Worldwide & Great Britain - Mar. 2026, Lot 1327

SEYCHELLES - EARLIEST RECORDED INGOING COVER EX G.B. – EX JERSEY “VIA MARSEILLES” & VIA ADEN; 3 Feb. 1862 mourning env. (flap lost and repaired edge faults not affecting the stamps) sent from Jersey to “H.M.S. Ariel, Seychelles” endorsed “Via Marseilles” (the Ariel was on anti-slavery duty along the east coast of Africa 1861-1864) with 1d Red ‘Stars’ (3) + 6d Lilac all tied by very fine “JERSEY/409” duplexes (one affected at top by edge fault) for the 9d rate. There is a red London “PD” (Paid to Destination) and a matching hs “4d½” Accountancy Mark (4½d postage due to Mauritius - 3½d sea postage + 1d Colonial postage) on the front which match the “LONDON” backstamp (15 Feb.). This is the earliest recorded cover from G.B. to the Seychelles and arrived there only 3 months after the first P.O. opened. It went by the P&O ‘Sultan’ from via Malta (3 Mar.) to Alexandria (7 Mar.) and then to Suez (8 Mar.; by P&O ‘Nepaul’) and Aden (15 Mar.) to Seychelles (Mahé; 22 Mar.). The Seychelles were a dependency of Mauritius from 1810 to 1903 and so shared the same postal rates to and from Britain. The Seychelles P.O. did not open until 11 Dec. 1861 (on Mahé Island) while the first recorded use of the cds or “B64” Numeral is 15 December 1862, with only a handful of pre-1863 ingoing covers have been recorded (all but two ex the U.S.). Cross Reference : JERSEY POSTAL HISTORY, OVERSEAS DESTINATIONS, ACCOUNTANCY MARKS