Skip to main content
| Scott Number | 09X1 |
|---|---|
| Date | February 7, 1846 |
| From City | LIRR |
| From State | NY |
| To City | Boston |
| To State | NY |
| Addressee | George M. Dexter |
| Cert Author | |
| Cert # | |
| Fake | |
| No. of Stamps | 1 |
| Plate Position | 38 |
| Initials | ACM |
| Others |
Notes
New York N.Y., 5c Black, "ACM" Initials (9X1). Position 38, ample to full margins and deep shade, cancelled by small cross-hatch pen strokes, red RAIL R. Long Island Railroad route agent's handstamp with matching "5" and "Paid" straightline handstamps on blue folded letter from James Lenox sent via the Long Island Railroad to Boston, datelined "New York 7 Feb 1846" and signed by Lenox, stamp with some typical light wrinkling, file folds well away from stamp
VERY FINE AND CHOICE. THIS IS THE ONLY RECORDED EXAMPLE OF THE 5-CENT NEW YORK POSTMASTER'S PROVISIONAL WITH LONG ISLAND RAILROAD MARKINGS.
The New York provisional is rare on covers with any type of railroad route agent marking, but this is the only recorded use of the stamp on a cover with Long Island Railroad (LIRR) route agent markings. It was sent in February 1846 by James Lenox to George Dexter in Boston and was carried from New York City through the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel, then by an eastbound LIRR train to Greenport, Long Island, and from there by LIRR steamboats connecting with railroad lines to Boston. A fascinating history of the short-lived Brooklyn-Boston LIRR route is found at http://www.brooklynrail.net/proj_aatunnel.html. This cover fits precisely with the chronology of the LIRR "through route" from New York to Boston via Long Island Sound steamships and feeder lines. Commodore Vanderbilt played a part in this route, which operated from 1844 until 1847.
From August 1844 though February 1847 the LIRR owned and operated a small fleet of steamboats: the Cleopatra, the Worcester and the New Haven. These steamboats made the connection across the Long Island Sound between the eastern terminus of the LIRR at Greenport and the Connecticut rail terminals of the Norwich & Worcester Railroad at Allyn's Point, and the New York, Providence & Boston Railroad at Stonington. In late 1845 the LIRR commissioned the construction of a fourth steamboat, the Atlantic, the fastest, largest and most luxurious steamboat ever built in the U.S. This steamboat was intended for the LIRR's planned "through route" rail connection to Boston via the Fall River Railroad. However, it was sold to the N&W prior to its completion, as the LIRR's Fall River link did not occur.
The Atlantic Avenue Tunnel is officially the world's oldest subway tunnel. It was built in 1844 beneath a busy street in the City of Brooklyn (Brooklyn did not become part of New York City until a half-century later). The half-mile long tunnel accommodated two standard gauge railroad tracks. It was constructed in only seven months, using the cut-and-cover method with hand tools and primitive equipment. The tunnel provided grade separation for the previously existing LIRR route on the surface of Atlantic Avenue and eliminated vehicular and pedestrian traffic conflicts and delays. Bob Diamond rediscovered the long forgotten Atlantic Avenue Tunnel in 1980. The Brooklyn Historic Railway Association was formed in 1982 to preserve, publicize and provide public access to the historic tunnel.
Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries Inc. sale 999 lot 631 realized 11,000
VERY FINE AND CHOICE. THIS IS THE ONLY RECORDED EXAMPLE OF THE 5-CENT NEW YORK POSTMASTER'S PROVISIONAL WITH LONG ISLAND RAILROAD MARKINGS.
The New York provisional is rare on covers with any type of railroad route agent marking, but this is the only recorded use of the stamp on a cover with Long Island Railroad (LIRR) route agent markings. It was sent in February 1846 by James Lenox to George Dexter in Boston and was carried from New York City through the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel, then by an eastbound LIRR train to Greenport, Long Island, and from there by LIRR steamboats connecting with railroad lines to Boston. A fascinating history of the short-lived Brooklyn-Boston LIRR route is found at http://www.brooklynrail.net/proj_aatunnel.html. This cover fits precisely with the chronology of the LIRR "through route" from New York to Boston via Long Island Sound steamships and feeder lines. Commodore Vanderbilt played a part in this route, which operated from 1844 until 1847.
From August 1844 though February 1847 the LIRR owned and operated a small fleet of steamboats: the Cleopatra, the Worcester and the New Haven. These steamboats made the connection across the Long Island Sound between the eastern terminus of the LIRR at Greenport and the Connecticut rail terminals of the Norwich & Worcester Railroad at Allyn's Point, and the New York, Providence & Boston Railroad at Stonington. In late 1845 the LIRR commissioned the construction of a fourth steamboat, the Atlantic, the fastest, largest and most luxurious steamboat ever built in the U.S. This steamboat was intended for the LIRR's planned "through route" rail connection to Boston via the Fall River Railroad. However, it was sold to the N&W prior to its completion, as the LIRR's Fall River link did not occur.
The Atlantic Avenue Tunnel is officially the world's oldest subway tunnel. It was built in 1844 beneath a busy street in the City of Brooklyn (Brooklyn did not become part of New York City until a half-century later). The half-mile long tunnel accommodated two standard gauge railroad tracks. It was constructed in only seven months, using the cut-and-cover method with hand tools and primitive equipment. The tunnel provided grade separation for the previously existing LIRR route on the surface of Atlantic Avenue and eliminated vehicular and pedestrian traffic conflicts and delays. Bob Diamond rediscovered the long forgotten Atlantic Avenue Tunnel in 1980. The Brooklyn Historic Railway Association was formed in 1982 to preserve, publicize and provide public access to the historic tunnel.
Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries Inc. sale 999 lot 631 realized 11,000
