£220 - £300
FRANCE - RARE "R.L.O." CANCELS ON UNDERPAID RETURNED "BOOK POST" COVER TO FRANCE WHICH WAS TURNED & RETURNED TO G.B.; Extraordinary 27 Nov. 1875 complete long (11½ x 4½ ins.) wrapper with blue "PER BOOK POST" device at top left, addressed to Biarritz from London franked only with three 1d Reds (pl.171 + pl.174 x 2) tied by London dotted "NPB" cancels... the wrapper could not be sent underpaid and so it was marked with the "DEFICIENT POSTAGE (6)/FINE (3)" mark and returned to sender. This Postage Due mark was then covered by 3 further 1d Reds (pl.170) and a 6d Grey (pl.14); all were pre-cancelled by the very rare London "R.L.O." [Returned Letter Office] diamond cancels and finally sent on (1 Dec.) marked "PD". On arrival in France the wrapper was turned and sent back to London (5 Dec.) franked by a pair of French 30c brown (adjacent to a closed tear) tied by v. fine "BIARRITS" cds's and endorsed "Papiers d'Affaires" with red boxed "PD" mark. Amazing! The "R.L.O." cancels are almost impossible to find on cover - were they always pre-cancels? One month later France had joined the G.P.U. and the rates/treatment would have been very different. [Ex Peter Chadwick; Cavendish Jan. 2002, lot 1511 - realised £460+BP.] [Illustrated twice in BPPP; p.408.] Cross Reference: FRANCE, OVERSEAS DESTINATIONS, POSTAGE DUE MARKS, RETURNED MAIL
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