The William H. Gross Collection: United States Postal History continued...

Floyd's Penny Post, Chicago, Illinois, (1¢) Blue (68L1), absolutely enormous margins all around, rich color, tied by "Floyd's Penny Post Chicago" double-oval handstamp on immaculate buff cover to Ogden School principal J. Kimball, who took over Floyd's Penny Post in 1862, Extremely Fine Gem stamp on a pristine cover, with 1995 P.F. certificate (Image)

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3¢ Dull Red, Type III (26), tied by blue "Chicago Ill. May 7" double-circle datestamp on cover to Philadelphia Pa., clear strike of "Floyd's Penny Post Chicago" blue double-oval handstamp, fresh and Very Fine 3¢ 1857 Issue on cover with the Floyd's Penny Post handstamp, ex Grunin, Golden and "Sevenoaks" (Image)

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Hussey's Post, New York, N.Y., (1¢) Black (87L2), large margins to full at top right, tied by clear strike of "FREE" handstamp on cover to Beckman Street address, Very Fine and extremely rare on-cover example of this Hussey's Post issue, small purple handstamp in address, signed Sloane, with 1995 P.F. certificate (Image)

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Kellogg's Penny Post & City Despatch, Cleveland, Ohio, (1¢) Vermilion (92L1), large margins, brilliant color, used with 3¢ Dull Red, Type II (11A), margins all around, small bend/crease at top right, both stamps tied by clearly-struck circular grid and "Cleveland O. Sep. 27" (ca. 1853) circular datestamp on manila cover to Canton, Ohio, with Waverly House blue embossed corner card

Extremely Fine. Arguably the finest of the six recorded covers with the Kellogg's Penny Post stamp, of which only three are tied by a handstamp.

Kellogg's Penny Post & City Despatch was a relatively short-lived local post in Cleveland. It is believed that the post existed in 1853 and 1854. A cover dated June 28 (1853) and a piece dated April 7 (1854) are the earliest and latest recorded dates of use for the 92L1 stamp. Carrier service in Cleveland began in December 1853, which probably forced Kellogg's out of business by mid-1854.

Our records contain six Kellogg's covers. In addition to the six covers, there are at least six 92L1 stamps known off cover. All of the surviving Kellogg's covers were delivered to the post office (three from hotels); no city-delivery covers are known. Perhaps Kellogg's post was incorporated into the Cleveland carrier department started by Henry S. Bishop on December 21, 1853. Bishop left the carrier department on July 1, 1854, to become an employee of the Cleveland post office (source: Elliott Perry). Bishop's move roughly coincides with the end of Kellogg's post; however, no official records are known to us that confirm Kellogg's involvement as a carrier. The use of the black grid to cancel the stamp on this cover strongly suggests an official link to the post office.

From our 1997 Rarities sale (when discovered), and ex Edgar Kuphal and Joseph Hackmey. With 1997 P.F. certificate. (Image)

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Westtown School, Westtown, Pennsylvania, (2¢) Gold (145L1), large to huge margins, used with 3¢ Dull Red, Type I (11), ample margins to barely in at lower right, tied together by "Westchester Pa. Mar. ? 1857" circular datestamp on cover to Kirks Mills, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, with original Quaker-dated March 1857 folded letter and printed report card ("Register of Recitations") for February 9 through March 7, 1857

Extremely Fine and very rare combination of the Westtown Local stamp tied in combination with the 3¢ 1851 Issue on the front of a small cover. A magnificent cover with fascinating contents, including likely the earliest school report card we have ever encountered.

This local post carried mail between the post office and Westtown Quaker School for Girls, which is still in operation and, despite the name, is said to be the oldest continuously operating coeducational boarding school in America. Its small adhesive stamps were almost always affixed to the back flap of ladies' envelopes and sometimes to the front at the opposite side of U.S. postage, and therefore not tied since the post office paid no mind to the local stamp and was only focused on cancelling the U.S. stamp. Only the fortuitous placement of the Westtown stamp next to the 3¢ 1851 stamp on this cover resulted in a tying postmark. The use of this stamp on the address side, tied with the post office datestamp, is extremely rare, with probably fewer than four extant. The contents, including a report card, adds to its desirability.

