Overseas & Switzerland | Autumn Auction Series day 5

Extremely Important First Issue Three Colour Frank
Extremely Important First Issue Three Colour Franking

1859 (Sep 26) Complete folded letter (in English) from an English merchant in Bogota to his brother in HAMBURG, with 5c and 20c tied together on face by "9." hs, with pair of 20c plus 10c tied together on reverse by same, sent via the English mail with British P.O. Cartagena bs (dated OCT 10 / 1859) and London transit (Nov.1) plus Hamburg Prussian mail bs (St. P.A. / 4 Nov. 59), ms "2/8" (2sh8d) rated in London plus ms "46" (schillings) in red crayon on arrival, all stamps with ample to huge margins, very fine

Nothing comparable is known for its multicolour franking and rare destination. Ex Langlais and Hackmey; it escaped the grasp of other famous collectors of Columbia such as Londono, Hubbard and Goeggel, and is in a special class all its own - a true world-class rarity.

The double weight Colombian franking (75 centavos) paid for the internal transit from Bogota via Honda to Cartagena (25 centavos) plus 50 centavos for maritime postage, and was given to the British Consul in Cartagena for onward transmission. Note small m/s "2" on reverse confirming 2nd echelon of weight. The use of the British post was necessary as Colombia did not then have a postal convention with Prussia. The "46" applied at the Prussian postal agency in Hamburg represented all charges for a double weight letter from Carthagena, incl. the British charge.

The cover was carried from Cartagena to St. Thomas by the ship "Solent" on Oct. 10 and was transferred to the "La Plata" which carried it to Southampton - both steamboats of the Royal Mail Steamship company.

One of the most important First Issue covers from anywhere in South America

Expertise: Cert. RPS (1980)