Today in Postal History

Iceland to Denmark
November 27, 1928

This cover was carried by a ship not normally engaged in the carriage of mail.
The letter from a resident of Reykjavik was put in the mails in Aberdeen, Scotland,
where it was given a boxed SHIP LETTER mark.

This is a relatively late use of the practice which declined
in the early 20th century as more contracts were used.
The practice of paying the Captain of the ship 1d.
for such mail had been started by Henry Bishop.
Bishop is also known for the Bishop mark found on mail long before the advent of stamps.
Whether the captain of the ship that brought this mail collected his 1d. is not known.

Reports by Hosking suggest that this cancel, one of the late usages, was in use from 1929-1932.
He gave the marking a scarcity rating of D (rare).
Tabeart has updated the usage span to 1927-1932.*

The cover was franked with three 1922 King Christian X 5 aurar olive greens
(Scott 112) and a single 20 aurar overprint on the 25 aurar brown and green (Scott 132).

The stamps were cancelled with four Aberdeen CDS.

The letter was destined for Copenhagen.
I believe Valby is a district in Copenhagen.
Can someone confirm this?

There are no other transit marks on the face.

*Thanks to Jim Whitfrod-Stark for providing this added information on the Aberdeen SHIP LETTER mark.

Index
Today in Postal History
January February March April May June
July August September October November December

Comments? Send me an e-mail
Please include a reference to this item.