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47 Selected Lots, Page 1 of 5
General/Issue
Date
15c Brown & Blue, Ty. II (119). Block of four, original gum, lightly hinged, rich colors, centered to bottomFINE AND RARE ORIGINAL-GUM BLOCK OF THE 1869 PICTORIAL 15-CENT TYPE II.
With 2000 P.S.E. certificate. Scott value $16,500.00
15c Brown & Blue, Ty. II (119). Block of 20 with right sheet margin and color registration markers, Positions 46-50/56-60/66-70/76-80, marvelous rich colors and impression, slightly disturbed original gum, h.r., centered to bottom right, perf separations sensibly reinforced, creases affect center two rowsONE OF THE LARGEST 15-CENT TYPE II 1869 PICTORIAL BLOCKS IN EXISTENCE. THIS BLOCK ORIGINALLY COMES FROM THE UNUSED BLOCK OF FIFTY, WHICH WAS LAST SEEN INTACT IN THE 1920s AND WAS BROKEN INTO SMALLER UNITS SOME TIME AGO.
The 1869 Pictorial Issue was a transformative set of stamps created during a period of historic transition. With their novel shapes and imagery, they reflected the choice of President Johnson's postmaster general, Alexander Randall, but they were inherited by Grant's new postmaster general, John A. J. Creswell. In the midst of Reconstruction's political controversies, the 1869s were spurned by the public and quickly replaced with the 1870 Issue, bearing traditional portraits of statesmen, war heroes and Founding Fathers.
The four 1869 high values were printed in two colors. The 15c vignette is an engraving by Smillie, based on Balch's engraving from an 1839 oil painting entitled Landing of Columbus by John Vanderlyn.
We record four intact unused blocks of 20, as follows:
1) With left selvage, ex Wingate (Sale 1180, lot 174)
2) Bottom right corner selvage with blue imprint and plate no. 23, ex previous Rarities sales (including 1977), Walske and Dr. Heimburger (Sale 1054, lot 441)
3) Bottom right corner selvage with blue imprint and plate no. 23, originally a block of 33, reduced to the block of 20 sometime after our 1966 Stern sale (Sale 309, lot 144), ex Gross (Sale 1200, lot 102)
4) Right selvage with plate marker, centered to bottom right, from the block of 50 shown in Rose book (fig. 159, p. 122), ex Walske, 1999 Rarities sale (Sale 811, lot 120), the block offered here
Scott value as four blocks of four and two pairs is $78,000.00
15c Brown & Blue, Ty. II (119). Block of four with color registration markers right selvage, original gum, three stamps lightly hinged, rich colors, perfs touching at bottomFINE AND RARE ORIGINAL-GUM BLOCK OF THE 1869 15-CENT TYPE II. ESPECIALLY DESIRABLE WITH THE COLOR REGISTRATION MARKERS.
Scott value $16,500.00
15c Brown & Blue, Ty. II (119). Horizontal block of six, full original gum, intense colors and impressions, small closed tear in bottom left stampFINE AND WONDERFULLY FRESH BLOCK OF SIX WITH ORIGINAL GUM.
Ex Caspary, Bechtel, Zoellner and Curtis. With 1998 P.F. certificate. Scott value $22,500.00 for block and pair
15c Brown & Blue, Ty. II (119). Block of 20 with right sheet margin and color registration markers, Positions 46-50/56-60/66-70/76-80, marvelous rich colors and impression, slightly disturbed original gum, h.r., centered to bottom right, perf separations sensibly reinforced, creases affect center two rowsONE OF THE LARGEST 15-CENT TYPE II 1869 PICTORIAL BLOCKS IN EXISTENCE. THIS BLOCK ORIGINALLY COMES FROM THE UNUSED BLOCK OF FIFTY, WHICH WAS LAST SEEN INTACT IN THE 1920s AND WAS BROKEN INTO SMALLER UNITS SOME TIME AGO.
The 1869 Pictorial Issue was a transformative set of stamps created during a period of historic transition. With their novel shapes and imagery, they reflected the choice of President Johnson's postmaster general, Alexander Randall, but they were inherited by Grant's new postmaster general, John A. J. Creswell. In the midst of Reconstruction's political controversies, the 1869s were spurned by the public and quickly replaced with the 1870 Issue, bearing traditional portraits of statesmen, war heroes and Founding Fathers.
The four 1869 high values were printed in two colors. The 15c vignette is an engraving by Smillie, based on Balch's engraving from an 1839 oil painting entitled Landing of Columbus by John Vanderlyn.
We record four intact unused blocks of 20, as follows:
1) With left selvage, ex Wingate (Sale 1180, lot 174)
2) Bottom right corner selvage with blue imprint and plate no. 23, ex previous Rarities sales (including 1977), Walske and Dr. Heimburger (Sale 1054, lot 441)
3) Bottom right corner selvage with blue imprint and plate no. 23, originally a block of 33, reduced to the block of 20 sometime after our 1966 Stern sale (Sale 309, lot 144), ex Gross (Sale 1200, lot 102)
4) Right selvage with plate marker, centered to bottom right, from the block of 50 shown in Rose book (fig. 159, p. 122), ex Walske, 1999 Rarities sale (Sale 811, lot 120), the block offered here
The block of 20, ex Worthington and Caspary, has been broken. Apart from the two plate blocks above, there is only one other plate number block (of six, ex Wunderlich).
