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Early Ashburnham, Massachusetts Stampless Cover to Derby Line, Vermont — 5¢ Rate
An appealing piece of early Massachusetts and Vermont postal history, made especially interesting by the survival of its old philatelic sales documentation.
The cover bears a large red ASHBURNHAM / OCT 14 / MASS. circular date stamp and a manuscript “5” rate marking at upper right. The 5-cent marking is consistent with U.S. domestic postal rates of the 1840s–1850s. No year is visible in the postmark, so the cover is conservatively offered as circa 1845–1855.
The recipient appears to be Mrs. Ivery White at Derby Line. There are no surviving letter contents, and the reverse/interior contains no additional correspondence.
Of particular interest is the original old Wachusett Philatelic Society sales/lot sheet that has remained with the cover. It identifies the item in manuscript as:
“Ashburnham Mass Stampless”“LOT 70”
and also bears a penciled “Johnson 20¢” notation. The sheet was preserved with the cover in the collection of Dr. Allan C. “Doc” Johnson and appears to document its early philatelic provenance and acquisition price. The original society sheet is included with the cover.
vThe cover shows normal evidence of its considerable age, including multiple original folds, toning, spotting, small edge irregularities and remnants/staining from the original sealing wax, and a rubber band and paper clip used in storage. Please examine the photographs carefully, as they form an important part of the condition description.
From the collection of Dr. Allan C. “Doc” Johnson (1889-1941) of Clinton, Massachusetts, an active stamp collector during the early 20th century. Doc's collection has remained with his family for more than eight decades.
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