"Britannia" Boston November 16th - London November 30th 1841, folded Oct. 30 cover from Havana, Cuba to London, letter carried out of mails by unknown forwarder (manuscript "Fa & Co." in manuscript on reverse) to New York, who turned the letter over to "Goodhue & Co., New York" (red oval backstamp) and forwarded to Boston, red "Forwd. by T.W. Ward, Boston" oval h.s. with matching "Pr. Britannia" name-of-boat straightline, London (1 DE 1841) arrival backstamp and "1" shilling packet rating, Very Fine, a scarce Ward name-of-boat marking on a triple forwarded cover. Estimate  $200 - 300. $0 (Image)

"British Queen" Circular as Belgian Steamer, March 1842, March 18, 1842 folded letter from Anvers to Verviers with original "Steamer Belge 'British Queen'" printed circular for May, July and Sept. 1842 trips from Anvers to New York via Southampton, Very Fine, excellent pioneer steamship collateral, the only recorded example of this circular. Estimate  $200 - 300. $0 (Image)

"British Queen" Final Voyage under Belgian Government, Southampton September 11th - New York September 28th 1842, folded letter to Roxbury, Mass. started at sea on August 7 in the Atlantic about 350 miles out from Boston en route to Holland, endorsed "pr Deal Pilot, from St. Dover" and letter posted at pilot station of Walmer, England, 1½ miles south of Dover, red "London Paid Ship Letter 9 SP 1842" crown postmark and red crayon "8" pence prepaid ship letter rating, red "New York Ship Sep 26" cds and blue manuscript "20¾" due for 18¾¢ postage plus 2¢ ship fee. Estimate  $400 - 600. $0 (Image)

"British Queen" London September 1st - New York September 20th 1839, folded Aug. 30th letter from Liverpool to Salem, Mass., endorsed "p 'British Queen' ", red "New-York 'Ship' Sep 21" cds and matching "2nd Delivery" straightline h.s. with "20¾" rating for 18¾¢ inland postage plus 2¢ ship fee, Extremely Fine and choice. Estimate  $400 - 600. Letter taken directly to ship letter bag in London and not posted, avoiding ship letter rate. This was British Queen's second voyage to New York. Postage due included 2¢ ship fee and 18¾¢ for U.S. inland fee. New York struck red 2nd DELIVERY handstamp to account for delay in handling of letter, which was probably brought to the post office subsequent to the principal mail bag delivery by the ship's captain. This marking is scarce on transatlantic steamship covers. $0 (Image)

"British Queen" Maiden Return Voyage, New York Aug. 1st - Portsmouth Aug. 15th 1839, folded Aug. 1st cover from New York to London, letter taken directly to ship's letter bag, London (8.16) arrival backstamp with manuscript "1/4" 1s4d due rating for 8d incoming ship fee plus 8d inland postage, Extremely Fine and choice use. Estimate  $500 - 750. The "British Queen" was a vessel of the British & American Steam Navigation Company, which also owned the "Sirius" and the "President". $0 (Image)

"British Queen" Maiden Return Voyage, New York Aug. 1st - Portsmouth Aug. 15th 1839, folded Aug. 1st cover from New York to Paris, France endorsed "Per 'British Queen' ", letter taken directly to ship's letter bag, "Portsmouth Ship Letter" stepped h.s. with manuscript "2/8" due 2s8d rating, London (8.16) backstamps, red Calais (8.18) transit, various manuscript ratings, Very Fine, Scarce cover showing rating on letter from the United States under 1836 Anglo-French Convention. Estimate  $500 - 750. Portsmouth marked 2s8d due in the United Kingdom for double-rate letter. London crossed through this and debited France 2 x 1s6d = 3s under the 1836 postal convention with France. France marked 5 franc 6 decimes postage due for 10 gram letter, 36 decimes to London and 20 decimes internal postage. $0 (Image)

"British Queen" Maiden Voyage, London July 10th - New York July 28th 1839, folded June 19th letter outer sheet (no side flaps) from Smyrna, Turkey to Boston via Liverpool, Smyrna (6.19) origin cds, Malta disinfected h.s. and two chisel slits for fumigation, red "London Paid Ship Letter 10 JY 1839" crown d.s. with manuscript "5/5" (5s/5d) prepaid rating updated to a "2" shilling ship fee to Boston, red "New York 'Ship' Jul 28" cds and "20¾" rating for the 18¾¢ inland postage plus 2¢ ship fee; Very Fine, a rare non-contract steamship letter showing disinfection. Estimate  $1,000 - 1,500. Letter posted at French post office in Smyrna and carried by French steamer "Eurotas" to Malta, where it was disinfected (two chisel slits for fumigation). Malta applied mark of purification, then sent letter by French steamer Rhamses to Marseille. London marked on reverse 2x1s10½d=3s9d "foreign" fees and 2x10d=1s8d "British" fees for postage due of 5s5d for double rate letter. Forwarding agent Woolley Bell & Co. in Liverpool paid this fee and 2x1s=2s outgoing ship fee to re-direct letter by non-contract steamship. $0 (Image)

