- £150.00
S.S. COMORIN On the 19th February 1930, the P & O steamer ‘Comorin’ left Sydney, Australia, bound for England. On the night of the 12th of March, as she was about to sail from Colombo, Ceylon, a fire broke out in number three hold. Seawater was used to flood the hold to extinguish the fire, which was only accomplished on the 14th March. The mail was damaged by being wet by water. The ‘Comorin’ eventually sailed on the 17th March, but on the 3rd April, the day after arriving at London, the Postmaster General announced that all the mail had to be dried before being delivered, and that there might be a considerable delay in consequence. At least 12 different types of hand stamps were used for this salvaged mail, and cachets were in both black and purple inks. This cover, which has had the stamp washed off, has a two line cachet applied to both the front and back of the cover. It is a variant on Hoggarth & Gwynn Type 2 cachet but has no stops after ‘S S’ Fine and very uncommon, possibly unique.
