Could This Be A Late Use Scott #10?

Classic Coins That's awesome. The young girl that wrote the letter only includes "Boston June 16" in the heading.

Some new info on this. It was not a young girl that wrote this letter. It was a young boy named Sammy. I thought it was signed Tammy.
It turns out the bulk of letters are not to the Reverend Walter Clarke like the one pictured above but too the grown up Reverend Samuel T. Clarke later.

So sometime in the 1850's the young Sammy wrote a letter to his Father Rev. Walter (it looks like) Clarke addressed to Hartford Conn.
Most other letters in this group are to Mr., then later, Reverend Samuel T. Clarke.
Samuel was a minister in Buffalo, N.Y.

I found this online. It doesn't help date the letter though.
6th Pastor: Walter Clarke, D.D. (April 5, 1812- May 22, 1871) Pastor from (4 April 1861-1871) Dr. Clarke was the son of Warner B. and Abigail A. Clarke. He was born in Middletown, CT and moved with his family to Farmingham, CT in 1837. He went to school in Waterbury, CT, and studied law in Mobile AL before studying at Yale Divinity School in 1840. He was called in April, 1845 to the Second Church of Christ in Hartford, CT to serve as pastor where he was installed 4 June at a salary of $1200 yearly. There he married his first wife, Mary A. Clark, daughter of Cyrus Clark of Waterbury, CT. however; she died in Hartford, CT, 4 February, 1849. In 1850, he remarried, this time to Elizabeth Terry, daughter of Deacon Seth Terry[xviii]. He had one daughter by adoption and one son, Rev, Samuel Taylor Clarke. Following the Second Church of Christ, Dr. Clarke was installed at the Merced Street Church in New York City having accepted the call in February 1859 and stayed until he accepted the call to First Presbyterian Church in February 1861[xix].



While pastor here, he compiled the first comprehensive history of 1st Presbyterian Church, published in 1862, it covers the first fifty years of church history from which much of the biographical information contained here on former pastors was obtained. This history, while sometimes flawed, was written with a delightful antiquarian fla­vor, and with the benefit of acquaintance with the first pastor, Dr. Miles P. Squire, D.D., and many of the early members who assisted in providing information based upon recollections and first-hand accounts. Dr. Clarke was a tall, dignified man, greatly beloved by his congregation. His untimely death at the age of fifty-nine, on May 23, 1871, was mourned by all. His body was returned to Hartford, CT. where he was buried in the North Cemetery.

Perhaps the date of the cover and stamp number can be narrowed down a bit by the cancellation itself. Below is an excerpt from the USPCS website with a blurb on the subject.

This cover in question displays the the larger-diameter PAID cancel (24-25mm) and can deduce that the cover was mailed after Mid-January 1852.



Here is the link to that information if you wish to read further on the subject.
http://www.uspcs.org/the-1851-1860-...-10-and-10a/

Stampcrow,

Thanks for the new images and the letter date. The earliest date of use of #10 was July 1, 1851, and #11 came along later in 1851. Although without a year at top, the June date on the letter means it would have to have been mailed in June 1852 or later. There are very few known examples of #10 being used after May 1852.

Regarding the color, although an accurate reproduction of the stamp color in your images can't be trusted, the red Boston CDS (circular date stamp) cancel provides another clue. These cancels were generally consistent in being a true red color. Since the cancel comes through as red (although a little on the dark side), it can be compared to the stamp color to deduce that the stamp color is not orange, as a #10 would be. I can tell from the images that the stamp was printed from plate 2L or 3, from which no #10s were printed.

I hope that helps.

I don't really see any orange in this stamp either. But....I don't trust myself judging colors without a comparison side by side. My scanner does seem to darken images a bit. But overall the color is pretty close to the actual stamp. And with the plating information shared I think we have gotten this one settled.

Excellent help, thank you.
We should also note Sinclaire nailed this one early lol....Thanks again everyone!

I'm also enjoying digging into the history of the folks involved. The older Clarke had some writings published. Church history and some anti slavery works.

I agree, researching the names and places on the envelope and in the letter can be fascinating, especially if you include genealogy research.

It's funny how the mind works (mine anyway). Judging by the handwriting and language of the letter, it appears that Sammy was very young when he wrote it. Also, it seems, the handwriting on the envelope is different. I'm thinking an adult addressed the envelope.....maybe in advance of his trip even.....sooooo maybe.... the stamp was purchased and placed on the envelope in advance, months earlier even, ensuring that the young lad would write home. That would allow an early stamp with a later cancel LOL.

Not very scientific, I know.