1, 1847 5c Red brown, single with large margins to touching along the right side tied by an exceptional strike of the blue fancy herringbone cancellation of Binghamton, New York on February 24, 1848 folded letter addressed to Sheffield, Massachusetts, cover with red Binghamton town marking at lower left and matching outlined rate marking "V" which has been obliterated by a second strike of the herringbone cancellation, Very Fine and choice in every respect; based on the United States Philatelic Classics Society census of 1847 covers this appears to be the only example of the herringbone fancy cancel being used to obliterate the rate marking; 1987 Philatelic Foundation certificate (Image)

CV. 1,000

1, 1847 5c Red brown, single with just clear to very large margins including the frame line of the stamp to the right tied by a choice strike of the red fancy herringbone cancellation of Binghamton, New York on November 20, 1848 folded letter addressed to New York City, matching Binghamton town marking at the lower left and manuscript "Paid" at the upper left, the stamp with a small tear at the top right and a small portion of the left margin added; 1999 Philatelic Foundation certificate which notes the small tear, 1996 Richter certificate

Provenance: Katherine Matthies (R.A. Siegel Sale 353, 1969)

CV. 500

2, 1847 10c Black, horizontal pair with clear to large margins tied by red "Saint Louis Mo. Jan 29" town marking to 1851 folded letter addressed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, matching strike of town marking at the right, horizontal file fold not affecting stamps, Very Fine (Scott $2,900)

Provenance: Philip G. Rust (R.A. Siegel Sale 681, 1987)

CV. 500

7, 8A, 1851 1c Blue, Types II, IIIA, horizontal strip of six, positions 81L1E-86L1E, left stamp is a type IIIA (Scott 8A) and the balance are type II (Scott 7), cancelled by grids and just tied above positions 82-83, clear to full margins though just touching in a few spots, Very Fine cover showing the 6c trans-continental rate from San Francisco to Watertown, Massachusetts; 1980 Philatelic Foundation certificate

Provenance: Leonard A. Kapiloff (R.A. Siegel Sale 744, 1992)

Raymond Vogel (R.A. Siegel Sale 998, 2010)

This cover is one of the earliest recorded examples of the 1851 stamps being used from San Francisco and is the subject of an article written by Mortimer L. Neinken for the Philatelic Foundation in Opinions I. In the article he states that the usage is from 1851 and that he (Neinken) has seen far fewer stamps of position 81L1E than of the more renowned Type I (position 7R1E). Position 81L1E is an especially scarce stamp as the break in the outer line is wide and at the bottom, not at the top; additionally it shows a double transfer, one inverted. He opined that "This cover is one of the gems of the 19th century US philately."

CV. 2,500

14, 1855 10c Green, Type II, left margin single showing the centerline and huge margins top and right, just touching at bottom, tied by magenta brush stroke cancellation on 1858 cover with "Camp Simeahmoo W.T."(Washington Territory) town marking at the left, ms. dated "April 21 1858" and addressed to West Chester, Pennsylvania, Very Fine, 2019 Philatelic Foundation certificaternProvenance: Louis Grunin (Christies Robson Lowe, 1987)

In 1857 the British Royal Engineers established Camp Semiahmoo, which was later used by the American Boundary Commission as a base to survey the international border (even though it was on the British side of the border). The Camp Simeahmoo postmark is quite rare, as the post office was only open from 1858 to 1860.

