Lot
1543 (
)
1851, 1¢ blue, type II, Unofficial "Chicago" Perf 12½, without gum, fresh color, full perforations all around, small lightened stain spot at left and some ink on reverse which barely shows through, Fine appearance, This Being One of Only Two Recorded Unused Examples of the 1¢ Chicago Perforation. One of the Great Rarities of the 1851-57 1¢ Issue.; with 2001 P.F. certificate. Scott No. 7 $22,500.
The origin of the Chicago perforation was revealed in an article published by Jerome S. Wagshal in the Chronicle 130 (May 1986). To briefly summarize Mr. Wagshal's revelations, the inventor of the machine used to create the Chicago Perf stamps was Dr. Elijah W. Hadley, a Chicago dentist. He probably constructed the machine in 1854. Over a two-year period, beginning in November 1854, Dr. Hadley's device was offered for sale to the Post Office Department thru R. K. Swift, a prominent Chicago banker and businessman. The distinctive 12-1/2 gauge Chicago Perf was applied to sheets of the 1c (Plates 1 Late and 2) and 3c 1851 Issue, the former being considerably rarer. According to the census of Chicago Perf items compiled by W. Wilson Hulme II (Chronicle 175, Aug. 1997), a total of 17 examples of the 1c Chicago Perf have been recorded, comprising 2 unused, 3 used on covers, 12 used off cover (including a strip of three). The P.F. certificate states "small lightened stain spot at top left, and manuscript ink on the reverse bleeding through to the face at bottom right". The other unused example also has a stain.
Realized: $15,000