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Telegraph stamps of the World Click here for a site-map.

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These pages form a catalogue of existing stamps, continuing the work of Steve Hiscocks.   It attempts to give an idea of values. It is not a pricelist of stamps for sale. I have made some additions and given them 'RH' (Revised Hiscocks) numbers to preserve the original Hiscocks numbers. The RH number is the same as the Hiscocks number if not otherwise specified. I have also brought the prices up to date and added currency selection.   CheckList         Setup

There is now a wide range of screen sizes available for computers. Most images on this site are 300dpi.
I wanted to show a reasonable degree of detail, but if the images are an unsuitable size for your screen, be aware that it is adjustable.
Generally, depending on your browser, <control>+ will magnify and <control>- will reduce the size.

For those interested in the actual hardware used for telegraphy, I recently came across this website with a lot of information, images and links on the subject.

United States of America

Steve Hiscocks wrote in 1982:
With the exception of the Telegraph Tax stamps of 1862 all USA telegraph stamps and franks have been those of private companies. These are listed
in alphabetical order below and, so far as possible, a little background information has been included in each case. While most earlier catalogues and
listings have confined themselves to those companies whose stamps are known to have been issued, the following list also includes other companies
whose stamps have been reported but are of doubtful status. Where the status is unclear this has been noted in the introduction. In these borderline
cases the stamps have not been available for illustration and it has been necessary to draw on earlier illustrations with a corresponding loss of quality.
American users will note that prices tend to be rather higher than those with which they are familiar. This reflects both the scarcity of these stamps
outside the USA and my opinion that US prices do not reflect their true scarcity within the USA.

My notes:
I have been able to replace many of the original black and white images with better colour images, usually with the generous help of others.
There are still many images required though. Additionally many companies and stamps have been added that Steve Hiscocks was unaware of.
It illustrates that there is probably still unknown items to be discovered by the vigilant, knowledgeable collector.
For my part, I welcome all comments and criticisms, as well as new images for which acknowledgement will be given.
All values quoted here, as in Steve Hiscocks' original 1982 book, are by default in GB£, but you can change it.
In an effort to make this more accessible, currency is selectable at the top. It tries to keep track of your preferred
currency by using cookies, however if you disable or delete them then currency could revert if you change pages.
Similarly, British English is generally used.

I have since found that much of Steve Hiscocks' information, together with some of the images came
directly or indirectly from a handbook produced by the Society of Philatelic Americans published in 1947.
The authors were Joseph S. Rich and Stephen G. Rich and it was entitled 'United States Telegraph Issues'.
It also included Puerto Rico.

More recently there is a book by George Jay Kramer (1992) published by The Collectors Club, New York 10016.
This has added much new information, together with colour illustrations. Unfortunately it is no longer readily available, but you might try eBay.
Library of Congress Catalog Card # TXu 510 676.   ISBN # 0-912574-44-5
Those familiar with his book might be interested in some of the updates to it on this page.
The Collectors Club now appears to be defunct. There is a Domain name, collectorsclub.org registered with GoDaddy.com, but it effectively locked until February 2028.
Anyone know what happened to the Collectors Club ? Who now has copyright on the images ?

The Wilson Born Collection of United States Telegraph Stamps
This was recently (June 23, 2015) Auctioned by Siegelauctions.com and contained some extreme rarities.
My email to them went unanswered, but their site contains a 'Rarities Sales Archive' with the words
"As America’s premier stamp auctioneer since 1930, we believe we have an obligation to make our archives available to
philatelists. As professionals, we understand how information helps bidders make informed judgments about quality, rarity and
value, and we see the benefits in higher realizations for our consignors."
I thus take it that they are happy for their images to be used for educational purposes, and I am happy to help with that.
Some of the items here are therefore attributed to this source. Their images unfortunately are often not to scale.

An interesting article that ties a number of these companies together with the antics of Jay Gould, an infamous railroad executive, financier, and speculator, can be found here.
He was very influential and caused many of the amalgamations and changes in both the railroads and telegraphy in the U.S.A.

Todd Parker has brought to my attention a circular issued by the Treasury Department, Washington, D.C. on 17 August 1893, gives a list of Telegraph Companies that provide special rates for the Government.
There are 101 in the list, but many are different branches of the same company. This can be helpful as it gives names and addresses of company officials on specific dates.
It does though give it in the order in which the information was filed. To make life easier, I have created a table from it which is searchable.

Search contents    

         

A good overview of telegraphy in the USA from 1881 can be found at Cybertelecom.org
Another overview of telegraphy in the USA by Corrine Jackson can be found at All About the Telegraph and Deciphering Morse Code Text

Though many small private companies started out at the beginning, by a process of mergers and acquisition, there became two, and then one,
Western Union which even monopolised much of Canada for a while. By the same token, some Canadian companies also operated within the U.S.A. in the early days.

A high resolution map of North America showing the telegraph lines existing in 1853 can be seen at Telegraph-History.org.
They also have a map for 1848.

Directory:

There is a helpful newsletter at lcpshome.org as a PDF download that provides useful overview of U.S. Telegraph stamps, including some of the Scott catalogue (Specialised) designations for these.
Interestingly, the Scott Catalogue apparently only listed (in 2007) 17 Private Telegraph Companies in the USA.

Private Telegraph Companies

1. American District Telegraph Company

Steve Hiscocks wrote:
The company operated a service in New York in the 1880's to 1900's period whereby messages were
received by telephone at company offices and conveyed to recipients by messenger.
The status of the stamps bearing the company's name is not clear.
A few mint copies came to the attention of philatelists in the 1930's but there appears to be no earlier
record of their use or even existence. The design of the 'frank' is typical of that of the 1880 period while
the 'special delivery' design seems rather later in style. Further information would be most welcome.

My notes:
According to ADT.com "It all started on April 5, 1874, with a nighttime break-in". American District Telegraph (ADT) Founder Edward Callahan created a telegraph-based "call-box" to
signal for assistance to a central office. He quickly connected 50 other homes in the neighbourhood, creating the first residential security system network.
---  ADT grew strongly and steadily under the guidance of its high-profile early leadership. Thomas T. Eckert, who led the Telegraph Office during the Civil War and was close to President Lincoln,
who was one of our early presidents. He was followed soon after by Robert C. Clowry, a colonel in the U.S. military who worked his way up from messenger
boy to eventually serve as president of both Western Union and ADT, which he led for eight years." - ADT is still heavily involved in home security.

Thomas T. Eckert was President of Western Union from 1894 until he died in 1902, at which point Robert C. Clowry replaced him until 1910.

Edward Callahan is credited with the invention of the Stock Ticker in 1867. The break-in referred to was at the home of Elisha Andrews, Callahan’s boss.

According to ADT.com/history, the company was first founded in 1874 and started in Baltimore, MD.
I should note that ADT has changed hands many times and the current owners appear to be out of touch with, and little interested in, their early history.
They seem to take it to be from the time that Western Union took control, though still claiming the 1874 beginnings!

According to Rich & Rich (1947): "Before the general use of the telephone, it had a system of call boxes in offices and homes.
By operating the box, the subscriber sent a call to the nearest A.D.T. office and a messenger was sent to the calling station
to pick up a telegram or do other messenger service." This appears to have been extended later to include parcel delivery.

According to scripophily.net:
In 1874, 57 diverse "district" telegraph delivery companies were joined to create the new American District Telegraph Company ...
By 1899, electric signal services were still only available in 50 towns, though messenger services were widespread throughout more than 500 localities.
In 1901, ADT was incorporated as a subsidiary of Western Union. Still, since each of ADT´s 57 district companies had developed independently,
the many offices of the security company operated at a variety of levels, with different systems, equipment, and operating practices.

According to Abus.com - "In 1871[SIC], Calahan helped form the American District Telegraph (ADT) company.
The company was highly successful and held offices in Brooklyn, New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Chicago from 1875."

The evidence, including stationery shown below indicates that the company operated in Baltimore, MD., NY City, Buffalo and San Francisco at least.
I get the impression that it was basically a Franchise in most areas.
There is now quite an extensive section on Stationery shown below, but it does raise a few questions.

Franks.

(late 1870’s or early 1880’s ?) Soft white wove paper. No watermark reported. Perf. 12. Signed by the President Harry Fisher of Baltimore. Image from the Wilson Born Collection Lot 1001.

I have been trying to track down when these franks were produced. The best clue is the name of Harry Fisher on it as being President at the time. Charles Bosak has shown me an image of a Stock Certificate of 28 January 1876. This certifies "Harry Fisher of Baltimore" as holding 476 shares in the ADT of $25.00 each. Charles, a collector of ADT ephemera who has donated most of it now to the ADT Archives in Boca Raton, Florida, has done some research and tells me: ADT Presidents 1875-1885 that I could find; 1875 E. W. Andrews 1876 Thomas Horne(?) 1877 J. B. Norris 1881 H. H. Wheeler 1882-85 (at least) W. J. Philips It therefore seems likely that the franks were produced in the period 1878-1880. The Stock Certificate mentioned above says that the ADT was "organised" on the 31st May 1875 in the District Of Columbia. It has a printers imprint of Berenford. A Stock Certificate shown at the end of this section The A.D.T. Annual Reports for the years ending 1890 and 1891 were submitted by Thomas T. Eckert as President.

Look here for an explanation of the tables.

Hiscocks added the following note:

My note:
Hiscocks illustration of this stamp (taken from Rich & Rich) has control number A51, the highest control recorded by Kramer.
The Rich & Rich illustration is also from the bottom-right corner, and it also shows the flaw below 'OM' of 'COMPLIMENTARY'.


 
Shortly after, this type of Frank was adopted, 1882 and 1883 provided for O. E. McClellan, General Manager of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company.
Telegraph companies and Railroad companies often cooperated for mutual advantage.
The images were provided by Charles Bosak who makes no claim to copyright.
I will be happy to credit the copyright holder if/when known. I would also be interested in images for other years.

Special Delivery.

(1900 ?) Thick soft white paper. No watermark reported. Rouletted or perf.12 (actually about 11¾). Control in red.

RH2 courtesy of Schuyler Rumsey Philatelic Auctions. RH2a and RH3a courtesy of Everett Ramsey. 1715 is the highest control for RH2 listed by Kramer, who gives 5862 for RH2a and 4529 for RH3 with nothing for RH4 or a 10c blue on pink that he lists.
These symbols		are found on various items. The earliest I have seen is on a red seal of 1899, with the arrow pointing left. The forms I have seen have it pointing right. All of them have references to Western Union. The item of 1902 is marked "No. 33762   GN" similar to the parcel delivery items below. Click Logo´s for examples.

The Wilson Born Collection lot 1002 listed these three denominations, but without an image.
the colours and further details of the 10c and 12c are given by Kramer, though they do not precisely match these. Perhaps there are other variations.
The position of the control appears to have been initially on the left with rouletting, and later centrally or none with perforations.
Kramer also lists a 10c described as Blue on pink, no control numbers, with the height reduced by 0.5mm, perforated.
This one definitely looks black on pink and as for the height, it rather depends on where you measure.
I gather this was in preparation for booklet use, but 0.5mm is not a lot and it would be far easier to reduce the
distance between them. In fact you would have to do that anyway to make any difference.
One of them, and an example of RH4 were in the Michael E. Aldrich Auction of 22 April 1984, lots 953 and 954.
Kramer references this on his page 23.

Messenger Service.

Stock Exchange Messenger Service, 5c black coupon with heart shape punch cancel.
Printed by the Franklin Bank Note Company of N.Y.
The backs are blank.

An unused example, still with the stub, courtesy of chuckkasob on eBay, who describes it as measuring 3 1/4 inch by 1 1/2 inch.

Ex Wilson Born Collection. - Control 12422 is the highest recorded by Kramer.
In use, these should presumably have been torn down the perforation and the stub kept as a receipt.
The other part was punched when the messenger submitted it for reimbursement, to prevent re-use.
Image courtesy of “Siegel Auction Galleries”, and scaled to the item above.

Complimentary Franks



A booklet Frank of 1910 (nothing on the back, rouletted 11½) courtesy of Everett Ramsey. - RH9
The booklet back is also marked KK97 in red with hand-written "May 3th 1910". It has instructions that read :
"   These franks will be accepted by the American District Telegraph Co. in payment for personal messenger service for the person to whom they were issued.
One of these coupons should be pasted on the back of each call ticket which the messenger will present when he answers the call, and the address to which
the messenger is sent and the signature of the sender should be written upon the face of the ticket in the spaces provided for the purpose.  "
The front has written the name of the user at the top, and is signed by the General Manager at the bottom.

Booklet This appears to have had a number of panes, each with four franks bearing the same sequence number in black on the right. All Franks also bore the same "Service" reference in red, which was also on the inside-front cover having the instructions. The Instructions read : "These franks will be accepted by the American District Telegraph Co. in payment for personal messenger service for the person to whom they were issued. One of these coupons should be pasted on the back of each call ticket which the messenger will present when he answers the call, and the address to which the messenger is sent and the signature of the sender should be written upon the face of the ticket in the spaces provided for the purpose." The Conditions inside the back cover read: "The person to whom these franks are issued, assumes, in consideration of the free service rendered, all risks and agrees that the Company shall not be liable for damages that may arise from negligence of the Company's agents, or otherwise." Nothing on the back. Images courtesy of William Rink of Telephonestamps.com ( kre8ivone2 on eBay. )

This booklet sold for $333 on 16 May 2022.
I would like to hear from anyone that has anything similar.

A message sent in the 1900´s, probably from Sherman House to the Times Herald Building, Chicago.
These are headed "Chicago Telephone Company", with A.D.T. seemingly operating as a Department. The envelope marked "Form 202 B." has a list of Offices on the left.



