The William H. Gross Collection: Important Hawaii Postage Stamps and Postal History continued...

VERY FINE. THE ONLY RECORDED SOUND UNUSED EXAMPLE OF THE 1851 5-CENT HAWAIIAN MISSIONARY. TEN OF THE TWELVE RECORDED UNUSED STAMPS ARE IN PRIVATE HANDS, AND OF THOSE ONLY THREE DO NOT HAVE REPAIRS -- THE STAMP OFFERED HERE IS SOUND, AND THE OTHER TWO HAVE FAULTS.

Of the twelve unused 5c Missionaries in our census (available at siegelauctions.com), two copies are in the Tapling Collection at The British Library (one is repaired and the other is faulty at best). Of the ten unused copies available to collectors, seven are repaired and two have faults, which leaves this example as the only sound unused 5c Missionary.

Ex Ferrary, Burrus, Ostheimer and Honolulu Advertiser. Siegel Census No. 2-II-UNC-27. Illustrated in Gregory book (page 247). With 1963, 1995 and 2016 P.F. certificates. The Scott Catalogue notes that values are for examples with minor damage that has been skillfully repaired.”-- this stamp is sound (Image)

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VERY FINE. THIS IS THE ONLY SOUND 5-CENT HAWAIIAN MISSIONARY STAMP ON COVER. TRULY ONE OF THE OUTSTANDING COVERS OF WORLDWIDE CLASSIC PHILATELY.

Ten 5c Missionary covers are recorded in our census and the Gregory census. Included in this total are the Dawson 2c/5c cover and the 5c cover acquired by the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in the Honolulu Advertiser sale, leaving eight 5c covers for collectors. Upon further analysis, however, only five of those have a 5c Missionary used without any other stamps, and of those five, one is a front and all but this cover have stamps with minor faults. For the collector who wishes to have a sound 5c Missionary stamp tied on cover, this is the sole cover meeting that criteria.

This cover was carried on the American brig Zoe, which cleared Honolulu on October 22, 1853, and arrived in San Francisco on November 9 (the datestamp was applied the next day). From San Francisco it was carried by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company’s John L. Stephens, departing on November 16 and arriving at Panama City on November 28. The mail was carried across the isthmus to Aspinwall, and from there it left on the U.S. Mail Steamship Company’s Empire City, departing December 1 and arriving in New York on December 12. The recipient, James L. Reynolds of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, paid the 12c United States postage, which included 10c for the unpaid transcontinental rate and 2c for the ship captain’s fee.

This envelope was addressed and mailed by Admiral William Reynolds (1815-1879), the older brother of James L. and John F. Reynolds, all of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. As a midshipman, Admiral Reynolds participated in the Wilkes’ Exploring Expedition of 1838 to 1842. The journal he kept during the expedition was published in book form (The Private Journal of William Reynolds: United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842). As a captain, Reynolds served in the Pacific Squadron and was stationed for a time in Hawaii. With the outbreak of the Civil War, he returned to the mainland in 1861 and commanded the forces at Port Royal.

The Reynolds correspondence was first described in Mekeel’s August 19, 1923 issue. The Economist Stamp Company was noted as the buyer, and an unnamed individual identified his great uncle, a naval officer, as the source (Admiral Reynolds). Two recorded Missionary covers come from the Reynolds correspondence: this cover and the 13c cover offered in lot 13.

Ex Gibson, Admiral Harris and Golden. Siegel Census No. 2-I-COV-74. Illustrated in Gregory book (page 300). With 1994 and 2016 P.F. certificates. (Image)

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VERY FINE APPEARANCE. THIS IS THE ONLY 5-CENT HAWAIIAN MISSIONARY STAMP TIED BY THE HONOLULU DATESTAMP AMONG THE TEN RECORDED COVERS OR, IN THIS CASE, COVER FRONT.

Ten 5c Missionary covers (including this front) are recorded in our census and the Gregory census. Included in this total are the Dawson 2c/5c cover and the 5c cover acquired by the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in the Honolulu Advertiser sale, leaving eight 5c covers for collectors. The front offered here is the only one on which the stamp is tied by the Honolulu datestamp. In this case, it is the Honolulu * Hawaiian Islands *” version, since the United States postage was not prepaid.

