1847 (May 24), Calcutta Steam Letter, Kandy to Calcutta, India, via Galle, stampless cross-written folded letter, struck with faint black
1847 (May 24), Calcutta Steam Letter, Kandy to Calcutta, India, via Galle, stampless cross-written folded letter, struck with faint black circular KANDY / POST PAID (May 25) departure datestamp on reverse and clear boxed CALCUTTA / STEAM LETTER / 1847 June 9, addressed to "Frank Dumont Esq." at Eglinton McClure & Co. with manuscript routing "Per Thames via Galle," very fine. Written by James Dumont from the Kandy highlands, the five-page letter provides a granular account of colonial coffee planting in mid-19th century Ceylon. Dumont describes a terrifying encounter with "2 buffaloes" that charged his party, leaving his horseman on the ground and Dumont himself with a "trifling shake" after remounting, details having "130 people lopping, piling, burning, weeding, holing and making roads" to prepare 75 acres for the September harvest, and reports that a neighbour, Dundas, was forced to resign after his salary was cut by £100 following a failure at the "drying barbecues."
