Sale 1129 — 2016 Rarities of the World
Sale Date — Tuesday, 31 May, 2016
Category — Special Delivery thru Newspapers
10c Blue, Special Delivery (E1). Tied by neat strike of "Atla. & M(?) Oct. 1 TR?6" 1885 duplex datestamp and cork cancel on 2c Brown entire to New York, red "P.O. No. 628" at left, receiving backstamp, the yeardate is confirmed by records of use of the Special Delivery serial number, stamp with some toningVERY FINE APPEARANCE. AN EXTREMELY RARE FIRST DAY USE OF THE FIRST SPECIAL DELIVERY STAMP. THIS IS THE ONLY REPORTED FIRST DAY WITH A RAILWAY POST OFFICE DATESTAMP.
Gobie records only six covers used on the first day of the new Special Delivery service.
10c Blue, Special Delivery, Imperforate (E5c; formerly E5a). Vertical pair, original gum, lightly hinged, large even margins, deep rich color and proof-like impressionEXTREMELY FINE. A BEAUTIFUL SOUND ORIGINAL-GUM PAIR OF THE IMPERFORATE 10-CENT 1895 WATERMARKED BUREAU SPECIAL DELIVERY ISSUE.
Using the logic behind including No. E3 as a part of the Columbian issues, one can argue Nos. E4 and E5 are part of the 1894 and 1895 Bureau issues. Perhaps this is why Nos. E4 and E5 are the only Special Delivery issues found imperforate. However, unlike its regular-issue counterparts, which exist in abundant quantities, Nos. E4a and E5a are very rare. We have offered only seven unduplicated pairs, one single and one block of four since keeping computerized records. Virtually all have faults, ranging from gum creases to more serious flaws.
With 1979 P.F. certificate
12c Agriculture (O6). Deep color with some oxidation, tied by quartered cork cancel, "Washington D.C. Aug. 22" circular datestamp on legal-size official imprint cover to Hamilton Ga., stamp with small tear at top, cover with some toning, scuffs, vertical file folds and minor edgewearVERY FINE APPEARANCE. ONE OF ONLY TWO RECORDED 12-CENT AGRICULTURE COVERS. A GREAT RARITY.
The 12c stamp pays the quadruple 3c domestic rate. The other recorded use is on a label.
Ex Hughes, Waud, Markovits and Curtis.
1c and 2c Executive (O10, O11). Singles of each, both with intense color, light cork cancels, matching "Washington, D.C. May 23" circular datestamp on "Executive Mansion" imprint cover to John Jacob Astor (famous German-American businessman and first multimillionaire in the United States) in New York City, addressed in the hand of President Rutherford B. Hayes, New York backstamp, cover with minute pinhole and 2c with single pulled perfVERY FINE. ONE OF FIVE RECORDED COMBINATION FRANKINGS OF THE ONE-CENT AND 2-CENT EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, ACCORDING TO THE MARKOVITS CATALOGUE. THIS IS THE ONLY EXAMPLE ADDRESSED IN THE PRESIDENT'S HAND.
Ex Ehrenberg, Markovits and Curtis. With 1981 P.F. certificate.
6c Executive (O13). Cancelled by quartered cork, "Long Branch N.J. Aug. 12 A.M." circular datestamp on legal-size cover with "Executive/Secretary" imprint, addressed in the hand of President Ulysess S. Grant to Secretary of State Hamilton Fish in Washington D.C., "Department of State Received Aug. 13, 1875" double-oval ribbon-marker datestamp, folds all around, one lightly creasing stamp, small hole at top right corner, reduced at left to fit on exhibit pageONE OF SEVEN RECORDED COVERS BEARING THE 6-CENT EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT STAMP AND THE ONLY EXAMPLE FROM PRESIDENT GRANT'S SUMMER HOME IN LONG BRANCH, NEW JERSEY.
In Chronicle 232, Les Lanphear records only seven Executive Department covers bearing stamps sent from President Grant's summer home in Long Branch N.J. -- six bearing a 3c stamp and this cover bearing a 6c stamp.
