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
- (-) Remove The Leonard Piszkiewicz Collection of Chicago Postal History filter The Leonard Piszkiewicz Collection of Chicago Postal History
red datestamp with matching cog "10" on 1846 folded letter to Versailles, France, red boxed "Colonies &c.Art.13" and French entry handstamp, several backstamps, fine
large red 36mm circular datestamp on 1851 folded letter to Westfield, New York, matching "Paid" handstamp, light wear and vertical crease away from postmark, very fine strike, the earlier of the two known examples of this postmark, which was the first employed by Chicago to incorporate the rate into the datestamp (after the rate reduction of July 1, 1851), a rare and important postmark
red datestamp with matching straight-line "Paid" and "24" in circle on 1851 cover to Thurso, Scotland, red "Paid In America Liverpool 4 De 51" tombstone, light folds, fine and scarce, the only recorded example of this rate handstamp
clear strike of circular datestamp ties 1851 3c Dull red (11) to cover to Detroit, blue cornercard for "James H. Rees, Land Agent, No. 63 Clarke St.", extremely fine, an immaculate Independence Day cover which represents the latest known use of the A-3 device, this postmark was in use for almost 11 years and is the longest-lived postmark in Chicago history, illustrated in Piszkiewicz (page 9)
red datestamp with letters very close to the rim on 1849 folded letter to Philadelphia, matching cog "10", small nick along top edge, very fine strikes, the earliest recorded use of postmark A-4a, this postmark was first reported by Leonard Hartmann in the 1960s and was only used for two months in late-1849 and early-1850, letter written by J.B.F. Russell of the General Land Agency
red datestamp with matching cog "10" on 1849 folded letter to Newark, New Jersey, personal letter written on Christmas Day, fine and attractive, this scarce postmark was only in use for two months
red datestamp on with cog "10" rate on 1850 folded letter to Whitesboro, New York, very fine, lengthy letter from B.W. Raymond datelined January 26 describes the first train from Chicago to Elgin which begins "This has been an exciting week for me, on Tuesday the first train of cars ran to Elgin...", an important piece of both Chicago and railroad history
red datestamp with matching straight-line "Paid" and "48" in circle on 1850 folded letter to Newry, (Northern) Ireland, red "America Liverpool Paid Oc 6 50" and "38" credit handstamps applied upon arrival in England, some overall wear but fine appearance, the only example of this rate handstamp and the highest rate stamp recorded from Chicago, Reference: illustrated in Piszkiewicz (page 22)
red datestamp on 1852 folded letter to Edinburgh, Scotland, black "24" in circle rate handstamp, black British "19" and "1/-" one shilling due handstamps, backstamped "America Liverpool My26 52F", very fine, Reference: illustrated in Piszkiewicz (page 22)
black datestamp on 1854 cover to Sacramento, California, red straight-line "Paid" and "Paid 6" in arc, light edge wear, very fine, a rare use of the "Paid 6" handstamp which only appeared for a short time in 1854, Reference: illustrated in Piszkiewicz (page 23)
black datestamp on oversized wrapper to Rockford, Illinois, two strikes of red "Paid" and "9" in circle rate handstamp, light wrinkles, very fine, scarce for such a large piece to have survived intact
free frank on cover to "The Salem Register, Salem, Essex County, Mass.", small tears, very fine signature, Stephen A. Douglas served as a Representative from Illinois from 1843 to 1847, a Senator from Illinois from 1847 until his death in 1861, and is best remembered for his series of debates with Abraham Lincoln between August and October 1858