mr. Nash, Marine Packet Service Atlantic Line, for use aboard Cunard packets Asia and Arabia. Est. $1,000-1,500 (Image)

Est. $1,000-1,500