Lot
5082 
1856 (May 6) New Haven Ct. to Munich, Germany, cover bearing 10¢ green, type III (15) strip of three, large margins to clear at top, tied by magenta grid cancels, matching "New Haven Con. May 6, 1856" cds, endorsed "Via Prussian Closed Mail" at top left, sharp strike of red "Boston, Br. Pkt. ' Paid 7' May 7" credit exchange cds, carried by Cunard Line Arabia from Boston May 7th to Liverpool arriving May 18th, red "Aachen Franco, 20/5" framed transit, partial Munich arrival backstamp; no back flap, Very Fine and attractive prepaid use at the 30¢ PCM rate. Estimate $500 - 750.
Realized: $1,500
Lot
5083
1856 (Aug. 4) Reading Pa. to Sachsenhausen, Coeln, Prussia, orange cover bearing two 12¢ gray black (17) singles, margins clear to barely in, and two 3¢ dull red (11A) singles, stamps artfully placed at all four corners of the cover, tied by either grids or "Reading Pa. Aug. 4" cds, red "N. York, Br. Pkt. 'Paid 7' Aug 6" credit exchange cds, carried by Cunard Line Persia from New York Aug. 6th to Liverpool arriving Aug. 15th, red "Aachen, Franco 17/8" framed handstamp, Coeln (8.17) receiving backstamp; trivial cover stain at top, Very Fine and colorful attractively franked cover at the 30¢ Prussian Closed Mail rate, ex-J & J, Corey Long. Estimate $1,000 - 1,500.
Lot
5084
1856 (Jun. 10) Mercersburg Pa. to Berlin, Prussia, light "Mercersburgh Pa. Jun. 10" cds ties 1¢ blue (9), 3¢ dull red (11A) horizontal pair, mostly ample margins, and 10¢ green, types II-IV (14-16) pair, positions 53-54L1, right stamp recut at bottom, large margins all around, on 3¢ red Nesbitt (U10) buff entire, endorsed "Per Prussian Closed Mail, paid through" at bottom left, red "N.York, Am. Pkt. 'Paid 7' Jun 14" credit exchange cds, carried by Ocean Line Washington from New York Jun. 14th to Southampton arriving Jun. 28th, bold red "Aachen, Franco, 20/6" framed handstamp; one 3¢ has manuscript. "X" cancel, which has been removed from 1¢ and 10¢ stamps to improve appearance, entire slight wrinkle and part of backflap missing, Very Fine appearance, ex-De Wasserman, Piller, Sevenoaks, Tito. Estimate $3,000 - 4,000.
AN EXTRAORDINARY FOUR-COLOR COMBINATION TO MAKE UP THE 30¢ PRUSSIAN CLOSED MAIL RATE, WHICH IS PROBABLY UNIQUE WITH THE 10¢ TYPE IV STAMP.
Realized: $2,500
Lot
5085
1856 (Aug. 5) San Francisco Cal. to Reutlingen, Württemberg, 10¢ pale green (U18a) buff Nesbitt entire bearing 10¢ green, type I (13), full to mostly large margins, and 10¢ green, type II (14), large margins to in, both tied by two strikes of "San Francisco, Cal., 5 Aug" cds, endorsed "via Liverpool & Ostende", red "N.York, Am. Pkt. 'Paid 7' Aug 30" credit exchange cds, carried by Collins Line Baltic from New York Aug. 30th to Liverpool arriving Sep. 11th, red "Aachen, Franco 12/9" framed transit, reverse with Stuttgart (9.13) transit and Sep. 14th arrival cds; couple tone spots, F.-V.F. and scarce 10¢ type I-II 1855 issue combination use at the 30¢ Prussian Closed Mail rate, ex-Tito. Estimate $1,000 - 1,500.
10¢ stamps and envelopes paid the April 1, 1855 domestic rate for distance over 3,000 miles. The envelopes were most commonly sold in California, so Prussian Closed Mail covers from there often have two 10¢ stamps affixed to one 10¢ envelope; from the rest of the US, payment by three 10¢ stamps is more common.
Realized: $950
Lot
5086
1856 (Oct. 6) Schenectady, N.Y. to Göttingen, Hanover, 3¢ red (U1) Nesbitt entire bearing two 12¢ black (17) singles, pos. 44L1, 53R1, and 3¢ dull red (11A) single, pos. 67R5L, each large margins to slightly in, tied by circular grid cancels, matching "Schenectady, N.Y. 03 6" cds (03 instead of Oct) and red "Paid" straightline with magenta "30", red "N.York, Br. Pkt. 'Paid 7' Oct 7" credit exchange cds, carried by Cunard Line Canada from Boston Oct. 8th to Liverpool arriving Oct. 18th, blue Oct. 22nd arrival backstamp; partial flap, Very Fine and unusual franking for the 30¢ Prussian Closed Mail rate. Estimate $750 - 1,000.
