Summary

Second Bill of Exchange (No.407) issued by Adams & Co.'s Australian Express, Melbourne, 10th Nov 1853, to Adams & Co., San Francisco, California, for payment of US$ 909 & 67 cents to the order of Samuel Brockhurst. The blank bill was printed by Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co., of New York & Philadelphia, a firm who specialised in the engraving and printing of paper securities such as private bank notes and postage stamps.

Founded in 1829 in Philadelphia by the engraver Charles Toppan, the business became Draper, Toppan & Co in 1837, then Toppan, Carpenter & Co. in 1843 after John Draper left the partnership and was replaced by Samuel Carpenter. In 1850, the firm's name changed again to Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co. when the talented young designer and engraver, John W. Casilear, was also admitted as a partner. In 1858, after Casilear left the firm to pursue a career as an artist, the remaining partners merged with several competitors to form the American Bank Note Co., in which Toppan, Carpenter & Co. held just under a one-quarter shareholding. Although the bulk of their business lay in the printing of various forms of promissory notes and other negotiable securities for private companies, Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co are best known for their work in producing the second general issue of pre-paid U.S. postal stamps that were in circulation from 1851 to 1861, and in the design and production of the 1851 "Eagle Carrier" stamps produced for pre-paid home delivery postal services in larger U.S. cities. It was the latter stamp design which first featured the bald eagle image that was repeated in this Bill of Exchange design for the Australian branch of Adams & Co.'s Express.

The Adams Express Company was a parcel express and freight forwarding company, founded in 1839 by the produce merchant Alvin Adams, in Massachusetts, U.S.A. By the mid 19th century the firm had grown into one of the largest private freight and shipping agents on the east coast of the United States. Following the outbreak of the Californian gold rushes, they opened a branch in California in 1850 under the title Adams & Co., and in December 1852 they dispatched a partner George Mowton to Melbourne to establish an Australian branch. He arrived at Port Phillip from New York on 18th April 1853, with his young family, and within a fortnight was advertising that "Adam's & Co's Great American and European Express" would establish a service to Europe, America and California, from about 1st May, "for the conveyance of Gold dust, specie (coins), packages, &c".
The offices were at the corner of Queen & Collins Streets, Melbourne.

Physical Description

Second Bill of Exchange printed in blue ink on white paper with three small engraved illustrations.

Obverse Description

Features the number '2' set in flourished scrolled shields at the top and bottom left-hand corners with an illustration of the ancient Greek goddess of Themis (representing Justice) who is seated holding a sword in her right hand and a set of balance scales in her raised left hand. In the centre at the top is as illustration of a young Queen Victoria wearing a crown and jewels, in an oval window at the centre of the British coat of arms with the motto 'DIEU ET HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE MONDROIT' in old French (meaning: "Shamed be he who thinks evil of it") printed on the garter, with a Lion and Unicorn on either side. In the centre at the bottom is an American Bald Eagle perched on a branch with wings raised.

Reverse Description

Plain with handwritten near left-hand edge '407 / Melbourne / Nov 10/54' (sic).

Significance

Statement of Significance:
This object is also of numismatic significance as an example of the work of one of the leading U.S. specialist postal issue printers and Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co.employing an unusual association of imagery in its engravings.

1c, 3c, 5c, 10c & 12c Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson.

Charles Toppan opened his own engraving business in Philadelphia in 1829. He was thirty-three years old. Other engraving firms-Draper, Underwood, Bald, Spencer & Hufty, for instance-were already well-established in the city. But it would be Charles Toppan & Co., after multiple partnerships and transformations, which would engrave and print some of the most notable stamps in U.S. philately.

John Draper of Draper, Underwood, Bald, Spencer & Hufty left his own firm in 1837 to join Toppan and James Longacre in a new business venture. Longacre left Draper, Toppan & Co. in 1840. Four years later he became chief engraver of the United States Mint, a position he held until his death in 1869. There he designed and engraved both the Indian Head penny and the first 20-dollar Double Eagle.

Samuel Carpenter had joined Draper, Toppan & Co. by 1843 and became a principal partner when the Draper-Toppan partnership dissolved. The company then took the name Toppan, Carpenter & Co. Designer and engraver John W. Casilear joined as a principal partner in 1850, at which point the final iteration of the company name was complete- Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co. In 1851, with these three principal partners and two junior partners, Henry E. Saulnier and William C. Smillie, the company submitted its bid for the new United States postage stamp contract.

Concurrent with the contract competition, Congress passed the Act of March 3, 1851, titled "An Act to reduce and modify the Rates of Postage in the United States." To encourage public use of the federal postal system, it established new, usually reduced, rates for more types of usages than any previous legislation and increased the postal distances per rate by up to ten times-for example, from three hundred to 3,000 miles. These included a one-cent rate for printed matter; a new three-cent rate to replace the earlier five- and ten-cent rates for letters; and ten-, twelve-, and thirty-cent rates and above for more complex usages. The act drove the need for new stamps of varying denominations.

Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co. was awarded a six-year contract (1851-1857), which was later extended to 1861. In the mid-1850s, Casilear left the company to become a professional artist. His works are held in important U.S. museums. When Casilear left and the company name reverted to Toppan, Carpenter & Co., the remaining partners merged with several other firms (including Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson) to form the American Bank Note Company. Toppan, Carpenter & Co. had a 22.4 percent share in this new company. Stamps printed after the 1858 merger would still carry the Toppan, Carpenter & Co. name.

The printer (imprint at bottom) was Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co. who were the printers of the 1851 regular issue of United States postage stamps and also the 1851 "Eagle Carrier" stamp used for prepaying delivery within the largest U.S. cities. The eagle on your bill of exchange is the same eagle as used on the carrier stamp. The image of Queen Victoria is from the 1837 portrait of the new queen painted by Alfred Edward Chalon. That portrait is seen used on many early British Commonwealth postage stamps including Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Bahamas, Grenada, Natal, New Zealand, Queensland, Tasmania and other colonies. The same portrait was also used on some early Canada and provinces banknotes. The portrait shows the queen descending a staircase - only the head was used on postage stamps although New Zealand issued a souvenir sheet in 1988 showing the full portrait. If you Google "Alfred E. Chalon 1837 portrait of Queen Victoria" you will find additional information and an image of the New Zealand souvenir sheet. Stamp dealers in Melbourne should have examples of the souvenir sheet which, being a recent issue, is not rare.

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