Magic Letter Express, Richmond Va., 5c Black on Brown (101L3). Large margins, clear impression, central manuscript "X" cancel and tiny manuscript "July 18" date, part of "Richmond Va. Jul. 19" (1865) circular datestamp and cork cancel, few faults including large thinned area at bottom

VERY FINE APPEARANCE. ONE OF ONLY FOUR RECORDED EXAMPLES OF THE 5-CENT STAMP FROM THE MAGIC LETTER EXPRESS --THE ONLY CIVIL WAR EXPRESS COMPANY THAT ISSUED ADHESIVE STAMPS.

The Magic Letter Express was run for approximately two months in June and July 1865 by the Richmond firm of Evans, Porter & Co., under the management of Maurice Evans. It is perhaps the most misunderstood of American local posts, yet its origins can be impeccably documented and its stamps are of the greatest rarity. In the Golden sale, we had the opportunity to establish the history of the Magic Letter Express with previously unreported archival documentation. This information may be found in the Golden catalogue on our website (Sale 817, lot 1326)

With the addition of the 1c stamp uprated to 2c and offered in our Sale 1117 (lot 4369), only seven Magic Letter Express stamps are known in total, including the unique 1c on cover, the 1c stamp uprated to 2c, one normal 2c, and four 5c (two on covers). The first example of a Magic Letter Express stamp was described in the June 1887 Quaker City Philatelist as one of two “discoveries of Confederate Locals” by G. M. Bastable, the other being the Liberty Va. Confederate provisional. Bastable is quoted in the article: “The Richmond local, known as the Magic Letter Express, I found among a large correspondence from Richmond, Va., extending from 1840 to 1870. Many of the old envelopes had Confederate stamps of the general issue, and others U.S. stamps of the general issue. I obtained these from a member of the family to whom they were mailed, and among the lot I found the Magic Letter Expresses. The family could give me no information concerning this particular stamp.” The discovery cover resurfaced in a 2010 Rumsey auction (Sale 37) after being “re-discovered” in the late Carl Walske’s reference collection.

We record the following examples: 1) 1c 101L1 cancelled "Paid" on Jun. 2, 1865, folded letter hand carried from "Rockland" to Richmond, "June 3d 1865" manuscript postmark, delivered locally at appropriate 1c rate, ex Golden, D.K. Collection (Siegel Sale 862, lot 89);

2) 1c 101L1 var. with manuscript "2s.", uprated to 2c (Siegel Sale 1117, lot 4369);

3) 2c 101L2, manuscript "Richmond July 4 '65" cancellation, ex Needham, Boker, Richardson, Moyer, Golden, D.K. Collection (Siegel Sale 862, lot 90);

4) 5c 101L3, uncancelled, affixed to the undated broadside, ex Needham, Boker;

5) 5c 101L3, manuscript "July 18" postmark and part of Richmond Va. Jul. 19 duplex datestamp and cork cancel (applied by post office), found by George Sloane, ex Boker and Kuphal, the example offered here;

6) 5c 101L3 tied by manuscript "Richmond July 10/65" postmark on cover to Talbot B. Coleman, Staunton Va., ex Needham, Boker;

7) the Bastable discovery example, 5c 101L3, dated Jul. 30, 1865, on cover to Robert King in Gordonsville Va., ex Carl Walske (Rumsey Sale 37).

The recorded dates establish a time period from June 3 through July 30, 1865. The covers to Staunton and Gordonsville, as well as the incoming cover from Rockland, indicate that the Magic Letter Express used railroad lines to convey mail distances as far as 140 track miles from Richmond. This local post and inter-city express was blatantly illegal.

Ex Boker and Kuphal. With 2007 P.F. certificate

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