Lot 10444 – 1765, Feb. 2. Entire letter from Cádiz (Spain) to Lima, struck by fi

THE EARLIEST EXAMPLE KNOWN OF ANY OF THE WIDELY USED “ESPAÑA” POSTMARKS1765 (Feb 2). Entire letter from Cádiz (Spain) to Lima, struck by fine red “España” straight-line hs, applied on departure, endorsed at lower left “q. D. C.” (Quem Deus Conserveat) and indicating the carriage by the merchant ship “Matamoros”, which followed the difficult route via Cape Horn. It was a single weight letter implying three Reales due from the addressee. After 1764 only the ports of Cádiz and Corunna, where the “España” marking was applied, could trade with the American colonies. The earliest recorded transatlantic letter displaying any of the extensively used “España” postmarks. Provenance: Sitjà.