5c Orange Brown, 10c Black (1b,
2). 10c large margins at sides, ample at bottom and just in at top,
fine impression on deep bluish paper, used with 5c horizontal strip of
five, large margins except close at bottom of center stamp, which also
has a sharp pre-use crease ending in small tear, beautiful rich Orange
Brown shade -- a late printing from the cleaned plate -- tied by red
9-bar open grid cancels, matching "Mic. Central R.R. Mic. Apr. 4"
(1851) Michigan Central Railroad route agent's circular datestamp on white
envelope to Heidelberg, Baden, Germany, red "New-York Apr. 8"
backstamp and Heidelberg May 9 receiving backstamp indicate 1851 sailing of
the Washington (departing New York Apr. 19, arriving at Bremerhaven
on May 5), "PAID PART" straightline handstamp indicating prepayment of
United States portion of postage -- 10c domestic rate and 24c Ocean Line
rate (1c overpayment) -- red "AMERICA/UBER BREMEN" two-line handstamp
applied at Bremen, red "1-1/3" (gutegroschen) debit handstamp applied by
Hannover Post Office at Bremen for its transit fee due from the Thurn &
Taxis Post, who carried the mail south to Baden, light red ms. "6/6"
applied by Thurn & Taxis Post indicating 6 kreuzer (equivalent to 1-1/3
ggr.) plus 6 kreuzer (Thurn & Taxis transit fee) due in southern German
currency, the total of 12 kreuzer debited to Baden, to which an additional
4 kreuzer internal postage was added, for a total of "16" kreuzer due from
addressee (expressed in black manuscript), small piece of flap
tornTHE CELEBRATED HEIDELBERG COVER, COMBINING THE TWO FIRST UNITED STATES GENERAL ISSUES, CANCELLED IN RED BY THE MICHIGAN CENTRAL RAILROAD MAIL-ROUTE AGENT, PREPAYING THE UNITED STATES SHARE OF POSTAGE FOR AMERICAN OCEAN LINE SERVICE VIA BREMEN. ONE OF THE MOST OUTSTANDING COVERS IN ALL OF CLASSIC PHILATELY.
The United States postal reforms of 1845 set in motion the post office's efforts to establish a subsidized American transatlantic mail line with regular routes to and from Europe. The creation of the Ocean Steam Navigation Company and successful negotiation of the U.S.-Bremen postal treaty of 1847 were consequences of this long and involved process, the history of which has been (and continues to be) documented by students here and abroad. An excellent series of articles on the subject, including research by Wolfgang Diesner and Richard F. Winter, has appeared in The Chronicle (Whole Nos. 126, 129, 149 and 159), which updates earlier published work by George E. Hargest (copies of these excerpts are provided with this lot). We are grateful to Richard F. Winter for his analysis of the Heidelberg cover's rates and sailing dates.
Covers carried by the Ocean Line are surprisingly scarce, and we are aware of only two such covers franked with 1847 stamps -- the other (ex Pope, illustrated in Ashbrook's Special Service, Photograph No. 125) has a single 10c for domestic postage and was carried on the same voyage of the Washington.
From a philatelic viewpoint, the 5c multiple is one of the largest recorded 5c 1847 frankings on cover (the largest is a strip of ten) and the Orange Brown shade (late printing) is very scarce in multiples of any size. Its use here -- in combination with the 10c on mail sent by the Michigan Central Railroad to New York City for carriage to an overseas destination -- is extraordinary.
Illustrated in Hargest book and "United States Classic Covers" color feature in The Chronicle (May 1986, No. 130). Ex Gibson, Meroni, J. David Baker and Kapiloff (Image)