| David Watt Three-Cent 1851-57, The 1852-57 Shades |
| |
| |
| Lot |
Photo |
Description |
Lot 420 |
 |
o/
1852-57, claret of 1857 (11), 84L5L showing major plate crack, large margins tied by Lowell, Mass c.d.s. on cover to Muscatine, Iowa, F-VF and quite rare on cover. Also includes a Fine off-cover 84L5L (1856 brownish carmine) prior to the development of the crack.
Estimate 500 - 750
View details and enlarged photo
|
Lot 421 |
 |
o
1852-57, 3¢ brownish carmine of 1856 (11), horizontal pair. 92-93R5L showing large paper fold in right stamp, large margins to just in at left, rich color Natchez, Miss town cancel. Very Fine. Paper folds are very rare on the 1851 issue.
Estimate 200 - 300
View details and enlarged photo
|
Lot 422 |
 |
o
3¢ dull red privately rouletted (11 var.), 76R2L with intact rouletting on all four sides gauging about 17, partial "New-York, Jul (30?)" c.d.s., very well centered. Fresh and Very Fine.
Estimate 1,000 - 1,500
A CHOICE EXAMPLE OF THIS RARE PRIVATE ROULETTE.
Expertization: 1996 P.F. Certificate.
View details and enlarged photo
|
Lot 423 |
 |
o
1852-57, 3¢ brownish carmine of 1856 (11), 58L4, green (F)AIRF(IELD) town cancel, full to oversized margins. Fresh and Extremely Fine.
Scott $197
View details and enlarged photo
|
Lot 424 |
 |
o
1852-57, 3¢ orange red (11), horizontal pair. 1-2R5L, full to large margins except just shaved at lower left, clear green Shelbyville (Ind.?) c.d.s., lovely warm color. Fresh and Very Fine. A striking pair.
Scott $410
View details and enlarged photo
|
Lot 425 |
 |
o
1852-57, 3¢ dull red (11), plate 1L green town cancels, position 2L, 31L and 98L, all with 3+ margins, fresh and F-VF.
Scott $567
View details and enlarged photo
|
Lot 426 |
 |
o
1852-57, 3¢ dull red (11), plate 3 green cancels, position 10L, 9R, 51R, comprising a 7-bar circular grid and Lancaster and York, Pa. c.d.s.s, all with virtually four margins. Fresh and Very Fine.
Scott $567
View details and enlarged photo
|
Lot 427 |
 |
o
1852-57, 3¢ orange red (11), 97L3, blue "Pacific Express Co. Stockton, May 10" oval, large margins including partial bottom sheet margin. Extremely Fine.
Estimate 200 - 300
View details and enlarged photo
|
Lot 428 |
 |
o
1852-57, 3¢ dull red (11), horizontal strip of three, 12-14L4, full margins to just in at lower left, cancelled blue "Wells Fargo & Co. Express San Francisco" ovals. Small corner crease upper right, F-VF and scarce.
Estimate 400 - 600
View details and enlarged photo
|
Lot 429 |
|
o
1852-57, 3¢ shades (11), selection of more than 300 stamps, all collected for cancellation, features coloreds, geometrics, numerals, paids, railroads, auxiliary markings, etc. All plates are represented and, of course, a whole spectrum of shades with a significant percentage having four margins; generally fresh and Fine to Very Fine or better.
Estimate 4,000 - 5,000
View details
|
Lot 430 |
|
o
1852-57, 3¢ shades (11), plates 1L, 2L and 3, complete reconstructions of the three longest lived of the eight plates that produced #11s, all 600 positions; includes a few pairs, several sheet margin singles and lots of nice cancels, but most importantly, the owner attempted to assemble only stamps with four margins and has succeeded on better than 90% of the positions — quite a noteworthy accomplishment. Generally fresh and Very Fine or better.
Scott $8,400 ++
Plate 1L was in use from October of 1851 until March of 1855, plates 2L and 3 from January of 1852 until July of 1857.
