VERY FINE. ONE OF FOUR RECORDED COVERS SHOWING CONJUNCTIVE USE OF BRAINARD & COMPANY'S BLACK ADHESIVE AND HALE'S SERVICE TO PHILADELPHIA.
We record four Brainard & Co. 5c Black 24L1 covers from Albany to Cornelius & Co. in Philadelphia, each of which involved conjunctive service between Brainard (Albany to New York City) and Hale (New York City to Philadelphia). The dates are July (docketed "Jul/44"), Sep. 3 (the cover offered here), Sep. 9 and Nov. 26 (with two Brainard stamps). In three cases, the Brainard stamp paid half of the postage, and the other half (Hale's share) was represented by a "6" due marking and Hale's Collect box. The Nov. 26 cover (ex Peltz) bears two Black 24L1 stamps for both rates involved and no due marking, which corroborates the genuine double-rate franking and the three single frankings (half prepaid, half unpaid).
Illustrated in the Independent Mails book (p. 275) and Gutman's Hale & Co. book (p. 252).
EXTREMELY FINE. A COLORFUL AND EXTREMELY RARE TRIPLE CONJUNCTIVE USAGE, INVOLVING POMEROY'S LETTER EXPRESS (WITH ADHESIVE FRANKING), HALE & COMPANY, AND H. T. CROFOOT.
This beautiful cover demonstrates one of the most interesting aspects of the Independent Mail system in 1844-45: the cooperation among different firms to provide service between two distant locations. It was carried by Pomeroy's Letter Express from Geneva to Albany, where it was handed over to Hale & Co. for the eastbound trip to Boston and from there to Newburyport. Hosea T. Crofoot, a bookbinder and expressman, had an agreement with Hale to carry mail between Boston and Newburyport. The pair of Pomeroy's Letter Express stamps included their fee (one stamp) and the fee charged by Hale. Presumably Crofoot was compensated for his services out of the postage Hale received.
Very few covers exist that show three Independent Mail companies' service -- so-called triple conjunctive usage -- and this cover with the Pomeroy's Letter Express pair is regarded as one of the most beautiful. A similar Pomeroy/Hale/Crofoot cover, except stamped with both Pomeroy and Hale adhesives, was sold for $23,000 hammer in our sale of the Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito collection (Sale 1214, lot 270).
Ex Stephen A. Brown, Frank A. Hollowbush, Pitt Petri ("Buffalo" collection) and David L. Jarrett. Illustrated in Independent Mails book (pp. 88 and 230).
VERY FINE. AN OUTSTANDING STRIKE OF THE HALE & COMPANY BROOKLYN EAGLE OVAL MARKING AND THE ONLY ONE KNOWN WITH THE "MAILED LATE" MARKING.
Illustrated in the Independent Mails book (p. 281)