The C.A. Stillions Collection of Washington D.C. Postal History

Abonito, Pto-Rico, 4 Dic. 98, double-circle datestamp ties 2¢ rose carmine (279Bc) pair , additional clear strike at left on buff cover to New York City, two strikes of purple "Due 1 Cent" straightline, "T" in circle and "Collect Postage 2 Cents" straightline also just ties pair, reverse with 2¢ Postage Due tied by grid cancel and "New York, M. & R." (12.11) arrival cds; small edge tear, Very Fine and scarce Spanish cds use, ex-Kugel .

Estimate  ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦  $300 - 400.

Adjuntas, Pto-Rico "3/8/99, Spanish cogged oval with ms. dating ties U.S. 2¢ red (279B) , slightly affected from edge placement, on Army and Navy Christian Commission flag patriotic cover endorsed "Soldiers Letter" to Detroit Mich., reverse with "Military Sta. 1, Porto Rico, Wash. D.C., Rec'd, Mar 9, 99" transit and Detroit (3.23) arrival cds; reduced at right with small stain, otherwise Very Fine and scarce use, ex-Kugel .

Estimate  ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦  $300 - 400.

Agua Buenas, Pto-Rico, 8 Mar 99, Spanish double-circle datestamp on cover bearing U.S. 2¢ rose carmine (279Bc) tied by Spanish oval grid on buff cover to Ponce, reverse with complete "Caguas Sta. Porto Rico, Rec'd Mar 8 '99" and bold "Military Sta. 1, Porto Rico, Wash. D.C., Rec'd Mar 8 '99" arrival cds; opened on three sides for display, Very Fine and scarce, ex-Kugel .

Estimate  ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦  $300 - 400.

Aguas Buenas was occupied 11 October 1898.

Aguadilla, Pto. Rico, 5 Set. 98, bold cds ties Puerto Rico, 5c light green, wax tax on cover to Ponce; reduced at right with some paper loss, Fine appearance.

Estimate  ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦  $150 - 200.

Official takover of Aguidilla post office by the United States was 1 October 1898. U.S. Troops occupied Aguadilla on 19 September 1898.

Arecibo Sta., Porto Rico, Nov 9 '98, duplex with barred oval ties U.S. 2¢ red (279B) , small flaws, on overall flag patriotic cover endorsed "Soldiers Letter" to Knoxville Tenn., Dec. 24th arrival backstamp; reduced slightly at left, some soiling and wear, F.-V.F.

Estimate  ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦  $150 - 200.

"Arroyo, 2/5", manuscript postmark cancel on two U.S. 2¢ rose carmine (279Bc) singles , tied by "Collect Postage - 2 Cents" on 1898 buff cover to Poughkeepsie N.Y., reverse with "Mil. Sta. No 4, W.D.C. San Juan, Porto Rico, Feb 6 '98" transit cds and Poughkeepsie N.Y. (2.21) arrival machine backstamp; top edge tears, one taped, otherwise Very Fine and scarce manuscript Arroyo use.

Estimate  ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦  $500 - 750.

"Arroyo, PR 1/23/99", manuscript provisional postmark ties U.S. 2¢ rose carmine (279Bc) on 1899 buff cover to Brooklyn N.Y., endorsed "Segt. S.S. Curtiss, Co. K, 47th N.Y. U.S.V.", reverse with " Mil. Sta. No 2, W.D.C. Guayama, Porto Rico, Rec'd, Jan 23 '99 " transit, Brooklyn (2.5) arrival cds; couple small tone spots, Very Fine.

Estimate  ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦  $500 - 750.

Cabo Rojo, Pto-Rico, 5 May 99, double-circle datestamp and "R" framed registry handstamp on 1899 registered cover bearing Porto Rico, 2¢ reddish carmine (211) , five singles tied by Spanish oval grids prepaid 2¢ rate plus 8¢ registry fee to Ponce, "Registered, Ponce, Porto Rico, May 6 1899" arrival backstamp; reduced slightly at left, faint toning, Very Fine, ex-Kugel .

Estimate  ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦  $300 - 400.

Cabo Rojo was occupied by U.S. forces on 12 August 1898, but did not receive U.S. postal devices.

El Dorado, Pto. Rico, 23 Abr. 99, mostly clear Spanish cds on cover bearing Porto Rico, 2¢ reddish carmine (211a) tied by framed "R" handstamp on cover to Ponce, reverse with sharp " Military Sta. 1, Porto Rico, Wash. D.C., Rec'd Apr 24 '99 " and " Mil. Sta. No. W.D.C. San Juan, Porto Rico, Rec'd. Apr 23 '99 "; opened for display and reduced slightly, corner tear, Fine and rare use, ex-Kugel .

Estimate  ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦  $300 - 400.

The earliest known use for Dorado was unlisted by DiPaolo due to the rarity of the use.

Fejardo, Pto-Rico, 18 Nov 98, bold double-circle datestamp ties U.S. 5¢ dark blue (281) on 1898 cover to New York City, reverse with "Mil.Sta. No 4, W.D.C. San Juan, Porto Rico, Rec'd, Nov 19 '98" transit cds and New York (11.27) arrival cds; faint toning, Very Fine and scarce Spanish cds use.

Estimate  ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦  $300 - 400.

American takeover of Fajardo post office reported as December 1, 1898.

