Beschreibung:

cover 10c Black (2), left sheet margin horizontal pair, positions 61-62 of the left pane, extremely large margins all around, deep shade and impression from the earliest state of the plate, tied by fine strikes of the New York red thirteen-bar square grid, additionally tied by blue manuscript cross-strokes, red 'NEW-YORK 2 JUL 10 cts' circular datestamp struck on legal-size envelope addressed to 'The Clerk of The Marion Circuit Court, Marion County, (Indianapolis), Indiana', receipt docketing 'Jeremiah Foote, administrator of the Estate of John Wood deceased, vs. Harvey Brown & William Y. Wiley, Deposition of George B. Sherwood' and 'Filed July 8, 1847, R.B. Duncan, Clerke', original notarized document enclosed and dated June 30, 1847, the envelope is marked '10' (postage due for excesss weight) in blue manuscript, light horizontal fold well clear of stamps, slight toning at extreme edges of the envelope. This July 2, 1847 cover bearing the 1847 Issue was discovered in 1972 by the late Harry D. Mark, an Indianapolis tax consultant. It was preserved between the pages of a copy of Burns' Annotated Indiana Statues' from Mr. Mark's library. Prior to the discovery of this cover, the earliest dated example of the 1847 Issue was a July 7th cover bearing a single 5c stamp. To date, this July 2nd cover remains the earliest known usage of a United States postage stamp, EXTREMELY FINE, THE EARLIEST RECORDED EXAMPLE OF A UNITED STATES POSTAGE STAMP AND THE ONLY RECORDED JULY 2, 1847 COVER.