tied by red square grid on 1848 folded letter to Lockport, New York, matching "New-York May 13" datestamp, blue manuscript "Due 5" at top, extremely fine, the bisect was accepted but 5c postage was still due as Lockport is over 300 miles from New York City, very fine, the earliest known use of a bisected American postage stamp, an extraordinary rarity with a wonderful provenance, USPCS census #8032, 2022 Philatelic Foundation certificate (Scott $30,000)Provenance: Judge Robert S. Emerson (D.F. Kelleher Sale 396, 1938)William L. Moody, III (H.R. Harmer Sale 612, 1950)J. David Baker (R.A. Siegel Sale 526, 1978)Marc Haas (R.A. Siegel Sale 561, 1980)Ryohei Ishikawa (Christie's Robson Lowe, 1993)