Auction Detail
March United States Postal History
Featuring The Leonard Piszkiewicz Collection of Chicago Postal History, The Van Koppersmith Collection of Philadelphia Postal History and The Tony Dewey Collection of Hartford Postal History
- The Van Koppersmith Collection of Philadelphia Postal History (486) Apply The Van Koppersmith Collection of Philadelphia Postal History filter
- The Leonard Piszkiewicz Collection of Chicago Postal History (192) Apply The Leonard Piszkiewicz Collection of Chicago Postal History filter
- Main catalogue (155) Apply Main catalogue filter
- The Tony Dewey Collection of Hartford Postal History (150) Apply The Tony Dewey Collection of Hartford Postal History filter
- United States Postal History (110) Apply United States Postal History filter
manuscript postmark in red with matching "25" rate on 1833 folded letter to Collinsville, Connecticut, additional manuscript "Missent & Fwd", vertical filefold, very fine, an incredibly important piece of Chicago postal history. Only approximately a dozen manuscript postmarks are known from Chicago in the period from 1831 to 1833. Nearly all are in the handwriting of Postmaster John S.C. Hogan, who was appointed November 2, 1832. Chicago manuscript postmarks come to market less frequently than one would expect, and therefore this wonderful example represents a rare opportunity for a collector to acquire one of the key items for a comprehensive city or state collection. Reference: illustrated in Piszkiewicz (page 2)
red datestamp with manuscript "25" rate on 1834 folded letter to New York City, datelined "Blackstone's Grove, Aug 1st, 1834", lengthy contents about life in Chicago, very fine and early personal letter
red datestamp on 1834 folded letter to Princeton, Illinois, manuscript "18¾" rate, datelined "Worcester [Illinois] Nov 8th 1834", written by C.P. Hitchcock to his sister, includes information about early life such as "I have learnt that an opportunity offers for sending letters to Chicago...", light aging and splitting along the folds, still a fine and rare early personal letter from Chicago, Worcester (now Barry) was located on the opposite side of the state as Chicago which explains the delay in posting this letter
red datestamp with matching straight-line "Paid" and "25" rate handstamps on 1836 folded letter to Augusta, Maine, vertical filefold away from markings, very fine, this "25" handstamp was the first rate marking used in Chicago and only appears for a short time between August 1836 and March 1837
red circular datestamp with matching "25" rate handstamp on 1836 folded letter to Albany, New York, very fine, this is the earliest rate handstamp from Chicago and was only used for a brief period from August 1836 to March 1837, the next rate handstamps (the cog wheels) would not appear until mid-1845, letter contains information about dredging machinery from William H. Davis, illustrated in Piszkiewicz (page 5)
red datestamp with four-letter month abbreviation and matching "Paid" on 1838 folded letter to Joliet, Illinois, manuscript "Paid 20" rate, two real estate contracts enclosed, letter written and signed by Gurdon S. Hubbard, one of early Chicago's most prominent residents, fine and rare with only two or three examples known of the "Sept" abbreviation
red datestamp on 1839 "courthouse" cover to Canandaigua, New York, manuscript "3¼ oz $3.25", originally contained depositions, fine cover paying 13-times the single-sheet rate of 25c, one of the highest rated covers out of early Chicago, illustrated in Piszkiewicz (page 8)
blue datestamp on 1841 folded letter to Sconondoa, New York, blue manuscript "f" (free), very fine, letter from John Calhoun, founder of the Chicago Democrat (Chicago's first newspaper) and later a city councilman
blue-green postmark on 1842 folded letter to New York City, manuscript "25" rate, very fine, letter written by William Butler Ogden who served as Chicago's first mayor from 1837 to 1838 and was referred to as the "Astor of Chicago" due to his immense wealth, a wonderful artifact written by one of Chicago's most important early citizens
manuscript postmark with blue "Paid" handstamp and manuscript "12½" rate on 1842 folded letter to Koshkonong, Wisconsin Territory, vertical filefolds, very fine, illustrated in Piszkiewicz (page 3)This cover is the only recorded Chicago manuscript postmark from 1842 and one of just two known from the 1840s. It was mailed between the latest known use of the A-2 postmark device but before A-3 entered use, suggesting the Chicago post office was without a handstamp for a short time. However, the fact that the A-2 device reappears in 1843 and 1844 seems to contradict this theory. There is also the possibility that this letter arrived at the post office shortly before closing, after the postmark had been locked away for the night. While we may never know the definitive answer, this cover remains a unique and important piece of early Chicago postal history.
red handstamp on 1845 folded cover to Philadelphia, matching "Paid" and cog "10", light wear, fine, the earliest recorded use of the cog "10" handstamp
bold red handstamp on 1845 folded letter to Milwaukee, Wisconsin Territory, matching straight-line "Paid" and cog "5", vertical file folds, fine strikes, the earliest recorded use of the cog "5" handstamp