This cover was carried on the schooner Restless, which cleared Honolulu on July 13, 1854, and arrived in San Francisco on August 9. The San Francisco datestamp was applied on the same day it was carried by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company’s Oregon, departing on August 16 and arriving at Panama City around August 30. The mail was carried across the isthmus to Aspinwall, and from there it left on the U.S. Mail Steamship Company’s Empire City, departing September 2 and arriving in New York on September 12. The recipient, William R. Gay of Lebanon, Connecticut, paid the 12c United States postage, which included 10c for the unpaid transcontinental rate and 2c for the ship captain’s fee.

Although there is no content or docketing, this was sent by Dr. Charles H. Wetmore. The recipient was a member of the Wetmore family, and the writing precisely matches the writing on the letter offered in lot 7 in this sale (in particular, the U.S.A.” with underscoring).

John K. Bash recorded this Missionary as owned at one time by Frank J. Dutcher (1850-1930). Dutcher, a wealthy member of the Hopedale Community in Massachusetts, was the first president of the Draper Corporation, which later became a division of the Rockwell Corporation. Little has been written about Dutcher’s stamp-collecting activity, but he was a collector of substantial means in the 1890s and a member of the Collectors Club of New York. The Millbury postmaster’s provisional cover we sold in our sale of the Frelinghuysen collection (Sale 1020, lot 15) was also owned by Dutcher.

The item passed from Dutcher to Caspary, possibly through an interim owner. The careful preservation measures were probably done during or possibly before Caspary’s ownership. Its appearance has not changed since the 1957 Caspary sale catalogue was published. In the 1963 Burrus sale catalogue, it was described as picturesque,” a perfect adjective to describe its colorful character.

Ex Dutcher, Caspary, Burrus, Middendorf, Ishikawa and Pietsch. Also stated to be ex Krug in past sale catalogues, but Krug’s Hawaii was sold privately and we have no way to confirm that provenance. Siegel Census No. 2-I-COV-68. Illustrated in Gregory book (page 397). With 1963 (copy) and 2016 P.F. certificates (Image)

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VERY FINE APPEARANCE. AN ATTRACTIVE AND RARE HAWAIIAN MISSIONARY COVER. ONLY NINE COVERS WITH THE 5-CENT MISSIONARY ARE IN PRIVATE HANDS, FIVE OF WHICH HAVE THE STAMP USED ALONE.

Ten 5c Missionary covers are recorded in our census and the Gregory census. Included in this total are the Dawson 2c/5c cover and the 5c cover acquired by the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in the Honolulu Advertiser sale, leaving eight 5c covers for collectors. Upon further analysis, however, only five of those have a 5c Missionary used without any other stamps, and of those five, one is a front.

This cover was written at Hilo on January 1, 1853, but it was not postmarked at Honolulu until February 16. It was carried on the American schooner Sierra Nevada, which cleared Honolulu on February 16 and sailed the following day. After stopping at Lahaina, it left for San Francisco on February 24 and arrived on March 15. It was carried by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company’s Golden Gate, departing on March 16 and arriving at Panama City on March 28. The mail was carried across the isthmus to Aspinwall, and from there it left on the U.S. Mail Steamship Company’s Illinois, departing March 31 and arriving in New York on April 9. The recipient, John F. Rogers of Lowell, Massachusetts, paid the 12c United States postage, which included 10c for the unpaid transcontinental rate and 2c for the ship captain’s fee.

Ex Potts, Admiral Harris, Ishikawa and Golden. Weill backstamp. Siegel Census No. 2-II-COV-69. Illustrated in Gregory book (page 299). With 2016 P.F. certificate (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE GEM. THE FINEST UNUSED 13-CENT HAWAIIAN POSTAGE” MISSIONARY EXTANT. ONLY SEVEN UNUSED EXAMPLES ARE RECORDED, BUT HALF ARE REPAIRED. THIS MAGNIFICENT GEM IS ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE GROSS HAWAII COLLECTION AND AN EXTRAORDINARY EXAMPLE OF A WORLDCLASS PHILATELIC RARITY IN SUPERB CONDITION, DEFYING THE NORMS OF THE ISSUE.

The earliest provenance of this superb 13c Hawaiian Postage” Missionary stamp is the Ayer collection. Six Hawaiian Missionaries owned by Ayer, including the stamp offered here, were illustrated in Brewster C. Kenyon’s 1895 publication, History of The Postal Issues of Hawaii. Frederick Wellington Ayer (1855-1936) 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.

