The World's Fair Collection of The 1893 Columbian Issue continued...

VERY FINE. AN EXCEEDINGLY RARE AND COLORFUL COVER BEARING A COMPLETE SET OF THE 1893 COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION ISSUE.

To create this philatelic masterpiece, a total of $16.34 in postage was applied by Constantin Witt, a partner with Rudolf Albrecht in the stamp dealing and publishing business, with an office at 90 Nassau Street. The 2013 Ludeman Columbian Dollar-Value Cover Census records complete sets on seven covers and one wrapper. This is among the most attractive of all. (Image)

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FINE APPEARANCE. THE $49.34 IN POSTAGE ON THIS REGISTERED PACKAGE WRAPPER IS THE LARGEST RECORDED FRANKING ON ANY COLUMBIAN ISSUE COVER. A MAGNIFICENT SHOWPIECE.

The 2013 Ludeman Columbian Dollar-Value Cover Census lists eight covers with complete sets, including this package wrapper front, which has the largest number of stamps and highest total face value of any Columbian cover. It was completely unknown to philately until 1992, the 500th anniversary of Columbus’s voyage, when it was privately sold to Columbian Stamp Company. The notations on the back -- Eleanore G. Adams, Milton A. Adams, Oct. 8, 1942” and M A Adams” -- provide the provenance in 1942, but do not shed light on the origin of this extraordinary piece of mail. However, the post office of origin, mailing date and sender’s ship-sailing directive provide the critical evidence in determining who was responsible for affixing nearly $50 in Columbian stamps in 1897.

The postal clerk responsible for processing registered mail at the Bangor, Maine, post office applied the Bangor, Maine, Feb. 19, 1897, Registry Dept.” three-line datestamp and cancelled all of the stamps in the same dark blue ink. On the same day, a United States passport was issued in Bangor to one of its wealthiest residents, Frederick Wellington Ayer (1855-1936). Ayer obtained his passport in preparation for his trans-Atlantic voyage to England on board the S.S. St. Paul, which departed from New York on February 24, 1897. This sailing exactly matches the directive on the package wrapper.

Ayer was president of the Eastern Manufacturing Company of Brewer, Maine, and a noted antique collector and authority. Between 1892 and 1897 Ayer embarked on a philatelic buying spree, spending (by some reports) as much as $750,000 on his collection, some of it with borrowed money (Bierman, The World’s Greatest Stamp Collectors, page 95). When Fred’s conservative banker-father, Nathan Chase Ayer, learned of his son’s extravagant philatelic spending, he presented Fred with a choice between liquidation or disinheritance. Fred chose the former. Beginning in 1897 portions of the Ayer collection were sold through Charles J. Phillips of London and Warren H. Colson. The balance of the collection was sold in 1903 and 1904 to the New England Stamp Company.

?Based on the origin, mailing date, sailing directive and the fact that Ayer entrusted Charles J. Phillips with the sale of his collection in 1897, one may reasonably conclude that the original package contained Ayer’s stamp albums, which he sent by insured registered mail to England on the same ship he boarded on February 24, 1897. Ayer hoarded Columbian stamps, and these straight-edge and off-center copies would have been a collector’s choice for use on mail.

With 1992 P.F. certificate. (Image)

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VERY FINE APPEARANCE. A BEAUTIFUL AND RARE MATCHED PAIR OF COVERS, SENT AT THE SAME TIME FROM PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, TO THE ALSATIAN TOWN OF MITTELBERG. A PHENOMENAL PAIR OF COVERS.

The 2013 Ludeman Columbian Dollar-Value Cover Census lists eight covers (including one wrapper front) with complete sets, plus this pair of small covers with a complete set.

?Mittelbergheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in northeastern France.

With 1987 P.F. certificates. (Image)

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VERY FINE. ONE OF TWO RECORDED SETS OF CACHETED GUNTHER COVERS WITH THE COMPLETE COLUMBIAN ISSUE CANCELLED BY THE EXPOSITION MACHINE CANCEL.

The creator of these beautiful printed envelopes was Charles F. Gunther, a prominent Chicago confection manufacturer and history enthusiast. He is sometimes credited with introducing caramel to the United States. His purchases of historical artifacts included Lincoln's deathbed ?and the desk upon which Lee surrendered to Grant. A Civil War buff, he purchased and dismantled the main building of Libby Prison in Richmond, then reassembled it in Chicago to house his collection. His attempts to purchase an Egyptian pyramid and Philadelphia's Independence Hall were unsuccessful.

Dr. Robert D. Locke, to whom most of the recorded Gunther covers are addressed, was the son of a well-known Episcopal minister in Chicago. Curiously, according to The New York Times, Dr. Locke was arrested a few years later, on April 10, 1895, on charges of assault with a deadly weapon while intoxicated.

The halftone illustration on each envelope depicts the framed portrait of Columbus painted by (or attributed to) Sir Antonis Mor van Dashorst (ca. 1517-1577), a Netherlandish portrait artist who was known by several names, including the one associated with this painting, Antonio Moro. In this depiction, Columbus has a goatee and is dressed in 16th century fashion. Nonetheless, it was acclaimed by some to be a true likeness of Columbus, having been painted from miniatures made for the Royal Court. Charles F. Gunther acquired the painting in 1891 from Raymond Groom in London, and it was displayed at the 1893 Columbian Exposition and 1901 Pan-American Exposition. Gunther also promoted his prized painting by having envelopes printed with an illustration and his name, which were distributed at the time of the Columbian Exposition.

The 10c Columbian Exposition Registration Stamp” is considered to be a philatelic Cinderella,” but according to some sources, it was intended to serve a purpose at the Exposition. The stamp was reported (possibly for the first time) by L. H. Benton in an article in the January 10, 1894, issue of The Weekly Philatelist. It is believed that the registration stamps were sold to attendees of the exposition for use in checking parcels at the various State buildings. The Bureau of Public Comfort was originally supposed to provide this service, but the lack of manpower and appropriations caused it to be abandoned. Instead, separate concessions were established in State buildings, usually in a room adjoining the State’s post office. When a visitor wished to check a valuable parcel, the 10c daily charge was paid with the special registration stamp. Proceeds from each concession went to the respective State Building Exhibit Committee. After the registration stamps were used, they were to be removed from the parcel and destroyed.

The 2013 Ludeman Columbian Dollar-Value census and our own records identify two Gunther covers for each of the dollar-value Columbian stamps, plus one additional cover with the $2.00 stamp. This is the only intact set (the others are spread among many collections). The dollar-value covers are as follows:

$1.00: 8/29/1893, Locke address, with 10c E2 (offered here)

$1.00: 8/20/1893, Locke address, PFC 208305

$2.00: 8/29/1893, Locke address, with 10c registration stamp (offered here)

$2.00: 8/29/1893, Locke address, Siegel 1988 Rarities sale, lot 303

$2.00: 10/30/1893, Locke address, Siegel Sale 952, lot 319

$3.00: 8/29/1893, Lock address, with 10c registration stamp (offered here

$3.00: 10/30/1893, Locke address, Siegel Sale 952, lot 320

$4.00: 10/27/1893, Locke address, with 10c registration stamp (offered here)

$4.00: 10/30/1893, Locke address, McCoy collection

$5.00: 10/30/1893, no address, with 10c registration stamp (offered here)

$5.00: 10/27/1893, Locke address, with 10c registration stamp, Spink sale

This remarkable set of covers was part of the Virgil Brand estate and last sold for $69,000 (plus 10%) in a 1985 Steve Ivy auction. $2.00-$5.00 with 1986 P.F. certificates. (Image)

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