2016 Rarities of the World continued...

VERY FINE APPEARANCE. ONE OF ONLY TWO RECORDED COVERS WITH FIVE NEW ORLEANS 2-CENT BLUE PROVISIONAL STAMPS. AN EXCEPTIONAL RARITY.

Our records contain four covers franked with three or more 2c Blue New Orleans Provisional stamps -- two with five stamps, one with three stamps and a 5c Red Brown provisional, and one with three stamps, as follows:

1) Horizontal strip of five, tied by Oct. 12 (1861) New Orleans circular datestamp to Augusta Ga., paying over-500 miles 10c rate, ex Caspary and Meroni

2) Five singles, tied by "Paid" straightlines, Jul. 26 (1861) New Orleans circular datestamp, to Hartsville Tenn., paying over-500 miles 10c rate, the cover offered here, ex Hessel and Dr. Brandon

3) Three singles and 5c Red Brown (62X4), tied by "Paid" straightlines, New Orleans Oct. 1 (1861) circular datestamp, to Orange C.H. Va., paying over-500 miles 10c rate (1c overpayment), ex Seybold, Needham, Grant, Dr. Skinner and D.K. collection (Siegel Sale 1022, lot 1078)

4) Three singles, tied by Dec. 1 (1861) New Orleans circular datestamp, to Woodville Miss., paying 5c under-500 miles rate (1c overpayment), ex Emerson, Caspary, Muzzy, Siegel 1970 Rarities and Kilbourne (Siegel Sale 815, lot 110)

Ex Hessel and Dr. Brandon. With 1976 P.F. certificate (Image)

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VERY FINE. A CHOICE FOUR-MARGIN EXAMPLE OF THE 2-CENT BLUE NEW ORLEANS POSTMASTER'S PROVISIONAL ON A CIRCULAR TO VIRGINIA.

Approximately 30 covers are known with the 2c Blue (27 in Crown census), including circular and drop rates. More than half of the covers have stamps without four margins or faults in the stamp or cover. This is a particularly nice example.

Ex Wishnietsky. (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE. AN EXCEPTIONALLY HIGH-QUALITY EXAMPLE OF THE NEW ORLEANS 2-CENT BLUE PROVISIONAL ON A CIRCULAR-RATE COVER.

Approximately 30 covers are known with the 2c Blue (27 in Crown census), including circular rates and drop rates. More than half of the covers have stamps without four margins or faults in the stamp or cover.

Ex Grant, Meroni, Dr. Simon and D.K. Collection (Image)

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VERY FINE APPEARANCE. AN OUTSTANDING CIRCULAR-RATE USE OF THE RARE NEW ORLEANS 2-CENT RED PROVISIONAL. ONLY TEN COVERS ARE RECORDED IN OUR CENSUS.

New Orleans postmaster J. L. Riddell prepared provisional stamps in June 1861 and advertised them for sale on June 12th. The 2c Red stamps were printed without the marginal inscription "Usable exclusively in the New Orleans Post Office". The 5c and subsequent 2c Blue printings all have the imprint. It is the accepted theory that the 2c Red stamps were printed first, before Riddell added the imprint, and were withheld from use until January 1862 when the supply of 2c Blue stamps was exhausted. The Crown book lists six 2c Red covers, while Dr. Hubert C. Skinner (Congress Book, 1978) recorded eight covers. We have located ten covers.

Ex Freeland and Hill. With 2005 P.F. certificate (Image)

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FINE APPEARANCE. A RARE DROP-RATE USE OF THE NEW ORLEANS 2-CENT RED PROVISIONAL. ONLY TEN COVERS ARE RECORDED.

New Orleans postmaster J. L. Riddell prepared provisional stamps in June 1861 and advertised them for sale on June 12th. The 2c Red stamps were printed without the marginal inscription "Usable exclusively in the New Orleans Post Office". The 5c and subsequent 2c Blue printings all have the imprint. It is the accepted theory that the 2c Red stamps were printed first, before Riddell added the imprint, and were withheld from use until January 1862 when the supply of 2c Blue stamps was exhausted. The Crown book lists six 2c Red covers, while Dr. Hubert C. Skinner (Congress Book, 1978) recorded eight covers. We have located ten covers.

Ex Zimmerman and Powell. (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE. A RARE IMPRINT EXAMPLE OF THE OCHER SHADE ON COVER.

Ex Seybold and Hall. With 2000 P.F. certificate (Image)

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VERY FINE APPEARANCE. ONLY THREE OF THE SEVEN RECORDED EXAMPLES OF THE NEW ORLEANS 5-CENT RED ERROR ARE PRINTED ON BLUISH PAPER. THIS IS THE MOST INTENSE SHADE OF RED WE HAVE ENCOUNTERED. ONE OF THE RAREST SOUTHERN POSTMASTERS' PROVISIONALS AND THE ONLY COLOR ERROR IN CONFEDERATE PHILATELY.

There is only one true color error among all Southern Postmasters' Provisionals: the New Orleans 5c Red, which is found on both White and Bluish papers.

In his 1978 Congress Book article, Dr. Hubert C. Skinner theorized that either "too much red ink was introduced onto the platen in blending the brown ink or the components of the ink separated while the press was idle for a time." This, he speculated, "produced a mottled impression on a very few sheets" and "would have been corrected as soon as the rollers passed across the platen a few times re-mixing or blending the ink." The discovery of the hybrid Red-and-Brown stamp confirmed Dr. Skinner's theory. The ink mixture error had to have occurred more than once, because the stamps on White paper were printed in June, and the stamps on Blue paper were printed in August.