The contents are marked "Form 201 B." at top-left, with "100M- -28-1900-13887-R" at the top-right. It has a list of A.D.T. services and was to be sent by "Special Messenger".
It was for use in Chicago and had the year pre-filled as "190....", but (by International Convention ?) was not filled in.


Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

Stamp Essays.

There is also these that Hiscocks did not list. Presumably essays:

Image courtesy of Eric Jackson, click on image for listing. .		. 10c red essay pair of tête-bêche pairs courtesy of Todd Parker.
5c essay pair courtesy of Todd Parker.	5c essay pair courtesy of Todd Parker.

These have a reference of 'Springer' - apparently the name of a catalogue.
I have created the list below:

Parcel Delivery.

1902? Parcel Delivery Service. - rouletted. The numbering on these together with the corner locations, suggest that these were in panes of 2 x 5.
This paid for an additional service that was not telegraphic. It is included for the sake of interest. It is for the collector to decide what to collect.

AMERICAN DISTRICT TELEGRAPH Co  -   PD1 - 5c red. Courtesy of Yves of ISKIFORU on eBay.

- 10c AMERICAN DISTRICT TELEGRAPH Co   -   PD2 Embarrassingly, I do not know who to credit for this image. If you know of it, please contact me.	- 10c AMERICAN DISTRICT TELEGRAPH Co  -   PD2 Courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

Though the stamp on the right is from the bottom of the strip, it shares some flaws in common, the 'semicolon' below the 'H' and frame-break in bottom-right corner.
Kramer gave the highest control number for these as 33201, so 36490 is now the highest recorded.

- 10c AMERICAN DISTRICT TELEGRAPH Co  -   PD2, odd number, the even numbered stamps above have a straight edge on the right, this has it on the left. I suspect these were panes of 10, perhaps 2 x 5. The same flaws can be seen though, as marked on the right. The flaw at bottom-left is also on the 5c. Image courtesy of Charles Bosak.

1910? 'Telegraph Co' dropped

- 10c AMERICAN DISTRICT   -   PD3 - No control letter This has probably been trimmed. As with 30716 above, I do not know the source of this image.	- 10c AMERICAN DISTRICT   -   PD3a - Letter 'B' Courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

Kramer does not appear to list these. They probably date from the sale of the Telegraph side of their business.
Not really telegraphic, but certainly of interest.

I do not normally show Stock Certificates, but this one was owned by Harry Fisher, whose name appears as the President, on the first known Franks of the ADT.

476 shares of $25 each purchased by Harry Fisher 28 January 1876 ($25.00 is in large gold numbers).
The image was provided by Charles Bosak who makes no claim to copyright.
I will be happy to credit the copyright holder if/when known.

2. American Rapid Telegraph Company

Steve Hiscocks wrote:
This company was set up in 1879 and had lines from New York to Boston and to Cleveland.
It was amalgamated with the Banker's and Merchants' Telegraph Co. in *1890 or 1891 and was
then, as a result of financial difficulties, taken over by Western Union in 1894.
The procedure involved collecting boxes (emptied every 15 minutes!) in New York and stamps were issued to the public for prepayment.
Alternatively messages could be sent 'collect' and appropriate stamps were produced vertically se-tenant with 'duplicate' stamps of the same value.
Presumably the procedure was that 'collect' stamps were attached to the message while the 'duplicates' were attached to the office record and cancelled
when the message had been duly paid for. The stamps were line engraved by the American Bank Note Co. in sheets of 100 — 100 'telegram' stamps for
prepayment or 50 each of the 'collect' and 'duplicates' in alternating rows. It is not clear whether the 'collect' stamps were cancelled in use†: the 'telegram'
and 'duplicates' certainly were although they are not common cancelled. Cancellation was by hand-stamp with various letters, words and symbols and was
usually in purple although black, brown, magenta and red are known.

With the failure of the company all stocks of stamps were sold to a New York dealer after being cancelled with a small hole punched somewhere near the centre.
Mint stamps so cancelled are by far the most common.

My Notes.
The 1879 Prospectus of the Company gives a lot of information,
which includes making it clear that their priority was to link New York City with Boston and Washington DC.
They also mention many other cities that were planned, but evidence in the form of used telegrams or cancels on stamps is very scarce.
For the interested reader there is a document that details the long series of court cases resulting from the actions of the
American Rapid Telegraph Company and the intertwined Bankers' and Merchants' Telegraph Company (about 1300 pages).
Among other things it gives details of the routes and cities served. It also makes it clear that the two companies *effectively merged about September 1883.
See examples of some of their cancel below.

† I show an example of several below, so yes, they were sometimes, but not always. The same applies to the 'duplicate' labels.
Many 'cancels' though were actually hand-stamps with the name of the office that were not necessarily intended to fall on the stamp.
There was no part of either the sending form or delivery form that was reserved for stamps.

The prospectus of the company says what they were planning as features of the company:

1881 'Telegram' stamps. White wove paper. No watermark. Perf. 12.
Line-engraved by the American Bank Note Co.

Hiscocks H1 to H8 used   courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

Shades: Though the listing below was created with knowledge of the work of Rich & Rich, it was done from a British perspective.
Using a website rather than a book allows the freedom to expand a little, particularly in adding a little from the American perspective.
The same colours can be named very differently in different countries and by different catalogues. Unadulterated images can be very helpful.
If the punched examples are all remainders then they are likely to be from the last printings.
If different shades are due to different printings, then some shades may exist mint but not punched.

1c shades scanned together - courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	1c black adjusted for colour balance
My comments: toned paper can have a big affect on perceived shade.

5c shades scanned together - courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	10c shades scanned together - courtesy of Everett Ramsey.
My comments: These look significantly different, the left is described as 'Bistre Brown' and the right simply as 'Brown'. It is possible that the note for H2 may also affect these. Stamps with clear stamped cancels are scarce and worth a significant premium.	My comments: These also look significantly different, the left is described as 'Violet' and the right as 'Purple'. I would have named them oppositely.

It seems reasonable to have a premium on clearly legible cancels on these. Accordingly the 'Used A' column is for pen-cancelled or blurry nondescript cancels,
while 'Used B' is for a clear cancel. The 'interest-value' may also modify the monetary value. Quite a few of these are unused but without gum.

1881 'Collect' stamps. As above.
Since there was no reason to sell these to the public, unused examples would be either used on telegrams, but uncancelled; sold 'by favour' or remainders which were normally punched.

1c Hiscocks H9 punched (disguised)	5c Hiscocks H10 punched	15c Hiscocks H11 mint	20c Hiscocks H12 used

For these vertically se-tenant with duplicate labels, see H13a, H14a, H15a and H16a below.

It seems reasonable to have a premium on clearly legible cancels on these. Accordingly the 'Used A' column is for pen-cancelled or blurry nondescript cancels,
while 'Used B' is for a clear cancel. The 'interest-value' may also modify the monetary value. Quite a few of these are unused but without gum.

1881 'Duplicate' labels. As above.
Again, these would not normally have been available to the public, especially used examples.

1c Hiscocks H13 punched	5c Hiscocks H14 used	15c Hiscocks H15 punched	20c Hiscocks H16 punched

Hisc. Duplicate Description Mint Mint no gum Punched Used A Used B H13 1c deep brown 21.00 8.4 0.30 12.60 42.00 H13a         vertically se-tenant with No.9 90.00 36.00 2.00 - - H14 5c steel blue 18.00 7.20 0.30 10.80 36.00 H14a         vertically se-tenant with No.10 90.00 36.00 3.00 - - H15 15c lake-brown 30.00 12.00 0.27 18.00 60.00 H15a         vertically se-tenant with No.11 80.00 32.00 2.50 - - H16 20c olive green 30.00 12.00 0.30 18.00 60.00 H16a         vertically se-tenant with No.12 100.00 40.00 2.75 - -   On the right is a pair of H15a showing an imprint at the bottom. This also demonstrates that associated pairs would normally have the duplicate at the top. That is not always how they are found. Image courtesy of Everett Ramsey. The supposed method of use makes it unlikely that se-tenant pairs, H13a, H14a, H15a and H16a would normally be available to the public, prior to them being punched and remaindered. These were previously listed at about twice the punched price, but although it has become clear that at least the first three values exist thus, the scarcity is very uncertain. I would like to hear from anyone that has knowledge of this, particularly if they can provide any images.   Hiscocks added the following 3 notes: Note 1. The three columns of prices above are, from left to right, mint,                 punched mint (i.e. remainder), and used. Note 2. No. 2, the 3c dull orange, is susceptible to attack by atmospheric                 sulphur and its shade can vary almost to black. Note 3. I have indicated "shades" where the variation is particularly marked                 but all the above stamps are variable to some extent.

1c Hiscocks H13a	5c Hiscocks H14a	15c Hiscocks H15a	20c Hiscocks H16a punched
Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

The un-punched pairs are very scarce.

Punched Quarter sheets of H13a and H2 showing the imprints at the centre of top, bottom and sides, courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

 
These are at half my normal scale.

Cancels

Though many are uncancelled or simply pen cancelled, a few have more interesting cancels.
Kramer listed many types that he had seen, and illustrated examples of some of them. I would like to include his examples, but have no way to contact the copyright holders.
I will show some examples together with my interpretations of them. It should be noted that the cancels are generally of a size to cancel 2 stamps. Also they are often unclear and/or faint.
For those interested, image manipulation software often includes channel splitting software that can help in seeing these cancels.
There is also a more sophisticated online version at RetroReveal.org and a bit of background information at Tools for Philatelists.
I would certainly be interested in illustrating new examples.

All dimensions are to outside edges, but since they were rubber hand stamps and often the strikes were not head-on, they are often distorted.

OFFICES



A compilation of known offices, under construction, mostly provided by Everett Ramsey from newspapers.
Some of these are taken from telegrams in the Stationery section.

Main Office, 171? Broadway (NY) in 42 x 22 mm. Rectangle, together with a possible reconstruction. Messages received here were sent by pneumatic tubing to the 4th floor of the building opposite (known as the Benedict Building, No. 171) for transmission. Kramer unlisted, image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.			Main Office, 173 Broadway Corner of Corlandt in 42 x 22 mm. box. This is described by Rich & Rich on a pair of 20c stamps (H6). The pair is illustrated by Kramer and designated as SL2. Note that the spelling was normally "CORTLANDT"

Main Office 1427 Pennsylvania Avenue in Rectangle, presumably Washington DC. (Kramer SL7), image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.		Another example on a 25c Telegram, H7, images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

OFFICE 227  (Kramer SL4). The mark at the bottom is part of something else. Probably Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, the Main Office with 15 branches.  Courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

Unboxed Main Office, 46 Devonshire St. Corner State St. This is taken from the top-right corner of a telegram to Boston shown below. Though this was not on a stamp, Collect Stamps were often placed in that location and became cancelled by the Office stamp. Other offices in Boston included: 110 High, 105 Summer, 31 Commercial wharf, 736 and 1615 Washington, 7 Merchants row, 6 Berkeley, and 33 Milk.

Branch Office 73 Gold Street. This is taken from the top of an 1883 telegram illustrated by Kramer, who describes it as 5mm letters in a 52 x 22mm rectangle (SL1). It was on 3 Collect Stamps as well as the top-right corner. This is the Gold Street in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Original image, courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	One of the many RetroReveal images.	Final guesstimated image.
These images are derived from the top-right of a form of 9/9/1881 shown below. There is an element of uncertainty of my final image, but the address is confirmed by a newspaper clipping regarding 1882 Taxation in Providence. This is the Westminster street in Providence, Rhode Island. It was addressed to Providence Tool Co. Hand-stamps like this can be found on the form, on the stamps, or both.

Original image, unknown origin.	Final guesstimated image.
The image above was from a collect telegram Form 3 of September 1881, shown below. This is from a prepaid Form 2 of 2 November 1881, also shown below. It seems likely that the two forms were handled in different offices at 18 Westminster street, the use of Collect stamps requiring a different procedure. The type above could be found on Collect stamps. This should not.

67 Church Street on 15c H5, courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	RetroReveal image, clarified image and an attempt at reconstruction. The Main Office at New Haven, Conn., was at 67 Church Street. Kramer unlisted.		RetroReveal used again on another example. Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

No. 67 Church Street on 5c H3, courtesy of Everett Ramsey, a RetroReveal image, and a final attempt at a reconstruction. The Main Office at New Haven, Conn., was at 67 Church Street. Kramer unlisted.			RetroReveal used again on another example with a shorter, thicker font. Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

Branch Office 655 Broadway opposite Bond Street in perhaps a 52 x 22 mm. Rectangle This would seem to be Kramer SL3, but he must have seen much less of it. Image and suggested reconstruction courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

Branch Office East 54th Street in 52 x 24 mm. Rectangle. This was at No. 154. It was a 'test office' all their wires from New York City to the outside world went through it. Kramer unlisted. Image and suggested reconstruction courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

'CANNON' cancel on H15. There is also something to the left of it, presumably a number. This could be the Cannon Street in the lower east side of Manhattan, between Grand and Houston (Ward 13), however, Everett tells me that there was also a Cannon Building in Troy, NY. on Broadway close to the Hudson River Docks, so there could be even more. (Kramer unlisted) Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

Branch Office 1000 6 Av in Rectangle. Again, could be a lot of places perhaps, like New York (abbreviated). It would need to be something short for symmetry, and unambiguous. Troy is just a guess. Kramer unlisted. Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

This is quite similar to the one above. The missing parts could be anything, but Kramer SL5 is for a "5TH ST". As Everett points out, it could be East 54th street as above, but slightly different from being used on Duplicate rather than Telegram stamps, and hence perhaps a different office. RetroReveal used again. Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

This is something similar to the last. There is something before "OFFICE", but not sure what. The double-strike may be confusing things. Below that it could be 187 - 9 which would fit with "187-9 Broadway corner Dey Street" (NY), but I cannot make out any of the rest, which would be abbreviated. RetroReveal used again. Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.			This appears to be Broadway, so may or may not be the same Office, or even the same Broadway. There is another Broadway in Boston for example. But then I would expect to see something after Broadway if not New York.    Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

Named Locations.

