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FINE APPEARANCE. A RARE EXAMPLE OF THE CONFEDERATE DEAD LETTER OFFICE HANDSTAMP ON A COVER DIVERTED AFTER THE MAIL ROUTE BETWEEN RICHMOND AND WASHINGTON D.C. WAS TERMINATED.
Northbound mail from the eastern Confederate States to the U.S. was normally carried via Richmond and Washington D.C. until May 23, 1861. The Federal military occupation of Alexandria, Virginia, closed this route on the evening of May 23, so northbound mail was diverted to the C.S.A. Dead Letter Office at Richmond from May 24 until June 1.
Fewer than ten examples of the C.S.A. Dead Letter Office marking (either type) are known. This cover is very unusual, because it originated in North Carolina before the state delegates voted for secession on May 20. It was mailed on May 11, well before the route between Richmond and Washington D.C. was closed. As a U.S. Post Office letter, it should not have been diverted to the C.S.A. Dead Letter Office. The Dead Letter Office marking is dated the day of release (August 30). Although earlier D.L.O. dates are recorded, the May 11 origin date is probably the earliest for a cover diverted to the C.S.A. Dead Letter Office.
Ex Judd (Image)
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FINE. AN EXTREMELY RARE EXAMPLE OF NORTHBOUND MAIL FROM THE CONFEDERATE STATES WITH MIXED CONFEDERATE AND UNITED STATES POSTAGE.
On June 12, 1861, the U.S. suspended service at the Nashville post office, which effectively closed down the last remaining northbound mail route from the Confederate States. The Nashville postmaster continued to forward northbound mail, but letters were stopped at Louisville starting on June 13. This letter reached Louisville around June 9 and was sent on to Philadelphia; however, it was diverted to the U.S. Dead Letter Office. The U.S. 3c stamp was not recognized, and the recipient was asked to remit 3c postage in order to receive the letter.
Ex Antrim. Ashbrook notation on back. (Image)
VERY FINE. AN EXTREMELY RARE EXAMPLE OF TRANSATLANTIC MAIL RETURNED AFTER THE ROUTE BETWEEN WASHINGTON AND RICHMOND WAS CLOSED.
By the time this cover from England reached New York, the mail route between Washington D.C. and Richmond had been suspended (starting May 24), and mail from foreign countries was returned. In England the three-line "Sent Back to England" handstamp was applied to returned letters. The receipt docketing suggests it was subsequently sent by a blockade runner.
Ex Dr. Green (Image)
VERY FINE APPEARANCE. ONE OF TWO RECORDED "SOUTHERN LETTER UNPAID" COVERS FROM CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, THE PLACE WHERE SECESSION STARTED AND THE FIRST SHOTS OF THE WAR WERE FIRED ON FORT SUMTER.
The U.S. May 27 suspension order prohibited post offices from forwarding southbound mail to disloyal Southern states. However, northbound mail continued to be sent via Louisville. Through June 6, northbound mails were forwarded to Louisville from Memphis or Nashville. From June 7 through 12, only the Nashville post office forwarded mail to Louisville, and Louisville continued to forward mail north.
With the resignation of W. D. McNish as Nashville's Federal postmaster on June 12 and the withdrawal of the U.S. mail agent from this route, Louisville held the mails still being sent north by the discontinued post office at Nashville. On June 24, Dr. John J. Speed, the postmaster at Louisville, was advised to forward letters from the South to the loyal states after removing postage. With approximately 5,000 such letters accumulating at Louisville by this date, Postmaster Speed employed a more practical means of invalidating postage by creating the "Southn. Letter Unpaid" handstamp.
There are 29 "Southern Letter Unpaid" covers recorded in the Special Routes book (No. 25 has been deleted as a fake since publication). The covers without the Louisville datestamp were released from Louisville on June 25. Two covers are recorded from Charleston, both dated June 11 (the other has the Louisville June 26 datestamp).
Special Routes Census No. SLU-11. Ex Weatherly (Image)
VERY FINE. AN EXTREMELY RARE TRANS-ATLANTIC COVER ADDRESSED TO THE BLOCKADE-RUNNING FIRM OF FRASER & COMPANY IN CHARLESTON VIA NEW YORK LONG AFTER THE SUSPENSION OF MAIL SERVICE TO THE CONFEDERATE STATES.
Sometime in 1862 the "Sent Back to England" marking was discontinued, and the "Mails Suspended" oval was used on mail from foreign countries to the Confederate States. The marking was applied at the Washington D.C. Dead Letter Office.
With 1974 C.S.A. certificate (Image)
FRESH AND VERY FINE. A BEAUTIFUL EXAMPLE OF THE "OLD STAMPS NOT RECOGNIZED" HANDSTAMP WHICH IS RARELY FOUND TYING THE STAMP.
Philadelphia was one of the first post offices to receive the new 1861 stamps, and so the 1857 Issue and old-style embossed envelopes were demonetized by that post office earlier than at many others. The new 1861 Issue embossed envelopes were announced as available on August 8, with a five-day exchange period expiring on August 13. The new 1861 Issue adhesive stamps were announced as available on August 19, with a six-day exchange period expiring on August 25. (Source: Elliott Perry, Pat Paragraphs reprint, pp. 97, 140-141).
With copy of 1970 P.F. certificate (Image)