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Auction: 142 - March Philatelic Collector's Series Sale
Lot: 6

#1, 5c Brown, right sheet-margin single, with ample to huge margins all around, except just touching at the top left corner, small piece of foreign matter adheres to the right frame line, tied by red circular grid to folded letter dateline at Eastport, Maine on 10 October, 1848 and with ms. "Steam boat mail" directive, entered the mails to Alfred, Maine with red "Boston/13 Oct/10cts" datestamp, apparently applied in error and with red "Steam" handstamp applied on arrival in Maine, very fine and unusual usage. An accompanying letter by Creighton Hart explains the usage: "The 5c cover with STEAM is an interesting cover. It kind of puzzles me why the letter would be datelined Eastport, Me and have a Boston postmark of Oct. 13th. My guess is that the writer carried it to Boston and mailed it upon arrival, perhaps thinking it could get faster carriage from Boston to Alfred, Me than from Eastport. Anyway, the STEAM is rarely seen on east coast ´47 covers. The STEAM shows the letter was carried by a non-contract coastal steamer from Boston to Alfred. The ship captain collected 2c for doing so. The STEAM postal marking is frequently seen on letters carried on the Hudson River. You have an unusual cover here."

Estimate
$750 to $1,000