"British Queen" Maiden Voyage under Belgian Government, Southampton May 8th - New York May 27th 1842, folded May 6 letter from London to Fall River, Mass., red "Paid Ship Letter London 6 MY 1842" crown mark and red manuscript "8" pence prepaid ship letter rating, endorsed "p 'British Queen' ", red "New-York 'Ship' May 27" cds and blue "20¾" rating for 18¾¢ postage plus 2¢ ship fee, Very Fine. Estimate  $1,000 - 1,500. In August 1841, after making nine round voyages to New York for the British & American Steam Navigation Company, the British Queen was sold to the Belgian Government. She sailed to Antwerp in September 1841 and made three round voyages under Belgium flag in 1842.This letter was carried on the inaugural voyage made for the Belgium Government between Antwerp and New York with calls at Southampton each way. Letters carried by this steamer under Belgium ownership are quite rare. $0 (Image)

"British Queen" New York December 2nd - London December 25th 1839, folded Nov. 30th letter from Boston to London, sent unpaid, red "Ship Letter/Gravesend" framed backstamp and London (12.30) backstamp, manuscript "1/" shilling due rating (8d incoming ship rating plus 4d uniform inland fees), Very Fine, one of only three recorded covers from this voyage showing the 4d rate. Estimate  $300 - 400. Letter carried privately to New York and placed in ship's letter bag by unknown agent. Letter carried on third return of nine round voyages by British Queen before the steamer was sold to the Belgian Government. This voyage of British Queen was the only steamship voyage into G.B. during the five week experimental 4d uniform inland rate period. $0 (Image)

"British Queen" New York June 1st - London June 17th 1840, folded June 30 letter from New York to Cologne, Germany on the fifth of nine round voyages by "British Queen" before the steamer was sold to the Belgian Government, letter sent out of mails to London, posted by agent to Germany via Belgium with red manuscript 1s8d prepaid rating, Ostend sent letter to Prussia debiting 20 Dutch cents, Prussia marked red manuscript "7" silbergroschen due; Very Fine, a scarce pioneer steamship letter to Germany. Estimate  $200 - 300. $0 (Image)

"British Queen" Portsmouth July 1st - New York July 18th 1840, folded June 30 letter from London with red "Paid Ship Letter" crown handstamp to Boston, Mass. on the sixth of nine round voyages by "British Queen" before the steamer was sold to the Belgian Government, prepayment was 1s4d (two times 8 pence) for ½-1 ounce, red "New York Ship Jul 18" cds and "77" cents rating for postage due of four-times 18¾¢ plus 2¢ ship fee, the postage in the U.S. was still based on number of sheets and not weight, Very Fine. Estimate  $300 - 400. On the same day that this letter arrived in New York on the non-contract steamship 'British Queen', the Cunard steamship Britannia arrived at Boston with the first contract mails. $0 (Image)

"British Queen" Portsmouth September 1st - New York September 16th 1840, folded August 29 letter from Liverpool to Albany, N.Y., red "Ship Letter Liverpool 31 AU 1840" and "Ship Letter London 1 SP 1840" postmarks with matching red "8" pence rating handstamp for outgoing ship rate, red "New-York 'Ship' Sep 17" cds; light file fold, 15 days transit, Very Fine and attractive, unusual usage with three different ship letter handstamps. Estimate  $200 - 300. $0 (Image)

"British Queen" Portsmouth September 1st - New York September 16th 1840, folded Aug. 31st letter from London to Philadelphia, red "Paid Ship Letter - London 1 SP 1840" crown handstamp, large "1" penny handstamp believed to indicate payment of late fee, red "New York Ship Sep 17" cds with manuscript "14½" due rating for 12½¢ letter rate plus 2¢ ship fee, clean and Very Fine, The Only Recorded Non-Contract Steamship Letter With Extra Penny Fee Paid. Estimate  $300 - 400. $0 (Image)

