Session Three (lots 360-563): Thursday, October 29, 2020, at 1:30pm continued...

5¢ Red Brown (1), horizontal strip of four, ample to large margins all around except just barely into frameline at bottom of right stamp, beautiful deep shade and proof-like impression--we classify this as Dark Reddish Brown early impression--scissors-cut between first and second stamps, tied by red grid cancels on light green legal-size folded letter to Mount Vernon, Ohio, matching "New-York Aug. 11" circular datestamp, 1848 dateline and docketing at right, slightly reduced at top right, Very Fine, an extremely rare and beautiful strip of four of the 5¢ paying double the 10¢ rate for distances greater than 300 miles, Mount Vernon is approximately 533 miles from New York, ex Knapp, Moody and Craveri ("Como"), with 1980 P.F. certificate (Image)

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5¢ Brown (1), Positions 97-100R, bottom right corner-margin strip of four, huge sheet margins at bottom and right, margins narrow toward the left where just in at top left and left, worn-plate impression and grayish shade, tied by strikes of red circular grid with matching "U.S. Express Mail N. York N.Y. Jul. 21" route agent's circular datestamp on legal-size buff envelope to Edward D. Pearce in Providence, Rhode Island, red "PAID" handstamp and manuscript "Paid", red crayon "20" cents for quadruple rate, second stamp from right with light crease, few light stains and some cover edgewear, a striking and extremely rare corner-margin strip of the 5¢ 1847 Issue used on a U.S. Express Mail cover, the USPCS census lists eight strips of four of the 5¢ 1847 Issue on cover, but this is the only one with corner margins--the cover is not year-dated, but depending on when it was sent the strip either paid the rate for a letter weighing between 1.5 and 2 ounces (prior to March 3, 1849) or between 1 and 2 ounces (after the Act of March 3, 1849, which eliminated the triple-rate)--illustrated in The Stamp Lover (November 1940), ex Boker (Image)

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5¢ Dark Brown, Orange Brown (1a, 1b), two of each in distinctively different shades, applied alternating between Orange Brown and Dark Brown, all early impressions (the First Printing Orange Brown is especially sharp), three slightly overlapping, margins full to clear where can be determined except one just in at bottom, left stamp with right sheet margin, tied by red grid cancels, matching "Boston 10cts. 2 Oct." integral-rate circular datestamp on folded cover to Baltimore, Maryland, 1848 docketing, three left stamps small faults from placement at edge of cover, Very Fine, a remarkable cover with four examples of the 5¢ 1847 Issue arranged artistically with two distinctly different shades alternating, ex Seybold, Hessel, Garrett ("Elite") and Boker, with 1980 P.F. certificate (Image)

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5¢ Brown Orange (1d), horizontal strip of four, large margins to barely in, bright color and worn-plate impression--we think this very bright orange shade is more accurately described as Orange Brown, but the P.F. certificate states Brown Orange, Scott 1d--tied by red square grid cancels, matching "New-York Apl. 8" (ca. 1850) circular datestamp at right, on legal-size brown envelope to an attorney in Albany, New York, cover refolded all around to a more exhibitable size, third stamp small internal crease

Very Fine appearance. An extremely rare use of a strip of four of the 5¢ 1847 Issue in the Brown Orange (or Orange Brown) shade, paying the quadruple 5¢ under-300 miles rate from New York City to Albany.

The USPCS census records eight covers with a 5¢ 1847 strip of four, of which two or three are the Brown Orange or Orange Brown shade (Scott 1b or 1d). In addition, there are two covers with blocks of four in shades of Orange Brown or Brown Orange: one is ex Gross (Sale 1211, lot 34, as Brown Orange), and the other is offered in lot 92, which is classified as Red Brown for certification purposes, but which we think is Orange Brown.

Among the covers with four or more 5¢ 1847 stamps in the USPCS census, only one other is a quadruple under-300 miles rate. Considering the volume of mail originating at the New York City post office, this is a remarkably small survival number.

Ex Guido Craveri and Joseph Hackmey, and from our 1996 Rarities sale. With 2005 P.F. certificate (Image)

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10¢ Black (2), Positions 11-14L, horizontal strip of four, left stamp short transfer at top, large to huge margins including 4mm sheet margin at left, shows the uneven entry of subjects on the 10¢ plate, tied by five perfect strikes of red wide-spaced 6-bar grid in circle cancel, equally clear strike of matching "Waukegan Ill. May 10" (ca. 1850) circular datestamp on buff legal-size envelope to Oliver Phelps Esq., Canandaigua, Ontario County, New York, the strip pays the four-times over-300 miles rate

PROVENANCE

Edward S. Knapp, Parke-Bernet Galleries, 5/5-10/1941, lot 2308 (Knapp's source note on back "1934 Dr. Wyer of Albany")

Alfred H. Caspary, H.R. Harmer, 1/16-18/1956, lot 170, to Dick

Jack Dick, Siegel Auction Galleries, Sale 204, 10/31/1957, lot 232

Raymond H. Weill Co. (private sale to Ishikawa)

Ryohei Ishikawa, Christie's Robson Lowe sale, 9/28-29/1993, lot 76, to William H. Gross

CENSUS, LITERATURE AND EXHIBITION REFERENCES

USPCS census no. 1335 https://www.uspcs.org/resource-center/censuses/1847-cover-census/

John N. Luff, The Postage Stamps of the United States, p. 45

Lester G. Brookman, The 1847 Issue of United States Stamps, p. 48, fig. 65

-- The United States Postage Stamps of the 19th Century, Volume I, 1966, fig. 77, p. 60

Jonathan W. Rose, Classic United States Imperforate Stamps, p. 21

CONDITION NOTES

Extremely Fine

HISTORY AND COMMENTARY

The Wonderful Horizontal Strip of Four”

In 1941 the Edward S. Knapp collection was offered at auction by a consortium that purchased the entire collection privately and engaged Y. Souren to market it through Parke-Bernet Galleries, later part of Sotheby Parke Bernet and known to all as Sotheby’s. The Knapp auction was so significant, a reporter covered the event for The New Yorker (June 14, 1941), and the Waukegan cover inspired the story’s headline: A Reporter at Large--The Wonderful Horizontal Strip of Four.”

