Lot
2989 
Confederacy, 1862, 2¢ green, horizontal pair, ample to large margins with pre-use crease between stamps, in combination with 1862, 5¢ blue, Archer & Daly print (7) with mostly large margins, all tied by "Goldborough, N.C., Jan 31" cds's on homemade cover to Haywood, N.C., 1861 year docketing at left, with 1¢ deficiency no doubt paid in cash for the 10¢ rate, Extremely Fine, ex-Freeland.Scott No. 3 Estimate $7,500 - 10,000.
A REMARKABLE AND UNIQUE 2¢ JACKSON PAIR AND 5¢ RICHMOND LOCAL ISSUE COMBINATION ON COVER.
The 2¢ rate was authorized for drop rate & circulars as well as newspapers and periodicals weighing less than three ounces. These stamps were sometime used in strips of five paying the ten cent rate.
The letter was written on January 30th and posted on January 31st, 1863 and "answered by letter directed to the care of General Daniel at Kinston, N.C." in February. General Junius Daniel was charged with rebuilding the Wilmington & Weldon railroad bridge that had been destroyed December 17th during the battle of Goldsborough Bridge at the end of Foster's Raid.
Current Opening Bid: $3,750
Lot 2950 o
Confederacy, Goliad, Tex., 1861, 10¢ black on gray, light town cancel, large even margins, couple trivial thins, Extremely Fine appearance, ex-Caspary, Kirkman & Haub.Scott No. 29X7 $12,000.
ONE OF THE MOST ATTRACTIVE EXAMPLES OF THE GOLIAD 10¢ TYPE II PROVISIONAL - WITH ONLY SEVEN EXAMPLE ARE KNOWN IN PRIVATE HANDS.
Goliad Postmaster, John A. Clarke, was tired of customer complaints about the lack of stamps for sale. So he contacted the local newspaper the Goliad Messenger to print some for him. Newspaper owner, Rev. A.F. Cox, set the type and printed some very simple 5¢ and 10¢ stamps that are now among the rarest of all the world's postage stamps with only seven now known, including three on cover, to be in private hands.
Current Opening Bid: $3,750
Lot 2926
Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, signature as Secretary of War on appointment form datelined "War Department, Washington Aug 9, 1853", promoting Ulysses S. Grant to the rank of Captain in the Fourth Regiment of the Infantry and to take affect on 5th of August, document addressed to "Captain U.S. Grant, 4th Infantry, Fort Vancouver, Washington Terr'y", with directive "You will proceed without delay to join your company (F) at Fort Humboldt, Cal.", reverse docketed "Rec'd Oct. 18/53", Very Fine.Estimate $4,000 - 6,000.
A HISTORICAL APPOINTMENT OF ULYSSES S. GRANT TO THE RANK OF CAPTAIN ISSUED BY JEFFERSON DAVIS AS SECRETARY OF WAR.
Jefferson F. Davis was an American politician who served as the first and only president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic Party before the American Civil War. He was the United States Secretary of War from 1853 to 1857.
Promoted to captain on August 5, 1853, Grant was assigned to command Company F, 4th Infantry, at the newly constructed Fort Humboldt in California. Grant arrived at Fort Humboldt on January 5, 1854, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Robert C. Buchanan. Separated from his family, Grant began to drink. Colonel Buchanan reprimanded Grant for one drinking episode and told Grant to "resign or reform". Grant told Buchanan he would "resign if I don't reform". On Sunday, Grant was found influenced by alcohol, but not incapacitated, at his company's pay table. Keeping his pledge to Buchanan, Grant resigned, effective July 31, 1854. Buchanan endorsed Grant's resignation but did not submit any report that verified the incident. Grant did not face court-martial, and the War Department said: "Nothing stands against his good name". Grant said years later, "the vice of intemperance (drunkenness) had not a little to do with my decision to resign" With no means of support, Grant returned to St. Louis and reunited with his family.
Current Opening Bid: $2,900
Lot
3062
Confederacy, Davis, Deupree & Co., Sell Slaves, Publicly and Privately, Richmond, Va., blue cameo corner on cover to Montgomery, Ala., franked with 1857, 3¢ dull red (26, small corner nick) tied by "Richmond, Va., Feb 9, 1860" cd, Very Fine.Estimate $3,000 - 4,000.
AN EXTREMELY RARE DAVIS, DEUPREE & CO. SLAVE MERCHANT ADVERTISING COVER FROM RICHMOND, VA. USED PRIOR TO THE CIVIL WAR.
Richmond, Virginia was the center of the domestic slave trade on the eve of the Civil War. Despite the large volume of mail that must have been sent by slave dealers, just a few examples survive today. We know of only one other Davis, Deupree & Co. cameo corner card covers all of which are used prior to session.
Current Opening Bid: $1,500
Lot
2026
Little Rock, Ark., Mar 26, blue cds on cover to Lynchburg, Va., franked with ample to large margin 1847, 10¢ black tied by matching blue circular grid handstamps; cover expertly restored at top left corner adding small portions of postmark, otherwise Very Fine, one of only four covers known with the 1847 10¢ issue used from Arkansas; with 1999 P.F. certificate.Scott No. 2 Estimate $3,000 - 4,000.