"Great Britain" Final Voyage, Liverpool July 7th - New York July 21st 1846, folded July 3 folded letter from Liverpool to Boston endorsed "pr. G' Britain", prepaid ship fee in Liverpool indicated by red manuscript "8" rating, red "New York 'Ship 7cts' cds for 5¢ inland postage plus 2¢ ship fee; light vertical file fold, clean and Very Fine. Estimate  $300 - 400. Letter carried on the fourth and last voyage of the Great Britain to New York before she ran hard aground on the sandy beach of Dundrum Bay near Belfast in September 1846. $0 (Image)

"Great Britain" Liverpool September 27th - New York October 15th 1845, folded Sept. 14 letter from Bremerhaven, Hannover to Boston via London, letter bearing "Geestendorf" origin straightline, forwarding agent paid "1/8" for packet letter from Germany, reposted with red "Liverpool Paid Ship Letter, 25 SP 1845" crown postmark and with red manuscript "8" pence ship rating to U.S., entered U.S. mails with red "New York Ship '7cts' Oct 12" cds for 5¢ inland postage plus 2¢ ship, Very Fine, a scarce non-contract steamship use from Germany. Estimate  $200 - 300. $0 (Image)

"Great Britain" New York June 8th - Liverpool June 22nd 1846, folded June 6 letter from New York to Berlin, Prussia, letter sent unpaid with freight money fee paid directly to steamship agent, "Liverpool Ship 22 JU 1846" and London (6.23) backstamps, manuscript "2/4" for 8d incoming ship fee plus 1s8d U.K. postage to Germany, equivalent to 31 schillinge to which Hamburg added 6 schillinge transit fee and debited Prussia 37 schillinge, this was equivalent to 29 silbr. to which Prussia added 6 sgr. transit fee, Very Fine. Estimate  $200 - 300. Letter carried on the third return voyage of the Great Britain. $0 (Image)

"Great Western" 1846, two 1846 folded letters from Bremen to Baltimore, Md., July 21st letter with Bremen incorrectly crediting G.B. "1/6" 1s6d for non-contract transatlantic service (the 1s6d paid for contract service); red "New-York 'Ship 7cts' Aug 10" cds for 5¢ inland postage plus 2¢ ship fee; Sep. 8th letter with Bremen correctly credited G.B. "1/2" 1s2d for non-contract transatlantic service; Baltimore blue "7" cent due rating h.s. for 5¢ inland postage plus 2¢ ship fee, Very Fine, an interesting pair non-contract steamship letters from Germany. Estimate  $300 - 400. The letters were conveyed from Hamburg to London by steamship under Anglo-Bremen Treaty of 1841. Bremen credited G.B. with 6 pence (British portion of Anglo-Bremen transit fees) plus either for 8 pence transatlantic ship postage or 1 shilling transatlantic packet postage. The September 8th letter was not rated at New York but at Baltimore, somewhat unusual. $0 (Image)

"Great Western" Bristol June 4th - New York June 18th 1840, folded June 2nd letter from Liverpool bearing red "Liverpool JU 3 1840" postmark and matching uncommon "Paid At Liverpool" handstamp with manuscript "8" pence rating for ship letter fee, New York "6" cent ship fee to port of arrival, Extremely Fine and choice. Estimate  $200 - 300. $0 (Image)

"Great Western" Bristol November 7th - New York November 24th 1840, folded Nov. 4th letter from Calne, England to Toronto, Upper Canada endorsed "Private Ship.by New York" that meant it was paid to go on a sailing ship or non-contract steamship, red London "Paid Ship Letter" crown postmark and "8" ship letter rating, "New York Ship Nov 24" cds and "27" rating (25¢ postage plus 2¢ ship fee), Toronto Nov. 29 arrival and 1s11½d currency due; light vertical file fold, Very Fine, a scarce non-contract steamship letter to Canada. Estimate  $200 - 300. $0 (Image)

"Great Western" Bristol October 19th - New York November 2nd 1839, folded Sep. 10 cover from Smyrna, Turkey, to Boston, Mass. with "Smyrna 10 Sept." double circle date stamp, Paris (9.25) and London (9.27) transit backstamps, red "Liverpool Ship Letter Oct. 18" rimless cds, red "New-York Ship Nov 3" cds with manuscript "20¾" rating for 18¾¢ inland postage plus 2¢ ship fee, part of back flap missing, F.-V.F., a rare non-contract steamship letter showing disinfection. Estimate  $300 - 400. Letter posted at French post office in Smyrna and carried by French steamer "Sesostris" to Malta, where it was disinfected (two chisel slits for fumigation). Malta applied mark of purification on reverse, then sent letter by the French steamer "Lycurgue" to Marseille. London marked on reverse 1s10½d "Foreign" fees and 10d "British" fees for postage due of 2s8½d (portion of cover missing shows most of this). Forwarding agent Woolley Bell & Co. in Liverpool paid this fee and 1s outgoing ship fee to re-direct letter by non-contract steamship. $0 (Image)

