Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc. Sale

LOCALS continued...

**Berford & Co.'s Express (New York NY)**
Lot	Sym.	Lot Description
422		Berford & Co.'s Express, New York N.Y., 10c Violet, Horizontal Tete-Beche Pair (11L3a). Two pairs originally forming a block of four -- please refer to inset photo for relative positions -- large margins almost all around, just touching a few points of ovals, tied by one of six identical strikes of "B & Co./PAID" two-line handstamp in red on cover addressed "To Lieut. Rush, U.S. Ship 'St. Lawrence' Valparaiso", receipt docketing on back "270 Recd April 28th." and signed "W H Vincent", an 1852 usage based on another Berford & Co. cover from the Rush correspondence, the pair along the right edge has been removed and replaced (see history of the cover below), corner of cover nicked at lower left, the pair at top center has a light pre-use creased, the pair at right has a light bend from a fold in the cover VERY FINE. ONLY TWO COVERS BEARING THE BERFORD'S 10-CENT TETE-BECHE VARIETY ARE RECORDED, BOTH ADDRESSED TO LIEUTENANT RUSH AT VALPARAISO. THIS IS THE ONLY COVER WITH TWO TETE-BECHE PAIRS. ONE OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR OF ALL COVERS CARRIED BY A PRIVATE MAIL FIRM, COMBINING PHILATELIC RARITY AND POSTAL HISTORY SIGNIFICANCE INTO ONE EXTRAORDINARY USAGE. Richard G. Berford and Loring L. Lombard operated the Berford & Co. letter-carrying business beginning in 1851. Berford & Co.'s Express primarily served the West Coast of North, Central and South America, but also advertised rates to Hawaii, Hong Kong and China. Although their letter and package express business was fairly large, the adhesive stamps for letter mail are rare. During the course of their operation, there were several bitter clashes with the government over their mail route. The company is reported to have been sold in June 1854. Our records -- updated from the time of the Golden sale with one new unused single (lot ???) -- currently contain a total of seventeen 10c Berford & Co. stamps (11L3), but about half of these are represented by one normal pair and three tete-beche pairs (11L3a). There are actually just eight 11L3/11L3a items, including five covers and three off-cover stamps. These are as follows: 1) uncancelled on piece (or possibly a cover), Sloane records, 2) uncancelled off cover, faint stains, ex Middendorf, 3) uncancelled on cover to Gloucester Mass. with Loring Bros. Valparaiso forwarding oval, PFC declined opinion as to usage, Siegel Sep. 27-28, 1994 (Sale 761, lot 114), 4) uncancelled on cover from Bangor Me. to Chagres, described as 1853 usage in Sloane records, not verified, 5) four cut-to-shape singles on Jul.-Aug. 1852 cover to Paita, ex Golden (realized $15,000 hammer), 6) one normal pair and one tete-beche pair on cover to Valparaiso, ex Golden (realized $50,000), 7) two tete-beche pairs on cover to Valparaiso, ex Mason, the cover offered here, and 8) single with original gum, 1961 R.P.S. certificate, the stamp offered in lot ???. Four covers are recorded with Berford & Co. stamps paying the 40c rate, each addressed to the West Coast of South America, apparently originating in New York. This 40c prepaid rate was listed in the "Table of Postage" in Berford's June 17, 1851, New York Herald advertisement announcing the "New Postage Law". In the advertisement, the stamps (3c, 10c and 25c) are described and various rates are given, effective July 1, 1851. Obviously, Berford's was acting in response to the U.S. government postage reforms of the same date. This cover to Lieutenant Rush on board the U.S.S. St. Lawrence at Valparaiso, Chile, has a companion cover, dated March 21, 1852, with two 10c pairs, one of which is the tete-beche variety. It realized $50,000 hammer in our sale of the Golden collection in November 1999. The cover offered here was part of the Senator Ackerman collection. The album write-up by Elliott Perry indicates that Senator Ackerman acquired the cover in Europe with just the one pair at top center intact and the right edge of the cover folded over. Years later, the pair at right surfaced and was reunited with the cover. As shown here in the inset photo, the pairs join together to form a tete-beche block, creating a most unusual configuration. Ex Mason and Ackerman. (Image)	E. 50,000-75,000
423		Berford & Co.'s Express, New York N.Y., 10c Violet (11L3). Original gum, huge margins, minute thin specks and tiny corner crease EXTREMELY FINE APPEARANCE. ONE OF THREE OFF-COVER EXAMPLES OF THE BERFORD & CO. 10-CENT STAMP. A MAJOR RARITY AND POSSIBLY THE FINEST OFF-COVER EXAMPLE EXTANT. An updated census of Berford & Co. 10c stamps is provided in the previous lot. This example, with full original gum, was not among those listed in the Golden sale catalogue, and its existence was unknown to us until the Hall collection surfaced. It is a magnificent example of this rarity. With 1961 R.P.S. certificate. (Image)	E. 3,000-4,000
424		Berford & Co.'s Express, New York N.Y., 25c Red (11L4). Unused (no gum), ample margins just touching points in oval at top and bottom, bright color and very fresh, minute tear (no more than one millimeter) entirely in right margin, negligible faint corner crease at upper right VERY FINE. ONE OF TWO RECORDED EXAMPLES OF THE 25-CENT STAMP ISSUED BY BERFORD & CO.'S EXPRESS. THE OTHER IS CUT TO SHAPE AND USED ON COVER, MAKING THIS THE ONLY 25-CENT STAMP WITH RECTANGULAR MARGINS AND THE ONLY EXAMPLE AVAILABLE OFF COVER. ONE OF THE GREATEST RARITIES OF CARRIERS AND LOCALS. Berford & Co. advertised "A New Postage Law" in an advertisement dated June 16, 1851, published in the New York Herald of the following day. In this notice it was announced, "To facilitate the prepayment of postage upon letters and newspapers, postage stamps of the following denominations are provided... No. 1. Printed in red ink, on white paper, of the denomination of 25 cents. No. 2 Printed in purple ink, on white paper, of the denomination of 10 cents. No. 3. Printed in black ink, on white paper, of the denomination of 3 cents." A Table of Postage, effective July 1, 1851, was included in the notice, which listed prepaid rates of 3c, 6c, 10c, 40c and $1.00 for various destinations. Although there was no 25c rate specificied, this denomination was evidently deemed useful to make up Berford's different rates (a 6c was later added to the series). The new rates and release of stamps was an obvious attempt to compete with the U.S. Post Office Department, which announced revised rates and a new issue, also effective July 1, 1851. Of the 25c stamp, we record just two examples: the unused off-cover stamp offered here, ex Lilly, and the cover to Paita, Peru, with one 25c, two 6c and one 3c stamps (each cut to shape), which realized $50,000 hammer in our Golden sale in November 1999. Ex Lilly (where acquired by the Halls). Other than the cover, this is the first time a Berford & Co. 25c stamp has been offered since our 1967 Lilly sale. (Image)	E. 7,500-10,000

