Part II - LOCALS A - G continued...
SPECIAL NOTE: Lot Numbers with an "A" preceding them will be offered in three special sessions. Please refer to the Arrangement of the Sale web page for the schedule.
| Lot | Lot Description | ||
| A | 977 |
 City Mail Co., New York N.Y.,
(2c) Black on Grayish (46L1). Huge margins all around, appears to be a
top left corner position, horizontal crease, uncancelled, used on May 15,
1845 folded letter to New York City Postmaster Robert H. Morris, red
"Overton & Co.'s City Mail, Office, 7 Broad Street" oval handstamp, red
crayon "0", the letter is a recommendation to appoint someone as a clerk in
the post officeEXTREMELY FINE APPEARANCE. ONLY THREE GENUINE COVERS BEARING THE CITY MAIL COMPANY STAMP ARE RECORDED -- ONLY FIVE EXAMPLES OF 46L1 EXIST ON OR OFF COVER. The City Mail Company was the successor to the New York office of Overton & Company, a letter-and-package express and foreign-mail forwarding agency founded by Richard Carleton Overton prior to July 3, 1844. The change in name was announced in the February 15, 1845, edition of the New York Daily Express and soon after the company's address changed from 3 Broad Street to 7 Broad Street. The handstamp on this cover shows the modified "3" appearing as a "7", reflecting the move. In 1844, Overton & Co. issued stamps for use on inter-city letters (Scott 113L1, see lots 1401-1404), these are recorded on covers from Aug. 1, 1844, through Jun. 30, 1845, the day before the independent mail carriers were forced out of business by the July 1845 postal laws. The City Mail Co. issued its own stamps for use on city-delivery letters at 2c each. It is thought that these stamps were issued after the February 1845 announcement of the new City Mail Company. The ex-Caspary folded letter dated Jun. 18, 1844, is an improbable 46L1 usage, inasmuch as it predates both the presumed issue date and the documented formation date of Overton & Company. Three covers in the proper time period are recorded with 46L1: 1) uncancelled on May 15, 1845 folded letter to Robert H. Morris, red "Overton & Co. City Mail Office 7 [modified] Broad St." oval, the cover offered here, 2) cancelled by red "Paid" (not tied, creased) on Sep. 15, 1845 folded letter to Cornelius W. Lawrence, red framed "City Mail Co. Office 6 Wall Street", ex Boker, and 3) repaired stamp cancelled by red "Paid" (not tied) on Oct. 15 (1845) folded letter to Mr. Mathews, red framed "City Mail Co. Office 6 Wall Street", ex Hunter, Worthington, Mason, Richardson, offered in the following lot. Counting the ex-Caspary cover as an off-cover stamp, the three genuine covers and the ex-Ferrary stamp (defective, off cover), we show a total of five examples of 46L1. Signed Sloane. (Image) |
E. 20,000-30,000 |
| A | 978 |
 City Mail Co., New York N.Y.,
(2c) Black on Grayish (46L1). Ample margins to touching, appears sound
but lifted, repaired and placed back in position, vivid red "Paid" cancel,
matching partly clear strike of "City Mail Co. Office 6 Wall Street" framed
handstamp on Oct. 15 (1845) folded letter to local street address, slight
soiling and wear along edgesFINE APPEARANCE. ONE OF THREE RECORDED COVERS BEARING THE CITY MAIL COMPANY STAMP, OF WHICH FIVE COPIES ARE KNOWN ON OR OFF COVER. ONLY TWO COVERS HAVE THE STAMP CANCELLED, BOTH BY THE VIVID RED "PAID". A VERY RARE AND IMPORTANT LOCAL POST USAGE. As noted in the previous description, after the ex-Caspary 46L1 cover dated Jun. 18, 1844, is removed from the record (an impossibly early usage), there remain just three covers used in the proper time period with the City Mail Co. stamp. Ex Hunter, Worthington, Mason and Richardson. (Image) |
E. 7,500-10,000 |
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