The Robert Zoellner Collection of the United States continued...

FINE-VERY FINE BLOCK. AN EXTREMELY RARE MULTIPLE OF THE EARLIEST GRILLED ISSUE, SENT TO POST OFFICES IN AUGUST 1867. ONLY A FEW BLOCKS REMAIN INTACT.

Ex Klein. With 1975 P.F. certificate (Image)

EXTREMELY FINE GEM. ONE OF THE FINEST USED EXAMPLES OF THE 3-CENT 1867 EXPERIMENTAL ALL-OVER GRILL. A PHENOMENAL STAMP.

The August 1867 3c experimental A Grill was the first grilled issue. It was soon learned that the all-over grill weakened the paper and interfered with perforating and separating, resulting in rough perforations and pieces torn out of the margins when split apart. Within two months of A Grill production the apparatus was modified by dividing the embossed area into small rectangular units within each stamp (C Grill).

The 3c A Grill, Scott 79, is one of the most distinctive of 19th century United States stamps by virtue of its consistently poor appearance. The Scott Catalogue values this stamp in Fine-Very Fine grade and with perforation faults, the norm for the issue. Any example with complete perforations and in sound condition is valued far in excess of the Scott Catalogue price. The Zoellner copy, which received a clear but not as heavy grill impression as usual--allowing the perfs to remain intact--realized $5,500 when sold by our firm in 1987.

With 1966 and 1987 P.F. certificates (Image)

FINE. THE FAMOUS COPY OF THE 1867 5-CENT ALL-OVER GRILL FROM THE HIND COLECTION. ONE OF FOUR RECORDED USED EXAMPLES OF THIS STAMP. AN IMPORTANT CLASSIC RARITY.

There are eight 5c A Grill stamps recorded in our census (see Appendix, p. 371), including four unused copies that originally formed a block of four owned by the Earl of Crawford. To answer the question of how many 5c A Grill stamps actually exist, we must first examine the Lord Crawford block, which has an interesting history.

The entire Earl of Crawford collection was purchased by Nassau Stamp Co. (John A. Klemann) in 1915. In a June 5, 1930, letter from Klemann to Philip H. Ward, one of the 5c A Grill stamps (Census No. 80-UNC-4) is described as follows: "The 5c copy was one of a block of four from the 'Lord Crawford' collection, purchased by this company and later broken into four single stamps. It was previously owned by an employee of the National Bank Note Company, Mr. Charles F. Steel." [Steel was the creator of the grilling process]. A digital reconstruction of this block is shown as Figure H on page 130. The stamps originating from the Earl of Crawford block have drawn inconsistent opinions over the years. The right vertical pair of stamps (Census Nos. 80-UNC-1 and 80-UNC-3) have been separately certified by the P.F. as genuine, while the upper left stamp was certified first as an essay (PFC 3170) and then as a counterfeit (PFC 36753). The lower left stamp--the same one described in the Klemann letter--has never been submitted to the Philatelic Foundation. It has a 1942 American Board of Experts certificate signed by Klemann, describing it as a genuine "5c Brown with essay grill covering the entire stamp", an opinion consistent with Klemann's knowledge of grilling and of the source block's origin. If the grills on the stamps from this block show the fractured points of the regularly-issued A Grill, not the pyramidal points of the essay, then all four stamps are Scott 80.

Of the four recorded used 5c A Grill stamps, two have identical shades, centering and cancellations. In fact, the two were originally joined as a pair and were used as singles together (see Appendix, p. 371). They are printed in a distinctive shade--sometimes called Black Brown--that is very scarce and found only on covers dated from late 1867 into 1868 (we have records of four covers from Oct 1867 to May 1868). It is likely that a small number of sheets from this late printing were available for grilling with the A Grill in 1867. The other two recorded 5c A Grills are in a brighter shade of Brown and must come from a different supply of 5c sheets printed earlier.

Ex Duveen, Hind and Isleham. With 1986 P.F. certificate (Image)

THE FINEST OF THE EIGHT RECORDED EXAMPLES OF THE 30-CENT 1867 ALL-OVER GRILL. AN OUTSTANDING RARITY OF CLASSIC UNITED STATES PHILATELY.

There are eight 30c A Grill stamps recorded in our census (see Appendix, p. 372), all centered to upper right and cancelled by a quartered cork (either two types or the same cancel showing wear). One of the eight is the New York Public Library's copy, which was stolen and recovered, but those responsible for finding a buyer for the stolen stamp added ink to the face to change its appearance. Excluding the NYPL copy, there are seven 30c A Grill stamps available to collectors. Six of the available stamps have missing or pulled perforations and/or margin defects. The Zoellner copy is remarkably sound with full perforations on all sides.

