 One of two recorded pairs of the provisional stamps issued
by Baltimore postmaster James M. Buchanan, whose engraved signature appears in the distinctive design--both pairs are on white paper, and they are the only known multiples of this celebrated postmaster’s provisional
issueDESCRIPTION Baltimore, Maryland, 5¢ Black on White (3X1), Positions 3/5, vertical pair, trace of frameline at bottom left, tied by cross-hatched pen strokes, matching manuscript 10” rate, clear strike of blue
Baltimore Md. Mar. 21” (1847) circular datestamp and matching PAID” handstamp on cover to Miss Mary Floyd in Port Tobacco, Maryland PROVENANCE All sales private until 2012 Frelinghuysen auction * Frederick Wellington Ayer *
George H. Worthington * Henry C. Gibson, Sr. * Henry G. Lapham (and his son, Raymond) * Warren H. Colson * Sen. Peter H. B. Frelinghuysen (bought privately from Colson), Siegel Auction Galleries, 3/28/2012, Sale 1020, lot 4, to William H.
Gross CENSUS, LITERATURE AND EXHIBITION REFERENCES * USPCS census no. 20122 * https://www.uspcs.org/resource-center/censuses/postmasters-provisionals-cover-census/ * Hayes census no. 27 * New York International Philatelic Exhibition 1913 (Worthington) * TIPEX 1936
(Lapham) CERTIFICATION * The Philatelic Foundation (2011) CONDITION NOTES * Very Fine appearance; the pair has a pre-use horizontal crease mostly along the frameline between stamps * Worthington’s source code in pencil
on back: 11/20/03 New Eng S. Co. ESS.SS” (New England Stamp Company, $900.00) * Small W.H.C.” handstamp at lower left (Warren H. Colson) VIEW PDF OF HISTORY AND COMMENTARY at https://siegelauctions.com/2018/1188/4.pdf (Image) Search for comparables at SiegelAuctions.com |
