Lot 30082 – 1872, 1/2 sen reddish brown plate 2 on brittle laid paper, 2 vertical and horizontal pairs & 2 singles on cover

1872, 1/2 sen reddish brown, plate 2, brittle laid paper, two vertical and horizontal pairs and two singles, magnificent impressions and rich colour, used on cover from Ajiki to Komaki-Shinden (both in Shimosa Province), tied by early non-standard double circles of Ajiki Meiji and further 7.1.25 afternoon in blue (January 24/25, 1874) alongside as acceptance and dispatch days, large non-standard double circle of Matsudo on the 28th. Cert. Florian Eichhorn BPP (2023)

A very attractive Shimosa province cover, representing the second highest complete franking of this plate we have recorded (after the famous Metzelaar (lot 183) cover), and being the only complete cover bearing this franking -an additional cover is known with six singles, but with the addressee’s panel missing, ex Henry W. Moser-. Pictured in JHES catalog 2007 edition on page 56. Furthermore a block of eleven on a cover with one stamp missing is in the Kanai collection (The Philatelic Culture Museum).

Note: Komaki-Shinden was outside the regular delivery circuit of a post office, hence an additional 1 sen delivery fee was charged to the 2 sen letter fee (Uniform Rate of 1.4.1873). The blue double circle of Ajiki P.O. was an imitation of the regular N1B1 cds.

Provenance: Shirai Tsugumi