Although many rarities from the Ayer collection found their way into the Worthington collection, this 13c Missionary did not (Worthington owned a different unused example). The stamp is pictured in Henry J. Crocker’s pioneering work, Hawaiian Numerals, published in 1909 (page 28), but whether Crocker ever owned it is uncertain. One year earlier, in May 1908, the French banker Paul B. Mirabaud died, and his magnificent collection of worldwide classics was sold privately and at auction. The Hawaiian Missionaries were included in the Gilbert & Koehler 1909 auction in Paris, and this stamp was offered as lot 5270. We have no information about the buyer in that sale.

The stamp appeared next in Part 17 of the Col. Edward H. R. Green sales (Harmer, Rooke & Co., November 13-18, 1944, lot 226). At that sale or shortly thereafter, it was acquired by Admiral Frederic R. Harris. When his formidable Hawaii collection was sold by Harmer, Rooke & Co., the stamp was offered in Part I (April 27, 1954, lot 56). We have little information about the stamp’s whereabouts after the Admiral Harris sale, but in 1993 a representative of the Japanese collector, Ryohei Ishikawa, came to the Siegel firm’s office and delivered a package containing a small group of Hawaiian Missionaries, including a 2c and this 13c. These stamps were apparently held back by Ishikawa from the 1980 sale of his Hawaii collection held by Sotheby Parke Bernet Stamp Auction Company. They were consigned to Mr. Siegel shortly before the announcement that Christie’s would be selling the Ishikawa United States collection, at which point the meaning of the goodwill gesture between friends became clear. The stamps were sold in our 1993 Rarities of the World sale, and the 13c was acquired by Albert F. Chang on behalf of Charles J. Pietsch III of Honolulu. Mr. Gross acquired the stamp in the Shreves Philatelic Galleries sale of the Pietsch collection (September 27-28, 1996, lot 1004).

Ex Ayer, Mirabaud, possibly H. J. Crocker, Colonel E. H. R. Green, Admiral Harris, Ishikawa and Pietsch. Siegel Census No. 3-II-UNC-83. Illustrated in Meyer-Harris book (page 96). With 2016 P.F. certificate. The Scott Catalogue notes that values are for examples with minor damage that has been skillfully repaired.”-- this stamp is sound, and the value of an unused 13c Hawaiian Postage” Missionary has been dragged down by other heavily repaired examples (Image)

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FINE APPEARANCE. ONE OF SEVEN RECORDED UNUSED 13-CENT HAWAIIAN POSTAGE” MISSIONARY STAMPS, OF WHICH HALF ARE REPAIRED TO VARYING DEGREES.

Ex Ferrary and Golden. Siegel Census No. 3-I-UNC-77. Illustrated in Gregory book (page 247). With 1994 and 2016 P.F. certificates. The Scott Catalogue notes that values are for examples with minor damage that has been skillfully repaired” (Image)

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VERY FINE. THE ONLY EXAMPLE OF THE PAPERMAKER’S CREST ON A MISSIONARY STAMP AND ONE OF THE FINEST AND MOST COLORFUL OF THE NINE RECORDED 13-CENT HAWAIIAN POSTAGE” MISSIONARY COVERS. THIS IS THE ONLY MISSIONARY COVER WITH THE SAN FRANCISCO DATESTAMP AND RATE MARKINGS STRUCK IN BLUE.

There are nine recorded genuine covers with full 13c Hawaiian Postage” Missionary stamps (the fragment on cover and one fake are not counted). Two of the nine, including the strip on cover and the combination with the 13c Kamehameha III Issue, were acquired by the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in our 1995 Honolulu Advertiser sale, leaving seven covers available to collectors. Of those seven, only three have essentially sound stamps (all three are offered in this sale).

This cover was carried on the American brig Zoe, which cleared Honolulu on November 22, 1852, and arrived in San Francisco on December 12. Blue ink was used at the San Francisco post office briefly in December 1852 and January 1853, and this cover is a rare example of blue ink usage; in fact, it is the only Missionary cover with these markings struck in blue. From San Francisco it was carried by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company’s Tennessee, departing on December 16 and arriving at Panama City on December 31. The mail was carried across the isthmus to Aspinwall, and from there it left on the U.S. Mail Steamship Company’s Illinois, departing January 2, 1853, and arriving in New York on January 11 after a stop at Kingston, Jamaica.

