1917, 1¢ green, A.E.F. booklet pane, horizontal pair, fresh with rich color, tied by large double-circle Fontairie Military School handstamp on gray lettersheet addressed to Philadelphia Pa., Fontairie (10.19) origin cds, purple A.E.F. censor handstamp, forwarded locally upon to the state hospital, Very Fine a; with 2006 P.S.E. certificate. Scott No. 498f  Estimate $500 - 750. THIS WAS SENT ON THE LAST DAY BEFORE THE SOLDIERS FREE FRANKING PRIVILEGE TOOK EFFECT. Free franking for military personnel overseas was established October 4, 1917, and implemented on October 20, 1917. $0 (Image)

1917, 1¢ green, A.E.F. booklet pane, horizontal row of three from bottom left corner of pane showing guideline at left, tied by French militare cds on cover to Hudson Falls N.Y., purple "Missent to Hoosick Falls, N.Y." straightline handstamp, "Hoosick Falls N.Y. May 19 1918" forwarding duplex also ties stamps, circular A.E.F. censor handstamp, Fine, This was sent by the YMCA secretary who was not entitled to free soldiers mail.; with 2006 A.P.S. certificate. Scott No. 498f  Estimate $300 - 400. $0 (Image)

1917, 1¢ green, A.E.F. booklet pane, single used on 2¢ entire, tied by ink smudge, "U.S. Army Postal Service, Jan 14" wavy flag machine cancel adjacent, addressed to Washington D.C., purple A.E.F. censor handstamp, docketed as received 1918; partial flap and top edge fault; complete unexploded booklet, Fine, This was sent by a civilian clerk who were not entitled to free soldiers mail. Scott No. 498f  Estimate $300 - 400. $0 (Image)

1917, 1¢ green, A.E.F. booklet pane of 30, position W6, right tab with guide lines at left and bottom, well centered, o.g., lightly hinged, Very Fine; with 2002 P.S.E. certificate. Scott No. 498f  $1,150. $0 (Image)

1917, 1¢ green, A.E.F. booklet pane single, easily distinguished by the wide imperforate margin at top, corner tear, tied by "U.S. Army Postal Service, Aug 8 1917, No. 2" duplex of APO 2 in Paris, France, on French picture post card showing the Americans arriving in France, addressed to Norfolk Va., violet U.S. A.E.F. censor handstamp at left, complete unexploded booklet, a Very Fine usage, ex-Alpha; with 1998 A.P.S. certificate. Scott No. 498f  Estimate $5,000 - 7,500. THE EARLIEST DOCUMENTED USAGE OF THE 1¢ A.E.F. BOOKLET PANE ISSUE. The sender was a war hero and his service record is well known. John Newport Greene went to France with the American Red Cross in January of 1917. He served six months with the Norton-Harjes Field Ambulance Service. He wrote and mailed this card just after his enlistment in the U.S. Army. He was commissioned a second Lieutenant in the field artillery. He was quickly promoted to first lieutenant and later became the first recipient of the U.S. Military Cross and the first American to receive the French Croix de Guerre for valor in battle.The A.E.F booklets were long thought to have first reached France in September of 1917 through the firsthand account of Dr. Warren Babcock of Detroit, who arrived with that shipment. However, subsequent research has established that an earlier shipment was ordered around the middle of June just as the preparations were being made for the deployment of troops in France and the United States Mail Agency in France was being established. This earlier shipment probably reached France around the end of July or first of August. The card offered here is the earliest 1c usage of only two known post cards with the 1¢ A.E.F. booklet pane stamp that have been recorded in August and can be identified to be from the first shipment. $0 (Image)