Lot
1427 
1938, 50¢ Presidential, used with 4¢ Prexie (808) and 6¢ Prexie (811), all tied by "La Grande, Oregon, Sep 22, 1943" machine cancel on cover to M.S. Gripsholm at Port Elizabeth, South Africa, censor tape at left, Very Fine and scarce use to the M.S. Gripsholm. Scott No. 831 Estimate $150 - 200.
Cover prepaid at the 60¢ per ½ ounce Transatlantic airmail rate to South Africa. Letter addressed to a passenger on the MS "Gripsholm". From 1942 to 1946, the United States Department of State chartered Gripsholm as an exchange and repatriation ship, carrying Japanese and German nationals to exchange points where she then picked up US and Canadian citizens (and British married to Americans or Canadians) to bring home to the USA and Canada. In this service she sailed under the auspices of the International Red Cross, with a Swedish captain and crew. The ship made 12 round trips, carrying a total of 27,712 repatriates. Exchanges took place at neutral ports; at Lourenço Marques (now Maputo) in Mozambique or Mormugoa (now Goa) in Portuguese India with the Japanese, and Stockholm or Lisbon with the Germans. After the war, Gripsholm was used to deport inmates of US prisons to Italy and Greece.
Realized: $325