Lot 1421

✉ TURQUIA. 1876 (Nov.). BESIKA BAY (Turkey) to MANCHESTER (Great Britain). Sailor's Concessionary rate cover endorsed "From L.C. Ennis H.M.S. "Triumf" Besika Bay" and countersigned by Commanding Officer. Franked by Great Britain 1d. red (pl. 168) tied in transit by duplex MALTA / A 25. RARE and unusual cover. NOTE: The British Fleet arrived in Besika Bay, Constantinople following riots in late May 1876 and the replacement of the Grand Vizier, the Turks then put down rebellions in Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro. H.M.S. "Triumf" was the Flagship of the British Fleet in the Dardanelles.