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Auction: 25026 - Stamps and Covers of Africa Featuring the 'Protea' Collection of South Africa
Lot: 1282

Rhodesia
Postal History
Frank 'Matabele' Thompson
1888 (Oct.) pair of letters (no envelopes) in the hand of and signed by F. R. Thompson written at the time of the mission to secure a mining contract on behalf of Cecil Rhodes; The first letter written on 26th October from Gubulawayo, four days before the concession was signed, the identity of 'Montagu' has not been established, but from the context it would seem that he was a relation; the second letter was written on 9th November and records the success of the mission; fascinating and historically important letters (2), the lot is accompanied by a number of useful notes and correspondence from E. Kenneth Wright

Note: In 1888 Cecil Rhodes sent Charles Rudd, Rochfort Maguire and Frank 'Matabele' Thompon on a mission to Matabeleland to seek a mining concession from Lobengula. They were eventually successful and obtained the grant on 30th October 1888 which enabled Rhodes to secure the charter for his British South Africa Company to administer Rhodesia.

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Estimate
£2,000 to £3,000

Starting price
£1600