CV. 500

24, 1857 1c Blue, Type V, horizontal strip of three, each stamp with neat "Socked-on-the-Nose" numeral "3" cancellation, envelope addressed to New Haven, Vermont, double circle "Red Wing Min Aug 26 1861" town marking at upper right, strip showing minor flecking from a dry printing and left stamp with trivial soiling at the bottom, Fine and unusual (Image)

CV. 100

26, 1857 3c Dull red, Type III, single tied by superb strike of "Old Stamps Not Recognized" demonetization handstamp on a cover to Princeton, New Jersey, equally excellent strike of "Philadelphia Pa. Sep 4 1861" town marking at the left and matching straight line "Due 3", the cover with an insignificant light stain/toned spot along the top center edge not affecting either the markings or the stamp, cover neatly opened and slightly reduced at right, light vertical bend at right extending through the stamp, still Very Fine and an exceptional cover as the handstamp does not normally tie the stamp nor is it struck as well as this one; clear 1975 Philatelic Foundation certificate

Provenance: Louis Grunin (Christie's Robson Lowe, 1987)

CV. 2,500

35, 1859 10c Green, Type V, horizontal strip of six tied by circular grid cancellations on 1860 folded letter datelined "New York Febry 21st 1860" with additional "via Marseille" notation, from the Augustine Heard correspondence and addressed to "Shanghae China," red "New-York Br. Pkt. Feb 21" transit mark at left, "London Paid Eb Mar 5 60" transit mark at right and magenta rate marking, docketing indicates received April 29, Very Fine and attractive cover sent at the British open mail rate,1969 Alberto Diena and 2019 Philatelic Foundation certificates

CV. 500

38, 1860 30c Orange, plus 1860 5c Brown Type II and 1859 10c Green Type V (Scott 30A, 35) on 1861 folded cover addressed to Lyon France, stamps tied by dark red circular grid cancels, red "New Paid York Apr 20 18" exchange mark and blue double circle "Etats-Unis 3 Serv Brit Calais 5 Mai 61" transit mark, the stamps with minor age bleaching around the perforations, attractive usage showing the 45c rate to France; 1984 Philatelic Foundation certificate (Image)

CV. 750

68, 1861 10c Green, with 1861 3c Rose and two 1861 1c Blue (Scott 65, 63) all with closed circular grid cancellations on yellow cover addressed to Bavaria, double circle "Milwaukee Wis Mar 4 1863" town marking at the left, manuscript "Via Hamburg or Bremen" at upper left, red "N.York Paid Hamb Pkt 10" exchange mark at right, and proper oval Hamburg backstamp, cover slightly reduced at left, light vertical creases through the 3c and one of the 1c stamps, and a tiny cover tear at left, attractive 3-color franking with the stamps paying the 15c rate via Bremen/Hamburg packet (Image)

CV. 300

68, 1861 10c Green, single plus additional singles of 1861 3c Rose and 1863 2c Black (Scott 65, 73) each cancelled with San Francisco cogwheel cancels on yellow cover which originated on Vancouver Island and is addressed to "Canada West," double circle "San Francisco Cal Mar 31 1864" town marking at the left and large oval blue "Post Office Paid Victoria Vancouver Island," London (now Ontario) backstamp, the stamps with creases at the top from being folded over the edge and with perforation flaws, the cover slightly reduced at the left and has an eight line typewritten note glued to the reverse, Fine and scarce use with the US stamps paying the 15c rate from California to the eastern portion of Canada (Image)

CV. 250

69, 1861 12c Black, single plus horizontal pair of the 1861 10c Green (Scott 68) and four singles of 1861 3c Rose (Scott 65, one with natural straight edge at L) all with San Francisco cogwheel cancels on 1863 cover addressed to Chiavari Italy (part of Genoa), 3c stamps tied by red -½New Paid York 24-+ exchange mark and well struck "San Francisco Cal Nov 26 1863" double circle town marking at left, proper French transit marks plus Genoa and Chiavari backstamps, 12c with small tear and nick, three 3c with minor faults, still Very Fine and attractive 3-color franking cover sent via French Mail at 21 x 2 rate, so this is a 2c overpayment; 1982 Silvano Sorani and 2019 Philatelic Foundation certificates (Image)

