CORINPHILA AUCTIONS 297 - 308 Day 7

1861 (Jan 18): Lettersheet from Brest via Sedlic / Siedlce to Sokolow Podlaski, internally dated "18 Janner 1861", bearing 1857 10 kop. brown & blue imperf. from Plate II, a fresh and fine right marginal example, tied by clear dotted oval '1' numeral of the border post office in Brest, nowadays Belarus. One backflap missing but an amazingly fresh and attractive cover, rare with a marginal example and unique due to its late usage. Signed 'Dr. P. Jem' (Jemchouhin) Mi = € 5'000.rnNote: The 1857 10 kop. adhesive, either imperforated or perforated, is in principal a stamp which is known to be used in the year 1858 only. In the census of Guido Craveri only few dated covers are included which were used in 1859, the latest being a usage from January 1860 in Gorodishche in Belarus. The present cover, however extends the period of use by a full year and the present cover is thereby the latest usage of a Russia Number One. An additional peculiarity is the usage of a marginal example, as margins seem to be cut away prior to distribution of most of the sheets to the post offices. In addition oval dotted numeral cancellations are rare, only 13 out of 458 covers in the census of Guido Craveri were postmarked this way in a border office. And covers from Belarus are rare too, as only 12 out of 458 covers were despatched from there.rnReference: This cover and its cancellation is not yet included in the census of Guido Craveri - 1857 10-Kopeck imperforate stamp of Russia.rnProvenance: Pavlovsk collection, 92. Corinphila sale (March 1996), lot 4439.