Jamaica Pre Stamp Postal History

1798 (25 Apr) EL to William Philip Perrin, London with fine London ds on reverse. Rated 3/4d and endorsed 'P H.M. Cutter Wm Pitt.' Fine. Letter mentions capture of the Portland Packet and the shipment of Blue Mountain sugar. £50

1798 (16 Jun) EL to London with fine London ds on reverse and good s/l 'JAMAICA'. Rated 5/- and endorsed 'P M Lugger.' Letter headed Kingston mentions sailing of a convoy and and description of an incident involving 'an ignorant Jew' which was feared would cause great injury to our trade with the Spaniards. £120

1824 (1 July) EL from Westmoreland, Jamaica to Edinburgh. with Kingston cds and boxed Falmouth '½' in green also Edinburgh ds. Endorsed 'Pr Frolic Pkt.' Long clearly written letter after slave riots with fascinating detail, 'This Parish has been in a state of considerable alarm in consequence of an anonymous letter having been received by a Senior Officer of the Militia, the author of which we have not been able to discover, advising him to be on his guard for his own safety, at the same time informing him that the slaves in the adjoining Parish of St Elizabeth, as well as in this quarter, would revolt about the 3 to the 6th of the present month and giving the names of certain negroes who were in the possession of Firearms.' £160

1827 cover to England with fair to good strike of s/l 'COMMERCIAL ROOMS' h/s (CR6) also boxed 'LIVERPOOL SHIP LETTER' h/s, both on reverse. Endorsed 'P Eclipse B Simpson' and rated 1/2d. Clean. £80

1830 (15 Jun) cover to N.M. Rothchild, London with good strike of circular 'COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS KINGSTON JAMAICA' h/s (CR7) on reverse clear of flap also London ds and boxed step type 'SHIP LETTER LIVERPOOL' h/s. Endorsed 'P Brig Paragon' and rated 1/7d. Fine. £120

1845 cover from Columbia to London sent via Jamaica with 'OCANA FRANCA' h/s and two fine strikes of two line 'JAMAICA SHIP LETTER' (SL5). On reverse fine Kingston Jamaica cds and London ds. Rated 1/4d. Fine. Ex Watson. £400

1846 (22 May) EL to Madeira with fair double arc MORANT BAY cds, light 'JAMAICA PAID' cds in red, London Paid cds and blue s/l '160' Portuguese rate mark. Endorsed in red '3/1 Paid.' Clean and attractive. £60

1849 (6 Nov) EL from Morant Bay to Mount Vernon, U.S.A. with good s/l 'SHIP' h/s in blue and smudged Philadelphia cds also in blue. Endorsed 'Pr Amen via Philadelphia' and rated '22.' Fine. £40

1849 (20 Oct) EL to U.S.A. with Kingston Paid cds in red (PD6) over struck by New York Ship cds also '5' in circle h/s, both in red. Clean and attractive. £30

1850 (3 Oct) cover to Port Maria with good Kingston and Port Maria double arc cds's on reverse, both clear of flap. Rated 4d. Clean. £32

1850 (15 Apr) EL from Glasgow to Jamaica. addressed to, 'James Muir Jnr Esq., (of Liverpool), Post Office in Kingston, Jamaica. Glasgow cds and fine KINGSTON JAMAICA MY 17 1850' double arc on reverse. Rated 1/-. Clean. £16

1855 (24 Oct) EL from Baring Bros., London to Kingston. with good London Paid ds in red and with fair Kingston cds on reverse. Rated 6d in red and endorsed 'p Parana.' Attractive. £16

1858 (1 Nov) EL to Spanish Town P.O., Jamaica from London. with GB 6d lilac cancelled by London obliterator and with good SPANISH TOWN JAMAICA NO 24 1858' cds on reverse. Contents comprise an account for the sale of 4 bags of coffee to the Light Brigade. £24

1860 (6 Dec) small envelope addressed to Montego Bay with part KINGSTON double arc cds and with good Montego Bay code A cds on reverse. Rated 8d. Light toning. £15