Lot
5049 
(Italy) 1867 (Sep. 13) Milwaukee Wisc. to Rome, Italy, orange cover bearing 12¢ black (69) horizontal pair, tied by quartered cork cancels duplexed with "Milwaukee Wis. Sep 13" cds, sender's directive "Via Bremen & Hamburg" at upper left, red "N. York, Brem. Pk. 'Paid' Sep 19" credit exchange cds, carried NGL Line Hermann from New York Sep. 19th to Bremerhaven arriving Oct. 1st, blue "America/über Bremen/Franco" three-line handstamp and matching "21" cent credit handstamp, red crayon "16" kreuzer crossed out and with matching "Wf 14" (weiterfranco 14 kreuzer) credit to Italy, manuscript "2" at upper left indicates this was considered double-weight in Rome and marked with large manuscript "10" décimes due from recipient (20¢ equivalent), reverse with Basel and Rome (10.14) arrival cds, missing small part of top flap, Very Fine, ex-Vogel, Gliedman. Estimate $2,000 - 3,000.
ONE OF ONLY FOUR RECORDED USES PREPAID AT THE 24¢ RATE TO ROME BY BREMEN-HAMBURG MAIL, THIS RATE WAS IN EFFECT FOR ONLY ELEVEN MONTHS.
This remarkable cover was the subject a Chronicle article by George Hargest in August 1972 (No. 75, pp 151-153). In the article, he notes that during this time the Papal States were not yet a part of the Kingdom of Italy. Uprisings, led in part by Garibaldi, had reduced their territory to Rome and a narrow strip of coastline which also contained the port of Civitavecchia. Napoleon III of France sent a contingent to help protect Papal interests. A majority of mail sent during this time was fully prepaid to destination and sent via French Mail. The Bremen-Hamburg route was only in existence from February 1, 1867, until January 1, 1868. It was compulsory that letters sent by this route be prepaid by stamps, with the final postage to destination collected from the recipient. In 1870, at the start of the Franco-Prussian War, the French troops were called home and after a short battle the remaining Papal States territory was incorporated into Italy.
Hargest also quotes from the U.S. Mail and Post Office Assistant for March 1867, which discusses the general state of affairs of the Italian postal system: "But, with all these improvements, the postal system of Italy is still very far behind the English and American systems… Our clerks could hardly, with impunity, fail to find a pile of letters of letters that had been in the office for many weeks, or to destroy others for the sake of making a stamp album. They do so in Italy yet. It is rather desirable to be forewarned that a rare American stamp on a letter will probably ensure its being stopped by the post office. Report says the wives of certain postmasters in Italy have the richest albums in Europe."
Reference: Illustrated and described in an article by Hargest in Chronicle No. 75.
Realized: $4,750