1c Blue, Ty. II, Chicago Perf 12-1/2 (7 var). Plate 2, deep shade, cancelled by Chicago circular datestamp, faults including expertly reperfed at right

A FINE APPEARING AND COLLECTIBLE EXAMPLE OF THIS MAJOR CLASSIC RARITY--APPROXIMATELY 20 EXAMPLES OF THE ONE-CENT 1851 CHICAGO PERF ARE RECORDED.

The origin of the Chicago perforation was revealed in an article published by Jerome S. Wagshal in Chronicle 130 (May 1986). To briefly summarize Mr. Wagshal’s revelations, the inventor of the machine used to create the Chicago Perf stamps was Dr. Elijah W. Hadley, a Chicago dentist. He probably constructed the machine in 1854. Over a two-year period, beginning in November 1854, Dr. Hadley’s device was offered for sale to the Post Office Department thru R. K. Swift, a prominent Chicago banker and businessman. The distinctive 12-1/2 gauge Chicago Perf was applied to sheets of the 1c (Plates 1 Late and 2) and 3c 1851 Issue, the former being considerably rarer. According to the census of Chicago Perf items compiled by W. Wilson Hulme II (Chronicle 175, Aug. 1997), a total of 19 examples of the 1c Chicago Perf were recorded up to that time, comprising 2 unused, 5 used on covers and 12 used off cover (including a strip of three). We added an additonal stamp to that total in our 2020 Rarities sale.

Ex Wagshal. With copy of 1968 P.F. certificate

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