Ex William H. Crocker, Admiral Harris, Burrus and Honolulu Advertiser. Siegel Census No. 3-II-COV- 146. Illustrated in Gregory book (page 290). With 1995 and 2016 P.F. certificates. (Image)

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VERY FINE. ONE OF THE FINEST OF THE NINE RECORDED 13-CENT HAWAIIAN POSTAGE” MISSIONARY COVERS, OF WHICH ONLY THREE HAVE SOUND STAMPS

There are nine recorded genuine covers with full 13c Hawaiian Postage” Missionary stamps (the fragment on cover and one fake are not counted). Two of the nine, including the strip on cover and the combination with the 13c Kamehameha III Issue, were acquired by the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in our 1995 Honolulu Advertiser sale, leaving seven covers available to collectors. Of those seven, only three have essentially sound stamps (all three are offered in this sale).

This cover was carried on the American brig Zoe, which cleared Honolulu on April 7, 1853, and arrived in San Francisco on April 25. The San Francisco post office did not apply its datestamp, but marked the cover Paid” and 8.” It was carried by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company’s Panama, departing on May 7 and arriving at Panama City on May 25. The mail was carried across the isthmus to Aspinwall, and from there it left on the U.S. Mail Steamship Company’s Illinois, departing June 3, 1853, and arriving in New York on June 12.

The addressee, Miss Elizabeth D. Turrill, was the daughter of Joel Turrill, a prominent attorney and congressman from Oswego, New York. He served as U.S. Consul to the Hawaiian Islands (1845-50). In the financial crisis of 1857 he lost all of his property, and he died in December 1859.

Ex Caspary, Lilly and Golden. Siegel Census No. 3-I-COV-145. Illustrated in Gregory book (page 397). With 1994 and 2016 P.F. certificates (Image)

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A VERY FINE 13-CENT HAWAIIAN POSTAGE” MISSIONARY COVER AND THE ONLY SOUND STAMP AMONG THE FOUR SINGLES TIED BY A CANCELLATION ON COVER.

There are nine recorded genuine covers with full 13c Hawaiian Postage” Missionary stamps (the fragment on cover and one fake are not counted). Two of the nine, including the strip on cover and the combination with the 13c Kamehameha III Issue, were acquired by the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in our 1995 Honolulu Advertiser sale, leaving seven covers available to collectors. Of those seven, only three have essentially sound stamps (all three are offered in this sale). This is also the only sound 13c Hawaiian Postage” Missionary that is tied on cover.

This envelope was addressed and mailed by Admiral William Reynolds (1815- 1879), the older brother of James L. and John F. Reynolds, all of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. As a midshipman, Admiral Reynolds participated in the Wilkes’ Exploring Expedition of 1838 to 1842. The journal he kept during the expedition was published in book form (The Private Journal of William Reynolds: United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842). As a captain, Reynolds served in the Pacific Squadron and was stationed for a time in Hawaii. The Reynolds correspondence was first described in Mekeel’s August 19, 1923 issue. The Economist Stamp Company was noted as the buyer, and an unnamed individual identified his great uncle, a naval officer, as the source (Admiral Reynolds). Two recorded Missionary covers come from the Reynolds correspondence: this cover and the 13c cover offered in lot 6.

This cover was datestamped at Honolulu on October 4 (1852), the same day as the famous Dawson cover and a 5c Missionary cover (2-I-COV-70). All of the October 4 mail was probably carried from Honolulu to San Francisco on the Mary A. Jones, which was cleared on October 4, 1852 (The Friend, October 8), and sailed the following day. The ship arrived in San Francisco on October 26, after a reported journey of 21 days (Daily Alta California, October 27).

According to the Daily Alta California (October 27, 1852), the PMSC Northerner and California were brought down from Benecia in newly painted” condition on October 26 and 27, respectively. The Northerner was scheduled to depart on Saturday, October 30, and the California on Monday, November 1. This and the 5c Missionary cover with the October 4 Honolulu datestamp have San Francisco November 1 datestamps, whereas the Dawson cover with the U.S. 3¢ 1851 pair has an October 27 San Francisco datestamp. The two Missionary covers without U.S. stamps affixed required an extra step to account for U.S. postage and the ship captain’s fee. After making the necessary accounting entries, they were datestamped and bagged for the Panama departure. The November 1 date was inserted into the San Francisco datestamp to correspond with the sailing of the California, but the actual application of the marking could have occurred days earlier.

