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diff --git a/old/53431-0.txt b/old/53431-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 21df2af..0000000 --- a/old/53431-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9113 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Chats on Postage Stamps, by Frederick John Melville - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Chats on Postage Stamps - -Author: Frederick John Melville - -Release Date: November 2, 2016 [EBook #53431] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS *** - - - - -Produced by Susan Skinner, Adrian Mastronardi, The -Philatelic Digital Library Project at http://www.tpdlp.net -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/American -Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - -CHATS ON -POSTAGE STAMPS - - - - -BOOKS FOR COLLECTORS - - -_With Frontispieces and many Illustrations -Large Crown 8vo, cloth._ - - CHATS ON ENGLISH CHINA. - By Arthur Hayden. - - CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE. - By Arthur Hayden. - - CHATS ON OLD PRINTS. - (How to collect and value Old Engravings.) - By Arthur Hayden. - - CHATS ON COSTUME. - By G. Woolliscroft Rhead. - - CHATS ON OLD LACE AND NEEDLEWORK. - By E. L. Lowes. - - CHATS ON ORIENTAL CHINA. - By J. F. Blacker. - - CHATS ON OLD MINIATURES. - By J. J. Foster, F.S.A. - - CHATS ON ENGLISH EARTHENWARE. - By Arthur Hayden. - - CHATS ON AUTOGRAPHS. - By A. M. Broadley. - - CHATS ON PEWTER. - By H. J. L. J. Massé, M.A. - - CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS. - By Fred. J. Melville. - - CHATS ON OLD JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS. - By MacIver Percival. - - CHATS ON COTTAGE AND FARMHOUSE FURNITURE. - By Arthur Hayden. - - CHATS ON OLD COINS. - By Fred. W. Burgess. - - CHATS ON OLD COPPER AND BRASS. - By Fred. W. Burgess. - - CHATS ON HOUSEHOLD CURIOS. - By Fred. W. Burgess. - - CHATS ON OLD SILVER. - By Arthur Hayden. - - CHATS ON JAPANESE PRINTS. - By Arthur Davison Ficke. - - CHATS ON MILITARY CURIOS. - By Stanley C. Johnson. - - CHATS ON OLD CLOCKS AND WATCHES. - By Arthur Hayden. - - CHATS ON ROYAL COPENHAGEN PORCELAIN. - By Arthur Hayden. - - * * * * * - -LONDON: T. FISHER UNWIN, LTD. -NEW YORK: F. A. STOKES COMPANY - - * * * * * - -[Illustration: SIR ROWLAND HILL. - -(_From the painting by J. A. Vinter, R.A., in the National Portrait -Gallery._) - -Frontispiece.] - - - - -CHATS ON -POSTAGE STAMPS - -BY - -FRED J. MELVILLE - -PRESIDENT OF THE JUNIOR PHILATELIC SOCIETY - -WITH SEVENTY-FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS - -NEW YORK - -FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY -PUBLISHERS - - -(_All rights reserved._) - - - - -PREFACE - - -Come and chat in my stamp-den, that I may encircle you with fine-spun -webs of curious and rare interest, and bind you for ever to Philately, -by which name we designate the love of stamps. The "den" presents -no features which would at first sight differentiate it from a snug -well-filled library, but a close inspection will reveal that many of -the books are not the products of Paternoster Row or of Grub Street. -Yet in these stamp-albums we shall read, if you will have the kindness -to be patient, many things which are writ upon the postage-stamps of -all nations, as in a world of books. - -It is not given to all collectors to know their postage-stamps. There -is the collector who merely accumulates specimens without studying -them. He has eyes, but he does not see more than that this stamp is -red and that one is blue. He has ears, but they only hear that this -stamp cost £1,000, and that this other can be purchased wholesale at -sixpence the dozen. What shall it profit him if he collect many stamps, -but never discover their significance as factors in the rapid spread -of civilisation in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries? The true -student of stamps will extract from them all that they have to teach; -he will read from them the development of arts and manufactures, -social, commercial and political progress, and the rise and fall of -nations. - -To the young student our pleasant pastime of stamp-collecting has to -offer an encouragement to habits of method and order, for without these -collecting can be productive of but little pleasure or satisfaction. -It will train him to be ever observant of the _minutiæ_ that matter, -and it will broaden his outlook as he surveys his stamps "from China to -Peru." - -The present volume is not intended as a complete guide to the -postage-stamps of the world; it is rather a companion volume to the -standard catalogues and numerous primers already available to the -collector. It has been my endeavour to indicate what counts in modern -collecting, and to emphasise those features of the higher Philately -of to-day which have not yet been fully comprehended by the average -collector. Some of my readers may consider that I have unduly appraised -the value in a stamp collection of pairs and blocks, proofs and essays, -of documental matter, and also that too much has been demanded in the -matter of condition. But all these things are of greater importance -than is realised by even the majority of members of the philatelic -societies. Condition in particular is a factor which, if disregarded, -will not only result in the formation of an unsatisfactory collection, -but will lessen, if not ruin, the collection as an investment. It -has been thought that as time passed on the exacting requirements of -condition would have to be relaxed through the gradual absorption -of fine copies of old stamps in great collections. The effect has, -however, been simply to raise the prices of old stamps in perfect -condition. It may be taken as a general