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Auction: 24019 - Stamps and Covers of Great Britain
Lot: 1011

(x) Great Britain
Merchant Mail
From Ireland
1591 (26 March) entire letter from Guglielmo Petala in Dublin to "Alli Molto Magci SSn Filipp Corsini, Vincentio della Barne in London", in which Petala states a cost of £8 to £10 to get to Dublin as he was held up in Barnstable for lack of a ship, the only vessel having crossed to Ireland after 8 Jan. being a pinnace of Sir Richard Grenville "on which I did not care to put myself", Petala also attempted to board a vessel at Bideford though the sailors did not wish to cast off for fear of being pressed into the Royal Navy. Paper with browning commensurate with age, a very fine and important letter begin one of only eleven from Ireland ex the Corsini correspondence. Photo

Notes: This letter illustrates the difficulties faced by Petala in even reaching Ireland.
In September of 1591, Sir Richard Grenville's Pinnace was engaged in the 'Revenge' in which Grenville bravely but unsuccessfully approached the mighty Spanish fleet at Flores in the Azores.

provenance:
Christie's Robson Lowe, 11 October, 1988, lot 215

Subject to 5% tax on Hammer Price in addition to 20% VAT on Buyer’s Premium.

Sold for
£800

Starting price
£800