Page 315 - Sierra Leone to 1961 - The Collection
P. 315
The African Steam Ship Company
Second Contract 1858-1866
1863 Monthly Service from Sierra Leone to Liverpool
22 July 1863 - Packet letter from Freetown to Edinburgh.
With the first mail contract, The African Steam Ship Company used Plymouth as its UK base. This changed
in October 1858 when the contract was renegotiated and moved to Liverpool. It remained a monthly service.
The Ethiope left Freetown on 23 July 1863 and reached Liverpool on the evening of 13 August. Although adhesive
stamps were available from 1859, the sender of this letter paid in cash as indicated by the PAID AT SIERRA LEONE
handstamp. The purple manuscript 5 accountancy mark indicates 5d due to the British post office.
