Sale 77 Hong Kong & Treaty Ports and Macau

Hong Kong, 1844 (2 Jan.) entire letter from Captain Henry William Bruce, H.M.S. Agincourt to Colerane, Ireland, redirected to Paris, showing fine to very fine "Hong Kong Post Office" Royal Arms oval h.s. in red with "India" red framed h.s. adjacent and Calcutta, Irish and London transit cancellations on reverse, rated "4/1" for a three quarter-ounce rate via Marseille made up of 2s. British share, 1s.3d. French share and 10d. Mediterranean transit, with "Calcutta/Ship Letter/Bearing" framed d.s. (on reverse and applied in error) struck off as someone in Calcutta paid for the inward and outward fees before the letter was sent to Ireland by packet mail. Fine and important letter being the latest of twelve recorded "Royal Arms" covers from the Bruce correspondence and one of only two without the "Postage Bearing/Inward/Outward" tombstone h.s.
Estimate HK$ 30,000 - 40,000

Provenance: Eddie Lawrence.

References: Hong Kong Philatelic Society Journal No. 9 (2005). Illustrated.

Captain Bruce was in command of the H.M.S. Agincourt at the time of the First China War, with this letter written after he had been promoted to Rear Admiral. At the time naval officers' mail was charged at normal British packet rates.