Worcester, Mass. Yes, it would be nice if it was across a strip of 5c stamps, but so far it is only reported on single 20c Collect stamps. Under those circumstances, most stamps just get the middle part. A composite image using stamp images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

An interesting cancel on H5. The bottom has 'Arcade' but it looks like there was something at the top which I cannot make out, but was probably 'OFFICE'. This could be The Arcade, then Buffalo´s largest office building, in Lafayette Square, a good place for a Main Office. Alternatively, this could be Reynolds Arcade at 16 East Main street, Rochester, NY. (Kramer unlisted) courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

'CAT' cancel on 1c Collect H9. This could be part of a lot of things, but perhaps "CATO" near Weedsport, NY. Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.		BRADFORD, could be Radford?, perhaps Bradford Street in Albany, NY. (Near the business area and city hall). On the other hand, AR court documents mention "a line of 4 wires from Buffalo to Salamanca(NY) and a branch of 6 wires from Salamanca to Bradford(Penn.)". Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey (Kramer unlisted).

Branch Office 125th ST.  Could be a lot of places, but it is known there was a couple of cables crossing the Harlem river, NY about there, so East 125th St., NY is a possibility. Apparently unboxed. Kramer unlisted. Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

Just LETTERS and/or NUMBERS in an oval or rectangle.

L.Y. in 30mm x 22mm Oval on H1, (Kramer LN2) courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	L.Y. in 30mm x 22mm Oval on H3, courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	A in 33mm x 23mm Oval on Duplicate, H15, (Kramer LN5) courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	A in 33mm x 23mm Oval on H16, courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

A in Oval on H14 Duplicate. courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	A in 33mm x 23mm Oval on H3 Telegram. Using RetroReveal, courtesy of Everett Ramsey.		Another A in Oval on H15 Duplicate. This time much clearer. courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

A in 33mm x 23mm Oval, two examples on H4 Telegram. Using RetroReveal, courtesy of Everett Ramsey.			H.B. in an oval on 20c, H16. Fairly feint again. RetroReveal makes it clearer. A period can be seen after the 'B'. Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

SU in 33mm x 31mm Rectangle, (Kramer LN6) courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	6mm SU in 24mm circle, (Kramer LN9) courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	S.C or perhaps S.G in oval, (Kramer unlisted) courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	'C N' in a Rectangle. Though obtained separately, these appear to belong together. An additional example on a 5c Collect shows the top 'N' serif. (Kramer unlisted) courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

?.H. in an oval on 20c, H6. Some of these are very feint. RetroReveal helped a lot on this ! Anyone's guess what the first letter was. Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey (Kramer LN5). Kramer's LN2 looks like 'L' might be the other half, but the stop is too low.		U in an 33x22mm oval on 5c, H3, together with a RetroReveal rendition. Again, anyone's guess what the U stood for. Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey. (Kramer type LN5, though he didn't list 'U').		U in an oval on 20c Collect, H12 Sometimes you don´t need RetroReveal. Image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

W / 7 in an Oval. This matches Kramerś LN4 that he illustrated on a 15c Telegram stamp. It is possible that other letter and number combinations exist, but only this is known. Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

An example of the X in a rectangle reported by Rich & Rich on a 5c duplicate, though this on a 15c. Double strike showing a 'fancy' corner. Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey (Kramer LN6 - X).		Another example of the X in a rectangle, this on a 5c Collect. Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey (Kramer LN6 - X). - 'eXpress' perhaps ?		Another 'fancy' rectangle on a 20c Collect. Kramer reports '23' in an Oval, perhaps this is also '23', or perhaps something new. Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey (Kramer LN6 - 23).

On Collect stamps, this is taken from the bottom of the telegram to Boston shown below courtesy of Siegelauctions.com. The corners are notably ornate. Rich & Rich describe a cancel, shown above, having "a large bold X in a rectangle with fancy corners and double border." This would seem to be similar. There may well be other letters in similar boxes, but the corners cannot often be seen clearly.	B (Boston) in 33mm x 31mm Rectangle, (Kramer LN6) courtesy of Everett Ramsey. This is a bit distorted, as may happen with a rubber handstamp. Actually, I think Kramer´s LN5 'Purple "P"' is multiple strikes of this.		B (Boston) again on a 15c Telegram stamp (H5), with enhanced RetroReveal image. Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

Another example of B cancel, this on 1c Collect, courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	Another example with the RetroReveal image, courtesy of Everett Ramsey. This on a 1c Telegram Stamp, H1. Also seen on the 5c. Again, a bit distorted,		Another example on Telegram, with the RetroReveal image, courtesy of Everett Ramsey. This on a 10c, H6.

Further images that may help in cataloguing these markings, would be much appreciated.

OTHERS.

Pen-cancel 'squiggle', Kramer unlisted.	A standard pen-cancel, Kramer OT1.	#, Not really listed by Kramer, but might be considered as a variant of OT1.	3 parallel lines and a variant, pen-cancel, Kramer OT2.	Simply holed probably on a spike.
Image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	Image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	Image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	Image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

An interesting cancel, described by Kramer (OT5) as "grill, embossed"	A similar grill, but all over.	"ANSWER BY MESSENGER"
Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey - I have only seen these on Collect stamps so far.		Image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

This is a rather messy cancel with multiple strikes, but turning it upside-down offers a possible interpretation This could be "Answer by messenger" (see below under "Others", for another) (Kramer unlisted) Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.			Another example of "Answer by messenger" (Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

This appears to be "Answer by messenger" also, though it is not immediately obvious. Again it is on a 15c Duplicate label. It is different to the last though. (Kramer unlisted) - Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.		This appears to be different "Answer by messenger" on a 1c Duplicate label. I can see the point of this on a TELEGRAM or COLLECT stamp, but why on a DUPLICATE? - Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

I originally thought this was 'DELIVER' on H15, with probably 'BY HAND' underneath and more pieces needed. Now I am inclined to believe this is another example of "Answer by messenger" (see above), but then, why would either of them be on a Duplicate stamp ?     -  (Kramer unlisted) Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

This appears to be a Capital C in a fancy border. There were probably other letters, a boxed CN is shown above. Unlisted by Kramer. Courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

This appears to be multiple strikes of "PAID" (drawn approximately) . Not easy to verify, but probably Kramer´s SL-6 "7.5 mm Violet PAID". Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

Could be Kramer's 'Violet cluster' cancel (OT4), four associated 'blobs', on a H4. Courtesy of Everett Ramsey (Kramer OT4 ?)		Double partial strikes of a cancel that resembles Kramer's 'Violet cluster' cancel (OT4), four associated 'blobs', on a Duplicate. These though appear to be enclosed within circles, his were not. Courtesy of Everett Ramsey (Kramer unlisted).

A cancel similar to Kramer LN3 together with enhancement. LN3 is described as "magenta oval 42 x 22 mm. 11.5 mm. numbers 23, 57" - those sizes do not appear to match this. Image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

The Stationery is on a separate page.

3. American Telegraph Typewriter Company

Steve Hiscocks wrote:
The company was set up, probably in the early 1900´s, to exploit a system whereby a message typed on one machine was reproduced in 'real time' by
another connected to it by cable. The system was subsequently acquired by Western Union. Stamps were produced in sheets of four with straight outer
edges. All known copies lack control numbers and there is no evidence that they were ever issued or used.

1910 Lithographed on white paper. No watermark reported. Perf 14 between stamps (actually about 14.1).

H1 courtesy of Everett Ramsey.
Hisc. Description Mint Used H1 No value, pale orange 200.00 - A booklet pane on the right, courtesy of Siegelauctions.com.

4. Atlantic Telegraph Company

Steve Hiscocks wrote:
The company ran a service from 1884 between Portland, Maine and Boston where it connected with the Baltimore and Ohio system (q.v.).
It was eventually taken over by the Baltimore and Ohio Telegraph Co. Stamps were issued after the B&O take over which is why their design is based,
as are those of the B&O, on the Maltese Cross. Since the B&O was itself absorbed by Western Union in 1887 the Atlantic Telegraph Co. stamps were
probably issued in 1887 and they are perforated 12½ as were the B&O stamps of that year. They were in booklet panes of six with straight outer edges.
Control numbers were printed in dull violet usually at the base of the stamps although they are known at the top of  'top row' stamps. Unnumbered stamps
are remainders which were sold to a Boston dealer after the Western Union take over and released some 45 years later. Cancelled *used copies are not
known and the stamps were either destroyed after use or not cancelled in use.

* I show an example below, of a 5c stamped 'TREASURER.' (control 1014) Status uncertain.
Rich & Rich report this (vertically) on 10c and 25c examples without gum. Kramer illustrates a 5c (control 1003) and a 10c (control 1014).

1887 Lithographed on white wove paper. No watermark. Perf 12½ between stamps. Controls in black or dull violet at top or bottom, remainders without.
The face values appear to have been added individually by hand and are often at a slight angle.
Rich & Rich consider that these were probably printed by Forbes Co., of Boston because of the 'character of the work' and in particular the perforations.
(They say under B & O that the size of the holes varied from printer to printer).

1c H1 mint - bottom row. Highest control known (Kramer) 1098.	1c H1 mint - top row. Highest control known (Kramer) 1098.	5c H2 mint - top row. Highest control known (Kramer) 1096.	10c H3 mint. Highest control known (Kramer) 1099.	25c H4 mint. Highest control known (Kramer) 1097.
Images with controls at the bottom, courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

5c H2 mint.	10c H3 mint.	5c  H2 mint	5c with black control, Hiscocks RH2c used ?	1c with black control, Hiscocks RH1a used ?
Images with controls at the top, courtesy of Everett Ramsey.		Courtesy of Eric Jackson (click image for listings.)		Courtesy of Eric Jackson (click image for listings.)

The last two appear to be cancelled with "TREASURER."

1c Hiscocks H1 remainder	5c Hiscocks H2 remainder	10c Hiscocks H3 remainder	25c Hiscocks H4 remainder
Image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	Images courtesy of Thomas (tommyboy1967 on eBay, click on image for listing).

The remainders have no control number.

Booklet,   courtesy of Schuyler Rumsey Philatelic Auctions. (click on image for listing).
Consisting of 4 x 1¢,   6 x 5¢,   5 x 10¢  &  4 x 25¢ panes of 6. Eric Jackson is offering one for $275.00
According to Rich & Rich, $10 bought "a book with 24 1c, 36 5c, 30 10c and 24 25c stamps, a total face value of $11.04".
Kramer listed known booklet covers as A164, A1302 and A1627.
Kramer gives the highest control for any of these as 1098 !
The highest I have seem is 1080.

The Stationery is on a separate page.

5. Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company

Steve Hiscocks knew nothing of this Company.
There was an Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company which had telegraph lines, so it is may relate to that.

The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad obtained a grant from the U.S. Government of nearly 7 million acres, approved July 27, 1866,
to build a rail link across the country from Springfield, Missouri to the Pacific Ocean (over 2000 miles).
The company accepted the grant and conditions in writing on the 27th November, 1866.
The grant was conditional on them building a railway from coast to coast, completing at least 50 miles in each 2 years and the main line to be completed by July 4, 1878.
Having obtained the grant, the company proceeded to mortgage the land and raise money from investors, but failed to build more than 34 miles of track in the time allotted.
Meanwhile the mortgages were defaulted on and the land was sold, finally ending up under the control of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe and the Saint Louis
and San Francisco Railroad companies. They again secured a mortgage and issued bonds. The Government could only enforce forfeiture of the land that was granted.
Unusually, the USA was crossed by telegraph before it was crossed by rail. Normally in the world, the two progress together.

A description of the legal positions can be found in this PDF document.

The company is not known to have issued adhesive telegraph stamps or franks, but did issue Business Franks and Complimentary Franks in the form of cards.
I have only seen examples from 1874, but it is likely that other years also exist. Printed by Van Kleeck, Clark & Co., 28 Vesey Street, N.Y.

Business Franks



Atlantic and Pacific - 1874 Business Frank, front and back, sold by Manifest Auctions for $158.
This is signed by the Vice President William H. Graion (?). For messages and answers "pertaining strictly to business, of Utah Northern and Western Ry."
between Newport and San Francisco and intermediate offices.

Complimentary Franks



Atlantic and Pacific - 1874 Complimentary Frank, front and back, sold by Manifest Auctions for $124.
This is signed by the President John Duff (June 1873 - March 1874). For messages of not more than twenty words,
"of a Domestic or Social character and answers thereto, between" Newport and Salt Lake and intermediate offices.

Both of these have printed Conditions on the back, as well as manuscript "Good on the lines of the Franklin Teleg. Company" which is signed by the Executive Manager.

I would welcome scans of more examples, or further information.

Their Stationery is on a separate page.

6. Baltimore and Ohio Telegraph Companies

Steve Hiscocks wrote:
These companies were set up in, eventually, 27 states by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company to take over the lines established by various earlier
companies along its right of way. The original 1882 coverage of Pennsylvania to Missouri was extended by the acquisition of other existing lines but
the companies did not show a profit and were absorbed in 1887 by Western Union.

