"The Hunt Collection" 1835-1875

Most of the Burdon information was taken from older
photos I had on a disk. I should have scanned it all in.

I will gladly scan any requested pieces.
I did notice after posting, that they were not
magnifiable.

I also noticed the date on the content included
with this does not match that on the cover.
That I can not explain.

A fourteenth group;

Without a doubt the 3c green about which I asked is a Continental soft paper ("intermediate paper"). Do you still have this cover?

Since the cover originated in the office of a U.S. Senator (Ambrose Everett Burnside) from Rhode Island, chances are the contents were regarded as special at the time.

Wow,
I do still have this cover. It is right
in front of me. What Scott # would that make this?
I am not even sure what that paper issue means.
But it sounds good!

In the U.S. Specialized catalog, Scott does not yet give a separate listing for the Continental soft paper. Instead it gives an extensive footnote explaining the situation, and also gives an EDU for several of the denominations that precede the time when American had the contract. It mentions that specialists follow the convention I have already given you.

For the present you should call your stamp a "184var," that is, an unlisted variety of #184. If the stamp ever leaves the cover, it will be indistinguishable from an ordinary early #184. What makes your stamp of particularly special interest is the proximity of the date of use and the day of the Consolidation merger.

To top it off, it is well centered and in a good state of preservation. The cover has some damage, but it is a mourning cover on the personal stationery of Senator Burnside, which gives the combo a bit more philatelic interest than otherwise. Add the fact that it has an elliptical date stamp from the US Senate Post Office. If the contents ever show up among the other pieces, expect it to be a letter of condolence, then you will score a very good hit.

For a knowledgeable specialist, it is a nice piece. Congratulations on turning it up and getting it recognized. Merry Christmas!

A Very Merry Christmas to all,

To essayk,
Thank you very much for your recognizing it,
and the sharing of your knowledge.
I did some reading last night regarding the change over
in the Bank Notes. Continental soft paper.
It seems to be a very interesting subject.
I am off to a family gathering. I am sure to
have more questions on this subject soon.

A fifteenth group;

In review I just noticed that you have a second burnside cover with the Senate PO marking.




That ovoid marking is faint and I cannot make out the date. Feb 2x? 1879.

Could we see a blowup of that one too?

It does not appear that the contents shown with either of these covers belongs with it.

After scanning and looking closely, I believe the content
on this does match. I agree at first glance I thought it
was ? July. If you look at the F in "Faithfully your friend?"
they seem to match. I agree the Senator did not have good
penmanship!

I wanted to add that during the review of
material it came to my attention that my
Grandfather was a Jr. Charles Lyman Burdon Jr.
making his father the same but Sr. His father
was Benjamin, Levi's son. I now know that Levi
was my great, great, great grandfather.

A sixteenth group;

What a joy to see that you have reunited a personal letter to L L Burdon, signed "...your friend, A E Burnside" with its envelope. A rare, family keep sake, for sure. That is the type of note the R I Historical Society may have real interest in, if the subject of the court (?) case can be interpreted. Do you have any way to glean what your ancestor's relationship may have been with the litigants? Of course, it may not have been a court trial that Burnside hoped would soon be 'settled'.

It was interesting to read one of the printed pages you posted relating the business of the Burdon Co. indicated one of the founders was Mr. Gladding, of the Gladding Dept. Store, the oldest such store in America. The Burden starting capital of $300,000 was a lot of dough in those days. The material as a whole cinches the fact that your ancestor, L. L. Burdon, was a maker and shaker in mid- 19th century Providence jewelry, which was at that time the jewelry capital of America. I could go on and on making the case for your valuable archive, but I shan't for fear of intruding upon the purpose of this fine "Stamp Community."

On seeing the close-up I concur with your reading of the date on that second Burnside cover. He appears to have used the Feby abbreviation for the month, which I also read as July before.

I make out the text as:

Feby 28th 1879
My dear Sir,

I am doing all I can for [name]/trial, and hope his/this case will soon be successfully settled -
Alphie is doing well -
Faithfully yr friend
A E Burnside

Philatelically this cover is less interesting (to me) than the other, but given the proper contents it is more historically interesting than the other by a long shot. Even with the closeup I cannot read the second digit of the day, but since the receiving mark on the reverse is dated to March, and the Carrier mark has a "1" near its center, for what I presume to be the day, it is logical that the date in the Senate P.O. mark corresponds to the Feby 28 1879 date on the contents. That accords with the date in the Washington, D.C. congressional CDS.

If the original contents for the first cover (Feb 3) are not found, then its philatelic significance far exceeds its historical value. In that case you might consider selling it, and I would be willing to make an offer should you be willing to consider one. We can discuss that off list if such a time comes. I am not personally interested in the later item (Feb. 28), but am not surprised that someone from the R.I. Historical Society has chimed in.

Edit: one further note. Although both Burnside envelopes are tricked out with the black edging around the back and at all the seams, which is typical of mourning covers, the contents of the second item seem to suggest that the Senator had a supply of these which he used for other types of correspondence as well. So my speculation that you should look for a letter of condolence is not supported by what we are seeing here. Keep a broad net in your search for contents.

To Hoxie454,
Thank you for your wise words, and your respect
for this fine "Stamp Community".
I do believe that they were in the war together.

I am now more than ever humbled!

To essayk,
I am still trying to recover from reading
up on the "184var" ???

I will put five more up tomorrow.

I do not know what case or individual could have been
referred to in "settling". When I saw "Alphie" all I could
think of was Michael Caine in the 1966 movie Alfie.

When I posted a copy of the Levi to Burnside letter inviting
him to the veterans reunion, it was because that was all I had. Yesterday going through papers I had not been through,
I found an original.
Probably a copy Levi made in his own pen. Possibly the letter
could have been sent back to my family by his, maybe by a later
generation? I am not sure. I will post this as it seams more
legible. It is an embossed stationary.

I do have a couple questions.

I understand the date on the second Burnside
cover is past the Feb. 4th 1879 date. Does that
stamp also appear to be the Continental soft
paper? I do understand that even if it is, it is not
verifiable.

I would love to hear about the last two green
stamps in the sixteenth group. Can anyone help ID
these two stamps?


A seventeenth group;

The stamp with the three-line pen cancel is a #25 from plate 4.

Thank you CC,
I am so grateful for your early invite and interest
in these covers.

To essayk ,
It just came to my attention that I am
seeing the same F on the first Burnside
cover as being Feby 1st. With that I would think
he wrote it on the first and mailed it on the third
of February. That would be a match!

I am including a high res of this letter as
I did not before.

Edit; I just googled February 1, 1879,
It was a Saturday!

Respectfully,
Please let me know if you see this the same!