Scott value as four blocks of four and two pairs is $78,000.00
A truly astounding block of twenty of the 15¢ Type II 1869 Pictorial Issue--one of only two recorded blocks with the full imprint and plate numberDESCRIPTION
15¢ Brown & Blue, Type II (119), Positions 66-70/76-80/86-90/96-100, block of 20 from bottom right side of sheet of 100 with "NATIONAL BANK NOTE CO. NEW YORK" imprint and "No. 23" plate number in Blue (vignette plate), alignment markers in Brown and Blue at bottom left, original gum, lightly hinged, beautiful rich colors and sharp impressions, centered to bottom right but the extra wide selvage nicely balances the overall appearance
PROVENANCE
As block of 33: Rep. Ernest R. Ackerman (according to Chapin)
Francis E. Stern, Siegel Auction Galleries, 12/7-8/1966, Sale 309, lot 144
As block of 20: "Mid-Western Collector," Siegel Auction Galleries, 4/6-7/1972, Sale 410, lot 690
John C. Chapin (collection sold privately to Shreves and then to William H. Gross, 2002)
CENSUS, LITERATURE AND EXHIBITION REFERENCES
Chapin census no. 346 (illustrated on page 25)
CERTIFICATION
The Philatelic Foundation (1972)
CONDITION NOTES
Very Good-Fine; intact and sound (remarkable for a block of this size)
SCOTT CATALOGUE VALUE (2019)
$90,000.00 for plate block of 8, two blocks and two pairs
HISTORY AND COMMENTARY
The Bicolored 1869 Pictorial Stamps
The 1869 Pictorial Issue was a transformative set of stamps created during a period of historic transition. With their novel shapes and imagery, they reflected the choice of President Johnson's postmaster general, Alexander Randall, but they were inherited by Grant's new postmaster general, John A. J. Creswell. In the midst of Reconstruction's political controversies, the 1869s were spurned by the public and quickly replaced with the 1870 Issue, bearing traditional portraits of statesmen, war heroes and Founding Fathers.
The four 1869 high values were printed in two colors. The 15¢ vignette is an engraving by Smillie, based on Balch's engraving from an 1839 oil painting entitled Landing of Columbus by John Vanderlyn.
We record four intact unused blocks of 20, as follows:
1) With left selvage, ex Wingate (Sale 1180, lot 174)
2) Bottom right corner selvage with blue imprint and plate no. 23, ex previous Rarities sales (including 1977), Walske and Dr. Heimburger
3) Bottom right corner selvage with blue imprint and plate no. 23, originally a block of 33, reduced to the block of 20 sometime after our 1966 Stern sale (Sale 309, lot 144), offered in this sale
4) Right selvage with plate marker, centered to bottom right, from the block of 50 shown in Rose book (fig. 159, p. 122), 1999 Rarities sale (Sale 811, lot 120)
The block of 20, ex Worthington and Caspary, has been broken. Apart from the two plate blocks above, there is only one other plate number block (of six, ex Wunderlich).
15c Brown & Blue, Ty. II (119). Block of nine, part disturbed original gum, rich colors, choice centering, few gum soaks, few flaws including bottom right stamp piece out and repairedVERY FINE APPEARANCE. A SCARCE AND IMPRESSIVE UNUSED BLOCK OF NINE OF THE 15-CENT TYPE II 1869 PICTORIAL ISSUE.
Ex Price. Scott Retail as block of four, two pairs and a single $34,000.00
15c Brown & Blue, Ty. II (119). Block of twenty with left sheet margin and part of dividing guide at lower left, Positions 11-15/41-45 in sheet of 100 (left pane, second thru fifth rows), marvelous rich colors and impression, extraordinarily well-centered throughout, the upper half of the block is Extremely Fine, original gum, Positions 21-24 and 31-34 are Mint N.H., faint crease affects Positions 31-34 (second row from bottom) and 41 (bottom left), Positions 42 and 43 small creases, minor hinge remnants or disturbance on a few stamps in top and bottom rows, few minor perf separations sensibly reinforcedFINE-VERY FINE. A BLOCK OF 20 IS THE LARGEST RECORDED MULTIPLE OF THE 15-CENT TYPE II 1869 PICTORIAL ISSUE. A WONDERFUL SHOWPIECE.
There are no more than five known unused blocks of 20, as follows:
1) Block of 20 with selvage at left, from our 2002 Rarities sale, the block offered here
2) Bottom right corner selvage with imprint and plate no., ex previous Rarities sales (including 1977), Walske and Heimburger
3) Block of 20 with bottom right selvage and imprint and plate no. 23, centered strongly to bottom and right, originally a block of 33 and reduced in size to a block of 20 sometime after our 1966 Stern sale (Siegel Sale 309, lot 144)
4) Block of 20 with right sheet selvage, ex Worthington and Caspary
5) Block of 20, centered to bottom right, offered in our 1999 Rarities sale
With 2002 P.F. certificate. Scott Retail as four blocks of four and two pairs
15c Brown & Blue, Ty. II (119). Block of four, original gum, h.r., rich colors, bottom stamps horizontal crease at bottom, top left stamp small natural gum bend at bottom leftFINE APPEARANCE. A SCARCE ORIGINAL-GUM BLOCK OF FOUR OF THE 15-CENT TYPE II 1869 PICTORIAL ISSUE.
Blocks of this issue tend to be wildly off-center, with perfs heavily cutting into the design. The example offered here has better centering than most.
Ex Frelinghuysen. Scott Retail $18,000.00
15c Brown & Blue, Ty. II (119). Block of four, original gum, h.r., rich colors, bottom stamps horizontal crease at bottom, top left stamp small natural gum bend at bottom leftFINE APPEARANCE. A SCARCE ORIGINAL-GUM BLOCK OF FOUR OF THE 15-CENT TYPE II 1869 PICTORIAL ISSUE.
Blocks of this issue tend to be wildly off-center, with perfs heavily cutting into the design. The example offered here has better centering than most.
Ex Frelinghuysen. Scott Retail $18,000.00
47 Selected Lots , Page 1 of 5
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