The "Erivan" Collection of United and Confederate States Part V

4LB18, Steinmeyer's City Post, Charleston, SC, 2c Black on bluish, stamp in upper righthand corner of neat envelope addressed simply to "Judge John Johnson," stamp with full margins, small repair at top left and cover with sealed tear at top, Extremely Fine appearance, one of three known examples of the Steinmeyer's "Border-of-Pearls" stamp and the only cover in private hands, therefore one of the rarest and most extraordinary of all carriers covers (listed but unpriced in Scott)

There are only three examples of the Steinmeyer's "Border-of-Pearls" stamp recorded, one of which (an on-cover stamp) is housed in the British Library's Tapling Collection and is therefore unlikely come onto the market. The other stamp, an unused single, was sold as part of the Hall Collection in 2000. Joseph G. Martin, John C. Beckman, and John F. Steinmeyer, Jr., all carriers in Charleston, South Carolina, each issued their own adhesive stamps in the period around 1860. All are exceptionally rare. Postage stamps of a different design issued by Steinmeyer on bluish, pink, and yellow paper are not known used genuinely, and may or may not have actually seen service.

Provenance: Alfred H. Caspary (H.R. Harmer Sale 1070, 1957)

Ambassador J. William Middendorf, II (Frajola Net Price Sale 4, 1990)

United States Carriers and Locals