Home > Community > About Me > bwiphilately |
 |
 |
|||||
 |
|
|
|||
|
|||||
I began collecting stamps at age 7 and for the past 27 years, have focused on British West Indies stamps and postal history through the reign of King George V.
A few favorites from my collection appear above and below.
ANTIGUA
Cover to Liverpool dated 1874 bearing Antigua 6d blue-green perf. 12½ vertical pair, each stamp tied by the A18 obliterator of English Harbor. Attractive English Harbor AP 11 74 datestamp on reverse. From the Dale-Lichtenstein sale.
BAHAMAS
Soldier's letter to Jamaica dated April 23, 1870 from No. 1275 Pte. Tho Henry, 2 West Indian Regiment. Countersigned by the Commanding Officer in the lower left corner, thereby making the letter eligible for the one penny rate. Letter was unclaimed and returned on July 8, as indicated by the Jamaican handstamps.
BARBADOS
Cover to Baltimore dated March 13, 1858 with two Britannia imperforate 1 penny blue singles paying the double weight local rate and a red Paid at Barbadoes crowned circle handstamp indicating foreign postage payment of eight pence. Endorsed "via Havana" and with St. Thomas transit datestamp on reverse. Arrived at New Orleans on April 7, 1858. Signed Bloch.
BRITISH HONDURAS - Double Advertising Cover
Early registered advertising cover to London dated May 26, 1885, franked with a QV 4d mauve pair, cancelled by Belize "O" obliterator. The front bears the logo of the Belize Union Hotel while the back (shown below) advertises the Worlds Industrial & Cotton Exposition, New Orleans, 1884 - 1885.
CAYMAN ISLANDS
Locally addressed cover dated May 31, 1913, franked with a four penny King George V single and tied by Rural Post Collection handstamp. This handstamp was used between 1909 and 1913 by the driver of a horse-drawn cart who sold stamps and collected mail in rural parts of Grand Cayman Island.
JAMAICA'S First PAID Handstamp
Prepaid letter from Jamaica to London dated April 7, 1811, bearing a superb strike of the "PAID TO ENGLAND" handstamp in purple ink to denote prepayment of the double rate (1/1 from Jamaica to Falmouth and 11d from Falmouth to London, times 2). Sent per the packet Princess Amelia which arrived in Falmouth July 2. Early prepaid letters from the West Indies are rare due to the high cost of postage together with the high risk of loss while in transit (especially during the Napoleonic wars). This cover appears as an illustration on page 169 of Foster's Jamaica book. Ex. C.E. Patrick and Martin Willcocks.
JAMAICA GOVERNMENT RAILWAY
Cover dated Dec. 16, 1911 from the Hanseatic Enterprises office in Baranquilla, Colombia to the Henry Clay and Bock Cigar Company in Havana, franked with a Colombian 5 centavo single which is tied by a Posted on the High Seas cancel. The S.S. Alleghany normally stopped at Kingston on its return journey to the U.S. where mail bound for Cuba was transferred to another steamer. For an unknown reason, this particular voyage instead stopped at Montego Bay, and being a minor port with no service to Cuba, any mail bound for that island was unloaded and sent to Kingston via the railroad. To enter the postal system, payment of the normal U.P.U. rate of 2.5d was made as evidenced by the Jamaican stamps. The Jamaican stamps were cancelled with the Montego Bay railway ticket dater. Backstamped KINGSTON DE 16 11 transit and HABANA DEC 24 1911 arrival. An unusual routing, and quite possibly the only combination cover with franking cancelled by the Jamaica Government Railway.
MONTSERRAT
Cover to England dated June 25, 1853 rated the quadruple rate for 2 oz. or 4/, prepaid although marked in black ink, and bearing two Paid at Montserrat Crowned Circle handstamps.
NEVIS
Mourning cover to New York dated August 11, 1877, franked with 1876 4d Medicinal Spring perf. 15 deep orange stamp and cancelled with the A09 obliterator of Nevis. With St. Thomas transit datestamp on reverse and New York postage due datestamp on face.
