Alaska Postal History

Sale 3061

United States Postal History, including:

The William B. Robinson Collection of Wisconsin Postal History

The John D. Bowman Collection of Boyd’s City Express Post

Postal History from the Collection of Steven M. Roth Selections from the Graham Booth, FRPSL Collection of Transatlantic Mails And material from other consignors

Auction Dates

October 26, 2022

10am Eastern: The William B. Robinson Collection of Wisconsin Postal History (Lots 101-316)

2pm Eastern: The John D. Bowman Collection of Boyd‘s City Express Post (Lots 401-618)

October 27, 2022

10am Eastern: Postal History from the Collection of Steven M. Roth (Lots 701-869)

1pm Eastern: Selections from the Graham Booth, FRPSL Collection of Transatlantic Mails (Lots 901-999)

3pm Eastern: United States Postal History and Collections (Lots 1001-1189)

The H.R. Harmer Team

What Stories Will Your Collection Tell?

At H.R. Harmer we view ourselves as stewards of the hobby, dedicated to both preserving great collections of the past and building great collections of the future. Following the recent sales of the Provera, Challenger and Boulder Collections, and with several powerful sales forthcoming, our team has proven its ability to expertly describe and market signi cant and specialized collections. When you consign with H.R. Harmer, you are joining a long list of discerning collectors who have appreciated the historical signi cance, romantic intrigue, and aesthetic beauty a world-class philatelic collection can embody. We pride ourselves in building strong relationships with our consignors and telling the story of their collection to our worldwide network of clients..

Graphic Design

Thomas Rhein & Tonya Rhein

CEO, Philatelist and Auctioneer Charles Epting

Accounts Manager and Philatelist Alison Sullivan

Marketing and Accounts Manager Alyssa Baumgardner

OBVIOUS REPRINTS

Forgeries, fake cancels, and badly defective stamps are normally not included in catalog totals unless noted. However, as with any large group of stamps, some stamps may prove to be bogus, misidentified, or defective. Descriptions of quality are meant to apply to the overall condition of the lot. Lots described as being "mixed” quality or condition should be expected to contain some faulty material.

OWNER’S CATALOG VALUE

In some cases an "owner’s catalog value” is given. Such a figure is just that. An owner’s value may be useful as a guide but H.R. Harmer does not guarantee the accuracy of such a figure.

GUM

Stamps described as "mint” can be expected to have original gum (OG), but should be expected to be hinged unless specifically noted as never hinged (NH).

EXPERTIZING MARKS

We sometimes mention an expert’s signature or guarantee mark on a stamp. However, while we believe that the vast majority of stamps so described are genuine, H.R. Harmer implies no warranty to that effect.

VALUATIONS

SYMBOLS – Autograph – Essay – Proof Specimen of Collections And Large Lots

A Start Price is given for each lot. We do not accept any bids below the start price. All collection lots or lots containing in excess of 10 stamps offered in this auction are sold "as is” and are not returnable for any reason whatsoever. Please be certain to read the full Terms & Conditions of Sale at the rear of the catalog. All bidders will be bound by those Terms & Conditions of Sale.

Bidding

Bidding Increments

Bids of Increase by Up to $100 $5 $100 to $250 $10 $250 to $750 $25 $750 to $1,000 $50 $1,000 to $2,500 $100 $2,500 to $5,000 $250 $5,000 to $10,000 $500 $10,000 to $25,000 $1,000 $25,000 to $50,000 $2,500 $50,000 to $100,000 $5,000 $100,000 and up Auctioneer’s discretion

Bids that do not conform to the above increments will be reduced to the next appropriate bid. No bids accepted below the start price.

Limit Bids

Individuals who wish to restrict their total purchases to a fixed amount (not less than $1,000) in any given auction may do so by advising us of the maximum amount they wish to spend. We will execute bids only until lots in the indicated limit are secured. The buyer’s premium will be added to the total, after the limit has been reached. All estimates are in U.S. Dollars. All times listed are Eastern time (unless noted). A Buyer’s Premium of 18% will be added to the hammer price of each lot.

Absentee Bidding

Bid directly on www.hrharmer.com and also by phone, fax, email or mail. Register now to start bidding at www.hrharmer.com.

