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		About Me: bwiphilately( 784)

I have collected stamps since the age of seven, and for the past 32 years have focused on the British West Indies through the reign of King George V.  A few favorite items from my collection appear above and below.

For information about Jamaica Railway cancels, click here to view my website about this topic.

ANTIGUA

Cover to Liverpool dated April 11, 1874 franked with Queen Victoria 6d blue-green perf. 12½ vertical pair, tied by the A18 obliterator of English Harbor.  A very fine strike of the scarce ENGLISH HARBOR AP 11 74 datestamp appears on the reverse along with Liverpool 29 AP 74 arrival.  Ex. Dale-Lichtenstein.

BAHAMAS

Soldier's cover dated April 23, 1870 from "No. 1275 Pte Tho" Henry, 2 West I. Regiment, addressed to Jamaica.  The Commanding Officer has countersigned in the lower left corner.  Cover is franked with a Queen Victoria 1 penny rose-red tied by A05 obliterator.  Letter was unclaimed and returned as evidenced by the markings on front. The "RETURNED LETTER BRANCH / JAMAICA" handstamp is seven years earlier than the earliest known date listed in Proud's Postal History of Jamaica book.

BARBADOS

Folded letersheet dated 1858 to Baltimore franked with two 1 penny blue Seated Britannia imperforate singles and tied by "1" oval grids.  Double weight usage, with stamps showing payment of the local rate and the Crowned Circle cancel showing payment of 8d of foreign postage.  Endorsed "via Havana". Partial New Orleans April 7 1858 transit datestamp on front.

BRITISH HONDURAS

Double advertising registered cover to London dated May 26, 1885 franked with Queen Victoria 4 pence mauve pair and cancelled by "O" obliterator of Belize.  The front advertises the Belize Union Hotel with its logo while the reverse advertrises the 1884-85 Worlds Industrial and Cotton Exposition in New Orleans with a panoramic engraving of New Orleans and the Mississippi River.

The stamps overprinted with decimal values by De La Rue should have been available on January 1, 1888, but they did not arrive until later in the year. Sources give the arrival date as July, but this newspaper piece dated May 5, 1888 is evidence that the stamps arrived earlier. Initially, there was no one cent stamp for the newspaper rate, and bisects had to be used. This newspaper piece addressed to Corozal shows a genuine commercial usage of the two cent on 1d bisect. Most surviving bisect examples are Aikman philatelic creations.

CAYMAN ISLANDS

Locally addressed cover dated May 31, 1913 franked with George V 4d single that is tied by Rural Post Collection handstamp.  The handstamp was applied by the driver of a horse-drawn cart who collected mail from rural parts of the island between 1908 and 1916.

GRENADA

Perkins Bacon & Co. working die proof for the engine turning background used in the undenominated Chalon Head design. Frame lines have been ruled in for the for the first issue Grenada stamps of 1861. The only known example of this working die proof. Image has been enlarged to show detail.

Mourning cover to France franked with 1873-74 1d blue-green and 6d orange-vermilion singles, both intermediate Perf. 15 and each tied by D / MAY 10 1874 cds of Grenville. Small Grenada and red London PAID transits on front and several French datestamps on reverse. Underfranked by 1d and accepted as such. Ex. Messenger, Hackmey, Walker.

STAMPS OF GREAT BRITAIN USED IN LATIN AMERICA

British Postal Agencies were maintained at a number of British consulates in Latin American ports. Beginning in 1865, these postal agencies used stamps of Great Britain to frank mail. Each agency had its own distinctive alpha-numeric cancel. A few examples are shown below.

Buenos Aires to Oloron Ste. Marie, France dated May 15, 1872

Combination cover from Callao to Genova, Italy dated March 13,1878

Rio de Janeiro to Buenos Aires dated October 7, 1868

JAMAICA

Prepaid letter from Jamaica to London dated 7th April 1811, endorsed "post paid P.Pkt. Q.D.C." and bearing the "PAID TO ENGLAND" Foster Type PD1 handstamp in purple ink to indicate prepayment of the double rate (1/1d from Jamaica to Falmouth and 11d from Falmouth to London at the 1805 rate, times two).  Sent per the packet Princess Amelia which arrived in Falmouth on July 2, 1811.  Prepaid covers during this time are rare due to the high cost of postage and the risk of loss in transit, especially during the Napoleonic War.  Only two other covers are known with this handstamp.  Illustrated in Foster's Jamaica book and Robertson's Ship Letters book.  Ex. C.E. Patrick and Martin Willcocks.