Our records contain the following examples of the 5c Red error: White Paper (62X6): 1) Unused with traces of gum, ex Ferrary, Hind, Brooks (not seen publicly since 1943); 2) "DUE (3cts)" straightline, partly rebacked over thins, ex Caspary, Lilly, Kilbourne and D.K. Collection; 3) Cut in at bottom, tied by "Paid" straightline on part of cover to Mrs. Wm. Reynaud, Baton Rouge, photo by Hiram Deats in P.F. files; 4) Mixture of Red and Brown, corner strike of circular datestamp, partly rebacked over thins and tear, discovered recently, ex D.K. Collection; Blue Paper (62X7): 5) Dec. 4 circular datestamp, thin spots and small repair, ex Crocker. Felton and D.K. Collection; 6) Sep. 17 circular datestamp, small faults, ex Ferrary, Hind, Lilly and D.K. collection; 7) Position 1, "Paid" and part datestamp, thinned with small nicks at left, ex Caspary, Skinner and D.K. Collection, the stamp offered here.

Ex Caspary, Dr. Skinner and D.K. Collection (Image)

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VERY FINE. A RARE AND OUTSTANDING COMBINATION OF THE EMPIRE PARISH MISSISSIPPI RIVER PACKET BOAT HANDSTAMP AND THE NEW ORLEANS PROVISIONAL HANDSTAMP.

This cover was posted on the Steamer Empire Parish with a U.S. half-dime attached with a red wax seal. The boat captain or puser removed the coin and struck the "STEAMER EMPIRE PARISH" oval and wrote "5 cts. paid" over the spot where the coin had been attached. On arrival at New Orleans it was handstamped with the "PD 5 CTS/N.O.P.O." marking over the same spot.

Accompanied by 1860 half-dime to represent what may have been included with the cover to pay postage in New Orleans.

Ex Dr. Brandon. With 2014 P.F. certificate (Image)

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VERY FINE. THE ONLY RECORDED COMBINATION OF THE NEW ORLEANS PROVISIONAL HANDSTAMP AND BOTH TYPES OF NEW ORLEANS DATESTAMPS.

As noted in our description of the unique 10c entire (Sale 933, lot 948), all provisional markings on that entire, including the datestamp, are impressed through the back of the envelope, indicating that they were applied before the letter (weighing over one-half ounce) was inserted. Therefore, in our opinion, the December 3 (1861) double-circle datestamp on this entire was applied when it was sold, and the March 14 (1862) circular datestamp was applied at the main post office when it was mailed three months later. Dr. Skinner's analysis differs from ours -- he believes that the entire was mailed on December 3 and returned to the main office on March 14, but we see no evidence of non-delivery. In our opinion, some of the New Orleans entires were sold in advance and postmarked with the double-circle on the day of sale; in this instance, the delayed mailing resulted in a second postmark.

Ex Knapp, Brown and Skinner. (Image)

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VERY FINE. THE EARLIEST KNOWN USE AND ONE OF THE FINEST OF THE SIX RECORDED COVERS BEARING THE RHEATOWN POSTMASTER'S PROVISIONAL.

The 5c provisional stamps issued by Postmaster D. Pence were printed by the same printer who produced the Tellico Plains Tenn. provisional. An affidavit by the Tellico Plains postmaster, M.F. Johnson, dated March 24, 1876, states that his stamps were printed in Knoxville by "Hawes Lea." The June dates recorded for the Rheatown suggest that it came first, and the postmaster's own recollections place the issue in "midsummer 1861" (see Crown book, p. 307). Although dated examples show use into April 1862, a relatively long period of time, the issue is extremely rare.

The same basic type form containing three subjects was used for the Rheatown and Tellico Plains Tenn. provisionals. For the Rheatown, all three were 5c denominations. The inside border at the top of each stamp is made up of seven ornaments; the unique arrangement of the ornaments in each subject enables philatelists to identify the position of any stamp.

Our records contain at least a half-dozen off-cover examples the Rheatown 5c, including an unused pair, the only known multiple. The six covers we record are as follows (in chronological order, type identified):

1) Jun. 20 (1861), Ty. II, cover to Lt. D. R. Wilson, ex Worthington (his source code on back "11/26/04 Luff BISSS"), Caspary, Antrim, Weatherly, Kilbourne and D.K. collection, the cover offered here

2) Jun. 30 (1861), Ty. I, small cover, faint address, Siegel 1984 Rarities Sale

3) Feb. 8 (1862), Ty. III, lady's embossed cover to Eliz. Devault, the only tied example, ex Caspary, Gallagher

4) Feb. 13 (1862), Ty. II, on restored cover, ex Steves, Crown book (Siegel Sale 1104, lot 2275)

5) Feb. 15 (1862), Ty. I, cover to David Cleage, circular datestamp struck twice, ex Caspary

6) Apr. 9 (1862), Ty. II, cover to Mrs. Wm. Brown, ex MacBride, Dr. Graves, Boshwit and Dr. Brandon (Siegel Sale 1073, lot 329).

Ex Worthington (his source code on back "11/26/04 Luff BISSS"), Caspary, Antrim, Weatherly, Kilbourne and D.K. collection (Image)

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VERY FINE APPEARING EXAMPLE OF THE RARE RINGGOLD CONFEDERATE POSTMASTER'S PROVISIONAL.

The Crown survey and our own records of the Ringgold provisional contain five full entires, one of which is a late use with 5c Local Prints paying postage. A piece is also recorded and there may be a sixth entire.

Ex Emerson, Baldwin (H.R. Harmer Feb. 18, 1963 auction) and Powell. (Image)

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