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 Fredericksburg Va., 5c Blue on Thin Bluish (26X1). Position 2, full to huge margins, tied by partly clear circular datestamp with Sep. 24 date and integral "5"
rate, on folded letter from the postmaster Reuben T. Thom, letter indicates that it originally contained a second enclosure -- a copy of a letter to President Jefferson Davis -- Thom writes, "I only wish I could influence him," thin pelure
paper shows some gum translucence (typical of these stamps and not mentioned on certificate)AN EXTREMELY FINE AND IMPORTANT SOUTHERN POSTMASTER'S PROVISIONAL COVER, SHOWING THE ONLY RECORDED USE OF THE FREDERICKSBURG STAMP BY POSTMASTER REUBEN
T. THOM. Reuben Triplett Thom (1782-1868) was 78 when he was appointed to be Confederate postmaster of Fredericksburg on July 20, 1861. Thom had been postmaster since 1840, when he received his first appointment from President Van Buren.
Fredericksburg, a Virginia town with an 1860 population of 4,000, was situated on the Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad between the capital cities of Washington D.C. and Richmond. The town changed hands eleven times and was essentially destroyed
during the Civil War, but Postmaster Thom performed his postal duties throughout the conflict (Richard L. Calhoun, "Fredericksburg, Virginia, Revisited", Confederate Philatelist, March-April 1997). An interesting biographical account can be
found at http://fredericksburghistory.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/fredericksburg-april-12-1861 : "Elsewhere local citizens ruminated on more
prosaic things, like a petition to the new President in Washington asking him to keep the town's long-time postmaster Reuben Thom in place. Thom was 79 [actually 78] years old (one of the few people in town who likely remembered the flood of 1814)
and an institution -- 'emphatically a good man,' said the News. But Thom was a secessionist, and the newspaper saw in his prospective appointment the chance for the new president (Lincoln) to reach across sectional divides, place party politics aside
and rise 'superior to these little, petty political prejudices... and show himself superior to party distinctions.' Events of the following weeks would render the citizens' petition for Thom moot, but he would indeed be appointed postmaster of
Confederate mails. Like Fredericksburg, Thom and his family suffered severely amidst the war that loomed in the newspapers that April 12, 1861. His house at what is today about 919 Caroline Street burned in the bombardment of December 11, 1862 --
indeed, he and his family huddled in the basement until flames forced them into their garden. His neighbor John Wallace saw him soon after the battle, 'I met in the street Mr. Thom who told me he was utterly ruined, I can assure you I felt deep
sympathy for him. He is not alone, many are in the same situation.'" Postmaster Thom issued adhesive stamps in September 1861 in two denominations: the 5c Blue and 10c Red. It seems certain that the stamps were printed by Robert B. Alexander at
the offices of the Democratic Recorder and Recorder Job Office (Dr. Keith E. Littlefield, "Robert B. Alexander: Printer of the Fredericksburg Va. C.S.A. Provisional Stamps," Confederate Philatelist, Sep.-Oct. 1999). They were printed
from a typeset form of 20 (5 by 4) on thin pelure paper. A fairly large number of unused stamps survived the war and entered the philatelic market. Calhoun records 40 covers with the 5c, but a 10c cover has not been discovered. The Calhoun census
lists 40 covers with the Fredericksburg provisional. This example is an early use (the earliest date recorded is September 12), and it is the only letter or cover from Postmaster Thom himself. Ex Caspary, Wiseman and Birkinbine. With 1996
P.F. certificate (Image) Search for comparables at
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5,500.00
SOLD for $6,500.00
Will close during Public Auction |
