The Gordon Eubanks Collection of The U.S. 1869 Pictorial Issue continued...

FRESH AND FINE. AN ATTRACTIVE ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE 30-CENT 1869 PICTORIAL ISSUE.

With 1983 and 2010 P.F. certificates (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE. A BEAUTIFUL USED EXAMPLE OF THE 30-CENT 1869 PICTORIAL ISSUE CANCELLED SOLELY BY THE RED LEAF CANCEL OF NEW YORK CITY. A WONDERFUL STAMP IN TERMS OF CENTERING, COLOR, OVERALL FRESHNESS AND CANCELLATION.

Small purple backstamp. With 1978 P.F. certificate (Image)

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FINE-VERY FINE. A RARE ORIGINAL-GUM BLOCK OF FOUR OF THE 30-CENT 1869 PICTORIAL ISSUE WITHOUT GRILL ON DOUBLE PAPER.

The 30c 1869 Without Grill/Double Paper variety was described by John N. Luff in his book, who notes that the colors are slightly darker. Scott Trepel, in an article in the Chronicle (Feb. 2008), states that based on his partial plate reconstructions only one pane of 100 was printed. He also notes that they were probably printed at an early stage of production, probably as a trial to test the double paper as a security measure.

Over the years, stamps have been incorrectly offered and certified as the Scott 121a on ordinary single-layer paper (without grill). The ex-Zoellner left-pane plate number block of six was originally joined with the ex-Ishikawa block of fifteen from the adjacent right pane (currently in the Gross collection). They are both the Without Grill/Double Paper variety.

Ex Caspary. With 1997 P.F. certificate as Without Grill variety and with 2010 P.F. certificate as the Without Grill/Double Paper variety. Scott Retail as singles. (Image)

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VERY FINE. A RARE EXAMPLE OF THE 30-CENT 1869 PICTORIAL ISSUE ON COVER. ONLY TWO COVERS TO MEXICO ARE RECORDED FOR THIS 1869 HIGH-VALUE STAMP. WHILE ANY 30-CENT ON COVER IS A RARITY, THIS COVER TO MEXICO IS OF FAR GREATER RARITY AND OFFERS THE POSTAL HISTORY COLLECTOR A SIGNIFICANT OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW THE TRIPLE RATE PAID BY A SINGLE 1869 PICTORIAL HIGH-VALUE.

The 1869 Census book records only two covers to Mexico with the 30c. Both are triple-rate covers from New York.

Ex Newbury and Baker. (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE STAMP ON AN ATTRACTIVE FRONT. A SCARCE DOUBLE-RATE USE OF THE 30-CENT 1869 PICTORIAL TO FRANCE, SENT DIRECT VIA AMERICAN PACKET.

Carried aboard the HAPAG Hammonia II, which departed New York July 6 and arrived in Cherbourg on July 18.

With 1992 P.F. certificate. Scott Retail as full cover to a foreign destination $32,500.00 (Image)

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VERY FINE. THE ONLY RECORDED EXAMPLE OF THE 30-CENT 1869 PICTORIAL ON A PHANTOM RATE COVER. A MARVELOUS COMBINATION OF PHILATELIC RARITY AND POSTAL HISTORY SIGNIFICANCE.

This cover was mailed from Pittsburgh soon after the New York foreign-mail office began applying the newly-reduced (effective 7/1/70) 6c per 10 grams (-1/3 oz.) credit to letters sent fully prepaid to France via England. The sender would not have known about the unannounced prepaid rate to France, so this was probably stamped 30c for a letter weighing just over one ounce (3x 10c Direct rate with French postage collect). The New York office weighed the letter at just under one ounce, thus it had sufficient postage to be sent fully prepaid at the unannounced 10c per half-ounce rate with a 6c credit to G.B. for every -1/3 ounce (10 grams). The "18" of the "18/2" credit represents the 3x 6c credit (20-30 grams), and the "2" represents the second weight class of the 4c per half-ounce U.S. share of postage (over -1/2 oz., up to 1 oz.). Combined, the 18c credit to G.B. and 8c U.S. postage required 26c prepayment, thus the 30c 1869 overpaid the rate by 4c.

Illustrated in 1869 PRA Census (p. 201, where the rate is misinterpreted). Ex Lounsbery and Coulter. With 1967 and 2006 P.F. certificates. (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE. ONE OF ONLY FOUR RECORDED COVERS TO HONG KONG OR CHINA WITH THE 30-CENT (OR 12-CENT) 1869 PICTORIAL ISSUE. ESPECIALLY DESIRABLE WITH THE RARE MARINE SORTER TYPE E BACKSTAMP. ANOTHER FASCINATING ELEMENT IS THE CALCULATION OF TRAVEL TIME BY THE RECIPIENT. A POSTAL HISTORY RARITY OF THE HIGHEST ORDER AND ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EUBANKS COLLECTION.

The stamps pay the 42c rate to China by British Mail via Marseilles. The cover was carried aboard the Inman Line's Brooklyn, which departed New York on July 31 and arrived in Liverpool on August 10, 1869. It was then carried aboard the P & O's Massilia, which departed Marseilles Aug. 15 and arrived in Alexandria on Aug. 21. From Suez it was carried aboard the Deccan, which departed there on Aug. 22 and arrived at Galle on Sep. 6. It left Galle on Sep. 8 aboard the Travancore, which arrived in Hong Kong on Sep. 21 after a stop in Singapore on Sep. 15. Total travel time was 57 days, assuming that the letter was dated July 26, as indicated by the docketing which allocates five days to July.

The recipient carefully recorded the length of time this cover took to reach him, as well as calculating how long it would have taken if sent via California and the Pacific Mail Steam Ship Co. line via Yokohama. His calculation shows that 17 days would have been saved (a third less time) had it been sent by the San Francisco-Yokohama route. The shorter journey was facilitated by the opening of the transcontinental railroad just over two months earlier on May 10, 1869.

According to the Webb book, the sorting of mail on board ship was first tried in 1857 and was found to speed the delivery of the mails on arrival in Hong Kong. The Governor of Hong Kong petitioned to make this a permanent position, but the scheme was not implemented. Seven years later, after the GPO decided that Hong Kong should assume greater responsibilities, the sorting plan was green-lighted. An official from the Hong Kong post office would meet the P & O steamer in Singapore and sort the mails during the trip to Hong Kong. The mails could then be delivered immediately on arrival or forwarded faster to their final destination outside of Hong Kong. The new service started with the arrival of mails at the end of July 1868. Mails were sorted between Singapore and Hong Kong, and another line was also established to sort mails between Hong Kong and Shanghai. There are five sub-types of the Marine Sorter marking showing the date of trip. The Webb book describes them, and considers this one to be rare.

There are four recorded 30c 1869 covers to China, only one of which is listed in the 1869 Census book. All bear the same franking and are also the only recorded 12c 1869 covers to Hong Kong or China. The cover offered here is part of the Collins correspondence, which came to light in 1991 (Frajola sale 47). The Collins correspondence produced another 30c/12c 1869 cover, which is extensively restored along the left edge. A third cover to a different addressee was offered in the 1987 Rarities sale (lot 238). The fourth was sent to Hong Kong and forwarded to Yokohama. There are also three 30c 1869 covers sent from China, including the famous Bradford cover, which realized $200,000 hammer in our 2004 auction of the LeBow collection.

With 1999 P.F. certificate. (Image)

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