Lot 46019 - 1825 (December 31st) – An Exceptional Early Shipwreck Institution Letter – Lough Foyle Lifesaving Rescue: Historically important folded entire from Moville, Co. Donegal, to the recently founded Shipwreck Institution in L

1825 (December 31st) – An Exceptional Early Shipwreck Institution Letter – Lough Foyle Lifesaving Rescue: Historically important folded entire from Moville, Co. Donegal, to the recently founded Shipwreck Institution in London, established only the previous year in 1824 and later renamed the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in 1857. The fascinating contents concern a £6 reward to six local fishermen for rescuing members of the Coast Guard crew on or near Lough Foyle, providing a remarkable contemporary record of lifesaving at sea during the earliest years of the Institution. The face bears the Dublin TOO LATE handstamp, indicating that the letter reached Dublin too late to connect with the outgoing Howth–Holyhead packet for England. An outstanding combination of Irish postal, maritime, Coast Guard and lifesaving history, made particularly significant by its exceptionally early association with the organisation that became the RNLI. A highly evocative and important exhibition showpiece.