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Stampless Stories: A Postal History of America continued...

Hawaii & Far East
Lot Sym. Lot Description  
128 c ImageKailua June 15 1841”. Dateline on three-page folded letter from Dr. Seth Andrews to his parents in Pittsford N.Y. via Mazatlan, Vera Cruz and New York, backstamped with bold double-line oval FORWARDED BY WM. SCARBOROUGH & CO. MAZATLAN”, partly readable strike of Franqueado Vera Cruz Octore 26” circular datestamp also on back, entered U.S. post office with red New-York Ship Jan. 13” circular datestamp, manuscript 20-3/4” rate (18-3/4c postage plus 2c ship fee), forwarded to Armada Mich. and re-rated to 45-3/4”, Pittsford N.Y. Jan. 16” circular datestamp changed to 18”, interesting letter (see quote below), some silking at folds and tiny filled-in area of Pittsford datestamp, waterstains affect address panel only slightly

THE EARLIEST OF SEVEN RECORDED EXAMPLES OF THE SCARBOROUGH & COMPANY OVAL HANDSTAMP ON MAIL FROM HAWAII TO THE UNITED STATES VIA MEXICO.

This letter was carried on the brig Joseph Peabody, which sailed from Honolulu on Aug. 5, 1841 (the lapse of time between the June 15 letter date and sailing is unexplained). After reaching Scarborough & Co. in Mazatlan, the letter was carried across Mexico to Vera Cruz, where it was marked paid and sent to New York.

Dr. Andrews reports the death of Chiefess Kapiolani: Another chief has fallen. Kapiolani the widow of Naihe, applied to me in March last to examine tumour in her breast which had been growing for some months. It proved to be a cancer. I of course prepared an operation as it did not appear to have advanced so far as to present an unfavorable case. As I could command no medical council here & not willing if it could be avoided to assume the responsibility of operating alone I advised her to go to Honolulu to Doct. Judd. Doct. J. in the presence of a physician resident at H. removed the breast. The wound healed speedily and she was on the point of sailing for another island to attend the national assembly of which she had been just appointed a member when she was attacked with erysipelas of which she died in a few days. She was one of the brightest ornaments of this nation, both as a christian and in point of civilization.”

Gregory Census No. 25. Illustrated in Hawaii Foreign Mail to 1870 (Vol. I, p. 91). Ex Honolulu Advertiser and Golden (Image)

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 E. $ 3,000-4,000

SOLD for $2,700.00
Will close during Public Auction
129 c ImageEwa June 7 1842”. Dateline on lengthy folded letter from Rev. Artemis Bishop to his son, Sereno Bishop, in Rochester N.Y. via Mazatlan, Vera Cruz and New Orleans, sender’s route directive By the Maryland Via Mexico”, backstamped with mostly readable double-line oval FORWARDED BY WM. SCARBOROUGH & CO. MAZATLAN”, entered U.S. post office with blue New Orleans La. Sep. 13” (1842) circular datestamp and matching SHIP” handstamp, manuscript 27” rate (25c postage plus 2c ship fee), receipt docketing on back, Very Fine, although the sender marked this letter to go on the Maryland, evidently that vessel did not sail as intended, and the letter was carried on the schooner Shaw (departed Lahaina Jul. 18, 1842), Gregory Census No. 30, ex Van Dyke and Golden (Image)

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 E. $ 1,000-1,500

SOLD for $1,300.00
Will close during Public Auction
130 c ImageHonolulu, Hawaiian Is./Jan. 29, 1851. Clear strike of italic-style two-line handstamp in black on cover to Dr. Noah A. Chapin in Newport N.H. and forwarded to Winchester N.H., orange-red San Francisco Cal. 1 Mar.” circular datestamp and red crayon 42" rate (40c transcontinental rate plus 2c ship captain’s fee), manuscript Ford” and 5”, totaled in manuscript to 47”, red Newport N.H. Apr. 10” circular datestamp, manuscript Overland" at lower left suggests the sender intended this to go via Mexico

VERY FINE STRIKE OF THE HONOLULU STRAIGHTLINE, THE FIRST HANDSTAMPED POSTMARK OF HAWAII, USED BY HAWAII’S FIRST POSTMASTER, HENRY M. WHITNEY.