precept that a stamp in fine -condition at a high price is a far better investment than a stamp in -poor condition at any price. - -In preparing the illustrations for this volume I am indebted to several -collectors and dealers, chiefly to Mr. W. H. Peckitt, who has lent me -some of the fine items from the "Avery" collection, to Messrs. Stanley -Gibbons, Ltd., whose name is as a household word to stamp-collectors -all over the world, and to Messrs. Charles Nissen, D. Field, and -Herbert F. Johnson. - -I should also be omitting a very important duty if I failed to -acknowledge the general readiness of collectors, and especially of my -colleagues the members of the Junior Philatelic Society both at home -and abroad, in keeping me constantly _au courant_ with new information -connected with the pursuit of Philately. Without such assistance in -the past, this work, and the score of others which have come from my -pen, could never have been undertaken; and perhaps the best token of -my appreciation of so many kindnesses will be to beg (as I now do) the -favour of their continuance in the future. - - FRED J. MELVILLE. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - -PREFACE 7 - -PHILATELIC TERMS 21 - - -CHAPTER I - -THE GENESIS OF THE POST 55 - - The earliest letter-carriers--The Roman _posita_--Princely - Postmasters of Thurn and Taxis--Sir Brian Tuke--Hobson - of "Hobson's Choice"--The General Letter Office of - England--Dockwra's Penny Post of 1680--Povey's "Halfpenny - Carriage"--The Edinburgh and other Penny Posts--Postal rates - before 1840--Uniform Penny Postage--The Postage Stamp regarded - as the royal _diplomata_--The growth of the postal business. - - -CHAPTER II - -THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN IDEA 77 - - Early instances of contrivances to denote prepayment - of postage--The "Two-_Sous_" Post--_Billets de port - payé_--A passage of wit between the French Sappho and M. - Pellisson--Dockwra's letter-marks--Some fabulous stamped - wrappers of the Dutch Indies--Letter-sheets used in - Sardinia--Lieut. Treffenberg's proposals for "Postage Charts" - in Sweden--The postage-stamp idea "in the air"--Early British - reformers and their proposals--The Lords of the Treasury start - a competition--Mr. Cheverton's prize plan--A find of papers - relating to the contest--A square inch of gummed paper--The - Sydney embossed envelopes--The Mulready envelope--The - Parliamentary envelopes--The adhesive stamp popularly preferred - to the Mulready envelope. - - -CHAPTER III - -SOME EARLY PIONEERS OF PHILATELY 113 - - "Hobbyhorsical" collections--The application of the term - "Foreign Stamp Collecting"--The Stamp Exchange in Birchin - Lane--A celebrated lady stamp-dealer--The Saturday rendezvous - at the All Hallows Staining Rectory--Prominent collectors - of the first period--The first stamp catalogues--The words - _Philately_ and _Timbrologie_--Philatelic periodicals--Justin - Lallier's albums--The Philatelic Society, London. - - -CHAPTER IV - -ON FORMING A COLLECTION 133 - - The cost of packet collections--The beginner's - album--Accessories--Preparation of stamps for mounting--The - requirements of "condition"--The use of the stamp-hinge--A - suggestion for the ideal mount--A handy gauge for use in - arranging stamps--"Writing-up." - - -CHAPTER V - -THE SCOPE OF A MODERN COLLECTION 151 - - The historical collection: literary and philatelic--The quest - for _rariora_--The "grangerising" of philatelic monographs: its - advantages and possibilities--Historic documents--Proposals and - essays--Original drawings--Sources of stamp-engravings--Proofs - and trials--Comparative rarity of some stamps in pairs, &c., or - on original envelopes--Coloured postmarks--Portraits, maps, and - contemporary records--A lost opportunity. - - -CHAPTER VI - -ON LIMITING A COLLECTION 197 - - The difficulties of a general collection--The unconscious - trend to specialism--Technical limitations: Modes of - production; Printers--Geographical groupings: Europe and - divisions--Suggested groupings of British Colonies--United - States, Protectorates and Spheres of Influence--Islands of the - Pacific--The financial side of the "great" philatelic countries. - - -CHAPTER VII - -STAMP-COLLECTING AS AN INVESTMENT 209 - - The collector, the dealer, and the combination--The factor - of expense--Natural rise of cost--Past possibilities in - British "Collector's Consols," in Barbados, in British - Guiana, in Canada, in "Capes"--Modern speculations: Cayman - Islands--Further investments: Ceylon, Cyprus, _Fiji Times_ - Express, Gambia, India, Labuan, West Indies--The "Post - Office" Mauritius--The early Nevis, British North America, - Sydney Views, New Zealand--Provisionals: _bonâ fide_ and - speculative--Some notable appreciations--"Booms." - - -CHAPTER VIII - -FORGERIES, FAKES, AND FANCIES 237 - - Early counterfeits and their exposers--The "honest" - facsimile--"Album Weeds"--Forgeries classified--Frauds on - the British Post Office--Forgeries "paying" postage--The One - Rupee, India--Fraudulent alteration of values--The British 10s. - and £1 "Anchor"--A too-clever "fake"--Joined pairs--Drastic - tests--New South Wales "Views" and "Registered"--The Swiss - Cantonals--Government "imitations"--"Bogus" stamps. - - -CHAPTER IX - -FAMOUS COLLECTIONS 261 - - The "mania" in the 'sixties--Some wonderful early - collections--The first auction sale--Judge Philbrick and his - collection--The Image collection--Lord Crawford's "United - States" and "Great Britain"--Other great modern collections--M. - la Rénotière's "legions of stamps"--Synopsis of sales of - collections. - - -CHAPTER X - -ROYAL AND NATIONAL COLLECTIONS 303 - - The late Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha as a