Prepayment stamps were issued in books with panes of six stamps perforated between except where indicated below, and with straight outer edges.
Stamps were cancelled with a heavy grid of thick black or grey lines and the prices below are for relatively lightly cancelled copies. Complimentary
'franks', showing no value, were also issued in 1885 and 1886: they are not known cancelled. The control numbers were the same for all stamps in
a single book, were in black, blue, or, most often, red and were mostly preceded by letters. These are indicated below by the letters and colours in
brackets after the stamp colours. The printers´ names are on the bottom margins of all stamps except those of the American Bank Note Co. where the
name appears only below the centre bottom stamp of each pane. Remainders are not known.

Prepayment Stamps were issued in books containing panes of 6 with straight outer edges top, bottom and right.

1885 (14 April) Line-engraved by the American Bank Note Co. of New York, with imprint under central bottom stamp of each pane.
Soft wove paper. No watermark. Perf 12 between stamps. No control numbers.
According to Rich & Rich, "the $5 booklet contained $6.25 in stamps and the $10.00 booklet $11.25; all four values were included in each".
With panes of 6, I would have thought that the value of the contents would be divisible by 6 (e.g. $6.24 and $11.22).
(for those of you that like puzzles, work out the contents and get the credit)

RH1 (without control)	RH2 (without control)	RH2a (without control, with imprint)	RH3 (without control or imprint)
Courtesy of Everett Ramsey	Courtesy of Eric Jackson	Courtesy of Everett Ramsey	Courtesy of Everett Ramsey

RH4 (without control, no imprint)	RH4 (no imprint) Punched 'BC'	RH4a (without control, with imprint)
Courtesy of Everett Ramsey	Courtesy of Everett Ramsey	Courtesy of Everett Ramsey

The punch cancel is curious. Experimental perhaps ?

Hiscocks added the following note:

1885 (1 June to 25 September) As above but with control numbers (sometimes preceded by capital letters as indicated below).
$10 booklets were sold, containing 90 x 1c, 48 x 5c, and 78 x 10c giving a discount of $1.10. The booklets were numbered with the control number.
Presumably the 25c stamps were in a different booklet.

RH5 no letter	RH5a no letter, with imprint	RH5b letter D	RH5c letter D
Image courtesy of Phil. (rebenic25 on eBay).	Image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

RH6 no letter	RH6a no letter, with imprint	RH6b letter D	RH6c letter D, with imprint
Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

RH7 no letter	RH7a no letter, with imprint	RH7b letter B, no imprint	RH7b mint, letter D	RH7c letter B, with imprint
Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.			Image courtesy of Gregg Nelson (gnmexstmps on eBay.	Image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

RH8 no letter	RH8 mint no letter	RH8a no letter, with imprint
Image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

Highest controls known taken from Kramer, who also reports booklet cover D73.



A booklet pane, courtesy of “Siegel Auction Galleries”, showing RH8b and RH8c from sale 1133, Lot 603.
These are rare, and yet the pane went for only $275. Ex Kramer.

Hiscocks added the following note:

Kramer also prices those without a control letter higher, presumably on the assumption that the earlier ones should be scarcer, however I have managed to
get images of the set without control letters and have yet to get most of the rest with letters, so to me that does not seem to be the case.

1886 Line-engraved by the Kendall Bank Note Co. of New York, with imprint under each stamp. Soft thick wove paper or harder thinner wove paper.
No watermark. Perf 14 between stamps.

1c Kendall Bank Note Co. - RH9 no letter image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	1c Kendall Bank Note Co. - RH9 tall D image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

1c Kendall Bank Note Co. - RH9b (thin) no letter	1c RH9b letter *F	1c RH9b letter J image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	1c RH9b letter K image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

5c RH10 no letter, front and back courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	5c RH10 slightly high letter D(2011), courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	5c RH10 slightly high letter D(2521), courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	5c RH10 slightly high and raised letter D(2532), courtesy of Eric Jackson.

5c RH10a no letter image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	5c RH10a slightly high, and tall letter D	5c RH10a typical back.	5c RH10a mint, letter K image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	5c RH10a used, K6885 (†new highest) image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

10c RH11 no letter 2566 courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	10c RH11 tall letter D courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	10c RH11a normal letter D4827 (badly cut) - courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	10c RH11a no letter 5057 courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	10c RH11a letter J courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	10c RH11a letter K courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

25c RH12 no letter 2131, front and back courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	25c RH12a typical back.	25c RH12a no letter 4721 mint courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	25c RH12a letter J

The letter D on the 1c and 10c, 'thick paper' stamps appear to be noticeably taller than letters on the thin paper, about 4.25mm against 3.6mm for the normal D.
The thick paper 5c that I have seen are raised higher than the numbers and about 3.8mm tall. Though I would not expect letter fonts and paper thickness to change at the exact same time,
it may be useful to tabulate what Kramer has on these:

ƒ Kramer put D4827, but this is thought to be a typo for D3827 or D2827, since D3859 above is on thin paper, as is D3532.
It is of course possible that there was not a clean break between thick paper use and thin paper. More thick paper examples needed.
Kramer also gave 4.75mm as the height of the tall D, which I think must be another typo.

* Letter F has been added due to the example shown. Kramer also lists Letter E for H9b, but only J for H12a (Rich & Rich listed J and K).
Highest recorded are taken from Kramer, who records booklet cover K3353 (no 25c).
†K6885 (shown above) is the new highest, replacing K6782.

I find H9a to be a bit dubious. Hiscocks copied this from Rich & Rich who say simply that it is scarce and say nothing of the control numbers.
Kramer ignores it, possibly for good reasons, and the Scott catalogue makes no mention of it. Anyone know anything about this ?

* Letter F has been added due to the example shown. Kramer also lists Letter E for H9b, but only J for H12a (Rich & Rich listed J and K).
As an initial rough guide to scarcity of control letters on these, my 11 examples plus 12 from Everett Ramsey of thin paper examples:

Another guide to relative scarcity is the highest known control number for each letter in a group, however that is only a guide to what was created, not what has survived.

In response to that, Todd Parker has provided the following photograph of a stamp he says is printed on thin, hard paper :

Original image and detail. Interpreted as E6685.	Channel-split from Everett Ramsey. Interpreted as K6685.	Magenta channel.	Saturation channel.

The apparent demise of RetroReveal has made life a lot harder, but simple channel-splitting can still be done. The last two boxes are left for the jury to complete.
The fact that there is a difference of opinion makes the letter ambiguous. The similarity between highest number reported for E and K suggests that they are getting confused.
But was this letter intended to be "E" or "K" ? Were both letters used, or just a single ambiguous/malformed one ? A clear 5c K6885 is shown above as the highest number.
There is a 1c shown above that looks to be clearly K2571. I would like to see some equally unambiguous letter E examples.

Thick v thin paper

I had trouble finding examples of thick paper images. Rich & Rich describe it as "Soft thick paper with calendered front surface",
Using a micrometer, the thin appears to be around 0.09mm ± 0.04mm, but it needs to be measured at a number of points since the paper does not have even thickness and the cancel will also affect it.
I have had a lot of help on this from Everett Ramsey in the U.S.A. He tells me that people generally use what is called the 'snap test' rather than a micrometer. A description of this is as follows:

Paper or hinge remains on the back will influence this (as well as micrometer readings).
On the basis of this, Everett sorted his stamps into what he thought were thick and thin papers. Then one day he obtained the RH11 with tall letter D shown above.
It made him realise that actually the others were all variations of 'hard thin' paper. Here are some illustrations that he has kindly provided.

Variations on thin paper stamps.	Examples of thick paper stamps. The thickness is greater and more consistent.
Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

1886 Lithographed by A. Hoen & Co. of Baltimore, with imprint under each stamp. Hard, thin to medium wove paper.
Perf 12 between stamps. Usually no watermark, but see lower down for watermarked stamps.

1c A.Hoen & Co. - RH13 control F2039	1c A.Hoen & Co. - RH13 control †F2660 image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	1c A.Hoen & Co. - RH13 control L6117 image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	RH13  (bootprint omitted :o)   - L7956 image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	1c A.Hoen & Co. - RH13 control M305 image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

5c A.Hoen & Co. - RH14 control F2018 image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	5c A.Hoen & Co. - RH14 control L5800	10c A.Hoen & Co. - RH15 control *F2314	10c A.Hoen & Co. - RH15 control †L8732 image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

Highest control recorded information is taken from Kramer.
† These have been updated due to the examples shown. 1c-F was 2618, 10c-L it was 8621.


* Letter F has been added due to the example shown.

Image from the Wilson Born Collection. Part of Sale 1102, Lot 1004.
Their sale 1133, Lot 605 comprised a "Part sheet with four complete panes, without gum as issued, bottom two panes with clear watermark, top panes without."


A used block of 6 to show perforations. I cannot see a watermark on this.

1886 As above but on similar paper watermarked "A. HOEN & Co. BALTIMORE" in
18mm and 11mm double lined capital letters across the sheet.

Part watermark ( "C" ) on an H16 control F2945 - courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	Part watermark ( "N." ) on an H16 control L5629 - courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	H16 control *M547 - (stated to be 3T14) courtesy of Eric Jackson. (click image for listing)

Part watermark (inverted 18mm "A.") on an H17 control *F2029 - courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	Part watermark (inverted "C") on an H17 control L8402 - courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

Part watermark (11mm "O." of Co.) on an H18 control L5658 - courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

Highest recorded are taken from Kramer.

* Letter F has been added to the 5c and M added to the 1c, due to the examples shown above.

Hiscocks added the following note:

My note: These are all now reported, though I would like an image of H16—M showing front and back.


   

Here is a remainder piece that has not been perforated or guillotined. The watermark is not very clear, but is more apparent using RetroReveal. It can be seen why stamps within the same pane can be with or without watermark.
Image courtesy of Eric Jackson, (half-size, click on it for the listing).

1886 Lithographed by Forbes Co. of Boston, with imprint under each stamp. Medium wove paper.
No watermark. Perf 12½.

1c Forbes Co. - H19 J3053	5c Forbes Co. - H20 J3806 Courtesy of Everett Ramsey	10c Forbes Co. - H21 J4159 Courtesy of Everett Ramsey	25c Forbes Co. - H22 J4052 Courtesy of Everett Ramsey

Highest recorded are taken from Kramer.


Hiscocks added the following 2 General Notes:

B. Franks

Complimentary 'franks' showing no value, were issued in panes of 4. They are not known cancelled.

1885 Line-engraved by the American Bank Note Co. of New York. Panes of 4 with imprint under bottom 2 stamps of each pane.
Medium wove paper. No watermark. Perf 12. President D. H. Bates.

1885 RH23   letter C.	1885 RH23a   with imprint, letter C Courtesy of Everett Ramsey	1886 RH24   control †G1294 Courtesy of Everett Ramsey	1886 RH24a   with imprint, letter G Courtesy of Everett Ramsey

Highest known Control according to Kramer is C493.

*Hiscocks described the control on H23 as being red. I have corrected it.

1886 As above.

† Highest known Control according to Kramer was 1289, but 1294 can be seen above.

Baltimore & Ohio — Connecticut River
See Connecticut River Telegraph Company.

7. California State Telegraph Company

Incorporated October 1853.

Steve Hiscocks wrote:
This was the first company in the U.S. to issue telegraph franks and is claimed (wrongly) to be the first organization, private or public, to issue
stamps in booklets. One of eight forerunner companies, the California Telegraph Co. (second of that name) was established 17 June 1854 and took
over a private line strung on trees between Nevada and Auburn in the California goldfields. Further lines were built from San Francisco to San Jose
and to Stockton and later, to Marysville. In 1861 this and seven other companies were consolidated into the California State Telegraph Co. in which
Western Union had a controling interest. Western Union leased the CST Co lines on 16 May 1867 and finally absorbed it in 1875 or 1876.

All stamps issued by the CST Co were in fact franks entitling the holder to a free telegram. The booklet covers all have railroad names implying use by
those conceding rights of way but they were possibly also used by company officers and other local dignitaries. The first issue was in booklets of 100
with eight panes of 12, each with a printed control number the same as that on the cover, and four loose stamps to make up the 100 with the same
number in crayon. Remainders, without control numbers, are reported. Later issues were lithographed in panes of six and remainders without control
numbers are again known in some cases. All issues are reportedly found with scraps of tin foil from the booklet interleaving adhering to the backs.

1870 Type-set in black on a lithographed background. Control numbers in red.
Thick wove paper. No watermark. Perf 13½ between stamps.

1870 H1  -  Control   6 †	1870 H1a   Perf. all sides	1870 H1b   Control in crayon
Photograph courtesy of Todd Parker.	Courtesy of Eric Jackson   click on image for listing.	Lot 1012 from the Wilson Born Collection.

Booklets of these contained 100 franks, 8 sheets of 12 plus 4 extra. Rich & Rich suggest that these extra franks were numbered in crayon.

† Kramer listed known controls for these as being: 101, 104 and 114. Number 6 now has to be added to the list.


Hiscocks added the following note:

My note: These were sold in booklets of 100 stamps, 8 sheets of 2 panes of 6, plus 4 additional stamps.
The Kramer book speculates that the additional four were given serial numbers in red crayon.
(as suggested by Rich & Rich) This would imply that they account for only 4% of the stamps.
An example realized $500 in a recent Schuyler Rumsey sale (Sale 67, Lot 2514).

Two panes of 6 making up a sheet, Schuyler Rumsey Philatelic Auctions. Said to be one of only three recorded examples.

A booklet cover of 1870 courtesy of siegelauctions.com

1870 Lithographed. Date in white on red centre oval. Control number in blue.
Medium wove paper. No watermark. Perf 12 on all sides.
Rich & Rich says that these were in fully perforated booklet panes of 6.

1870 H2   Control 140 unused	1870 H2   Control 100 used	1870 H2a   No Control, mint
Lot 1014 from the Wilson Born Collection.		Lot 1013 from the Wilson Born Collection.

