Auction 333-341 Europe & Overseas - Day 5

Venetian Rule 1270-1797 1419: Entire letter from Corfu to Venice, addressed to Tommaso Mocenigo (1343-1423), Doge of Venice from 1414 until 1423, with large albino embossed seal complete on reverse, showing the 'Winged Lion' of Venice and addressed "Serenissimo principe et excellentissemo domino, domino Tommaso Mocenigo dei gratia inclito duci Venetorum". Unusually on paper at this period rather than parchment or vellum, minor soiling but exceptionally rare - believed to be the earliest letter known either to or from the Ionian Islands in private hands.
Note: The letter dates from a victorious year for Venice, defeating the combined forces of the Patriarch of Aquilea and the Emperor Sigismund, and signing a treaty with the Ottomans after their defeat at the Battle of Gallipoli in 1416.