Hi Folks, Nice to hear from long-time SOR member Bob Parkin with a new article for the files. Bob tells us the fascinating if rather dark story behind one of his recent cover acquisitions at: The Death of Alexander Boyd Esquire
fabulous article; great cancel (too bad the duck was used only once, on the embossed vignette). There is so much about America that is reminiscent of all that is evil and documented much more exhaustively elsewhere, but this cover and the article tell us that what separates us from the evil is merely time, and not that much of it.
and nice find for a buck David
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"Save the USPS, buy stamps; save the hobby, use commemoratives"
President - West Essex Philatelic Society www.wepsonline.org 13 Oct 2010 10:02:56pm
re: The Death of Alexander Boyd Esquire
Actually one of my references: Authentic history, Ku Klux Klan, 1865-1877 By Susan Lawrence Davis appears to be a pro-Ku Klux Klan book. Amazing what is out there on Google Books.
Geez! where do y'all get the time? I got boxes and bags and envelopes of stamps. Bet i got 2000 stamps I need to soak and probably 500 that needs watermarking.
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" I have a burning love for stamps. Lord A'mighty ,feel my temperature risin'! "
Dear Bob, Very nicely done, and close to Halloween to boot. A chiller for sure. As for the cancel, I came up empty trying to get a bit more for you. Thanks for the ice-cube down the shorts read! Dan C.
Support the Hobby -- Join the American Philatelic Society 15 Oct 2010 10:58:53am
re: The Death of Alexander Boyd Esquire
The cover was postmarked in Relf's Bluff, Lincoln County, Ark., where a post office existed until 1883. As for the 'duck' fancy cancel -- I am not so sure, but also not really an expert. Many cancellations that are simple inkblots / smears can be interpreted to represent objects etc. much like a Rorschach test.
Support the Hobby -- Join the American Philatelic Society 16 Oct 2010 05:33:55pm
re: The Death of Alexander Boyd Esquire
Bob, I don't want to appear more knowledgeable than I am -- I simply used Jim Forte's website on US post offices to figure out the cancel. I believe I posted the link once already, but it really is a great resource. Using the string search even partial town names in postmarks can usually be identified.
It certainly is a fascinating aspect of cover collecting that covers can be researched as historical artefacts, allowing to catch a glimpse of the lifes of sender and addressee, as well as philatelic collectibles. I would have passed up the cover you have written up so nicely, judging it solely from a limited marcophilic angle.
Dating the yearless postmark will represent a major challenge. One will need other (dateable) covers from the town and then may be able to narrow the year down based on characteristic wear of the postmark. Too bad received markings were not yet universally used at the time.
Thanks for sharing the article; it is a very enjoyable read.
President - West Essex Philatelic Society www.wepsonline.org 16 Oct 2010 09:19:54pm
re: The Death of Alexander Boyd Esquire
I went to a site on the web that supposedly listed cities in Arkansas. I just searched on the word Bluff and about 4 came up. Relfs Bluff was not one of them. When I just do a Google search on Relfs Bluff I do get many hits. I will keep the Jim Forte's link handy. Thanks, Bob
President - West Essex Philatelic Society www.wepsonline.org 29 Mar 2012 10:06:17am
re: The Death of Alexander Boyd Esquire
Last night I was watching Ku Klux Klan: A Secret History on the History 2 channel. They actually showed Alexander Boyd's grave stone where it is inscribed "Killed by the KKK". It is showing again at Midnight (ET) tonight.
Interestingly, you would assume that Alexander Boyd was African American in the context of the show as they were talking about how the KKK was terrorizing the newly freed slaves. As we now know from my article he was actually a caucasian investigating members of the KKK for the killing of several African American men accused of the murder of a white man.
