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Auction: 17025 - Bermuda, Crossroads of the Atlantic: A Postal History from 1617 to 1877 - The David Pitts Collection
Lot: 127

(x) Packet Letters
The Cunard Line, 1833-1886
The last Admiralty packet left Falmouth on 6 June 1840, Thereafter Cunard steamers assumed the transatlantic route under contract to the Admiralty, using Liverpool as their home base. From January 1848, Cunard's transatlantic service altered weekly between Boston and New York, however after July 1848 the New York steamers did not stop at Halifax. There are five different routes
Route 4, July 1854-December 1867
At this time Cunard stopped at Halifax on its bi-weekly run to New York, its bi-weekly service to Boston stopped at Halifax on the return trip only. Therefore, Bermuda received its mail by Cunard steamer from Halifax only once a month. Depending on the connection, mail on the "regular" New York-bound trip arrived in about 18 days while mail brought by the "intermediate" Boston-bound trip had to wait two weeks at Halifax and took 33 days.
The "regular" route was G.B.-Halifax-Bermuda-St. Thomas-Bermuda-Halifax-G.B.
The "intermediate" route was G.B.-Boston-Halifax-Bermuda-Halifax-G.B.
There was no direct organised service from the United States to Bermuda from 1854 until 1868. Mail was carried on an ad hoc basis from New York depending on availability. Some was carried through Halifax or St. Thomas. Direct services began on a private contract basis in 1868.
Route 4 North of Bermuda not involving St. Thomas
Mail Between Bermuda, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
1867 (25 Mar.) envelope ex the Haynes correspondence from Kentville, Nova Scotia to H.M. Dockyard, Ireland Island per Alpha, bearing 1860 1c. black and 12½c. black with indistinct barred oval obliterators and with Halifax oval datestamp (27.3) on reverse; 1c. with corner fault and the flap with tears though of fine appearance and the only cover from Nova Scotia franked with the 1c. and 12½c. values. Mail from places other than Halifax is rare. Greene Foundation Certificate (1992). Photo

Note: Argenti states that this rather curious rating was a legacy of the 8½c. packet rate from Halifax (current up to 1 May 1862) with the additional local rate for letters posted from the interior of Nova Scotia. When the rate from Halifax was raised to 10c., the rate from the interior remained at 13½c.

provenance:
Allan L. Steinhart

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Sold for
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