Auction Detail

manuscript postmark with matching "2.16" rate (2dwt, 16gr) alongside on folded letter to Colonel Samuel Ward in East Greenwich, Connecticut, light toning along filefolds, very fine Continental Congress Post letter, Samuel Ward, Jr. participated in Benedict Arnold's attack on Quebec and later saw action at the Battles of Red Bank and Rhode Island, in 1781 he retired and later served as a delegate to the Hartford Convention in 1814

black two-line datestamp on folded letter to William Meredith in Philadelphia, matching straightline "Paid" and manuscript "34" rate, very fine strike and cover, ex-Weill

dateline on lengthy folded letter addressed to Paris, France, endorsed "by the Great Western", charged 12½ domestic postage plus 25c freight money fee paid as indicated by Hartford pointing hand, arrived Liverpool May 8 and London May 10, forwarded to Paris with red boxed "Colonies &c.Art.12", arrived Paris May 12 and marked 15 decides due, redirected to Milan via Switzerland, backstamped Milan May 17, very fine and interesting, the only freight money letter originating in Hartford, ex-Winter

magenta datestamp ties 1847 5c Brown (1) to folded letter to Plattsburgh, New York, early deep shade, margins huge to ample with bottom right corner margin, matching "Paid" with pointing hand and numeral "5" handstamps, very fine and attractive, one of the earliest uses of a federal adhesive from Hartford

red datestamp on cover to Brockport, New York, franked with horizontal pair of 1847 5c Dark brown (1a), large margins and pen cancel, large red "10" rate handstamp and matching pointing hand "Paid", very fine and attractive, one of just eight pairs of the 1847 5c issue known from Hartford, 1976 Philatelic Foundation certificate