1803 SFL, New York to Bordeaux, France, written 12 April 1803, h/s COLONIES PAR BORDEAUX, ms 7, on reverse is the extraordinary endorsement "ouverte a l'amirante de Londres", clear indications of the letter having been opened and resealed in transit. On 16th May 1803 Britain and France went to war again after a brief lull in hostilities; Britain imposed a naval blockade of the Continent, while Bonaparte began preparations for an invasion of England. Clearly the vessel from New York that carried this letter was captured by the British, its mail seized, and then examined by the Admiralty before forwarding by some means to France. An extremely rare example of early censoring of mail, and an important Trans-Atlantic mail item. A similar cover estimated at $5000-7,500, was recently sold by Schuyler Rumsey in Sale 37, lot 2536, for $8,500. (Image)

Est. 4,000

1827, Great Britain, SFL from Liverpool, 4 Aug, to Providence, RI, red Boston SEP 8 ccds, red SHIP LETTER 6 in arc, ms 32 rate, ms P Brookline at lower left, (Image)

Est. 40

1857, Great Britain SFL from Manchester, FE 6, to Boston, Mass, red boxed 'L FE7 K', bold circled BOSTON 24 23 FEB Br Pkt, '19 cents' IN ARC (Image)

Est. 50