Drews collection of U.S. 1861-68 postal history up for bids in Jan. 21 Cherrystone auction

By Charles Snee

Richard Drews’ splendid collection of United States 1861-68 postal history will be offered by Cherrystone Philatelic Auctioneers during a Jan. 21 sale at its gallery in Teaneck, N.J.

The single-day auction will take place in one session beginning at 1 p.m. Eastern Time.

A helpful overview of the sale is presented on the homepage of the Cherrystone website:

“This single-session sale presents 117 lots of postal history drawn from Drews’s Champion of Champions–winning exhibit focused on the U.S. 1861–68 Issue, beginning with precursor demonetized 1857–61 Issue usages and continuing with scarce destinations and important usages of the 1861–68 Issue. The sale includes numerous desirable 1861–68 Issue stamp shades used on cover, including the 3c Pigeon Blood Pink and the 24c Steel Blue, as well as five different 1861 90c covers and numerous sought-after grilled issues, alongside a wide range of domestic and foreign mail demonstrating key rates, routes, and treaty applications from the Civil War and postwar periods.”

Among the many impressive covers in the collection that will cross the Cherrystone auction block is an eye-catching three-color franking on a cover mailed March 4, 1865, from New York City to Corisco, West Africa.

From left to right, the franking consists of a single 1861 24¢ brown lilac Washington stamp (Scott 70a), a horizontal pair of 1861 30¢ orange Franklin stamps (71), and a horizontal pair of 1861 90¢ blue Washington stamps (72).

All five stamps are tied to the letter by segmented cork cancels. A transit marking near the center of the cover shows the letter transited through London, England, on March 17. A manuscript routing marking at lower left shows the cover traveled “via Fernando Po” on its way to Corisco.

Additional key details are provided in the lot description in the Cherrystone catalog:

“The $2.64 total franking pays eight times (weight between 3.5 - 4oz) the 33c British mail rate via American packet, effective May 1854 - January 1868. Carried via the American packet to England, then down the west coast of Africa via Fernando Po (now Bioko) and onward to Corisco Island, a small Presbyterian mission station located 18 miles southwest of the Río Muni estuary on the coast of what is today Equatorial Guinea.

“A visually stunning and historically important high-value multiple-rate usage - the only recorded example of the 90c 1861 Issue on cover to a West African destination and the largest recorded postage franking incorporating the 90c 1861 Issue to any overseas destination. The addressee, Reverend James Leighton Mackey, was a leading figure of the American Protestant Church’s missionary network who established and oversaw the Corisco Mission around 1850.”

Cherrystone notes that the cover, which has been lightly cleaned and has some minor edge restoration, is a “top exhibition-level rarity demonstrating the geographic reach of the classic U.S. 1861 Issue into West Africa.”

Cherrystone also draws bidders’ attention to the Herzog-Starnes census of 1861-68 90¢ uses (published in 1988 in The Chronicle of the U.S. Classic Postal Issues), which records just four covers to an African destination: three to Zanzibar and the cover to Corisco, West Africa, offered in this sale.

Cherrystone is offering this rare cover with a three-color franking of the 1861 issue that was mailed March 4, 1865, from New York City to Corisco, West Africa, with an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000.

As of mid-December 2025, the cover had received a bid of $17,000.

Overall, the collection is an impressive reflection of Drews’ attention to detail and passion for covers with great eye appeal and philatelic importance. Collectors desiring to begin or add to a collection of U.S. 1861-68 postal history will find much to capture their attention.

The catalog for the Jan. 21 auction of the Richard Drews collection of U.S. 1861-68 postal history can be viewed and is available for download on the Cherrystone website, www.cherrystoneauctions.com, with online bidding options available through Cherrystone.

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