**Autographs**
LotNo.	Symbol	CatNo.	Lot Description
1			Warrenton, Mississippi free franked folded letter dated “6th May 1849,” written entirely in the hand of and boldly signed Jefferson Davis at the conclusion of the letter, addressed to “Richd. T. Archer, Port Gibson, Missi.” Clear Warrenton cds with matching straightline “FREE” handstamp, the privilege confirmed by Davis’s signature - “Jefferson Davis, U.S.S.” - at upper right as United States Senator, entitling the letter to travel without postage under the congressional franking privilege. At the time of writing, Davis was serving as United States Senator from Mississippi (1847–1851). The use of the free frank illustrates the practical operation of antebellum congressional postal privileges and Davis’s active correspondence with influential Mississippi associates. The addressee, Col. Richard T. Archer of Port Gibson, migrated to Mississippi in 1824 and became one of the largest planters in Claiborne County, controlling more than 13,000 acres and over 500 enslaved persons on the eve of the Civil War. Archer ranked among the wealthiest men in the South, and his close political and social relationship with Davis underscores the significance of the exchange. Overall toning consistent with age, but contents fully legible and signatures strong and intact. An important antebellum political free frank combining clear Mississippi postal markings, intact “FREE” handstamp, with two complete Jefferson Davis signatures. Ex Dabney. (Image)	Current Opening Price...$500.00 Will close during Public Auction
2			Warrenton, Mississippi folded letter datelined “Brierfield, 15th Nov 1845,” written entirely in the hand of and boldly signed “Jefferson Davis,” addressed to “Col. R. T. Archer, Port Gibson, Claiborne Co., Mi.” Black Warrenton, Mississippi cds with matching handstamped “5” rate marking, indicating the 5c postage for a single weight letter sent under 300 miles. The four-page letter opens “My Dear Friend” and concerns political patronage and naval appointments. Davis references an application on behalf of “Mr. J. P. Eggleston,” noting that “by act of Congress a restriction was put on further appointments in the Navy until the existing corps shall have been absorbed,” but adds that Mississippi, “having been much overlooked,” will have “special claims as soon as a vacancy occurs.” He assures Archer that “your friend shall be first in a position to profit by the first change.” The letter further discusses political conversations in Wilkinson County and concludes warmly, expressing regret at missing Archer during a recent visit and affirming “sincere regard… as ever your friend.” At the time of writing, Jefferson Davis was serving as United States Congressman from Mississippi, elected one year earlier. He was residing at Brierfield, his Warren County plantation. The correspondence offers a revealing glimpse into mid-19th century patronage networks and Davis’s active role in advancing Mississippi interests at the federal level. The addressee, Col. Richard T. Archer, migrated to Mississippi in 1824 and became one of the wealthiest planters in the South, controlling more than 13,000 acres and over 500 enslaved persons on the eve of the Civil War. His prominence in Claiborne County and close political connections underscore the importance of this exchange. Overall toning consistent with age, but text fully legible and signature strong. An important pre–Civil War political letter combining clear Mississippi postal markings, intact rate handstamp, and a substantive, fully signed Jefferson Davis letter from early in his political career. Ex Dabney. (Image)	Current Opening Price...$500.00 Will close during Public Auction
3			Robert Edward Lee autograph letter signed (ALS), “R. E. Lee, Genl. Commanding,” dated August 3, 1861, headed “Hd. Qrs. Huntersville”, addressed to Samuel Cooper, Adjutant and Inspector General, C.S.A., Richmond, Va. The single-page manuscript letter discusses Confederate troop coordination in western Virginia, referencing William Wing Loring, John B. Floyd, and Henry A. Wise, and expressing concern that their forces “will not prove very effective after a junction is made.” Lee further notes his intention to direct Floyd to move from Sweet Springs toward White Sulphur, anticipating a rendezvous with Wise should Union forces not prevent the occupation of Lewisburg. The letter bears Lee’s original manuscript endorsement directing the forwarding of letters from Generals Wise and Floyd “relative to their movements to the advance of the enemy,” along with a red manuscript “received Aug. 7” notation on reverse, documenting its receipt in Richmond. Written during the opening months of the Civil War, while Lee was overseeing Confederate operations in western Virginia, the letter provides a candid and contemporaneous glimpse into early Confederate command challenges, inter-general coordination, and Lee’s strategic concerns prior to his later elevation to command of the Army of Northern Virginia. A fine and scarce 1861-dated Robert E. Lee written and signed letter, notable for its early date, substantive military content, and direct insight into Confederate high-command decision-making at a formative moment in the war. (Image) (Image 2) (All Images) Get Market Data for [Autographs ALS] View Visual Pricing Guide Make Sample Census	Current Opening Price...$7,500.00 Will close during Public Auction
