Sale 1216 — The Ambassador J. William Middendorf II Collection
Sale Date — Tuesday, 25 February, 2020
Category — 3c-90c 1857 Perforated Issue
3c Claret, Ty. II (25A). Lovely rich color, unusually well-balanced margins, neat circular datestamp cancel leaves the vignette fully visibleEXTREMELY FINE. A SCARCE SOUND AND CENTERED EXAMPLE OF THIS BETTER 3-CENT 1857 TYPE, WHICH HAS RECUT INNER LINES.
With 2012 P.F. certificate (VF-XF 85). By way of comparison, P.S.E. has awarded only seven grade 85’s for Scott 25A -- the highest grade awarded
5c Brick Red (27). Used with vertical pair of 1c Blue, Ty. V (24), also single 3c Dull Red, Ty. III (26) and block of four and single 10c Green, Ty. V (35), cancelled or tied by “Tolono Ill. Dec. 13” circular datestamp mostly on back of cover to Duisburg, Prussia, Germany, red “N. York Am. Pkt. Paid 14 Dec. 17” 14c credit datestamp, red boxed “Aachen Franco” datestamp, flap opened causing tear in 1c, 5c and top right 10c stamps, opened for displayVERY FINE APPEARANCE. AN IMPRESSIVE FRANKING INCLUDING THE 5-CENT BRICK RED TO PAY THE DOUBLE 30-CENT PRUSSIAN CLOSED MAIL RATE TO PRUSSIA.
With 2014 P.F. certificate
5c Red Brown (28). Horizontal pair and single, typical 1856 shade (prior to 1858 Red Brown printing), perfs scissors-separated in places but intact including portion of adjoining stamps to right of pair, tied by two strikes of “New Orleans La. Nov. 13, 1857” circular datestamp on blue folded cover to Paris, France, red “New York Paid 12 Nov. 25” 12c credit circular datestamp, boxed “P.D.” handstamp and French transit and arrival datestamps, small tear at bottom of cover and minor stain at right, Very Fine
5c Brown, Ty. II (30A). Used with 1c Blue, Ty. V (24), Position 18L10 and 10c Green, Ty. V (35), s.e. at right, 5c and 10c tied by red grid cancels, matching strike on 1c, red “N. York Paid 10 Hamb. Pkt. Apr. 15” (1861) 10c credit datestamp on cover to Berlin, Prussia, neat “FRANCO” handstamp at lower left, Hamburg and receiving backstamps, 1c light creases, 5c tiny tear at top, still Very Fine, colorful and scarce combination to pay the 15c rate by Hamburg Packet plus 1c carrier fee, ex Neinken and Wagshal
5c Orange Brown (30). Used with 10c Green, Ty. V (35) and 30c Orange (38), cancelled or tied by red grids, matching “New York Paid 18 Jul. 13” (1861) 18c credit circular datestamp on blue folded cover to Lyon, France, sender’s ship-name directive “Depart par steamer Hammonia” at top and carried aboard that HAPAG vessel, transit and receiving backstamps, file crease thru 5c and 10c stamps, appears Very Fine, a colorful triple-rate franking, covers from this correspondence are more commonly found with the 5c Ty. II Brown (Scott 30A), this is a far more desirable example franked with the Orange Brown, which is much scarcer on cover, ex Frelinghuysen, with 2012 P.F. certificate
10c Green, Ty. V (35). Positions 66-70/76-80/86-90/96-100R2, block of 20 with bottom right corner sheet selvage, original gum, few h.r., bright color, few perf separations sensibly reinforced, few patches of missing gum at top and bottom and with few thin spots, Position 79, small perf flawFINE-VERY FINE APPEARANCE. A SCARCE AND HIGHLY-EXHIBITABLE ORIGINAL-GUM BLOCK OF 20 OF THE 1857 10-CENT TYPE V.
The largest known multiple is a block of 42 from the bottom left of Plate 2, followed by a block of 40 from the right pane of the plate (with no selvage). Blocks of nine and twelve are also known. The block of 20 offered here is one of the largest multiples.
