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United States Internal Revenue — Series of 1883, Twenty-Five Cigars: connected pair with Henry Clay portraits.
Two long tax-paid strip stamps bearing the Act of March 3, 1883 inscription, cancellation panels and the Bureau of Engraving & Printing imprint. The upper margin carries printed WWC initials. The number 25 refers to the quantity of cigars covered, not a 25-cent postage denomination. The design belongs to the Springer TC115 family; the exact paper and watermark subtype is unconfirmed.
Condition: Strong creasing/folding, brown toning along a fold, scattered reverse spotting/marks and design transfer or show-through. A short edge tear extends into one design. There is a top-margin notch/split, and portions of the joining perforations are disturbed or separated. The pair remains connected but needs careful handling. It has an uncancelled appearance; gum, thin spots, repairs and the precise paper/watermark variety are unverified. Offered ungraded and uncertified, with no never-hinged or rare-variety claim.
Historical interest: These elongated revenues were used for cigar-box taxation and sealing. Used seals were often cut when the box was opened. Keeping the pair together preserves the relationship between adjoining stamps, their perforations, repeated portraits, cancellation panels and fiscal inscriptions. It offers an example of nineteenth-century American revenue printing and commercial packaging history. The Northwest Philatelic Library, Book Reports, Winter 2016 discusses the box-sealing purpose of this era of cigar revenues.
F.–S. collection context: According to current custodian L.S., this pair comes from the wider family collection maintained by G.F., P.L.S., J.J.S. and L.S.. Other parts of that collection include country-sorted packets, mounted foreign stamps and collecting notes. This pair represents the collection\'s fiscal/revenue material. Its individual acquisition date and the person who added it are unknown; the printed 1883 date identifies the stamp series and does not date family ownership.
Photographs and contents: The whole-pair photograph and additional front/reverse details show the actual two stamps. The reverse detail does not include every edge. The detail images are additional views of this same pair. The sale includes these two historical paper stamps together, with the faults described and photographed. Other stamps, books, tin and background objects are not included. The pair will be supported with rigid protective packing without deliberately separating the joined stamps.
