Lot 2
American Letter Mail Co., 1844, 5¢ black, thin paper (2nd printing) (5L1), large margins, cancelled by red brush on prepaid January 25, 1844 folded letter from Baltimore Md. to New York City street address; fold separations, stamp with faulty corners, Fine.
Estimate 20,000 - 30,000
MAILED ON THE FIRST DAY OF SERVICE BY THE AMERICAN LETTER MAIL COMPANY.
In January 1844, Lysander Spooner founded the American Letter Mail Company to operate a cheap letter express between Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston to compete with the government postal service. He issued adhesive postage stamps, which he sold "20 for a dollar", that could be used to prepay fees for service at a far lower rate than the government was charging.
Spooner announced on January 25, 1844 the commencement of service. The cover above was carried on the first day of operations.
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