Pomeroy's Letter Express, 5c Black on Yellow Surface-Colored Paper (117L1). Horizontal pair, ample to large margins, deep impression on brilliant colored paper, each stamp cancelled by lightly inked but strongly impressed Pomeroy "Cd." cancel, impressions tie thru paper, on July 30, 1844 folded letter from Geneva N.Y. to Belleville near Newburyport Mass., written by a student at Geneva College, Benjamin Hale, to his mother, Mrs. Thomas Hale, clear strikes of red "Forwarded by Hale & Co. from Albany" oval and black "H. T. Crofoot's Letter Office Newburyport" oval handstamps

EXTREMELY FINE. A COLORFUL AND EXTREMELY RARE TRIPLE CONJUNCTIVE USAGE, INVOLVING POMEROY'S LETTER EXPRESS (WITH ADHESIVE FRANKING), HALE & COMPANY, AND H. T. CROFOOT.

This beautiful cover demonstrates one of the most interesting aspects of the Independent Mail system in 1844-45: the cooperation among different firms to provide service between two distant locations. It was carried by Pomeroy's Letter Express from Geneva to Albany, where it was handed over to Hale & Co. for the eastbound trip to Boston and from there to Newburyport. Hosea T. Crofoot, a bookbinder and expressman, had an agreement with Hale to carry mail between Boston and Newburyport. The pair of Pomeroy's Letter Express stamps included their fee (one stamp) and the fee charged by Hale. Presumably Crofoot was compensated for his services out of the postage Hale received.

Very few covers exist that show three Independent Mail companies' service -- so-called triple conjunctive usage -- and this cover with the Pomeroy's Letter Express pair is regarded as one of the most beautiful. A similar Pomeroy/Hale/Crofoot cover, except stamped with both Pomeroy and Hale adhesives, was sold for $23,000 hammer in our sale of the Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito collection (Sale 1214, lot 270).

Ex Stephen A. Brown, Frank A. Hollowbush, Pitt Petri ("Buffalo" collection) and David L. Jarrett. Illustrated in Independent Mails book (pp. 88 and 230).

Image Magnifier / Download

Power Search for Comparables