Fred Gregory records a total of 35 examples of this straightline marking. This letter was carried on the Corsair, which departed Honolulu January 31, 1851, and arrived in San Francisco on February 19. It was then carried on the PMSS California from San Francisco to Panama on March 5, 1851. After crossing the isthmus, it was carried on the USMSS Georgia, which departed Chagres around March 27, stopped at Havana on April 3, and arrived in New York on April 7.

Gregory Census No. 14. Illustrated in Ashbrook, Vol. II, page 242. Ex Honolulu Advertiser and Goldberg. (Image)

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 E. $ 7,500-10,000

SOLD for $8,500.00
Will close during Public Auction
131 c ImageHonolulu * U.S. Postage Paid * May 21 (1853). Bold strike of red circular datestamp on cover to Addafer, Russia (now Adavere, Estonia), addressed to Madame C. de Ditmar, par St. Petersbourg, Dorpat et Oberpahlen a Addafer" with notation at top Russie, Gouvernement Livonie”, C.D.” seal on flap, manuscript forwarded by H. Hackfeld Honolulu 21 May” on back, San Francisco Cal. Jul. 5” circular datestamp and PAID” handstamp, red crayon 28” rate (26c postage plus 2c ship fee), red New York Aug. 10” transit datestamp on back and PAID PART” straightline handstamp on front, red AMERICA/UBER BREMEN” two-line handstamp, manuscript German transit fee in blue ink and pencil, Berlin transit (Aug. 30) and Russian receiving backstamps, receipt docketing on back 23 Marz 1853 P. P. Hafen”, light horizontal fold

VERY FINE. A BEAUTIFUL AND RARE COVER FROM THE EXPLORER CARL VON DITMAR ON HIS EXPEDITION TO THE REMOTE KAMCHATKA PENINSULA IN THE EASTERN SIBERIAN MARITIME PROVINCE. MAILED FROM HAWAII TO RUSSIA VIA SAN FRANCISCO, PANAMA, NEW YORK AND BY AMERICAN PACKET TO BREMEN.

We are aware of three covers from Hawaii to Russia. This cover and another (ex Honolulu Advertiser and William H. Gross) are addressed to Madame C(onde) von Ditmar in Addafer. The third cover is addressed to Y. L. Lortsch in Libau. The manuscript notation P.P. Hafen” on the back of this cover and the other to Madame von Ditmar identify their origin. P.P. Hafen” is an abbreviation for Petropavlovsk Hafen (Harbor), located in the Eastern Siberian peninsula of Kamchatka between the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea. From 1851 to 1855 this remote volcanic region was explored and mapped by Carl von Ditmar (the subject of his book, Reisen and Aufenthalt in Kamchatka in den Jahren 1851-1855). Von Ditmar wrote the letter once contained in this cover on March 23, 1853 (as per receipt docketing) and sent it to Honolulu, probably on a passing whaling vessel. At Honolulu the forwarders, Hackfeld & Co., placed it in the Hawaii-U.S. mail for Russia.

Once it entered the mail at Honolulu, the cover was carried by the British brig Gazelle, which departed Lahaina on June 4, 1853, and arrived in San Francisco on July 5. From there it was carried to Panama on the PMSS Brother Jonathan, which departed on July 15 and arrived around July 28. It crossed the isthmus and was carried from Aspinwall to New York by the USMSS Illinois, which departed on August 1 and arrived on August 10. At New York it was put on the Ocean Line’s Washington, which departed on August 13 and arrived at Bremen on August 29. The address lists St. Petersbourg, Dorpat et Oberpahlen a Addafer” as transit points, which are today in Russia and Estonia. After a journey of more than five months, it reached Madame von Ditmar in early September.

From July 1, 1851, to August 15, 1853, the Bremen Convention rate to Russia was 20c (retained by the U.S.), regardless of the distance to New York. The 28c rate indicated on this cover apparently includes 6c for transcontinental postage (an error) and the 2c ship fee. Postage due to the German postal system was collected from the addressee.

