Auction Detail
July 2023
United States Postal History
Prices Realized Now Online
- The Van Koppersmith Collection of Ship Mail (728) Apply The Van Koppersmith Collection of Ship Mail filter
- Erivan Collection of Western Postal History (229) Apply Erivan Collection of Western Postal History filter
- The Nancy Clark Collection of Maine Postal History (127) Apply The Nancy Clark Collection of Maine Postal History filter
- The Mark Schwartz Collection of Essex County, Massachusetts Postal History (104) Apply The Mark Schwartz Collection of Essex County, Massachusetts Postal History filter
- The Graham Booth Collection of Transatlantic Mail (103) Apply The Graham Booth Collection of Transatlantic Mail filter
manuscript postmark on 1849 folded letter sheet to Boston, Massachusetts, matching manuscript "40" rate, light file folds, still very fine, carried by the Oregon on the first Pacific Mail Steamship Company contract mail (which actually left April 12), one of just 11 San Francisco manuscript postmarks in private hands (five of which are from the April 9 sailing)
black straightline handstamp with magenta manuscript date and matching "40" rate on 1849 folded letter to Westernville, New York, interesting letter dated July 7 describes the journey through Panama and arrival in San Francisco, light wear and aging, fine strike and cover, the Mingee census records just eight August 1 uses of the San Francisco straightline (and just 34 examples total across three sailing dates)
bold strike of circular datestamp on 1849 folded letter to Boston with boxed "40" rate handstamp, interesting contents about opening a shop datelined September 30, very fine, the boxed rate handstamp arrived in San Francisco between the September 1 and October 1 sailings
datestamp with matching boxed "40" rate handstamp on 1850 cover to Pikesville, Maryland, carried by PMSS steamer Panama to Panama and then USMSC Georgia to New York City, original enclosure datelined "San Francisco January 26, 1850" makes mention of Generals Bennet C. Riley and Winfield Scott, very fine and interesting
red datestamp with matching "40" rate handstamp on 1850 folded lettersheet to Richmond, Virginia, very fine cover from the Crittenden correspondence
integral rate datestamp on cover to San Francisco, California, very fine, this marking is not known to have been used after 1851
black datestamp on folded lettersheet to Boston originating in Shanghai, China, dated December 20, 1852, endorsed "via California", red crayon "Ship" and handstamped "12" rate, very fine
integral rate datestamp on 1854 folded letter to Salem, Oregon Territory, light filefolds, very fine and scarce
datestamp on cover to Crowland, Welland County, Canada West, red "Paid" handstamp and manuscript "15" rate, printed illustrated advertisement on reverse for Woodward's What Cheer House, original enclosure datelined "San Francisco Dec 30th 1856", light wear, very fine, the What Cheer House was a male-only hotel opened in 1852 which permitted no liquor on the premises and housed San Francisco's first free library and first museum
datestamp with matching "Ship 6" handstamp on incoming cover datelined "Manila, November 3d, 1855", November 22 origination postmark, endorsed "Per Rocket", very fine and attractive
double circle datestamp with matching straightline "Ship.12" on incoming cover to Ellington, Connecticut from Kanagawa, Japan, endorsed "Curlew to Cala", 1863 docketing most likely in error, very fine double rate ship cover from the Hall correspondence
double circle datestamp on 10c Green entire to New London, Connecticut, matching cogwheel, red Wells, Fargo & Co. frank at top, endorsed "Steamer", light edge wear, fine and scarce