Ex Joseph Hackmey. (Image)

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Moody's Penny Dispatch, Chicago, Illinois, (1¢) Black on Red Glazed (110L1), Type Ic with Comma, Position 7 according to our plating analysis, ample to large margins with sheet margin at left, tied by blue "Moody's Despatch, 6PM, Nov. 14, 1856" circular datestamp, used with three 1¢ Blue, Type IV (9), one with full margins, others with large margins to slightly in, tied by "Chicago Ill. Nov. 14, 1856" circular datestamp on small cover to Middletown, Newport Post Office, Rhode Island

Extremely Fine; one 1¢ stamp has small internal tear.

Ex Alfred H. Caspary, John R. Boker, Jr., Herbert Ashendorf, Edgar Kuphal and Joseph Hackmey. With 1992 P.F. certificate. (Image)

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Moody's Penny Dispatch, Chicago, Illinois, (1¢) Black on Red Glazed, "Henny" instead of "Penny" Error (110L1b), Type III with "Henny" spelling error, Position 8 according to our plating analysis, large margins to barely in at bottom, tied by blue "Moody's Despatch 6PM, Sep. 18, 1856" circular datestamp, used with 3¢ Dull Red, Type II (11A), margins to slightly in, tied by "Chicago Ill. Sep. 18, 1856" circular datestamp on bright yellow cover to Voluntown, Connecticut, with machinist's blue corner card in shield-shaped frame, with original letter enclosure

Extremely Fine stamp and cover.

Ex Paul C. Rohloff, Edgar Kuphal and Joseph Hackmey. With 2006 P.F. certificate.

HISTORY AND COMMENTARY

The Two Greatest Moody's Local Post Covers

The two covers offered here are each unique examples of the rare Moody's Penny Dispatch stamp of Chicago. One is the only recorded combination with 1¢ 1851 stamps, and the other is the discovery copy of the "Henny Dispatch" error, which went unrecognized for decades until 1994--it remains the only known example of this typographic error.

What little is known about Moody's Penny Dispatch comes from original research by Dr. Clarence Hennan and Henry E. Abt, with additional information provided by Elliott Perry. Abt's series on Chicago locals was published in The American Philatelist (June 1957-January 1958), and the discovery of the "Henny Dispatch" error with a plating analysis was published by Scott R. Trepel in Chronicle 164 (November 1994). City directories point to Robert J. Moody as the proprietor. Gager's directory for 1856-57 lists Moody at 30 Dearborn, at the corner of Lake Street. Dated examples establish a brief period of operation from September through December 1856 and possibly into January 1857.

Our records contain seven covers with the Moody's Penny Dispatch stamp, including five with the local stamp tied by a postmark. One of the five tied examples is the unique 1¢ 1851 combination cover offered in lot 368, and another is the cover with the unique "Henny" error offered in lot 369. These two are unquestionably the most outstanding Moody's Penny Dispatch covers, and they rank close to the top of the list of important Carrier and Local Post covers in general.

The 1¢ 1851 cover has been well-known since the 1957 sale of the Alfred H. Caspary collection by H. R. Harmer (lot 903). It was acquired in the Caspary sale by John R. Boker, Jr., and was among the covers sold privately when his collection of Postmasters' Provisionals, Carriers and Locals was dispersed in the 1970s. It was later acquired by Herb Ashendorf, whose collection formed the basis of Siegel Sale 773 (3/26/1996). The "Henny Dispatch" error was offered as a normal stamp on cover in the 1966 Rarities of the World sale (Sale 296, lot 157) and sold to Paul C. Rohloff. When the Rohloff collection was sold by Richard C. Frajola in 1994 (Sale 56), this cover was lot 339 and once again described as the normal stamp. Only upon close examination of the stamp was the "Henny" typographic error recognized and documented for the first time.

The two covers appeared together on the front cover of the Ashendorf sale (Sale 773) and were acquired as a pair by Edgar Kuphal for his international Large Gold collection of Carriers and Locals. At the 2006 Siegel sale of the Kuphal collection (Sale 925), the pair sold as separate lots to Joseph Hackmey. The Hackmey collection was sold privately to William H. Gross in 2010. (Image)

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