【Spring 2024 Sales Special Features: Scarce Hong Kong Ship Letter】
1849.5.23 entire letter, from Macao to Honolulu, rated “4” in black ink and “1/8” (later added) in red ink, along with extensive postmarking on address panel and flap as follows, three-lined “CORREIO / MACAO” c.d.s. (in large format), 5.24 Hong Kong transit c.d.s., “SHIPLETTERVICTORIA HONG KONG” cachet, 10.30 London Foreign Office transit c.d.s., 1950.8.23 London ship letter transit c.d.s, “RETURNED FOR 1/8POSTAGE” cachet, 8.28 London PAID transit c.d.s and 9.4 Liverpool ship letter transit c.d.s. Magnificant returned mail for rate addition whichspent longer than 1 year in delivery. It is also the latest usage of this large formated Macao c.d.s which was used in Macao during the period of dependency on the Hong Kong Post Office with fewer than 7 examples in total. Additionally, the Hong Kong ship letter is also very scarce whichis the only recored ship letter postmark in Hong Kong. Only around 30 examples exist.
【春拍拍品介紹：珍罕的香港船信戳】
1849.5.23郵簡，自澳門寄檀香山。正面帶有黑色“4”郵資字樣及追加之紅色“1/8”郵資字樣。正背面蓋有精彩紛陳之郵戳，依日期為﹕澳門“CORREIO / MACAO”三行日戳（大字版）、香港中轉戳、“SHIPLETTERVICTORIA HONG KONG”香港船信橫戳、倫敦郵政總局外國信件中轉戳、倫敦船信中轉戳、“RETURNED FOR 1/8 POSTAGE”欠資退回指示戳、倫敦郵資已付中轉戳及利物浦船信中轉戳。這封退回欠資封之投遞時長前後達一年，同時亦是這款大字版澳門三行日戳的最晚使用例子，使用於澳門需要依靠香港郵政的時期，共計僅有七例存世。而香港船信戳亦相當珍罕，是香港唯一一款有記錄之船信戳，僅有三十多枚存世例子。