Sale 1185 — 2018 Rarities of the World
Sale Date — Wednesday, 27 June, 2018
Category — 1861-66 Issue
3c Rose (65). Rich color, tied by bold strike of circle of wedges cancel on 12c Red and Brown on Buff entire (U42) to Paris, France, refolded from legal to letter size by the sender prior to use, red "Boston Paid 6 Oct. 12" circular datestamp, red 1866 Calais transit ties 3c and cancels entire, receiving backstampVERY FINE. A PHENOMENAL COMBINATION OF THE 3-CENT 1861 ISSUE AND 12-CENT "PUMPKIN" POSTAL ENTIRE FOR THE 15-CENT RATE TO PARIS VIA FRENCH MAILS.
This entire is one of three known, all from one Boston writer to correspondents in France (Marcou) and Switzerland (Daves), including a 1c 1861 on 20c entire (ex Ishikawa, offered in previous lot) and 12c on 30c entire (ex Vogel and Gliedman). All were originally large envelopes, skillfully refolded before mailing by someone whose preference for small-size covers nicely anticipated modern collecting tastes.
These covers were described in an article by Chip Gliedman ("Cut Down Postal Stationery from the 1861 Era") in Chronicle 230. Gliedman wrote: "The addressee of this cover, Jules Marcou (1824-1898), was an eminent Swiss-American geologist. Marcou spent two years studying the geology of the United States and Canada, and returned to Europe for a short time in 1850. In 1853 he published a Geological Map of the United States, and the British Provinces of North America. Traveling with the Pacific Railroad Survey, Marcou made the first geologic observations of the Grand Canyon and surrounding area in 1856. Marcou also had connections with the Boston region. In 1861, he returned to the United States, where he assisted Louis Agassiz in founding the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University."
From our 1995 Rarities sale.
