Lot
2351 
"From U.S.S. Shenandoah", manuscript endorsement at bottom left of cover from Funchal, Madeira to New York City bearing Portugal 1862, 5r brown, 10r yellow and 25r rose, large margins, latter two on reverse, canceled or tied by "51" circular grid cancels, blue "Funchal 1866" double-circle datestamp also ties 5r, Lisbon transit backstamp, red "London, Paid, 30 JA 1866" transit cds with red crayon "1/2" credit rating and manuscript. "1/2", black "N. York '5' Am. Pkt." debit 5¢ cds; missing right flap, small edge tears, 10¢ torn from flap placement, Very Fine. Estimate $2,000 - 3,000.
A REMARKABLE COVER MAILED FROM THE U.S.S. SHENANDOAH ON HER FIRST VOYAGE AFTER THE CIVIL WAR.
The first USS Shenandoah was a wooden screw sloop of the United States Navy built by the Philadelphia Navy Yard and launched on 8 December 1862 for service in the Civil War. She joined the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron in September 1862 and participated in the Battle of Fort Fisher in December 1864. She then joined in the final days of the Union siege of Charleston that fell on Feb. 17th. She returned to the Philadelphia Navy Yard on Mar. 15th and was decommissioned on Apr. 15thl. After the war, she was recommissioned and sailed for the Azores in December 1866 when this letter was mailed back home.
References: "Mail Between the United States and Portugal via British Mails, 1840-75: Part 2", Richard F. Winter, Chronicle 269, Feb. 2021, p. 90, fig. 19.
Realized: $6,000