Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc.

VERY FINE. ONE OF THE TWO FINEST COVERS BEARING THE RARE METROPOLITAN POST OFFICE "L. WILLIAMS" STAMP. ONLY FIVE EXAMPLES OF THIS FIRST ISSUE ARE RECORDED ON COVERS.

The Metropolitan Post Office (a private post despite the name) is believed to have been established just prior to January 1854 by Lemuel Williams, whose abbreviated name "L. Williams" and 162 Ninth Street address appear on the first octagonal stamp (108L1). Curiously, Williams is never identified with the Metropolitan Post Office nor any mail operation in the city directories. The 1854-55 and 1855-56 directories list William H. Laws as proprietor of the "Post Office" at 13 Bible House, which was located across from Williams' address. The 1856-59 directories list Laws at the same address, but the name "Metropolitan Post Office" is used. In 1859 Laws is listed with the business "Books", which suggests the end of his involvement with the post. A trade directory links Williams and Laws in a partnership at 162 Ninth Street. (Reference: Patton book, p. 228, and Perry correspondence).

Williams issued the first stamp, 108L1, but its great rarity and narrow range of usages (January-April 1854) suggest that his tenure was brief and the post was relatively inactive during that time. The 108L2 stamp -- from which Williams' name and address have been rubbed out -- is known used as early as July 8, 1854 (the cover offered in lot 1370), which points to the latest date for Williams's departure -- 1854 is also the directory year in which Laws first appears with the "Post Office" listing. The second of two recorded 108L2 erased-name covers (illustrated in Patton, p. 229) is postmarked June 17 and year-dated 1856, according to pencil receipt docketing. The June 17th cover has the "Metropolitan P.O." circular datestamp and "Paid/W. H. Laws" framed handstamp, which are typical of the 1856 local usages. These two erased-name usages present an anomaly: why would a stamp that was clearly a provisional issue -- necessary while Law had his own stamps printed -- be used in July 1854 and then again in June 1856, almost two years later? These are the only two covers known with 108L2, perhaps the report of additional examples will help solve this question.

The Blue 108L3A "13 American Bible House" stamp is recorded on three covers with March, April and June 1856 dates. The Red 108L3 "13 American Bible House" stamp is recorded on six different covers, but none is year-dated. Based on the use of "Metropolitan P.O." datestamps and the "Paid/W. H. Law" framed handstamp, they appear to be 1856 usages, covering a wide range of dates. The small 108L4-108L5 stamps came into use in early 1857 and carry through to 1859 -- the pattern of usages and "Express to Mail" label on these last two issues suggest that the post primarily (or exclusively) delivered mail to the post office in this later period.

In addition to the 108L2 erased-name question posed above, there is another obvious dating anomaly in our records. Between the January-July 1854 covers with 108L1-2 and the March 1856 covers with Laws 108L3-5 (and one 108L2) stamps, there is an inexplicable gap of 20 months, in which no known Metropolitan P.O. covers can be placed. We admit to making suppositions about some of the covers without year dates, but the sparse population of surviving covers from a post that was ostensibly functioning during the months between July 1854 and March 1856 cannot be explained by a few mis-dated covers. There is a long and as-yet unexplained void in the sequence of dated covers, and we suspect that the Metropolitan Post Office was inactive during this period.

Our records contain five examples of 108L1 on covers: 1) Jan. 2 (ca. 1854) New York datestamp (3c), stamp tied by pencil on Valentine cover to Petersham Mass., the cover offered here, 2) Jan. 17, 1854, tied by blue ms. foreign rate marking on folded letter to Greece, with strip of three 12c 1851 and 3c 1851, ex Middendorf (without question the greatest of all Metropolitan P.O. covers), 3) Jan. 27 (1854 content) New York datestamp ties 3c 1851, 108L1 cancelled by three ms. X's (not tied) on folded letter to Cornelius Baker & Co., Philadelphia, ex Needham, Boker, 4) Apr. 12 (1854 content) New York datestamp, 3c 1851 missing, 108L1 uncancelled on cover to So. Woodstock Vt., ex Middendorf, and 5) Apr. 12 (1854 content) New York datestamp ties 3c 1851, 108L1 uncancelled on folded letter to Cornelius Baker & Co., Philadelphia (same correspondence as No. 3 above), ex Needham, Boker. We are convinced of the genuineness of Nos. 1 and 2 above, the Needham covers (3 and 5) and ex-Middendorf cover (4) require careful examination.

Ex Worthington. (Image)

VERY FINE. ONE OF TWO RECORDED COVERS WITH THE RARE METROPOLITAN POST OFFICE STAMP, FROM WHICH WILLIAMS' NAME AND ADDRESS HAVE BEEN ERASED. USED PROVISIONALLY BY WILLIAM H. LAWS IN 1854.

As noted in the description of lot 1370, the July 8, 1854, cover offered here is the last recorded Metropolitan P.O. usage prior to March 20, 1856, leaving a gap of more than 1-1/2 years. At this later date we find the earliest datable cover bearing any of the "13 American Bible House" stamps issued by Laws. From 1856 through 1859 we find a sequence of dated covers without any substantial gaps. The question must be asked, why would an operative post produce no surviving covers for such a long period of time?

Lemuel Williams issued the first stamp, 108L1, but its great rarity and narrow range of usages (January-April 1854) suggest that his tenure was brief and the post was relatively inactive during that time. The 108L2 stamp -- from which Williams' name and address have been rubbed out -- was presumably used as a provisional after Laws took over in 1854, the directory year in which Laws first appears with the "Post Office" listing. The second of two recorded 108L2 erased-name covers (illustrated in Patton, p. 229) is postmarked June 17 and year-dated 1856, according to pencil receipt docketing. The June 17th cover has the "Metropolitan P.O." circular datestamp and "Paid/W. H. Laws" framed handstamp, which are typical of the 1856 local usages. As previously noted in our write-up of lot 1369, these two erased-name usages present an anomaly: why would a stamp that was clearly a provisional issue -- necessary while Law had his own stamps printed -- be used in July 1854 and then again in June 1856, almost two years later? These are the only two covers known with 108L2, perhaps the report of additional examples will help solve this question.

Ex Caspary. (Image)

VERY FINE. AN IMMACULATE TIED EXAMPLE OF THE RARE "W. H. LAW" METROPOLITAN POST OFFICE STAMP, OF WHICH ONLY SIX COVERS ARE RECORDED.

Although undated, it is our opinion that this cover could not have been mailed any earlier than 1856, based on the use of the "Metropolitan P.O." and "Paid/W. H. Laws" markings, as well as the worn impression of the 108L3 stamp. We record a total of six covers with 108L3, including five local usages with identical markings.

Ex Chapman, Caspary and Judd. (Image)