Collected by Blood's then taken by stage to the Philadelphia post office

This is a buff-orange cover sent from Philadelphia to Danville, Montour County, Pennsylvania, with a small rectangular Blood’s Penny Post adhesive at upper left and a perforated three-cent Washington stamp at upper right. Both stamps were applied upside down. It is a cover only; no letter contents accompany it. The interest is in the combination of a private Philadelphia local post and the United States mail. I read this as a collection-to-the-mails use: Blood’s handled the local stage in Philadelphia, and the federal postage paid the onward domestic letter service to Danville. The stamps paid separate services, rather than forming a single federal postage rate.

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    An appealing postal cover featuring Blood’s Penny Post and a U.S. 3¢ 1857 Washington stamp. The unique Blood's stamp is inverted in the upper-left corner, while an octagonal Philadelphia handstamp adds historic value. This combination showcases the relationship between local delivery services and the national postal system. Addressed to Columbus Iron Works, it exhibits signs of age, yet remains a desirable item for collectors interested in 19th-century postal history.

  • The date

    I retain the reading MAY8/8 A.M. for the separate Blood’s circular handstamp at lower left. The day figure is imperfect and can resemble a 6 in the enlargement, so the reading should remain qualified. The bottom inscription is an abbreviated Philadelphia wording; the terminal dot or ornament is not distinct enough to identify confidently. The Philadelphia town marking at upper right ties the three-cent stamp to the envelope, but the stamp obscures much of its date. I cannot establish a year. The perforated federal stamp places the use in or after 1857; I would use “late 1850s–early 1860s, year unconfirmed” as a working description. The address The address reads, in substance, “Mess. [firm name] Brothers/Columbia Iron Works/Danville/Montour County/Penn’a.” The firm name appears to read Grove, but I leave that transcription tentative. Columbia Iron Works supplies an attractive industrial destination.

  • Envelope back - the white spots are paper remnants are due to the glue used to mount the cover in a previous album

  • 1200dpi scan of the octagonal Philadelphia postmark

  • 1200dpi scan of the Blood's handstamp

  • The stamp applied on collection by Blood's