Telephone Bidding

Telephone bidding for our auction is on a limited and priority basis only. If you are interested in telephone bidding, please contact our office at 929-436-2800 no later than 72 hours before the day of the sale, with your contact information and a list of the lots that you wish to bid on

Live Internet Bidding

We invite you to utilize live internet bidding via our website, www.hrharmer.com for our sales or www.stampauctionnetwork.com. In order to bid during our live auction, you must be registered and approved for bidding with both Stamp Auction Network & H.R. Harmer. If you are registered at Stamp Auction Network, have been approved for bidding by H.R. Harmer and are ready to start bidding: Login at www.stampauctionnetwork.com, go to the Table of Contents for our sale, and select "Join the Public Auction in Progress.” You will be assigned a paddle number and are ready to start bidding. Lastly, if you are bidding actively on a lot and the bidding has passed your maximum bid, kindly use the "Pass” button to help expedite the sale. Please note: Once a lot is announced as sold by the auctioneer on the floor, no late Internet bids will be accepted, nor will lots be reopened to the Internet once they have been sold on the floor. If you have any questions or concerns about Internet bidding or the registration process please do not hesitate to contact our office at 929-426-2800 or you can email us at info@ hrharmer.com

AUCTION AGENTS

US Auction Agents

Charles E. Cwiakala

1527 Fairview Ave.

Park Ridge, IL 60068-5211

Tel./Fax: 847-823-8747

CECwiakala@aol.com

Frank Mandel

P.O. Box 157

New York, NY 10014

Tel: 212-675-0819 Fax: 212-366-6462 busybird1@me.com

Purser & Associates, LLC

P.O. Box 369 Bronxville, NY 10708

Tel: 857-928-5140 Fax: 781-658-2567 info@pursers.com

Overseas Auction Agents

Trevor Chinery BA

United Kingdom

Tel: 01205-330026

Fax: 01572-813226 trevortrilogy@aol.com

Jochen Heddergott Bauerstrasse 9D-8000 München 40 Germany Tel: 089-272-1683 Fax: 089-272-1685 mail@philagent.com

Lorenz Kirchheim GBR Op de Höh 21 22395 Hamburg, Germany

Tel: 040-645-322-41 lorenz.kirchheim@t-online.de

Nick Martin Station Road Sutterton BOSTON Lincolnshire PE20 2JH, England

Tel: 01205 460968 Fax: 07703 766477

Introduction

In this catalogue we are pleased to be able to present several collections formed by some of the most distinguished and well-respected postal historians. While not necessarily linked in terms of their contents, I feel that these collections share a level of dedication and passion among their owners that is all too rare, and as such I felt they belonged together in one place.

Introductions for both the William B. Robinson and John D. Bowman collections can be found at the start of their respective sections, and so I will not retread ground here. Instead I would like to focus on Steven M. Roth, a prolific researcher and writer whose material contained in this catalogue runs the gamut from the Revolutionary War to carrier mail. His articles in journals such as the Chronicle and Penny Post are essential to researchers (I find myself turning to his 1997 census of the local post covers of Baltimore frequently), but it is not a stretch to say that one of his greatest philatelic achievements yet may be the two-part article he published in the Collectors Club Philatelist earlier this year on East Coast stage coach mail. Many of the covers featured in the article are offered in this catalogue, and we are confident that such exemplary scholarship will result in considerable interest from the market.

Whereas I have known Mr. Roth for a number of years, I am saddened that I never had the chance to meet Graham Booth, FRPSL, in person. Having been able to view two of his exhibits at Stockholmia 2019—and especially in working so closely with his material over the past few weeks—it is readily apparent what an exceptional collector and researcher Dr. Booth was. The covers in this catalogue are merely the beginning of the material we have in our office, representing primarily duplicates and items which did not make it into his exhibit collections. Our next sale will feature significantly more material from Mr. Booth’s holdings, which we are very much looking forward to.

In the closing section of this catalogue can be found nice selections of Blood’s local post, Alaska and Colorado postal history, mail between the US and Japan, and much more. In particular the collections offered at the end of this sale, while not great in number, are of a very high quality.

In closing, I would like to thank Mr. Bowman and Mr. Roth, as well as the families of Mr. Robinson and Mr. Booth, and all our additional consignors, for allowing us to bring such interesting, attractive, and important collections to market.

