A VALUABLE GROUP OF CLIPPER SHIP CARDS, INCLUDING THE FEARLESS, ONE OF THE MOST STRIKING AND DESIRABLE OF ALL DESIGNS.
Clipper ship cards were produced during the 1850s and 1860s as an advertising tool used by shipping lines to promote freight service. Competition was keen, and companies used spectacular images and colorful printing to get attention. Speed of delivery and careful handling were of the utmost importance to merchants, thus the text emphasized attributes such as record trips of “107 Days,” “A1 Ship,” “Fast sailing and good delivery of cargo,” and so on. A collection of clipper ship cards was offered in Siegel Sale 725 (PDF of catalogue is available on our website).
Ex Pietsch and Gross
VERY FINE. ONLY NINE EXAMPLES OF THE HONOLULU STRAIGHTLINE POSTMARK ARE RECORDED STRUCK IN BLUE. A GREAT HAWAIIAN RARITY.
This cover was carried on the bark Spartacus, which departed Honolulu November 7, 1850, and arrived in San Francisco on December 10. It was carried to Panama on the California, which departed on December 15 and arrived on January 3, 1851. After crossing the Isthmus by mule and riverboat, it left Chagres on the Falcon, which departed on January 12 or 13 and arrived in New York on January 24 after a stop at Havana.
Fred Gregory records a total of 35 examples of this straightline marking. Of these, the first nine are struck in blue, including one other with the same markings and sent on the same ships as the example offered here. The change from blue to black seems to have occurred after December 7, 1850.
VERY FINE. A BEAUTIFUL CLEAR STRIKE OF THE HONOLULU STRAIGHTLINE DATESTAMP ON A 42-CENT RATE COVER TO THE EAST COAST.
This cover was carried to San Francisco on the British clipper ship John Calvin, which departed Honolulu on Apr. 30, 1851, and arrived on May 24. It was carried to Panama on the Constitution, which departed on Jun. 1 and arrived on Jun. 23. After crossing the isthmus by mulepack and riverboat, it left Chagres on the Empire City, which departed on Jun. 26 and arrived in New York on Jul. 6 after stopping at Kingston, Jamaica.
Gregory Census No. 24. Ex Van Dyke, Ishikawa and Golden. With 2011 P.F. certificate
VERY FINE APPEARANCE. THE ONLY RECORDED USE OF THE UNITED STATES 30-CENT 1860 ISSUE FROM HAWAII. AN OUTSTANDING COVER, NOT ONLY FOR ITS SIGNIFICANCE IN HAWAIIAN POSTAL HISTORY, BUT MORE GENERALLY AS A CLASSIC UNITED STATES 1857-60 ISSUE AND TRANSATLANTIC MAIL USAGE.
This cover was carried on the American bark Yankee, which cleared Honolulu on July 18, 1861, and arrived in San Francisco on August 7. The following day it was sent to Placerville for the next stagecoach departure on the Central Overland Route to St. Joseph, Missouri. The Central Overland Mail Co. took over the mail contract from Butterfield when the Southern Route was jeopardized by the Civil War. Service began on July 1, 1861 (source: Frajola website).
Once this cover reached New York, it was carried on the Inman steamer City of Washington, which departed on August 31, 1861. At Queenstown the mail for Prussia was off-loaded and sent to London, then on to Antwerp, Belgium, and Aachen, where it entered the Prussian mail system on September 13. The next day it was delivered in Lubeck.
Ex Tows, Krug, Rust, Ishikawa, Pietsch and Gross. Signed Ashbrook. Illustrated in Gregory book (II-118)