Lot
2 
Forwarded by Waldo & Co., Maui., sharp bold strike of red truncated box handstamp on green folded letter Middle Island N.Y., datelined "Port of Lahaina Mowee Sandwich Islands September 5th 1845", entered the U.S. mails with partial red "Boston Mass. Feb 8" cds and matching "Ship" & "7" rating handstamps for 5¢ inland postage plus 2¢ ship fee, interesting contents from a crew member on the whaler Nile to a friend: "…shall go to New Zealand after we go in to Port. the whaling is pretty well broke up on the North West nearly all the ships that we have seen or heard of not got as much oil as we have there is so much fog here that we could not do anything a good deal of the time. we struck 13 whales & saved 6 of them and picked up one dead one we have got 85bls of sperm oil…the Oregon question is settled and that there is war between Mexico and the United States"; slight edge wear and soiling, Very Fine, ex-Advertiser. Estimate $5,000 - 7,500.
ONE OF ONLY THREE RECORDED EXAMPLES OF THE WALDO & CO. MAUI FORWARDERS HANDSTAMP, THIS BEING ONE OF TWO STRIKES IN RED.
Giles Waldo arrived at Hawaii in 1845 and was appointed United States Vice-Consul for Lahaina. Waldo established a ship chandlery business but left for the California gold fields in 1849 and died there. This marking indicates Waldo forwarded the letter in his commercial capacity, as distinct from his official capacity.
This letter was carried by the American bark "Angola" from Honolulu Oct. 3rd 1846 to Boston arriving Feb. 3rd 1847 via Pernambuco, Brazil Jan. 3rd.
The three recorded strikes of the Waldo & Co. Maui handstamp:
1. 1846 May 11, black strike, Chang stock.
2. 1846 Sep. 5, red strike, Lahaina to Middle Island N.Y., ex-Advertiser, the cover offered here.
3. 1847 Apr. 1, red strike, Lahaina to New Bedford, ex-Advertiser, currently in the Fred Gregory collection.
Realized: $7,250