In 1854, the French and British, who were battling Russian forces on the Crimean Peninsula, attacked Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. During the Siege of Petropavlovsk, 988 men with a mere 68 guns managed to defend the outpost against 6 ships with 206 guns and 2,540 French and British soldiers. Despite the heroic defense, Petropavlovsk was abandoned as a strategic liability after the Anglo-French forces withdrew. The next year when a second enemy force came to attack the port, they found it deserted. Frustrated, the ships bombarded the city and withdrew.

Illustrated in Richard F. Winter’s article, United States–Russia Mail: 1840-1875, Part 1: Bremen Mail, British Mail, Prussian Closed Mail” (Chronicle 241), and Gregory’s Hawaii Foreign Mail to 1870 (Vol. I, p. 314). Ex Golden. (Image)

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 E. $ 15,000-20,000

SOLD for $17,500.00
Will close during Public Auction
132 c ImageHonolulu * U.S. Postage Paid * Feb. 16 (1853). Perfect bold strike of red circular datestamp on light blue folded cover to Manchester, England, addressed to Messrs. Butterworth & Brooks, sender’s notation paid throughout”, San Francisco Cal. 16 Mar.” circular datestamp, PAID” handstamp and manuscript 31” rate (29c West Coast rate to England plus 2c ship fee), red 19” credit handstamp applied in New York, red America Liverpool Paid AP 25 53” transit datestamp, Manchester receiving backstamp (Apr. 25)

EXTREMELY FINE EXAMPLE OF MAIL FROM HAWAII TO ENGLAND VIA SAN FRANCISCO, PANAMA AND NEW YORK.

This cover was carried on the PMSS Sierra Nevada, which departed Honolulu on February 16, 1853, Lahaina on February 24, and arrived in San Francisco on March 15. It was then carried to Panama on the PMSS Golden Gate, which departed San Francisco on March 16 and arrived on March 28. It crossed the isthmus to Aspinwall, where it was carried to New York on the USMSS Illinois, which departed on March 31 and arrived on April 9. It was sent to Boston for the April 13 Cunarder sailing of the Niagara, which arrived in Liverpool on April 25.

The accompanying 2011 P.F. certificate notes that the ink on the address panel has been retraced, but the ink of the address is original and unaltered, and there are faint traces of secondary lines in grayish ink outside the address, which are not obvious, nor do they appear to be an effort to strengthen the address (the cover has not been cleaned). We think they might be artifacts of an attempt to use a mechanical writing/copying device at the time. Two similar covers from the same correspondence are illustrated in Gregory’s Hawaii Foreign Mail to 1870 (Vol. I, p. 312).

Ex Admiral Harris and Golden. (Image)

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 E. $ 1,500-2,000

SOLD for $1,000.00
Will close during Public Auction
133 c ImageHonolulu * U.S. Postage Paid * Nov. 20 (1852). Bold strike of red circular datestamp on buff cover to Mr. Joseph Huestes in Crown Point N.Y., bold strike of blue San Francisco Cal. 16 Dec.” circular datestamp with matching PAID” and 8” in circle handstamps, some slight cover wrinkles and wear, Very Fine and exceedingly rare, perhaps 15 covers are known from Hawaii with the San Francisco markings struck in blue, ex Van Dyke, Pietsch and Walske (Image)

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 E. $ 300-400

SOLD for $650.00
Will close during Public Auction
134 c ImageBoston to Hawaii, Triple U.S. and Hawaiian Rates. Red Boston Mass. Dec. 4” circular datestamp and matching 18/CENTS” handstamp for triple 6c transcontinental rate on brown cover addressed to Messrs. Castle & Cook at Honolulu, Hawaii, manuscript Paid”, red PAID” handstamp, red 15” crayon applied in Honolulu for triple 5c Hawaiian postage due, some edge flaws, still Fine, extremely rare 18 Cents” marking and triple-rated inbound cover (Image)

