Starting To Go Through My Cut Squares - Love This One

I've been tossing my cut squares from different collections that I've picked up over the years into a cigar box. Never had much interest in them until the last couple nights. Started sorting them into basic types tonight. This one really caught my eye. The embossing is just beautiful and really held up nice. Most of the ones from this era always seemed much flatter to me. Never realized they started off like this LOL

Hi Mike33, That sure does stand out. Looks like Ben's sporting a little goatie. Maybe because you had it in the cigar box it kept it nice. I have many cut squares myself. Now because of you I'm going to go thru my box. Sure is nice when topics can get your attention. Especially finding such a nice one. Thanks for sharing that. Respectfully, Gary

Thanks Gary

here are a few more that stuck out nicely while sorting. Hope you find some nice ones :)

Mike33,

Your 1c blue Franklin is from the 2nd Nesbitt contract and that stamp design continued in use for many years. The technique for hardening the working dies was less than perfect and combined with abrasive mineral based inks meant rapid deterioration of the dies. Working dies and paper being the two most expensive components of manufacture meant using the dies as long as possible.

Bill Lehr/US postal stationery specialist

Hi Bill

Thanks for the info. I actually was looking at this again just as you were posting. I'm trying to figure out what paper this is on. Does the 2nd Nesbitt contract mean this a wrapper W20? I do have the full corner of this (side and top flap) I can see the paper is watermarked in the 191 style watermark with a D above an S. Partial letter before the D may be an O

Nice.

Very nice but still not enough to go through my binder. I keep a lot of material in the vario pages.
Tom

Mike, It is frequently hazardous to identify paper color based on a scan. However, is the paper horizontal, diagonal or vertical laid? Is it definitely an envelope or a wrapper? Except for the impossible to see watermarks which are sometimes listed as unwatermarked or even as wove paper, they all have the same basic watermark in this series.

Bill

UPSS has a couple nice ePblications that cover all the Cut Squares & Entire envelopes at
http://www.upss.org/code/epublicati...4fe47e863e86

It almost looks like someone tried to make a Ben Franklin out of an old George Washington die doesn't it?