The first US Postage Stamps were issued in New York City in 1842 for the US City Despatch Post. Operated Aug 16, 1842 – Nov 28, 1846. Scott Catalog 6LB1- 6LB7. Extensive research previously done by Larry Lyons and Scott Trepel. Original census of 6LB1 on cover by Larry Lyons published in The Penny Post, the official journal of the Carriers and Locals Society, affiliate 211 of the Am. Phil. Soc.
Developed & Supported by Mark Scheuer. Additions and corrections are encouraged. Please send to: markscensus@uspcs.org
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| Scott Number | 6LB1 |
|---|---|
| Date | August 16, 1842 |
| From City | New York |
| From State | NY |
| To City | New York |
| To State | NY |
| Addressee | Revd. F. W. Geisenhainer |
| Cert Author | |
| Cert # | 227475 |
| Fake | |
| No. of Stamps | 1 |
| Off Cover? | |
| Other Stamps | |
| Notes | 3c black on grayish paper, issued 1842. Identical to 40L1 but is cataloged as 6LB1 as of Aug 16, 1842 after the Post officially became part of the US Post Office. [Note - The first day of operation of the US City Despatch was Aug 15, 1842 making this cover a 2nd day use. Ref. Scott R. Trepel’s article in The Chronicle of the US Classics Postal Issues No. 285.] Cancelled by orange US in octagon. CDS: US City Despatch Post, Aug 16 (1842), 4 O'Clock PF 227475: Genuine used on cover on the first day of issue [sic], stamp lightly faulty. PF 830 stamp and cancel genuine but cannot certify use on this cover. PF 52323 Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc. sale 751 lot 217 unsold. Matthew Bennett International sale 346 lot 592 realized 42,500 (image) Expertization: 1991 P.F. and 2000 A.P.S. Certificates, signed by F.W. Hunter on inside of lettersheet beneath the stamp. Notes cover is ex. Hunter, Brooks, Wilson, Kapiloff, "Aristocrat" and note on reverse from prior sale, "Nassau Stamp Co., Oct 1926, $447.00". Matthew Bennett International sale 331 lot 65 unsold Matthew Bennett International sale 316 lot 1 unsold Illustrated in 100 Years Ago / February 1843 August / Centenary of the First Adhesive Postage Stamp of the United States, Elliot Perry & Arthur C. Hall, p. 21, fig. 10 Illustrated in Lyons, Larry, "The Identifier for Carriers, Locals, Fakes, Forgeries, and Bogus Posts of the United States", Volume 3, page xii. Illustrated as Figure 20 in Scott Trepel's Commentary of The Dr. Leonard A. Kapiloff Collection (Part 3, The Penny Post, Vol. 2 No.3 Aug 1992, p16) Number 1 in the Larry Lyons 6LB1 Census. (The Penny Post, Vol 12, Number 4, October 2004, p29) Subject of article by Richard Schwartz, "The Long, Long Road to Acceptance: A First Day Cover of the U.S. City Despatch", Opinions VI, Philatelic Foundation, 1992, pp. 1-6. The 1843 edition of Doggett's lists the Rev as Frederick W. Geissenhainer but the sender left out one 'S'. Rev. Dr. Frederick William Geissenhainer, jr (1797-1879) was a Lutherian minister and pastor of St. Matthew’s and, after founding the church, became the pastor of St. Paul’s in NYC. |
