1¢ Blue, Type Ia (19), Position 94R4, extraordinarily well-centered with perforations just barely touching bottom plumes, bright shade and proof-like impression, tied by single clear strike of "New-York Aug. 1" circular datestamp on blue July 10, 1857 folded prices current from Chillington Iron Works, Liverpool, England, to Providence, Rhode Island, printed circular states "Per Steamer Asia" (sailed July 11, 1857) but probably carried under cover on the next Cunard sailing of the Europa, departing Liverpool on July 18, 1857, and arriving at Boston July 31

Extremely Fine Gem stamp on an immaculate cover. This beautiful Type Ia cover was featured prominently in the William West and Saul Newbury sales and is regarded by many as the finest single known on cover.

Type Ia stamps were produced from 18 of the 20 bottom-row positions on Plate 4. After perforations were introduced in mid-1857, sheets on hand printed from Plates 1 Late and 2 were fed through the new perforating machine, but the narrow spaces between stamps made perforating difficult to accomplish without cutting into the designs. Plate 4 was produced in early 1857 when the introduction of perforations was anticipated; thus, it was entered from a new six-relief transfer roll, and the spaces between stamps were enlarged to allow for perforations. Some Plate 4 sheets were issued in imperforate form (April to June 1857), while the greater portion was issued perforated beginning in July 1857, along with perforated sheets from Plates 1L and 2.

Plate 4's most distinctive feature is that the top row (Positions 1-10L and 1-10R) was entered with the designs complete at top (Type II) and the bottom row (Positions 91-100L and 91-100R) was entered with designs complete or nearly complete at bottom (Types Ia and Ic). Although the plate layout provided sufficient space for perforations, the height of the top-row and bottom-row designs was larger than others in the sheet, which resulted in perforations cutting into either the top or bottom rows, depending on which direction the sheet was fed into the perforator. Type Ia and Ic stamps from the bottom row are almost always cut into at bottom, an unfortunate situation for collectors because the bottom part of the design is what makes Type Ia and Ic stamps desirable.

The example offered here, showing the full type characteristics at bottom, is a true condition rarity. The stamp on this cover was considered by Ashbrook to be one of the finest examples of the perforated Type Ia in existence (the West catalogue states "Stanley Ashbrook stops for about an hour to gloat over this piece which he considers the finest 1¢ 1857 cover known to American Philately").

Ex William West, Saul Newbury, Louis Grunin and Robert Zoellner. Illustrated in Brookman, United States Postage Stamps of the 19th Century, Vol. I (p. 186).

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