View details
|
Lot 431 |
|
o
1855-57, 3¢ shades (11), plates 4 and 5L, complete reconstructions of the two plates with the 4th and 5th shortest production periods of the eight plates that produced #11s, all 400 positions including 84/94L5, the major plate creack; includes a few pairs, several sheet margin singles and lots of nice cancels, but again, most importantly, the owner attempted to assemble only stamps with four margins and has succeeded on better than 90% of the positions — an even more noteworthy accomplishment on these scarce plates. Fresh and generally Very Fine or better.
Scott $5,600 ++
The two plates were in use from March and September of 1855 until May and April of 1857, respectively.
View details
|
Lot 432 |
|
o
1856-57, 3¢ shades (11), plates 6, 7 and 8, complete reconstructions of the three shortest lived of the eight plates that produced #11s; 600 positions including three pairs, several sheet margins (seven centerlines), and lots of nice cancels; a clean F-VF group with many, many 4-margin copies and perhaps a few minor flaws. A worthy assemblage of these three scarce plates.
Scott $8,400 ++
These three plates were in production for only about 12-14 months in 1856 and 1857.
View details
|
Lot 433 |
|
o
1852-55, 3¢ shades (11), plate 1L, one complete and eight partial reconstructions each in a different color with the following number of different positions for each color: 1851 experimental orange brown (unconfirmed) (20), 1852 yellow brown (20), early claret (151), late claret (89), brownish carmine (194), 1853 dull red (161), 1854 rose red (200 complete), 1854-55 worn plate (152) and 1855 orange red (131); includes line through "Three Cents" (6) and 5 lines recut upper left triangle (4 + 2 duplicates), also lots of sheet margins, many pairs, a block of 4 and more than 200 duplicates or triplicates, more than 1,450 stamps in all. Condition is somewhat mixed but is generally F-VF with a good number of 4-margin copies.
Estimate 6,000 - 8,000
View details
|
Lot 434 |
|
o
1852-57, 3¢ shades (11), plate 2L, ten partial reconstructions each in a different color with the following number of different positions for each color: 1852 early claret (112), late claret (40), brownish carmine (186), 1853 dull red (189), 1854 rose red (199), 1855 orange red (189), 1856 brownish carmine (154), 1857 clarets (179), rose brown (68) and yellow brown (62); includes triple transfer (5 + 4 duplicates), recut button (6 + 2 duplicates) and "Gents" (4 + 4 duplicates), also lots of sheet margins (30 with centerlines), many pairs and more than 300 duplicates or triplicates, more than 1,700 stamps in all. Condition is somewhat mixed but is generally F-VF with a good number of 4-margin copies.
Estimate 7,500 - 10,000
View details
|
Lot 435 |
|
o
1852-57, 3¢ shades (11), plate 3, ten partial reconstructions each in a different color with the following number of different positions for each color: 1852 early claret (91), late claret (25), brownish carmine (170), 1853 dull red (196), 1854 rose red (200 complete), 1855 orange red (180), 1856 brownish carmine (141), 1857 clarets (198), rose brown (91) and yellow brown (88); includes lots of sheet margins (one imprint), many pairs, a block of 4 and more than 450 duplicates or triplicates, more than 1,800 stamps in all. Condition is somewhat mixed but is generally F-VF with a good number of 4-margin copies.
Estimate 7,500 - 10,000
View details
|
Lot 436 |
|
o
1855-57, 3¢ shades (11), plate 4, six partial reconstructions each in a different color with the following number of different positions for each color: 1855 orange red (187), 1856 brownish carmine (189), yellowish rose red (36), 1857 clarets (196), rose brown (82) and yellow brown (53); includes lots of sheet margins, several pairs and strips, and more than 400 duplicates or triplicates, more than 1,150 stamps in all. Condition is somewhat mixed but is generally F-VF with a good number of 4-margin copies.
