Sale 1304 — The Brian M. Bleckwenn Collection of United States First Issue Revenues
Sale Date — Tuesday-Wednesday, 12-13 December, 2023
Category — First Issue Cancellations (Express, Steamship, Railroad Others)
2c Certificate, Blue, Imperforate (R7a). Large to huge margins including portions of adjoining stamps at both sides, blue "Wells, Fargo & Co. Oroville Jun 11" oval datestamp with manuscript 1863 year, scissor cut at top right clear of design, Extremely Fine
5c Express, Red, Part Perforated (R25b). Vertical pair with red four-line printed "Adams Ex. Co. Jun 1 1863" cancel on each stamp, Very Fine and rare Civil War express use
Express Cancellations on First Issue Revenues. 10 stamps (1c-5c denominations) with handstamped cancellations including Wells, Fargo & Co. (including 1866 Virginia City use), Adams Express Co., Harnden Express Co. shield, Howe & Co. Express, U.S. Express Co., American Express Co., and more, small faults, still Fine and attractive group of these popular cancellations
$2.00 Mortgage, Red, Perforated (R82c). Five strikes of blue "ALASKA" Pacific Mail Steamship Co. handstamp, Fine and scarce, the SS Alaska was launched in 1867 and served the New York-Aspinwall route from 1868 to 1869, she later was used on the San Francisco-Panama and San Francisco-Hong Kong routes
$3.00 Manifest, Green, Perforated (R86c). Two strikes of blue "ARIZONA" Pacific Mail Steamship Co. handstamp, Fine and scarce, the SS Arizona served the New York-Aspinwall route from 1866 to 1869 and was scrapped in San Francisco in 1877
$1.00 Foreign Exchange, Red, Perforated (R68c). Blue "NEW YORK" Pacific Mail Steamship Co. handstamp, few trivial short perfs mentioned for strict accuracy only, Fine, the only recorded example of this handstamp, the SS New York was built for Vanderbilt and launched in 1864 serving the New York-Aspinwall route, she continued the same service for the PMSS from December 1865 to April 1867 when she was transferred to Yokohama-Shanghai service until 1875 when she was sold and renamed Tokio Maru
$1.00 Inland Exchange, Red, Perforated (R69c). Blue "OREGONIAN" Pacific Mail Steamship Co. handstamp, fresh and Very Fine, the SS Oregonian was built in 1866 for the Oregon Steam Navigation Co., less than two months later she was sold to the North American Steamship Co. and used on the San Francisco-Panama route until she was sold to the PMSS in 1868 and used on Yokohama-Shanghai service
$1.00 Foreign Exchange, Red, Perforated (R68c). Blue "SACRAMENTO" Pacific Mail Steamship Co. handstamp, few short perfs at right, otherwise Very Fine and scarce, the SS Sacramento was launched in May 1863 and reached San Francisco in September 1864, she served the San Francisco-Panama route until 1869 and was wrecked in December 1872 with no loss of life
Pacific Mail Steamship Company Cancels on First Issue Revenues. Group of 14 stamps, mostly $1 Perforated issues but also $1 Conveyance Imperforate, three $2 Perforated issues, and $5 Charter Party Perforated, blue straightline handstamps including America, China, Colorado, Golden City, Great Republic, Henry Chauncey, Japan, Montana, Ocean Queen, Oregonian, and Rising Star, few duplicates, generally Fine to Very Fine, a desirable group of these popular handstamps
Steamship and Steamboat Cancellations on First Issue Revenues. Group of 13 stamps, range of denominations from 2c to $5.00, with handstamped cancellations including the Cunard Mail Line, Merchants' Steamship Co., Narragansett Steamship Co., Neptune Steamship Co., Ontario Steamboat Co., Pacific Mail Steamship Co., and Providence & New York Steamship Co., also Second Issue $2.00 with red "Ocean Queen" straightline handstamp, generally Fine to Very Fine, a choice group
Railroad Cancellations on First Issue Revenues. 12 singles and a pair, mostly 2c, 5c, and 25c denominations, with handstamped cancellations including Central Pacific R.R. (on $1.00 Foreign Exchange), Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton R.R., Columbus & Xenia R.R., New York Central R.R., Ohio & Mississippi R.R., New Castle & Beaver Valley R.R., Philadelphia & Reading R.R., and Union R.R., generally Fine to Very Fine, an attractive and desirable lot for the railroad specialist
