Lot 2322 o
1861, 1¢ blue, bold central "Cumberland, Me., April 24." Printed Precancel cancel, rich bright color, trivial tiny perf thin, otherwise Very Fine; with 2005 P.S.E. certificate.Scott No. 63 Estimate $1,500 - 2,000.
A VERY RARE EXAMPLE OF THE 1861 1¢ ISSUE BEARING THE PRESS PRINTED PRECANCEL OF CUMBERLAND, MAINE - WITH ONLY THREE OR FOUR THOUGHT TO EXIST.
Horace I. Gray was a "Card and Job Printer" located in Cumberland, Maine offering a variety of stationery merchandise. All of the known Cumberland precancels are on cover from only two firms, that of Gray himself and the Portland firm of Sanborn & Carter. It is suggested that Gray did the printing for Sanborn & Carter, together with the mailing, thus accounting for the Cumberland precancel on the Portland firm's mail. Five distinct types of the Cumberland precancel are known. Only the last type, the double circle date stamp, has been found struck on the 1861 1¢ issue.
Realized: $3,500