4			(11) 1862 10c blue Davis tied by blue "Petersburg, Va. June 6" (1864) cds on cover addressed to (former Virginia) Governor John Letcher, Lexington, Va. The cover bears the manuscript field endorsement “R. E. Lee, Genl” at upper right, identifying official Confederate military usage sent by Robert E. Lee, Commanding General of the Army of Northern Virginia. This remarkable cover represents one of the rarest and most historically significant categories of Confederate postal history: Lee field endorsements. Surviving examples are exceptionally scarce, reflecting both the limited circumstances under which such endorsements were written and the hazards of wartime transmission and preservation. The addressee, John Letcher, served as Governor of Virginia from 1860 to 1864 and remained closely connected to Confederate civil and military leadership, making this an especially meaningful convergence of Confederate command and governance. At the time this cover was sent, General Lee was headquartered at Gaines’ Mill, Virginia, positioning the cover squarely within the Richmond–Petersburg operational theater. The June 6, 1864 Petersburg cds places the endorsement just weeks before the opening of the Siege of Petersburg, the prolonged campaign that effectively marked the end of Lee’s ability to conduct large-scale warfare and signaled the Confederacy’s strategic exhaustion in Virginia. As such, the cover is not only a postal rarity with fewer than 20 genuine Lee endorsed covers known, but a document anchored to a decisive moment in Confederate military history. Accompanied by a Confederate Stamp Alliance certificate stating: “Genuine. Envelope has been cleaned; tears repaired at top and left; envelope reduced at top and right; back flaps re-attached.” Despite these restorations, the cover remains a fine and extraordinarily rare Robert E. Lee field endorsed cover carried through the Confederate postal system. (Image) Get Market Data for [United States (Confederate States) 11] View Visual Pricing Guide Make Sample Census	Current Opening Price...$10,000.00 Will close during Public Auction

Confederate Stamps and Postal History

**Independent State Use of U.S. Postage & Stampless**
LotNo.	Symbol	CatNo.	Lot Description
5			(26) 1857-61 3c dull red Washington tied by crisp “Mobile, Ala. Jan 25, 1861” cds on cover addressed to Bolling Hall Esq., Montgomery, Alabama, mailed just two weeks after Alabama’s secession from the Union. A fine and representative example of Independent State usage during Alabama’s brief 24-day period prior to joining the Confederate States of America on February 4, 1861. The addressee, Bolling Hall Jr., was the son of Revolutionary War veteran Bolling Hall (1760–1836) and a rising figure in Alabama politics. An active member of the influential “Montgomery Regency,” Hall later enlisted as Captain in Hilliard’s Legion, was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and eventually commanded the 59th Alabama Infantry Regiment. Twice wounded, he survived the war but died at age 29 in 1866. Slightly reducted at right with some wear, still a fine and attractive Alabama Independent State usage from the crucial weeks between secession and Confederate nationhood. (Image) Get Market Data for [United States 26] View Visual Pricing Guide Make Sample Census	Current Opening Price...$300.00 Will close during Public Auction

**Confederate Use of U.S. Postage & Stampless**
LotNo.	Symbol	CatNo.	Lot Description
6			(26) 1857-61 3c dull red Washington tied by a full strike of “Montgomery, Ala. Mar 14, 1861” cds on overall illustrated advertising cover for the Montgomery Hall hotel, featuring a detailed vignette of the building and ornate gray-and-white printed design. Addressed to Hon. A. H. Stevens in Savannah, Georgia, sent just a few weeks after he became the provisional Vice President of the Confederacy. Montgomery was also serving as the first capital of the Confederacy at the time this cover went into the mails. Small edge repairs at bottom noted, yet the cover retains a very clean and attractive appearance. This cover forms part of the Alexander H. Stephens correspondence and was mailed just one week prior to Stephens’ delivery of the famous “Cornerstone” speech in Savannah on March 21, 1861. At the time, Stephens was actively promoting the newly formed Confederate government and its constitution. A contemporary docketing note on the reverse reads: “Sam D. Varner Montgomery wants recommendation for clerkship in Post Office Department Mrch 8 61,” providing insight into early patronage efforts within the nascent Confederate administration. A scarce and attractive overall hotel advertising cover from the Stephens correspondence, used at the first capital city of the Confederacy and sent to one of the government's most significant political figures during the earliest days of Confederate government formation. (Image) Get Market Data for [United States 26] View Visual Pricing Guide Make Sample Census	Current Opening Price...$300.00 Will close during Public Auction
