Worldwide Stamps and Postal History

S.S "Yucatan". 1910 (Feb 11) Cover (letter enclosed) with "VALDEZ" c.d.s, addressed to Juneau, the stamp washed off, handstamped violet "S.S. YUCATAN / WRECK 3 13 1(0)". The Alaska Steamship Co. S.S "Yucatan" was on a voyage down the Alaskan coast when she struck an iceberg in Icy Straits and sank after being beached in Mud Bay on February 16th. The mail was salvaged shortly afterwards and the ship refloated on May 22nd, only to be lost for good in 1913. The ‘3 13 10’ (March 13) date in this cachet is presumably the day this cover was processed by the postal authorities, probably at Juneau. Just three covers recorded from this wreck, two to USA addresses which bear no cachet but were enclosed within explanatory ambulance envelopes, and this cover sent within Alaska with the only recorded example of this wreck cachet. A unique cover. Photo on Page 40.
Suggested price: £ 1,200-1,500