Summer 2025 | July 18-20, 2025

Black “U.S. Mail/1/Dec/1/City Delivery” double-circle New York city carrier (unpaid) handstamp and free frank of John Sherman, member of the House of Representatives from Ohio 1855-61, also Secretary of Treasury and Secretary of State. The cover with some soiling and writing on back.

Black “U.S. Mail/1/Apr/24/City Delivery” double-circle New York city carrier (unpaid) handstamp. Cover with edge soiling.

Cover addressed to Watertown, CT with “U.S. Mail/1/Nov/15/City Delivery” double-circle New York city carrier (unpaid) handstamp with “Held for Postage” on front, New York duplex datestamp on reverse. No 3c postage was paid, so the letter was held by post office.

1c Blue Type II with ample margins to just in at top, tied by “U.S.P.O. Despatch / Pre-Paid / One Cent” double-oval carrier marking on buff cover addressed to a Philadelphia post office box. The stamp was precancelled and used to prepay the 1c carrier fee to prevent the stamps from being used for regular postage and to prevent accounting problems for the post office and carrier department. A fascinating postal artifact.

Horizontal pair of 1c Blue Type IV (#9), positions 28R1L and 29R1L, tied by circular grid cancels on folded cover addressed locally within New Orleans, Louisiana. The manuscript instruction “Please Send by Penny Post” requested carrier delivery. The pair prepaid the 2c combined rate for drop letter and local carrier service.

Relief D, Plate 4. Addressed Locally. The stamp with gum toned perfs.

The letter was privately carried from Liverpool to New York, where it was placed into the carrier system for local delivery at the 1c rate.

1c Blue Type V (#24) tied by red “New York Oct 19 1 Cent Paid for Delivery” carrier datestamp on blue cameo corner card advertising cover used locally within New York City. The stamp shows a piece out at top from irregular separation prior to use; cover with backflap missing.

Black “New York P.O./1/NOV/9/Station C” city carrier one cent handstamp. Stamp with three ample margins, nibbed perfs into design at top.

Black “U.S. Mail/1/?/24/City Delivery” double-circle New York city carrier handstamp. Cover addressed to PO box. Stamp with ample margins, deep color.

The two pairs paying the 1c carrier fee plus 3c postage from New York to East Hamptons, CT.

The cover with some edge wear and backflap partly torn away.

Both stamps tied by "New York Oct. 1" Ocean Mail circular datestamp with integral grid. The cover collected by carrier and brought to the post office for mail to California. The #24 paying the carrier fee.
The cover repaired at right, and the 1c stamp with straight edge at right, otherwise Very Fine.

Dec 7 Petersham, Mass cds.

"RICHMOND VA, APR 16" circular datestamp on preprinted form from the Custom House in Richmond, addressed locally, with "Removed" and forwarding instructions added in manuscript. The cover with a central vertical fold

Aug 15, 18444 folded letter with red "FOWARDED BY AMERICAN MAIL CO. NO 102 CHESTNUT STREET, PHILADELPHIA" handstamp. Docketed "R.R. Boyd Aug 15/44", who was a merchant in New York. The stamp heavily torn away, perhaps to prevent reuse by the addressee, and the letter with horizontal and vertical file folds.

Manuscript "American Mail". The letter with fold separations.

Datelined September 18, 1844, folded letter sent from Birmingham, England to Philadelphia. Carried on the Cunard Line Caledonia, which departed Liverpool on September 18 and arrived in Boston on October 2. Addressed to Philadelphia. Forwarded from Boston to Philadelphia by the American Letter Mail Co. Duplicate invoice contents noted.

Folded letter dated August 1, 1844, from New York. Struck with "Forwarded by American Mail Co. from No. 109 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia" handstamp (ALM-PHL-F10) and "Collect 6 1/2 cts New York Office" (C05). Addressed to commission merchant A. N. Thom, referencing an order.