Sale 1139 — U.S. Treasures of Philately from The Irwin Weinberg Inventory
Sale Date — Wednesday, 9 November, 2016
Category — Air Post
1877, 5c Deep Blue, Buffalo Balloon Air Post Semi-Official, Tete-Beche Pair (CL1a). Both Schoendorf Type II, large margins all around, full original gum, one stamp lightly hinged (small ink spot on face), other has h.r. and thin spotEXTREMELY FINE APPEARANCE. AN ATTRACTIVE AND FRESH TETE-BECHE PAIR OF THE BUFFALO BALLOON POST ISSUE.
The Buffalo Balloon stamp, designed by John B. Lillard and engraved by John H. Snively, was printed by Wheeler Brothers Printers in Nashville, Tennessee. Only 300 were printed in tête-bêche arrangement from a single die. The stamps were intended for use on a balloon flight from Nashville to Gallatin, Tennessee, which took place on June 18, 1877. Of the 300 that were printed, Lillard wrote that only 23 were used.
Based on previous examples we have handled, at least some of the Buffalo Balloon stamps were exposed to moisture around the time they were printed. This accounts for the fact that only two of the tête-bêche pairs certified by the Philatelic Foundation are potentially sound. The others are mostly thinned or scuffed in one corner where they were stuck together.
Ex Rudy. Sanabria backstamps
