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Auction: 21042 - The Opium Wars Collection
Lot: 77

First Opium War
The Eastern Expedition
Prelude to the Northern Expedition
1841 (27 Oct.) entire letter from William Scott "Transport La Belle Alliance, Hongkong" and sent to his uncle in Edinburgh, rated "2/6" with boxed Bombay Ship Letter bearing and, on the flap, London (7.3) and Edinburgh (9.3) c.d.s.; there are some internal folding creases and the front a little soiled.


The informative letter describes Hong Kong well, "... the whole of the harbour here is full of men of war, transports and merchantmen ... The natives that is those inhabiting Hong Kong are very civil to the English especially as it is ... The hills and mountains here are very barren, the parts cultivated being the hollows and valleys between them where there is a profusion of the most beautiful spring water with which the natives irrigate their paddy fields. On the other side of the harbour from Hong Kong There is an island where some ladrones live ... Couloan [Kowloon] ... does not belong to the British but I understand a considerable part of our provisions come from there ... There are no symptoms of any war like movement here at present. All are looking for the arrival of the admiral but of course that is quite uncertain at least to the officers here seem to know nothing about it. They all seem to expect that we shall take Chusan again...", A very good, and early, letter from Hong Kong


1841年10月27日香港William Scott La Belle Alliance 經孟買及馬賽到蘇格蘭愛丁堡信函. 遞送費為2s 6d, 另蓋方框型"Bombay Ship Letter" 戳, 封舌有3月7目倫敦及3月9日愛丁堡日戳. 信函有摺痕及少許污染. 這封內容豐富的信件, 有很多描述了香港: “……這裡整個港口都擠滿了軍人, 運輸商和商船……居住在香港的當地人對英國人非常有禮貌...., 這裡的丘陵和山脈非常貧瘠, 可耕種的部分是山與山之間的空隙和谷地, 那裡有大量美麗的泉水, 當地人用它來灌溉他們的稻田. 香港的港口有一個小島住著一些盗賊……古龍(九龍)……不屬於英國人, 但我知道我們有相當部分的供應來自那裡……" 一封香港開埠之初由香港寄出的信函.

Sold for
HK$11,000

Starting price
HK$4800