Sale 1211 — The William H. Gross Collection: United States Postal History
Sale Date — Tuesday-Wednesday, 29-30 October, 2019
Category — 1856 5¢ Red Brown
A unique use of the 5¢ 1856 Imperforate on mail originating in British North America and one of two recorded uses to Great Britain--a spectacular and important piece of 19th century transatlantic mail5¢ Red Brown (12), two horizontal pairs, mostly full to large margins except just in at top of one pair, used with 1¢ Blue, Type II (7) and 3¢ Dull Red, Type I (11), each slightly cut in, tied by four strikes of "PAID" handstamp and "Colonial Express Mail St. John. N.B. July 6" (1857) steamboat letter carrier's circular datestamp on front only (no flaps) from St. John, New Brunswick, to Glasgow, Scotland, via Boston and New York, sender's route directive "via 'New York'", red "19" credit handstamp, red "America Liverpool Paid JY 17 57A" transit datestamp ties 1¢ and 3¢ stamps
Very Fine appearance; 3¢ small fault at bottom, left stamp in 5¢ pair at bottom creased by file fold, lifted and hinged in place--these minor flaws and lack of backflaps not detracting from the item's impressive character.
This piece of mail to Scotland was written from St. John in the British Maritime Province of New Brunswick. Rather than put it into the St. John post office, it was brought to the dock and given to the official steamboat letter carrier on board the steamer Admiral, bound for Boston on Monday, July 6, 1857. From Boston it was carried by train to New York for the July 8 sailing of the Cunard steamer Persia, which arrived at Liverpool on July 17.
Illustrated and listed as one of five recorded loose letters to Great Britain by St. John express mail in an article by David D'Alessandris, "St. John, New Brunswick, Express Mail to Great Britain," Chronicle 228. D'Alessandris states: "Loose letters sent to Great Britain by the St. John express mail route are a fascinating group of covers, not only for the remarkable adhesive frankings on two of them, but also for their postal rates." This item is incorrectly year-dated 1858 in both Frajola-Mayer book and D'Alessandris article--the "57" year in the Liverpool datestamp is clear. It is the earliest of the five listed in the D'Alessandris census.
Ex A. Leon Adutt (J. C. Morgenthau sale, 6/26-27/1923, lot 120), Dale-Lichtenstein, John E. duPont, Frederick R. Mayer and Joseph Hackmey. Illustrated in Ashbrook's Special Service, #24, pp. 170-171, photo 81, and Frajola-Mayer, The United States Five Cent Stamp of 1856 (p. 139).
