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Auction: 17025 - Bermuda, Crossroads of the Atlantic: A Postal History from 1617 to 1877 - The David Pitts Collection
Lot: 172

(x) Packet Letters
RMSP Second Contract, 2 November 1847-1 August 1850
There were three routes involving Bermuda. The Mexico and West Indies packets alternated every two weeks on the 16th. and 2nd. After 7 May 1848 the West Indies route was extended to New York
Bermuda was the first stop on all three routes, where the route split, south west to Mexico (Route 5), south to St. Thomas (Route 6), and northwest to New York (Route 7). Homeward bound mail on all three routes passed through Bermuda. After August 1850, RMSP stopped all service to concentrate on the more lucrative Mexican routes
Route 5, The Mexico Packet
The Mexican Packet ran monthly on the 16th.
Route Southampton-Bermuda-Nassau-Havana-New Orleans (later Mobile)-Vera Cruz-Tampico and return
1849 (25 Jan.) entire (small tear at top) from Bahamas to London, picked up on the outbound trip of the Dee and carried through the entire Mexican route before reaching Bermuda and onward to Southampton, resulting in a five week delay, rated "1/-" and showing Crowned Circle "paid/at/bahamas" alongside light London datestamp for 31 March, superb "bahamas" double-arc datestamp on reverse. A most unusual occurrence. Photo

provenance:
"Staircase", April 1999

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Estimate
£800 to £1,000