Lot 20066 – 1904 Registered cover from crew-member of battlesh

1904 Registered cover from crew-member of battleship « RETVIZAN » franked pair of 7k tied by PORT ARTHUR 21 IV 1904 cds, received Rostov-on-Don 13 V 1904 representing one of the last letters dispatched from Port Arthur while in Russian hands, the mail trains were halted by Japanese landings north of the port the following day (5 V 1904) and the line was severed a few days later. The ‘Retvizan’, though severely damaged, survived the Battle of the Yellow Sea (August 1904) but was sunk in the harbour at Port Arthur by Japanese land batteries on 6 Dec. Servicemen’s ordinary mail to Russia bearing a unit cachet was sent post-free. Registered and insured mail and mail to foreign countries was charged the standard rates.