1875 DOUBLE RATE UNION LINE LETTER: Exceptional small format envelope endorsed "Via Mail St American leaving 16. Nov. 1875" franked 2x Hope Seated 1/-'s tied Cape Town despatch Duplex Numeral 1 with cds NO 16. To England, addressed to General Sir Robert H (Hussey) Vivian (KCB & GCB) who served with distinction in India. Backstamped Cape-Packet / Plymouth DE 9 and Torquay arrival same date. The steamer American left Cape Town for Plymouth on Tuesday November 16th taking 23 days for the voyage. F-VF, an impressive double franking on letter. See additional image below.
The Union-Line Mail Steamer AMERICAN has it's own story to tell. She left Plymouth for the Cape April 9th 1880. On Friday April 23rd disaster struck with serious failure of her propeller-shaft tearing away the plating at the stern. At 11am the ship was abandoned and she sunk at 12.30 am. All 76 crew and 60 passengers (among whom was John Paterson of Port Elizabeth, Member of the Cape Parliament) sailed safely away in the 8 lifeboats. All lifeboats were found and rescued, the last two on May 29th and July 21st. One group of passengers was rescued by the ship Senegal which then ran aground and in the panic of abandoning that ship Mr John Paterson was lost overboard, never seen again and became the only passenger of the American to lose his life...