Kramer did not list any known control numbers for these.

1871 As above but with date 1871. No control number.
It doesn´t look like they were all perforated on all sides.

Sale 67, Lot 2520, courtesy of Schuyler Rumsey Philatelic Auctions.	Lot 1015 from the Wilson Born Collection. Another imperf. example sold for $1450 recently.

Hiscocks added the following note:

1871 Lithographed from new stones. Date reading upwards in pink. Control numbers in blue. Panes of 2 x 3.
Medium to thick wove paper. No watermark. Perf 12 on all sides.

1871 H4   Control in blue. 1871 H4a   No Control No. flaw on "S" 1871 H4b   Inverted Control No. same flaws Images courtesy of Eric Jackson   click for listing. Lot 1019 from the Wilson Born Collection. 1871 H4   Control 104 in blue. Sale 58, Lot 1652 from Schuyler Rumsey. Note that the prominent flaw on the "S" seen on two of the franks above, cannot be seen on the pane to the right. That suggests that a number of such panes were printed on a sheet, perforated and guillotined. It would be interesting to see more panes. RH# Hisc. 1871 Description Mint Used RH4 H4 No value, black and brownish pink 300.00 - RH4a H4a         no control number 240.00 - RH4b -         inverted control number 500.00 - Kramer listed known controls for these as being: 22, 47, 103, 104 and 118. 2 and 16 can be seen above. 104 appears to be the most common. I have not seen a 47, but the rest of those numbers, plus 12, are shown below. So that gives us a current list of 2, 12, 16, 22, 47, 103, 104 and 118.

1871 booklet pane courtesy of Eric Jackson   click for listing.

1871 “Business” Frank Booklet Cover (for 5T4). manuscript endorsement to “P. & S.V. R.R. Co.” for messages between “Sacramento & Shingle Springs”. Lot 1020 from the Wilson Born Collection.

Control 12   courtesy of Schuyler Rumsey Auctions.	Control 22   courtesy of “Siegel Auction Galleries”.	Control 103   courtesy of “Siegel Auction Galleries”.	Control 118   courtesy of “Siegel Auction Galleries”.

1872 Lithographed from new stone (poor lettering). No year date. Control numbers printed downwards in red.
Thick wove paper. No watermark. Perf 12 between stamps.

1872 H5   Control 103	1872 H5   Control 103, perf all round	1872 H5a   Blue Control 114	1872 H5a   Blue Control 125
Lot 1021 from the Wilson Born Collection.	Lot 1022 from the Wilson Born Collection.	Courtesy of “Siegel Auction Galleries”.	Lot 1023 from the Wilson Born Collection.

Kramer listed known controls for these as being red: 103 and 129.
I haven´t seen 129, but 114 and 125 are shown above.

1873 Lithographed from new stones. Date reading upwards in pink. Control numbers in dark blue.
Thick wove paper. No watermark. Perf 13½ between stamps.

1873 H6   Printed control 103	1873 H6a   Hand stamped control 114 inverted	1873 H6b   Hand stamped purple Control 131
Courtesy of siegelauctions.com.	Lot 1025 from the Wilson Born Collection.	Lot 1024 from the Wilson Born Collection.

Kramer listed known controls for these as being: 11, 103, 114, 125 and 129.

Hiscocks added the following note:

1874 As above. Control numbers in black.
Thick wove paper. No watermark. Perf 13½ between stamps.

1874 H7   Control 103 1874 H7   Control 129 1874 H7a   Sideways Large Control 104 1874 H7 Control 114 Courtesy of “Siegel Auction Galleries”. Lot 1027 from the Wilson Born Collection. Lot 1028 from the Wilson Born Collection. Courtesy of Eric Jackson   click for listing.	1874 booklet pane, courtesy of Eric Jackson   click for listing.
1874 H7   Control 124 1874 H7b   Inverted Control 124 (trimmed at right) Courtesy of “Siegel Auction Galleries”. Lot 1029 from the Wilson Born Collection. RH# Hisc. 1874 Description Mint Used RH7 H7 No value, deep blue and brownish pink 240.00 - RH7a -         Sideways control 280.00 - RH7b -         Inverted control 600.00 - Kramer listed known controls for these as being: 103, 104, 114, 124 and 129.

1875 As above. Date in green. Thick wove slightly brownish paper. No watermark. Perf 13½ on all sides. 1874 H7   Control 103 1875 H8   Control 110 1875 H8a   No Control Courtesy of “Siegel Auction Galleries”. Lot 1030 from the Wilson Born Collection. Lot 1032 from the Wilson Born Collection.	1875 booklet pane, courtesy of Eric Jackson   click for listing.
RH# Hisc. 1875 Description Mint Used RH8 H8 No value, bistre-brown and yellow-green 240.00 - RH8a -         No control 120.00 - Hiscocks added the following General Note: General Note. Used copies of Nos. 2 and 6 have been catalogued but                 evidence for their existence in this state is thin. Kramer listed known controls for these as being: 103, 110, 118 and 127.

The Stationery is on a separate page.

Canadian Pacific Railway´s Telegraphs

The stamps of this Company are listed under Canada although they were valid in parts of the USA.

City and Suburban Telegraph Company

The full name of this company was the New York City and Suburban Printing Telegraph Company and its stamps are listed accordingly.

8. Colusa, Lake and Mendocino Telegraph Company

Steve Hiscocks wrote:
This company operated between 1873 and 1892 from Princeton, California, westwards through the three counties from which it was named and on into
Napa County. From 1873 to 1875 it was called the Princeton, Colusa, and Grand Island Telegraph Company. It seems to have been absorbed by
Western Union in 1892. Prepayment stamps were issued in 1876. The 5c is reported to have been issued in booklets with ten stamps to the pane.
These were hand stamped P.L.W. (P. L. Washburn — the supervisor) in blue but the initials are usually unreadable and/or incomplete. Copies
without initials have been reported. The two higher values, 10c and 25c, are very rare and little is known of them. They may well also have been issued
in booklets but only single stamps are now known. Only two copies of the 25c are thought to have survived and one of those was apparently destroyed by
fire in 1922.

Forgeries of these stamps exist and care must be exercised in buying. The original stamps are on obviously old-type white wove paper while some
older forgeries are on slightly yellowed or more modern close grained papers....
No used copies of these stamps have been reported.

1876 Type-set. White wove paper. No watermark. Perf. 12 between stamps.
2 rows of 5 stamps to the pane.
Said to be stamped with Initials P.L.W. (P.L. Washburn, usually smudged and incomplete) hand stamped in blue.
However it is far from clear.

H1  5c	H2   10c	H3   25c
Courtesy of Eric Jackson   click for listing.	Lot 1065 from the Wilson Born Collection.	Lot 1066 from the Wilson Born Collection.

Note: this 25c is the only known example and the 10c may also be.

There are two types of the 5c.

Positions 2 and 5 (2nd column) have a broken bottom to the '5' (Type B) the others are normal (Type A).
Positions 7 and 8, lot 1053 from the Wilson Born Collection.



This large block shows the flaw on both stamps of the second column. Image courtesy of Siegelauctions.com.

The Stationery is on a separate page.

9. Commercial Union Telegraph Company

Steve Hiscocks wrote:
The company was incorporated on 31 March 1886 when it came under the control of the Postal Telegraph-Cable Company. Its pre-1886 lines ran from
Albany, N.Y. and Troy through Berlin, N.Y., to North Adams, Mass. It was then extended through Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
The company was absorbed by the Postal Telegraph-Cable Company (q.v.) some time after 1894. The company in 1891 issued two prepayment stamps
('commutation' — implying a reduced price for booklets bought in advance) and a frank (complimentary). Both were in panes of four with straight outer
edges. No used copies are known.

1891 Lithographed by A. C. Goodwin of Albany, N.Y. Thick, very white smooth (calendared) wove paper. No watermark. Perf. 12 between stamps.
Stamps in panes of four with straight outer edges. Frank unknown, but known perforated on all sides.

A. Commutation (implying a discount for prepayment)

RH1 25c  - 4.6mm Printed control in carmine.	†RH1a 25c  - 4.6mm Printed control in red. Courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht.	ƒRH1b 25c - 5.6mm control in red. Part of eBay lot 323566781021 that is now removed.	RH2a 25c/20 words - 4.7mm printed control Courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

Compare the base of the '2' on the RH1 and RH1b control numbers. The yellow stamp can be darkened by sulpher dioxide or hydrogen sulphide in the atmosphere.

RH # Hisc. Description Mint Used RH1 H1 25c orange-yellow (shades, carmine control No.) 20.00 - †RH1a -         red control No. 25.00 - ƒRH1b -         large red control No. 35.00 - RH2 H2 25c/20 words, myrtle green (vermilion control No.) 15.00 - *RH2a -         carmine control No. 15.00 - RH2b H2a         imperf. between horizontal pair 100.00 - * I have added this due to examples shown. I have yet to see an example of RH2 however. Scans of RH2 (vermilion control No.) would be very welcome.

An example with manuscript "Cancelled", courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

RH2b Courtesy of Eric Jackson. I have seen examples with controls 282 and 283.

† Kramer reported that the H1 controls can be in red or violet. I have not seen any that I would call violet, but he gives 1009 as the highest control for that. I have not seen any that low.

RGB = 172 / 51 / 67 slightly bluish dark red	RGB = 183 / 56 / 103 Carmine	RGB = 212 / 62 / 57 Red, courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

The controls are on a bit of a slant. If I line them up, I find the row spacing on the controls is 30mm or 1.18 inches and the column spacing is 37.1mm or 1.46 inches, though with the top pair is about a half mm to the right, with the top-left control 1.4mm high. This is a lot better than I could do by hand, so I presume it is printed. I had initially thought it was done with a hand-stamp because of the smudged numbers, but I think that must be due to excessive inking on a glazed surface.

A booklet pane of H2a on the left and a poorly centred example above. Hiscocks describes this as being a vermilion control number. However it does not look like vermilion to me. RGB = 167 / 44 / 63, a slightly bluish dark red. Anyone have an example of H2 with a vermilion control number?

Another example, this courtesy of Everett Ramsey. These are better aligned in that the top row is above the bottom without the half mm displacement.
The row spacing on the controls is again 30mm or 1.18 inches, with this time the bottom-left 1.3mm high. The column spacing though is 35.5mm or 1.4 inches.
I presume that a number of panes were on the printed sheet prior to guillotining, with minor differences in the spacing of the control printing.

B. Complimentary (Frank)

RH3 20 words  - 4.7mm Printed control	RH3a - 5.3mm handstamped control, courtesy of Everett Ramsey	RH3b - 5.8mm handstamped control, courtesy of Everett Ramsey

RH3c - 5.7mm handstamped control, 216, courtesy of Everett Ramsey	RH3c - 5.7mm handstamped control, 218, courtesy of Everett Ramsey

Kramer listed highest controls known for these as being: 219 in navy(printed), 218 in blue handstamp and 221 in purple handstamp.
I have not seen any with a purple control.

* I have added these due to examples shown.

Rich & Rich (1947) give the colour of the control as black. In the image above, it certainly looks black.

Close up though it is actually dark blue       (RGB = 52 / 50 / 90)

Hiscocks added the following Note:

Rich & Rich (1947) Noted:

§ Kramer reported and illustrated the existence of H3 perforated on all sides and priced it with a 15% premium.
I have seen two more examples since then, suggesting they constitute about a third of them. That would imply that not all were in booklet panes of 4. Perhaps none of them were.
If they really are not uncommon then I would be very interested to see larger blocks containing them.
Kramer illustrates an example with a 221 control and says that they "have been noted for many years" and that although
booklet panes of the stamps are plentiful, no booklet panes or covers are known for the Frank.
4 rows of 3 stamps, perforated between would give a third of them perforated all around.

10. Connecticut River Telegraph Company

Steve Hiscocks wrote:
The company ran a local line between New Haven and Hartford, Conn. and in 1885 entered into an agreement whereby they and the Baltimore and
Ohio Telegraph Companies had use of each other´s facilities, The B and O prepayment system was adopted and B and O stamps were adapted by the
addition of words "Conn" and "River" to the standard design. Values of 1 and 5 cents were introduced to cover the existing line in 1885. In 1887 the
company extended its line to New Boston, Mass. and new stamps of the same values, but on blue paper as distinct from the yellow paper of the
earlier pair, were introduced to cover the extension. When the B and O Company was absorbed by Western Union in 1887 the Connecticut River Telegraph
Company became part of United Lines and the use of stamps ceased. At this time there were extensive stocks of stamps which were eventually
cancelled with a 3mm line in red and sold to a dealer. Unused stamps without the remainder cancellation are fairly rare and used copies even more so.
The cancellation used was similar to that used on the B and O stamps but usually in purple. Centring tends to be very poor. Imperf. and part-perf.
remainders of the 1885 issue are known. None appear to have a printer´s name as do many of the B and O stamps. They were sold, presumably at
reduced price, in booklets with panes of ten.

1885 Lithographed. Medium wove coloured paper. Panes of 10. No watermark. Perf. 11 between stamps.

1c H1. Mint Courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht	1c H1. Used Courtesy of Everett Ramsey	5c H2. Mint Courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht	5c H2. Used Courtesy of Eric Jackson

Despite Hiscocks saying that the cancels are like those of B & O but in purple (echoing Rich & Rich 1947),
the only things that I have seen that look like a cancel are these 'crescent Moon' in square marks shown above.
However Kramer lists and illustrates a couple of others in the same ink as above :
1) "Maltese Cross" - same shape as on the stamp but solid the size of the width of the stamp.
2) "Straight line" - "CONN R... / TELEGRAPH"

Anyone have examples ?

Remainders.