collector--King - George's stamps: Great Britain, Mauritius, British Guiana, - Barbados, Nevis--The "King of Spain Reprints"--The late Grand - Duke Alexis Michaelovitch--Prince Doria Pamphilj--The "Tapling" - Collection--The Berlin Postal Museum--The late Duke of - Leinster's bequest to Ireland--Mr. Worthington's promised gift - to the United States. - -BIBLIOGRAPHY 333 - -INDEX 351 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - -ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT - - PAGE - -Perforation Gauge 43 - -The Commemorative Letter Balance designed by Mr. S. King, of Bath - (1840). A monument "which may be possessed by every family in the - United Kingdom" 72 - -Mr. King's Letter Balance had a tripod base, as in the uppermost - figure, thus affording three tablets on which the associations of - J. Palmer, Rowland Hill, and Queen Victoria with postal reform - are recorded 73 - -A Facsimile of the Address Side of a Penny Post Letter in 1686, - showing the "Peny Post Payd" mark instituted by Dockwra and - continued by the Government authorities 83 - -Facsimile of the Contents of the Penny Post Letter of 1686 84 - -The Official Notification of December 3, 1818, relating to the use - of the Sardinian Letter Sheets. Described in the records of the - Schroeder collection as "the oldest official notification of any - country in the world relating to postage-stamps" 86 - -(_Continuation from previous page._) The models show the - devices for the three denominations: 15, 25, and 50 centesimi - respectively 87 - -Proof of the Mulready Envelope, signed by Rowland Hill. (From the - "Peacock" Papers) 111 - -Gauge for Arranging Stamps in a Blank Album 144 - -Autograph Letter from Rowland Hill to John Dickinson, the - paper-maker, asking for six or eight sheets of the silk-thread - paper for trial impressions of the adhesive stamps 164 - -Original Sketch for the "Canoe" Type of Fiji Stamps 169 - -A Postal Memento of New Zealand's "Universal Penny Postage," - January 1, 1901 190 - -The First Postage Stamp of the present reign, together with the - Post Office notice concerning its issue on November 4, 1910 193 - -The Official Notice of the Issue of the New Stamps of Great Britain - for the reign of King George V. 195 - - -LIST OF PLATES - -Sir Rowland Hill. (From the painting by J. A. Vinter, R.A., in the - National Portrait Gallery) _Frontispiece_ - -Examples of some Philatelic Terms:--A _Pair_ of Great Britain - embossed Sixpence.--A _Pair_ of Cape of Good Hope Triangular - Shilling.--A _Block_ of four Great Britain Penny Red.--A _Strip_ - of three Grenada "4d." on Two Shillings 25 - -Examples of some Philatelic Terms:--The figures "201" indicate - the _Plate Number_, and "238" the _Current Number_. The - _Plate Number_ is also on each of these stamps in microscopic - numerals.--Corner pair showing _Current Number_ "575" in - margin.--Corner pair showing _Plate Number_ "15" in margin. The - _Plate Number_ is also seen in small figures on each stamp.--The - above stamps are those of Great Britain _overprinted_ for use in - Cyprus 29 - -Examples of some Philatelic Terms:--A sheet of stamps of Gambia, - composed of two _Panes_ of sixty stamps each.--The single "Crown - and CA" watermark, as it appears looking from the back of the - Gambia sheet illustrated above. The watermark is arranged in - panes to coincide with the impressions from the plate 33 - -Examples of some Philatelic Terms:--A "Bisect," or "Bisected - Provisional." The One Penny stamp of Jamaica was in 1861 - permitted to be cut in halves diagonally, and each half used as a - halfpenny stamp 37 - -Examples of some Philatelic Terms:--Photograph of a flat steel - _die_ engraved in _taille douce_ (_i.e._, with the lines of - the design cut into the plate). The stamp is the 50 lepta of - Greece, issue of 1901, showing Hermes adapted from the Mercury of - Giovanni da Bologna 51 - -Scarce Pamphlet (first page) in which William Dockwra announces the - Penny Post of 1680 65 - -A Post Office in 1790 69 - -Sardinian Letter Sheet of 1818: 15 centesimi.--The 25 centesimi - Letter Sheet of Sardinia. Issued in Sardinia, 1818; the earliest - use of Letter Sheets with embossed stamps 89 - -The highest denomination, 50 centesimi, of the Sardinian Letter - Sheets.--One of the temporary envelopes issued for the use of - members of the House of Lords, prior to the issue of stamps and - covers to the public, 1840 93 - -The "James Chalmers" Essay.--Rough sketches in water-colours - submitted by Rowland Hill to the Chancellor of the Exchequer for - the first postage stamps 99 - -Hitherto unpublished examples of the proposals submitted to the - Lords of the Treasury in 1839 in competition for prizes offered - in connection with the Penny Postage plan. (From the Author's - Collection) 103 - -The address side of the model letter which has the stamp (shown - below) affixed to the back as a seal.--Another of the unpublished - essays submitted in the competition of 1839 for the Penny Postage - plan. (From the Author's Collection) 107 - -A Postage Stamp "Chart"--one of the early forms of stamp-collecting 119 - -The small "experimental" plate from which impressions of the Two - Pence, Great Britain, were made on "Dickinson" paper. Only two - rows of four stamps were impressed on each piece of the paper. - (_Cf._ next plate) 157 - -The Two Pence, Great Britain, on "Dickinson" paper. The upper block - is in red (24 stamps printed in all, of which nine copies are - known), and the lower block in blue (16 stamps printed, of which - twelve copies are known). The above blocks of six each are in the - possession of Mr. Lewis Evans; the pairs cut from the left side - of each block were in the collection of the late Mrs. John Evans 161 - -One of the rough pencil sketches by W. Mulready, R.A., for the - envelope. The "flying" figures are not shown in this sketch 165 - -Engraver's proof of the Queen's head die for the first adhesive - postage stamps, with note in the handwriting of Edward Henry - Corbould attributing the engraving to Frederick Heath 173 - -An exceptional block of twenty unused One Penny black stamps, - lettered "V R" in the upper corners for official use. (From the - collection of the late Sir William Avery, Bart.) 177 - -An envelope bearing the rare stamp issued in 1846 by the Postmaster - of Millbury, Massachusetts.