The Lake Shore Collection of United States Stamps and Covers continued...

THE ONLY RECORDED EXAMPLE OF THE 1867 5-CENT ALL-OVER GRILL ESSAY WITH POINTS DOWN. ONE OF FIVE RECORDED UNUSED EXAMPLES OF THIS ESSAY IN EITHER ORIENTATION.

There are eight 5c A Grill Points Up stamps recorded in our census (see Zoellner Appendix or http://siegelauctions.com/enc/census/80/80.htm) -- four used and four unused copies that originally formed a block of four owned by the Earl of Crawford. The stamp offered here is a ninth example and the only one known to us with the grill points impressed downward into the face of the stamp.

The 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, a history of the unused block was provided: "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]. 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-01 and 80-UNC-03) 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 (Siegel Sale 869, lot 3067) was submitted in 2003 to the Philatelic Foundation and declared to be an all-over essay grill. It previously had 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.

Of the four recorded used 5c A Grill stamps, two have identical shades, centering and cancellations. In fact, the two of the same shade were originally joined as a pair and were used as singles together. 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 October 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.

Two of the four unused 5c A Grill stamps from the Earl of Crawford block were previously certified as genuine Scott 80's by the Philatelic Foundation. However, the 2003 P.F. classification of one stamp from the block as an essay obviously means that if the other stamps from the block are re-certified, the P.F. will have to be consistent and describe them as essays. The stamp offered here has a strongly-impressed all-over grill with male pyramidal bosses clearly defined on the face of the stamp. Its centering and shade are identical to the stamps from the ex-Earl of Crawford block, and it is likely that it originates from the same grilling trial.

With 1979 P.F. certificate (Image)

VERY FINE APPEARANCE. AN EXTREMELY RARE 1868 GRILLED ISSUE FRANKING FOR THE TRIPLE 28-CENT RATE TO INDIA VIA SOUTHAMPTON.

This cover was carried on the Cunarder Cuba from New York, May 19, arriving in Queenstown on May 29. (Image)