7			(26) 1857-61 3c dull red Washington tied by “Montgomery, Ala. May 10, 1861" cds on cover to Savannah, Georgia and mailed during Alabama’s 117-day period of U.S. postage use in the Confederacy (February 4–May 31, 1861). The stamp with scissor cut at left from original separation from the sheet is affixed upside-down, a well-recognized nineteenth-century convention indicating affection from the sender - suggesting a personal relationship between the writer and the addressee, Miss Mary Willis. The exact identity of Mary Willis is uncertain. While antebellum etiquette typically required that correspondence from an unrelated gentleman be sent “in care of” a male relative, lawyer, or clergyman, this cover appears to break that custom. The penciled “No. 5” at left implies it was part of a larger correspondence, consistent with the possibility that Miss Willis and the writer were engaged or in an openly courtship-oriented relationship. Savannah, situated on Georgia’s north coast approximately 350 miles from Montgomery, served for a time as a leading Confederate blockade-running port until effectively closed by the Union Navy’s capture of nearby Port Royal in November 1861. A fine and appealing sentimental usage during the period of U.S. postage use in the Confederacy, combining postal history with a revealing window into antebellum social customs. Signed by Patricia A. Kaufmann. (Image) Get Market Data for [United States 26] View Visual Pricing Guide Make Sample Census	Current Opening Price...$200.00 Will close during Public Auction

**Independent State Use of U.S. Postage & Stampless**
LotNo.	Symbol	CatNo.	Lot Description
8			Helena, Arkansas bold handstamped “3" & "PAID” rate markings alongside matching “Helena Ark. Mar 2?” (1861) cds on cover addressed to “Messrs. Jno T. Hardie & Co., New Orleans, La.” This cover was mailed from Helena around the concluding days of the Arkansas Secession Convention convened on March 4, 1861, but before any ordinance of secession had been adopted, Arkansas would not formally secede until May 6, 1861, following the firing on Fort Sumter and Lincoln’s call for troops. During March 1861, the convention initially voted against secession, reflecting the deep internal divisions within the state - particularly between the pro-Union upland counties and the more commercially aligned Mississippi River towns such as Helena. Mail from this period - still officially U.S. Post Office Department but already tied to Southern commercial networks - is highly desirable. The 3c paid marking reflects the pre-Confederate U.S. single-weight rate for distances under 3,000 miles, applied here to a piece of internal Southern commercial correspondence just as the lower Mississippi River economy was realigning toward the emerging Confederacy. The addressees, Jno T. Hardie & Co., were prominent New Orleans merchants. A fine and interesting transitional Arkansas item, illustrating postal operations immediately prior to Arkansas’s secession and the last weeks of U.S. postal authority in a state that would soon join the Confederacy. Signed by Patricia A. Kaufmann. (Image)	Current Opening Price...$300.00 Will close during Public Auction
9			1860 3c Nesbitt "Star Die" entire neatly struck with "Searcy, Ark May 6" (1861) cds representing a first-day of independent Arkansas use, posted on the exact date Arkansas formally seceded from the Union. Addressed to Pine Level, Alabama, explicitly noting the “Confederate States”, reinforcing the political consciousness of the moment and the sender’s immediate recognition of Arkansas’s changed status. Arkansas’s secession on May 6, 1861, created one of the shortest and most sharply defined independent state postal windows of the Civil War era. Unlike several Deep South states that transitioned more gradually, Arkansas briefly occupied a liminal position - no longer Union, not yet Confederate - between May 6 and May 18, 1861, when it was admitted to the Confederacy. During this narrow interval, U.S. postage technically remained valid, producing a small but exceptionally important body of “Independent State Use” material. The political context surrounding Arkansas’s decision - Governor Henry Rector’s resistance to federal coercion following