Show Your US 1851-57 Imperforate Stamps

risny - Maybe you are right on both counts, but I think that I mostly post my quick plating suggestions simply to encourage input from the real plating experts. Sometimes I can learn a lot from someone's rebuttal of my suggestion even if they don't have the time to spend on plating it themselves.

Your point that the guide dot on your stamp is higher than on 64L1E is correct. I just eyeballed the guide dot position originally, but when I went back and compared the height carefully with 64L1E and with Neinken's other maps, I could further filter the possibilities. I found just two serious candidates, 26L1E and 83L1E. I used Doporto's images to do a comparison, and the plate marks are clear enough on your image that I could match at least three of them to Doporto's example of 26L1E. In the photos below, Doporto's image follows a crop of your image.

I think you've done it! I see the marks and so on. Seems correct. Also there is only one stamp image of 26L1E in the Stamp Smarter database and I think it is incorrect. Since I started there that may have contributed to the difficulty. Here is the Stamp Smarter stamp image: https://stampsmarter.org/plate/hire...es2/6862.jpg

I think 26L1E is correct and probably what sinclair had in mind when suggesting Plate 1 Early.

Thanks. Do you agree that the Stamp Smarter image is misclassified? We can just remove it or if it can be plated we can move it to the right position.

rlsny, yes the stampsmarter image appears to be incorrect, but only because the description in the Siegel sale was incorrect to begin with. The image in the stampsmarter database is cropped from a strip of three described in the Siegel sale as 26-28L1E, but to me the strip looks like 41-43L1E which, if true, makes the stampsmarter image 41L1E.

That looks right. There are several marks on the Doporto diagrams that match 41L1E. I'll wait a bit in case anyone else wants to chime in than move it to the correct spot.

I agree that 41-43L1E looks like the best match for the Siegel strip. The only thing that makes me question, and I'd like an explanation for, is that the Neinken mat for 43L1E appears to depict the guide dot lower than the 43L1E in the strip. Also, the Neinken map makes note of a weak bottom frame line which the stamp in the strip does not have.
If it's agreed that the Siegel strip is not 26-28 L1E, than the Stampsmarter pages with guide dot images needs to be corrected for those positions, too.

If the images in the database are wrong, I will move or remove them. I did not verify Siegel's plating. Rlsny, can I use your image for 26L1E?

Yes you can use that. It's a pretty worn impression, but better than nothing I guess.

Shared on facebook today as follows:

Sharing today a fairly rare item. And two copies of it at that. Listed in Simpson's as a rarity 9, "Extremely Rare - 2 to 3 known copies"

WESTFIELD, NJ Straight line town mark. Listed in Simpson's without a tracing and without a size. Rarity 9.

It is also listed in the American Stampless Cover Catalog as:
WESTFIELD NEW.JERSEY(1851-52; SL-44x2; Black) .... $300.00

I would call this tracing 126A

I happened upon a pair of envelopes with matching markings. They are from the same correspondence. Maggie, with similar datelines, 17 days apart - "Westfield, October XX, 1853" in the same pen and same handwriting, both signed "Maggie" and addressed to "My Dear John" and "Dearest John".

Both with manuscript X cancels on the stamps and manuscript dates below the stamped marking. Each envelope has a handwritten date on the front that coincides with the date of the letters enclosed.

As mentioned in the short extract from Simpson's below, sometimes these town marks come in boxes. From Simpson's - "If the straight line is boxed, the measurements are from the center of the outside edge of the outer line of the box to the center of the opposite edge of the box."

The listing in the American Stampless Cover Catalog gives dimensions as "44x2" in millimeters. The straight line listing as seen in these images measures '.25x28' mm. If you look closely at the Oct. 27 cancel, there appears to be the remnants of a box around the date. When measuring where the box appears to be, the measurement across looks like 44mm - spot on. The measurement from top to bottom appears to be closer to 1.5mm - but I will confess that the bottom could easily be a 2mm down from the top allowing for more space where the post master wrote the dates.

On one hand, I wish that there were more examples showing if there is a box or not, on the other hand, I am happy to own what Meatloaf considers "Ain't bad" - 2 out of 3 - examples of an extremely rare postal marking that also happens to also be on the 3c Washington stamp that I collect.

FROM SIMPSON'S
"Straight Line, Oval and Fancy
"Town marks
"Relatively few of the post offices in the United States used hand stamped town marks other than circles during the period covered by this work. These non-circular town marks may be
subdivided into three general classes:
Straight Lines
The very earliest hand stamped town marks used in the United States were straight lines. As time passed, these gave way to the more popular circular style, and by 1851 relatively few straight
lines were still in use. Most of these were made from local printer's type. Some straight line town marks are enclosed in a single or double lined box . Dimensions given include the full name of the town and state plus any ornamentation, the horizontal measurement being given first and the vertical measurement next, all in millimeters. If the straight line is boxed, the measurements are from the center of the outside edge of the outer line of the box to the center of the opposite edge of the box."

I have Included an 'Addendum' like image with this post. Feel Free to print this out and stick it into your copy of "Alexander's Simpson's U.S. Postal Markings 1851-1861" on page 28, so that you have this information handy where it belongs.

You are welcome to attach my name to it if you want. Or not. I really don't care about getting credit. I do care about stealing credit, so just don't attach someone else's name to it. LOL!

Shared today for your enjoyment and information.

Stan (Caleb Stark) Shepp

Stan,

Those are very cool pieces of postal history you have there. Keep them coming!!

Thanks for commenting Harper1249,

I will share more cool things as time allows.
I have a lot of cool 3c Washington items.
And a couple 1c Franklin items as well.

The October 10th stamp looks like 52L2L:
A relief,
1 line recut in UL triangle,
Left inner line strong & Right inner line weak,
Upper text block connected to UR diamond block.

I haven't dug in too deep on it, nor ruled in or out anything close, but that is a good start on plating it.
I have a large family and a business to run that keeps pulling me away from narrowing it down any further. :(

Stan Shepp

Here's some more postal history for you. Not quite the level of Stan's but interesting. It's a OB tied by black circle grid to cover with a black Newbury Port, Ms, Nov 3 cds.

Upon a closer look at the stamp I noticed there are distinct creases/scoring in each corner at forty-five degree angles to the stamp edges. It cant be random corner creases you see on stamps. These were definitely put there on purpose. There doesn't appear to be any similar marks on the envelope.

Has anyone seen something similar to this?

Regards,
Harper1249

Care of: " Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow ", nephew of Henry.

Lol, I hadn't really studied who the letter was addressed to yet. But now that you point that out.... Henry Longfellow had a brother named Alexander as well. And they were from Maine.
Nice catch Txstamp.