Details
POLK, SARAH K., First Lady. Autograph free frank ("Free Mrs. J.K. Polk") on envelope addressed in her hand to "Majr. John H. Bills, Bolivar, Tennessee," no postmark, n.d., two clean tears at top edge (repaired from verso), two small, light, circular stains in blank portion, otherwise in good condition.
A LEGENDARY RARITY: ONE OF ONLY TWO COMPLETE EXAMPLES KNOWN
Sarah Childless Polk, widowed by the death of James Knox Polk in 1849, preferred to use her husband's middle initial in her correspondence. She was granted the franking privilege by Congress on 10 January 1850, and held it fully 41 years (the longest period of all of the Presidential widows), until her death in 1891. It is therefore very surprising to note the extreme rarity of her franked covers, of which only three, one fragmentary, seem to be extant:
1) The present example, illustrated in Edward Stern, History of the 'Free Franking' of Mail in the United States, (New York, 1936), p.154
2) Another, on a letter addressed to Mrs. Marshall T. Polk, dated 26 September 1858 (the only example bearing a postmark), acquired by Stern prior to 1940 (illustrated in his "Supplement to the History of the 'Free Franking' of Mail in the United States,' in Collectors Club Philately, vol.23, no.1 (January 1944), p.14.
3) Another example, a partial cover signed "Sarah Polk," acquired by Stern at the same time as the above (illustrated as above)
Many well-known frank collections (Morton Dean Joyce, Grunin, Hessel) lacked an example of Sarah Polk.
Provenance: Edward Stern (sale, 4-10-1940, lot__ - Anonymous owner (sale, Siegel, 12 January 1971, lot ___) - Creighton C. Hart.
A LEGENDARY RARITY: ONE OF ONLY TWO COMPLETE EXAMPLES KNOWN
Sarah Childless Polk, widowed by the death of James Knox Polk in 1849, preferred to use her husband's middle initial in her correspondence. She was granted the franking privilege by Congress on 10 January 1850, and held it fully 41 years (the longest period of all of the Presidential widows), until her death in 1891. It is therefore very surprising to note the extreme rarity of her franked covers, of which only three, one fragmentary, seem to be extant:
1) The present example, illustrated in Edward Stern, History of the 'Free Franking' of Mail in the United States, (New York, 1936), p.154
2) Another, on a letter addressed to Mrs. Marshall T. Polk, dated 26 September 1858 (the only example bearing a postmark), acquired by Stern prior to 1940 (illustrated in his "Supplement to the History of the 'Free Franking' of Mail in the United States,' in Collectors Club Philately, vol.23, no.1 (January 1944), p.14.
3) Another example, a partial cover signed "Sarah Polk," acquired by Stern at the same time as the above (illustrated as above)
Many well-known frank collections (Morton Dean Joyce, Grunin, Hessel) lacked an example of Sarah Polk.
Provenance: Edward Stern (sale, 4-10-1940, lot__ - Anonymous owner (sale, Siegel, 12 January 1971, lot ___) - Creighton C. Hart.