2c Bank Check, Orange, Perforated (R6c). Block of four with centrally struck ornate blue "Susquehanna Canal Company" suburst handstamp, few reinforced perfs, Very Fine and striking
$1.00 Life Insurance, Red, Perforated (R71c). Deep rich color, "A.B.C." handstamp cancel struck in gold, Extremely Fine, very unusual with gold ink cancel
5c Certificate, Red, Perforated (R24c). Tied on piece by perfect strike of blue negative "Customs House Savannah Ga." with eagle and ribbon fancy cancel, file fold affects stamp, still an Extremely Fine strike, with 2008 P.F. certificate
25c Power of Attorney, Red, Perforated (R48c). Block of four with left imprint and plate no. 25 V block of four, rich color, red Custom House San Francisco oval handstamps, bottom left stamp light pre-printing paperfold, Very Fine, a remarkable plate block with red oval cancels from San Francisco
2c Bank Check, Blue, Perforated (R5c). Negative Masonic Square and Compass cancellation, manuscript "GHW" initials above and "Sep 21 1863" date below, which help to authenticate the cancel, Fine and most unusual, fancy cancellations such as this are much less common on revenue stamps than they are on postage stamps of the same period
2c Bank Check, Blue, 5c Certificate, Red, Perforated (R5c, R24c). Three of each (six in total), each with bold negative "JT" handstamp with floral border, Fine to Very Fine, the source of this cancellation is unidentified, it is one of the more attractive handstamps found on these issues
1c Proprietary, Red, Perforated (R3c). Four singles, each with bold printed "CF/Fire and Water Proof Cement" circular cancel of the firm Catlin & Freese, Fine to Very Fine, little is known about this company which operated out of Newburgh N.Y., Morrissey valuation "O"
1c Proprietary, Red, Perforated (R3c). Horizontal strip of three, each with neat circled "K. & Co. 15/71" printed cancel, clipped perforations at right, otherwise Very Fine and scarce, Aldrich attributes this cancel to Kennedy & Co. while Morrissey states it is unidentified, Morrissey valuation "M"
2c Bank Check, Orange, Perforated (R6c). Blue printed "D.L. Lamson, Fryeburg, Me." cancel with sunburst, Fine and rare, a beautiful illustrated cancellation, D. Lowell Lamson was known to be a doctor in Fryeburg in the 1860s and founded the second Fryeburg Water Company in 1883, apart from this we can find no information regarding this cancellation
1c Proprietary, Red, Perforated (R3c). Printed five-line "W.K. Lewis & Brothers. May 1, 1869." cancel, Fine and rare, W. K. Lewis & Brothers was a Boston-based canning company specializing in "pickles, preserves, ketchups, and syrups" as well as "hermetically sealed meats, soups, and fish"
Canned Food Cancellations on First Issue Revenues. 15 stamps with cancellations from Columbia River Packing Co. (Type 1), Cutting & Co., Kemp, Day & Co., T. Kensett & Co., W. K. Lewis & Brothers, Ruth & Co., Ruth & Fleming, and Wilkins & Co., also remaindered blocks including Wilkins & Co. 2c Proprietary blocks of four and 21, Ruth & Fleming 1c Proprietary blocks of four and 30, and Kemp, Day & Co. 2c Proprietary block of nine, generally Fine to Very Fine
2c Proprietary, Blue, Perforated (R13c). With "Prepared in this Quality Exclusively for D.S. Chatfield" small oval label applied over Washington's face, additional script-style handstamp cancel under the label, lightly toned and small perf faults, Fine appearance, very few paste-on advertising labels are known on First Issue Revenues, not much is known about D. S. Chatfield but a 1c Proprietary with this same handstamp (lacking the label) is found on a French perfume bottle
Cosmetics & Perfumery Cancellations on First Issue Revenues. 12 stamps including Trix Manufacturing Co. Type 2 on 1c Proprietary, Damon & Baker Type 2 on 1c Proprietary, Damon & Baker Type 5 in green on 1c Proprietary, Joseph Hoyt & Co. Type 1 on 1c Proprietary and 2c Playing Cards, and S.R. Van Duzer Type 1 on 3c and 4c Proprietary, small faults, Fine and scarce group