2018-08-16 Thu

On 8th August, Czech Republic released a souvenir sheet featuring the famous 1850 Bombay cover with two Mauritius 1847 1-penny Post Office stamps. The original cover was sold for over $2.5 million by a Czech Stamp collector at David Feldman auction in 2016. He is showcasing the cover at the Praga 2018 specialized world stamp exhibition from 15th to 18th August in Prague, Czech Republic. The souvenir sheet also depicts the Praga 2018 logo. The sheet features a stamp-on-stamp design with a single 59-koruna stamp.

The one penny Post Office stamps on the original cover are in great condition featuring vibrant colours and wide margins. The authentic cancellations do not disturb the Queen’s portraits. The remaining parts of the original cover are depicted on the selvage of the sheet. A text in Czech translates to “Czech Post — General Exhibition Partner.”

Rev. Langrische Banks had mailed the Bombay cover on 4th January 1850 to Thomas Jerrome Esq. Mr. Banks worked for the British and Foreign Bible Society in Mauritius while Thomas Jerrome Esq was the secretary to the Bombay Auxiliary Bible Society.

C. Howard discovered the cover in 1897 at a Bombay bazaar, bought it for 5 rupees and sold it in 1898 for £1,600. It was bought by many collectors after that. H.R. Harmer’s Auction sold the cover to Raymond Weill in 1968 for a record-breaking $380,000.

Image Courtesy: Czech Republic Post