Lot Details

Prince’s Letter Dispatch, Portland, Maine, sheet margin single, large to huge margins all around, tied to cover by red "Boston Mass / Aug / 19" double-circle c.d.s., alongside 3c brown red, tied by crisp strike of black segmented cork, to William F. Brooks of Boston, trivial light soiling to portions of adhesive, cover reduced and partially refolded, an exceptionally attractive and rare on-cover example of this rare local issue; ex Caspary (H.R. Harmer, March, 1957, lot 947).

Prince’s Letter Dispatch of Portland, Maine, carried mail nightly by messenger traveling by steamer to Boston.  The adhesive was engraved by Lowell of the firm of Lowell & Brett of Boston, whose name appears on the stamp below the steamship. While a common stamp unused, covers are rare; Lyons records only eleven such examples in his census. (Penny Post, Volume 10, No. 4, October 2002).