CV. 500

70b, 1861 24c Steel blue, along with 30c Orange and 3c Rose (Scott 71, 65) all tied by Boston "Paid" in large grid on 1861 cover addressed to Singapore, E. I. (East Indies), manuscript "Via Marseille" and red crayon "52" at upper left, light strike of red London transit at center and red "Boston Pr Pkt Paid" backstamp, "American Academy of Arts and Sciences" embossed imprint on backflap, docketing on back indicates received "Feby 4th 1862," cover with trivial edge toning and tears not affecting the stamps or markings, sent via the 57c rate for British mail via Marseille which was introduced in December 1861; 1988 Peter Holcombe and 2019 Philatelic Foundation certificates

Provenance: Theodore Gore (H.R. Hamer Sale 1358, 1961)

CV. 2,000

72, 1861 90c Blue, single plus additional single 1862 24c Lilac (Scott 78) each tied by circular grid cancels on 1863 folded letter addressed to "Messr. Augustine Heard & Co. Shanghae China," red "N. York Am. Pkt Paid Apr 11" and double circle "London Pr 23 63" transit marks, Hong Kong July 9 backstamp, sent "p Hansa via Marseilles" (manuscript directions at upper left), the cover is very slightly soiled and each stamp is noted as having a small corner crease in the accompanying certificate, a classic 90c issue use; this cover is number 12 in the 1988 Starnes/Herzog census (Chronicle Vol. 40, No. 4, which lists only 7 examples of this particular franking); 1975 Philatelic Foundation certificate (Scott for a single 90c stamp on cover is $25,000 and does not price this combination)

Provenance: Sidney A. Hessel (H.R. Harmer Sale 2343, 1975)

CV. 7,500

78, 1862 24c Lilac, plus 1861 10c Green (Scott 68) cancelled, but not tied with fancy rows of manuscript "squiggles" on 1863 cover with "Salisbury Ms Oct 30" town marking, addressed to Valparaiso Chile, "Panama No 14 1863" transit mark at right and red "25" rate mark at left, the cover with tiny edge flaws at right not affecting the stamps or markings, a Very Fine attractive and colorful cover showing the 34c rate for a cover sent via American Packet and then via British Packet through Panama, 2019 Philatelic Foundation certificate (Image)

CV. 500

119, 1869 15c Brown and blue, Type II, single with strong colors tied by circle of wedges cancel on 1869 cover to Paris France and redirected to Baden Germany by Munroe & Co. in Paris, red "New Paid York Aug 26 6" exchange mark at right, blue "Serv. Am. Calais" transit and black Paris receiving mark, redirection postage was paid with a France 30c Brown on yellowish (Scott 34) tied by a bold strike of Paris "3" star cancel, the 15c stamp with creases and the cover with small edge flaws including a small corner replacement at the upper left, Very Fine appearance; one of only four 15c type II covers listed in the 1869 Cover Census with foreign stamps paying the redirecting fee (three of these with French franking and the fourth with Turkish postage due stamps)

Provenance: Ryohei Ishikawa (Christie's Robson Lowe, 1993)

CV. 2,000

United States City Despatch Post, New York City, 6LB5a, 1842-45 3c Black on blue green, Double impression, single with dramatic doubling (1.5mm downward shift of the design) and ample to large margins, tied on folded letter with Valentine»s Day message (datelined "Feb 14, 1844") and folded into the form of an envelope, just tied by red boxed "U.S." cancel with a matching "City Despatch Post U.S. Feb 19" postmark at right, locally addressed to "218 Rivington St," cover with tears at the center not affecting the stamp nor the markings and stamp with tiny edge flaws at the top; Fine and rare with only about 5-6 examples of the double impression known (Scott $1,500 for a used single, unpriced on cover), 2019 Philatelic Foundation certificate

The USPCS census only records 3 examples of this stamp on cover, not including this cover. One, addressed to Andrew Jackson (3/1/43), demonstrates a slight shift upwards in the second impression. Another, addressed locally to a Mr. Hutchings in New York City (10/22/??) shows a dramatic downward shift in the second impression that is very similar to the stamp on this cover (the third cover, dated 1/25/43, was last sold by Nutmeg in 2006).

