US Locals - Westerfelt's Post

 

Charles H. Westervelt was the proprietor of the East Chester Cigar, Tobacco and Confectionery shop in the center of East Chester. He engaged in the business of taking letters to the Post Office in Chester, charging one cent for letters and two cents for packages.

His first typeset stamp was the only one that saw postal use.

The following 2 issues , one with an Indian head an a third with a facsimile of Grant were produced for the philatelic trade although a few may have seen postal use.

First issue

Black on Pale Grayish Red

Black on Pale Blue

Genuine features

Type 1: Bottom left corner ornament broken. No serif on the left top of 'Y'

Type 2: Right bottom corner ornament misplaced. No serif on the left top of 'Y'

Type 3: Left border rather wavy

Type 4: Both the bottom right corner ornament and the upper rigth corner ornament are placed too high

Type 5: corner upper left ornament has a missing bottom part

Type 6: bottom corner ornaments are normal 'stars'

Forgeries

Except for the Hussey forgeries, the other do not match the original and fall into the area of bogus issues

Forgery A - Hussey

Forgery B - W.P. Brown

Forgery C - Scott

Forgery D

Forgery E

Forgery E

Forgery F

Forgery H

Second Issue

According to the Scott catalogue this stamp should have the colour: red on pink. Other sources say, that stamps in different colors were sold, mainly to collectors, as well. This was a more or less philatelic issue, six different types exist in the sheet (mainly differing in the border setting). The six types can be distinguished with:

Type 1: There is an "i" in the lower border

Type 2: There is an "i" in the upper ornaments above the "v".

Type 3: All corner ornaments are turned 45 degrees (i.e. only pointing up or down)

Type 4: Lower left and right ornaments are pointing 'outwards' (thus not at an angle of 45 degrees as in most other types).

Type 5: Lower right ornament different

Type 6: No "i"s in lower or upper borders.

There is a reprint but I do not have any samples

Forgeries

Taylor forgeries
Key feature is the lack of a period after POST

As is typical with Taylor they wee printed in some 20+ colors

Forgery B - Hussey?

There is a rare forgery C from Scott.

There is no shading on the chin

The feathers lack shading

No period after post

Third Issue

Issued in colors

Black on Green

Black on Yellow

Black on Deep Pink

Black on Pale Blue Horizontally Laid Paper

Black on Orange

Red on Green

Red on White Wove Paper

144L39 strip of 3

144L40

Apparently a card proof

A badly worn late printing?

144LU3 cutout from a postal envelope on the top left

It probably had no franking value