The rarity of a 10¢ 1847 strip of four, on or off cover, is well established. The USPCS census lists five covers and one front, each with a 10¢ strip of four. Beyond that there are six covers with multiple-rate frankings that include 10¢ strips of five or six, including the covers offered in this sale as lots 423, 424 and 522.

Quality is what sets the Waukegan cover apart from all others, and earned the adjective wonderful” in The New Yorker headline. The strip on this cover is flawless and superb, with margins all around and a generous portion of the sheet margin at left. The Waukegan post office used a distinctive grid cancel and brilliant red ink that appears to float” on top of the dark black stamps. The addressee, Oliver Phelps, was an attorney in Canandaigua, New York, and member of a prominent family, well-known in the 18th and 19th century as land developers in the frontier region of western New York and the Great Lakes area. They named Canandaigua after the Iroquois word Kanandarque, meaning chosen spot. Today, the Oliver Phelps house, built in 1813 and expanded in 1830, is a historic inn called The Oliver Phelps Bed and Breakfast. (We suggest the buyer of this cover take it there for a cozy overnight stay).

Knapp acquired the cover in 1934 from a Dr. Wyer of Albany. In the 1941 Knapp sale, the Waukegan cover was bought by Ezra D. Cole for Alfred H. Caspary. When the Caspary 1847 collection was sold in 1956, the Waukegan cover sold to J.D.”, the initials of Jack R. Dick, a financial wunderkind who ran into trouble in the 1950s, which forced the sale of his stamps. Dick bounced back to amass a fortune, but not without controversy. He also built a world-class collection of English furniture and sporting paintings, which he housed in Dunnellen Hall, his Greenwich, Connecticut, mansion that later became Harry and Leona Helmsley’s home--the one that was the cause of her conviction and prison sentence for tax evasion, and where she infamously told her housekeeper, We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes.”

The Weills acquired the Waukegan cover and sold it to Ryohei Ishikawa in the 1970s. It became a cornerstone of his award-winning 1847-1869 exhibit. At the 1993 Ishikawa sale, William H. Gross fought off fierce competition to secure the cover for his collection. (Image)

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10¢ Black (2), Positions 16-20L, horizontal strip of five, three left stamps with huge margins all around including parts of three adjoining stamps at top, right two stamps large margins to in including right interpane margin, tied by red-orange grid cancels (with bars mostly filled in), matching "Mobile Ala. Nov. 4" (ca. 1847-48) circular datestamp on buff legal-size envelope to Joseph H. Bradley, an attorney in Washington D.C., missing part of top flap

Fine-Very Fine strip on an attractive cover--a spectacular 1847 Issue multiple on cover.

In order of size, the largest 10¢ frankings on cover are as follows: 9 stamps on cover to Tepic, Mexico, via Panama (two strips of three, two singles and part of a third single); 8 stamps on cover to San Francisco (horizontal strips of five and three); 6 stamps each on three different covers--strip of five and single (lot 424 in this sale), strip of six from Mobile to N.Y., strip of six on the Rush cover to France (lot 552 in this sale)--and 5 stamps on one cover, the strip offered here. This cover is specifically described in an article by Gordon Eubanks on covers with three or more 1847 stamps (Chronicle 254). He notes that the addressee, Joseph H. Bradley, was the attorney who successfully defended John Surratt against charges he was a conspirator in Lincoln's assassination. John Surratt fled to Canada, and his mother Mary was hanged for her part in the plot.

USPCS census no. 165. Ex C. F. Rothfuchs, Rep. Ernest R. Ackerman, Ryohei Ishikawa and Joseph Hackmey (collection sold privately to William H. Gross, 2010). Source note on back "$1,250.00 Perry, May 20, 1929." Signed by Stanley B. Ashbrook. With 1993 P.F. certificate. (Image)

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10¢ Black (2), Positions 41-45L, horizontal strip of five, huge margins on three sides including left sheet margin, in at bottom, used with single, large margins to just in, tied by light strikes of red cancels, matching "Little Miami R.R. Jun. 1" (1851) route agent's circular datestamp on buff legal-size envelope to George Krebs, Attorney, in Baltimore, Maryland, 1851 receipt docketing at left, some cover faults, opening tear through second stamp in strip has been expertly repaired

Fine appearance--an absolutely breathtaking 10¢ 1847 multiple franking on a railroad cover, paying the six-times over-300 miles rate from a station on the Little Miami Railroad to Baltimore.

In order of size, the largest 10¢ frankings on cover are as follows: 9 stamps on cover to Tepic, Mexico, via Panama (two strips of three, two singles and part of a third single); 8 stamps on cover to San Francisco (horizontal strips of five and three); 6 stamps each on three different covers--the strip of five and single on the cover offered here, strip of six from Mobile to N.Y., the Rush cover to France (lot 552 in this sale), and 5 stamps in a strip (lot 423 in this sale).

USPCS census no. 12482. Illustrated in Gordon Eubanks, Jr., "Covers with Three or More 1847 Stamps," Chronicle 254. "R.H.W. Co." (Weill) handstamp on back. From our 1966 and 1995 Rarities of the World sales. Ex Rep. Ernest R. Ackerman (with Perry's red provenance label on back), William Wyer and Frank Joseph. (Image)

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