Catégories
3c Dull Red, Ty. III (26). Block of six and two strips of three ...mehr
3c Dull Red, Ty. III (26). Block of six and two strips of three —
affixed on back with sender's notation "Postage payd on the back of
it" — each of the 12 stamps cancelled by clear strike of unusual
Four Crossed Arrows and Dots in Circle fancy cancel, perfect bold
strike of "Fort Davis Texas Jan. 22, 1861" circular datestamp on
blue folded letter to Glückstadt, Denmark, "near Hamburg, Germany,"
carried by stage to Indianola Tex. on Matagorda Bay, then by
steamer to New Orleans and on to New York, red "N. York Am. Pkt. 7
Paid Feb. 9" 7c credit datestamp — the foreign-mail office applied
the 7c credit instead of 12c, so this was marked as paid to Prussia
only and not to its final destination — carried on the Inman Etna,
departing New York Feb. 9, 1861, and arriving Queenstown Feb. 19
and Liverpool Feb. 20 — red "AACHEN 22 2 FRANCO" (Feb. 22) framed
datestamp and red "Franco/Preuss.Resp. Vereins/Ausgangs-Grenze"
framed handstamp (paid only to limits of German-Austrian Postal
Union), "HAMBURG 23/2 61" (Feb. 23) oval and "KDOPA HAMBURG 23/2"
(Feb. 23) Royal Danish Postal Agency in Hamburg double-circle
datestamp on back, blue Glückstadt receiving backstamp (Feb. 23),
red crayon "4" Danish skillings due, approximately six stamps have
faults including a few defective, folded letter repaired with blue
paper patches on back panelsFINE OVERALL APPEARANCE. A SPECTACULAR
COVER FROM FORT DAVIS, TEXAS, TO GLÜCKSTADT IN SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN,
THEN UNDER DANISH CROWN RULE. THE 35-CENT PRUSSIAN CLOSED MAIL RATE
IS PAID WITH 3-CENT 1857 STAMPS CANCELLED BY THE DISTINCTIVE FANCY
CANCEL USED AT THE FORT DAVIS POST OFFICE ON THE EVE OF SECESSION.
A TRULY REMARKABLE POSTAL HISTORY ARTIFACT FROM SEVERAL
PERSPECTIVES.The cover is addressed to Frau A. L. Daus at
Glückstadt in Schleswig-Holstein, then under Danish crown rule,
with sender's directive "near Hamburg, Germany." The 35c Prussian
Closed Mail rate was paid with twelve 3c 1857 Issue stamps affixed
on back, which was duly noted by the sender on the address side
("Postage payd on the back of it"). This was transported by the
eastbound stage on the San Antonio-San Diego overland mail route
from Fort Davis to San Antonio, then on to Indianola. From there it
was carried by a contract steamer to New Orleans and on to New
York. At the New York foreign-mail exchange office, it was marked
and bagged for the Prussian Closed Mail route and sent on the Etna
on its first sailing as an Inman line vessel following service on
the Cunard line. The Etna departed New York on February 9, 1861,
and arrived at the port of Queenstown on February 19 and Liverpool
on February 20. The letter entered the German mail system at Aachen
on February 22, and on the following day it was transferred to the
Danish postal system in Hamburg, then delivered to nearby
Glückstadt.Fort Davis was established on October 23, 1854, under
the authority of General Persifor F. Smith of the Department of
Texas. General Smith selected the site and named it in honor of
Jefferson Davis, the Secretary of War. The fort was under the
command of Lieutenant Colonel Washington Seawell and manned by
companies of the 8th U. S. Infantry from 1854 until April 1861.
Fort Davis was the site of the U.S. military's "Camel Corps,"
championed by Jefferson Davis, which employed camels imported from
the Middle East to provide transportation in the southwestern
desert.At the time this letter was mailed, Texas was still a part
of the United States. The secession convention convened on January
28, 1861, and passed the Ordinance of Secession on February 1,
1861. The requisite popular referendum was held on February 23 and
the ordinance was passed, effective March 2, 1861. On the same
date, the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States admitted
Texas into the CSA, and on March 5 the Texas Convention accepted
the invitation to join.The U.S. postmaster of Fort Davis from 1855
to 1861 was Lieut. Thomas Gamble Pitcher. In 1861 he resigned and
was replaced by Patrick Murphy, the fort sutler, or another Murphy
named Daniel (there are two conflicting reports). Col. John R.
Baylor's Confederate cavalry brigade reached Fort Davis on April
13, 1861, and U.S. troops withdrew in compliance with orders
already received from Brig. Gen. David E. Twiggs. The Fort Davis
postmark on this cover is found on covers dated in both the U.S.
and Confederate periods. The fort functioned as a supply depot for
General Henry H. Sibley's New Mexico Campaign. In August 1862, U.S.
forces regained control of Fort Davis, but did not occupy it. The
fort remained abandoned from September 1862 until June 1867, when
it was reestablished in a different location.Ex King
![Vente aux enchères]](/fr/images/philasearch/ico_people.png "Vente aux enchères")
Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries
Lot 2122
SC
26
10500.00 USD
(app. 8960 EUR)
Sold
(app. 8960 EUR)
Heure actuelle: 01.05.2026 - 18:08 MET