Cwiakala Auctions Sale

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Censored Covers continued...

Trinidad continued...

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Cat. Value or Suggested Bid (S.B.)

21 JUNE 1943 / Sao Paolo, Brazil, to the ‘G & C Merriam Company’ in Springfield, Massachusetts. An unusual case of double censorship: first examined in Brazil, where censors cut out portions of the contents and applied handstamped numbers 186, 45, 173. At Trinidad, a bold, British ‘OPENED BY EXAMINER 6017’ tape.

The censor inserted a printed disclaimer slip, disavowing responsibility for the Brazilian excisions. Franked with 5000r (Scott 525). Cover shows tear at top reverse from opening. A fascinating and scarce example of overlapping Allied censorship, combining South American and Caribbean practices. Fine to Very Fine. Est $70-$80 (Image) (image2) (All Images)

Selling for...US$10.00
Will close during Public Auction

JUNE 1938 / Asunción, Paraguay, to Springfield, Massachusetts. Even official correspondence was not exempt: this private letter from the American Embassy in Paraguay to the Monsanto Corporation was intercepted and censored at Trinidad, sealed with ‘EXAMINER I.E./8643’ tape. Franked with 100p (Scott C119) uprated with 7p (Scott 394), both still present though weakened by the censor’s rough opening. A striking example of diplomatic mail subjected to Caribbean wartime censorship. Fine to Very Fine. Est $40-$50 (Image) (image2) (All Images)

Selling for...US$10.00
Will close during Public Auction

21 JUNE 1943 / Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to the ‘G & C Merriam Company’ in Springfield, Massachusetts. This airmail cover endured triple censorship: first in Brazil, sealed with cellophane tape and tied by purple ‘D.F. / 167’ handstamp; then at Trinidad with P.C. 90 label ‘4193’; and finally in the U.S.A. with cellophane tape marked ‘4298’.

Handstamped ‘RECEIVED / AUG 16 1943’ the letter took 34 days to complete its journey despite traveling by air. Franked with 5000r (Scott 525). A vivid illustration of wartime postal delays under layered Allied censorship. Fine to Very Fine. Est $50-$70 (Image) (image2) (All Images)

Selling for...US$10.00
Will close during Public Auction

St. Kitts-Nevis

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Cat. Value or Suggested Bid (S.B.)

DATE UNKNOWN / Anguilla to Montreal, Canada. Boldly sealed with ‘OPENED BY CENSOR / Examined in connection with Finance Regulations / ST. KITTS-NEVIS’ this cover makes no secret of its surveillance. Opened in St. Kitts by the postal censor for both financial and security reasons, with the Anguilla origin faintly visible through the resealing tape. Franked with a single 1938 2d (SG 71). A striking example of censorship extending beyond security into monetary regulation. Fine to Very Fine. Est $50-$60 (Image) (image2) (All Images)

Selling for...US$10.00
Will close during Public Auction

28 MARCH 1942 / St. Kitts to Suriname via Antigua. Double-censored cover franked with 2½d and 1s (SG 72 & 75). Front shows bold purple double-circle ‘ST. KITTS / PASSED BY CENSOR 3’ with faint Paramaribo censor mark ‘12’. The Reverse bears black double-circle ‘CENSUUR / 28 3 42’ and ‘22 MAR 42 / ANTIGUA’ cds.

As much St. Kitts mail was routed to or through the Dutch Caribbean colonies, this is an attractive example of intercolonial wartime censorship. Fine to Very Fine. Est $70-$80 (Image) (image2) (All Images)

Selling for...US$14.00
Will close during Public Auction

19 DECEMBER 1942 / Outbound St. Kitts letter to Hartford, Connecticut, bearing an unusual variation of the octagonal censor handstamp, crown ‘PASSED / 3’. While the design was widely used across colonies, this example is uniquely small and narrow, unreported in the literature to date.

Franked with 1938 ½d and 1s (SG 68 & 75) flanking a 1d (SG 69) that shows corner damage before or during transit. Reverse with clear ‘ST. JOHN / A / DE 19 42 / ANTIGUA’ transit cds. A remarkable and possibly unique St. Kitts censorship variety. Fine to Very Fine. Est $80-$100 (Image) (image2) (All Images)

Selling for...US$20.00
Will close during Public Auction

1938 / You can’t miss the bold red double-circle ‘ST. KITTS / PASSED BY CENSOR 2’ prominently struck on the front of this cover to The Quaker Oats Company. Franked with a 1938 3d (SG 73). The sender, Emile S. Delisle, was already one of St. Kitts’ largest shipping and general merchants by 1857, adding extra historical interest to this attractive censorship item. Fine to Very Fine. Est $40-$50 (Image) (image2) (All Images)