Charles Epting

LotNo

1069 6 Caro, Alaska. Nov 11 1907 P.M., Helbock type 1 on registry return receipt to Tanana, Alaska, very fine, exHall (Helbock RF 7) 50

(Photo = 1 188)

1070 6 Circle Alaska Dec 15 1905, Helbock type 1 on UX18 to Ft. Sheridan, Illinois, very fine (Helbock RF 6) Offer

(Photo = 1 188)

1071 6 Circle Alaska Nov 28 1906, Helbock type 1 on registry return receipt to Fairbanks, Alaska, filling punches, very fine (Helbock RF 6) Offer

(Photo = 1 188)

1072 6 Cleary, Alaska. July 1 P.M. 1907, Helbock type 1 on registry return receipt to Tanana, Alaska, very fine (Helbock RF 6) Offer

(Photo = 1 188)

1073 6 Coldfoot Alaska. Jan 23 1907. Helbock type 2 on registry return receipt to Tanana, Alaska, very fine (Helbock RF 6) Offer

(Photo = 1 188)

1074 6 Douglas, Alaska. Rec‘d. Aug 15 9 AM 1906, Helbock type 7 on registry return receipt to Hadlock, Washington, very fine (Helbock RF 6) Offer

(Photo = 1 188)

1075 6 Fort Yukon Alaska Sep 21 1907, Helbock type 1 on registry return receipt to Tanana, Alaska, very fine (Helbock RF 6) Offer

(Photo = 1 189)

1076 6 Fort Yukon Alaska 24 Aug 1909, Helbock type 1 on registry return receipt to New York City, small tear at bottom right, otherwise very fine (Helbock RF 6) Offer

(Photo = 1 189)

1077 6 Fort Yukon, Alaska. Jul 22 A.M. 1922, Helbock type 2 on UX18 to Fort Gibbon, Alaska, lightly toned, still fine, one of two known (Helbock RF 7) 50

(Photo = 1 189)

1078 6 Hadley, Alaska Apr 21 1917 A.M., Helbock type 1 on UX27 to Connellsville, Pennsylvania, very fine (Helbock RF 6) Offer

(Photo = 1 189)

Postal History By State Alaska of Tanana

1079 6 Hot Springs Alaska 2-10-04, Helbock type 2 manuscript postmark on registry return receipt to Tanana, Alaska, postmark ink a bit smudged, still very fine (Helbock RF 8) 150

1080 6 Hot Springs Alaska 2-10-04, Helbock type 2 manuscript postmark on registry return receipt to Tanana, Alaska, very fine (Helbock RF 8) 150

1081 6 Iditarod, Alaska. Aug 30 1912 5pm, Helbock type 2 on UX22 to Los Angeles, California, some toning, very fine strike (Helbock RF 6) Offer

(Photo = 1 189)

1082 6 Kokrines, Alaska. June 19 A.M. 1907, Helbock type 1 on registry return receipt to Tanana, Alaska, very fine, ex-Hall (Helbock RF 6) Offer

(Photo = 1 189)

LotNo Start Price

1083 6 Nome Alaska. Jun 23 1900, Helbock type 2 on UX14 to Phoenix, Arizona, central crease and some water staining, very fine strike (Helbock RF 6) Offer

(Photo = 1 189)

1084 6 Nome Alaska. June 26 1900, Helbock type 2 on UX 14 to New York City, small repairs and faults, fine strike (Helbock RF 6) Offer

(Photo = 1 189)

1085 6 Nulato Alaska Jan 26 1907, Helbock type 1 with manuscript date on registry return receipt to Tanana, Alaska, very fine, the latest known use (Helbock RF 6) Offer

(Photo = 1 190)

1086 6 Richardson Alaska 4-24-1907, Helbock type 1 manuscript postmark on registry return receipt to Tanana, Alaska, very fine (Helbock RF 7) 50

(Photo = 1 190)

1087 6 Richardson Aka 10/11/09, Helbock type 1 manuscript postmark on registry return receipt to Tanana, Alaska, very fine, ex-Hall (Helbock RF 7) 50

1088 6 Registered, Saint Michael, Alaska. Aug 12 1907, Helbock Type 8 on registry return receipt to Tanana, Alaska, very fine (Helbock RF 6) Offer

(Photo = 1 190) (Photo = 1 190)

1089 6 Registered, Saint Michael, Alaska. Aug 17 1907, Helbock Type 8 on registry return receipt to Tanana, Alaska, very fine (Helbock RF 6) Offer

(Photo = 1 190)

1090 6 Registered, Saint Michael, Alaska. Aug 26 1907, Helbock Type 8 with manuscript date on registry return receipt to Tanana, Alaska, very fine (Helbock RF 6) Offer