The writer initially applied one 12¢ stamp to the 3¢ Nesbitt envelope for the 15¢ rate via Bremen on Ocean "Washington", but since it would not reach New York in time, another 15¢ had to be applied for the 30¢ Prussian Closed Mail.
Realized: $725
Lot
5087
1857 (Feb. 23) Saxonburg Pa. to Alme, Prussia, cover bearing 10¢ green, type II (14) horizontal strip of three, pos. 13-15L1, full to mostly large margins, tied by two open circular grid cancels, manuscript "Saxonburg Pa., Febr 23." manuscript postmark, bold red "N. York, Br. Pkt. 'Paid 7' Mar 4" credit exchange cds, carried by Cunard Line Asia from New York Mar. 4th to Liverpool arriving Mar. 16th, red "Aachen, Franco 18/3" framed handstamp, Mar. 19th arrival backstamp; some soiling, right stamp vertical scrape, small scissor cut between right pair, a Very Fine appearing use at the 30¢ Prussian Closed Mail rate. Estimate $300 - 400.
Realized: $280
Lot
5088
1858 (Jun. 15) Philadelphia Pa. to Braunschweig, gray folded letter bearing three 10¢ green, type III (33) singles, each tied by circular grid cancel, matching "Philadelphia Pa., Jun 15" cds, red "N. York, Am. Pkt. 'Paid 7' Jun 19" credit exchange cds, carried by Vanderbilt Line North Star from New York Jun. 19th to Southampton arriving Jul. 1st, red "Aachen, Franco 3/7" framed transit, arrival backstamp, Very Fine use at the 30¢ Prussian Closed Mail rate. Estimate $300 - 400.
Original desired routing was via the Hapag Line "Hammonia" at the 15¢ Hamburg rate, but it was too late. The bottom two stamps applied over a "Paid" notation after rerouting.
Realized: $325
Lot
5089
1859 (Feb. 7) Columbia Ill. to Gimmeldingen bei Neustadt an der Haardt, Bavaria, light buff cover bearing 10¢ green (35), pair and single, tied by red "Columbia Ill. Feb 7" balloon-style cds, red "N.York, Am. Pkt. 'Paid 7' Feb 11" credit exchange cds, carried by Inman Line City of Baltimore from New York Feb. 11th to Queenstown arriving Feb. 22nd, partial red "Aachen, Franco" transit, magenta "30" cent restatement; slight overall wear, F.-V.F. Estimate $200 - 300.
Lot
5090
1859 (Jun. 18) Brunswick Mo. to Wehrheim, Nassau, orange buff cover bearing 10¢ green, types II & III (32, 33), six comprising two vertical pairs (one stamp type III) arranged as a block, and single of each type, tied by multiple strikes of "Brunswick Me. Jun 18" cds, four additional strikes on reverse, red "N.York, Am. Pkt. 'Paid 14' Jun 25" credit exchange cds, carried by Havre Line Fulton from New York Jun. 25th to Southampton arriving Jul. 7th, partial red "Aachen, Franco 9/7" transit, arrival backstamp; small cover tears, right edge of cover refolded to show overlapping stamps (one creased), Fine and spectacular 10¢ franking for double the 30¢ Prussian Closed Mail rate. Estimate $300 - 400.
Realized: $500
Lot
5091
1859 (Nov. 25) Peoria, Ill. to Fieburg im Breisgau, Baden, orange buff cover bearing 10¢ green, types II-III (32-33) horizontal pair and 10¢ green, type V (35), each cancelled by matching grid cancel, pair tied by "Peoria Ills., Nov 25, 1859" cds, red "N.York, Br. Pkt. 'Paid 7' Nov 20" credit exchange cds, carried by Cunard Line Canada from Boston Nov. 30th to Queenstown arriving Dec. 12th, red "Aachen, Franco, 13/12" framed transit, blue ms. "2/" kr local postage due rating, indistinct arrival backstamp; small stamp faults from edge placement, minor cover mend bottom left, F.-V.F. and rare 10¢ 1857 type II, III, V combination use; with 1975 P.F. certificate. Estimate $300 - 400.
Addresses entirely in German script would not have been comprehensible to an English speaker, so bilingual writers often added "Germany" in English cursive, as on the top cover.
Realized: $250