St. Louis Mo., 5c & 10c Black on Gray Lilac, Se-Tenant (11X4-11X5). Plate 2, 10c Positions 2/4/6 joined with 5c Position 5 in a se-tenant L-shaped block of four, full to large margins all around, sharp impression, usual pen cancels lightened to improve appearance, tiny pinpoint breaks in paper at bottom from cancel

EXTREMELY FINE. THIS REMARKABLE L-SHAPED BLOCK OF FOUR IS THE LARGEST RECORDED MULTIPLE OF THE ST. LOUIS "BEARS" PROVISIONAL ISSUE AND ONE OF THREE RECORDED SE-TENANT COMBINATIONS OF THE 5-CENT AND 10-CENT VALUES. IN THE WORDS OF THE PREEMINENT PHILATELIC EXPERT, HERBERT A. BLOCH, IT IS "ONE OF THE OUTSTANDING ITEMS OF THE U.S. POSTMASTERS' PROVISIONALS."

The St. Louis "Bears" were issued by Postmaster John M. Wimer from November 1845 until the first United States General Issue became available in July 1847. The stamps were issued in three denominations -- 5c, 10c and 20c -- and were sold at a premium over face value to pay the costs of printing. All of the stamps were printed from a single copper plate of six subjects (2 x 3) engraved by J. M. Kershaw. The plate underwent two significant modifications. Philatelists identify each state of the plate as Plates 1, 2 and 3, but in fact the same piece of metal was used in each state.

On Plate 1 there were three 5c subjects in the vertical column at left (we refer to the positions on the sheet, which are mirrored on the plate) and three 10c subjects at right. To fill the need for 20c stamps, the denominations on two of the 5c subjects (Positions 1 and 3) were burnished out and reengraved with "20", creating Plate 2. After some time the two 5c values were restored by burnishing out the "20" and reengraving "5", which is Plate 3. The three 10c subjects were untouched throughout the modifications to Positions 1 and 3. The 5c Position 5 was slightly altered on Plate 3 by adding a large dot to the inside of the ball at the bottom of the "5".

The first paper used was Greenish in color; the earliest recorded use is November 13, 1845, one week after the first newspaper announcement of the issue. Most of the Greenish paper supply was used in combination with Plate 1, comprising three 5c subjects in the vertical row at left and three 10c subjects at right. A small supply of Greenish paper was used with Plate 2, which contained the two 20c subjects. As a rule, 5c and 10c stamps on Greenish paper (Scott 11X1-2) printed from Plate 2 cannot be distinguished from the Plate 1 printing, although Plate 2 stamps on Greenish must be considerably rarer. The 20c on Greenish (Scott 11X3) is a great rarity with only six recorded, which indicates that the number of Greenish paper sheets used in conjunction with Plate 2 must have been very small.

Gray Lilac paper replaced Greenish paper (earliest recorded use is February 27, 1846) and was only used in conjunction with Plate 2. Of the 20c stamps, all except the six known on Greenish paper are printed on Gray Lilac (Scott 11X6). Because only one position furnished the 5c value, the 5c on Gray Lilac (Scott 11X4) is a very rare stamp. The Plate 2 printing on Gray Lilac also furnished the only recorded examples of se-tenant multiples, in which stamps of more than one denomination are joined together.

The last paper used is classified as Pelure, which is extremely thin and fragile. This paper was used only in conjunction with Plate 3, containing the two restored 5c values in addition to the bottom 5c and three 10c at right (no 20c on Pelure is known). The earliest recorded date of use of Pelure paper is November 25, 1846, which is a folded letter bearing a 10c Position 2 with an impression of the reengraved 5c Position 1 on back. This remarkable item provides the earliest use of Plate 3 as well as Pelure paper. Any stamp on Pelure paper is a rarity.

