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

90L1, Johnson & Co.’s City Despatch Post, Baltimore, MD, 1848 2c Black on lavender, single with margins enormous to just grazing the corner ornaments, untied on locally-addressed Baltimore folded letter datelined February 19, 1848, Caspary sale mentions faint pre-application crease which we cannot see, Extremely Fine and exceptionally fresh, one of only two covers with the Johnson & Co. local stamp, the other (ex-Chapman, Caspary, Hall, Kuphal) having sustained significant damage in a fire, this cover's combination of rarity, beauty, and long absence from the market combine to make it one of the most desirable of all local covers in existence, a gem in every sense of the word (Scott $22,500 based on the sale price of the faulty cover)rnSteven Roth illustrated both surviving Johnson & Co. covers in his 1997 Chronicle article (Vol. 49, No 1) about Baltimore local posts. The service was operated by Ezekiel C. Johnson, as announced in the Baltimore Sun on November 12, 1847. Advertisements in early February 1848 in the same paper advertised Valentine's Day services and identified the locations of dropboxes in book stores and other establishments. Given the large number of dropbox locations and the published advertisements for adhesive stamps, it seems surprising that only two examples of the Johnson & Co.'s local survive today.rnProvenance: Alfred H. Caspary (H.R. Harmer Sale 1072, 1957)rnJosiah K. Lilly (R.A. Siegel Sale 321, 1967)United States Carriers and Locals