Selling for...US$10.00
Will close during Public Auction

8 AUGUST 1943 / St. Eustatius, Curaçao, to New York City. Well-franked airmail cover with four 2c, 5c, pair of 6c, and 25c (Scott 166, 168, 169 & C21). Opened in transit at St. Kitts, examined by Censor #14 (marked with blue ‘14’), and sealed with ‘OPENED BY EXAMINER BB/1’ tape, likely continued via Antigua, the main Pan Am hub for the region. A fine to very fine Dutch Caribbean cover illustrating layered wartime routing and censorship of transatlantic airmail. Est $50-$60 (Image) (image2) (All Images)

Selling for...US$10.00
Will close during Public Auction

9 SEPTEMBER 1943 / St. Eustatius to Curaçao. Cover censored in transit at St. Kitts with code ‘OPENED BY EXAMINER BB/3’ and blue censor ‘42’, then routed onward via Antigua. Franked with 20c (Scott C20). An appealing example of the complex wartime handling of inter-island Dutch Caribbean mail under British censorship. Fine to Very Fine. Est $40-$50 (Image) (image2) (All Images)

Selling for...US$10.00
Will close during Public Auction

Turks & Caicos

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10 AUGUST 1944 / Turks & Caicos to New Haven, Connecticut (front only). Registered ‘ON HIS MAJESTY’S SERVICE’ cover franked with vertical pairs of 1½d (SG 197) and 2½d (SG 199), tied by ‘GRAND TURK / 10 AU 44 / TURKS ISLANDS’ cds. Censorship from the Turks & Caicos Islands is very scarce; this example bears Jamaican code ‘D’ with Censor #43 handstamp, indicating passage without opening, a courtesy often extended to official mail. A difficult island censorship to acquire, even as a front. Fine to Very Fine. Est $80-$90 (Image) (image2) (All Images)

Selling for...US$20.00
Will close during Public Auction

St. Lucia

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Cat. Value or Suggested Bid (S.B.)

16 MARCH 1945 / St. Lucia to Port of Spain. Locally censored covers from St. Lucia are scarce, and this is an especially fine example. Sealed with P.C. 90 tape bearing ‘OPENED BY EXAMINER’ and manuscript code ‘ITT/3, a format believed to have been used only by Censor #3 and only late in the war. Franked with 2½d (SG 132), tied by double-circle ‘CASTRIES / 16 MR 45 / ST. LUCIA’ cds, with ‘PORT OF SPAIN / MR 19 45’ arrival cds on reverse. A desirable St. Lucia censorship usage. Fine to Very Fine. Est $80-$100 (Image) (image2) (All Images)

Selling for...US$20.00
Will close during Public Auction

194? / Vieux Fort, St. Lucia, to Long Island, New York. Despite the loss of two stamps, four surviving ½d (SG 128) remain on this outbound cover. Sealed with the scarce ‘OPENED BY EXAMINER No I / ST. LUCIA / W.I.’ censor label, used only briefly before the island was assigned a code. Additional markings include U.S. censor cellophane tape ‘9838’ and a bold postage due handstamp, enhancing its character. Fine to Very Fine. Est $40-$50 (Image) (image2) (All Images)

Selling for...US$10.00
Will close during Public Auction

St. Vincent

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Cat. Value or Suggested Bid (S.B.)

7 JANUARY 1944 / Letter from St. Vincent to the Sapolin Co. of New York, once a major decorative paint brand specializing in bold colors for metals and specialty uses. Franked with 6d and 1s (SG 155 & 166), the 6d partly covered by cellophane from U.S. Censor ‘6895’. Sealed with the usual P.C.90 label showing ‘OPENED BY EXAMINER U.U/3’ the small letters and numbers at the base (52447 W.P. Ltd.) identifying the English printer. Fewer than 20 censors are believed to have served in St. Vincent during the war, underscoring the scarcity of these markings. Fine to Very Fine. Est $50-$60 (Image) (image2) (All Images)

Selling for...US$10.00
Will close during Public Auction

19 OCTOBER 1940 / Cover from St. Vincent to the ‘G & C Merriam Company’ in Springfield, Massachusetts, bearing a ‘RECEIVED / NOV 4 1940’ marking, ‘OPENED BY CENSOR’ tape, and purple ‘Passed by Censor No. 8’ handstamp on reverse, typical of the devices used in St. Vincent during the early war years. Notably, incoming mail was not censored in the colony, with examinations confined to origin or transit.

Franked with 1d and 2d (SG 150 & 152), tied by ‘KINGSTON / 19 OC 1940 / ST. VINCENT B.W.I’ cds. A desirable early St. Vincent censorship usage. Fine to Very Fine. Est $50-$60 (Image) (image2) (All Images)

Selling for...US$10.00
Will close during Public Auction

Montserrat

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Cat. Value or Suggested Bid (S.B.)

