Lot No. 2220
| Auction No. | 15 |
| Category |
Great Britain Commonwealth & Foreign |
| Est. | $250 |
| Status | Archived |
1847 1/- green embossed (cut to shape) tied by 466 barred numeral for Liverpool & red "PACKET PAID" cds to entire addressed to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Also Liverpool (NO 7 1851 b/s) & s/l "SOHO St" with "per Royal Mail Steamer Africa" in m/s. Uprated by "5 CENTS" in red applied on front. In addition this is a fascinating piece of correspondence as addressed to George Bond who was later Harvard Observatory Director & is credited with jointly discovering the crepe ring of Saturn. The letter is written by William Lassell, the prominent English astronomer, regarding the famous discovery of Ariel & Umbriel, two new moons of Uranus in 1851. It reads "I scarcely expected when so attentively scrutinizing the satellites of Uranus on one of the evenings you spent with us, that I should be able so soon to announce to you definitely and positively the discovery of two new satellites accompanying the planet Uranus". That year when visiting Liverpool, this was the only local Queen Victoria wished to meet in person. If this is the original correspondence of this discovery then obviously worth a lot more than the estimate but further research does not confirm the exact dates though it would be understandable that George Bond would be one of the first to be advised especially since the discovery was made on his visit. A most attractive & historic usage.