1c Blue, Ty. II, Chicago Perf 12-1/2 (7 var). Plate 2, brilliant color, lightly cancelled by numeral handstamp with "1" showing on stamp, well-balanced margins, single soiled perf tip at left, light corner crease at bottom left shows only in fluid

VERY FINE APPEARANCE. A RARE EXAMPLE OF THE ONE-CENT 1851 ISSUE WITH CHICAGO PERFORATIONS. APPROXIMATELY 19 EXAMPLES ARE RECORDED. THIS IS ARGUABLY ONE OF THE FINEST SINGLES EXTANT.

The origin of the Chicago perforation was revealed in an article published by Jerome S. Wagshal in Chronicle 130 (May 1986). To briefly summarize Mr. Wagshal's revelations, the inventor of the machine used to create the Chicago Perf stamps was Dr. Elijah W. Hadley, a Chicago dentist. He probably constructed the machine in 1854. Over a two-year period, beginning in November 1854, Dr. Hadley's device was offered for sale to the Post Office Department thru R. K. Swift, a prominent Chicago banker and businessman. The distinctive 12-1/2 gauge Chicago Perf was applied to sheets of the 1c (Plates 1 Late and 2) and 3c 1851 Issue, the former being considerably rarer. According to the census of Chicago Perf items compiled by W. Wilson Hulme II (Chronicle 175, Aug. 1997), a total of 19 examples of the 1c Chicago Perf have been recorded, comprising 2 unused, 5 used on covers and 12 used off cover (including a strip of three).

Ex Wagshal (this was not part of our series of Wagshal sales -- offered for the first time since his passing)

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