First posted this on 2/2/2017, thought I'd repost it to show that Boston used several tints of red for their postage due mark.
Richard Frajola had a Postage Due exhibit on his site a few years ago that was quite informative.
New York's pre-cancel "String of Pearls" and Boston's red cross were not the only large city's "fancy" due mark, Chiago also had a large purplish C, that I never found a copy of.
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