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Auction: 21042 - The Opium Wars Collection
Lot: 75

First Opium War
The Eastern Expedition
Prelude to the Northern Expedition
1841 (27 June) entire letter from Turner & Co in Macao to John Gladstone & Co, Liverpool "Via Marseilles" and "pr overland mail", rated "3/6" and with a weak strike of "INDIA" in large oval, the reverse with Richie Steuart & Co forwarding agent's cachet (1.9), London and Liverpool datestamps (9.10); usual vertical folding crease and some light paper ageing.


The letter commences with the difficulty in selling cotton before the war news, "Commodore Bremen arrived from Calcutta on the 16th inst armed with the powers of joint Plenipotentiary ... It is generally understood that the armament will be sent out about the 1st proviso for the purpose of taking or destroying the city of Amoy...". He continues, "The trade in Canton is nominally open but owing to the absence of all the respectable native merchants and an unheard of scarcity of money business is literally at a stand... Thirty four building lots at Hong Kong were sold at very high prices on the 14th inst ...Five million of the ransom money is still on board the 'Blenheim' 74.". A good indication of how the payment of the ransom had taken nearly all the cash out of the system


1841年6月27日澳門Turner & Co. 經馬賽寄英國利物浦John Gladstone &Co. 信函 , 註有 "pr overland mail" 句, 遞送費為3s 6d, 有㰐圓型 "INDIA" 戳, 封舌蓋9月1日Richie Steauart & Co 中轉代理章, 另有10月9日倫敦及利物浦日戳. 函有摺痕及有些老化. 信函內容述及戰爭消息發布前的棉花銷售情况開始, 又講及英軍準備攻取厦門及香港地段以高價售出等.

Estimate
HK$6,000 to HK$8,000

Starting price
HK$5000