--One of the stamps issued by the - Postmaster of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, during the Civil War, 1861 181 - -Another of the Confederate States rarities issued by the Postmaster - of Goliad, Texas.--The stamp issued by the Postmaster of - Livingston, Alabama. (From the "Avery" Collection) 183 - -The One Penny "Post Office" Mauritius on the original letter-cover. - (From the "Duveen" Collection) 187 - -A roughly printed card showing the designs and colours for the - Unified "Postage and Revenue" stamps of Great Britain, 1884 191 - -The King's copy of the Two Pence "Post Office" Mauritius - stamp.--The magnificent unused copies of the One Penny and Two - Pence "Post Office" Mauritius stamps acquired by Henry J. Duveen, - Esq., out of the collection formed by the late Sir William Avery, - Bart. 225 - -The famous "Stock Exchange" Forgery of the One Shilling green stamp - of Great Britain.--A Genuine "Plate 6."--One specimen was used on - October 31, 1872, and the other on June 13 of the next year. The - enlargements betray trifling differences in the details of the - design, as compared with the genuine stamp above 245 - -The unique envelope of Annapolis (Maryland, U.S.A.) in Lord - Crawford's collection of stamps of the United States 279 - -Part sheet (175 stamps) of the ordinary One Penny black stamp - of Great Britain, 1840. (From the collection of the Earl of - Crawford, K.T.) 283 - -Nearly a complete sheet (219 stamps out of 240) of the highly - valued One Penny black "V R" stamp, intended for official use. - (From the collection of the Earl of Crawford, K.T.) 285 - -Part sheet (lacking but six horizontal rows) of the scarce Two - Pence blue stamp "without white lines" issued in Great Britain, - 1840. (From the collection of the Earl of Crawford, K.T.) 287 - -The unique block of the "double Geneva" stamp, the rarest of the - Swiss "Cantonals." (Formerly in the "Avery" Collection, now in - the possession of Henry J. Duveen, Esq.) 291 - -Part sheet of the scarce 5c. "Large Eagle" stamp of Geneva, showing - the marginal inscription at the top. (From the collection of - Henry J. Duveen, Esq.) 293 - -A Page of the 5 cents. and 13 cents. Hawaiian "Missionary" stamps. - (From the "Crocker" Collection) 297 - -Hawaiian Islands, 1851. The 5 cents "Missionary" stamp on original - envelope. (From the "Crocker" Collection) 299 - -A Page from the King's historic collection of the stamps of Great - Britain, showing the method of "writing up" 307 - -The three copies of the unissued 2d. "Tyrian-plum" stamp of Great - Britain, in the collection of H.M. the King. The one on the - envelope is the only specimen known to have passed through the - post 309 - -Design for the King Edward One Penny stamp, approved and initialled - by His late Majesty. (From the collection of H.M. King George V.) 313 - -The companion design to that on page 313, and showing the correct - pose of the head, but in a different frame which was not adopted. - (From the collection of H.M. the King) 315 - -A Page of the One Penny "Post Paid" stamps of Mauritius. (In the - collection of H.M. the King) 319 - -The Two Pence "Post Paid" stamp of Mauritius. Unique block showing - the error (the first stamp in the illustration), lettered "PENOE" - for "PENCE". (In the collection of H.M. the King) 323 - -A specimen page from the "Tapling" Collection at the British - Museum. Probably the most valuable page, showing the Hawaiian - "Missionaries." The two stamps at the top have been removed from - the cases and are now kept in a safe in the "Cracherode" Room 327 - - - - -PHILATELIC -TERMS - - - - -PHILATELIC TERMS - - -ALBINO.--An impression made either from an uninked embossing die, - or from a similar inked die, under which two pieces of paper - have been simultaneously placed, only the upper one receiving - the colour. - -ANILINE.--A term strictly applicable to coal-tar colours, but - commonly used for brilliant tones very soluble in water. - -BÂTONNÉ.--_See_ PAPER. - -BISECT.--A term applied to a moiety of a stamp, used as of half the - value of the entire label. - -BLEUTÉ.--This word implies that the blueness of the paper has been - acquired since the stamp was printed, as the result of chemical - action. - -BLOCK.--An unsevered group of stamps, consisting of at least two - horizontal rows of two each. - -BOGUS.--An expression applied to any stamp not designed for use. - -BURELÉ.--A fine network forming part of design of stamp, or - covering the front or back of entire sheet. - -CANCELLED TO ORDER.--Stamps which, though postmarked or otherwise - obliterated, have not done postal or fiscal duty. - -CENTIMETRE (CM.).--The one-hundredth part of a metre = .3937 inch. - -CHALKY, OR CHALK-SURFACED.--Before being used for printing, paper - sometimes has its surface coated with a preparation largely - composed of chalk or similar substance: this renders the - print liable to rub off if wetted; and, in combination with a - doubly-fugitive ink, renders fraudulent cleaning practically - impossible. - -CLICHÉ.--The ultimate production from the DIE, and of a number of - which the printing PLATE is composed. - -COLOUR TRIALS.