| SR54 |
Cross-Border Cover Monterey, Mexico, to New Orleans via Brownsville, Texas, 1862. Folded
Letter Sheet but the page with the letter was torn away. Period
receiving docketing confirms that the letter originated 7 JAN (1862) in
Monterey, Mexico, and confirms the 1862 year date. The letter
crossed the border at Brownsville, Texas. There are no Mexican postal
marks or forwarder's marks, so the letter was carried
either privately to Brownsville or was more likely sent by a
forwarding agent under separate cover with the forwarding agent paying
the Confederate postage. The letter entered the Confederate mail in
Brownsville and received the RIMLESS Brownsville, Tex CDS 13 JAN (1862) and PAID 10 handstamp Type C and was sent on its way to New Orleans arriving 31 JAN 1862. Note on the reverse "This cover was carried by Antonio Costa - the Blockade Runner in Jany 1862"
and is signed by Hubert Skinner in 1976. Also an unsigned Van Dyk
MacBride note on the back but does not mention the express service. Antonio Costa's Express
was an obscure private express service set up between Brownsville,
Texas, and New Orelans beginning in October 1861 and lasting into 1862
perhaps until the fall of New Orleans to the Union for the purpose of
circumventing the blockade. The service was endorsed by New Orleans
Postmaster John L. Riddell. There are no distinctive marks for this
service. Any covers originating outside the Confederacy to New Orleans
via Brownsville, Texas, during this time period can be reasonably
presumed to have been carried by the Antonio Costa Express. Such covers
are scarce. (Reference: Collector's Guide to Confederate Philately Second Edition Page 248). Very Fine. Ex-MacBride, Ex-Skinner, Ex-Kaufmann. |
$1,000.00
SOLD |
JLKCSA@aol.com
-- Confederate Order
Form --