- Lady McLeod
Infobox_RareStamps
common_name = Lady McLeod
{image}
country_of_production = Trinidad
location_of_production = unknown
date_of_production = April 1847
nature_of_rarity = few printed
number_in_existence = unknown
face_value = none
estimated_value = on coverCHF 39,000
The "Lady McLeod" was a
paddle steamer and a private local post. The ship sailed regularly betweenPort of Spain and San Fernando, onTrinidad island, now inTrinidad and Tobago from the end of 1845 until 1854. The private local post ran during the same time with the use of postage stamps on itsmail from April 1847.History
Coming from the Napier
shipyard inGlasgow ,Mackay, James. "Her ladyship's ship". "Stamp Magazine" #73-10: October 2007, page 59.] the ship was christened in hommage of the Governor Sir Henry McLeod's wife and began its Port of Spain–San Fernando route in November 1845.Courtney, Nicholas (2004). "The Queen's Stamps, page 49.]The 60-ton, 40 hp, steamer was bought by Turnbull, Stewart & Co. In 1846, David Bryce bought it and let it some years later to a San Fernando consortium.Courtney, Nicholas (2004). "The Queen's Stamps, page 50.]
At the beginning of the 1850s, the postal
monopoly fall and American and Netherlands ships entered the competition. After a last purchase, the ship foundered near San Fernando in 1854. The "Lady McLeod"'s bell was retrieved and has been regularly displayed by the Trinidad Philatelic Society.Postage stamp
The private local post of the "Lady McLeod" began as soon as its service started in November 1845. There were two rates: a monthly subscription of one dollar, or ten cents per letter.Advertisements of November 1845 and 16 April 1847 published in the "Port of Spain Gazette", quoted in Courtney, Nicholas (2004). "The Queen's Stamps, page 49.]
In April 1847, Bryce decided to introduce stamps that were sold individually for 5 cents, or for 4 cents if bought by the hundred. The "Lady McLeod" only transported letters bearing stamps, or pre-paid mail of the subscribers. The imperforated stamp's illustration was a white ship on a blue background, with the initials "LMc L" printed underneath. [ [http://www.sandafayre.com/Gallery/stamp_1935.htm A picture of the stamp] , Sandafayre's stamp library.] Lithographically printed, the stamp was cancelled by a cross drawn by hand or by ripping up a corner.
In 1851, the British colony issued its own stamps figuring a sitting
Britannia . [From a waterpainting byHenry Corbould , reproduced in Courtney, Nicholas (2004). "The Queen's Stamps, page 100.]Sources and references
References
Sources
* Courtney, Nicholas (2004). "The Queen's Stamps. The Authorised History of theRoyal Philatelic Collection ". Methuen, ISBN 0413772284, pages 48-50. The story inspired by a letter dated 2 June 1847, with a non cancelled "Lady McLeod" stamp, that the Duke of York, later King George V, acquired around the 1890s.
* Mackay, James. "Her ladyship's ship". "Stamp Magazine" #73-10: October 2007, page 59.
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