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(excepts from HKPS April 2003 NL)
Five covers from the Mrs. Agnes Hendry of Brechin, Scotland came into light recently. Four covers were posted from the British Post Office and the other from the U.S. Post Office. Three out of the four are registered covers bearing the oval Yokohama registered oval datestamp. It is not known whether these five covers are the only survivors from this correspondence. Webb recorded one cover dated 7 May 1877 bearing an 8c and a 28c/30c to London via Brindisi. This is illustrated on Plate 54 and it is said to be from Mr. Ashton's collection. The said cover is addressed to a E.F. Henley of 35 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London. All four covers from the Hendry correspondence were unrecorded in the study of "Y1" covers by Messrs. Frank Drake, David Drake and Y.K. Wong published in HKPS Journal 5. Thus including the 24 March 1871 registered cover to Rome recorded in J5; we have now recorded FIVE examples.
The earliest of the three registered letters was postmarked 2 September 1872. The purple "Y1" is the narrow type. It was carried by the French Ligne S Godavery 11 September to Hong Kong arriving on 17 September and by Ligne N Cambodge to Marseilles on 30 October. The letter was intended to go by British Packet since it bears the notation "Via Brindisi" but the scheduled British Packet P&O Ottawa broke shaft on the 5 September and its mails transferred to the French Packet Godavery. This might be the reason why the TOO-LATE mark was struck, probably at Yokohama. However, this hyphenated handstamp is quite different from the Ishikawa Oct. 1872 "Y1 TOO LATE" cover illustrated as lot 644 in the 1980 sale. This October 1872 letter somehow missed the intended French Packet Volga and the HK arrival date 11 November suggests that it went on the P&O Madras which sailed on the 4 November to HK.
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On the other hand, the next letter dated 17 November 1873 was sent by British Packet as intended. P&O Avoca 18 November 1973 to Hong Kong arriving on 25 November. P&O Travancore 27 November to Ceylon, P&O Pekin to Suez and P&O Malta to Brindisi arriving on 2 January 1874. The blue "Y1" is the narrow type.
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The third letter dated 23 November 1874 endorsed French Packet and was sent by the Menzaleh 24 November to Hong Kong arriving on 30 November, then carried by French Packet Pei-Ho to Marseilles. The stamps were cancelled by thick "Y1" in blue.
In addition to the registration markings, the three covers also illustrate different forms of the "Y1" killer. In 1872, thin "Y1" was struck in purple ink, blue in 1873 and finally in 1874 thick "Y1" in blue.
A truly remarkable trio indeed!