Fort Sumter and President Lincoln’s troop call - adds substantial historical resonance. The cover captures, in real time, the moment Arkansas crossed the threshold from reluctant Unionism to open alignment with the Confederacy. Cleanly struck, well-preserved for this fragile period, and significant both chronologically and historically, this is a wonderful example of first-day independent Arkansas postal use, and a cornerstone item for collectors of Civil War postal history, Independent State usages, and Confederate transitional material. Cover featured in Patricia Kaufmann's 2018 La Posta monograph, Independent State Mail and Confederate Use of U.S. Postage, pg 26. (Image) Get Market Data for [United States 1861] View Visual Pricing Guide Make Sample Census	Current Opening Price...$750.00 Will close during Public Auction

**Confederate Use of U.S. Postage & Stampless**
LotNo.	Symbol	CatNo.	Lot Description
10			1860 3c Nesbitt “Star Die” buff stamped envelope sent from Camden, Arkansas to Miss Susanna Phink, Sullivan County, Tennessee, bearing clear black “Camden, Ark. May 23” (1861) cds with manuscript “Due 3” notation at left. Period docketing on reverse indicates receipt on June 8, 1861. Some edge wear and typical aging present. This cover was posted while U.S. postal administration was still operative in Arkansas, which had seceded on May 6, 1861 and been admitted to the Confederate States on May 18, but whose post offices did not come under Confederate control until June 1, 1861. The 3c “Star Die” envelope establishes the year-date, placing the mailing squarely within this narrow transitional window. The manuscript “Due 3” suggests an overweight letter or enclosure, possibly the result of forwarded correspondence within. The delayed receipt - after June 1 - adds an additional layer of postal interest, as the letter crossed from U.S. to Confederate postal administration while in transit. The cover was addressed to Miss Susanna Phink, then a 26-year-old living with her parents in rural Sullivan County, Tennessee, as recorded in the 1860 census. Her father, George Phink, was a farmer who owned the land he worked, reflecting the modest agrarian circumstances typical of the region. An instructive and scarce May 1861 usage from Arkansas, illustrating overlapping postal authority and the practical complexities of mail handling during the earliest weeks of the Civil War. (Image)	Current Opening Price...$200.00 Will close during Public Auction
11			1860 3c Nesbitt “Star Die” buff stamped envelope canceled by black circular grid with matching double-circle “Little Rock, Ark. May 24” (1861) cds, addressed to an individual recipient at Atlantic Dock PO, South Brooklyn, New York. Slightly reduced at right, though still fine overall. This cover represents a scarce U.S. postage in the Confederacy usage from Arkansas during a remarkably brief and transitional period. Arkansas seceded from the Union on May 6, 1861, was admitted to the Confederate States of America on May 18, and Confederate postal operations formally assumed control on June 1, 1861. Mailed just six days after admission to the Confederacy, this cover falls squarely within that narrow interval when United States postal stationery remained in use under Confederate authority. The destination, Atlantic Dock Place in South Brooklyn, was part of a major commercial wharf and warehouse complex developed along the Brooklyn waterfront in the 1840s. Within a short period after this cover was sent from Arkansas to a destination in the deep North, this ease of postal communications would cease altogether. An appealing early Confederate usage from Arkansas, illustrating the continued use of U.S. postal stationery during the final days before the Confederate Post Office Department fully assumed control. With 1981 Confederate Stamp Alliance certificate. (Image)	Current Opening Price...$300.00 Will close during Public Auction

**Independent State Use of U.S. Postage & Stampless**
LotNo.	Symbol	CatNo.	Lot Description
12			(26) 1857–61 3c dull red Washington tied by partial “Tampa, Fla. Jan” cds on cover addressed to Mrs. D. S. Edwards, 400 16th Street, Washington, D.C., with manuscript “Rec Jan 29” and “Jan 19” below, likely the date of the enclosed letter. Slight piece out at top of cover from original opening, still a presentable and significant Florida Independent State usage. This cover represents a scarce example of Florida Independent State usage, falling within the narrow window between Florida’s secession on January 11, 1861, and its admission to the Confederate States of America on February 4, 1861. Although the Tampa postmark is indistinct as to year, the January 1861 date is firmly established by contemporaneous docketing and corroborated by comparison with documented Tampa Independent State covers from the same correspondence. As detailed in the Florida Postal History Journal (Vol. 17, No. 1), this cover corresponds to a small group of Tampa Independent State covers addressed to Washington, D.C., mailed in mid-to-late January 1861, including examples dated January 24 and January 27. The consistency of handwriting, destination, and receipt docketing across these covers confirms their placement in January 1861 and firmly supports classification as Independent State usage. The article further illustrates the surviving original Tampa postmarking device used during this brief period. The addressee was the wife of David Shelton Edwards, a career United States Navy surgeon who served from 1818 to 1861. A graduate of Yale Medical School, Edwards spent much of his early career aboard naval vessels suppressing piracy in the Caribbean and Mediterranean following the Barbary Wars. He later served as surgeon at the Pensacola Navy Yard, Fleet Surgeon to the West Indies Squadron, and aboard multiple ships during the Mexican–American War, including service alongside General Winfield Scott during the campaign culminating in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Edwards retired from sea duty in late 1859 and was residing in Washington, D.C. in early 1861, where other contemporary covers from this correspondence are addressed directly to him as “Surgeon D. S. Edwards.” He would retire from the Navy in December 1861. Notably, one related cover featured in the FPHJ article bears receipt docketing identifying the sender as “Wm. L. Edwards,” the couple’s son, and all known covers from this group are addressed in the same hand - strongly indicating that this cover, too, was sent by their son to his mother during the unsettled weeks immediately following Florida’s secession. Florida Independent State covers are among the scarcest of all secession-period postal usages, with Tampa representing one of the most elusive origins. This example - sent northward to the federal capital during the uncertain interregnum between secession and Confederate postal control, and tied to a prominent U.S Navy family - stands as a particularly evocative artifact of the rapid political and administrative unraveling of the Union in early 1861. (Image) Get Market Data for [United States 26] View Visual Pricing Guide Make Sample Census	Current Opening Price...$500.00 Will close during Public Auction

**Confederate Use of U.S. Postage & Stampless**
LotNo.	Symbol	CatNo.	Lot Description
13			(26) 1857-61 3c dull red Washington used from Apalachicola, Florida to New York City, tied by "Apalachicola, Fla May 22, 1861". The year-date, blurred in the postmark, is firmly established by the original enclosure - a business letter dated the same day, May 22, 1861, which accompanies the cover. Mailed during Florida’s 117-day period of U.S. postage use in the Confederacy (February 4–May 31, 1861), and just nine days before the embargo on South-to-North mail became effective on June 1. This cover entered the U.S. mails shortly before Federal military action in northern Virginia on May 23 effectively closed the traditional Richmond route. It is believed the letter traveled via the Nashville–Louisville through-the-lines connection while still available, reaching the North prior to the imposition of the embargo. The enclosed letter was written by George Buckman, prominent Apalachicola citizen and President of the Atlantic & New Orleans Steam Navigation Company. His letter discusses a shipment of rope cuttings, noting the goods were “short in weight” when received. Period docketing on the back of the cover reads “sequestrated May 1861 by Conf. States Dist. Atty”, indicating that the shipment was taken into Confederate custody pending resolution of the dispute. Reduced at left along with horizontal filefold, though still a nice and historically interesting South-to-North commercial usage from Florida, mailed in the final days before postal separation, with original business content detailing wartime commercial complications. (Image) Get Market Data for [United States 26] View Visual Pricing Guide Make Sample Census	Current Opening Price...$300.00 Will close during Public Auction

**Independent State Use of U.S. Postage & Stampless**
LotNo.	Symbol	CatNo.	Lot Description