Newly opened post offices sometimes used temporary rubber datestamps (TRDs) to cancel mail until a permanent steel circular datestamp arrived. These TRDs were made by local stationers in Kingston and include the name of the post office along with an area to record the date in manuscript. Shown above is a registered cover to Chicago with franking cancelled by a single strike of the Great Valley TRD. The TRD is dated August 1, 1927 or three days after this post office opened. This cancel was recently discovered and is only listed in Proud's 2004 The Postal History of Jamaica book with this cover being the only recorded example. A Plantain Garden River registered label, modified in manuscript to read "Great Valley", appears alongside the stamps. When Plaintain Garden River was renamed Golden Grove in 1913, the registered labels became obsolete and were evidently used temporarily years later at Great Valley.

A number of stationers were used to produce TRDs. There was no overall specification and as a result, TRDs appear in a variety of shapes and sizes. A few examples from other post offices appear below.

LEEWARD ISLANDS

Registered OHMS cover from Tortola to New York dated Dec. 15, 1890, franked with first issue Leeward Isl. 6d Keyplate to show payment of the 4d rate plus 2d registration fee. Rectangular red Danish West Indies registered mark on face and St. Thomas 16 12 1890 cds on reverse. The Queen Victoria 1890 issue is seldom found postmarked in the year of issue as the stamps were only on sale for the last two months of 1890. Furthermore, this cover is believed to be the only example from the Virgin Islands showing payment of the 4d rate using the QV 1890 issue as the 4d rate was reduced to 2½d on January 1, 1891.

Large commercial package piece to the Agricultural Dept. in Washington, DC franked with Queen Victoria ½d plus 1/ pair, all tied by Monserrat A AP 14 02 cds. "Collect Postage 2 Cents" applied in U.S. because package was short-paid by ½d (2½d per ½ ounce times 5 ounces is 2/ 1d). A scarce commercial usage of the QV 1/ denomination.

NEVIS

Mourning cover dated Aug. 12, 1877 to New York franked with Medicinal Spring 4d deep orange single, cancelled by A09 obliterator. St. Thomas Aug. 13, 1877 transit cds on reverse.

ST. CHRISTOPHER

Cover to Nevis dated May 28, 1888 franked with Queen Victoria One Penny on 2½d provisional single, tied by A12 obliterator. A scarce in-period use of this stamp during the first month of issue.

ST. LUCIA

Locally addressed cover dated May 6, 1904 franked with cut square embossed double-ring oval SAINT LUCIA / INTERNAL REVNUE / ONE PENNY stamp affixed with extraneous gum and initialled (probably while in sheet form for security purposes). Supported by PAID AT ST LUCIA Crowned Circle handstamp. The Crowned Circle, struck in black, was used during a shortage of one penny stamps from late April to early May 1904 (see Gibbons note after CC1 listing). The embossed revenue stamp is unlisted, but two loose singles with similar initialing have been reported. An extraordinary means of meeting the shortage of one penny stamps, and the only known cover bearing this revenue adhesive.

ST. VINCENT

Registered cover from Calliaqua to England bearing a 1881 ½d orange-yellow single plus 1883 2½d on 1d lake strip of three to pay the 4d U.P.U. rate plus 4d registration fee. Stamps tied by A10 obliterators. Full CA MR 28 83 cds in lower left corner and straight-line Calliaqua REGISTERED handstamp on front and back. The only known cover bearing a CA abbreviated datestamp and only one of two known covers bearing a ½d orange-yellow stamp. This cover is illustrated on page 98 of Messenger's St. Vincent book and in the center photoplates of Ted Proud's Postal History of St. Lucia and St. Vincent book. Ex. Grainger, Messenger, Jaffe.

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