CSA 1, 5¢ green with clear to huge margins incorporating part of adjacent stamp at top, neatly tied by bold KNOXVILLE Tenn circular datestamp on fresh cover to Mrs. D.M. Key, Loudon, Tenn., by her husband. $300.

David McKendree Key (1824-1900) was a lawyer and US Senator from Tennessee from 1875 to 1877 and US Postmaster General from 1877 to 1880. He was opposed to the plans of the seceding states, but being in the minority in his own neighborhood, he accepted the appointment of lieutenant colonel of the 43rd Tennessee Infantry Regiment in the Confederate army and served throughout the war. In 1875, Key was appointed to Andrew Johnson's place in the US Senate when Johnson died. Key served until 1877, when President Hayes appointed him US Postmaster General, a position which he retained until 1880, when he was appointed judge of the eastern and middle districts of Tennessee.