14			1860 3c Nesbitt “Star Die” entire used on the first day of Georgia’s Independent Statehood, bearing clear Savannah, Ga. Jan 19, 1861 cds and addressed to Darien, Georgia. Light wear, still fine appearing and a scarce usage. This cover represents a scarce first-day postal usage during Georgia’s brief period as an independent republic, following the state’s formal secession from the Union on January 19, 1861. Georgia remained independent for only sixteen days - from January 19 until February 4, 1861, when it was admitted to the Confederate States of America - making postal artifacts from this narrow interval among the most elusive of the Secession era. Covers dated January 19, 1861 are especially significant, marking the precise transition from Union membership to state sovereignty. The use of a United States 3¢ “Star Die” entire on the exact date of secession vividly illustrates both administrative continuity and political rupture at this pivotal moment. Savannah, one of Georgia’s principal ports and postal centers, played a key role in early independent-state and subsequent Confederate postal operations. A scarce and historically resonant first-day Independent State cover, capturing Georgia’s secession at the moment it occurred and illustrating one of the clearest postal expressions of the collapse of federal authority in the Deep South. Initialed on reverse by Patricia A. Kaufmann and James Taff, and signed by John L. Kimbrough (12-27-1997). (Image)	Current Opening Price...$750.00 Will close during Public Auction

**Confederate Use of U.S. Postage & Stampless**
LotNo.	Symbol	CatNo.	Lot Description
15			(U10) 1854 3c Nesbitt "Star Die" stamped envelope used by black grid cancel sent from LaGrange, Georgia to Greenville, Georgia with matching partial January 30 (1861) cds, just eleven days after Georgia’s secession from the Union. Although the 1854 Nesbitt design had been replaced by the newer “Star Die” envelopes in October 1860, small post offices such as LaGrange continued to use remaining stocks, which were valid for postage until demonetization of U.S. issues in the South on June 1, 1861. The original business letter, dated January 29, 1861, remains with the cover and confirms usage during the Independent State period. LaGrange is notable as the only place in the Confederacy to organize a female militia company - the Nancy Harts, named for a Georgia Revolutionary War heroine who famously defended her home against British soldiers. A fine and representative example of Independent State usage during Georgia’s brief 16-day period between secession and the establishment of the Confederate States of America on February 4, 1861. (Image) Get Market Data for [United States U10] View Visual Pricing Guide Make Sample Census	Current Opening Price...$300.00 Will close during Public Auction
16			1860 3c Nesbitt “Star Die” entire sent from Blairsville, Georgia to Fort Hembree, North Carolina, bearing manuscript “Blairsville Ga Feb 4” (1861) postmark at top. The year date is conclusively established by use of the 3c “Star Die” stamped envelope, which was not available prior to late 1860 and then demonetized in mid-1861. This cover was mailed on February 4, 1861 - the first day of the Confederate States, when delegates from the seceded states formally convened in Montgomery, Alabama, and established the Provisional Government of the Confederate States of America. On that date, Georgia transitioned directly from independent statehood into membership in the Confederacy, coinciding precisely with the creation of a functioning Confederate national government. Despite the political rupture represented by February 4, postal operations continued uninterrupted under United States administration, with U.S. postal stationery remaining valid until Confederate postal authorities assumed control on June 1, 1861. This cover thus documents the founding of the Confederacy at the national level while illustrating the continued reliance on the U.S. postal system during the earliest hours of Confederate existence. A scarce and historically important first day of the Confederate States cover, capturing the moment of national creation before the Confederacy possessed a postal system of its own. With 1999 Confederate Stamp Alliance certificate. (Image)	Current Opening Price...$750.00 Will close during Public Auction
17			1860 3c Nesbitt “Star Die” stamped envelope sent from Savannah, Georgia to Macon, Georgia and used with clear “Savannah Ga. Feb 15” (1861) cds, mailed just 11 days after Georgia and several other Southern states formed the Confederate States of America. The 1861 year-date is confirmed by the use of the “Star Die” envelope, issued in October 1860 and remaining valid in the South until demonetization on June 1. As in the other seceded states, the U.S. Post Office Department continued to operate in Georgia for a transitional period following secession, maintaining domestic mail service until the Confederate Post Office Department formally assumed control on June 1, 1861. This intra-state usage reflects the continuity of postal operations during this interim period, even as political authority had shifted. A fine and historically significant example of U.S. postage used in the Confederacy during the brief transitional period, documenting domestic mail carried under U.S. auspices within a seceded state prior to the establishment of an independent Confederate postal system. Signed on reversed by John L. Kimbrough (4-29-2007). (Image)	Current Opening Price...$200.00 Will close during Public Auction
