U.S. & Worldwide Stamps & Postal History

1887 (11 Apr) cover with "U.S.S. Palos Asiatic Station" violet datestamp on back, franked with Japan 5s ultramarine Koban, bottom sheet margin single, canceled by segmented cork pmk, with Nagasaki departure cds alongside, Yokohama transit, with red San Francisco (Apr 30), "Carrier May 6" and Washington arrival pmks, fine and rare usage (U.S.S. Palos was a warship in the United States Navy, named for Palos de la Frontera in Spain, the place where Christopher Columbus started his first voyage to America. Palos was the first American warship to transit the Suez Canal and operated on the China and Japan Coasts and inland waters for 22 years and was involved in military actions in Korea. Palos continued her operations on the Asiatic Station into 1891)
Estimate: $250