Your Favorite US Classic Purchase Of 2016

Not quite a classic, but finally bought a copy of Faulkner's "Flags in the Dust", in essence his original version of "Sartoris" before the publisher cut it. Oh, wait ...

C.W. = Canada West. Ontario province was referred to as Canada West or Upper Canada. Canada East was basically the lower half of Quebec province (and was also referred to as Lower Canada. Lower referred to its position closer to the mouth of the St. Lawrence. Upper was more upstream.

PS: in case you didn't notice, the thing that makes those two covers special is that they are U.S. stamps used in Canada - one seems to have been accepted to pay the postage, the other was treated as unpaid.

Chip - I would assume 2nd cover was paid in cash. Standard procedure would be for Canada to treat the letter as unpaid and not to cancel the stamp and the allow the US to accept US a postage stamp as payment of the amount due. Here the 3 cent stamp did not pay the 6d/10 cent treaty rate and partial payments were not accepted. It would be doubly unusual to see a Canadian Paid marking on the cover unless paid in cash.

...but they did cancel the stamp with the same device they would use on a paid cover, unlike the other one where they marked treated it as you describe. We'll never know what went on 160 years ago up in that office.

Just to round out the set, here's an underpaid, and therefore totally unpaid cover going the other way.

Fantastic!

Thanks chipg

I have bought a few classics this year. This is the one I love.
A # 22, Boston double rim cds cancel.

Coincidentally, I bought this stamp from the OP.

Stunning!

Well.. Here's my VERY close second, and thanks to Chipg for spotting it in a British Auction (Name the place, I owe you dinner!):



Doesn't look too special, does it? Well, it's a 24c Bremen-Hamburg mail rate to Italy, a rate that was in effect for 11 months from 2/67-12/67.

This one was carried by a Hamburg Steamer, I have another that was carried by a Bremen steamer. 4 intact covers (and one half of a cover) using this service are known to have survived; 1 of which was stolen in the 1980s and is as yet unrecovered.

Chipg, I'm a 3-cent imperforate cover collector as well, and your Canada covers are fascinating! I've never seen anything like them. Nice finds, and thanks for showing them!

My Christmas present came early this year. It's even date stamped 12/24/1909 !

Is the letter from this colourful chap's company?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wanamaker

This wonderful example of the Bradford Vermont fancy Paid 3 from the mid-1850s.



http://www.vermontps.org

Not quite classic period, but something that one doesn't see everyday. 2c Lake Placid Olympic Winter Games stamp overprinted specimen with British Philatelic Association certificate.
Provenance: Bechuanland UPU specimen book, Robson Lowe-->Robert A. Siegel Auctions--> Irwin Weinberg-->James E. Lee--> ME!!

I loved reading the provenance on that stamp. I wish collectors would have this all the time got their nicer stamps...Nice post

That is the gentleman. My best guess is that this was a Schermack Mailing Machine demonstration and perhaps these were his Christmas greetings to friends. The back stamp indicates the envelope was delivered on Christmas Day.

Later his New York department store purchased a Schermack machine with control identification marks for their mailroom.