DESCRIPTION

5¢ Red Brown (1), horizontal pair, large margins at sides, clear to slightly in at top and bottom, right stamp has faint pre-use vertical crease, tied by pen cancels, red "Bardstown Ky. Dec. 4" (1850) circular datestamp on small envelope to Alexandria and Cairo, Egypt, red etiquette seal on flap, addressed to "Joseph Holt Esq., London, England, Care of Barings Bro. London", red "19" credit handstamp applied at the New York foreign-mail office, although there is no indication of 24¢ prepaid treaty rate--carried on the Cunarder Asia, departing New York on December 18, 1850, and arriving at Liverpool December 28--red "X/PAID/29DE29 1850" framed receiving datestamp, mailed from London to Rathbone & Co. in Alexandria, Egypt, then forwarded from there to Cairo, red "London Paid (7?) Jan. 1851" circular datestamp and manuscript "2/1" 2sh1p rate marking, two strikes of red "VIA MARSEILLES" straightline handstamp probably applied by Barings Brothers forwarding clerk to indicate route to Alexandria, the back has a partly readable strike of "Alexandria JA 18 1851" receiving datestamp and manuscript docketing "Received at Cairo No. 2, Answered at Cairo"

PROVENANCE

John D. Pope III, John A. Fox sale, 5/4/1985, lot 144, to Dr. Kapiloff

Dr. Leonard Kapiloff, Christie's sale, 10/28-29/1993, lot 846, to Craveri

Guido Craveri, Bennett sale, 9/20/2003, lot 1152, to Schwartz

Barry K. Schwartz, Siegel Auction Galleries, 12/10/2009, Sale 981, lot 4065, to William H. Gross

CENSUS, LITERATURE AND EXHIBITION REFERENCES

USPCS census no. 1432 https://www.uspcs.org/resource-center/censuses/1847-cover-census/

CERTIFICATION

The Philatelic Foundation (1993 and 2003)

CONDITION NOTES

Very Fine

HISTORY AND COMMENTARY

6,000 Miles from Kentucky to Egypt in 1850

Joseph Holt, the addressee, was a leading member of the Buchanan administration and served as Judge Advocate General in the United States Army, most notably during the Lincoln assassination trials. Under President Buchanan he was appointed Postmaster General and Secretary of War. Earlier in life, Holt was a wealthy lawyer. In 1848 he made a trip to Europe and to the Middle East, and was away from home for seventeen months (Harper's Weekly 2/16/1861).

This cover was mailed to Holt during his travels. It was sent in care of the banking and mail-forwarding firms of Barings Brothers and Rathbone & Co., each of which would have been given instructions by Holt for sending mail to him as he traveled. Barings Brothers mailed the letter to Alexandria, Egypt, where Rathbone & Co. redirected it to Cairo.

After the cover was sent on December 4, 1850, from Bardstown to the New York foreign-mail office, it was bagged for the sailing of the Cunard Line Asia from New York, which departed on December 18 and arrived at Liverpool on December 28.

Interestingly, the pair of 5¢ 1847 stamp pays the over-300 miles rate from Bardstown, Kentucky, to New York City, but under the 1848 U.S.-Great Britain postal treaty, only 5¢ U.S. postage was required. Despite the absence of any markings to indicate prepayment of the 24¢ treaty rate to England, the foreign-mail clerk in New York applied the "19" cents credit handstamp, which was sufficient for the receiving clerk in England to consider it prepaid. When Barings Brothers mailed the letter at the London post office, it was marked prepaid "2/1" (2sh1p, approximately 50¢) and datestamped with the red "London Paid" circle. The "VIA MARSEILLES" straightline handstamp does not resemble official post office markings, so we assume they are private markings applied by Barings Brothers as a route directive.

According to all of the literature and census work on the 1847 Issue, this is the only known 1847 cover to Egypt. The fact that it was actually carried in the postal system to Alexandria, Egypt, rather than handled outside the mails, adds to its importance as a postal history artifact. Further, the Kentucky origin and addressee's prominence at a later stage of life are elements that add considerable character to the cover.

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