NORWAY Norwegian Arctic Mail - Stamp Auctions

Lot 3081 - NORWAY Norwegian Arctic Mail - Cherrystone Auctions U.S. and Worldwide Stamps and Postal History

1934 (28 Feb) cover addressed to the Royal Observatory in Cape Town, franked with 5o, 10o, 20o and 30o overprinted "Bouvet Oya," tied by Cape Town Paquebot postmarks, accompanied with H.M.S. Milford Africa Station stationery written at Bouvet Island on 23rd February, signed Fred. Bouvet Island (Bouvet Oya) is situated in the Antarctic, and was annexed to Norway in 1928. The Facit Scandinavia specialized catalogue notes that "Bouvet Island was discovered in 1739 by Mr. Bouvet (a Frenchman). The 1934 Milford Expedition to Antarctic regions obtained permission from the Norwegian Consul in Cape Town, South Africa, to overprint Norwegian stamps for mail sent by expedition members and the crew of the ship; the Consul supplied the stamps to the expedition. The stamps received a handstamped overprint in black, with the following quantities: 5o 400 (of which 268 were used on mail); 7o 100 (69 used); 10o 1000 (305 used); 20o 800 (261 used); and 30o 400 (243 used). Upon return of the expedition to Cape Town, the letters were canceled CAPE TOWN PAQUEBOT and forwarded on in the usual way. The Norwegian government in Oslo, upon learning of the overprints, refused to recognize them, thus they have a semi-official status though they did serve on letters that were accepted in international mails."
Estimate: $3000

Cherrystone Auctions U.S. and Worldwide Stamps and Postal History