Rhode Island Stamp Issues and Covers 1901 to 1950
August 30, 1925 Philatelic Cover with 1912 & 1925 Imperforates Attached
Scott #408 (1 Cent Washington Dark Green)
Scott #575 (1 Cent Franklin Green)
(Scroll Down for Background Information)

SEE ALSO: 1936 TIN CAN MAIL to George Champlin for further information on Walter Quensell & the history of the Tin-Can Mail service.

The cover above was sent from Niuafo'ou in the Tongan Islands. It is franked with a Queen Salote 7^1/2 Pence definitive (Scott #60 - issued 1920-1935) and the 6 pence Breadfruit definitive (Scott #46 - issued 1897-1934).

The registered mail cover was received by the registry section of the San Francisco Post Office in California on August 25, 1938 and forwarded to Providence, Rhode Island where it was received on August 29. The Providence address was crossed out and changed to Boothbay, Maine. The letter was then forwarded again to Mary Young in Boothbay, Maine where it was received on August 31. Both of the Tongan stamps are tied by a Niuafo'ou cancellation in black and there is a registry number 977 at the bottom left. The reverse of the covers bears registry receive cancellations from San Francisco, Providence and Boothbay. Both the Face and the Reverse of the Cover bear special cachets and markings placed by Walter. G. Quensell.

(Use the Full Size Links above to view the cachets in more detail.)

Mary L. Young was born in 1875 in Massachusetts and is listed on the Providence Census of 1910 as a public school teacher. Both of her parents are listed as having been born in Maine and she was most likely living with family there when this letter was forwarded. On the 1920 Providence Census, she is listed as a Grammar School Teacher and as companion to a Mr. Charles Hill. Mr. Hill was 74 years old in 1920 and is listed as a Real-Estate Agent. It is probable that Mary received free boarding and a small stipend for her services. Charles E. Hill is listed on the 1930 Census, however at this time Mary was no longer living with him and there is no further record of her in the Census.

Janet Klug of the Tin Can Mail Study Circle compiled and placed all of the known variations of Quensell and Tin Can Mail Cachets in a catalogue. A more comprehensive coverage of "Tin Can Mail" cachet information can be viewed online at Peter and Betty Billingham's Web-Site. A list of the cachets on the face and reverse of the cover above with years of usage and rarity follows below.

Rarity Rating
1. Very Common
2. Common
3. Uncommon
4. Scarce
5. Rare
6. Very Rare

Cachet Markings on the Face
    
* Canoe & Tin Can Graphic -- Black; Rarity 3; Used 1935-1944
* Double Ring Niuafo'ou Cancellation in Black Used 1935-1962
* Niuafo'ou Island Graphic -- Black; Rarity 1; Used 1936-1945
* Circular Stamp "Blechdosen Post" with Lat & Long -- Violet; Rarity 1; Used 1935-1944
* Circular Stamp "Tin Can Mail" -- Blue; Rarity 1; Used 1936-1945
* Straight Line "Tin Can Mail Niuafoou Island - Tonga" -- Purple; Rarity 1; Used 1935-1942
* Rectangular Box "Niuafoou" -- Violet; Rarity 4; Used 1930-1939
    
Cachet Markings on the Reverse
    
* All straight line Text from Top Center down are Rarity 1 in various colors; used between 1935/36-1941/45
* Circular Stamp Top-Left "Tin Can Mail Office" -- Violet; Rarity 3; Used July 26-August 26, 1938
* Circular Stamp Top-Right "Walt. Geo. Quensell" -- Black; Rarity 1; Used 1935-1944
* Rectangular Box at Left "Post Caintin" -- Black; Rarity 1; Used 1936-1945
* Rectangular Box Bottom-Center "Original Tin Can Mail Cover" -- Black; Rarity 2; Used 1935-1946
* Rectangular Box Bottom-Right "Outward Tin Can Mail" -- Blue; Rarity 1; Used 1937-1945
* Signature "Walt: Geo Quensell" -- Black; Rarity 1; Used 1936-1946

SEE: 1936 TIN CAN MAIL to George Champlin for further information on Walter Quensell & the history of the Tin-Can Mail service.