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Get Market Data for [United States Crystal Palace, London]
Get Market Data for [United States 1853 Crystal Palace]
EXTREMELY FINE. THE ONLY RECORDED EXAMPLE OF DE LA RUE'S 1851 GREAT EXHIBITION IMPRINT ENVELOPE USED WITH UNITED STATES POSTAGE -- THIS IS THE WORLD'S FIRST MACHINE-MADE ENVELOPE, AN OBJECT THAT ONLY BECAME UBIQUITOUS WITH THE POSTAL REFORMS INITIATED BY GREAT BRITAIN, WHICH REMOVED THE CHARGE FOR AN EXTRA SHEET OF PAPER.
The world's first machine-made envelopes were manufactured and sold at the Thomas de la Rue stand during the 1851 Great Exhibition in London. The De La Rue firm hosted a large exhibit in the British area, displaying examples of their work, including the crowd-drawing "working envelope folding machine... designed by Warren de la Rue so that it would fold, gum, forward and deliver the envelopes all of which had formerly been carried out by hand" (The Postal History of the Crystal Palace, Maurice H. Bristow). According to information given by De La Rue to the late W. Wilson Hulme II, which is now in the possession of Ken Lawrence, Warren de la Rue had improved an earlier envelope folding machine invented by Edwin Hill, brother of postal reform advocate Sir Rowland Hill.
This particular envelope must have been brought home to the United States by an American fairgoer, then mailed from New York City in December 1851, prepaid with the 3c Orange Brown imperforate stamp from the new issue of July 1851. The addressee was a hymn writer and abolitionist. Bristow estimates that fewer than a half-dozen examples of the imprinted envelope are known. This is the only one with a U.S. stamp.
Ex Hulme (Image)
Get Market Data for [United States 10A]
VERY FINE. THIS COVER WITH THE EXPANDED CRYSTAL PALACE ENGRAVING BY JOCELYN IS CONSIDERED TO BE THE FINEST OF ALL CRYSTAL PALACE EXHIBITION COVERS BEARING THE 1851 ISSUE.
The sender, Martin M. Lawrence, who had won first prize at the Crystal Palace for daguerreotype photographs, mailed this on May 24, 1855, from Brooklyn. The addressee, Philip Sidney Post, was a law student at Poughkeepsie who went on to a distinguished career in military service and national politics.
Ex Malcolm, Grunin, Piller and Gabriel. (Image)
Get Market Data for [United States 11A]
FINE OVERALL. A TRULY REMARKABLE "TRIPLE-THREAT" COVER, COMBINING A RARE CRYSTAL PALACE ILLUSTRATED DESIGN PRINTED DIRECTLY ON A 3-CENT NESBITT ENTIRE, A RARE COMBINATION OF STAMPS ON A CRYSTAL PALACE COVER, AND INCREDIBLY ADDRESSED TO THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. TRULY A ONE-OF-A-KIND POSTAL HISTORY ARTIFACT.
Ken Lawrence suggests this was manufactured by George F. Nesbitt and sold at his stand at the Crystal Palace exhibition. The woodcut was made by Joseph Laing & Co., a well-known New York City printer and stationer. It is remarkable that this souvenir envelope was carried to Indiana and mailed from there. Even more remarkable, it was stamped for the 10c rate and addressed to Hawaii. Based on research of the Hughes correspondence, Lawrence dates this to 1855. (Image)
Get Market Data for [United States 9, 11A]
Get Market Data for [United States 9]
A REMARKABLE PHILATELIC SOUVENIR FROM THE 1853 CRYSTAL PALACE EXHIBITION -- ARGUABLY THE EARLIEST AMERICAN PHILATELIC COLLECTIBLE.
Based on the reference to the "New American Postage Envelope," it is surmised that this was acquired as a souvenir by a foreign-born visitor to the 1853 Crystal Palace exhibition, possibly from Great Britain. The 3c Nesbitt stamped envelope had been issued about two weeks before the exhibition opened on July 14, 1853, and Boyd's local post had letter boxes at the fair. By combining the circulating U.S. stamp, new stamped envelope and Boyd's stamp, the creator made a philatelic keepsake, the earliest of its kind known.
Ex Dr. Skinner (Image)
Get Market Data for [United States U1]