US #205 Sea Post 1886 "True" Sea Post Office Cover Maine to Calcutta India

Item Specifics

Country

United States

Catalog Number

205

Stamp Type

General Issue

Condition

Cover (Postal History)

Stamp Format

Single

Topic

Transport - Ships

Year of Issue

1882

Item Description

The Bombay - Aden - Suez Sea Post Office. Rare cover mailed to Captain Frank P.J. Carlton from Rockport Maine Aug 9, 1886 then to New York Aug 10, 1886 then to Brindisi Italy Back Stamped Aug 21, 1896 and then on to British India Calcutta with a "True" Sea Post Office Back Stamp dated Aug 27, 1886 Before arrival at the US Consul in Calcutta. Unlisted Value for 205 with Sea Post Cancel.

US Stamp 205 on 1886 "True" Sea
Post Office Cover Maine
to Calcutta
India

Interesting Rare SEA POST Cover unlisted value in Scott Catalogue

Rare cover
mailed to Captain Frank P.J. Carlton from Rockport Maine Aug 9, 1886 then to New York Aug 10,
1886 then
to Brindisi Italy Back Stamped Aug 21, 1886 and then on to British India
Calcutta with a "True" Sea Post Office Back Stamp dated Aug
27, 1886 The Bombay – Aden Sea Post Office Service Before arrival at the US Consul in Calcutta.

Unlisted
Value for 205 with Sea Post Cancel.

The Bombay – Aden Sea Post
Office Service

By Mike Dovey & Peter Bottrill

The Bombay - Aden - Suez
Sea Post Office service was introduced in 1868 to speed the delivery of mails
to and from India. It
was operated by the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company on their
steamer service from Suez to Bombay, via Aden. The
sorting of the mails in either direction was carried by up to six teams under
the control of the Indian Post Office. An intermediate stop was made at Aden for
the discharge and collection of mails to and from East
Africa and the Arabian coast, as well as for refuelling
the ships.

This service was based on a similar service
operated by the British Post Office on the P. & O. ships operating between Alexandria in Egypt and Marseilles, France, and
return. This service, known as the Mediterranean Sorters, was terminated on the 28th May, 1870, but
the Bombay
service continued to operate up to the start of the First World War in August
1914.

The first contract between the Indian Post Office
and the P. & O. Company was raised in 1867 and the first sailing to carry
mail to India was in
May 1868. There were several updates to the contract during the following
decades of operation.

In the beginning of the contract there were six
"Sets" of post office sorting teams and each one was given a letter
from A to F, later this was changed and while the number of teams stayed the
same the letters were cut down to A - C resulting in a great number of variations.

There are 12 different types of transit marks used
on this service, with a further five distinct categories used to cancel mail posted
on the steamers, some of these are shown in this article.

See Listing photo with 16 Sea Post Cancels which is for reference only and not an item included in the auction.

It appears the auction cover Cancel is the first Sea Post Cancel from the 2nd row down.

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Item Location

California, United States

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Worldwide

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