The March United States Postal History Sale - Day 2

manuscript postmark on folded letter to Jeremiah Wadsworth in New York City, datelined Hartford August 18, 1776, originally rated "2.16" (2dwt 16gr) in Hartford but rerated "5.8" double weight in New York and marked "2/6" local currency equivalent, very fine early Congress Post letter

manuscript postmark with matching "2.16" rate (2dwt, 16gr) alongside on folded letter to Colonel Samuel Ward in East Greenwich, Connecticut, light toning along filefolds, very fine Continental Congress Post letter, Samuel Ward, Jr. participated in Benedict Arnold's attack on Quebec and later saw action at the Battles of Red Bank and Rhode Island, in 1781 he retired and later served as a delegate to the Hartford Convention in 1814

manuscript postmark on folded letter to New York City, very fine, letter from Thomas Seymour who served as the first mayor of Hartford from 1774 until 1812

black datestamp with matching straightline "Paid" and manuscript "8" rate on folded letter to New Haven, very fine example of this scarce postmark with just 10 examples known, letter written by Revolutionary War veteran John Chester who served as Supervisor of the United States Department of Revenue for the District of Connecticut

perfect strike of black rimless datestamp on folded lettersheet from Jeremiah Wadsworth to Benjamin Walker in New York City, manuscript "12½" rate, extremely fine and choice, the earliest recorded use of this postmark which predates the listing in the American Stampless Cover Catalogue by 18 years and arguably the finest strike of Hartford's early rimless circular datestamp

attractive strike of two-line datestamp on folded letter from Jeremiah Wadsworth to Captain Nehemiah Hubbard in Middletown, Connecticut, manuscript "6" rate, very fine, Wadsworth was a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1788 and a United States Representative from 1789 to 1795, Hubbard was a sea captain and veteran of the Revolutionary War who became first president of the Middletown Savings Bank

black two-line handstamp with matching straightline "Free." on folded letter to New York City, endorsed "free Ez. Williams Jr.", light edge wear, very fine early free frank, Ezekiel Williams, Jr. served as Hartford's postmaster for a brief time in 1794 and again from 1795 until 1803

black two-line handstamp with two strikes of matching "Paid." on large folded lettersheet to Philadelphia, manuscript "3½oz 238" or $2.38 postage, very fine, apparently used as a wrapper for a bundle of legal papers, the single-sheet rate from Hartford to Philadelphia was 17c and packets were charged by weight at quadruple the single sheet letter rate, therefore the $2.38 postage is equivalent to 3½ ounces times four times 17c, a rare rating...

small group of folded letters begins with 1778 manuscript cancel, 1782 cover datelined Hartford but with no town mark, three covers with the "Hartford*." rimless postmark all from 1795, and seven covers with two-line Hartford datestamp used from 1796 to 1797, small faults to be expected but generally fine to very fine, a wonderful assortment of these scarce early postmarks, idea for the specialist

rimless circular datestamp (manuscript month and day) and matching "12" war rate on printed tax notice to Meriden, Connecticut, very fine, sent just six days into the new war rate

black rimless datestamp (manuscript date) on folded letter to Canandaigua, New York, manuscript "30" war rate, very fine

rimless circular datestamp (manuscript date) with matching "18¾" war rate on folded letter to Newburyport, Massachusetts, fine and scarce