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| Lot | Sym. | Lot Description | Est/Cat | Realized |
| 1285° |  |
 Beesley's Express Post, Utica
N.Y. Three-line handstamp "BEESLEY'S/EXPRESS/PAID." perfectly struck in
red on Valentine cover to local Utica street address, beautiful
bronze design on front and back of envelope, with a splendid Valentine
enclosure (almost certainly original to the cover), lace panel with
hand-colored design, paste-on decorations and poem, some toned spots,
Extremely Fine, an outstanding Valentine usage, Hahn reported only one
known example of this small three-line Beesley's Express marking (sold in
our Sale 896 for $2,600 hammer), this wonderful cover was apparently
unknown to him (Image) |
E. 2,000-3,000 | 2,000.00 |
| 1286° |
 Bentley's Dispatch, New York
N.Y., (unstated value) Gold (10L2). Large margins, lightly inked but
clearly impressed "Paid" cancel, small scuff in enamel surface at
topEXTREMELY FINE APPEARANCE. A CHOICE EXAMPLE OF THE RARE BENTLEY'S 10L2 STAMP WITH "PAID" CANCEL. ONLY SIX OF THE SEVEN RECORDED STAMPS ARE AVAILABLE TO COLLECTORS. Ex Schwartz. (Image) |
7,500.00 | 0.00 | |
| 1287° | |
 Berford & Co.'s Express, New
York N.Y., 6c Green (11L2). Large margins to ample at top, tied by ink
smear on blue folded letter datelined "Kingston, Jamaica, Monday morning
29 Sepr. 1851" from Richard Hitchins to Henry Hitchins in New York
City, address panel headed "Jamaica" and ship designation "p
Ohio" at lower left, pencil "66 South St." street address in
another hand, probably applied by Berford's New York office, some aging and
splits along folds, stamp has sealed tear at left caused by ink
erosionFINE APPEARANCE. ONE OF THREE CONFIRMED COVERS BEARING THE EXTREMELY RARE BERFORD & COMPANY 6-CENT GREEN. Richard G. Berford and Loring L. Lombard operated the Berford & Co. letter-carrying business beginning in 1851. Berford & Co.'s Express primarily served the West Coast of North, Central and South America, but also advertised rates to Hawaii, Hong Kong, China and other places. Although their letter and package express business was fairly large, the adhesive stamps for letter mail are rare. During the course of their operation, there were several bitter clashes with the government over their mail route. The company is reported to have been sold in June 1854. We record the following seven 6c (11L2) stamps, on or off cover: 1) cancelled by colorless impression of handstamp on cover marked "Jamaica", same correspondence as the cover offered here, ex Caspary, Boker, 2) uncancelled off cover, ex Souren, 3) tied by smudge on Sep. 29, 1851 folded letter from Jamaica to N.Y., the cover offered here, ex Worthington, 4) uncancelled on cover to the Mayor of Albany, Siegel Jun. 20, 1944 sale (the status of this cover is uncertain), 5) cut to shape on Aug. 1852 cover to Paita, ex Chapman, Mason, Horner, Golden, D.K. Collection, 6) cut to shape on same Aug. 1852 cover to Paita as No. 5, and 7) creased, uncancelled, on piece (or possibly on cover), Sloane records. A 10c rate to the British West Indies was listed in the "Table of Postage" in Berford's June 17, 1851, New York Herald advertisement announcing the "New Postage Law". The same ad listed 6c prepaid rates to certain California towns and a 3c prepaid rate to Chagres or Panama. Evidently the cover offered here and a similar cover from the same correspondence (ex Caspary) were prepaid 6c from Kingston, Jamaica. In the advertisement, the stamps (3c, 10c and 25c) are described and various rates are given, effective July 1, 1851. Obviously, Berford's was acting in response to the U.S. government postage reforms of the same date. According to http://www.pt5dome.com/ships.htm,<
