Sale 1, Lot 53: “Small Beaumont” Provisional Cover

Four-margin uncancelled single on turned cover addressed to Liberty Texas, sometime after the arrival at Liberty the cover was turned inside out and addressed to “Capt. Wm. Duncan, Spaight Battalion, Franklin La.,” the stamp with minor gum staining and the cover very lightly soiled, still Very Fine.

Provenance: Alfred H. Caspary (H.R. Harmer Sale 989, 1956), Josiah K. Lilly (R.A. Siegel Sale 317, 1967)

This Beaumont stamp on or off cover is extremely scarce. Charles Deaton in his 2012 book, The Great Texas Stamp Collection, noted that there are only four examples on cover and one example off cover. The Siegel 2014 census notes that there are five covers. Although the unique “Big Beaumont” (12X3) is the most famous of the three Beaumont issues, this stamp still ranks amongst the scarcest and most desireable of all CSA Provisionals.