The William H. Gross Collection: United States Postal History continued...

10¢ Green, Types III/II/III/I (15/14/15/13), Positions 69/79/89/99R1, very rare vertical combination strip of four including bottom-row Type I, three huge margins, in at top, tied by neat strikes of "New Orleans La. Sep. 15, 1857" circular datestamps on blue folded cover to Vera Cruz, Mexico, bold "5" reales due handstamp, some ink erosion in the address, three of the stamps are Extremely Fine, vertical strips containing the scarcer types, such as Type I, are rare, ex Koppersmith and Hackmey, with 1983 Alcuri and 1988 P.F. certificates (Image)

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10¢ Green, Type I (13), horizontal pair, large margins to just in, used with 1¢ Blue, Type IIIa (22), tiny tear at top center, tied by blue "Memphis Ten. Sep. 7, 1857" circular datestamp on blue cover to Genoa, Italy, red "New York Paid 18 Sep. 16" 18¢ credit datestamp--carried on the Cunarder Asia, departing New York September 16, 1857, arriving Liverpool September 27--red "P.D." framed handstamp, light strike of red French transit datestamp, Paris (September 29) and Genoa (October 1) backstamps, cover refolded and reshaped, diagonal crease, Fine and scarce mixed-issue franking, ex Kapiloff and Hackmey, with 2003 P.F. certificate (Image)

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10¢ Green, Types III/I (15/13), Positions 88-90R/98-100R1, top stamps Type III, bottom stamps Type I, large margins to clear all around including bottom right corner sheet margins, tied by bold strikes of "San Francisco Cal. 21 Apr." circular datestamp on blue linen-lined envelope to Bersenbruck, Hanover, Germany, sender's directive "Per Prussian Closed Mail", manuscript magenta "60" at top was applied in San Francisco to indicate double 30¢ Prussian Closed Mail rate, partly readable red New York 14¢ credit datestamp struck on block, red "AACHEN 3/6 FRANCO" (June 3) framed datestamp--based on the dated markings, this was carried from San Francisco to Panama on the Pacific Mail Steamship Co. Sonora, departing April 21, 1856, and arriving May 5; the mail crossed the isthmus and was carried from Panama to New York on the U.S. Mail Steamship Co. George Law, departing May 7 and arriving May 16, too late for the May 14 Cunard sailing from New York, so it was sent to Boston for the May 21 departure of the Cunarder America, which arrived at Liverpool on June 1; from Great Britain it was sent to Aachen and entered the Prussian mail system--there are no backstamps

Very Fine; top stamps in block (Type III) slightly affected by envelope creasing caused by thick contents (which no longer accompany), and top right stamp small toned spot--utterly trivial flaws which actually serve to confirm the pristine nature of this recent discovery.

This is an extremely rare and breathtaking sheet-margin block of six of the 10¢ 1855 Issue from the bottom right corner of the right pane of Plate 1, containing three Type I positions--and its use on a cover from California to Germany is extraordinary. This cover was discovered in Europe in recent years and acquired by Mr. Gross in a 2011 auction in Europe. (Image)

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10¢ Green, Types IV-II-IV (16-14-16), Positions 74-76L1, horizontal strip of three, left and right stamps both Type IV--recut at top and bottom, respectively--center stamp Type II, three large margins, clear to barely touched at left, deep rich color, tied by "New Orleans La. Apr. 8, 1857" circular datestamps on address panel to Bordeaux, France, with one full back panel bearing all backstamps, sender's directive "pr st. ship of 15th", red "New York Paid 12 Apr. 18" 12¢ credit datestamp--missed the intended sailing of the Cunarder Asia on the 15th and carried on the Ocean Line's Washington, departing New York on April 18, 1857, and arriving at Southampton May 3--red "P.D." framed handstamp, French transit datestamp (May 4), "Paris a Bordeaux 5 Mai 57" and "Bordeaux 5 Mai 57" circular datestamps on back

Very Fine-Extremely Fine and rare combination strip with two Type IV stamps--a very attractive use to France.

The 1857 U.S.-France treaty set a fully prepaid rate of 15¢ per quarter-ounce, effective April 1, shortly before this was sent. The amount credited to other countries varied according to the ship used to convey the mail. In this case, the British Cunard steamer had already departed, so it was put on an American vessel; therefore, the credit was 6¢ of the 15¢, or in this case, a double credit of 12¢.

Ex Ryohei Ishikawa and Joseph Hackmey. (Image)

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