Auction Detail

"Paid 3" in Circle (Hopkinton, NH),crisp strike on 1857 3c Dull red (26) on cover to Hanover Village, New Hampshire, matching "Hopkinton N.H. Apr 30" datestamp, very fine and attractive (Skinner-Eno PM-PNc 17) 

Six-Bar Shield in Eagle (Corry, PA), crisp strike perfectly centered on 1861 3c Rose (65) on cover to Warren, Ohio, "Corry Pa Jul 6" datestamp alongside, attractive "Steam Forge & Iron Works Union Iron Company" cornercard, extremely fine, this early version of the Corry eagle shows every detail, probably the finest example of this popular cancel on cover (S-E PT-E 1)

"A.J" (Brattleboro, VT), two bold strikes in blue tie a pair of 1861 3c Rose (65) to cover to Boston, matching double circle "Brattleboro Vt Oct 8" datestamp, extremely fine, a rare political fancy cancel referring to Andrew Johnson, these strikes appear intermediate between the two designs illustrated in Skinner-Eno (S-E LC-A 2)

"Adams Express Co. Baltimore, Md. Jul. 11, 1861", attractive strike on 3c Red Star Die entire (U27), "Baltimore, Md." unobscured, two strikes of straightline "Paid" alongside, southbound cover to "Mr. W.W. Fife, Newbern, North Carolina", endorsed "per Express" at top left, blue "Adams Express Co Augusta, Ga Jul 18" oval, entered the Confederate mails with "Augusta Ga. Jul 18" double circle postmark and straightline "Paid 10", small sealed tears do not detract, lightened stained spot at lower left, very fine appearance, one of seven examples of the Adams Baltimore office handstamp and one of just three datestamped at the Augusta office, a spectacular combination of markings, Special Routes Census No. S-AD-20 and illustrated on page 43, 2022 Philatelic Foundation certificate Provenance: Steven C. Walske (R.A. Siegel Sale 988, 2010)

"No Mail Service", crisp strike of straightline handstamp from Memphis, Tennessee, with additional "Mails Suspended" in oval applied at the Washington, DC Dead Letter Office, "New-York Nov 20 1862" double circle datestamp on cover to Holly Springs, Mississippi, sender's "via Memphis Tenn." at top, "Memphis Tenn. Dec 2" duplex backstamp, small tear at left edge due to opening, otherwise very fine, the only recorded example of the Memphis "No Mail Service" handstamp, 2022 Philatelic Foundation certificate Specific handstamps were used by the post offices in Memphis, Nashville, and New Orleans to indicate the suspension of mail service during and after the Civil War. Mail was then sent to the Dead Letter Office in Washington, DC, where an additional "Mails Suspended" handstamp was sometimes applied. These markings are discussed in more detail in Benjamin Wishnietsky's 1983 article "Thoughts On 'Mails Suspended'" in the Confederate Philatelist (Vol. 28, No. 4). Provenance: Rarities of the World (R.A. Siegel 596, 1982) Milton Mitchell (R.A. Siegel 859, 2003)