Sale 1185 — 2018 Rarities of the World
Sale Date — Wednesday, 27 June, 2018
Category — Colonial, Stampless, Clipperton Island, Free Frank
WINDSOR LOCKS CT. Type II with different font and other design differences, detailed strike of red pictorial handstamp with Mar. 12 date in manuscript on folded letter datelined "Windsor Locks March 12, 1844" to Bath N.H., neat "18-3/4" cents rate for distance between 151 and 400 milesVERY FINE EXAMPLE OF THE PICTORIAL WINDSOR LOCKS HANDSTAMP. A WONDERFUL EXAMPLE OF 19TH CENTURY AMERICAN POSTAL ART.
Windsor Locks is named for a set of canal locks that opened in 1829. It is situated just south of the first large falls in the Connecticut River, the Enfield Falls, which is the northernmost point that seagoing vessels can reach on the Connecticut River before transferring to smaller ships. The post office used two different pictorial handstamps showing a steamer in locks. The example offered here is the second type, which is much scarcer than the first (more than 2:1 ratio, according to Duffney census at http://www.ctpostalhistory.com/CtPP/Postal_Markings_files/W-L2013LR.pdf ). Richard B. Graham wrote that the Windsor Locks "Boat-in-Canal" pictorial postmark is “possibly the most distinctive early handstamp of them all."
