2 May 1844, entire letter from Lima, Peru addressed to Samuel W.
Comstock Esq., agent of Messrs. Russell & Co., Canton China,
carried
2 May 1844, entire letter from Lima, Peru addressed to Samuel W.
Comstock Esq., agent of Messrs. Russell & Co., Canton China,
carried privately via the Pacific to Manila, Philippines, where it
received the forwarding agent's handstamp: "Forwd by Peel Hubbell &
Co. / Manila" in red oval cachet. The contents reference the
commercial export of cochineal (a prized red dye extracted from
insects), offering trade quantities and requesting information on
price viability in China. The writer notes that this product "is
coming to be produced extensively and suggests trial investment
interest in Canton. This correspondence illustrates the early
commercial network linking South America, Southeast Asia, and
China, well before the consolidation of global postal treaties. The
absence of postal markings other than the forwarding cachet
confirms the private carriage from Lima to Manila, then forwarded
on to Canton likely on a merchant or consular vessel. Such
pre-philatelic letters from South America to China are extremely
rare, especially with Philippine forwarding agent markings,
evidencing the crucial role Manila played as a hub in
intercontinental commerce prior to formal mail treaties and
organized postal routes across the Pacific. An exceptional and
early example of trans-Pacific mercantile correspondence linking
Peru, the Philippines, and China-markedly scarce and of high
significance
1844年5月2日信函由利馬(秘魯)寄往中國廣州,收件人為Samuel W. Comstock 先生,任職於美資洋行 Russell
& Co. 廣州辦事處。信件經太平洋私運至菲律賓馬尼拉,蓋有橢圓形紅色轉遞代理人戳記: "Forwd by Peel Hubbell
& Co.
/Manila"。信函內容提及商業貨品**胭脂蟲染料(cochineal)**之出口,並詢問廣州市場對其價格與投資潛力,顯示當時南美與中國間的初期貨品貿易網絡。由於當時尚未成立萬國郵政聯盟(UPU),此信應係全程依賴私人商船與轉遞代理
Forwarding Agents
安排轉運,並未見正式郵政戳記,進一步突顯馬尼拉在早期中南美與華南貿易中的樞紐角色。此類十九世紀前中葉自秘魯寄往中國的商業書信極其罕見,尤以蓋有菲律賓轉遞代理人戳記之實寄品更為珍稀,太平洋早期商業書信與中西貿易郵史的重要實證。一件連結南美、菲律賓與中國的跨洲早期商貿信函,極具研究與收藏價值之郵政前期
