S401

Transportation

Fire Pumper 1860s

Collins Cover Announcement 

FIRE PUMPER

The hand-painted cachet on this cover must be seen - there is much detail in the colorful scene. A horse-drawn pumper with two firemen is speeding to the fire - a burning factory. Flames are in abundance and smoke is billowing skyward. Dominant use of reds and purples provide a contrasting, eye-catching cachet. For an unofficial cance, I chose a fire related name - Ashburn, VA. This hand cancel, with killer bars, is a bright magenta and goes very well with the color scheme. An additional single has the official "First Day of Issue" hand cancel. Item #S401 - $5.50

Spring 2017 Mail Sale Commentary 

Lot 12 S401 — Fire Pumper 1860s 

This hand painted action cachet features an early 19th Century horse-drawn fire pumper with two firemen aboard. They are passing burning structures. A single is postmarked in official city Alexandria. VA, and a second stamp has a first day postmark from a town where the name is a play on the subject. Collins is the only cachetmaker to get these stamps canceled in Ashburn. The postmark is a beautiful magenta color with killer bars. This one will always be sought by firefighting topicalists and future Collins collectors. It can be seen on page 267 of the book.