1855 (May 5) Entire letter written from The Baha Booden Hill...

Hammer

£2,800

1855 (May 5) Entire letter written from The Baha Booden Hills, Mysore, to Dr Balfour at the Museum in Madras, endorsed "stamped ½ anna", posted two days later at Sheemooga bearing 1854 ½a (die II, four margins) tied by a rhomboid of dots, backstamped boxed "SHEEMOOGA / POST PAID" with manuscript date below. The writer, Dr H.R Oswald, has sent a specimen of Load Stone from the Booden Hills to the museum in Madras; Dr Edward Balfour has annotated the letter "Silicious Iron Ore from Mysore Hills, highly magnetic, the ore and quartz in alternate seems". Hammond Giles shows a similar "Post Not Paid" handstamp for Sheemooga (recorded 1836); this Post Paid handstamp previously unrecorded, but probably also originally used in the prestamp period. Photo on Page 90