Lot 30458 – U.S 1851 3¢ Washington imperforate on entire letter from Mosul, Iraq

U.S. 1851 3¢ Washington imperforate (closed vertical tear) tied by « New York Jan (20) » datestamp on 3 page entire letter from Mosul, Iraq, dated Nov. 23rd 1856 to ST. LOUIS, U.S.A. Lower left with ms « STEAMER / D.W MARSH, MOSUL ». The cover was taken to Baghdad per steamer along the Tigris and then carried by British dromedary service through the Syrian desert to Beirut where it was put on board a packet (postal route opened by the British in 1843 between Beirut and Bagdad). The letter travelled nearly 3 months till its final destination, St. Louis U.S. Written by the missionary Dwight Whitney Marsh who was posted at Mosul from 1850 to 1860. During his stay in Mosul, Marsh acquired two Assyrian reliefs from Nimrud for his alma mater. The reliefs were the first of their kind to arrive in the U.S. In this letter the author makes reference to the Anglo-Persian war (Nov. 1 1856 – Apr. 4 1857) « News from Persia and India is warlike but Persia will probably yield and England be saved the cost of another war – Persia ought to be humbled, she has treated England haughtily ». He concludes the letter by saying « I hope slavery will not prevail tomorrow » in reference to the U.S presidential elections which took place on the 4th Nov (18th quadrennial presidential election), where Democrat James Buchanan defeated Republican nominee John C. Frémont. This amazing 1856 cover represents the earliest use of a postage stamp in Iraq and the only known cover to bear a US stamp. one of the major items of Iraq postal history.