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Auction: 17025 - Bermuda, Crossroads of the Atlantic: A Postal History from 1617 to 1877 - The David Pitts Collection
Lot: 86

(x) Packet Letters
G.P.O./Admiralty Period, 1806-1840
The G.P.O. continued its Falmouth Packet service to North America, extending it to Bermuda in 1806 in response to military needs. At first the G.P.O. had a virtual monopoly on the North America route though by 1823 competition from American companies rendered the service unprofitable and the Admiralty assumed responsibility for it since military needs remained unchanged
The service went underwent a number of route changes before it was finally abandoned in 1840 and contracted to Cunard. There are seven different routes
Route 6, October 1827-June 1833.
With the failure of the organisation of 1827, the route was changed back to the year-round one of 1823-26, i.e. Route 4
1827 (17 Dec.) front and part back from Bermuda to Greenwich per Cygnet to Halifax, rated "2/2" and showing, on reverse, a light legible strike of the "bermuda" fleuron datestamp (PM1) in black, partially over-written and overstruck by London arrival datestamp (24.1), the latest of the six recorded examples of the fleuron datestamp in black, and the second return voyage on this new route. Photo

provenance:
Morris H. Ludington, June 1999

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Estimate
£400 to £500