Lot 238

✉ ANTILLAS DANESAS. Cover (corner fault and part of flap missing) from GUANAJAY, Cuba to FRANCE franked 1870 10 c. green pair with a central oval dumb cancel and tied by the ANGL./AMB.CALAIS cds (30 Dec). The cover is also handstamped with a ´10´ centimes charge mark, boxed G.B./1F 60c. and five other datestamp include GUANAJAY/ISLA DE CUBA (13 Nov.) SPANISH MAIL PACKET (4 Dec.), LONDON (29 Dec.) and BIARRITZ (2 Jan.71). The rare Spanish Mail Packet datestamp was sent from London in March 1868 for use by the British mail agents on the bi-monthly Spanish steamers operated by Don Ramos Herrara from St. Thomas to Havana calling at Santiago de Cuba and Porto Plata. The agents on this service mainly carried closed bags of mail and did not normally sort mail on board or accept loose letters. No more than five examples of this datestamp are believed to be known while only two examples of the ´D26´ numeral issued to the agents have been recorded. An important item and undoubtedly one of the rarest of all mailboat or British Post Office abroad datestamps.