ourdadsstamps
**Member** 
Posts: 28
What I collect: Pre-decimal Malta
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Post by ourdadsstamps on Jun 1, 2022 15:50:05 GMT
Could someone offer an opinion on this cover I recently acquired. If it is genuine it would seem to predate the earliest record I can find of the 4d rose. There are three date stamps showing NO 15 56 seemingly tied to the stamps and cover. There is also a backstamp showing date of arrival NO 21 59. So if everything is correct it took 3 years to arrive. Any thoughts? Could the date stamps have been applied later?   |
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vikingeck
Member 
Posts: 3,264
What I collect: Samoa, Tobacco theme, Mail in Wartime, anything odd and unusual!
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Post by vikingeck on Jun 1, 2022 17:14:23 GMT
My SG Victoria specialised catalogue gives 1 NOV 1856 as the issue date for the 4d Rose SG 65 so it is possible that Malta had them by the 15th Nov but very early.
If the postmarks are faked they are awfully skilfully done , so I think they are probably OK . We are in the period just after the Crimean war ended and the route via Marseilles and train through France was well established and delivery to London within a week perfectly feasible.
As for the date stamp on the back I believe it could be an inverted 6 slug, so reading as 59 rather than 56, so it took 6 days not 3 years to travel
What does the tape at the lower edge conceal? You have only the inverted date stamp half of the duplex. Was there another stamp there that has been removed with the A26 ?
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ourdadsstamps
**Member**
Posts: 28
What I collect: Pre-decimal Malta
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Post by ourdadsstamps on Jun 1, 2022 18:23:01 GMT
What does the tape at the lower edge conceal? You have only the inverted date stamp half of the duplex. Was there another stamp there that has been removed with the A26 ? That part of the cover has been cut out, strangely, and has been taped to the folded part of the entire. So I do not know what was there original, although I have just discovered a small piece of writing inside which says Mrs Belloch? Malta 1859 so maybe the 56 is false, or an inverted date slug?  |
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rex
Member
Posts: 1,150 
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Post by rex on Jun 1, 2022 20:59:23 GMT
Wow, famous surname Rothschild.
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tomiseksj
Moderator 
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,265
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
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Post by tomiseksj on Jun 1, 2022 22:00:00 GMT
I think the docketing supports the assumption that the inverted date slug is on the Malta postmark.
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Post by daniel on Jun 1, 2022 22:22:15 GMT
Wow, famous surname Rothschild. Yes, it is addressed to the banking firm N M Rothschild & Sons, London, a hugely successful banking operation. Now trading as Rothschild & Co. |
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ourdadsstamps
**Member**
Posts: 28
What I collect: Pre-decimal Malta
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Post by ourdadsstamps on Jun 2, 2022 15:21:59 GMT
Yes, I wonder what the content of the letter was?
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Post by daniel on Jun 2, 2022 18:15:11 GMT
Yes, I wonder what the content of the letter was? The pencil notation on the inside may give some clue. I believe this reads Ins Bell & Co Malta. So, possibly insurance related. (The NW12 notation is not a London postal district). |
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vikingeck
Member
Posts: 3,264
What I collect: Samoa, Tobacco theme, Mail in Wartime, anything odd and unusual!
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Post by vikingeck on Jun 2, 2022 18:56:02 GMT
What does the tape at the lower edge conceal? You have only the inverted date stamp half of the duplex. Was there another stamp there that has been removed with the A26 ? That part of the cover has been cut out, strangely, and has been taped to the folded part of the entire. So I do not know what was there original, although I have just discovered a small piece of writing inside which says Mrs Belloch? Malta 1859 so maybe the 56 is false, or an inverted date slug? That definitely suggests a stamp has been removed by a collector in the past. there were two routes from the Mediterranean to London in the 1850s. Via Gibraltar , the Bay of Biscay to Falmouth slow but cheaper by British Packet, or the French route , Across to Marseilles and train to Paris , Calais , Dover London which was much quicker and incurred an extra charge. do you know the rates ? I have recently had two pieces from NewZealand to London, one by sea was 6d , but via Marseilles the second one was 10d , ie an extra 4d for the faster route. It is possible that a 4d stamp may have been the subject of your cut out piece , there is just a hint of the frame of a duplex “ )” beside the lower date stamp. There would not have been room for another stamp at the top without hiding the “via Marseilles “ instructions. |
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