1896 UNION-CASTLE MAIL Cape Town to SWITZERLAND: Handstamped in violet "PER S.S. MEXICAN" with despatch squared circle postmark AP 22 on Cape QV 2½d Postal Stationery envelope. Reverse shows London transit cds MY 11, arrival cds 12 V and in violet the handstamp of "W.R. SMIDT & CO / CAPE TOWN", feather merchants in the Cape. VF. The Mexican sank on April 4th 1900 when, in dense fog and only 70 miles from Table Bay, she collided with the cattle steamer Winkfield. See additional image.