Guanica Provisional, 1898 (5c) Violet Handstamp, light but clearly struck "Correos. Postal Guanica P.R. E.U. of A." handstamp and "Guanica Puerto Rico 22 Nov. 98" cds on buff cover addressed in Spanish to the assistant in charge of the lighthouse at San Juan, manuscript "Eu of A." at top (Estados Unidos of America), reverse with "Mil. Sta. No 7, W.D.C., Yauco, Porto Rico, Nov 22, 98" transit duplex and "Mil. Sta. No 4, W.D.C. San Juan, Porto Rico, Nov 24 '98" arrival cds; opened for display, edge faults and small tears, Fine appearance and extremely rare, ex-Sanborn, Preston, Scalley, Gallagher, Thompson .

Estimate  ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦  $3,000 - 4,000.

ONE OF ONLY TWO RECORDED EXAMPLES OF THE 1898 PROVISIONAL HANDSTAMP FROM GUANICA PUERTO RICO, EMPLOYED IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR WHEN REGULAR STAMPS WERE NOT AVAILABLE.

U.S. troops landed at Guanica on July 25, 1898, and moved swiftly east to Ponce, where the first military mail station was established on August 3. As with the more famous Coamo and Ponce adhesives, the Guanica Provisional was created to prepay the 5c for transmission inside Puerto Rico during the period of transition when stamps were not yet available. There are two types recorded and this is Type 2. Only two examples of this handstamp are known, the other dated Nov. 28. The inscription at top of this cover is an interesting political statement by the postmaster at Guanica, declaring the town to be part of the United States.

References: Illustrated in Puerto Rico Specialist (First Edition, Oct.-Dec. 1970) and in Stamp Specialist (Chartreuse Book, p. 79).

Morovis, Pto. Rico, 17 May 99, clear double-circle datestamp and negative handstamp on cover to San Juan, reverse with bold "Mil. Sta. No 4, W.d.C. San Juan, Porto Rico, May 18 '99" and "Vega Baja, Pto. Rico, 18 May 99" double-circle datestamp, Very Fine and rare use from Morovis, ex-Gallagher, Heimburger, Thompson .

Estimate  ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦  $500 - 750.

Quebradillas Provisional, 1898 (5c) violet Handstamp, cover with blue "Quebradillas, Pto-Rico, 9 Nov 98" cds and bearing violet "Ayuntamiento De Quebradillas/Alcaldia" double-oval postmark representing 5c postage paying the civilian single rate to Camuy; rough opening at right and top with portion torn away at top right, Fine, ex-Preston, García Lomas, Dávila, Thompson .

Estimate  ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦  $2,000 - 3,000.

THE ONLY RECORDED EXAMPLE OF THE QUEBRADILLAS MAYORALTY HANDSTAMP USED AS A PROVISIONAL.

The Quebradillas Provisional was made by altering the city mayor's official seal, removing the Spanish symbols inside. As in the other few towns with Provisionals, the mayor's office had control of the mails during the interim period before stamps became available.

Santurce (Pto. Rico) 25 Ene 99, blue Spanish postmark ties 2¢ Trans-Mississippi (286) with matching blue quartered cork on cover to New Haven Conn., endorsed "Soldiers Mail, 2nd Lieut. 7 art Commanding", blue crayon "10", reverse with "Mil.Sta. No 4, W.D.C. San Juan, Porto Rico, Rec'd, Jan 25 '99" transit cds and New Haven (2.6) machine arrival; small top left corner tear, F.-V.F. and scarce.

Estimate  ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦  $300 - 400.

At this time Santurce was operating as a branch of the San Juan office. This receiving strike predates the earliest May 14th 1899 recorded use on U.S. mails by almost five months.

Washington D.C. 1898-1901 Puerto Rico Military Stations, better collection of 58 covers and fronts on pages including Military Station #1 RMS use missing stamp, 1898 (Aug. 14) "Military Sta. 1, Porto Rico" soldiers letter 2¢ entire use, 1898 (Aug. 23) "Military Sta. 1, Porto Rico" soldiers letter postage due use, 1898 (Sep. 7) "Military Sta. 1, Porto Rico" use to France, 1899 (Feb. 16) "Military Sta. 1, Porto Rico" use with 5¢ Trans-Miss. #288, 1899 (Feb. 7) "Mil. Sta. No 2, W.D.C., Guayama, Porto Rico" use with U.S. 5¢ to New York City, 1899 (Apr. 12) "Mil. Sta. No 3, Mayaguez, Porto Rico" use of P.R. 5¢ blue #212 to Boston, 1899 (May 6) "Mil. Sta. No 3, Mayaguez, Porto Rico" use of US 1¢ green (279) two on cover to Ponce, 1899 "Mil. Sta. No 3, Mayaguez, Porto Rico" use of P.R. 5¢ blue #212 strip of three to New York City; 1899 "Mil. Sta. No 4 W.D.C., San Juan, Porto Rico" use of US 5¢ dark blue (2) to France, 1899 "Mil. Sta. No 4 W.D.C., San Juan, Porto Rico" use of P.R. 5¢ #212 to Spain; and name stations with Spanish cds strikes on fronts including Anasco (2), Arecibo, Cabo Rojo, Camuy, Cayey, Isabela (3), Rio Piedras (2), San German, San Sebastian (4) and Yabucoa, plus one post invasion use from the Charleston Hotel after renovations; some mixed condition and faults, F.-V.F. and scarce group.

Estimate  ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦  $1,000 - 1,500.