Sale 1201 — The Dr. William H. Johnson Collection of the U.S. 1890 Small Bank Note Issue
Sale Date — Tuesday, 21 May, 2019
Category — Foreign Mail: Great Britain
90c Orange (229). Two, used with 10c Green (226), tied by Baltimore Md. registry ovals, purple "Registered, Jun. 10, 1892, Baltimore Md." three-line datestamp on large part of parcel wrapper which contained something roughly the size of a cigar box, addressed to London, England, with sender's ship-name directive "Per S/S 'Augusta Victoria'" crossed out at upper right and "Per S/S 'Servia'" written at lower left in same hand, New York registry label, "TOO LATE (N.Y.-Reg. Div.)" straightline handstamp, red London receiving datestamp (Jun. 21) on back, sender's address on back with "Return Receipt demanded", blue crayon crossed lines applied by British post office to indicate registered mail, light vertical file fold does not affect stamps, minor splitting along foldVERY FINE. AN OUTSTANDING TRANSATLANTIC REGISTERED MAIL USE TO ENGLAND WITH TWO 90-CENT 1890 ISSUE STAMPS.
Our census of 90c 1890 uses includes 7 envelopes, 5 wrappers, 4 tags and 2 qualifying pieces, for a total of 18 items. The $1.90 postage pays 36 times the 5c UPU first class rate for an 18 ounce package, plus 10c registration fee.
According to newspaper notices, the Hamburg-American Packet Co. steamer Augusta Victoria sailed on June 9, a fact apparently known to the sender, who crossed out the first ship-name directive and wrote a new directive to the Cunard steamer Servia. The mails for the Servia closed on Saturday, June 11, at 2:30 a.m., and the ship sailed at 6:00 a.m. The "Too Late" handstamp indicates this was received from Baltimore after the mails closed. It was put on the next available steamer and it reached the London registry office by June 21 (backstamp).
The Servia was a transatlantic passenger and mail steamer of revolutionary design, built by J. & G. Thomson and launched in 1881. Servia was the first large ocean liner built with steel instead of iron and the first Cunard ship to have an electric lighting installation. Some historians consider Servia to be the first modern ocean liner.
Illustrated in Chronicle 129 ("Three New 90c 1890 Cover Listings for the Record," Scott R. Trepel) and in color in Chronicle 130 (May 1986 special Ameripex feature, "United States Classic Covers")
