To include: (24) Antebellum Letters commencing in 1842, with the bulk being addressed to Miss Lydia F. Blake between 1859 and early 1861. The content is primarily family news, however one letter from Washington, dated January 19, 1861 recalls South Carolinians firing on "The Star of the West" as that ship sought to relieve Fort Sumter. The writer states that "...I wish Maj. Anderson had of shot the heads off of each one & laid Charleston in ashes...and look at their assumption. Lincoln they say is not the cause of it; they have wanted this Union destroyed since the Nullification..." (17) of the letters have covers carrying the 3-cent postage of the era. Average condition is very good. (41) War-Date Confederate Letters, mostly from North Carolina locales to Lydia F. Blake in Lumberton and Fayetteville. This correspondence is largely of philatelic and genealogical interest since military affairs are seldom mentioned here. Only (2) letters lack covers. Highlights include: (7) letters on the Wilmington & Manchester Rail Road Co. letterhead. The writer Ð William H. Bayne of Fayetteville Ð worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C. until North Carolina seceded from the Union; (4) better covers bearing respectively the Fayetteville PAID 10 handstamp, CSA #1, CSA #2 and CSA #4; (3) scarce covers from early 1862 with single CSA #6 stamps per the pre-July rate; (1) unusual cover with three CSA #12s tied by the Lumberton, NC cds. Most of the covers have minor areas of loss, stains, or both and average good condition. War-Date Manuscript Slave Bill of Sale, one page, oblong 8vo, Cumberland Co., NC, October 17, 1864, wherein Mrs. M. F. Blake sells ÒBecky AnnÓ to Mr. W. P. Hall for the microscopic sum of one dollar (Confederate!). An explanation at the bottom of the receipt notes that ÒThe above named woman is unsound.Ó Fine condition. Steamboat Business Card for the Frank and Jerry Steamboat Line, Fayetteville and Wilmington, NC, circa 1860, illustrated with a steamer vignette. A rare piece of antebellum advertising for a shipping company plying the Cape Fear River. The verso is imprinted with a poem to Lydia. Stains, chips. Very good condition. (18) Post-War Stamped Covers variously to John H. Tysor and Lydia F. Tysor at TysorÕs Mills and Egypt Depot, Chatham Co., NC, late 1860s Ð 1880s. Some covers retain family letters, plus (3) late 1860s letters without covers. Poor to very fine condition.

$800 - 1,200