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1c Blue, Ty. Ia (19). Position 92L4, wide-spaced perforations at top and bottom, perfectly centered with wide margins at right and left, rich color, lightly cancelled by "Boston 18 Sep. Paid" circular datestampEXTREMELY FINE GEM. THIS IS WITHOUT QUESTION THE FINEST RECORDED SINGLE OF THE RARE 1857 ONE-CENT TYPE IA PERFORATED. VERY FEW EXIST WITH WIDE-SPACED PERFORATIONS.THIS IS WIDELY REGARDED AS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT USED CLASSIC UNITED STATES STAMPS IN EXISTENCE. THIS MAGNIFICENT STAMP HAS BEEN AWARDED THE GRADE OF SUPERB 98 JUMBO BY P.S.E.
Type Ia stamps were produced from 18 of the 20 bottom-row positions on Plate 4. After perforations were introduced in mid-1857, sheets on hand printed from Plates 1 Late and 2 were fed through the new perforating machine, but the narrow spaces between stamps made perforating difficult to accomplish without cutting into the designs. Plate 4 was produced in early 1857 when the introduction of perforations was anticipated; thus, it was entered from a new six-relief transfer roll, and the spaces between stamps were enlarged to allow for perforations. Some Plate 4 sheets were issued in imperforate form (April to June 1857), while the greater portion was issued perforated beginning in July 1857, along with perforated sheets from Plates 1L and 2.
Plate 4's most distinctive feature is that the top row (Positions 1-10L and 1-10R) was entered with the designs complete at top (Type II) and the bottom row (Positions 91-100L and 91-100R) was entered with designs complete or nearly complete at bottom (Types Ia and Ic). Although the plate layout provided sufficient space for perforations, the height of the top-row and bottom-row designs was larger than others in the sheet, which resulted in perforations cutting into either the top or bottom rows, depending on which direction the sheet was fed into the perforator. Type Ia and Ic stamps from the bottom row are almost always cut into at bottom, an unfortunate situation for collectors because the bottom part of the design is what makes Type Ia and Ic stamps desirable.
The exceptions to the normal cut-into condition of top-row and bottom-row Plate 4 stamps are those with wide-spaced perforations. It has been assumed for years that the pins of the bottom row of the perforator were reset to create more space, but some students of the 1851-57 Issue have begun to reexamine this aspect of Plate 4 production to seek alternative explanations for wide-spaced perforations. Whatever the cause, wide-spaced stamps are extremely rare and highly desirable, because they exhibit all of the features that define their respective types. The so-called Waterhouse strip (ex Sir Nicholas Waterhouse, Saul Newbury and Mortimer Neinken; illustrated on p. 280 of the Neinken book) is the most famous of 1c 1857 Type Ia wide-spaced examples. Although a small number of single wide-spaced stamps are recorded, the example offered in this sale is the best-centered and one of the few completely sound stamps. When it was acquired by the late Amos Eno decades ago, this extraordinary stamp realized ten times Scott Catalogue value. In 1993 our firm sold this stamp by private treaty to Robert Zoellner for the same multiple of Scott value. It also realized the same multiple of catalogue value when acquired by the present owner at the Shreve sale of the Hinrichs collection.
Ashbrook states: "I consider perforated Type IA stamps that are not touched by perforations as the rarest stamps in the 1857 perforated issue." (Neinken book, p. 279). The Scott Catalogue contains a footnote to the basic price quotes: "Copies of this stamp exist with perforations not touching the design at any point. Such copies command very high prices."
Ex Eno, Zoellner and Hinrichs. With 2004 P.F. and 2008 P.S.E. certificates (Superb 98 Jumbo; SMQ $180,000 as 98). The P.S.E. Population Report lists seven graded examples of Scott 19 (6 used, 1 OG). This Superb 98J is trailed by one 90 and four graded 40 or below (the OG copy is a 30).
