Glasgow Postmark ID Please

I know the standard =159= numeral cancellation but whats the other postmark 159 159 159, is this a script, postmark or overprint? This is something I have not seen before so appreciate any help to id. Is it something of value?

Interesting and fascinating. It's certainly a manuscript cancellation, in the same hand as the writing at the top of the letter. Maybe the postmaster didn't have a cancelled handy (unlikely)? Maybe someone in the estate office from where the letter was sent knew the 159 code was for Glasgow and thought they were trying to be helpful?

Oops. Pressed send too soon... The person thought they would be helpful by "pre-cancelling" the stamp to speed up the process in the post office.

But why write the manuscript 159 3 times on the stamp? So its a manuscript cancel but is the writer trying to avoid the postage by putting the 159 there himself? I have not seen a stamp with this script 159 before. Is it valueable?

Duncan, I honestly haven't the faintest idea! Maybe enthusiasm (marker monkey syndrome)? Something along the lines of making sure that no-one else is ever, ever, EVER going to re-use the stamp again.

Let's see if Scotzm has a comment. He's usually pretty sharp on early GB postal history.

Out of interest, I assume the GPO cancellation has been put over the MS cancellation, and not the other way around?

The manuscript "159"s are written by the same hand as the filing information at the top of the scan of the cover. The filing information includes the date,solicitor's names (McAllen/Gilmour) of Glasgow, and the letter contents. This filing information would have been added after receipt on the letter and I suspect the "159"s are "scribbles" to see if the pen nib (possible new) was working properly.

Thanks all what a place to test the pen out on, on the stamp of all places!

On a marginal note I can add that there were 4 daily mails from Glasgow to Hamilton.

1st by stage coach, box closes at 11:30am
2nd by London Mail, box closes at 1:45pm
3rd by London Mail, box closes at 4:30pm
4th by London Night Mail, box closes at 10:30pm

Hamilton was circa 10 miles far from Glasgow so the N time code and the Hamilton postmark of the next day suggest us that your letter departed with 4th mail.

Thanks aryeh the night mail indicated by the N in the red Glasgow cds. Can you imagine the horse drawn stage coach leaving the post office at 10.30pm? You won't see night mail like that with the PO these days.

I've read that the speed was circa 7-10 miles/h.

This was the route, in orange, taken from a map of 1846:

Very nice map good to see the mail routes I listed the item with notes kindly provided by the kind folk here. I also would like comments on why the extra red in the stamp in this listing, please take a look

1845 QV PLYMOUTH WRAPPER WITH 1d RED IMPERF STAMP SOME RED SPLATS ON STAMP??

Here is the stamp

I would put the red marks down to the filing process... the cover is addressed to DALMAHOY and WOOD, W.S.(Writers to the Signet or solicitors in modern day language) in Edinburgh.
To the left and above the stamp is a lot of filing information such as "rec 1 dec"... date of receipt on 1st December.
"an 1 dec"... probably answered the same date. Below that is the case referred to.. "someone V someone".
If other letters were filed at the same time then it is possible that any red ink could have been transferred to the cover and stamp as there is possibly red ink on the top right corner of the wrapper and a few faint red marks below the stamp too.

Cue aryeh with a map of Edinburgh... Dalmahoy and Wood, 69 Queen Street

duncanvr, I cannot open the link you posted but I think the letter it is this, right ?


Are you sure the letter had been sent from Plymouth ?

IMHO it was sent from Eyemouth, or at the least the postmark on the back it seems to belong to, because the rectangular postmarks were used only in Scotland and also to arrive the same day at Edinburgh the place had to be very close.

Eyemouth was close to Berwick:


At Eyemouth the box for the Mail to Edinburgh closed at 4:45pm, and this was route:


The arrival at Edinburgh at 9:33pm matches with the Night time code.

scotzm, I happily obey ... this was Queen street:


And the number of the house, 69, that you gave to us is a very important detail because that address belonged to the 4th district of the letter-carrier in Edinburgh.

This was the route of the letter-carrier for the 4th district:

Oh... I didn't see the PLYMOUTH reference as posted.
It is definitely EYEMOUTH as it has the Scottish 1844 type barred numeral 138 cancel. Well spotted.