Postcard Carried on Two Union Castle Mailships

#1 · September 24, 2020, 9:18 am

Does this qualify as Cape or South African Maritime Mail? I think so. The two Union Castle mailships in question, the Tantallon Castle and the Mexican, were both either steaming to or from the Cape when the postcard was transferred at Madeira. This was standard Union Castle mailship practice. It also bears a 2 1/2d Cape stamp on a GB postcard. The Mexican was wrecked in 1900 following a collision. See the next post: The Wreck of the Mexican.

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#2 · September 24, 2020, 3:03 pm

I second your opinion that yes it does qualify as a Cape of Good Hope item and a nice piece. The manuscript cancellation though needs some thought as to why?

The only example I have is with a cache "DAMAGED BY SEAWATER". (See PDF)

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damaged.pdf