Lot 6062
Private Post Office, San Francisco, 123LU2a, 15c Blue on 3c White Entire on U58 3c Pink to Local Address
The Only Recorded Example of the San Francisco Private Post Office Local Printed Frank on White
Ausruf: $1,000
Estimate: $1,500 - $2,000
Blue Private Post Office elaborate framed frank with mailing instructions and blue "Private Post Office No. 5 Kearny St. S.F. June 3" double-circle datestamp tying the indica and another strike on reverse. The cover is addressed locally in San Francisco, with staining on the front. This is Very Fine appearance, and the only recorded used example of the San Francisco Private Post Office local printed frank printed on white; the remaining recorded usages of 123LU are on buff (U54, U59) and orange (U56) paper. Research by John Bowman and Gordon Stimmell connects the Private Post Office and the Public Letter Office as a single operation that changed names, drawing on evidence from the reverse of a corner cut in Stimmell's collection with the Private Post Office imprint. The direction of the name change remains unsettled, and Scott continues to list the two operations separately under 123LU and 125LU.
Provenienz
Ex Ex Dale-Lichtenstein, Larry Lyons
Wann wird dieses Los versteigert?
The Philatelic Icons Sale 2026 | June 26-28
Sale 32: Western Postal History & Expresses — Saturday, June 27, 2026 | 6pm EST, 3pm PST
We are honored to present The Philatelic Icons Sale, the largest and most significant auction Americana Stamps has ever offered.
America's history lives in the letters that crossed goldfields and battle lines, in express covers that linked frontier towns to the outside world, and in the stamps that mark how a young country built its postal system from scratch. This sale brings together more than 1,500 lots that trace that story, including philatelic icons seldom offered to the public.
This auction is a natural fit for 2026, the 250th year of the United States, and for the Boston 2026 World Expo (May 23 to 30, Booth 141), the once-per-decade international exhibition where we are proud to open the sale. More than 750 lots are accompanied by Philatelic Foundation certifications, the largest concentration of certified material we have ever offered in a single sale.
As always, the sale is designed to serve both the collector and the researcher. Whenever available, you can expect:
✔ High-resolution imagery of all aspects of the item
✔ Links to reference articles and supporting research
✔ Links to philatelic certifications
✔ Census data and population insights
✔ Provenance details to trace notable histories
Whether you are pursuing a long-sought rarity or simply enjoy the chance to study material of this caliber, we invite you to explore the Philatelic Icons Sale and join us in Boston for our largest in-person preview to date.