These were remaindered with a red bar, generally either a little above "B & O" or a little below. Images from Rolf Lamprecht.

1c H1. Remainder, courtesy of tommyboy1967 5c H2a Remaindered imperforate pair courtesy of Everett Ramsey   RH# Hisc. Description Mint Used Rem. RH1 H1 1c black / yellow 6.00 15.00 1.50 RH1a H1a         imperf. pair 45.00 - 20.00 RH1b H1b         imperf. between horizontal pair - - 30.00 *RH1c -         imperf. between vertical pair - - 50.00 RH2 H2 5c black / yellow 4.00 15.00 1.50 RH2a H2a         imperf. (pair) - - 45.00 RH2b H2b         imperf. between horizontal pair 75.00 - 45.00 RH2c H2c         imperf. between vertical pair - - 45.00 *RH1c added due to example on right.

*RH1c courtesy of Eric Jackson ( ericjackson on eBay).

1887 (October). As above.

1c H3 Mint.	1c H3 remainder.	5c H4 Mint.	5c H4 remainder.
Courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht	Courtesy of Everett Ramsey	Courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht	Courtesy of Everett Ramsey

11. Continental Telegraph Company

Steve Hiscocks wrote:
The company opened a line between New York and Philadelphia in 1878 and this was acquired by Western Union in 1882. Stamps were prepared by
the American Bank Note Company but never issued. The stamps were triangular as illustrated below and panes of four were laid out as a diagonally
crossed square. The printer´s name is included beneath one stamp per pane. They are not, of course, known used.

Steve Hiscocks was not aware of the earlier design.

1878(?) Printed on banknote paper with portions of currency designs on back. Overprinted with year in large blue numerals and control in red. “Will accept this coupon during the year stamped thereon, or thereafter as equivalent to (Five Dollars) for said Company’s proportion of tolls for telegrams over its lines”, Part of Lot 1070 from the Wilson Born Collection. RH# Hisc. Description Mint Used RH1 - 1878, 50c red on green 200.00 - RH2 - 1880, 50c red on green 200.00 - RH3 - 1880, $5 blue ? on vermilion ? 200.00 - RH4 - 1881, $2.50 orange on blue 200.00 - RH5 - 1881, $5 blue on vermilion 200.00 -

The early proofs were pairs of  "coupons". The later triangles were in panes of 4 stamps. Some have the imprint of the American Bank Note Company but some do not.
Plate proofs of the triangles exist on 'India' and on card.
Not known used.

RH1 - 1878, 50c red on green	RH2 - 1880, 50c red on green	RH3 - 1880, $5 blue on vermilion ?	RH4 - 1881, $2.50 orange on blue	RH5 - 1881, $5 blue on vermilion

The control numbers[?] at top-center are all in red. The proofs show that these were in pairs, with the numbers in the top corners representing the dollar value of the pair.
These all also have small numbers in the stamp colour at the top-left.
The first two above can be seen to be the the left half of a pair and have odd numbers, 3 and 13 at top-left. The last two are from the right half and are both even, 16.
To me, this suggests that each pair is consecutively numbered and that the numbers give the sheet position of the stamp, reflected in the part of the security design on the back.

Position 3.

Position 13.

Position ?

Position 16.

Position 16.

These are the respective backs of the stamps. Notice the company name in groups of four circles. The last is my attempt at a mockup of what I would expect to see on the back of the last one. Does anyone know where RH3 and/or RH5 are ?
One last thing, The name of the Treasurer on these coupons is given as A. S. Worthington. A telegram of 1880 gives the treasurer as G. R. Williamson.
The dates on these proofs span from 1878 to 1881 when the triangular proofs were created, but when were the early proofs made?
If in 1878, how did they know to stop at 1881?  If in 1881, why bother with proofs for old years?  If they were all produced in the years printed on them, why bother if they were not (supposedly) being used ?

RH5 is courtesy of Siegelauctions.com and the rest are courtesy of Todd Parker.

1881(?) White wove paper. No watermark.

Reduced size set, courtesy of Eric Jackson ( ericjackson on eBay). Click for listing.

Image courtesy of Eric Jackson ( ericjackson on eBay). Click for listing.

Lot 1069 from the Wilson Born Collection.

Lot 1068 from the Wilson Born Collection.

Half-size images.

Courtesy of Eric Jackson ( ericjackson on eBay). Click for listing.		Lot 1067 from the Wilson Born Collection.		Sale 67, Lot 2529 from Schuyler Rumsey Philatelic Auctions. Click images for listing.

A set of 6 in blocks of 4 like the 25c and 50c above, all but one with an imprint, sold for US$5500 in April 2016 (Schuyler Rumsey PA, Lot 2529).

Great North Western Telegraph Company of Canada

The stamps of this Company are listed under Canada although they were valid in parts of the USA.
Its operations extended through Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
In 1920 the U.S. lines became part of Western Union while the
Canadian lines became part of the Canadian National Telegraphs system.

12. International Ocean Telegraph Company

Hiscocks does not mention this and did not allocate a number for it. I re-numbered companies (again) to include it.
According to Atlantic-cable.com, An Act of Congress passed on 5 May 1866 granted the company exclusive rights to operate all Cuban traffic for a period of fourteen years.
Cuba was connected to many of the Caribbean islands, and from them to Central and South America which were connected to Europe and the rest of the world.
In 1957 the International Ocean Telegraph Company became part of Western Union.

An 1881 Frank card, printed by the American Bank Note Co. of New York, and remarkably similar (front and back) to the Western Union Types.
This was for the (unrestricted) use of Jay Gould and was signed by J. O. Green, the IOTC Vice President.
I would think that these were issued for many other years, but this is the only one that I´ve seen. Anyone have other examples ?
Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

The heading of this Night Telegram explains the similarity.

The President is the Western Union President, Norvin Green, with Thomas T. Eckert as the General Manager.
The signature on the card above, probably belonged to a relative of Norvin Green.
Full image of the telegram can be seen on the Stationery page.
Image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

13. Los Angeles & San Gabriel Valley Railroad

Hiscocks does not mention this and did not allocate a number for it. I renumbered companies to include it and others.
The company had a 21 mile line between L.A. and Duarte which was started in 1883 and completed in 1887.
The company was then sold to the Santa Fe Railroad.

1886 Perforated between, but I do not know the scale to work out the guage.
Signed by the President James F. Crank.

Lot 1070 from the Wilson Born Collection. (only recorded example)

14. Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company

Hiscocks says "This company is reported to have prepared stamps or franks but not to have issued them."
Hiscocks did not allocate a number for it. I renumbered companies to include it and others.

This company gained the assets of the United Wireless Telegraph Co. after its liquidation. It was sold to General Electric in 1919, which then formed R.C.A.

1913  Booklet panes of 4, Perf.14 between.
Signed by the Vice President.

Image courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

Lot 1072 from the Wilson Born Collection.

Kramer listed the highest control number known for these as being C479.

15. Mercantile Telegraph Company

Hiscocks does not mention this and did not allocate a number for it. I renumbered companies to include it and others.
Incorporated in 1892 with offices in St. Louis, Chicago and St. Paul, leasing telegraph lines from other companies.

The company was apparently set up primarily for illegal bookmaking on horse races, for which Townsend was convicted.

1892 Perforated between, but I do not know the scale to work out the guage.

Lot 1073 from the Wilson Born Collection.

16. Mutual Union Telegraph Company

Steve Hiscocks wrote:
The company had a short, vigorous, but unhappy history. It was set up in 1879, incorporated in 1880 and in two years built 25,000 miles of line in 22
states. It failed through dishonesty and was absorbed into Western Union in or around 1884. Franks were issued for 1882 and 1883 to shareholders in
booklets containing panes of four separated by tinfoil. Only the 1882 is known used and a rubber stamp cancellation in purple on magenta was
employed. Control numbers are in blue but remainders without control numbers are known and these also exist imperforate or part-perforated.

1882 Line engraved by the Van Campen Engraving Company of New York, N.Y. Signed in 1882 by President John Orville Evans.
Hard wove paper of uneven thickness. No watermark. Perf. 14 between stamps. Booklet panes of 4. Control in blue.

H1 - 1882	1882 booklet (half size), courtesy of Mike Aldrich

Kramer listed the highest control number known for 1882 as being 925.

Signed by President, John Orville Evans (died December 1881) RH# Hisc. Description Mint Used RH1 H1 No value, blue 24.00 60.00 RH1a H1a        no control number (remainder) 30.00 - RH1b H1b         no control number, imperf. (pair) 60.00 - RH1c H1c         no control, imperf. between (pair) 60.00 - RH1d -         no control number, imperf. single 30.00 - *RH1e -         imperf with manuscript control number - - *RH1f -         as RH1e but perforated - - * Examples of RH1e and RH1f are shown numbered 301 and 302. Anyone have similar examples or information on these ? According to Rich & Rich, the cancellation is a purple or magenta rubber handstamp with a single letter or some words.

RH1d courtesy of Eric Jackson (ericjackson on eBay). Click on image for listing.

RH1e courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

RH1f. I am unsure of the status of this and RH1e. Neither look as if it was issued. I have also lost track of where this image came from (sorry). Does anyone have this ?

1883 As above.

Signed in 1883 by the President John G. Moore, before being taken over by Western Union. John was abbreviated as "Jno."
This would seem to be John Godfrey Moore.

H2 - 1883	1883 booklet (half size), courtesy of Mike Aldrich	H2 - 496 - 1883, Courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	* RH2a - 1883, Courtesy of Todd Parker.

* RH2a added due to example shown above.

Kramer listed the highest control number known for 1883: as 486, but 496 can be seen above.

17. New York City and Suburban Printing Telegraph Company

Steve Hiscocks wrote:
This company, often referred to as the "City and Suburban Telegraph Company" from the shortened name on its stamps, produced by far the earliest
telegraph stamps in the United States. The Company grew from a single private line linking the office and factory of a printing press manufacturer.
It was set up as a company in 1855 linking four terminals and a further seven, still all within Manhattan Island, were subsequently added. Later the
service was extended to Brooklyn. Prepayment stamps were used for an experimental period probably in 1859. The public could purchase stamps
and use them on message forms which were deposited in collecting boxes, emptied at set times, in various shops. For various reasons the experiment
failed and the system was apparently abandoned after a few months. The company was sold to the American Telegraph Company in or just before 1860.

The stamps were printed in sheets of 60 containing ten rows, each consisting of the three values arranged "2c, 1c, 1c, 1c, 2c, 3c", which lined up with
the rate of 10c for 10 words. There is apparently some doubt as to whether genuinely used copies exist. Pencil cancelled copies have been reported
but one might have expected a rubber stamp cancellation since this was used by a local post system run by the same man at the same time.
Forgeries certainly exist. Those printed in blue are obvious but good printing, white as distinct from yellowish paper or hardish to hard thin paper
should be viewed with suspicion. The patterns of white lines on the 2c & 3c are sometimes in error.

1859? Typographed on soft, thinnish slightly yellowed paper. No watermark. No gum. Imperf.
In 1934 the asking price for a complete sheet was $1750. The sheet of 10 rows of 6 stamps was subsequently broken up in 1935-36.
In 1935 a block of ten was sold for $350. (Source Rich & Rich, 1947)

Images from the Wilson Born Collection.

Hisc. Description Mint Used H1 1c greyish black             300.00 ? H2 2c greyish black 420.00 ? H3 3c greyish black 800.00 ?

Forgeries of the 2 cents. Compare the first 'E' of 'TELEGRAPH' on these to the genuine 2c stamps. Images from the Wilson Born Collection.

The largest known multiple, sold recently for $15,000. Image courtesy of Schuyler Rumsey Philatelic Auctions.
Hiscocks added the following Notes: Note 1. Se-tenant multiples command large premia. Note 2. I have seen the 3c cut to shape. Perhaps 30-50% of the above prices.                 There is also a tendency for the end scallops to have been clipped on                 singles since the sheet spacing was very close.		Genuine 2c. Letter 'E' has short, off-centre middle bar, the first has a sloping bottom bar. Letter 'P' is tall and slender below the loop.	Fake 2c. Letter 'E' has a longer, central bar with all at right angles (like 1c stamps). Letter 'P' is short and thick below the loop.
		The genuine paper is described as soft, thinnish, slightly yellowed, but most of the genuine ones above do not look yellowed. Perhaps some are toned. Modern forgeries may well be on modern paper that has been bleached and reacts to Ultra-Violet.

18. North American Telegraph Company

Steve Hiscocks wrote:
The company operated from Chicago to Minnesota and to North and South Dakota between 1885 and 1929 when it was taken over by the
Postal Telegraph-Cable Company. Franks were issued between 1899 and 1907 in panes of four. They are not known used.

Though Frank stamps did not appear until 1899, Business Frank Cards got off to an early start.
 

This 1895 example was restricted to the business of the Chicago, Great Western Railway Co., but did also allow social messages.
John Warwick also had a similar Frank for the Postal Telegraph in 1895 and Western Union in 1898.
Images courtesy of Brian Levine of MT. GOTHIC TOMES.
Anyone have examples from other years ?

 
Valid for 1935 for Mr. J. McMillan, Ex General Manager of Telegraphs, Canadian Pacific. - Images courtesy of Candipro on eBay (click image for listing).

1899 Hard medium wove paper. No watermark. Perf.11¾ between stamps. Control number in red.
Bearing the name of the General Manager, H. A. Suttle.

A (half scale) booklet cover of 1899 printed in the colour of the franks. 1899 Hiscocks H1 None are known for 1900, so presumably these continued in use for 2 years. Courtesy of siegelauctions.com. (Sale 1102, Lot 1076) Courtesy of siegelauctions.com	Booklet pane (half size, highest number) - 1146 Courtesy of Mike Aldrich click image for listing).
Hisc. 1899 Description Mint Used H1 No value, reddish violet 120.00 - H1a         imperf. 180.00 -

Kramer listed the highest control number known for 1899 as being 1146.

