Census of 1c Blue, Type I (Scott 5)

5-CAN-030

Notes:

• One of the few examples with four clear margins showing the complete design.
• Tiny tear in top margin clear of design. The tear extends downward from the margin above the T of POSTAGE.
• Caspary sale catalogue description states: “few minor age stains” but this may refer to lower two stamps of the strip, as no such stains are noted for the 7R1E. PFC states “light horizontal crease across the bottom.” This is ironic, as the owner’s purpose in desecrating this beautiful vertical strip was to eliminate the crease. I have a firsthand account of this event from a witness, a noted philatelist and a friend of Clifford C. Cole Jr.’s, Dr. Thomas Kingsley, which I quote verbatim:
• “...You are familiar with the Caspary vertical strip of 3 (Pos. 7/17/27R1E)—described by Harmer with a horizontal crease—implying that it involved 7R1E. [JSW note: the Harmer description said the crease was in the 7R1E]. Cliff purchased the strip at the sale at a ‘good’ price because of the description. The crease actually involved the top of 17R1E. Cliff covered over the lower two stamps with a design copy of the Neinken [JSW note: Ashbrook] drawing of 7R1E because the lower part of the strip was unattractive. (It was mounted this way in his collection for 30 years). A year before he sold his collection, he called me to his home to help ease his nerves—he was about to sever the strip along the line of the crease, which he did, destroying a VF example of Type IIIa (17R1E). He missed the crease, however, by half a millimeter and then had to cut away the final tiny strip from the bottom of 7R1E, which he did successfully (and with perspiration). His 7R1E in the first sale of his collection is, therefore, ex Caspary sans 17 and 27!”

Provenance:

• Caspary Collection
• 2/24/1998, Cole Collection, Siegel Auction Galleries, The Clifford C. Cole Jr. Collection of United States Postage Issues, Sale 689, Lot 79, Realized $24,200
• 10/8/1998, Zoellner Collection, Siegel Auction Galleries, The Robert Zoellner Collection of United States, Sale 804, Lot 19, Realized $60,500
• 3/12/2024, Eugene L. Grace Collection, Siegel Auction Galleries, The Eugene L. Grace Collection of United States and Confederate States Stamps and Covers, Sale 1315, Lot 5027, Realized $50,150

Certificates:

• PF 191680 (1988) Genuine with a small tear at top and with a light horizontal crease across the bottom.
• PF 331865 (1998) Genuine with a small tear at top and a light horizontal crease across the bottom.