The California arrived at Panama City on November 16. All of the mail was carried across the isthmus to Aspinwall, and from there it left on the U.S. Mail Steamship Company’s Georgia, which departed on November 18 and arrived in New York on November 28, after stopping at Kingston, Jamaica. According to the Weekly Herald report, the Georgia arrived in New York with the largest load of California gold ever transported. The Georgia was under the command of the famous American naval officer, Admiral David Dixon Porter, who at the time held the rank of lieutenant and worked as a civilian for the U.S. Mail Steamship Company.

Ex Caspary, Ostheimer and Honolulu Advertiser. Siegel Census No. 3-I-COV-142. Illustrated in Gregory book (page 287). With 1995 and 2016 P.F. certificates (Image)

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VERY FINE. ONE OF NINE RECORDED 13-CENT HAWAIIAN POSTAGE” MISSIONARY COVERS, SEVEN OF WHICH ARE AVAILABLE TO COLLECTORS. THIS IS THE EARLIEST RECORDED HAWAIIAN MISSIONARY COVER WITH AN INTACT STAMP OF ANY DENOMINATION OR TYPE. IT IS ALSO THE ONLY COVER WITH THE BLUE ITALIC PAID” HANDSTAMP -- ONE OTHER EXAMPLE IS RECORDED ON AN OFF-COVER 13-CENT HAWAIIAN POSTAGE” MISSIONARY.

There are nine recorded genuine covers with full 13c Hawaiian Postage” Missionary stamps, of which this is the earliest. Not counted in the total of nine is a January 3, 1852, folded letter with a fragment of a 13c Hawaiian Postage” Missionary. It is illustrated in the Gregory book (page 274) and described as the first recorded cover franked with a Missionary stamp,” but despite its significance as a dated item, the missing three-quarters of the Missionary stamp limits its collector value. The strip of three on cover acquired by the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in our 1995 Honolulu Advertiser sale is also a very early use (February 20, 1852), but the cover offered here predates it, as we shall explain.

This cover is addressed to Miss Gertrude Van Ingen. There is no content or docketing to indicate the sender’s name, location or mailing date, but it is very likely that it was addressed by J. S. Van Ingen, a well-known merchant on the islands. His name is listed in advertisements for C. F. Hussey & Company, located at Kahului.

The dark brown paper makes it difficult to see the markings on this cover, but with simple digital enhancement, the red San Francisco circular datestamp and red 6” rate handstamp (to the right of the Paid”) are visible. San Francisco marked prepaid covers from Hawaii with the 6” cent rate marking from July 1, 1851, to May 1, 1852. Starting then, the 8” cent marking, which reflected the 2c ship captain’s fee, was used on prepaid letters from Hawaii. Unfortunately, the date of the San Francisco marking is not readable on this cover. However, the digital enhancement shows that there are no other markings on the cover, a significant fact that allows us to date its origin to sometime prior to February 10, 1852. Postmaster Whitney ordered datestamps from the mainland in May 1851, but the devices were not received in Honolulu until several months later. The first recorded example is dated February 10, 1852. Whitney might have started using them even earlier.

The letter with the fragment might help narrow the date range. That letter was mailed at Kahului and carried overland to Lahaina, where the Lahaina postmaster, George Gower (Collector of Customs and the postmaster 1851-54) affixed the stamp to show that postage was fully prepaid (it is cancelled with pen marks). The Lahaina post office probably applied the distinctive Paid” cancel in bold italicized capital letters. Lahaina had a tradition of using blue ink for postal markings, and loose type was readily available to create a temporary Paid” handstamp. One other example of this cancellation is recorded, also struck on a 13c Hawaiian Postage” Missionary (3-I-CAN-99).

The January 3, 1852, letter with the fragment has the same San Francisco markings -- red datestamp and 6” and bluish-black Paid” -- and the San Francisco date is February 18 (1852). The Gregory book (page 274) provides sailing vessels and dates for the mail containing the January 3 letter. The combination of red and black ink for the markings applied at San Francisco is very unusual. It is possible that the cover offered here, with the same red and black combination, was in the Hawaiian mail that was postmarked at San Francisco on February 18. Based on the Van Ingen connection, there is also a strong possibility that this cover, like the other, originated in Kahului.

Ex Admiral Harris, Ishikawa and Golden. Siegel Census No. 3-I-COV-136. Illustrated in Gregory book (page 397). With 1994 and 2016 P.F. certificates (Image)

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