Auction Detail

30c orange on folded cover, two singles, tied by red circular grid cancels and NEW YORK PAID c.d.s. (17 Jan), to Lyon, France, endorsed “Steamship New York”, red French entry c.d.s. on front, Paris (31 Jan) and Lyon (1 Feb) backstamps, wrinkling and filing folds, yet an uncommon quadruple rate cover from the Payen correspondence, signed A. Diena.

2c brown, block of ten, pair, and single, cancelled in manuscript, the single and pair tied by double-circle "Hiogo / Japan" c.d.s. to cover to Siegen, Rheinish Prussia, endorsed "via S. Francisco", where the block was cancelled with Nov 18 c.d.s., red "New York Paid All / Br. Transit / Nov 26" c.d.s., German c.d.s. receiver (8 Dec) on reverse, cover opened for display, one adhesive creased from being affixed over bottom edge, some edge flaws, but a remarkable and rare franking; with 1997 Philatelic Foundation certificate.
This cover, being undated, leaves the rate open to some conjecture. If sent in 1869, it is a 1c overpayment of the  25c rate, being 10c per 1/2oz from the United States to Prussia via New York, and 15c for Prussian closed mail via England. If sent in 1870, it is a six cent overpayment of the 10c transpacific and 10c transatlantic rate. If the latter, one would assume the sender would have simply used the block of ten, unless the earlier rate was still in mind.

1c-10c "Kans." Overprints, set of eleven, tied to Nickels first day cover by "Washington D.C. / May 1 / 5 PM / 1929" duplex, fresh and very fine. 

Italo Balbo Return Flight Cover, 1933, $1.00 violet black, three singles, with 10c orange and 50c lilac, tied to cover from New York City to Rome, Italy, struck with partial New York City Hall duplex,  purple United States "Italian Air Cruise / New York – Roma" and blue Italian "crociera Aerea del Decennale / Italia – Nord Amerika" handstamped flight cachets, manuscript "By Italian Air Cruise / to / Europe", Rome c.d.s. arrival backstamps, to Paris, France, crossed-out and forwarded to Interlaken, Switzerland, with indistinct c.d.s. arrival backstamp (17.VIII.33), light soiling in places, a fine and scarce flight cover; ex Ainsworth.(AAMC "1184f)

13c blue, "H.I. & U.S. Postage," 1852, large margins all around, showing trace of "kiss print" of upper letters, fresh and bright appearance, tied to folded letter by crisp red "Honolulu / US Postage Paid  / Jul / 24" c.d.s., black "PAID" handstamp alongside, postmarked with ideal San Francisco c.d.s. (1 Sep) in black, adjacent circular "8" in black from San Francisco, from Maria Whitney Pogue, with extensive letter datelined at Lahainaluna, to Miss Fidelia Fiske in "Ooromiah" (Oroomiah), Persia, endorsed in manuscript at lower left "care of H. Hill Esq., 33 Pemberton Sq., Boston Mass", an astounding and sound entire, the finer of two recorded Missionary covers to Persia, and the unique example with only a Hawaiian franking, a rarity of the utmost quality, with 1995 Philatelic Foundation certificate; ex Champion, Lichtenstein, Ostheimer III, Honolulu Advertiser.
 
The first issues of Hawaii are known as the Missionary stamps. Printed by letterpress at the Government Printing Office, the first three stamps made available on 1 October, 1851 in Honolulu and Lahaina. The design and production was overseen by Henry Whitney,  Honolulu’s first postmaster, and brother of the sender of the letter offered here.  An exceptional overview of the production and history of the Hawaiian Missionary stamps by Fred Gregory may be found at Post Office in Paradise (www.hawaiianstamps.com)
 
The 13c adhesive paid the Hawaiian and United States postage, as well as the 2c ship’s fee. The crossed-out endorsement “care of H. Hill…”, indicates that once received in Boston, the cover was conveyed to Oroomiah privately. Both the sender, Maria Whitney Pogue, and recipient, Fidelia Fiske, are well-known. Pogue was born on 19 October, 1820, at Waimea, Kauai, and her passing in May, 1900, was recorded by the Aloha Aina newspaper, noting “This morning Mrs. Maria Whitney Pogue, the first haole [non-native] girl to be born in the Hawaiian archipelago, died after a long illness. She was eighty years old. Her parents are Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Whitney, missionaries who arrived first with other missionaries for the islands.” Her brother, Henry Martyn Whitney, served as Hawaii’s first Postmaster, and was a prominent figure in both Hawaiian publishing and politics.  Like her correspondent Fiske, Whitney would be educated in the United States at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, among the most prominent institutions at the time for educating women missionaries. While Whitney would return to Hawaii to continue the missionary work of her family, Fiske, while maintaining a life-long connection to Mount Holyoke, would find her calling further afield. Fiske is remembered today for her extensive work among the Nestorian (Christian Assyrian) community of present-day Umria, Iran. The Assyrian Church, desiring encourage the education of girls in the region, called upon Fiske to lead this project, which she did, as a teacher and principal at the Urmia Seminary, later renamed in her honour. 
Extensive collections of Fiske’s correspondence are today held in several institutional collections. Of note, the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum holds in its collection Fiske’s document box, which they note “was likely used in her travels, and contained letters and writing materials.”
An exceptional piece of Hawaiian history.