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| Lot | Sym. | Lot Description | Est/Cat | Realized |
| 1252° |  |
 U.S.P.O., Philadelphia Pa.,
1c Black (7LB18). Top and bottom margins scissors-cut with small trace
of 1c 1851 side ornaments at bottom, sides torn mostly clear of handstamp,
uncancelled, used on 3c Red Nesbitt entire to New York City, "Philadelphia
Pa. Feb. 21" (ca. 1856) circular datestamp, vertical fold thru embossed
stamp, carrier stamp lifted to remove surrounding gum smears (still "tied"
thru cover by brownish gum)VERY FINE ON-COVER EXAMPLE OF THE PHILADELPHIA U.S.P.O. DESPATCH CARRIER STAMP ON THE SHEET MARGIN OF THE ONE-CENT 1851 ISSUE. The Philadelphia carrier stamps printed on the sheet selvage of imperforate 1c 1851 stamps hold a unique position in United States philately. Elsewhere in the world there are very few instances in which sheet selvage was used to produce adhesive stamps -- the Emory Va. Confederate provisional and early stamps of Zanzibar come to mind as other examples. Two handstamps were used to create the Philadelphia carrier stamps: the Eagle oval (Scott type C31), which produced 7LB16, and the large oval (type C32), from which 7LB18 was made. These were probably necessary after supplies of the Eagle Carrier ran out in 1856. (Image) |
E. 3,000-4,000 | 2,400.00 |
| 1253° | |
 1c Blue, Ty. II (7).
Ample margins to slightly in at top, tied by "U.S.P.O.
Despatch/Pre-Paid/OneCent" double-oval handstamp on buff cover to
Philadelphia post office box number, stamp evidently precancelled with
grid, the grid is firmly struck and stops at the bottom edge of the
stamp, indicating it was applied before the stamp was affixed, Very Fine,
this is another piece of evidence supporting our theory that the
Philadelphia carrier department began using 1c 1851 stamps for carrier fees
when supplies of the Eagle Carrier ran out in 1856 (see article on Carriers
in The 1851 Issue of United States Stamps: a Sesquicentennial
Retrospective, U.S. Philatelic Classics Society), in this case the 1c
stamp was obviously precancelled by the carrier department before it was
applied, which suggests that at one point the carrier department
distributed 1c stamps for prepayment of carrier fees and precancelled them
to prevent the stamps from being used for regular postage, to prevent
accounting problems for the post office and carrier department, each of
which kept its own books -- a fascinating artifact of the period (Image) |
E. 1,000-1,500 | 1,200.00 |
| 1254° | |
 U.S.P.O.
Despatch/Pre-Paid/One Cent. Double-oval handstamp boldly struck in red,
3c Dull Red (11), ample margins to slightly in, tied by blue "Philadelphia
Pa. Dec. 26" circular datestamp on 1852 folded letter to Huntingdon Pa.,
Very Fine, a colorful and scarce combination of carrier marking and 3c 1851
Issue (Image) |
E. 500-750 | 650.00 |
| 1255° | |
 U.S.P.O.
Despatch/Pre-Paid/One Cent. Double-oval handstamp cancels pair of 3c
Dull Red, Ty. II (26) on large part of folded cover to New York City,
"Philadelphia Pa. Aug. 18" double-octagon datestamp, pair tied by docketing
and vertical file fold, Fine, very rare, ex Chapman, Emerson, Gibson and
Meyersburg (Image) |
E. 1,000-1,500 | 0.00 |
| 1256° | |
 U.S.P.O.
Despatch/Pre-Paid/One Cent. Double-oval handstamp and red "Paid"
handstamp on American Hotel buff corner card cover to local
addressee, backflap removed and slight crease, still Very Fine (Image) |
E. 300-400 | 425.00 |
| 1257° | |
 U.S.P.O.
Despatch/Pre-Paid/One Cent. Double-oval handstamp clearly struck on
cover to local street address, Very Fine
(Image) |
E. 200-300 | 200.00 |
| 1258° | |
 U.S.P.O.
Despatch/Pre-Paid/One Cent. Red double-oval handstamp boldly struck on
cover to local street address, with original enclosure datelined
"Germantown, School Lane, Feb. 5, 1853", Extremely Fine (Image) |
E. 300-400 | 275.00 |
| 1259° | |
 U.S.P.O.
Despatch/Pre-Paid/One Cent. Red double-oval handstamp on folded printed
notice for the American Academy of Music dated Oct. 7, 1853, to local
street address, Very Fine (Image) |
E. 200-300 | 160.00 |