We have been very busy here recently acquiring new stock and we have just described the first of some very rare items.
These are some exceedingly rare items of postal history from Guernsey.
They come from the multiple gold medal winning 'Mayflower' collection.
In fact they have adorned another rare collection as well, that belonging to Peter Stone.
They tick all the boxes for an investment grade items..
They are all rare.
They are all of high quality.
They are all highly desirable.
They are all authentic and come with our certificate of authenticity
And the most important of the criteria is they all priced conservatively
I love the connection they all have to Guernsey, it makes them more unique.
If you click on the buy now button you will see further images of the envelopes.
Take a look at the items below:
1. JC3262 - £2,500
Great Britain 1840 1d Mulready letter sheet Forme 2 Stereo A21, SGME1
A fine used example sent to Guernsey, neatly cancelled by a Maltese Cross.
Backstamped with a clear JU.2.1840 Guernsey arrival datestamp.
A few minor imperfections but an important and rare piece of early Channel Islands Postal History being the 2nd earliest known 1d Mulready to Guernsey.
Provenance: Ex. "Mayflower" Grand Prix Collection.
2. JC3259 - £3,950
Great Britain 1842 Guernsey Ship Letter
Handstamps England Guernsey 1842 entire to London, rated "2/8" and showing, on reverse, fine Guernsey double-arc date stamp (20.4) and very fine step-type "guernsey/ship letter" (Type S.4) with large part red arrival datestamp alongside.
Almost certainly the finest known example of this very rare handstamp.
A rare piece of early Channel Islands postal history.
Provenance: Ex The Peter Stone Collection of Great Britain & Postal History (Spink sale 14/7/2010), John Sussex, 1983. Ex. "Mayflower" Grand Prix Collection.
The establishment of the Post Office in the Channel Islands brought with it the same procedures that were uniform throughout the United Kingdom.
In the case of letters carried by private ships, it meant that these letters would be subject to the standard ship letter charges, at rates that were higher than the standard Post Office packet mail.
The setting up of the Ship Letter Office in London in 1799 saw the introduction of SHIP LETTER hand stamps.
Jersey and Guernsey were not exempt from the use of these hand stamps.
However, there was considerable opposition to the imposition of the ship letter charges within the Channel Islands, and people felt it was an “outrageous procedure”.
Consequently most of the mail was not handed over to the Post Office but delivered by other private means, thus accounting for the lack of use of these hand stamps on incoming mail and hence their great rarity, with only one or two examples existing of some types.
3. JC3264 - £295
Great Britain 1793 Southampton Forwarding Agent Cover to Guernsey
Great Britain 1793 (7th May) Southampton Forwarding Agent Cover to Guernsey with 1d Charge.
The cover was sent the year before the Channel Islands Post Offices opened and is therefore without postal markings.
The endorsement indicates the Southampton forwarding agent's 1d pre-PO unofficial charge.
Sent on 7 May 1793 from "H.L.M" (in London?) to T. de Sausmarez in "Guernsey" with a clear "Forw[arde]d p[er] P. Le Feuvre. 1d" endorsement on flap.
A fine example of this pre-PO unofficial postage charge and an interesting very early piece of Channel Islands postal history.
Provenance: Ex. "Mayflower" Grand Prix Collection.
4. JC3258 - £750
Great Britain 1841 Guernsey Ship Letter.
Handstamps England Guernsey 1841 entire to London, rated "2/8", showing fine Guernsey double-arc date stamp (2.6) and very fine framed "guernsey/ship letter" (Type S.2) just touched by red arrival datestamp.
An attractive quality example which opens out well for display.
A rare piece of early Channel Islands postal history.
Provenance: Ex The Peter Stone Collection of Great Britain & Postal History (Spink sale 14/7/2010). Ex. "Mayflower" Grand Prix Collection.
The establishment of the Post Office in the Channel Islands brought with it the same procedures that were uniform throughout the United Kingdom.
In the case of letters carried by private ships, it meant that these letters would be subject to the standard ship letter charges, at rates that were higher than the standard Post Office packet mail.
The setting up of the Ship Letter Office in London in 1799 saw the introduction of SHIP LETTER hand stamps.
Jersey and Guernsey were not exempt from the use of these hand stamps.
However, there was considerable opposition to the imposition of the ship letter charges within the Channel Islands, and people felt it was an “outrageous procedure”.
Consequently most of the mail was not handed over to the Post Office but delivered by other private means, thus accounting for the lack of use of these hand stamps on
5. JC3257 - £1,500
Great Britain 1836 Guernsey Ship Letter.
Handstamps England Guernsey 1836 (1 Apr.) entire letter from Rio de Janeiro to London, rated "1/9" and showing, on reverse, fine framed "ship letter/guernsey" in red (Type S.3) with arrival datestamp alongside.
A rare piece of early Channel Islands postal history.
Provenance: Ex The Peter Stone Collection of Great Britain & Postal History (Spink sale 14/7/2010). Ex. "Mayflower" Grand Prix Collection.
The establishment of the Post Office in the Channel Islands brought with it the same procedures that were uniform throughout the United Kingdom.
In the case of letters carried by private ships, it meant that these letters would be subject to the standard ship letter charges, at rates that were higher than the standard Post Office packet mail.
The setting up of the Ship Letter Office in London in 1799 saw the introduction of SHIP LETTER hand stamps.
Jersey and Guernsey were not exempt from the use of these hand stamps. However, there was considerable opposition to the imposition of the ship letter charges within the Channel Islands, and people felt it was an “outrageous procedure”.
Consequently most of the mail was not handed over to the Post Office but delivered by other private means, thus accounting for the lack of use of these hand stamps on incoming mail and hence their great rarity, with only one or two examples existing of some types.
Don't miss out grab yourself one or maybe two!
E-mail me anytime at ant@justcollecting.com or click on the buy now button.
Alternatively, call me on +44(0)1534 639998.
As usual if I can be of any further assistance on any other matters then please do let me know.
Thanks for reading.
Anthony
P.S - As I mentioned above we have recently acquired some new material for sale so you will see more emails from me in the run up to Christmas and beyond that may be of interest if these are not.
