1867 Cover with Painterly Cancellation: To Selectmen of Littleton, from Templeton MA printed doll as bright and crisp and

as bright and crisp and clean as if made yesterday

complete with choppy blue sea

with the larger stencils producing letters that are 1 inch tall and the smaller letters that are 1/2" tall

dyed a darker brown

1867 Cover with Painterly Cancellation: To Selectmen of Littleton, from Templeton MA printed doll as bright and crisp andI was recently reminded, coming upon this and a couple of other covers envelopes listed today, of the beauty of fancy old cancellation marks and this one to my eye is about as beautiful as it gets. Beyond the star like mark itself, for me it's also about how that black ink stamp interacts with the rest of the elements in this case simultaneously blotting out and illuminating the pinkish red of the 3 cent stamp, perfectly centered over it, with the