1867 Cover with Painterly Cancellation: To Selectmen of Littleton, from Templeton MA matte blue glaze and energetically rendered green grass

and energetically rendered green grass out front

I'm pretty certain this dates to right around 1830

and either way would be a very good one to play on

and am always impressed by the labor and patience embodied in creations made of matchsticks

1867 Cover with Painterly Cancellation: To Selectmen of Littleton, from Templeton MA matte blue glaze and energetically rendered green grassI 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