CANADA/INDIA - RARE "KINGS POSTAGE/INLAND POSTAGE" MARKINGS ...

Hammer

£1,900

CANADA/INDIA - RARE "KINGS POSTAGE/INLAND POSTAGE" MARKINGS ON COVER FROM QUEBEC TO "GENL. SMITH's FORCE"; Remarkable 22 Oct. 1817 EL (fully typed transcript of very interesting chatty contents; some mainly internal/reverse stains consistent with vinegar disinfection) from "Quebec" (Canada) to an officer of the "4 Regt. Light Cavalry, Madras, East Indies" carried under cover or by private means to London and posted there (28 Nov.) with a mainly very fine crowned 2-ring "INDIA PACKET LETTER/G.P.O/LONDON" cds (small scuff) on the front and so charged "3/6", and endorsed "P. [Packet] Lord Wellington" on the flap. Redirected on arrival in Madras to "Gen[era]l. Smith's Force" (involved in the 3rd Anglo-Maratha War) and so having very fine strikes of the very rare Madras "INLAND POSTAGE/KINGS POSTAGE" on the reverse ("POSTAGE" crossed by closed seal tear) endorsed "1r 8a 6p" to pay on delivery. Extraordinary country of origin for mail to India at this early date. [A similar 1818 cover from this correspondence - but merely from London - sold for US $2,600 on 26 June 2024 in New York.] Superb and astonishing Exhibition Piece for both Canadian and Indian Collectors. [Ex Hammond Giles.]Cross Reference: CANADA, TRANSATLANTIC MAIL, MILITARY, SHIP LETTERS