Prestige Philately Pty Ltd General Public Auction #170 Dec 18, 2011 18 the home station Stamp

IRELAND: 1901 hand-painted envelope to "Chief Armourer/HMS Magnificent/Channel Fleet/Beerhaven" with 1d lilac tied by London cds, 'BANTRY' arrival b/s; with the enclosed letter bearing hand-painted pictures of a sailor (perhaps the addressee?) on the first page & a villain on the last, some splitting & rejoining. A delightful exhibit. Ex Ritchie Bodily. [Castletown Bearhaven is a small town on Bantry Bay, at the extreme SW of County Cork]