Se-tenant multiples of classic stamps are highly prized, and most are very rare. Among United States Postmasters' Provisionals, there are only three issues produced from plates containing more than one denomination: Baltimore, Providence and St. Louis. There is no known genuine se-tenant example of the Baltimore 5c and 10c provisionals. Se-tenant multiples of the Providence 5c and 10c are readily available in unused condition, due to the survival of remainder sheets. Of the St. Louis "Bears", there are only six recorded se-tenant multiples involving any of the three denominations. These are: 1) 5c-10c Positions 5-6, horizontal pair on Gray Lilac (11X4-11X5), red circular datestamp, 5c faint corner crease, Siegel 1978 Rarities sale as part of a reconstruction, lot 17; 2) 5c-10c-10c Positions 4/5-6, L-shaped strip of three on Gray Lilac (11X4-11X5), pen cancels, ex Caspary, Siegel 1979 Rarities sale as part of a reconstruction, lot 15; 3) 5c-10c-10c-10c Positions 2/4/5-6, L-shaped block of four on Gray Lilac (11X4-11X5), pen cancels (tiny break), the item offered here, ex Lapham, Siegel 1977 Rarities sale, lot 22; 4) 20c-20c-5c Positions 1/3/5, vertical strip of three on Gray Lilac (11X6-11X4), pen cancels, on large piece of cover with May 26 (1846) circular datestamp, ex Worthington, "Isleham" collection in Siegel Ameripex sale, lot 1030; 5) 20c-10c Positions 1-2, horizontal pair on Gray Lilac (11X6-11X5), pen cancels, 10c crease and small thin, Siegel 1980 Rarities sale, lot 14; and 6) 20c-10c Positions 3-4, horizontal pair (11X6-11X5), tied by pen cancel and red May 31 (1846) circular datestamp on folded cover to Charnley & Whelen, Philadelphia, ex Pope. Se-tenant item numbers 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 were all sold in the 2003 sale of the Faiman collection.

Five large groups of St. Louis "Bears" have been discovered during the past 132 years. In 1869 J. W. Scott acquired a correspondence bearing 50 of the 5c, 100 of the 10c and three 20c stamps, probably all of which have been removed from their original covers. In 1880 the Riggs correspondence produced 20 examples of the 5c and 10c. In 1889 the J. & J. Stuart correspondence contained 25 examples of the 5c and 10c, most on Pelure paper. The huge "Louisville" find in 1895, salvaged by a janitor who was burning papers, yielded 75 of the 5c, 46 of the 10c and 16 of the 20c, including se-tenant multiples that revealed the plate layout and proved the authenticity of the 20c stamps, which had been in question since 1869. All of the stamps in the Louisville find were found on covers addressed to Tyler & Rutherford, a banking firm in Louiville, but many of the stamps were later removed. Additional material from the Tyler & Rutherford correspondence surfaced around 1902 and was acquired by C. H. Mekeel. In 1912 the first portion of the Charnley & Whelen correspondence reached philatelists, which provided another six of the 5c, 61 of the 10c and 16 of the 20c. Additional Charnley & Whelen covers were sold over the next three decades.

The two largest St. Louis "Bears" correspondences were addressed to Tyler & Rutherford in Louisville, a distance under 300 miles, and to Charnley & Whelen in Philadelphia, a distance over 300 miles. The postage rates in effect during that period were 5c for any distance under 300 miles and 10c for 300 miles and over. Assuming that the se-tenant block offered here represents all of the postage from one cover, then the total of 35c would represent seven times the 5c rate per half-ounce. Therefore, it is likely that this L-shaped block was part of the Tyler & Rutherford correspondence discovered in 1895.

There is no known block of the St. Louis "Bears" in a square (2 x 2) format. This L-shaped block of four stamps is the largest recorded multiple of the St. Louis "Bears", and it is the only multiple of its size. The next largest multiple is a strip of three, which exists in vertical format -- comprising all 5c, all 10c or a combination of 20c-20c-5c se-tenant (No. 4 in the list above) -- and one L-shaped 5c-10c-10c se-tenant strip (No. 2 in the list above).

With 2001 P.F. certificate. Also accompanied by a Friedl Expert Committee certificate dated April 28, 1977, signed by Herbert A. Bloch with his observation that "it is one of the outstanding items of the U.S. Postmasters' Provisionals." Bloch rarely commented on the significance of philatelic items he certified. Scott value based on realization in 2001 Rarities sale ($150,000 hammer).

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