| SR35 |
Cross Border and Trans-Atlantic
cover from New Orleans to Genoa, Italy June-August 1861.
Folded business letter complete, which appears to be in Italian,
datelined in Confederate
New Orleans
22 JUN 1861. The cover was most likely carried under a separate cover
with multiple letters from New Orleans to Nashville with the CSA
postage
noted on the outside envelope. The outer envelope was opened in
Nashville, and the cover carried by Adams Express cross border to Union
Louisville where it
received the Adams Ex Co
Louisville, KY
circular mark dated 26 JUL
1861. Cover took more than a month to get to Louisville. Cross border
mail was handled privately by the express company on the
Nashville-Louisville route beginning 22 JUN 1861 until ended by the US
government on 13 AUG 1861. The cover was then carried to New York
either by the express company or under a separate cover for
the
Trans-Atlantic journey to Italy.
The cover was fully pre-paid. On arrival in New York, the cover
received the RED New
York PAID 36 (36c pre-paid) CDS 31 JUL 1861. The
only packet that sailed that day for Europe from New York was the
British Cunard
packet Asia
which arrived in
Queenstown 10 AUG 1861. Since the New York mark is a French Convention
mark, the cover would have been placed in a locked pouch which was not
opened in Britain but taken to Calais, France where the pouch was
opened. The cover received the Calais, France transit mark dated 13 AUG
1861. The boxed P. D. mark is French indicating again that the cover
was fully paid. From Calais, the cover was sent on to Genoa, Italy
where docketing indicates that it was received 15 AUG 1861.
Cover
took about 7 weeks to reach its destination. The cover looks simple but
is actually very complicated. I will not presume to know how the 36c
postage was divided between the countries involved in this cover's
journey since there are no other rate marks on the cover. Very Fine. |
$1,000.00 SOLD |