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Auction: 17025 - Bermuda, Crossroads of the Atlantic: A Postal History from 1617 to 1877 - The David Pitts Collection
Lot: 186

(x) Packet Letters
Other Carriers In Conjunction With Cunard
Cunard operated throughout the period from 1827-1877 and beyond. There were two major changes in Cunard's relationship with other carriers. The first was the RMSP's abandonment of her British stops after 1850. The other was Cunard's loss of her transatlantic contract to Inman in 1868. These changes made the Cunard Bermuda-Halifax connection more important
The following section illustrates the inter-relationships between Cunard, RMSP and other lines
Cunard Vessels and RMSP Co. To British North America
Like mail to the U.S., that to British North America used the same Halifax route from Bermuda. RMSP brought mail from the British West Indies to St. Thomas where Cunard carried it to Bermuda and beyond
1856 (6 Mar.) entire letter from Savannah-la-Mar, Jamaica to Charles Woodly, Commissariat, Montreal, per RMSP Derwent to St. Thomas, per H.M.S. Medea to Bermuda where held until 1 May, per Cunard Merlin to Halifax and thence overland, rated "4" (Bermuda to Halifax) and "6" sterling replaced with "7½Cy" handstamp to Montreal, the reverse with despatch, Kingston, St. Thomas, St. George's (PM5, the latest recorded date of use in red), Quebec and Montreal (16.5) datestamps. Mail from Bermuda to Canada at this time is rare and this unusual with use of a Bermuda backstamp. Photo

Note: The letter was delayed in transit by the loss of the Cunard steamer R.M.S. "Curlew" on 18 March, which was wrecked on the reefs near St. George's, on her southbound voyage from Halifax to St. Thomas

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Estimate
£400 to £500