Berford & Co.'s Express (New York NY)

Lot

Sym.

Lot Description

422

Berford & Co.'s Express, New York N.Y., 10c Violet, Horizontal Tete-Beche Pair (11L3a). Two pairs originally forming a block of four -- please refer to inset photo for relative positions -- large margins almost all around, just touching a few points of ovals, tied by one of six identical strikes of "B & Co./PAID" two-line handstamp in red on cover addressed "To Lieut. Rush, U.S. Ship 'St. Lawrence' Valparaiso", receipt docketing on back "270 Recd April 28th." and signed "W H Vincent", an 1852 usage based on another Berford & Co. cover from the Rush correspondence, the pair along the right edge has been removed and replaced (see history of the cover below), corner of cover nicked at lower left, the pair at top center has a light pre-use creased, the pair at right has a light bend from a fold in the cover

VERY FINE. ONLY TWO COVERS BEARING THE BERFORD'S 10-CENT TETE-BECHE VARIETY ARE RECORDED, BOTH ADDRESSED TO LIEUTENANT RUSH AT VALPARAISO. THIS IS THE ONLY COVER WITH TWO TETE-BECHE PAIRS. ONE OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR OF ALL COVERS CARRIED BY A PRIVATE MAIL FIRM, COMBINING PHILATELIC RARITY AND POSTAL HISTORY SIGNIFICANCE INTO ONE EXTRAORDINARY USAGE.

Richard G. Berford and Loring L. Lombard operated the Berford & Co. letter-carrying business beginning in 1851. Berford & Co.'s Express primarily served the West Coast of North, Central and South America, but also advertised rates to Hawaii, Hong Kong and China. Although their letter and package express business was fairly large, the adhesive stamps for letter mail are rare. During the course of their operation, there were several bitter clashes with the government over their mail route. The company is reported to have been sold in June 1854.

