Harmer-Schau Auctions

Sale 114


 
Lot 1242



Confederacy; Postmasters' Provisionals, Nashville, Tenn., 1861, 5¢ Across the Lines Cover, #61X2, Three large margins, barely in along right frameline, light shade, tied by blue "Postage Paid" handstamp and bold black "Adams Ex. Co. * Louisville, Ky. * Aug. 4, 1861" circular datestamp on "The Adams Express Company" imprinted buff cover northbound from Joseph Knowles in Nashville to his daughter Annie in Warren R.I., blue "Adams Express Co. Nashville Aug. 3" oval datestamp and pencil "2" (two bits, 25c express fee) applied by Adams Nashville office, 3¢ Type III (#26) affixed at Adams Louisville office and tied by blue grid with matching "Louisville Ky. Aug. 5" double-circle datestamp, 5¢ has a long sealed vertical tear, 3¢ minor faults, Special Routes Census No. N-AD-48 (illustrated on p. 48). This South-to-North express cover is one of six recorded with the 5¢ Nashville adhesive provisional and U.S. stamps used together. Five are listed in the Special Routes book (Census Nos. S-AD-38, N-AD-48, 73, 81, 83). A sixth cover recently came to light, which has "The Southern Express Company" oval handstamp (both the marking and the cover were unknown to the authors at the time the Special Routes book was published). In addition to the 5¢ covers, there are two Nashville 10c Provisional combinations carried by Adams. Two of the six covers, incl. the one offered here, are from the Knowles correspondence to Rhode Island. Two other northbound covers have Adams and Louisville post office markings with identical dates (Aug. 21 and 22); one is addressed to Minnesota and the other to Kentucky. The fifth cover is a North-to-South usage to Cleveland Tenn., dated July 27 at Louisville. Adams was required to pay Confederate postage, but letters never actually entered the mails at Nashville., Ex Walske, Weatherly and Simon. Very few covers are recorded with Confederate provisional stamps or markings used in conjunction with across-the-lines express service. This group includes the provisionals of Atlanta (handstamp), Houston (handstamp), Lynchburg (press-printed entire), Memphis (adhesive), Mobile (adhesive), Montgomery (handstamp), Nashville (adhesive and handstamp) and New Orleans (adhesive).
Estimate $8,000-10,000.

 
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Two Pence Blue