(Photo = 1 190)

1091 6 Sunrise, Alaska. Apr 1 1912, Helbock type 6 on UX14 to Hampton, Illinois, light creasing, otherwise very fine (Helbock RF 6) Offer

(Photo = 1 190)

1092 6 U.S.S. Chicago. Seward Alaska Jul 11 P.M. 1937, Helbock type 3 on UX27 to West Chester, Pennsylvania, some toning, still very fine (Helbock RF 6) Offer

1093 6 Udakta Alaska Oct 23 1905, Helbock type 2 on UX14 to East Orange, New Jersey, some toning along edges, fine  (Helbock RF 6) Offer

1094 6 Alaska 20th Century Territorial Postal Card Collection, approximately 389 postal cards arranged alphabetically, the vast majority of which are territorial uses (although we note a few statehood), all Helbock rarity factor 1-4 (up to $50), some light wear to be expected, generally very fine, an extraordinary group of non-philatelic uses, owner‘s inventory available upon request 250

1095 6 Alaska Territorial Postmarks “Rarity 5” Group, 20 postal cards and registry return receipts all with Alaskan territorial postmarks rated Helbock RF 5 ($50-100), including Chena, Chicken (with unlisted “Eagle, Alaska Rec‘d” backstamp, Eagle, Fairbanks, Gulkana, Haines, Hot Springs, Nulato, Rampart, Richardson, Seldovia, and Teller), light duplication, generally very fine strikes and cards, inventory available upon request 100

(Photo = 1 190) (Photo = 1 190) (Photo = 1 www) (Photo = 1 www)

1096 6 Alaskan Territorial Postal Cards to Foreign Destinations, 12 postal cards (one statehood) sent from Alaska to foreign destinations, mostly to England, France, and Germany but note 1910 Douglas to Japan, some with interesting messages including several from a missionary, generally very fine and interesting, inventory available upon request 100

(Photo = 1 www)

1097 6 Alaska Territorial Advertising Postal Card Group, approximately 38 cards with printed advertisements or government notices, including Alaska Treadwell Gold Mining Co., Sears Roebuck, Railway Express Agency, Alaska Steamship Co., and others including a 1933 advertisement for a Kodiak brown bear expeditions, generally very fine and interesting 50

1098 6 Alaska 1956 Department of Health Postal Reply Cards, approximately 193 incoming reply cards (UY13r) to the Alaska Department of Health, all originating from various post offices throughout Alaska, light duplication particularly among the larger cities, all but Healy Fork, Tanacross, and Fairbanks North Pole Rural Station Helbock rarity factor 1 but this doesn‘t reflect the scarcity of non-philatelic covers from some of these towns, light wear to some cards but generally very fine, owner‘s inventory available upon request 50

(Photo = 1 www) (Photo = 1 www)

1099 6 Alaska APO and Naval Postal Card Group, 39 cards (28 APO, 11 Naval), nearly all 1940s/50s, mostly Helbock rarity factor 1-2, generally very fine, a useful and interesting assortment Offer

1100 6 Alaska HAM Radio Postal Card Group, group of 16 cards ranging from 1929/62 (two statehood), note better including 1929 Unalaska, 1935 Seattle & Seward, and 1946 APO 729 (Shemya Island), generally very fine and choice, owner‘s inventory available upon request Offer

(Photo = 1 www) (Photo = 1 www)

1101 6 Alaska Incoming Postal Cards 1906/81. group of 25 cards incoming to Alaska from various destinations, all but a couple territorial, note better including 1906 Washington, DC to Seward, 1909 Registered Return Receipt Chicago to Chicken, 1912 Kansas City to Chicken, and 1918 AEF Field Post Office to Anchorage, light wear, generally fine to very fine, viewing recommended Offer

(Photo = 1 www)

1102 6 Alaska Postal Cards with Interesting Messages, group of 19 postal cards, mostly 1900s/60s, each selected for the content of the message, mostly commentary on the weather, local landmarks, disasters, etc., generally very fine and fun to read Offer

1103 6 Alaska Postal History Miscellany, approximately 35 covers and cards, including small run of 1956 cards to the Alaska Department of Health, APOs, penalty covers, incoming advertising covers, and more, generally fine to very fine, an interesting group worth a look Offer

(Photo = 1 www) (Photo = 1 www)