Auction 321 - 332 Australian States & Commonwealth of Australia, St. Helena, Basutoland, Bechuanaland, Swaziland, Brazil 1843 –1870 - Day 1

30 reis black, late Early Impression, a magnificent horizontal pair showing vertical frame line at left and horizontal frame line at base, used on 1845 entire letter from Principe (Lapá) to Coretiba, the pair cancelled by small unframed "PRINCIPE" handstamp (Ayres fig. 1165) in red-brown. Obverse of cover shows the cruciform date of sending "12.4.1845" in manuscript with slight scuff mark on face panel, otherwise superb. Illustrated in Juchert "Bull's Eyes on Covers" on page 108 and in "Bull's Eyes" by H. Bunselmeyer Ferreira on page 147. An extremely rare entire - the sole recorded Bull's Eye cover from Principe. Cert. Moorhouse (2013).rnProvenance: R. Seabra Benavides ('Tijuca'), Torres, London, Autumn 2001; Luis Alemany, Corinphila sale 181, June 2013, lot 374.