/A> the S.S. Ohio was a "wooden side-wheeled steamer, built by
Bishop and Simonson, New York, for the United States Mail Steamship
Company. She was launched in 1848 and entered service from New York to
Chagres via Charleston, Savannah, Havana, and New Orleans on September 20,
1849. She was withdrawn from service along with the SS Georgia in 1854, and
laid up in New York until 1859. She was broken up in 1860." According to
Wierenga's U.S. Incoming Steamship Mail 1847-1875, the Ohio
departed Kingston, Jamaica, on September 29, 1851, and arrived at New York
on October 6. The U.S. Mail Steamship Company steamers stopped at Kingston
for coaling, and this letter describes problems in coaling the Ohio
on this particular stop. Ex Worthington and Hyzen. With copy of 1983
P.F. certificate. (Image) |
E. 7,500-10,000 | 0.00 |
| 1288° | |
 Berford & Co.'s Express, New
York N.Y., 10c Violet (11L3). Attractive well-balanced margins just
touching or barely into tips of sawtooth points, uncancelled and affixed to
buff cover to Gloucester Mass., neat strike of red "Forwarded by Loring
Bros. & Co., Valparaiso" oval handstamp, bold "Steamship 10" in circle
handstampVERY FINE EXAMPLE OF THE BERFORD & CO. 10-CENT STAMP, OF WHICH ONLY A FEW ARE AVAILABLE AS SINGLE STAMPS. Our records contain a total of seventeen 10c Berford & Co. stamps (11L3), but half of these are represented by one normal pair and three tete-beche pairs (11L3a). There are actually just eight 11L3/11L3a items, including five covers and three off-cover stamps. With 1994 P.F. certificate declining opinion as to whether the stamp originates on this cover. (Image) |
5,000.00 | 2,800.00 |
| 1289° | |
 Bicycle Mail Route, Cal., 25c
Green (12L1). Spelling error "San Fransisco", large margins, small
piece of right corner severed and reattached (well clear of design), used
with 2c Carmine (220), both stamps tied on Overman Wheel Co. cover to
Oakland from Fresno, carried to San Francisco by bicycle messenger and
returned from Oakland to Fresno, backstamped with Jul. 8, 1894
purple "Victor Bicycle Messenger Service." Fresno office datestamp with
bicycle illustration, San Francisco Jul. 11 machine cancel ties stamps,
Oakland Jul. 18 cds and Fresno Jul. 18 receiving backstamp, small tear at
rightVERY FINE APPEARANCE. A DESIRABLE EXAMPLE OF THIS CALIFORNIA "EMERGENCY" POST. This inter-city service was established during the railroad union strike in 1894 by the Fresno agent for Victor bicycles, Arthur C. Banta. Service commenced on July 6 and was discontinued on July 18 when the strike ended. This cover was returned from Oakland to Fresno on July 17 (arriving July 18), before the strike ended. A very unusual usage -- only 380 letters were carried during the brief period of operation. With 1989 P.F. certificate (Image) |
E. 3,000-4,000 | 3,250.00 |
| 1290° |  |
 Bicycle Mail Route, Cal., 25c
Green Varieties (12L1, 12L2, 12L2a). No. 12L1 "San Fransisco" error
unused, 12L2 Corrected Die with original gum, 12L2a Corrected Die
Imperforate Vertically in strip of three with original gum, slight crease
in one stamp, Very Fine group (Image) |
E. 200-300 | 250.00 |
| 1291° | |
 Bicycle Mail Route, Cal., 25c
Brown Entire (12LU1, 12LU2). Unused examples of each, latter with minor
wrinkles, Very Fine (Image) |
400.00 | 750.00 |
| 1292° |  |
 Blizzard Mail, New York N.Y.,
5c Black (163L1). Unused (no gum), huge margins all
aroundEXTREMELY FINE. A RARE EXAMPLE OF THE 5-CENT STAMP ISSUED BY BLIZZARD MAIL, WHICH CARRIED MAILS FROM NEW JERSEY TO THE NEW YORK POST OFFICE DURING THE BLIZZARD OF 1888. This is the only example of this rarity we have offered. Ex Schwartz (Siegel Sale 825, lot 1588, for $7,500 hammer). Scott value inexplicably ignores this past realization. (Image) |
2,750.00 | 3,250.00 |