ST. CHRISTOPHER
Cover dated May 28, 1888 from St. Christopher to Nevis showing usage of the one penny on 2½ penny ultramarine provisional during its initial month of issue. Stamp is tied by the A12 obliterator of St. Christopher.
ST. LUCIA
Cover to Bordeaux dated Dec. 7, 1880 franked with perf 14 1 penny pair plus perf 14 1 shilling single to pay the double-weight rate. Carried by Messageries Maritime Ligne C steamer to Martinique and thence by the Ligne A Washington steamer to St. Nazaire. Bordeaux Dec. 26 arrival datestamp on reverse. Ex. Cartier
Locally addressed cover dated May 6, 1904 with embossed 1d revenue stamp which reads SAINT LUCIA / INTERNAL REVENUE / ONE PENNY and initialled probably while in sheet form for security purposes. Supported by Paid at St. Lucia Crowned Circle handstamp, which was re-authorized for use during the shortage of 1d stamps between late April and early May. The revenue stamp is unrecorded, but two loose singles with similar initialling have been reported. An unusual means of meeting the shortage of 1d stamps.
ST. VINCENT
Registered cover from Calliaqua to Hull, England franked with 1881 ½d orange and 1883 2½d on 1d lake strip of three to pay the 4d U.P.U. rate plus 4d registration fee. Full CA MR 28 83 abbreviated datestamp in lower left corner. Stated to be the only known cover bearing a CA abbreviated datestamp and one of two covers bearing a ½d orange stamp. This cover appears as an illustration on page 98 of Messenger's St. Vincent book and in the color plates of Proud's Postal History of St. Lucia and St. Vincent book. Ex. Messenger, Jaffé.
TOBAGO
Cover dated April 2, 1890 from England to Tobago franked with a G.B. 4d Jubilee single. Rated double weight and as such, was short-paid by 4d as indicated by the "T 40". The addressee had to pay 8d which included a 100% penalty. Upon payment of the postage due, a pair of Tobago 4d stamps was applied and cancelled by two strikes of the "TREASURY TOBAGO" crown double-circle handstamp.
TURKS ISLANDS
Early registered cover to London dated July 5, 1873 franked with 1/ blue first issue. Embossed seal of George J. Gibbs, salt merchant, appears on reverse (not shown).
I have been a member of of the eBay community since 1998 and regularly search this venue for interesting additions to my collection. Here are a couple of my eBay acquisitions.
JAMAICA
Cover to Canada dated March 6, 1916 bearing a KGV 1d red stamp along with a third issue Red Cross label. Beginning Dec. 1, 1915, these labels were sold for a half-penny each by the post offices of Jamaica on behalf of the Jamaica Patriotic Stamp League. Usage was voluntary, and funds were used to support the British Red Cross. Close inspection of this label shows the JAMAICA overprint to be inverted, but because the label was placed on cover reading upright, the bi-plane appears inverted. Jamaica's Inverted Jenny?
ST. LUCIA
Picture postcard to St. Lucia dated December 10, 1931, written in Gambia and mailed from England on Jan. 11, 1932. Mailer may have had a number of postcards to send and affixed 1d of postage to each without regard to destination. Hexagonal "T10" added in England to indicate underpayment. Castries arrival Jan. 28, 1932, and upon payment of 1d of postage due, a 1d postage due stamp was affixed. Close inspection of the postage due stamp reveals a double serial number (SG D1e).
Get a free hit counter here.
| |
| |
| Get a free hit counter here. |
|
|
||
The above page is maintained by: bwiphilately( 562 )  |
| Where would you like to go next? |
|
| Feedback Forum | Discussion Boards | Groups | Answer Center | Chat Rooms | Community Values |
About eBay | Announcements | Security Center | eBay Toolbar | Policies | Government Relations | Site Map | Help | |
Copyright © 1995-2008 eBay Inc. All Rights Reserved. Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of the eBay User Agreement and Privacy Policy.
| |