Lot 30690 – 1870 entire letter send by Ballon Monté to Montevideo,

1870 entire letter send by Ballon Monté to Montevideo, Uruguay, franked France 80c Napoleon III, tied by star cancel and PARIS DEC 70 cds alongside on Very Fine small entire dated “Paris 16 dec 1870” with interesting contents about the bombing of Paris and the eating of horses. The letter travelled by the balloon “le Général-Chanzy” which left Paris on December 20. 1870 and had the bad luck to land in Germany near Rothenburg ob der Tauber (Bayern), the two passengers were arrested and the mail confiscated and only later restituted. Ballon Monté mail to Uruguay are of great rarities, only around five are known and this GÉNÉRAL-CHANZY CATASTROPHE MAIL IS UNIQUE TO URUGUAY. The Yvert & Tellier catalogue does not record mail to this destinations but ones of similar rarity are priced at around 30-40.000€. Certificate Jean François Brun (2022)