--Impressions taken in various colours from a plate, - so that a selection may be made. - -COMB MACHINE.--A variety of perforating machine, which produces, at - each descent of the needles, a line of holes along a horizontal - (or vertical) row of stamps, and a short line of holes down the - two sides (or top and bottom) of each stamp in that horizontal - (or vertical) row. And _see_ PERFORATION. - -COMMEMORATIVES.--A term applied to labels issued chiefly for sale - to collectors, and commemorating the contemporaneous happening, - or the anniversary, centenary, &c, of some often unimportant or - almost forgotten event. - -COMPOUND.--_See_ PERFORATION. - -CONTROL.--An arbitrary letter or number, or both, printed on the - margin of a sheet of stamps, for facilitating a check on the - supply. Also used to denote a design overprinted on a stamp - (_e.g._ Persia, 1899) as a protection against forgery. - -[Illustration: EXAMPLES OF SOME PHILATELIC TERMS. - -A _Pair_ of Great Britain embossed Six Pence. - -A _Pair_ of Cape of Good Hope Triangular Shilling. - -A _Block_ of four Great Britain Penny Red. - -A _Strip_ of three Grenada "4d." on Two Shillings.] - -CURRENT NUMBER.--The consecutive number of a PLATE, irrespective of - the denomination of the stamp. - -CUT-OUTS.--A term used to denote the impressions, originally part - of envelopes, postcards, &c., but cut off for use as ordinary - stamps. - -CUT-SQUARES.--Stamps cut from envelopes, &c., with a rectangular - margin of paper attached, are known as "CUT-SQUARES." - -DICKINSON PAPER.--_See_ PAPER. - -DIE.--The original engraving from which the printing plates are - produced; or, sometimes, from which the stamps are printed - direct. _See_ PLATE and EMBOSSED. - -DOUBLY-FUGITIVE.--_See_ FUGITIVE. - -DOUBLE-PRINT.--Strictly applicable to two similar impressions, - more or less coincident, on the same piece of paper; though - often, but erroneously, applied to instances where the paper, - not being firmly held, has touched the plate, so receiving a - partial impression, and then, resuming its correct position, - has been properly printed. - -DUTY-PLATE.--Many modern stamps are printed from two plates, one - being the same (KEY-PLATE, which see) for all the values, but - the other differing for each denomination: this latter is the - DUTY-PLATE. - -ELECTRO.--A reproduction of the original die, made by means of a - galvanic battery from a secondary die. _See_ MATRIX. - -EMBOSSED.--Stamps produced from a die, or reproductions thereof, on - which the design is cut to varying depths, are necessarily in - relief, _i.e._, embossed. And _see_ PRINTING. - -ENGRAVED.--The term is often used to denote stamps printed direct - from a plate, on which the lines of the design are cut _into_ - the metal. And _see_ PRINTING. - -ENTIRES.--This expression includes not only POSTAL STATIONERY - (which see), but when used in describing an adhesive stamp, as - being "on entire," implies that the stamp is on the envelope or - letter as when posted. - -ENVELOPE STAMP.--A stamp belonging to, and printed on, an envelope. - -ERROR.--An incorrect stamp--either in design, colour, paper, - &c.--which has been issued for use. - -ESSAY.--A rejected design for a stamp; in the French sense also - applied to proofs of accepted designs. - -FACSIMILE.--A euphemism for a forgery. - -FAKE.--A genuine stamp, which has been manipulated in order to - increase its philatelic or postal value. - -FISCAL.--A stamp intended for payment of a duty or tax, as - distinguished from postage. - -FLAP ORNAMENT.--This refers to the ornament (usually) embossed on - the tip of the upper flap of envelopes, and variously termed - ROSACE or TRESSE, or (incorrectly) PATTE, which see. - -FUGITIVE.--Colours printed in "singly-fugitive" ink suffer on an - attempt to remove an ordinary ink cancellation; but if in - "doubly-fugitive" ink it _was_ thought that the removal of - _writing_-ink would injure the appearance of the stamp. And - _see_ CHALKY. - -[Illustration: EXAMPLES OF SOME PHILATELIC TERMS. - -The figures "201" indicate the _Plate Number_, and "238" the _Current -Number_. The _Plate Number_ is also on each of these stamps in -microscopic numerals. - -Corner pair showing _Current Number_ "575" in margin. - -Corner pair showing _Plate Number_ "15" in margin. The _Plate Number_ -is also seen in small figures on each stamp. - -The above stamps are those of Great Britain _overprinted_ for use in -Cyprus.] - -GENERALISING.--The collecting of all the postage-stamps of the - world. - -GOVERNMENT IMITATION.--Sometimes, when it is desired to reprint - an obsolete issue, the original dies or plates are not - forthcoming. New dies have, in these circumstances, been - officially made, and the resulting labels are euphemistically - called "Government imitations." "Forgeries" would be more - candid. - -GRANITE.--_See_ PAPER. - -GRILLE.--Small plain dots, generally arranged in a small rectangle, - but sometimes covering the entire stamp, embossed on certain - issues of Peru and the United States. The idea of this was to - so break up the fibre of the paper, as to allow the ink of the - postmark to penetrate it and render cleaning impossible. - -GUILLOTINE.--The term used to define a perforating-machine which - punches a single straight line of holes at each descent of the - needles. - -GUMPAP.--A fancy term of opprobrium applied to a stamp issued - purely for sale to collectors and not to meet a postal - requirement. - -HAIR-LINE.--Originally used to indicate the fine line crossing - the outer angles of the corner blocks of some British stamps, - inserted to distinguish impressions from certain plates, this - term is now often employed to denote any fine line, in white or - in colour, and whether intentional or accidental, which may be - found on a stamp. - -HAND-MADE.