Lynchburg, Va., 5¢ blue #52X1, mostly large margins, including small portion of adjoining stamp at upper left, tied by town postmark on neat cover to Dr. George W. Bagby, Richmond, Va. One nicest of the fewer than 30 Lynchburg provisional stamps known on cover. Very Fine. Of the 25 single Lynchburg provisional stamps recorded on cover in the Calhoun census, about one-third have stamps with four full margins, while the majority are cut into on one side. The few known pairs demonstrate the extremely narrow spacing between stamps. Ex Sam Williams. SCV $6,500. $5,000.

George William Bagby (1828-1883) was a physician, editor, journalist, essayist, and humorist. He is best remembered as the editor who, on the advent of the Civil War, turned the Southern Literary Messenger from a respected literary journal into a propagandist tool that endorsed secession and the Confederate cause. After the war, Bagby attempted, but failed, to make a living as a humorist. As assistant to the secretary of the commonwealth—which, by law, also made him state librarian—Bagby wrote his most well-regarded essay, "The Old Virginia Gentleman" (1877). Many of his essays reflect his personal conflicts with Virginia and the South: at times he is objective, even critical; at others, he is sentimental and celebrates the "old days" of a better (pre-Civil War) Virginia. Source: Encyclopedia of Virginia.