"Great Western" Bristol October 23rd - New York November 9th 1841, folded Oct. 22nd letter from London to Richmond, Va. endorsed "pr Great Western", red "London Paid Ship Letter, 22 OC 1841" crown postmark and red manuscript "8" prepaid rating for ship letter, red "New York Ship Nov 9" cds and blue manuscript "20¾" due for 18¾¢ postage plus 2¢ ship fee, Very Fine. Estimate  $200 - 300. $0 (Image)

"Great Western" Liverpool October 12th - New York October 26th 1844, folded Oct. 1 folded letter from Paris, France to New York with red "T.P./G Surrey S." postmark, red London (10.8) and Liverpool Ship Letter (10.8) d.s., red manuscript "Pd 1.0" prepaid 1 shilling rating, carried by Great Western from Liverpool Oct. 12 to New York arriving Oct. 26, New York red ms "6" cent due rating, additional carrier "chged 8 cts" rating, Very Fine, a scarce Transatlantic carrier usage. Estimate  $300 - 400. Letter carried privately to London where it was posted in the Two Penny Post Office on Great Surrey Street. The prepayment in London is shown in the upper left in red pen as 1s0d. Letter may have been paid the packet letter rate, but, since it was endorsed to go by Great Western, it was sent by this steamer, an overpayment of four pence. New York post office marked the letter for 6¢ postage due, the incoming ship letter rate to the port. A New York letter carrier marked "chged 8 cts" in pen, showing that an additional fee of 2¢ for carrier delivery service was charged on the letter. Carrier collect fees were seldom marked on letters and are scarce to find. $0 (Image)

"Great Western" Maiden Return Voyage, New York May 7th - Bristol May 22nd 1838, folded May 7th letter from New York to Cognac, France, endorsed "Steamer Great Western via England", "Bristol Ship-Letter" stepped h.s. and "1/6" 1s6d due rating, London (5.23) backstamp and manuscript "1/6" 1s6d G.B. debit to France, red "Angleterre Par Calais" circular handstamp, Cognac (5.27) arrival backstamp, manuscript"32" (décimes) due rating; Very Fine. Estimate  $3,000 - 4,000. Letter taken to mail bag at ship agent's office, instead of to the post office. Freight money fee was not collected on Great Western's maiden return voyage. Bristol marked 1s6d due (8d incoming ship letter fee plus 10d British inland fee from Bristol to London). London Foreign Office debited French 1s6d as required under the 1836 Anglo-French Convention, manuscript upper right. Paris struck ANGLETERRE/PAR/CALAIS marking to show letter arrived from England entering France at Calais, a very scarce marking on a transatlantic steamship cover. Paris also marked letter for 32 décimes postage due, 18 décimes pay back to G.B. plus 14 décimes French inland postage from Calais to Bordeaux (605 km). $0 (Image)

"Great Western" New York April 28th - Liverpool May 11th 1842, folded April 27 cover from New York to Wohlen, Switzerland, carried out of mails to Paris, where it was posted as an unpaid letter to Switzerland, Paris red "FR/7D" framed square handstamp for French debit of 7 décimes to Basel, equivalent to 21 kreuzer and Basel added 1.5 x 4 = 6 kreuzer for total of 27kr. reflected by red crayon "27" debit rating to Canton Argovie, transit to Argovie of 9 kr. was added for total debit rating of red manuscript "36" kr., Very Fine and attractive. Estimate  $200 - 300. $0 (Image)

"Great Western" New York February 25th - Bristol March 12th 1839, folded Feb. 22nd letter from New York to the Netherlands, manuscript "single 92c" prepaid express fee, "Bristol Ship-Letter" stepped h.s. and "Paid at Bristol" h.s. with red manuscript "2/7" prepaid rating from Bristol to Holland, red London Paid Ship Letter (3.13) transit, Mar. 17th arrival backstamp, Very Fine. Estimate  $300 - 400. Letter taken to unknown express company in New York and prepaid 92¢ for the company’s fees to Holland. Express company paid freight money fee to steam-ship company in New York and 2 shilling 7 pence British postage to mail letter to Holland from Bristol. Bristol payment included 8d British incoming ship fee, 9d internal fee to London abated by 2d, and 1/4d foreign postage to Holland. $0 (Image)