Estimate 5,000 - 7,500
View details
|
Lot 437 |
|
o
1855-57, 3¢ shades (11), plate 5L, six partial reconstructions, each in a different color with the following number of different positions for each color: 1855 orange red (70), 1856 brownish carmine (160), yellowish rose red (48), 1857 clarets (185), rose brown (43) and yellow brown (18); includes major cracks 84L (3 + 2 duplicates) and 94L (2 + a duplicate), lots of sheet margins, several pairs and strips, and more than 250 duplicates or triplicates, more than 775 stamps in all. Condition is somewhat mixed but is generally F-VF with a good number of 4-margin copies.
Estimate 3,000 - 4,000
View details
|
Lot 438 |
|
o
1856-57, 3¢ shades (11), plates 6, 7 and 8, 5 partial reconstructions of each by color with the following number of different positions for each color: 1856 brownish carmine (70, 130, 45 respectively), yellowish rose red (15, 40, 60), 1857 clarets (135, 105, 85), rose brown (20, 40, 45) and yellow brown (6, 2, 7); includes several pairs and strips, and more than 100 duplicates with more than 925 stamps in all. Condition is somewhat mixed but is generally F-VF with a good number of 4-margin copies.
Estimate 4,000 - 6,000
View details
|
Lot 439 |
 |
o
1851-57, 3¢ Color chart (10-11), 88 stamps assembled and mounted on 13 display cards by Dr. Wilbur F. Amonette. Starts with an array of eleven 1851 orange browns ranging from pale to copperish on two cards, followed by 1851 experimental orange browns (5), 1851 & 1852 clarets (4), 1852 brownish carmines (9), 1853 dull reds (7), 1854 rose reds (8), 1854-55 plate 1L late printings (4), 1855 orange reds (7), 1856 brownish carmines (9), 1856 yellowish rose reds (8), 1857 clarets (9) and 1857 browns (7) including the rare plum. Virtually all have four margins and, though a few may have trivial flaws (the plum has faint pressed wrinkles), the majority are Very Fine to Extremely Fine. A highly desirable reference formed by the acknowledged expert in the field of 3¢ shades.
Estimate 3,000 - 4,000
View details and enlarged photo
|
Lot 440 |
 |
o
3¢ 1852-57 Color Study, comprehensive study done by David Watt based upon the Amonette color chart in the preceding lot. Consists of nearly 1,500 stamps in two large deluxe stockbooks. All are 1852-57 shades ranging from a mid-1852 orange brown to 1857 yellow browns. All are plated, many by Dr. Chase, with more than 1,000 coming from plates 1L, 2L and 3, the rest being from plate 4 (175), plate 5L (95) and plates 6, 7 & 8 (50+ of each). Includes a Fine "plum" identified by Dr. Amonette, who has added notes here and there on the scarcer shades, both agreeing and disagreeing with Watt's findings. Also includes a beautiful 4-margin 58L8 identified by Amonette and Wilson Hulme as "pinkish (with a trace of yellowish rose red)" in 2002, but recently annotated by Amonette as "not pink" [an indication of just how difficult assigning shades can be].
Dr. Watt states that "Among my entire collection, these two albums consumed the most time and were put together with the most care. With very, very few exceptions, stamps were selected with black cancellations (Bill [Amonette] recommends against blue or red cancels in a color collection), no pen cancellations, four margins and soundness." This in-depth study is a fascinating and valuable collection, not to mention an outstanding accomplishment by Watt, that will provide someone with many, many hours of pleasure and form a basis for much further study of this very challenging field.
Estimate 15,000 - 20,000
View details and enlarged photo
|
Lot 441 |
|
o
Dr. Carroll Chase's plate reconstruction photographs, set of 11" x 14" black & white photographs made from Chase's original negatives. 26 in all, each reproducing, in actual size, a left or a right pane from Chase's reconstruction of the 13 plates used to print the 3¢ imperforates, complete with his handwritten notes in the margins of the display pages. Though a few positions have been found to be inaccurate in recent years [see, for instance, lot XXX], this is still the definitive source for would-be platers of the 3¢ imperfs. Available from the National Postal Museum for $500.
Estimate 200 - 300
View details
|
|
