The David Golden Collection of Hawaiian Stamps and Postal History continued...

EXTREMELY FINE. AN OUTSTANDING QUALITY EXAMPLE OF MAIL FROM HAWAII TO ENGLAND VIA SAN FRANCISCO, PANAMA AND NEW YORK.

This cover was carried on the Sierra Nevada, which departed Honolulu on Feb. 16, 1853, Lahaina on Feb. 24, and arrived in San Francisco on Mar. 15. It was then carried to Panama on the Golden Gate, which departed San Francisco on Mar. 16 and arrived on Mar. 28. It crossed the isthmus to Aspinwall, where it was carried to New York on the Illinois, which departed on Mar. 31 and arrived on Apr. 9. It was sent to Boston for the Apr. 13 Cunarder sailing of the Niagara, which arrived in Liverpool on Apr. 25.

Ex Adm. Harris (Image)

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FINE. AN EXTRAORDINARY TEN-TIMES RATE STAMPLESS COVER FROM HAWAII TO ENGLAND VIA SAN FRANCISCO, PANAMA AND NEW YORK. CERTAINLY ONE OF THE HIGHEST-RATED COVERS IN HAWAIIAN POSTAL HISTORY.

This cover was carried on the schooner Vaquero, which departed Honolulu on June 16, 1855, and arrived in San Francisco on July 4. It was then carried to Panama on the John L. Stephens, which departed San Francisco on July 16 and arrived on July 31. It crossed the isthmus to Aspinwall, where it was carried to New York on the Empire City, which departed on Aug. 1 and arrived on Aug. 11 after stopping at Havana. At New York it was put on the Cunarder Arabia, which left New York on Aug. 13 and arrived in Liverpool on Aug. 25.

The sender was careful to indicate the weight (five ounces) and prepay postage, but miscalculated the amount required. A five-ounce letter would require ten times the rate per half-ounce. Hawaiian postage was 50c. United States postage from San Francisco to England was 29c per half-ounce, for a total of $2.90, plus the 2c ship fee. Total postage should have been $3.42, not $4.00 as indicated by the sender. However, in Honolulu the postal clerk inserted "3.32" in the "Paid" oval, in agreement with the sender's notation. On arrival in San Francisco, the post office used red crayon to mark the letter paid $2.92, and in New York the ten-times credit of $1.90 was noted in magenta pen.

Ex Van Dyke (with his backstamp) (Image)

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VERY FINE. A BEAUTIFUL AND RARE AMERICAN PACKET COVER FROM HAWAII TO RUSSIA VIA SAN FRANCISCO, PANAMA, NEW YORK AND BREMEN. THIS COVER WAS SENT BY THE EXPLORER CARL VON DITMAR DURING HIS EXPEDITION TO THE REMOTE KAMCHATKA PENINSULA IN THE EASTERN SIBERIAN MARITIME PROVINCE.

This cover was carried by the British brig Gazelle, which departed Lahaina on June 4, 1853, and arrived in San Francisco on July 5. From there it was carried to Panama on the Brother Jonathan, which departed on July 15 and arrived around July 28. It crossed the isthmus and was carried from Aspinwall to New York by the Illinois, which departed on Aug. 1 and arrived on Aug. 10. At New York it was put on the Ocean Line's Washington, which departed on Aug. 13 and arrived at Bremen on Aug. 29. The address lists "St. Petersbourg, Dorpat et Oberpahlen a Addafer" as transit points, which are today in Russia and Estonia. From July 1, 1851, to August 15, 1853, the Bremen Convention rate to Russia was 20c (retained by the U.S.), regardless of the distance to New York. The 28c rate indicated on this cover apparently includes 6c for transcontinental postage (an error) and the 2c ship fee. Postage due to the German postal system was collected from the addressee.

We are aware of three covers from Hawaii to Russia. This cover and another from our Honolulu Advertiser sale (now in the William H. Gross collection) are addressed to Madame C(onde) von Ditmar in Addafer. The third cover is addressed to Y. L. Lortsch in Libau (offered in this sale as lot 96). The manuscript notation "P.P. Hafen" on the back of this cover and the other to Madame von Ditmar are important clues to their origin. "P.P. Hafen" is an abbreviation for Petropavlovsk Hafen (Harbor), located in the Eastern Siberian peninsula of Kamchatka between the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea. From 1851 to 1855 this remote volcanic region was explored and mapped by Carl von Ditmar (the subject of his book, Reisen and Aufenthalt in Kamchatka in den Jahren 1851-1855). Von Ditmar wrote the letter once contained in this cover on Mar. 23, 1853 (as per receipt docketing) and sent it to Honolulu, probably on a passing whaling vessel. At Honolulu the forwarders, Hackfeld & Co., arranged for it to be posted in Honolulu. After a journey of more than five months, it reached Madame von Ditmar in early September.

In 1854, the French and British, who were battling Russian forces on the Crimean Peninsula, attacked Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. During the Siege of Petropavlovsk, 988 men with a mere 68 guns managed to defend the outpost against 6 ships with 206 guns and 2,540 French and British soldiers. Despite the heroic defense, Petropavlovsk was abandoned as a strategic liability after the Anglo-French forces withdrew. The next year when a second enemy force came to attack the port, they found it deserted. Frustrated, the ships bombarded the city and withdrew. (Image)

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VERY FINE. AN EXTREMELY RARE COVER FROM HAWAII TO RUSSIA VIA SAN FRANCISCO, PANAMA, NEW YORK AND BREMEN.

This cover was carried by the British brig Gazelle, which departed Lahaina on June 4, 1853, and arrived in San Francisco on July 5. From there it was carried to Panama on the Brother Jonathan, which departed on July 15 and arrived around July 28. It crossed the isthmus and was carried from Aspinwall to New York by the Illinois, which departed on Aug. 1 and arrived on Aug. 10. At New York it was put on the Ocean Line's Washington, which departed on Aug. 13 and arrived at Bremen on Aug. 29. From July 1, 1851, to August 15, 1853, the Bremen Convention rate to Russia was 20c (retained by the U.S.), regardless of the distance to New York. The 28c rate indicated on this cover apparently includes 6c for transcontinental postage (an error) and the 2c ship fee. Postage due to the German postal system was collected from the addressee.

We are aware of three covers from Hawaii to Russia. Two covers are addressed to Madame C(onde) von Ditmar in Addafer (the cover offered in this sale as lot 95 and another from our Honolulu Advertiser sale). The third cover offered here is addressed to Y. L. Lortsch in Libau. It was probably sent by a Russian national, who gave the letter to a whaling vessel on its way to Honolulu, where Hackfeld & Co. arranged to put it on the next vessel departing for San Francisco.

Ex Ishikawa (Image)

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