Lot 542
1699 English Letter Discussing A Voyage To Borneo. A folded pre-stamp letter dated June 13, 1699, sent by Walter Nisbett from London to his brother-in-law, William Nisbett, in Edinburgh, Scotland. A fascinating letter relating Walter's voyage to Benjarmasin, a town on the south coast of Borneo. He states that nearly a third of his money "went towards my equipage and liquors for so tedious a voyage…I was Sr. seven moneths at one time at Benjar. in ye island of Borneo and two months at Batavia besides severall other ports boeth outward & homward bound." Benjarmasin, by 1698, was an important English settlement near the pepper-growing area of Borneo. The English were expelled when the Dutch obtained a monopoly from the Sultan in the 1730s. The letter has all official postal markings, including a nice Bishop Mark Postal stamp and red wax seal. Minor paper loss at one fold, affecting a few letters of text; two small tape remnants at top edge.
Estimated Value $450 - 500.
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| Realized $259 |
