Waterbury, CT - Fancy Cancels

As stamp collectors, we owe a debt of gratitude to John W Hill, the postmaster of Waterbury, CT, way back in the day. He made some really neat designs carved out of cork, which he used as killers for postage stamps.

I have always been intrigued by these, particularly so, when the Chase correspondence came out in Richard Frajola's 1985 sale -

https://www.rfrajola.com/catalogs/RCF23.pdf

There was a prior thread on this board discussing these cancels here -

https://goscf.com/t/76834

In that thread, Richard posted a picture of his desk at the time, which included four Waterbury covers on the far right, including 3 new Running Chicken covers :

https://goscf.com/t/76834#688944

I then made the comment here:
https://goscf.com/t/76834#688946



Well, over the past few years, I have picked up a few Waterbury items which I'll post in this thread, with the main one being the Running Chicken cover on the right in Richard's picture, if you rotate it upright.

Originally, it had the far right side, vertically torn off - as one opens an envelope often. The far right portion of the stamp was also torn off.

The cover has now been repaired, with the right edge fully added, including the rightmost part of the stamp. The Running Chicken cancel itself, however, is fully original, as you can see in the photo. The workmanship on the 'repair', is amazing, although you can see it clearly when held up to the light.



I will post the few other Waterbury's that I picked up, next ...and then anyone else who wishes to comment or post their material - feel free.

I should mention that the origin of the Running Chicken design is fairly clear, as the originator of the other thread posted a cover which I will link to that is self-explanatory -

https://www.philamercury.com/covers.php?id=4056

The other few that I picked up -

Fireman - stamp lifted and replaced just off slightly, but a good strike.




Acorn :




Skull :

Perhaps the most famous example is PF cert 585880.

So, I have this map thing which I exhibit in three frames at various stamp shows. One cover shown for each state (plus D.C. and one other in the cartouche). Over the years, I've accumulated a few covers for most of the states, including some Waterburys that I rotate in for Connecticut. I say that the exhibit is like a Grateful Dead concert - never the same set twice. Here are the two that I have:





The map (A Postal History Map of the United States) will be at Boston in May. Sometimes, it's a Windsor Locks stampless. Other times, it's a Devil and Pitchfork from West Meridan. Or, it could be something different. We won't know what will be in it until the week before the show.

@revcollector - definitely ! That is the famous Ishikawa cover; one of the greats, for sure.

Chip - I was hoping that you might have some examples.

Your Bridgeport Fireman and mine are the same date. Not terribly surprising, given that it is based around an event.

Your Map exhibit is way cool. I would enjoy seeing it in person some day to get the full effect, but overall, I think it is a very clever and innovative way to show off a lot of different items. Bravo.

Map will be in Boston. Looks something like this:



and how it looks in the frames:

The thing about your exhibit is that it catches a person's eye from a distance.

That is a welcome change from the usual "railroad track" style exhibits, with 2 covers per page uniformly mounted.

That is an example of what I'm looking forward to seeing in Boston!!

I would like to know who repaired the stamped-cover?.... I have covers I would like to have repaired as well. It is so hard to find people who repair paper, I have everything from books, to documents, to posters, to stamped envelopes and covers that I need repaired but I am having a hard time finding a source in my area which is odd since I live near DC.

I always debate whether to pass on information about restoration generally or not.

So, I will just say that the most prominent philatelic "restorer" advertises in "The Chronicle", of the US Philatelic Classics Society, and if you are a member, you will see the ads.

Restoration/conservation is an involved subject, which probably merits a separate thread, rather than bog this one down. Not just from a point of the logistics of how its done, but the ethics aspects of it as well.

OK thanks for the tip txstamp - appreciate your input and response sir. I have not yet joined that US classics society but I was planning on doing that in Boston if I decide to go. Yes your right the restoration/conservation question in a separate thread. Thanks again.