--_See_ PAPER. - -HARROW.--The form of perforating-machine which is capable of - operating on an entire sheet of stamps at each descent of the - needles. And _see_ PERFORATION. - -HEAD-PLATE.--_See_ KEY-PLATE. - -IMPERFORATE.--Stamps which have not been PERFORATED or ROULETTED - (both of which see) are thus described. - -IMPRIMATUR.--A word usually found in conjunction with "sheet," when - it indicates the first impression from a plate endorsed with an - official certificate to that effect, and a direction that the - plate be used for printing stamps. - -IMPRINT.--The name of the printer, whether below each stamp, or - only on the margin of the sheet, is called the "imprint." - -INVERTED.--Simply upside-down. And _see_ REVERSED. - -IRREGULAR.--_See_ PERFORATION. - -"JUBILEE" LINE.--Since 1887, the year of Queen Victoria's first - Jubilee--whence the name--a line of "printer's rule" has been - added round each pane, or plate, of most surface-printed - British and British Colonial stamps, in order to protect the - edges of the outer rows of CLICHÉS from undue wear and tear. - The "rule" shows as a coloured line on the sheets of stamps. - -KEY-PLATE.--Stamps of the same design, when printed in two - colours, require two plates for each value; that which prints - the design (apart from the value, and sometimes the name of the - country), and is common to and used for two or more stamps, is - termed the HEAD-PLATE or KEY-PLATE. And _see_ DUTY-PLATE. - -[Illustration: EXAMPLES OF SOME PHILATELIC TERMS. - -A sheet of stamps of Gambia, composed of two _Panes_ of sixty stamps -each. - -The single "Crown and CA" watermark as it appears looking from the -back of the Gambia sheet illustrated above. The watermark is arranged -in panes to coincide with the impressions from the plate.] - -KNIFE.--This is a technical term for the cutter of the machine - which cuts out the (unfolded) envelope blank, and is - principally used in connection with the numerous varieties of - _shape_ in the United States envelopes, amongst which the same - size may show several variations in the flap. - -LAID.--_See_ PAPER. - -LAID BÂTONNÉ.--_See_ PAPER. - -LINE-ENGRAVED.--Is properly applied to a print from a plate - engraved in TAILLE DOUCE (which see) but is often applied to - the plate itself. - -LITHOGRAPHED.--Stamps printed from a design laid down on a stone - and neither raised nor depressed in the printing lines are - denoted by this term. And _see_ PRINTING. - -LOCALS.--Stamps having a franking power within a definitely - restricted area. - -MANILA.--_See_ PAPER. - -MATRIX.--A counterpart impression in metal or other material from - an original die, and which in its turn is used to produce - copies exactly similar to the original die. - -MILLIMETRE (MM.).--The one-thousandth part of a metre = .03937 inch. - -MILL-SHEET.--_See_ SHEET. - -MINT.--A term used to denote that a stamp or envelope, &c., - is in exactly the same condition as when issued by the - post-office--unused, clean, unmutilated in the slightest degree - and with all the original gum undisturbed. - -MIXED (PERFORATIONS).--In some of the 1901-7 stamps of New Zealand, - the original perforation was to some extent defective: such - portions of the sheet were patched with strips of paper on the - back and re-perforated, usually in a different gauge. - -MOUNTED.--Usually applied to indicate that a stamp, which has been - trimmed close to the design, has had new margins added. And - _see_ FAKE. - -NATIVE-MADE PAPER.--_See_ PAPER. - -OBLITERATION.--A general term used for any mark employed to cancel - a stamp and so render it incapable of further use. - -OBSOLETE.--Strictly, an obsolete stamp is one which has been - withdrawn from circulation and is no longer available for - postal use; but the term is often applied simply to old issues, - no longer on sale at the post-office. - -ORIGINAL DIE.--The first engraved piece of metal, from which the - printing plates are directly or indirectly produced. - -ORIGINAL GUM.--Practically all stamps were, before issue, gummed on - the back, and the actual gum so applied is known as "original": - the usual abbreviation is "o.g.": it is also implied in the - expression "MINT", which see. - -OVERPRINT.--An inscription or device printed upon a stamp - additional to its original design. _Cf._ SURCHARGE. - -PAIR.--Two stamps joined together as when originally printed. - Without qualification, a PAIR is generally accepted as being of - two stamps side by side: if a pair of two stamps joined top to - bottom is intended, it is spoken of as a _vertical_ pair. - -[Illustration: EXAMPLES OF SOME PHILATELIC TERMS. - -A "Bisect," or "Bisected Provisional." The One Penny stamp of Jamaica -was in 1861 permitted to be cut in halves diagonally, and each half -used as a halfpenny stamp.] - -PANE.--Entire sheets of stamps are frequently divided into sections - by means of one or more spaces running horizontally or (and) - vertically between similarly sized groups of stamps: each of - these sections or groups is termed a PANE. - -PAPER.