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 E. $ 400-500

SOLD for $1,400.00
Will close during Public Auction
135 c ImageGREGORY’S/EXPRESS OFFICE,/SAN FRANCISCO. Clear strike of blue three-line handstamp with matching PAID” double-line oval handstamp on cover to Mrs. Chauncy Walker in Bridgewater Vt., manuscript Paid M. & Co./25” at upper right, with original enclosure datelined Oahu H.I., City of Honolulu, Nov. 13, 1851”, cover with some slight wear, Very Fine and rare Gregory’s Express use from Hawaii, Mitchell & Hutchings were advertised as Gregory’s Express agents in Honolulu, the M & Co.” notation presumably refers to that firm, ex Golden (Image)

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 E. $ 1,000-1,500

SOLD for $1,600.00
Will close during Public Auction
136 c ImageGREGORY’S/EXPRESS,/SAN FRANCISCO OFFICE. Clear strike of blue three-line handstamp with matching NOT PAID” in oval on blue folded cover to F. R. Vida in Honolulu, sender’s ship-name directive pr Gazelle”, docketed on inside Answered Smith Bros. Augt. 11th 1851”, light file folds and some age spotting, still Very Fine, rare, the schooner Gazelle sailed from San Francisco Jul. 6 and arrived in Honolulu Jul. 22, ex Ishikawa and Golden (Image)

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 E. $ 1,000-1,500

SOLD for $1,000.00
Will close during Public Auction
137 c ImageCuyahoga Falls O. to Canton, China, 1835. Clear strike of Cuyahoga Falls Ohio” double-line circle handstamp with manuscript Nov 3d” date and Paid 25” rate on 1835 folded letter from Henry Wetmore to William S. Wetmore in Canton, China, no transit markings that would be expected on a letter carried through the international mails, this was rated 25c in Cayahoga Falls for postal conveyance to New York City, then probably bundled with other letters addressed to a forwarding agent there, who arranged to send the package of letters to Canton by ship

VERY FINE. A MOST REMARKABLE COVER CARRIED TO CANTON, CHINA, OUTSIDE THE MAILS, EXCEPT FOR THE FIRST LEG OF THE JOURNEY FROM CAYAHOGA FALLS, OHIO, TO NEW YORK CITY.

Another recorded letter in the Wetmore correspondence is directed to Samuel Wetmore in New York City with instructions to forward it to China. This letter was probably handled by Samuel Wetmore in the same manner. (Image)

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 E. $ 2,000-3,000

SOLD for $3,250.00
Will close during Public Auction
138 c ImageCanton, China, to Philadelphia via New Orleans, 1837. Folded letter datelined Canton July 2nd 1837” to William Wetmore, in care of Richard Alsop in Philadelphia, sender’s ship-name directive ‘Canton Packet’” at lower left, red New Orleans La. Dec. 16” circular datestamp and matching SHIP” handstamp with manuscript 52” for double 25c rate plus 2c ship captain’s fee, lengthy contents (6 pages) from uncle Samuel Wetmore, writer discusses trade difficulties, including opium -- The subject of the legalization of opium appears to have died a natural death. It is scarcely thought of within the past week., deliveries have taken place for the inside market & which have been fair. It would probably have been extended very much for the time, had the Madarin put been any thing like reasonableness… We may not expect any advance, on the contrary we fully expect a decline in the prices. Our stock is heavy…”

VERY FINE. AN EXCEEDINGLY RARE LETTER ORIGINATING IN CHINA AND ENTERING THE UNITED STATES MAILS AT NEW ORLEANS, RATHER THAN ONE OF THE NORTHEASTERN OR MID-ATLANTIC PORTS. A REMARKABLE ARTIFACT OF POSTAL RELATIONS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE FAR EAST.

The bark Canton Packet was owned by Forbes, Thwing and Perkins, with Thomas Pierce as captain. In 1837 the Canton Packet arrived in New Orleans, bringing goods and mail from China. Covers from China entering the U.S. mails at New Orleans are extremely rare. An earlier letter from the Wetmore correspondence, carried on the same trip (also with the New Orleans December 16 arrival datestamp), sold for $2,400 hammer in our Sale 1051 (lot 1048). (Image)

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 E. $ 2,000-3,000

SOLD for $3,250.00
Will close during Public Auction

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