Several Newly Aqcuired Covers - One With A Mystery

The first cover is cover from Indian Diggins, Cal. dated Nov 15, 1930. This cover has an almost perfectly centered on the nose cancellation.




The second cover is a nice PM1+PR1 paid reply postal cover (attached). It was first mailed in St. Louis, MO - hence the light cancellation starting on the "a" of "States" with a killer bar with slogan "World Fair St. Louis". The cancellation date is June 26, 1903. Since the St. Louis World's Fair was held in 1904, I can only surmise this was a promotional slogan. The addressee is in New Jersey.

The enigma, though, starts with cancellation on reverse which is an rpo cancellation for the New York & ???? dated Jun 27, 1903 on train 46. Apparently the cover went to Cleveland, Ohio where, on Jun 28, 1903, the maroon cancellation on the front was added stating "No such office in state ?????/Returned From Cleveland, Ohio".
The cover was received back in St. Louis on Jun 28, 1903 (the second cancellation on the front - without killer bars).
I have to do some research on this one.

Your first cover bears a postmark that is sometimes called an anachronism as it emulates an earlier design. The postmark mimics earlier 19th century target cancels, however unlike the 19th century postmark, the postmark and target cancel are on the same hammer - a duplex postmark. It is a pretty late use even for a mimic, but not unheared of.

I am only taking a stab here, but I suspect the RPO postmark is from the New York, Chicago and St. Louis railway.

Battlestamps, that would make sense. I didn't upload an image of the content letter, but maybe I should have. The author of the letter indicates that he is a collector of covers from towns with strange names. A fellow collector had a cover with a unique cancellation and asked for one.

Thanks, smauggie. That will give me a starting point. Cleveland is certainly on the trackage between New York and Chicago. Maybe the postal card was placed in the wrong mail bag and was thrown off in Cleveland.

I suspect the "M.D." in the RPO cancel stands for "Middle Division," although that term generally refers to the Pennyslvania Railroad; other large lines surely had a Middle Division too.

Doug2222 is correct! As evidenced by this excerpt from a postal manual of that day:

Incidentally, the 1930 Indian Diggins, California postmark was a later example, as that post office was closed by 1935.

Very interesting! Thank you!