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Auction: 9028 - British Empire Stamps & Postal History
Lot: 451

x Tasmania Early Letters and Handstamps 1806 (18 Oct.) entire letter from Hobart to London, rated "1/10", showing "ship letter/Crown/portsmouth" double-lined oval and, on reverse across join, red arrival c.d.s. (11.11). A very early item and the third earliest that we record. Photo Estimate £ 800-1,000 Note: The writer, Matthew Bowden, Surgeon, was one of the initial settlers on the River Derwent. The letter was carried by the "King George", a whaler, from Hobart on the 19 October to Sydney, where she arrived on 2nd October. From Sydney it was carried by H.M.S. Buffalo, an armed transport. She sailed on 10 February, with ex Governor King and his family as passengers, and arrived at Portsmouth on 8 November, after a passage of 271 days, via Rio de Janeiro.

Sold for
£2,400