Description
Australia Tasmania 1857 (JY 25) entire letter from Hobart to 'Campbell Town', franked at 4d inland rate by 1856-57 2d dull emerald-green on thin white paper (no watermark), SG20.
The two examples have lovely fresh colour with mostly good margins, tied by very fine '62' numeral, with red 'PRE-PAID' despatch circular date stamp below.
Light filing fold at foot, the stamps lifted for inspection (by Purves) and replaced, and the left stamp with unobtrusive vertical crease, nevertheless a choice and very rare cover, one of only five recorded with this stamp - unique with this franking and the earliest known usage.
A very important piece of early Australian postal history.
The island of Tasmania just off south-eastern Australia was one of the six British colonies that merged to form the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901.
Originally called Van Diemen’s Land, in 1812, British convicts were sent to the island as a “prison without walls”.
Van Diemen’s Land changed its name to Tasmania in 1856.
Accompanied with a British Philatelic Association (BPA) certificate of authenticity (2014), not mentioning the crease.
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