(Route 12717) Steamer Illinois, Sault, perfect strike of "Aug 12 1864" cds on light buff cover addressed in pencil to Pottsville Pa., bearing 3¢ rose (65), short perfs at right, tied by open circular grid and indistinct Mich. cds adjacent, carried from Sault by the Illinois to Cleveland where placed on the rails via Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, Very Fine, Illustrated in Milgram on page 634., ex-Floyd Risvold. Milgram No. 634  Estimate $750 - 1,000. The "Illinois" was a side-wheeler of 926 tons built at Detroit in 1853 and abandoned in 1869.In July 1863, Ebenezer Ward was contracted to operate routes Cleveland and Chicago to Otonagon on the shore of Lake Superior. He arranged for name-of-boat datestamps to be used bearing the names of the port that a letter was put onto the boat at. Unusually, the payment was made on a weekly basis at $200 for three round trips per week. $0 (Image)