Corinphila Auction 291-297 Day 3

French Polynesia 1857: Entire letter from Papeete to Cognac endorsed "voie de Panama et d'Angleterre", being the second half of a long letter (the two halves mailed separately) written by a school inspector in Papeete on the education in the Islands and the benefits of travelling by boat rather than on horseback, and the inevitable comments on the attractiveness of the local population; struck in transit in London (April 1) with "GB / 2F 87½c." accountancy marking and thence via Calais and Paris to Cognac (April 3) and charged '12' décimes due in black. Early mail from Tahiti is very rare.