Ex Frelinghuysen. Several with Colson backstamp. Scott Retail as four blocks of four and two pairs does not adequately convey the rarity of this large multiple
90c Blue (39). Block of six, unused (no gum), straight edge at left, deep rich color and proof-like impression, far nicer centering than normally seenEXTREMELY FINE. A RARE AND BEAUTIFUL UNUSED BLOCK OF SIX OF THE 1860 90-CENT ISSUE.
The 90c stamp was issued in 1860, along with the 24c and 30c values, all of which were needed to prepay high international letter rates established by various postal treaties. When supplies of current postage stamps were declared invalid in the South and ultimately demonetized by the Federal government, the 90c had been in use for only one year. Most unused multiples probably come from supplies recovered from Southern post offices.
Since the breakup of the Caspary block of 21, the largest recorded multiple is a block of nine (three known).
Scott Retail as original-gum block of four and pair $81,250.00.
90c Blue (39). Reconstructed block of five consisting of horizontal strip of three and a horizontal pair, interpane margin and centerline at right, cancelled by neat magenta wavy-line manuscript cancel, few flaws including right stamps with defective perfs, few small thin spotsVERY FINE APPEARANCE. THE CELEBRATED RECONSTRUCTED USED BLOCK OF FIVE OF THE
90-CENT 1860 ISSUE.
The 90c stamp was issued in 1860, along with the 24c and 30c values, all of which were needed to prepay high international letter rates established by various postal treaties. The basic 24c and 30c rates to England, France and Germany created a large volume of mail franked with those values. However, the 90c saw much more limited use, partly due to the rates in effect, but more because of the American Civil War. When supplies of current postage stamps were declared invalid in the South and ultimately demonetized by the Federal government, the 90c had been in use for only one year. For this reason, genuinely cancelled copies and covers bearing the 90c are extremely rare.
This reconstructed block has a fascinating history. The top strip of three was originally in the collection of Henry C. Needham where it was marked as “used from Shanghai,” but on what basis we do not know. The strip then passed into the collection of Representative Ernest Ackerman, and in 1922 it was purchased by Stanley B. Ashbrook. In the summer of 1940, the bottom pair was discovered in the stock of noted dealer Philip Ward, who had owned it for some years after acquiring it from George Walcott. Ashbrook purchased the pair from Ward and rejoined the two multiples.
Based on the start of the wavy-line manuscript cancel partway through the stamps and the straight edge at right, Ashbrook did not think that any other stamps were part of this multiple as used on the original package. If no other stamps were present, this would have paid ten-times the 45c rate by British Mail via Marseille. The block on piece offered in Siegel Sale 1000 (lot 1036) has a Hong Kong backstamp, which corroborates Ashbrook’s theory about this block.
The strip ex Needham and Ackerman. The pair ex Walcott. The reconstructed block ex Ashbrook, Neinken, Ishikawa and DuPuy. With 1971 and 1993 P.F. certificates. Accompanied by Ashbrook’s original album page as well as his explanation of its history.
90c Blue (39). Used on piece of blue cover with horizontal pair and single of 3c Dull Red, Ty. III (26), 10c Green, Ty. V (35) and 12c Black, Plate 1 (36), all stamps tied by Boston large “Paid” grid cancels, each slightly overlapping, piece shows part of address and red London transit datestamp, stamps with few trivial faultsVERY FINE APPEARANCE. THIS IS THE LARGEST RECORDED PIECE BEARING THE 90-CENT 1860 ISSUE. AN EXCELLENT ALTERNATIVE TO A FULL COVER.
The highest value of the 1851-60 series--the 90c stamp with a portrait of the youthful George Washington in military uniform--was issued in 1860 (earliest recorded use is September 11). Its use was limited by the high denomination and the stamp’s relatively short life, due to the demonetization of all United States stamps in August 1861, a measure designed to preclude the sale of stamps originating in rebel states’ post offices. There are just seven recorded complete covers with the 90c 1860 (see Sale 1211, lot 333, for a list of the seven covers).
The total postage present on this piece is $1.21. We believe an additional 1c stamp was originally on the cover, making a $1.22 quadruple 33c rate, and probably addressed to Edwin Howland at the Cape of Good Hope.
Signed and dated by Ashbrook (Dec. 19, 1955). With 1956 and 2011 P.F. certificates. Ex Krug, Haas, Rose and DuPuy.