Current Opening Bid: $1,500
Lot
2952
Confederacy, Nashville, Tenn., 1861, 5¢ carmine, margins large to just in at upper left, tied by faint blue "Postage Paid" handstamp and bold strike of "Adams Ex. Co., Louisville, Ky., Aug. 4, 1861" cds on cover from Joseph Knowles in Nashville, Tenn. to his daughter Annie Knowles in Warren R.I., cover with fancy script "The Adams Express Company" imprint at top, in combination U.S. 1857, 3¢ dull red (26) tied by blue Louisville, Ky., Aug 5, 1861 cds and grid duplex, with franking placed over blue oval "Adams Express Co. Nashville Aug. 3" origin date stamp, pencil "2" bit rating at center for the 25¢ express fee; 5¢ stamp with vertical pre-use tear and 3¢ flaws at top right corner, F.-V.F.Scott No. 61X2 Estimate $3,000 - 4,000.
THIS IS ONE OF SIX RECORDED 1861 5¢ CARMINE NASHVILLE PROVISIONALS USED IN COMBINATION WITH UNITED STATES POSTAGE.
Adams Express Company was required to ensure the prepayment of government postage (Federal and Confederate), although the letter was carried outside the regular mails. The letters never actually entered the mails at Nashville, and instead, the blue "Postage Paid" marking was used to indicate prepayment. Very few covers are recorded with Confederate provisional stamps or markings used in conjunction with thru-the-lines express service.
Of the Nashville provisional express combination covers, seven are known with the 5¢ and three with the 10¢.
Current Opening Bid: $1,500
Lot
3016
Confederacy, 1863, 2¢ brown red, horizontal pair, large margins and deep rich color, tied by "Charleston, S.C., Sep 10" cds on 1864 folded letter to the President of the Cheraw and Darlington Railroad in Cheraw, S.C., with manuscript "Due 6" alongside making up the partial payment of the 10¢ rate, letter from the Wayside House in Charleston seeking a charitable donation, Extremely Fine and choice, the finer of two known pair usages partially paying the 10¢ rate, illustrated in B. Green The Confederate States Two-Cent Red-Jack Intaglio Stamp, ex-Caspary & Haas; with 2023 P.F. certificate.Scott No. 8 Estimate $2,000 - 3,000.
Current Opening Bid: $1,000
Lot
2509
"Camp Scene, From Photograph", multicolored overall Magnus design on cover to Welland, Canada, manuscript "Soldier's Letter, P.A. Worrell, Brigade Surgeon, in charge of hospital" across top, bold "Due" and "10" rate handstamps, indistinct originating town cds and red Canadian transit backstamp, slightly reduced at left, minor edge soiling, Very Fine, ex-M. Preston. Bischel No. 1365.Estimate $2,000 - 3,000.
AN EXTREMELY RARE MAGNUS PATRIOTIC SENT AS A SOLDIER'S DUE LETTER TO CANADA.
Current Opening Bid: $1,000
Lot
3098
Confederacy, Building No. 4, Danville, Va., "Button Letter", actually two different letters written on small piece of scrap paper, folded and smuggled out of the prison inside a brass button, carefully folded so as to fit into button, letter written by Lt. Col. S.A. Moffett, 94th N.Y. Vols., obviously without postal markings, one to Col. A.R. Root, Commanding Post of Annapolis, other to his parents, Illustrated on page 73, "Prisoners' Mail From The American Civil War" by Galen Harrison.Estimate $1,500 - 2,000.
ONLY 3 "BUTTON LETTERS" ARE KNOWN TO EXIST - AN EXTREMELY DESIRABLE PIECE OF HISTORY.
Transcriptions of letters included on Exhibition page. Also included is 1903 original transmittal cover sending the "Button Letter" to family in Ridgeland, Miss. and with notation "Father's Prison Letter".
Mail was smuggled into and out of prison by a variety of methods. One ingenious method was the "Button Letter". Union uniform buttons were of two piece metal construction. On occasion when an officer was being exchanged, a uniform button or buttons would be taken apart and a note written on a tiny scrap of paper which was then inserted into the button thus avoiding censorship.
Current Opening Bid: $750
Lot
2075
Van Buren, Ark, addressing on cover franked with U.S. 1857, 3¢ dull red (26) tied by grid handstamp, matching "Hamilton, Ohio, Jun 6" origin cds, reverse with partial red "Cincinnati, O., Jun 7" transit cds of the First Day of the 1861 Suspension of U.S. Post Office Across-the-Lines Routes via Louisville and Tennessee and sent to Washington D.C., large "Dead Letter Office, P.O. Dept. Aug 5, 1861" oval datestamp additionally tying stamp and "DUE 3 cts" straightline, sender's address "Robt Harper, Hamilton, Butler Co., Ohio" written on face by D.L.O.; cover with partial backflap and some overall soiling, F.-V.F.Estimate $1,500 - 2,000.
A RARE CIVIL WAR USE FROM HAMILTON, OHIO TO VAN BUREN, ARKANSAS THAT WAS DIVERTED TO THE DEAD LETTER OFFICE AFTER THE LOUISVILLE AND TENNESSEE MAIL ROUTE WAS SUSPENDED ON JUNE 7, 1861.
According to the Walske-Trepel book, the southbound mails from the United States to western CSA was normally carried via Louisville and Tennessee until the June 7th U.S. postal discontinuance notice, which prohibited mail postal communications with the CSA. Mail on this route was diverted to the Unites States dead letter office in Washington D.C. At the dead letter office, the diverted mail was opened to ascertain the sender address, which was written on the face. The diverted letters were postmarked by the Dead Letter Office and handstamped with "Due 3 cts" straightline before returning to sender.
Current Opening Bid: $750