Auction 333-341 Europe & Overseas Americas (North, Central & South America) - Day 1

1893: Bolivar 25 c. magenta in a used horizontal pair on 1898 cover to Bondi, NSW, Australia endorsed "via New York", tied by "Correos de Venezuela / Valencia" cds with further endorsement "Desinfectado" in red ink at lower left due to a Smallpox outbreak in the Valencia and Puerto Cabello area. Printed flap from Railway Company in Valencia and "N.Y. Foreign Transit" cds (March 30) and Sydney arrival cds (May 10). Rare and most unusual disinfected cover - the first this describer has encountered - there were over 150 deaths from Smallpox in Valencia during March 1898.