1901 As above.

1901 Hiscocks H2

Lot 1078 from the Wilson Born Collection.

Kramer listed the highest control number known for 1901 as being 1193.

1902 As above.

1902 Hiscocks H3	1903 Hiscocks H4 - highest number.
Lot 1079 from the Wilson Born Collection.	Courtesy of siegelauctions.com. (Sale 1102, Lot 1080)

Kramer listed the highest control number known for 1902 as being 1759.

1903 As above, but with taller numerals in the control (the '2' is distinctly different).

Kramer listed the highest control number known for 1903 as being 2162, as illustrated.

1904 As above, but back to the 1902 style control numbers.

1904 Hiscocks H5	1904 Hiscocks H5b	Hiscocks H5 - highest known control number.
Lot 1081 from the Wilson Born Collection.	Courtesy of Schuyler Rumsey Philatelic Auctions. Click images for listing.

Kramer listed the highest control number known for 1904 as being 1182 (shown above).

1905 As above, but with the 1903 style control numbers.

1905 Hiscocks H6 1905 Pair of Hiscocks H6a courtesy Gregg Nelson (gnmexstmps on eBay) Courtesy of Schuyler Rumsey Philatelic Auctions. Click image for listing.     Hisc. 1905 Description Mint Used H6 No value, red-brown 150.00 - H6a         imperf. 375.00 - Kramer listed the highest control number known for 1905 as being 1400.

H6a - Lot 1081 from the Wilson Born Collection. This says on it that only 16 were unperforated, but I suspect that number to be unreliable given the pair on the left with a different control number.

1906 As above, but back to the 1902 style control numbers.

1906 Hiscocks H7	1906 Hiscocks H7 - highest control number.	1907 Hiscocks H8
Lot 1084 from the Wilson Born Collection.	Courtesy of Schuyler Rumsey. Click image for listing.	Lot 1086 from the Wilson Born Collection.

Kramer listed the highest control number known for 1906 as being 1515, shown above.

1907 As above.

Kramer listed the highest control number known for 1907 as being 1799, this is shown above.

19. Northern Mutual Telegraph Company

Steve Hiscocks wrote:
The company was set up on 20 June 1882 and sold to the Bankers' and Merchants' Telegraph Company less than a year later. Its stamps were in
use for only a few days in April 1883. There were about 200 miles of line from Syracuse, N.Y., to Ogdensburg N.Y. along Lake Ontario. In 1887 a
New York stamp dealer acquired both the remainders and the plates and from the latter at least two lots of reprints were produced. The original
stamps were printed in sheets of 35 with all values on the same sheet: i.e. 2 rows of 5c, 10c and 25c and one row of 20c. No original blocks of four of the
20c therefore exist although they do of the reprints which were printed in sheets of 40 — 5x8 with two rows of each. The originals are perf. 14 as are
one of the reprints while other reprints are perf. 12 and thus easily identifiable. Distinguishing between the originals and the perf. 14 reprints is more
difficult. The originals are said to be on paper with a distinct greyish white hue which is unlike that of any of the reprints and the colours of the originals,
while variable, are darker. The perforations are less rough than the perf. 14 reprints. There is a tendency for the gum on reprints to be more yellow but
this is not a reliable guide since that on the originals can be markedly yellow. Used copies have been reported but are very rare.

My Notes: According to Rich & Rich (1947, page 37) : 'There were no "plates," though Scott mentions such: only separate clichés. '
They do not mention how these were held together for printing, presumably in some kind of frame, they also do not say if the clichés were of individual stamps or rows of the same value.

I do not know what actually happened to these clichés in the end, or when, or even if, they were ever destroyed.

Synopsis: Originals are clean-cut Perf.14 on greyish-white paper.
The fist reprints were rougher Perf.14 on white paper,
second reprints were Perf.12.

1883 Typographed on medium wove greyish white paper. No watermark. Perf. 14.
Original sheets had 7 rows of 5. This was 2 rows of 25c, followed by a row of 20c, then 2 rows of 10c followed by 2 rows of 5c.
The reprints did not follow this pattern, having two rows of each value.

5c - 0.75mm diameter holes. Reprint	5c - 0.9mm diameter holes. Courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	10c - 0.9mm diameter holes. Courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	25c - 0.9mm diameter holes.
Perf. 14  -  The originals can be separated from the reprints on the basis of the size of the holes. The left-most 5c has holes about 0.75mm diameter, whereas the others have holes about 0.9mm diameter. The original sheet shown below has holes about 0.88mm diameter, suggesting that the 0.9mm above are original. (Remember that <control>+ will magnify, <control>- will reduce)

5c	10c	20c	25c
Perf 12 reprints.

Northern Mutual Telegraph Company Stamps of 1883 A Comprehensive Study of the 3 Types

Everett W. Ramsey

Historical Reference: The Company was incorporated in New York State on June 20, 1882, as the "Northern Mutual Telegraph and Telephone Company" The company held a single wire from Syracuse to Ogdensburg (via Oswego, Watertown, and Clayton) The company produced stamps in early 1883 and were used a few days in April 1883. Issued in panes of 35 at Face Value of $5.00. 2 Rows at 25c, 1 Row at 20c and 2 Rows each of 5c and 10c. The company was sold to "Bankers and Merchants Telegraph Company" before the middle of 1883 The new owners had no use for these stamps. They were all sold (along with the means to reprint them) to Mr. Joseph Brown a New York Stamp Dealer. Mr. Brown had several customers who purchased many stamps including full sheets. ( A few still exist) When the original stock was disposed of Mr. Brown Reprinted new sheets. Note that the Original Printing and the 1st reprints were both Perforated 14, excepting a change in the rows to 8, at 2 rows of each value. When the 1st Reprints were disposed of Mr. Brown Reprinted the 2nd Issue, but this time perforated 12. Early on Collectors were eager how to tell the difference between the Originals and the 1st Reprints. Over the years Researchers and Authors stated ways to try and distinguish between the two. Including Paper Color, Inking Color, Gum Color, etc. None has any factual use, as these are variable over time. My Background: After many years of Collecting US Stamps and reading books written on the subject of US Classic Stamps and finding US Revenues of great interest I became aware of lesser-known categories such as Telegraph Stamps. It didn´t take me long before I was deep into collecting US Telegraph Stamps. My many Internet Searches introduced me to a fascinating Web Site that featured Telegraph Stamps of the World. In a short time, I found the WebMaster to be very reachable and was interested in finding new material updating current material and finding answers to questions that have been around for many years. He and I have had many talks and I have aided him in some minor research. I have gravitated to the question: How to positively show the difference between the Originals and 1st Reprints. My Research and Conclusion: I was able to collect bits of data over time that I was sure would aid my research. I was correct. The first data point came when I found Full Sheets of the Originals and 1st Reprints existed. By carefully reproducing these sheets to there original size and having the ability to carefully measure each, it was learned that the Original Perforation Diameter is 0.90mm and the 1st Reprint is 0.75mm At the time I thought this may be enough to make a Perforation Gauge that could accurately show the difference. After several tries, I determined that it showed you what you wanted to see and gave up for a while. I always felt the answer was in the perforations. But I needed a computer program to consistently and accurately measure perforations of all types. I tried the few that are out there with poor results. By chance, I came across a computer app. Named "Stamp Analyzer" that did exactly what I was looking for. It accurately measured consistent results showing the Originals Perforated perfect 14 and the 1st Reprints Perforated 14.2 on average. These two data points together gave enough visual separation to Produce a Perforation Gauge that will let the average collector separate the Originals and the 1st Reprints. Below are several examples showing how to read proper results. Also a Perforation Gauge for your Use. I believe this is the first way to identify Originals from 1st Reprints, but my sample is small and I need help. I am hoping you will download the Perforation Gauge, use it and forward your results. We have no data on the quantity of each denomination by type. This data would aid in rarity and pricing.

1st Reprint Perf. 14.2  .75mm Dia. Holes Original Perf. 14  .90mm Dia. Holes 1st Reprint Perf. 14.2  .75mm Dia. Holes Shows Original over a 1st reprint Perforation Gauge - No Match Shows Original over an Original Perforation Gauge - Match Shows 1st Reprint over a 1st reprint Perforation Gauge - Match Perforation Gauge Click for Printable Form Tape to Backing

Hiscocks added the following Note:

My Note: These were only on sale for a few days in mid-April 1883, and used examples are very rare. Here are a couple courtesy of
Everett Ramsey that do appear to be genuine used examples:

Both appear to have portions of the same, rather unusual cancel. Both also have some thinning on the back that does not look like the result of hinge removal.
They have no reaction to UV light and are both perf.14 with 0.9mm diameter holes.
Everett Ramsey asked the A.P.S. to certify these. Their response was that they acknowledge the paper color looks correct,
the perforations are larger and the correct gauge, however they "Can Not" verify the cancel as being genuine.
Does anyone have information about the cancel used on these ?

Perf.14 reprint with all values, Courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

An original sheet Courtesy of Siegelauctions.com.
This has only a single row of 20c stamps. The perforation holes on this measure about 0.88mm diameter.
This is two thirds of my normal scale at 200dpi. Click on this image to open the 450dpi original image in a new window.
The colour of this in your browser should be quite accurate, as it has an embedded colour profile (Adobe PROPHOTORGB).
(Beware: the colour may look very different in image editors/viewers that do not recognise that profile)

Another image is available for sale 1133, lot 618 that has embedded "sRGB IEC61966-2.1". It looks relatively very orange on my image editor.
The image is 1958 x 2999 pixels (350dpi, 1.75 MB) and the properties say it is a product of Epsom
That sheet also has writing at the top-left, simply No184 Originals

Rich & Rich say "Imperforate copies in black on paper of various colors are only late playful prints from the cliches, made as late as 1904.
They are not even proofs or color trials; their origin has been on record since 1935 by one of those who made them."
To me, their legitimacy is not much less than the numerous "reprints" that are happily accepted in collections,
especially now that items matching the description except that they are in a similar colour to those reprints, have appeared on the market.

 


These images are courtesy of ckstamps on eBay. Click images for listing.

20. Northern New York Telegraph Company

Steve Hiscocks wrote:
There were three companies of more or less the same name which has led to some confusion. Two did not issue telegraph stamps: one which
operated 1879 to 1890 to the south-east of the Adirondack Mountains and another, the Northern New York Telephone and Telegraph Company which
was actually only a Telephone Company. The Company in question started in 1892 and linked some 300 farms north of the Adirondack Mountains.
It operated privately initially and then formed a public company under the name "New York Union Telegraph Company" because it found that its
'private' name had been pre-empted. In 1889 the Company changed over entirely to telephone operation. There is some argument over the status of
the known stamps. They were printed in panes of six by Charles H. Smith, Bruston, N.Y. who was also a founder and official of the Company. When
asked late in life the Company Manager of that time thought that the stamps and franks had been used in very small quantities. No used copies
are known however and it is possible that they never were used. It has been suggested that some or all are bogus but this seems unlikely.
Most likely is that these were prepared for use but never issued.

A. Stamps

1894? Typographed on greyish white wove paper. No watermark. Rouletted 12.
Overprinted 'ONE' and '10' in colours indicated in brackets.

H1	H2
Images courtesy of Eric Jackson   (click on them for listing).

 
Two images Displayed half size, courtesy of “Siegel Auction Galleries”. On the left, sale 1140, lot 1477 is an imperforate essay pane without overprint.
On the right is a similar one overprinted "One" from sale 1133, Lot 1620. They both show the makers imprint at the bottom.

B. Franks

1894 As above but overprinted 'FRANK/1894' in red.

H3	*RH3a	H4
Images courtesy of Eric Jackson   (click on them for listing).

Image courtesy of “Siegel Auction Galleries” from sale 1133, lot 619 is a plate proof on card.
It shows the makers imprint at the bottom.

1895 As above but overprinted 'FRANK/1895' in black.

21. Pacific Mutual Telegraph Company

Steve Hiscocks wrote:
In spite of the name which reflected hopes rather than actuality, the Company operated from St. Luis to Kansas City in 1884 and 1885. There were
fifteen offices and 1272 miles of line. It was part of the Bankers' and Merchants' Telegraph Co. and later became part of the Postal Telegraph-Cable
Co. when in 1910, it changed its name to the Postal Telegraph-Cable Co. of Missouri.

The stamps are thought to have been printed in 1883 but it is not clear whether they were ever sold or used. No used copies are known. They
were in booklet panes of ten. All were typographed in grey-black on a smooth surfaced paper which was surface-coloured for the three upper values.
The 1c black is rare and may be an error while the salmon paper of the 25c can show considerable darkening due to atmospheric sulphur.

My note: An apparently used 5c is shown below.

1883? Typographed on surface-coloured lustre-surfaced thick wove paper. Panes of 10. No watermark. Perf. 12 between stamps.

1c H1 courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	1c H2 courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	1c H2a courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	1c H2a.

5c H3 courtesy of Thomas (tommyboy1967 on eBay)	5c H3 used courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	10c H4.	25c H5.

Hisc. Description Mint Used H1 1c black / white 15.00 - H2 1c dark grey (shades) 1.50 - H2a         slate 1.50 - H3 5c dark grey / buff-yellow 2.00 - H4 10c dark grey / bluish green 1.00 - H4a         imperf. between horizontal pair 190.00 - H5 25c dark grey / salmon 2.00 - To the right is an example of H4a, courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

According to Rich & Rich, the 1c "the slate and gray intergrade, and may even be found within one block of six or eight stamps."
They also say that the surface colouring of the 25c stamp can be discoloured due to sulpher dioxide or hydrogen sulphide in the atmosphere,
and lastly warn that blocks are fragile and readily fall apart.
Personally I am having difficulty finding images that I would call slate, or perhaps they are all slightly slate, but different degrees of darkness.

