Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Note that's it's from my home town, Silver City, New Mexico, which in 1887 was truly the Wild West, with Apache massacres matched in ferocity by massacres of white men, who included the famous Buffalo Soldiers, former Black slaves who joined the U.S. Army to become Indian fighters.
I've never seen a cover from Silver City without stamps and with a "Paid" rubber stamp. I have two earlier Silver City items, a postal stationery cover and postal card, both with pre-printed stamps. I suppose it's possible that the post office had temporarily run out of stamps and were using an "emergency" rubber stamp to show proof of payment. (I can't read the backstamp, which may or may not have anything to do with anything!)
I wouldn't mind having it in my collection, but the price is a bit steep, for me at least, at nearly CAN $150 for the cover plus postage.
Anyone have any ideas that would explain the cover's provenance?
Bob
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03:54:35pm
My first idea would be that it is a "Postmaster's cover". Postmasters had free franking privileges. They were often initialed or signed as well as a Paid stamp, but I wouldn't conclude anything from the absence of such.
It is also possible that he used the paid stamp on the occasion of running out of stamps, as you suggest.
Roy
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I hadn't considered that, Roy. Probably should have; this is a free-franked cover in my collection, mailed by Olga Harper, the postmaster of the Arenas Valley, NM post office.
Arenas Valley, where my family lived for eight years after moving to New Mexico, is six miles east of Silver City. Mrs. Harper was the mother of my best friend, Ernest Harper.
New Stamporama members might enjoy reading Box 28, my web page about my years in Arenas Valley, including details about the post office and the role its postmaster (not Olga Harper) played in my youthful stamp collecting.
Bob
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Well, Bob, it seems that the Rev. Charles H. Kellogg was a Jersey cattle breeder.
I found an entry, in this volume:
Here it is:
Seems that someone in Silver City had dreams of starting a dairy (just like my Uncle Milo did, in 1941)!
I know, not exactly what you meant by "provenance", but sometimes a bit of actual historical context helps the postal history collector with the buying decision!
-Paul
PS, the Rev. Kellogg's name also appears in the November, 1885 Living Church Annual and Clergy List Quarterly.
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eBay notified me about a cover that the company, in its kindness, is offering:
Note that's it's from my home town, Silver City, New Mexico, which in 1887 was truly the Wild West, with Apache massacres matched in ferocity by massacres of white men, who included the famous Buffalo Soldiers, former Black slaves who joined the U.S. Army to become Indian fighters.
I've never seen a cover from Silver City without stamps and with a "Paid" rubber stamp. I have two earlier Silver City items, a postal stationery cover and postal card, both with pre-printed stamps. I suppose it's possible that the post office had temporarily run out of stamps and were using an "emergency" rubber stamp to show proof of payment. (I can't read the backstamp, which may or may not have anything to do with anything!)
I wouldn't mind having it in my collection, but the price is a bit steep, for me at least, at nearly CAN $150 for the cover plus postage.
Anyone have any ideas that would explain the cover's provenance?
Bob
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BuckaCover.com - 80,000 covers priced 60c to $1.50 - Easy browsing 500 categories
16 Apr 2022
03:54:35pm
re: Haven't seen this before...
My first idea would be that it is a "Postmaster's cover". Postmasters had free franking privileges. They were often initialed or signed as well as a Paid stamp, but I wouldn't conclude anything from the absence of such.
It is also possible that he used the paid stamp on the occasion of running out of stamps, as you suggest.
Roy
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this post
re: Haven't seen this before...
I hadn't considered that, Roy. Probably should have; this is a free-franked cover in my collection, mailed by Olga Harper, the postmaster of the Arenas Valley, NM post office.
Arenas Valley, where my family lived for eight years after moving to New Mexico, is six miles east of Silver City. Mrs. Harper was the mother of my best friend, Ernest Harper.
New Stamporama members might enjoy reading Box 28, my web page about my years in Arenas Valley, including details about the post office and the role its postmaster (not Olga Harper) played in my youthful stamp collecting.
Bob
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05:31:12pm
re: Haven't seen this before...
Well, Bob, it seems that the Rev. Charles H. Kellogg was a Jersey cattle breeder.
I found an entry, in this volume:
Here it is:
Seems that someone in Silver City had dreams of starting a dairy (just like my Uncle Milo did, in 1941)!
I know, not exactly what you meant by "provenance", but sometimes a bit of actual historical context helps the postal history collector with the buying decision!
-Paul
PS, the Rev. Kellogg's name also appears in the November, 1885 Living Church Annual and Clergy List Quarterly.
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