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| These interesting stamps are often called Ship Letter Stamps. They were sold by the agents of ship operators and paid the postage on letters carried by commercial ships, usually when government mail service was not available. The DWI Shipping Company Stamps are listed in the annual Facit Specialized Catalog which I distribute and are most comprehensively listed in the beautiful 1976 handbook and catalog by S. Ringström and H.E. Tester The Private Ship Letter Stamps of the World, Part 1, The Caribbean which I have available. I often have a wide range of Danish West Indies (as well as Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish) shipping company stamps in stock. These usually never make it to the website or price lists and are usually only available via approvals. Please be sure to let me know of your interests. |
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| The ship Clara Rothe was in service between St. Thomas and St. Croix in 1865-66, however this stamp design, in several denominations, did not appear until 1869. There are various theories about this issue; the Ringström and Tester handbook discusses the issue extensively. At least two forgeries are known; both are crude with many differences from the originals. |
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