22. Pacific Postal Telegraph-Cable Company

Steve Hiscocks wrote:
Set up by the Postal Telegraph-Cable Company in 1886 this separate company had lines between San Francisco and New Westminster in British Columbia.
It connected with the rest of the Postal system through the Canadian Pacific Railways Telegraphs lines. It was absorbed into its parent company
with the completion of the latter´s transcontinental line after 1894. The stamps were first reported in 1892 but the date of issue is not known.
They were issued in booklets in panes of five — vertical strips perforated between stamps such that all are imperforate on the two ends and the bottom stamp
of each pane is perforated only on the top edge. Used copies are quite common. These are usually hand stamped ´CANCELLED´ in purple but red crayon
cancellations are known. Control numbers are in red and are of three types as indicated below. Unnumbered copies cancelled in red crayon are also known.

My note: I have found that there are at least five types of control numbers, details below.
The only unnumbered ones that I have scans of are cancelled with a cross in red ink, not crayon.

Date? Lithographed on medium wove paper. No watermark. Perf. 12 between vertical stamps.

Examples courtesy of Phil (rebenic25 on eBay, reduced size. Click on image for listing), the 40c has an inverted control number.
All of these control numbers are in the range 3.73 to 4.23 mm high, and all but the 25c have the digits well separated.
The 25c has a different '8' to the others (Type A), the others are Type D.

Hisc. Description Mint Used H1 10c brown 100.00 100.00 H1a         without control number 100.00 100.00 H2 15c black 100.00 100.00 H2a         without control number 100.00 90.00 H3 25c rose-red 130.00 100.00 H3a         without control number 130.00 100.00 H4 40c deep green 100.00 100.00 H4a         without control number 100.00 100.00 H5 50c blue 120.00 100.00 H5a         without control number 120.00 100.00 H2a on the left courtesy of Phil (rebenic25 on eBay, click on image for listing).

A 'CANCELLED' 50c stamp, H5, courtesy of siegelauctions.com.

Here are some more examples courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

 
 
The cancelled on these are very similar to that on the 15c above.
John Barefoot says "Examples with or without control numbers and cancelled with red crayon are cancelled remainders (scarcer than issued stamps)."
Steve Hiscocks says "Unnumbered copies cancelled in red crayon are also known". They are the only unnumbered ones that he mentioned,
the implication would seem to be that used examples of H1a, H2a, H3a, H4a and H5a are cancelled with red crayon. and are remainders.
These however do not look like crayon cancels, and Everett Ramsey confirms that they are cancelled with red ink and still have full gum, so they certainly seem like remainders.
The question then is, was the reference to crayon a mistake, or were some cancelled with crayon and others with ink. For the moment I will assume the latter,
I would be happy to hear from anyone that can shed any light on this.

Hiscocks added the following Note:

My note: I have found that there are more types than this. I have also found that pictures are better.
These are all to the same scale.

Type	Font	Notes		10c qty	15c qty	25c qty	40c qty	50c qty	Highest	Lowest	Total
Type A		Seen on all values. This equates to Barefoot Type A and Hiscocks Type I.		3	16*	7*	2	13	49952 10c	693 50c	41
Type B		Seen on 40c only so far. This equates to Barefoot Type B and (I think), Hiscocks Type II. '5' in the last column is distorted.		0	0	0	7	0	7945 40c	7506 40c	7
Type C		Seen on 10c and 40c so far. This equates to Barefoot Type C and (I think), Hiscocks Type III.		1	0	0	6	0	4105 40c	181 10c	7
Type D		Seen on 10c, 15c, 40c and 50c. digits well separated. This does not appear to be listed.		1	4†	0	1	1	5607 15c	1361 40c	7
Type E		Seen on 10c only so far. These have probably been taken as Types B and/or C which they resemble.		4	0	0	0	0	3410 10c	1148 10c	4
ALL		TOTALS		9	20	7	16	14	49952 10c	181 10c	66

Kramer listed the control numbers known for each value, but combined all control types together:
10c brown: 341, 713, 1411, 2029, 5100, 5108, 8128, 8136, 8148, 49911 and 49928.
15c black: 353, 633, 642, 649, 8135, 8329, 8509, 8548, 8562, 10022, 10027, 10049, 10069, 10089, 11302 and 29908.
25c rose: 657, 1424, 3686, 4720, 8102, 8129, 8764, 8914, 8933, 8946, 12106 and 12146.
40c green: 1361, 1864, 3849, 7552, 7553, 7554, 7572, 7588, 7830, 7928, 7929 and 11907.
50c blue: 423, 633, 643, 672, 1864, 1874, 4898, 6022, 6024, 8647, 24904and 24977.


For the 15c, 29984 needs to be added as the highest, courtesy of Eric Jackson.

I have a limited number of usable images of the scarcer types at the moment. As I get more I will try to fill in the blanks.
* For Type A, I have 4 images of complete panes (15c x 2, 25c and 50c), on each of those the control numbers are sequential (15c - 8541-8545, 8551-8555, 25c - 8911-8915, 50c - 6046-6050).
† I have 4 Type D images with the same number, 5607, at different angles/positions which suggests that they are all from the same pane with the same number on each stamp.
It would be interesting to know the way the other types were numbered and the significance of the differences.





The booklet panes above are Type A and the stamps are numbered sequentially from bottom to top.
The 15c at the top is courtesy of Schuyler Rumsey Philatelic Auctions (click image for listing).
Below that, the 15c courtesy of ericjackson.com and 25c and 50c courtesy of siegelauctions.com.


This is a mockup of how a 15c booklet pane of Type D appears to have been numbered.

My thanks to Everett Ramsey for much help with this.
Who knows, there might even be more types.

Scans to help in completing this table would be much appreciated.
Images showing complete panes, even just pairs or a booklet cover, would be very helpful.

23. The Postal Telegraph-Cable Company

Steve Hiscocks wrote:
The 'Postal' as it is often called was first incorporated on 21 June 1881 as the Postal Telegraph Company and reorganised early in 1884 as the Postal Telegraph-Cable Company.
It changed its name yet again in 1938 to Postal Telegraph Inc. and was finally absorbed by Western Union in 1943. Along the way it absorbed a number of smaller companies
including the Bankers' and Merchants' Telegraph Co. and the United Lines. Stamps and franks, not necessarily bearing the correct company name of the time, were issued
between 1885 and 1942. They may be divided for convenience into Prepayment Stamps, General Franks and Official Franks. The last were exactly the same as the general franks
in use but bore the name of the company to which they were issued. Other details will be found in notes associated with the listings below.

1885(perhaps 12 February) Line engraved by the Hamilton Bank Note Company.
Sheets of 100 on medium-thick wove paper. No watermark. Perf. 14 on all sides.

It should be noted that in 1884 Nicholas Frederick Seebeck, also a dealer in postage stamps, had started working at the Hamilton Bank Note Engraving and Printing Company.
According to this article, these stamps were some of his first productions for them.

10c deep RH1 and RH2 remainders scanned together.	10c deep RH2a - Perf.16 - these are quite scarce.	10c orange RH2 Imperf. colour trial on India
The purple star was used on remainders, it is not a normal cancel. See note below. Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey

10c top-left detail, top is Perf.16, then India, then from the block below, then the issued stamp.	15c reddish orange RH3	15c reddish orange RH3 remainder.
Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey		One of mine.

Rich & Rich say of the Perf.16 stamps 'they rank precisely with the famous "Premiere Gravures" of the U.S. 1861 postage issues'. Those have small differences to the issued stamps.
The paper for one thing, but as Everett points out, at the top-left it can be seen that early marks have been cleaned up for the issued stamps.
I have also seen imperforate 10c proofs where those vertical lines extend to the frame-line above.

25c light ultramarine RH4b perf. 16, two examples scanned together. Courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	25c deep blue RH4 together with a light blue remainder, scanned together. Courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

Rich & Rich maintain that like the 10c, there are two distinct shades of the perf.14 25c that "do not intergrade".
I have not found it easy to get images to clearly demonstrate this (even harder for the 10c). The two 25c H4 examples look very different, but how much of that is down to the colour of the paper ?


There is a hint of other differences too. The broad frame, particularly at the top may have been strengthened and the triangular bits in the corners seems to have some differences.
These images are taken from the 3 stamps above in the same sequence. Note the speckled appearance of the perf. 16 stamp, more on that below.

50c deep brown RH5. Courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	50c deep brown RH5 remainder.	50c black RH5a perf. 16 Courtesy of Everett Ramsey.

As an aside:

Everett Ramsey showed me the certificate below.


Actually a bit amusing to think that a telegraph stamp, looking forward to early retirement being pulped along with the form it´s on
should merit a "fancy segmented star precancel". Very imaginative.
To be fair, the company claims no expertise in Telegraph Stamps, though they were happy to take the money.
Genuine used are quite scarce, as oppose to remaindered.
Might I suggest looking for something a bit more reassuring than "Professional Stamp Experts", like perhaps APS membership.

The Rich & Rich book of 1947, at the bottom of page 43 says 'The height of absurdity was reached when one such copy,
on a piece of album page, with the star not tieing, was offered the junior author as a "precancelled telegraph stamp."'

Moving on...

H1b, H4b and H5a are thought to be essays (see note 1, below) they are referred to as perf.16 but actually measure about perf. 15¾

H1b(RH2a) proved elusive, but it can now be seen above and there is a block of 4 below. Strangely, the Perf.16 stamps that I have seen have small black 'speckles' all over them, front and back. Though a bit variable in intensity, it gives the stamp a slightly grubby appearance. Who knows, perhaps there may be 15c examples with perf.16 going unrecognised in someone´s collection, but the 15c has other varieties. RH # Hisc. Description Mint Used Rem. RH1 H1 10c green 4.50 - 1.50 RH1a H1a         imperf. between horizontal pair 50.00 - 30.00 RH2 H2 10c deep green 3.00 - 0.90 RH2a H1b         perf. 16 (see note below) 80.00 - - RH3 H3 15c reddish orange (plate 3) 3.00 - 1.50 RH3a H3a         imperf. between horizontal pair (plate 3) 50.00 - 30.00 †RH3b -         plate 1 - - - †RH3c -         plate 2 - - - RH4 H4 25c deep blue 3.00 - 1.20 RH4a H4a         imperf. between horizontal pair 60.00 - 45.00 RH4b H4b         light ultramarine (perf. 16, see note 1 below) 40.00 - - *RH4c -         light blue (perf. 14) 3.00 - 1.50 RH5 H5 50c deep brown 4.50 - 4.50 RH5a H5a         black (perf. 16, see note 1 below) 20.00 - - † I have added 2 more plates for the 15c. See below for details of differences.   * I have added this since it is in American catalogues and does seem reasonable. The 15c blocks left and right, courtesy of Eric Jackson, are examples of RH3a. They also serve to illustrate the Hamilton Bank Note Co. imprint. According to Rich & Rich, on sheets of the Perf.16 stamps, these are replaced by "a handstamped imprint, in magenta, of the Hamilton Bank Note Co's name in large capitals". They also say that the 50c brown perf.14 exists without the imprint.

Block of 4 x H2a (perf 15.8) - this is the only such block that I've seen. Rich & Rich describe these as being equivalent to the US Premiere Gravures of 1861. Like some of them, the 10c appears to be on thin 'quasi-transparent´ paper. Images courtesy of Everett Ramsey.	Block of 4 x H4b (perf 15.8) courtesy of Eric Jackson.

Block of 4 x H5a (perf 15.8) Rich & Rich describe these as being equivalent to the US Premiere Gravures of 1861. One thing that I have noticed which does not appear to be in previous literature on the perf.16 stamps, is the black speckled nature of them:	Block of 4 x H4 (perf 14) for comparison with above, courtesy of Eric Jackson.

   

It is most apparent on the 10c and 25c, but can also be seen on the 50c in the white areas. It is also on the back.
It is not entirely uniform and I have no idea what the cause of it is.

Hiscocks added the following 3 Notes:

The 15c stamp.

This is the odd one out in that no perf. 16 examples have been reported. Like probably most people, I thought it was rather boring, existing simply as with or without the purple star.
Thanks to Everett Ramsey, I now know better. The perforated 15c stamps are represented by at least 3 different plates, though all are perforated approximately guage 14.
It is not totally certain which order these were produced in, but I will assume for now, subject to revision, that the rarest was the first and the commonest was the last.
If dated die proofs exist for them, then that may provide a definitive answer.

The following images are kindly provided by Everett Ramsey, the 3 types being scanned together.
The difference is in the junction of the borders at the bottom-left corner.

Plate 1? - RH3b, 1 example seen.

Plate 2? - RH3c, 5 examples now seen.

Plate 3? - RH3, 16 examples seen.

The (first) 2 examples of RH3c both have the 5-point star and seem to have slightly whiter paper than the others.

So the 15c is not so boring after all, you might want to double-check any that you have, perhaps you will find an early one without the star, a 4th plate or even a perf.16 !

Everett Ramsey has an alternative view of the usually accepted sequence of these stamps. To appreciate it, you need to be familiar with the exploits of N. F. Seebeck.
The pdf ebook referenced in this article gives a detailed history except for one thing. Seebeck´s did not get a contract for the Hamilton Bank Note Company to provide postage stamps for Costa Rica.
This is presented as a failure, which it was for the Hamilton, and perhaps for the people of Costa Rica, but the evidence suggests that Seebeck personally, found a more lucrative alternative.