Lot
1184 
Puerto Rico, 1855 (May 13) Guayama, Puerto Rico to New York N.Y. via Cuba, blue datelined folded letter from the Lanman Kemp correspondence, bold blue "Guayama, Puerto Rico, May 9" cds and matching "Franco" handstamp adjacent and "2" reales rating handstamp, second strike of Guayama (5.13) backstamp, sent from San Juan with blue "Baeza, 15 May 1855" dispatch cds, reverse with blue "Havana, Isla de Cuba, 2 Jun 1855" transit cds and black "Rubric" handstamp, carried by steamship from Havana to New York, black "10, Steamship" circular due handstamp for 10¢ steamship rate, file folds, Very Fine. Estimate $5,000 - 7,500.
THE ONLY RECORDED EXAMPLE OF THE RARE CUBA "RUBRIC" HANDSTAMP ON TRANSIT MAIL FROM PUERTO RICO TO THE UNITED STATES.
ONE OF ONLY THREE RECORDED STRIKES OF THE CUBA "RUBRIC" HANDSTAMP.
This unusual rubric-shaped handstamp was rarely applied to correspondence in transit through Havana during May 1855. In an article "The Auditor's Rubric" by Adolfo Sarrias & Yamil H. Kouri Jr. (copy accompanies lot), they suggest "this marking was applied as an intervention postmark, applied to letters held for lack of payment of Cuban transit fee. The delay for forwarding the letters suggests that the Havana post office held them until someone paid the postage. It is possible that the Cuban Postal Administration sent a notice to the addressee requesting the payment or that a third party, the consul from the addressee's country, a business associate, etc. made the payment.The handstamp appears to be the rubric signature of Manuel Arias, who appears to have been a mail inspector and is listed for 1857 and 1859 as the 1st Intervening Officer, second in importance after the Postmaster General.