I was recently reminded, coming upon this and a couple of other covers/envelopes listed today, of the beauty of fancy old cancellation marks--and this one to my eye is about as beautiful as it gets. Beyond the star-like mark itself, for me it's also about how that black ink stamp interacts with the rest of the elements--in this case simultaneously blotting out and illuminating the pinkish red of the 3 cent stamp, perfectly centered over it, with the effect almost like a stained glass window. (It is George Washington who has been stamped over.) And that just right in relation to the spareness of the "Selectmen of Littleton Mass" address against the cream of the paper, with the upside down arch of "Mass." on the postmark (in the perfect font) just the right complement. Maybe it's just me, but I find this formally perfect and quite poetic too. With the handwritten letter to the selectmen, dated 1867, still with it (with a great embossed portrait of a woman in profile at upper left, too.)
5 7/16" x 3 1/4". A few small tears around the edges and a few stains, all to the good I think.