--The two main divisions of PAPER are HAND-MADE and - MACHINE-MADE: the former is manufactured, as its name - indicates, by hand, sheet by sheet, by means of a special - apparatus; the latter is made entirely by the aid of machinery - and generally in long continuous rolls, which are afterwards - cut up as required. - -Each of these, apart from its substance, which may vary from the - thinnest of tissue papers to almost thin card, is divisible - according to its texture, distinguishable on being held up to - the light, into-- - - WOVE, of perfectly plain even texture, such as is generally - used for books. - - LAID: this shows lines close together, usually with other - lines, an inch or so apart, crossing them--"cream laid" - notepaper is an example. - - BÂTONNÉ is wove paper, with very distinct lines as wide apart - as those on ordinary ruled paper. - - LAID BÂTONNÉ: similar to BÂTONNÉ, but the spaces between the - distinct lines are filled in with laid lines close together. - - QUADRILLÉ paper is marked with small squares or oblongs. - - REP is the term applied to WOVE paper which has been passed - between ridged rollers, so that it becomes, to use a - somewhat exaggerated description, corrugated: the small - elevation or ridge on one side of the paper coincides with - a depression or furrow on the other side--the thickness of - the paper is the same throughout. - - RIBBED paper, on the other hand, is different from REP, in that - one side is smooth and the other is in alternate furrows - and ridges--the paper is thinner in the furrows than it is - on the ridges. - - NATIVE paper, so called, is yellowish or greyish, often with - the feel and appearance of parchment; generally laid - somewhat irregularly, but often wove. The early issues of - Cashmere and some of the stamps and cards of Nepal are - printed on native paper: it is always hand-made. - - PELURE is a very thin, hard, tough paper, usually greyish in - colour. - - MANILA is a strong, light, but coarse paper, and is used for - wrappers, large envelopes, &c.; usually it is smooth on one - side and rough on the other. - - SAFETY paper contains ingredients which would make it very - difficult, if not impossible, to remove an obliteration - in writing-ink without at the same time destroying the - impression of the stamp: usually this paper is more or less - blued, owing to the use of prussiate of potash, and its - combination with impurities arising in the manufacture. - - GRANITE paper is almost white, with short coloured fibres in - it, sometimes very visible, but at others necessitating the - use of a magnifying glass. - - DICKINSON paper, so called from its inventor, has a continuous - thread, or parallel threads, of silk in the centre of its - substance, embedded there in the pulp at an early stage of - the manufacture. - -PARAPHE is the flourish which is sometimes added at the end of a - signature: examples on stamps are found in the 1873-6 issues of - Porto Rico. - -PATTE.--French for the loose flap of an envelope; it is sometimes - (but incorrectly) used for ROSACE or TRESSE, the ornament on - the flap. - -PELURE.--_See_ PAPER. - -PEN-CANCELLED denotes cancellation by pen-and-ink, as opposed to - the more customary postmark; it usually implies fiscal use. - -PERCÉ is a French term denoting slits or pricks, no part of the - paper being removed, in contradistinction to PERFORATED, in - which small discs of paper are punched out. There are several - kinds of PERÇAGE, or, in English, ROULETTING:-- - - PERCÉ EN ARC, the cuts being curved, so that, on severing a - pair of stamps, the edge of one shows small arches, whilst - the other has a series of small scallops, something like, - but more curved than, the perforations on the edges of an - ordinary perforated stamp. - - PERCÉ EN LIGNE: the cuts or slits are straight, as if a - continuous line had been broken up into small sections. - This variety usually goes by the English term ROULETTED. - - PERCÉ EN POINTE denotes that the slits are comparatively large - and cut evenly in zigzag, so that the edges of a stamp show - a series of equal-sided triangular projections. - - PERCÉ EN POINTS, usually expressed as PIN-PERFORATED, implies a - pricking of holes with a sharp point, but without removal - of paper, which is merely pushed aside. - - PERCÉ EN SCIE is somewhat similar to PERCÉ EN POINTE, except - that the slits are smaller and are cut in uneven zigzag - (alternately long and short), so that the edge of a severed - stamp is like that of a fine saw. - - PERCÉ EN SERPENTIN occurs when the paper is cut in - comparatively large wavy curves of varying depth, with - little breaks in the cutting which serve to hold the stamps - together. - - And _see_ PERFORATED and PERFORATION. - -PERFORATED--in French PIQUÉ. This word implies removal of small - discs of paper, not simply slits or cuts. And _see_ PERCÉ. - -PERFORATION is either "regular," where the number of holes within - a similar space is constant along the entire row; or, where - the number varies more or less, "irregular." The gauge of - the perforations (or roulettes) of a stamp is measured by a - PERFORATION-GAUGE, a piece of metal, card, or celluloid, on - which is engraved or printed a long series of rows of dots, - each row being two centimetres in length and containing a - varying number of dots from, say, 6 to 17 or 18. - - A stamp, the edge of which shows holes (perforated) - corresponding in spacing and number to the row on the gauge - marked, say "12," is said to be "perforated 12." If the stamp - gauges the same on all four sides, it is simply "perforated - ..."; if the top and bottom are of one gauge, say 12, and - the sides, say, 14, the stamp would be perforated "12 × 14." - If the gauge varies on each of the four sides--an unlikely - combination--then the order of noting same is, top (say 12), - right (say 11), bottom (say 13), and left (say 15)--"perforated - 12 × 11 × 13 × 15." In the above the gauges are supposed to be - regular. - -[Illustration: PERFORATION GAUGE.] - - Should, however, the gauge be irregular, the extremes are noted - even if not showing on the stamp: for instance, a stamp may - be perforated with a machine, which, in its entire length, - gradually varies from 12 to 16 holes in the two centimetres, - though the stamp itself does not show all those gauges. Such a - stamp would be "perforated 12 to 16." - - On the other hand, a row of perforations, instead of gradually - altering in gauge, may do so abruptly; for instance, along a - row of holes, part may gauge 14, the next part 16, and then - 16½, all quite distinct over a particular space. This would - be termed "perforated 14, 16, 16½," implying that the - intermediate gauges did not exist. - - The use of a regular machine, in conjunction with one - of irregular gauge, might produce, say, "perforated 14" - (horizontally) "× 12 to 15" (vertically); and so on. - - Stamps perforated, horizontally and vertically, by differently - gauged machines are sometimes said to be "perforated, compound - of ... and ...". There are many difficulties in the way of - obtaining a full knowledge of the combinations and vagaries of - perforating-machines. - -PERFORATION-GAUGE.