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Auction: 25017 - Stamps and Covers of Great Britain
Lot: 5479

Great Britain
1864-79
One Penny
Plate 89: QB-QD horizontal strip of three cancelled by '140' barred numerals and affixed to 1867 (April) envelope bearing the unique example of "ship letter/v(crown)/dundee" (S.2a) with enclosure from E. H. Seymour, a medical student, dated April 9th and 17th from S.S. Mazinthien, a whaling ship located at Mount Beerenberg, Jan Mayen Island, to Alcester, Warwickshire; the adhesives paying the treble inland letter rate (1d. per ½oz.), the envelope marked "1/-" covering the incoming ship letter rate (4d. per ½oz.), paid by the addressee.
Remarkable contents written over sixteen sides of lettersheet give details to his mother of "Greenland's naked Isles", the workings of the ship and observations of the "Blubber hunter" at work, breaking off at one point and explaining "I must stop for a bit as we are bumping so infernally on giant lumps of ice that one can hardly write", continuing to describe breeds of seal and types of ice, food served and general condition on board: "If my paper is dirty don't be surprised for I can not bring myself to call the ship clean ... at times one mass of coal dust, blubber, blood and grease, all frozen together, the men half butchers, half sailors, wholly ruffian and coal heaver combined they look a rum lot & quite fit to murder the young seals"; at the time of writing the expedition had acquired "4000 seals ... about 40 or 50 tons of seal oil worth 45 or 50 £ a ton". Also included is an original sketch of the steamer's accommodation and a full transcription of the letter.

A remarkable philatelic rarity and historic account. Photo.

literature:
Recorded and illustrated in "A History of the Ship Letters of the British Isles", Vol. II, Pg. E.74/F"

Illustrated as front cover of PJGB, Vol. 78, No. 3, September 1968

provenance:
C. W. Meredith

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Estimate
£2,000 to £3,000