4 JUNE 1943 / Covers censored in Montserrat with code ‘AA/’ are scarce, reflecting the island’s small, largely agricultural population. This example, addressed to New York City and routed via Antigua, is franked with 1938 1½d (SG 103) and 1s (SG 108a). It was not censored at Antigua but sealed with P.C. 90 tape inscribed ‘OPENED BY EXAMINER AA/150’, which folds over from the front and joins to the ‘ST. JOHN / A JU 4 43 / MONTSERAT’ double-circle cds.

A desirable wartime usage from one of the harder British Caribbean colonies. Fine to Very Fine. Est $60-$70 (Image) (image2) (All Images)

Selling for...US$14.00
Will close during Public Auction

Jamaica

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Cat. Value or Suggested Bid (S.B.)

7 MARCH 1940 / Kingston, Jamaica, to Springfield, Massachusetts. Franked with 1d (SG 122) and 9d (SG 129), tied by double-circle ‘KINGSTON / JAMAICA’ cds. The cover bears a characteristic Jamaican censor label ‘OPENED BY CENSOR’ confirming local censorship, despite lacking code letter or number. Such unnumbered Jamaican censorship is scarcer, offering an appealing variation in the study of British Caribbean wartime censorship. Fine to Very Fine. Est $40-$50 (Image) (image2) (All Images)

Selling for...US$10.00
Will close during Public Auction

11 NOVEMBER 1940 / Kingston, Jamaica, to Springfield, Massachusetts. Censored in Jamaica with a typical local ‘OPENED BY CENSOR’ label. This cover also bears a bold patriotic handstamp ‘BUY BRITISH GOODS’ with crown motif tying a pair of 1½d (SG 123). Additional markings include purple circular ‘28’ and purple ‘RECEIVED NOV 22 1940’ handstamps.

The ‘BUY BRITISH GOODS’ slogan was used in various parts of the British Empire, including the Caribbean, during the late 1930s and World War II. A fine example combining censorship with wartime patriotic propaganda. Fine to Very Fine. Est $40-$50 (Image) (image2) (All Images)

Selling for...US$10.00
Will close during Public Auction

17 MARCH 1943 / Jamaica to Teutopolis, Illinois. Stampless Prisoner of War cover with purple octagonal, crown, ‘PASSED D/39’ on front, indicating no further postal censorship required. Reverse shows purple oval ‘INTERNMENT A.P. of W. CAMP / 17 MAR 1943 / JAMAICA’ handstamp. ‘A.P. of W. CAMP’ refers to the Alien Prisoner of War Camp, one of Jamaica’s WWII internment facilities where enemy aliens and POWs were detained.

Mail was typically read and approved within the camp before release. A scarce and evocative glimpse into wartime internment postal history. Fine to Very Fine. Est $60-$80 (Image) (image2) (All Images)

Selling for...US$20.00
Will close during Public Auction

3 JUNE 1941 / Kingston, Jamaica, to Spillville, Iowa. Cover from the U.S. Army Engineer’s Jamaica District office, based at Vernam Field and Fort Simonds (Clarendon Parish). Struck with ‘Charles M. Baer / Captain / Signal Corps / Chief Military Censor’ and red ‘WAR DEPARTMENT / U.S. ENGINEERS / JAMAICA DISTRICT / CENSORED’ handstamp.

Outgoing mail from this office was initially routed through civilian postal channels and franked with Jamaican issues, here 1s (SG 130) tied by Kingston G.P.O. cds. Mail showing the distinctive Baer censor is seldom seen. Fine to Very Fine. Est: $100-$125 (Image) (image2) (All Images)

Selling for...US$24.00
Will close during Public Auction

17 NOVEMBER 1941 / After the U.S. A.P.O. 804 opened at Vernam Field and Fort Simonds (Clarendon Parish) on 17 November 1941, it used only one type of datestamp during its operation. This U.S. 1c and 2c (SC 899 & 900) franked cover to Cincinnati, Ohio, bears both a black U.S. ‘102 / ARMY EXAMINER’ marking and a scarcer red circular ‘Charles M. Baer / Captain / Signal Corps / Chief Military Censor / War Department / U.S. Engineers / Jamaica District / CENSORED’ handstamp.

Mail showing the distinctive Baer censor is seldom seen and provides a direct link to the earliest U.S. Army postal operations in Jamaica under the 1940 Destroyers-for-Bases Agreement. Fine to Very Fine. Est: $200-$250 (Image) (image2) (All Images)

Selling for...US$50.00
Will close during Public Auction