Mearis' City Despatch Post, Baltimore Md., 1c-2c Black on Gray, Se-Tenant (103L5a). Horizontal pair, Kelly Types H-B, Positions 7-8 in our plating analysis (Golden Sale 817) as well as the Lyons plating analysis (Penny Post Jul. 2020), original gum, each stamp initialed "MWM", large margins to just touched at lower right ornament, very minor gum toning

EXTREMELY FINE. ONLY TWO SE-TENANT PAIRS OF MEARIS' CITY DESPATCH POST STAMPS ARE AVAILABLE TO COLLECTORS. THE OTHER RECORDED EXAMPLE OF 103L5a -- THE LARGE "POST" VARIETY -- IS CONTAINED IN THE BRITISH LIBRARY'S TAPLING COLLECTION.

As noted in the description of the previous lot, the two se-tenant pairs offered in this sale and the Tapling pair at the British Library originally formed a block of six, which we believe came from Positions 3-4/5-6/7-8 in the setting of ten. When the pair offered here was in the Caspary collection, it had a fragment of the adjoining stamp below at lower left, which showed part of the "City Despatch" label (the margin was later trimmed to improve the appearance). The fragment showed a serifed typeface used for "City Despatch" and floral corner ornaments, which rule out any of the other 2c types -- we call it Type K (no complete examples are recorded; a fragment was offered in Sale 817, lot 1337).

Illustrated in Kelly's CCP series (Vol. 50, No. 3, p. 150) and the Lyons Penny Post article (Jul. 2020). Ex Caspary, Boker and Golden. With 1999 P.F. certificate

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