Lot 40619 – 1858 Envelope from Lima to Genoa, Italy, with 1858 1p rose, earliest recorded usage

1858 (Mar) Envelope from Lima to Genoa, Italy, with 1858 1p rose, very large even margins, tied by Lima oval of dots cancellation, overpaying the single inland letter rate, with clear Genoa 22nd April arrival bs indicating that the cover must have left Callao on 12th March (2 days after issue), which was the date the PSNC northbound steamer departed to Panama, then on to Colon on 25th March and put aboard RMSPC SS « Atrato » to St. Thomas, and transferred to SS « Magdalena » arriving in Southampton 19th April, before transiting France and arriving in Genoa with « 15 » decimes (single rate) charge on arrival, very fine; the unique earliest record date of use of the 1 peseta red, a major exhibition item of the First Issue of Peru; signed A. Bolaffi, cert. E. Diena (1981) and Moorhouse (2010, who gives a detailed explanation of the potential confusion of the rate at this very early time, and the route).

Note: The earliest recorded date of the 1 dinero blue is also 12th March 1858, of which three covers are recorded.