U311 1890 cut square UPSS Die 88, possible Butler, Ohio, octagonal CDS

Item Specifics

Country

United States

Catalog Number

U311

Stamp Type

Postal Stationery

Condition

Used

Stamp Format

Single

Topic

People - Politicians

Year of Issue

1890

Item Description

51x57mm. This cut square was among thousands of stamps and cut squares collected from businesses at Union City, Indiana, in the early 1890s. Most of the readable postmarks in this hoard are from 1891 to 1893. Most of the 11-12,000 cut squares have the two-cent green Washington indicium that the United Postal Stationery Society (UPSS) identifies as Die 88. It contains a small portion of the UPSS watermark 8. The Scott catalog number for this example is U311. However, that Scott listing is actually for white paper and this paper is a pale creamy color. The Scott catalog doesn’t mention the creamy paper; the United Postal Stationery Society (UPSS) mentions the creamy paper in their catalog, but does not include a separate listing. Several creamy paper examples in the hoard are more creamy than this example. This one is more of a pale creamy color.

The rectangular date stamp is clearly from Ohio, but the town name is incomplete, ending in ___ER. Online examples show the town of Butler, Ohio, using an octagonal date stamp similar to this in 1887. This cut square is one of two in the Union City hoard with this cancel. They may have originated at Butler, but that remains to be verified.

Mail was arriving at Union City from all over the country via three railroads. Much of that mail was from small cities and towns in Indiana and Ohio and to a lesser degree from smaller communities in other nearby states. In other words, most of the fancy and geometric cancels probably originated within 150 to 200 miles of Union City. Butler is located nearly 130 miles east-northeast of Union City.

Only a few dozen cut squares in the hoard are large enough to include the addressee business names. A Union City supply company was the recipient of this piece of mail. The Knapp Supply Company was the only supply company identified in the 1890 Sanborn™ fire insurance map set for Union City. The company had been dealers in plumbing, steam and gas fitting supplies since 1874, shortly before the discovery and development of the large Trenton natural gas field. The subsequent industrialization of the region probably kept the company very busy and generated a considerable amount of mail. The company moved to Muncie, Indiana, in the 1920s and remains in business today.

The Die 88 stamped envelopes were printed in huge quantities. They display a wide variety of inking problems and die varieties, many of which fall under the EFO (errors, freaks and oddities) umbrella. Except for a few newly identified and unconfirmed variants, these varieties are found on multiple copies and have been documented; some display progressive characteristics. This copy does not seem to have any significant varietal characteristics.

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Seller Information

Seller

keesindy (4648)

Registered Since

04/11/2016

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Item Location

Indiana, United States

Ships To

United States

Shipping Instructions

About 3½ years ago, I stopped selling and shipping outside the US due to new postal rules and rapidly rising costs. The USPS is raising postal rates again in January 2019. Today, December 25, 2018, due to the continuing rise in the cost of postage and associated fees, I am reluctantly raising my general shipping fee for the first time in many years. My sales here at HipStamp involve no additional charge for the purchase of multiple stamps. Shipping is via USPS unless otherwise specified. Be sure to contact me before making your purchases if you have questions.

Returns Accepted

Yes

Returns Policy

All items may be returned unless otherwise stated in the listing. Of course, I cannot be responsible if uninsured items are damaged during shipping. If you are dissatisfied with a purchase, contact me within 7 days of your receipt of the item to make arrangements for returning it. If I have made an error in my listing or the item is not as described, you will receive a full reimbursement plus the pre-agreed-upon cost to return the item.