Larry Lyons was our speaker for November on “Hussey’s Post.” Larry brought two albums filled with his award-winning and incredibly comprehensive collection of both stamps and covers of this long-running local post. If anything, his collection was overwhelming!
Larry first pointed out Hussey’s was not really a local post but a special messenger post, that specialized in bills, notices, invitations and other matter produced by various businesses.
Accordingly, Hussey’s was allowed to stay in business for several decades, during which it utilized many different stamps and handstamped markings (virtually all of which were represented in the collection.)
Highlights included: earliest stampless cover (May, 1855); earliest recorded Hussey stamp on cover (1856); unique ½ cent handstamp; full sheets of many Hussey stamps; transcontinental conjunctive use with Wells Fargo; use on overall illustrated insurance cover; time-posted labels; and an example of a one cent coin minted by Hussey in 1863 due to a coin shortage.
One of the key aspects of this collection was that a large percentage of the covers shown were either unique or very rare (e.g., one of three known). Needless to say, we all enjoyed viewing Larry’s exhibit!