Ex Starnes and Curtis. With 2014 P.F. certificate not mentioning reduction which was done after issuance of certificate
2c State (O58). Horizontal pair, deep rich color and proof-like impression, tied by purple corks, matching "Washington D.C. Oct. 19 5 P.M. 1878" circular datestamp on small cover with "Department of State" imprint to New York, receiving backstamp, fresh and Very Fine, a beautiful cover, ex Ackerman, Knapp, Waud, Markovits and Wall, with 2008 P.F. certificate
2c-$60.00 1875 Special Printing, Imperforate (PR33 var-PR56 var). Without gum as issued, large margins all around, intense shades, 2c two small thin spots, 4c and 6c each with small thin spot, $3.00 small corner crease, $24.00 faint ironed out vertical creaseVERY FINE-EXTREMELY FINE. AN EXTREMELY RARE SET OF IMPERFORATE STAMPS OF THE 1875 NEWSPAPER SPECIAL PRINTING, WHICH WERE CUT FROM THE ORIGINAL STRIPS OF FIVE FROM THE EARL OF CRAWFORD COLLECTION. IT IS LIKELY THAT ONLY FIVE COMPLETE IMPERFORATE SETS EXIST. ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT AND SPECTACULAR SETS OF UNITED STATES SPECIAL PRINTINGS, REPRINTS OR RE-ISSUES.
All known genuine examples of the imperforate Newspapers & Periodicals 1875 Special Printing stamps come from the set of strips of five sold to James Ludovic Lindsay, the 26th Earl of Crawford, one of the great collectors of stamps, essays, proofs and philatelic literature at the turn of the 20th Century. Lord Crawford died on January 31, 1914, and his estate executors eventually agreed to sell the entire United States collection for $60,000 to John A. Klemann of the Nassau Stamp Company. Klemann reported his acquisition of the Earl of Crawford’s collection in the November 1915 edition of The Philatelic Gazette. Among the spectacular array of items owned by Lord Crawford were strips of the 1875 1c-90c Continental Bank Note Company Special Printings with intact selvage (Scott 167-177), the set of Official Special Printing imperforate strips and the set of Newspapers & Periodicals 1875 Special Printing imperforate strips of five.
Klemann is almost certainly the person responsible for cutting up the Earl of Crawford strips, because the sets of Officials and Newspapers & Periodicals singles were sold to Benjamin K. Miller, who was an active collector from 1917 to 1924 (his collection was donated to The New York Public Library and is now on long-term loan to the Smithsonian National Postal Museum). Miller probably acquired the imperforate set directly from Nassau Stamp Company, one of his dealer sources.
Another complete set was described in an article by William E. Mooz (“Finding the Yellow Thumbprint,” The American Philatelist, November 1984). In that article, Mr. Mooz also pictured and described a part set of $1.92 to $60.00 values, which our firm sold in 2002 (Drucker collection, Sale 851, lot 604). Combining the three complete sets (Miller, Mooz and Golden) with the part set of dollar values, we can account for four of the five stamps in the original Earl of Crawford strips. The whereabouts of the fifth set of singles is unknown.
The perforated 1875 Special Printing, Scott PR33-PR56, is the rarest set of all Newspapers & Periodicals stamps with two of the only verifiably unique stamps in philately, which unfortunately have never been seen. Only one copy each of the $48.00 and $60.00 perforated Special Printing stamps were sold through the Special Printing program to Paul Lietzow of Germany, and they have never been identified (the Scott Catalogue lists them without values). The next four high values have Scott values of $250,000, $125,000, $500,000 and $250,000, respectively, for a total of $1,125,000. With a Scott value of $60,000 for the entire set and only five in existence, this imperforate set seems undervalued.
This set was acquired by the late David Golden in a February 13, 1967, H.R. Harmer auction. With 1940 American Board of Experts certificate signed by J. Klemann Jr. and J. Murray Bartels. Each with 1985 P.F. certificate. Listed as a footnote in Scott with a catalogue value of