Sale 3036: United States, British Commonwealth, and Foreign Stamps, Covers and Collections Session 1: United States

Libby Prison, Richmond Va., orange buff inner cover endorsed "From Libby Prison by a Prisoner of War" at upper left, entered mails and with crisp strike of "Old Point Comfort Va. May 3" double circle datestamp, addressed to "Capt. Ezra Clark, Middletown Conn", Very Fine and choice, covers actually endorsed "Libby Prison" are scarce; signed KaufmannrnrnLibby Prison was used almost exclusively for officers, though it was also the receiving depot for prisoners through Richmond. Thus, enlisted men would come to Libby Prison, be registered as POWs, and then be transferred elsewhere (Belle Isle, Pemberton, etc). The officers who stayed at Libby were crowded inside a three-story former tobacco factory in sparsely furnished rooms that exposed them to the elements; they often also suffered from severe food shortages. Shortly after a Feb 1864 prison break, Confederate officials began transferring Libby's population to Georgia, with the facility being used as a place of temporary confinement for the next year. After Richmond fell on April 2, 1865, former Confederate officials became Libby's newest inmatesSale 3036: General Sale Session 1 - United States Stamps and Covers