Bidspirit 拍卖 | Sir Moses Montefiore to Ezechiel

Sir Moses Montefiore to Ezechiel (Jecheskiel) Phoebus Rothstein (Fayvil ha-Levi Rothstein), Jewish Scholar and Author in Königsberg. Signed Registered Cover to Königsberg, Prussia – Victorian Franking and Silver Wafer Seal – 1884 - A rare registered cover from Sir Moses Montefiore (1784–1885), sent from Ramsgate, England, to Königsberg, Prussia, in July 1884, Montefiore's centenary year. The cover is manuscript-addressed to: Herrn Ph. Rothstein Bismarckstrasse No. 10 Königsberg Prussia and bears Sir Moses Montefiore's autograph signature in English at the lower left. The recipient Ezechiel (Jecheskiel) Phoebus Rothstein, also known as Fayvil ha-Levi Rothstein, a Jewish author and scholar active in Königsberg. Significantly, an 1884 Königsberg edition of his bilingual Hebrew-German work Der Jugendfreund oder der dreifache Faden is recorded, while a surviving 1887 letter from “Ph. Rothstein” of Königsberg concerning Judaism is preserved in the Graziadio Isaia Ascoli archive. Sent by Registered Mail, the cover is franked with Victorian Queen Victoria ½d and 4d postage stamps, making up the 4½d postal rate. The stamps are cancelled by an oval REGISTERED RAMSGATE postmark dated 17 July 1884. The face also bears registration markings and a red London transit cancellation dated 18 July 1884. On the reverse is a Königsberg arrival postmark dated 20 July 1884, providing a particularly attractive record of the cover's postal journey from England to Prussia. The reverse bears Montefiore's distinctive blue device: “HOLY LAND SIR MOSES MONTEFIORE, BART.” beneath which is preserved his large and impressive silver wafer seal, bearing the Montefiore coat of arms. According to the earlier description accompanying the item, the heraldic device incorporates the lion and deer, the Hebrew word “Jerusalem”, and the Montefiore family motto “Think and Thank.” The date 1884 gives the cover particular biographical significance, as this was Montefiore's centenary year. At the time the cover was posted in July, Montefiore was 99 years old and approaching his 100th birthday that October. He died at Ramsgate in July 1885. His autograph on the face is therefore a very late-life signature, adding further biographical and collecting interest. The cover combines several important collecting fields: Judaica, Montefiore autograph material, Victorian postal history, international registered mail, Prussian postal history and Montefiore family heraldry. A rare and visually impressive piece of Judaica and postal history, actually transmitted from Ramsgate to Königsberg and retaining Montefiore's autograph signature, original Victorian franking, documented postal route and silver wafer seal.