Our records -- updated from the time of the Golden sale with one new unused single (lot ???) -- currently contain a total of seventeen 10c Berford & Co. stamps (11L3), but about half of these are represented by one normal pair and three tete-beche pairs (11L3a). There are actually just eight 11L3/11L3a items, including five covers and three off-cover stamps. These are as follows: 1) uncancelled on piece (or possibly a cover), Sloane records, 2) uncancelled off cover, faint stains, ex Middendorf, 3) uncancelled on cover to Gloucester Mass. with Loring Bros. Valparaiso forwarding oval, PFC declined opinion as to usage, Siegel Sep. 27-28, 1994 (Sale 761, lot 114), 4) uncancelled on cover from Bangor Me. to Chagres, described as 1853 usage in Sloane records, not verified, 5) four cut-to-shape singles on Jul.-Aug. 1852 cover to Paita, ex Golden (realized $15,000 hammer), 6) one normal pair and one tete-beche pair on cover to Valparaiso, ex Golden (realized $50,000), 7) two tete-beche pairs on cover to Valparaiso, ex Mason, the cover offered here, and 8) single with original gum, 1961 R.P.S. certificate, the stamp offered in lot ???.

Four covers are recorded with Berford & Co. stamps paying the 40c rate, each addressed to the West Coast of South America, apparently originating in New York. This 40c prepaid rate was listed in the "Table of Postage" in Berford's June 17, 1851, New York Herald advertisement announcing the "New Postage Law". In the advertisement, the stamps (3c, 10c and 25c) are described and various rates are given, effective July 1, 1851. Obviously, Berford's was acting in response to the U.S. government postage reforms of the same date.

This cover to Lieutenant Rush on board the U.S.S. St. Lawrence at Valparaiso, Chile, has a companion cover, dated March 21, 1852, with two 10c pairs, one of which is the tete-beche variety. It realized $50,000 hammer in our sale of the Golden collection in November 1999. The cover offered here was part of the Senator Ackerman collection. The album write-up by Elliott Perry indicates that Senator Ackerman acquired the cover in Europe with just the one pair at top center intact and the right edge of the cover folded over. Years later, the pair at right surfaced and was reunited with the cover. As shown here in the inset photo, the pairs join together to form a tete-beche block, creating a most unusual configuration.

Ex Mason and Ackerman. (Image)

E. 50,000-75,000

423

Berford & Co.'s Express, New York N.Y., 10c Violet (11L3). Original gum, huge margins, minute thin specks and tiny corner crease

EXTREMELY FINE APPEARANCE. ONE OF THREE OFF-COVER EXAMPLES OF THE BERFORD & CO. 10-CENT STAMP. A MAJOR RARITY AND POSSIBLY THE FINEST OFF-COVER EXAMPLE EXTANT.

An updated census of Berford & Co. 10c stamps is provided in the previous lot. This example, with full original gum, was not among those listed in the Golden sale catalogue, and its existence was unknown to us until the Hall collection surfaced. It is a magnificent example of this rarity.

With 1961 R.P.S. certificate. (Image)

E. 3,000-4,000

424

Berford & Co.'s Express, New York N.Y., 25c Red (11L4). Unused (no gum), ample margins just touching points in oval at top and bottom, bright color and very fresh, minute tear (no more than one millimeter) entirely in right margin, negligible faint corner crease at upper right

VERY FINE. ONE OF TWO RECORDED EXAMPLES OF THE 25-CENT STAMP ISSUED BY BERFORD & CO.'S EXPRESS. THE OTHER IS CUT TO SHAPE AND USED ON COVER, MAKING THIS THE ONLY 25-CENT STAMP WITH RECTANGULAR MARGINS AND THE ONLY EXAMPLE AVAILABLE OFF COVER. ONE OF THE GREATEST RARITIES OF CARRIERS AND LOCALS.

Berford & Co. advertised "A New Postage Law" in an advertisement dated June 16, 1851, published in the New York Herald of the following day. In this notice it was announced, "To facilitate the prepayment of postage upon letters and newspapers, postage stamps of the following denominations are provided... No. 1. Printed in red ink, on white paper, of the denomination of 25 cents. No. 2 Printed in purple ink, on white paper, of the denomination of 10 cents. No. 3. Printed in black ink, on white paper, of the denomination of 3 cents." A Table of Postage, effective July 1, 1851, was included in the notice, which listed prepaid rates of 3c, 6c, 10c, 40c and $1.00 for various destinations. Although there was no 25c rate specificied, this denomination was evidently deemed useful to make up Berford's different rates (a 6c was later added to the series). The new rates and release of stamps was an obvious attempt to compete with the U.S. Post Office Department, which announced revised rates and a new issue, also effective July 1, 1851.

Of the 25c stamp, we record just two examples: the unused off-cover stamp offered here, ex Lilly, and the cover to Paita, Peru, with one 25c, two 6c and one 3c stamps (each cut to shape), which realized $50,000 hammer in our Golden sale in November 1999.

Ex Lilly (where acquired by the Halls). Other than the cover, this is the first time a Berford & Co. 25c stamp has been offered since our 1967 Lilly sale. (Image)

E. 7,500-10,000