Ex Engel and Sheriff. With 1959 Colson certificate and 1959 P.F. certificate. Scott footnote indicates that the value of No. 81 varies from $15,000 to $50,000, depending on condition ("All are more or less faulty and/or off center"), therefore, Scott Retail in the finest condition is quoted for this example (Image)

AS FINE AS THIS GREAT RARITY EXISTS. ONE OF THE FOUR 3-CENT B GRILL STAMPS DISCOVERED TOGETHER ON COVER IN 1969, WHICH REMAIN THE ONLY EXAMPLES KNOWN TO PHILATELY.

The distinguishing characteristics of the true B Grill are its size--22 points wide by 18 points high (18 x 15 mm)--and the points-up orientation of the grill, which shows as a pyramidal (male) grill impression on the back. For years there was confusion over what constituted a B Grill, with Elliott Perry arguing that the partially-erased female C Grill (see lot 219) was the true B Grill. However, the four stamps discovered in 1969 on a cover to Germany, postmarked at Mason, Texas, in February 1869, disproved Perry's theory. These stamps are irrefutable evidence that an 18 x 15 millimeter male grill was used on stamps issued to the public. A photograph of the compplete cover as discovered is shown in the Appendix on page 373.

The deep reddish shade and thinner paper of the 3c B Grill stamps are more typical of the mid-1868 printings and quite different from the paler Rose shades and thick paper of the 1867 and early 1868 3c grilled issues (A, C, D, Z and some E production). The shade and paper indicate that the B Grill was implemented after the 1867 experimental period and after the first two months of regular 1868 grill production (see timeline on page 144). Perhaps the B Grill was created during the process of making a replacement grilling device for one of the two machines. The grilling surface must have worn during production of many thousands of sheets, and it seems likely that replacement grills would become necessary in mid-1868. Through miscalculation or possibly deliberate experimentation, the grill size per stamp on this new B Grill device was twice the width of the F Grill. Based on the small number of surviving copies, this wider grill must have been quickly modified or discarded. Sheets with the B Grill made their way into the regular supply and, in the case of the discovery examples, were used in early 1869.

Ex Isleham (acquired privately from Eugene Costales). With photo of 1969 P.F. certificate for cover and 1986 P.F. certificate (Image)

EXTREMELY FINE GEM BLOCK. PROBABLY UNIQUE AS AN IMPRINT BLOCK OF THE 3-CENT 1867 C GRILL. BREATHTAKING QUALITY AND AN IMPORTANT EXHIBITION ITEM OF THE EARLY GRILLED ISSUES.

Pencil signature "Tiffany" (John K. Tiffany) on back. Ex Caspary and Bechtel. With 1969 P.F. certificate (Image)

VERY FINE. THE FAMOUS AND UNIQUE PAIR SHOWING PARTIAL ERASURE OF GRILL POINTS BETWEEN TWO C GRILLS. THE FINEST EXAMPLE OF THIS RARE GRILL VARIETY.

The photo in Figure L shows the lower right corner of an imperforate but gummed blank sheet of paper with an impression from the C Grill plate or roller (from the Philatelic Foundation reference collection). For study purposes, position numbers are assigned when the sheet is viewed from the face, so that Pos. 1 and 2 (Left Pane) are at the upper left corner of sheet and 99-100 (Right Pane) are at the lower right corner. If a stamp sheet were laid face up on the grill with the same orientation, the position numbers of the stamps would match the grills (stamps 1-2L receive grills 1-2L). If the stamp sheet were placed face down with the same orientation, then the numbers would be transposed (stamps 1-2 would receive grills 9-10). If the sheet were turn 180 degrees but kept face up, then Pos. 1-2L would receive grill Pos. 99-100R, which is what happened in this case.

In a few areas of the C Grill (Positions 99-100R, 89-90R, 79-80R, 68-69R and 1-2L, 11-12L, 21-22L and 31-32L), the points between grills were insufficiently planed away or erased when the A Grill was converted to the smaller C Grill. As a result, some of the stamps from the C Grill have grills measuring approximately 18 mm wide. These so-called Partially Erased C Grill stamps are very rare, and the pair offered here is the only recorded multiple with original gum showing a pronounced partial erasure.

Based on the blank C Grill sheet, it can be determined that Pos. 1-2L on the grilling device could not produce the impressions on this pair. Rather, the sheet was turned 180 degrees so that Pos. 1-2L stamps received Pos. 99-100R grills. These positions on the grill show very pronounced points that were not erased.

Illustrated and discussed in Chronicle 105. With 1976 P.F. certificate (Image)

VERY FINE. AN OUTSTANDING C GRILL MULTIPLE USED AT A VERY EARLY DATE. PROBABLY THE EARLIEST TRANSATLANTIC USE OF THE STAMP.

This cover is the finer and earlier of two recorded covers from the same correspondence with strips of five of the 3c C Grill. In our opinion this is the most outstanding C Grill cover extant. Scott Retail for two pairs and single off cover is $5,150.00 (Image)