18			Fort Valley, Georgia stampless cover sent to John T. Hardie & Co. Grocery Merchant in New Orleans, Louisiana bearing a nice “PAID 3” in-arc handstamp at top right with matching “Fort Valley, Ga. Mar 19” (1861) cds. The year-date is confirmed by the sender’s docketing (“answered March 30, 1861”) on the left side of the cover. Mailed during Georgia’s 117-day period of U.S. postage use in the Confederacy (February 4–May 31, 1861). The Fort Valley postmaster indicated that postage was charged to Box 8, the Hardie firm’s postal account in that town—reflecting the common antebellum practice of charging business correspondence to a boxholder rather than requiring stamps on each piece. In the early months of Confederate independence, many postmasters exhausted their stamp supplies or were unable (or unwilling) to obtain replacements from Washington. As a result, they reverted to earlier, pre-stamp-era handstamps to indicate prepayment, as seen here. Lower backflap missing but otherwise a fine appearing and instructive handstamped “PAID 3” usage illustrating transitional postal practices in Georgia during the first months of Confederate independence. Ex Kohn, signed by John L. Kimbrough (5-10-2009). (Image)	Current Opening Price...$200.00 Will close during Public Auction
19			(26) 1857-61 3c dull red Washington Type III tied by “Newnan Ga. Apr 11” (1861) cds on all-over illustrated advertising cover for College Temple, M. P. Kellogg, A.M., President & Proprietor, Newnan, Georgia, addressed to Miss Sallie Heath, Coweta County, Ga. Original 1861-dated letter still accompanies cover, some edgewear but overall still fine appearing. The original 1861-dated letter comprises two manuscript pages on lined paper with small De La Rise & Co London embossing at top corner, reflecting routine academic and social correspondence immediately before the outbreak of open hostilities. The sender remarks on class size and attendance - “There is twelve in our class it will be their largest class that ever graduated” - providing rare contemporaneous insight into the continuity of civilian education on the eve of war. Such school-related correspondence during this period between secession and the Confederate States taking over the postal system in early summer is distinctly uncommon, particularly on illustrated college advertising covers. College Temple was among several antebellum Southern academies that continued operation into early 1861, only to face rapid disruption as enlistments, dislocation, and military occupation altered daily life. A fine and compelling cover sent with U.S. postage one day before the outbreak of hostilities at Fort Sumter - uniting postal history, Southern educational institutions, and the threshold moment between peace and war. Ex Risvold, initialed by Patricia A. Kaufmann. (Image) Get Market Data for [United States 26] View Visual Pricing Guide Make Sample Census	Current Opening Price...$750.00 Will close during Public Auction
20			(26) 1857-61 3c dull red Washington tied by a black grid cancel with matching “Penfield, Ga. Mar 7” (1861) cds on Mercer University red cameo corner-card cover addressed to Miss Jennie C. Robinson, Newnan, “Republican Georgia.” Mailed during Georgia’s 117-day period of U.S. postage use in the Confederacy (February 4–May 31, 1861). Penfield was the original home of Mercer University, chartered in 1837 and the only Georgia institution of higher learning to remain open through the Civil War. The cover’s unusual designation “Republican Georgia” reflects the sender’s uncertainty over how to style the name of the newly independent state during the first weeks following secession. Small part of bottom left corner missing and tear at top left, though still a fine appearing and attractive Georgia college corner-card cover, mailed early in the Confederate period and showing a rare, transitional form of the independent state name. (Image) Get Market Data for [United States 26] View Visual Pricing Guide Make Sample Census	Current Opening Price...$300.00 Will close during Public Auction

Next Page or Return to Table of Contents

StampAuctionNetwork® is a registered trademark of Droege Computing Services, Inc | StampAuctionCentral and StampAuctionNetwork® are Copyright © 1994-2026 Droege Computing Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Mailing Address: 20 West Colony Place, Suite 120, Durham NC 27705 | If you want to talk to me about anything other than selling your stamps, call 919-403-9459 and ask for Tom Droege, or email support@stampauctionnetwork.com We can help you evaluate or sell your collection so... Click here for help selling your Collection. Once you follow the instructions we can talk. But first we have a process. Sign up for a paid or free membership | Lost your Links? Return to StampAuctionNetwork® | Instructional Videos - Master StampAuctionNetwork® | Sign up for our Newsletter | Terms and Conditions.