My passion for auxiliary marks led me to this 1859 letter with "Printed Circular" in a balloon in blue.
The stamp is US Scott 24. The cancel is not very clear. You can make out an EAN or New Orleans, La. On the inside of the letter is a printed circular. It appears to be some news related to the goings on of business and commerce in New Orleans.
Were these what were referred to as agents, who sent regular missives on perhaps a subscription basis? It appears he just etched out his information onto a plate which was then inked and pressed onto the letter. I will see if I can get a picture of the writingon the inside.
Here is a closeup of the stamp in case someone wants to prove me wrong (by all means, please do).
It did strike me odd that the stamp was cut the way it was. I have tried to do a little poking around. Some stamps of the era do show evidence of mechanized or semi-mechanized dispensing.
I wonder. Would the stamp have been dispensed vertically or horizontally.