Mansfield & Higbee
S. Mansfield & Company
Samuel Mansfield began as an apothecary in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1840. Around 1870 he entered into partnership with Hugh H. Higbee to act as agents for and to manufacture proprietary medicines. These included Mansfield's Hungarian Balsam for the Lungs, Mansfield's Eclectic Pile Salve and Mansfield's Mississippi Diarrohea Cordial, among others. The company ordered a private die stamp, and instructed Joseph R. Carpenter to perforate some in sets of four and some in pairs in addition to regular full perforation.
The total number of stamps issued from September of 1871 until April of 1875 was 1,354,100, all on silk paper. How that number is split between each format is not known.
Single stamps and pairs are seen with one straight edge. These were cut from larger multiples, and are considered to be defective copies.
Mansfield was on his own by 1875. The stamps were revised to reflect the change, and were issued under the new name from 1875 until December 29, 1882. 1,399,500 were issued on silk, pink and watermarked papers, perforated in three formats as before. Again, a copy with a straight edge was cut down from a larger multiple.
The single stamp above is on watermarked paper, while the pair and block of four are on silk paper.
An 1885 cover sent by Mansfield's Advertising Department.