Auction Detail

red signature on October 4, 1848 certification of payment of entry duties for cargo on the Brig Margaret, signed by Ephraim F. Miller (collector) and Nathaniel Hawthorne (surveyor), cargo consisted of sixty cords of wood and fifty dozen eggs, very fine

Nathaniel Hawthorne was appointed Surveyor for the District of Salem and Beverly and Inspector of the Revenue for the Port of Salem in April 1846. At that time Hawthorne had published a number of short stories, including those collected in Twice-Told Tales, but was still several years later from his career-defining novels The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables. He lost the job due to the change of administration in Washington after the presidential election of 1848. During his time as Surveyor, he wrote to his friend Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: "Whenever I sit alone, or walk alone, I find myself dreaming about stories, as of old; but these forenoons in the Custom House undo all that the afternoons and evenings have done. I should be happier if I could write."

red datestamp on folded letter to Greenland, New Hampshire, black circle of dots and straightline "Paid" tie 3c Orange brown (10A), fresh and very fine, Judd notation on reverse reads "a show piece"

datestamp ties three 1c Blue (63) to all-over orange advertising envelope for the Holyoke M. Fire Insurance Company, addressed to Lynn, Massachusetts, missing backflap and light wear, otherwise fine, ex-White

black datestamp on small cover to London, England, 1869 12c Green (117) tied by crossroads cancel, red New York November 2 transit, November 15 London arrival, sealed tear, fine appearance 

31 items including 1802 first federal handstamp, 1822 ship letter, ca. 1852 integral rate "3cts." handstamp, 1853 "5cts" integral rate handstamp, 1868 2c Black on cover with "Missent & Forwarded" handstamp, 1873 cover to Halifax, 1887 cover with large boxed registry handstamp, 1902 illustrated advertising cover for granite memorials, 1909 "Letter Returned, Bell Not Answered" auxiliary marking, and more, generally fine to very fine, an interesting and attractive group