CV. 500

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Semi-Official Carrier, 7LB5, 1849-50 1c Black on rose with "J-J", uncancelled stamp on complete cover front with additional portions of the letter sheet on reverse, addressed to Lynnford Kentucky, lightly struck blue "Philada Pa Jun 17 10" town marking at right, Very Fine and choice (Scott for a "used" example $7,500)

Only two examples of this stamp on or off cover are recorded with the other example, also untied, on a cover with a 5c 1847. When both items were first sold in the Caspary Auction (March 1957) this front realized $1,100 and the cover with the 5c 1847 sold for $1,300.

Provenance: Alfred H. Caspary (H.R. Harmer Sale 1069, 1957)

Ambassador J. William Middendorf, II (Frajola Net Price Sale 4, 1990)

John R. Boker, Jr. (Private Transaction)

The first five Philadelphia Carrier Stamps (7LB1-5) bear intials in the last line of text: "L-P," "S," "H," "L-S," and "J-J." Although these were intended to represent men who served as carriers (as first identified by Luff), only "John Johnson" appears to have received the correct initials. As described in an article by Elliott Perry (Chronicle Vol. 34, No. 4), which illustrates the cover offered here, most of the early Philadelphia Carrier Stamps (7LB1-9) are known in two types: "Group I," which has elevated periods in the top line of text, and "Group II," which has periods in-line with the bottom of "U.S.P.O." Both examples of 7LB5 belong to "Group II," although the one-time existence of "Group I" stamps can be inferred. The cover offered here was the discovery copy, first reported by Eugene Klein in 1911.

CV. 1,000

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.P.O. Despatch Pre-Paid One Cent, 7LB16, 1855 (?) 1c Black on white, cut square, just into at top and left, tied by circular grid cancellation on dark buff cover addressed to Wilmington, Delaware, additionally franked with a strip of three of 1c Blue, type IV (Scott 9, margins to just cutting) to pay the to the mails rate, Very Fine and rare (considered one of the finest known examples of this stamp), there are only 5 examples of this stamp recorded in any condition and only two on intact covers, the other franked with a 10c Green and addressed to San Francisco (Scott notes, but does not price, this usage)

Provenance: Alfred H. Caspary (H.R. Harmer sale 1069, 1957)

Henry C. Gibson (Private Transaction)

Produced by applying a handstamp to the sheet margins of the US 1851 1c issue, both 7LB16 and 7LB18 are amongst the most novel stamps in the history of American philately. At the extreme left edge of the stamp on the cover offered here (right edge if oriented upright), the traces of the ornaments of the 1851 1c can be seen. Although the "Large Oval" type (7LB18) was produced using this same method it is much more common than the "Eagle at Top" type (7LB16).

The history of Carriers Stamps in Philadelphia is incredibly interesting and well-documented by Scott Trepel in The 1851 Issue of United States Stamps: A Sesquicentennial Retrospective (2006, Part VI). After using the typeset issues (7LB1-9) from 1850 to early 1851, Philadelphia began using the lithographed issues (7LB11-13) and the federal Franklin and Eagle issues (LO1-2) concurrently. From early 1853 onward only the Eagle issue is known used, until a cluster of covers appears in 1856 using what can only be called a "provisional" handstamped issue (7LB14/18), presumably stemming from a shortage of LO2.

CV. 2,000

Williams' City Post, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1854 9LB1, 2c Brown, horizontal pair, fresh color, clear to large margins except just touch at top right, usual brushed on original gum, light natural paper wrinkling, vertical fold mostly between the stamps, pinhole in left stamp, still Very Fine, the unique mint pair (Scott $7,500)

Provenance: John R. Boker, Jr. "Flintstone" Collection (Robson Lowe, 1973)

CV. 1,500

Williams' City Post, Cincinnati, Ohio, 9LB1, 1854 2c Brown, tied on small envelope addressed "Dr. A. E. Heighway/ at Capt. J. C. Culbertsons/ Northside 6th Street/ West of Mound" by blue circular "City Post" handstamp used by Browne & Co. of Cincinnati, with contents datelined "18 January 1855," stamp clear to large margins, the envelope with slight edge soiling from photo mounts and a couple tears on the reverse, a Very Fine and extremely scarce usage, 2019 Philatelic Foundation Certificate

The Siegel census, as of 2016, notes the existence of only six uses of this stamp on cover but does not include this one. A 2006 census by John Bowman published in the "Penny Post" records eight covers and does include this particular cover. Bowman records this cover as being sold by H. R. Harmer in January 1974 as lot 689. There appears to be only two examples of this stamp used on cover and tied by the Browne & Co. "City Post" handstamp. The other cover was sold as part of the Edward Knapp collection in 1941. Scott does not price this stamp on cover and tied by the "City Post" handstamp. It prices a stamp on cover tied by a manuscript cancellation at $4,500.

Claudius C. Williams (the namesake of this particular stamp) ran a local post in Cincinnati before being appointed letter carrier by the Post Office Department in October of 1854. According to Bowman, carrier service was available at one cent "to the Mails" and at two cents for local (intra-city) delivery. The local rate could therefore be paid with Williams' stamp (9LB1) or two of the federal Eagle carrier stamps (LO2).

CV. 2,000

Elephant (Rohloff A-3), superb bold strike ties 1861 3c Rose (Scott 65) on cover addressed to the Saugatuck Manufacturing Co., matching double circle Waterbury Con Apr 20 '66 town marking to the left of the fancy cancel, Very Fine and choice in every respect, an exceptional example of a highly desirable fancy pictorial cancel; signed "OK GE Jackson" on back, Rohloff rarity RRRR (not more than 5 copies known) with the unpublished Crowe census recording just two examples of this spectacular fancy cancel; illustrated in Paul C. Rohloff's The Waterbury Cancellations 1865-1890 (page 15, figure 3)

Provenance: Paul C. Rohloff (Private Transaction)

John R. Boker, Jr. (Private Transaction)

Gordon Eubanks (Private Transaction)

Paul C. Rohloff identified three different elephant cancellations used by Postmaster John W. Hill, the latter two of which (A-2 and A-3) were used in mid-April, 1866. Contemporaneous newspaper accounts show that a circus performed in nearby Hartford around this same time, and presumably it was the circus's presence in Connecticut that inspired Hill's delightful design.

CV. 15,000

Running Chicken (Rohloff A-11), excellent strike ties 1869 3c Ultramarine (Scott 114) on 1870 cover addressed to Henry S. Chase, Washington Conn., matching "Waterbury Ct Feb 21" town marking (manuscript year date) to the left of cancel, cover slightly reduced at left, still Very Fine; Rohloff rarity "RRRR" (not more than 5 copies known) with five examples of this fancy pictorial cancel recorded on cover (two of which have faulty stamps), this being one of the two nicer covers bearing a single 3c 1869 stamp; Philatelic Foundation certificate number 232,747 (not included)

Provenance: Henry Houser (Christie's Robson Lowe, 1990)

Dr. John Robertson (Private Transaction, 1994)

The "Running Chicken" is arguably the most famous of all of Postmaster John W. Hill's Waterbury fancy cancellations, owing in large part to the existence of a cover with three of the 1869 1c stamp and three strikes of the "chicken." There has been well-documented speculation over the years that Hill carved not a chicken, but rather a turkey running away from the Thanksgiving table (due to the cancellation's first appearance at the end of November). Regardless of the bird's true identity, this marvelous and whimsical design is perhaps the greatest embodiment of the spirit of creativity that drove 19th Century postmasters to create fancy cancellations. The "Running Chicken" is only known used between November 29, 1869 and February 21, 1870, making this cover the latest known use.

CV. 7,500