--A means of measuring PERFORATION or ROULETTE, - which see. - -PHILATELIC.--The adjective of PHILATELY. - -PHILATELIST.--One who studies stamps. - -PHILATELY--from two Greek words, "φίλος" (= fond of) and "ἀτέλεια" - (= exemption from tax)--signifies a fondness for things (_viz._, - stamps) which denote an exemption from tax, _i.e._, that the tax, - or postage, has been paid. The word is a little far-fetched to - imply the _study_ of stamps, but as "Philately" has been the - accepted term for over forty years, "Philately" it will doubtless - remain, even if some one succeeds in finding a word which more - accurately expresses the popular and scientific hobby. - -PIN-PERFORATED.--_See_ PERCÉ. - -PLATE is the term used, not always quite correctly, to describe - the ultimate reproductions from the die which constitute the - printing surface in the manufacture of stamps: the word covers - not only a sheet of metal with stamps engraved on it, but also - a group of CLICHÉS or a _forme_ of _printer's type_ and even a - _lithographic_ stone. - -PLATE NUMBER is the consecutive number of each plate of a - particular value, appearing on the margin of the plates and (in - some of the British series) on the stamps themselves. - -POSTAL-FISCAL is a fiscal stamp the use of which for postal - purposes has been duly authorised, in contradistinction to a - "fiscal postally used," a use which has been tacitly permitted - in many countries. - -POSTAL STATIONERY, _i.e._, envelopes, postcards, letter-cards, - wrappers, telegram forms, &c.: frequently termed ENTIRES. - -POSTMARK.--The official obliteration applied to a stamp to prevent - its further postal use. - -PRE-CANCELLED.--Two or three countries have adopted the system, to - save time in the post-office, of supplying sheets of stamps - cancelled prior to use. This may be a convenience, but the - practice undoubtedly opens the door to possible fraud. - -PRINT is an impression taken from any die, plate, forme, or stone. - -PRINTING, in its fullest sense, is reproducing from a DIE, PLATE, - STEREOTYPE, &c. (all of which see). There are, on this - definition, four kinds of production: "Embossing," where - the paper is impressed with a raised design, by pressure - from a cut-out die (_see_ EMBOSSED); "Surface-printing" or - "typography," where the portions of the plate which receive - the ink and print the design are raised: this process causes - a slight indentation on the surface of the paper and a - corresponding elevation at the back; "Printing direct from - plate" (so-called LINE-ENGRAVED, which see), in which the - portions to be inked are recessed: in this process, the printed - design on the stamps is in very slight relief, due to the ink - being taken from the recessed engraving. "Lithography" is - printing from a stone, on which the design has been drawn or - otherwise laid down: impressions from a stone are flat. - -PROOF.--An impression, properly in black, from the die, plate, - or stone, taken in order to see if the design, &c., has been - properly engraved or reproduced. - -PROVISIONAL.--A make-shift intended to supply a temporary want of - the proper stamp, which may have been unexpectedly sold out, or - may not have been supplied owing to lack of time. - -QUADRILLÉ.--_See_ PAPER. - -RE-ISSUE denotes the bringing again into use of a stamp which has - become obsolete, or at any rate has been long out of use at the - post-office; it sometimes implies a new printing. - -REMAINDERS.--Stamps printed during the period of issue and left on - hand when that issue has gone out of use. - -REPRINT.--Strictly a REPRINT is an impression taken from the - identical original die, plate, stone, or block, after the - stamps printed therefrom have gone out of use. The term is used - to include printings from new plates or stones, made from the - original die. And _see_ GOVERNMENT IMITATIONS. - -REP.--_See_ PAPER. - -RETOUCH, RE-SET, RE-ENGRAVED, RE-DRAWN, RE-CUT.--All these terms - have a somewhat similar meaning, and imply repairs to, or - alterations of, the die, plates, stones, or blocks: instances - of most drastic re-engraving are known, _e.g._, that of the - 1848 Two Pence ("Post Paid") of Mauritius, the plate of which - was so altered as to produce a practically new stamp, the Two - Pence, "large fillet," of 1859; and the Half Tornese "Arms" - of Naples, which had the entire centre removed from each of - the two hundred impressions on the plate and replaced by the - Cross of Savoy. To differentiate--_retouching_ is generally - undertaken to remedy minor defects caused by wear and tear: - _re-setting_ suggests slight re-arrangement of stamps made - up, wholly or partly, of printer's type; _re-engraving_, the - replacing of parts of a design worn away by use or intention: - _re-drawing_ rather leads one to infer that the original design - has been reproduced in an improved form; and _re-cutting_ - implies going over the original die, &c., and strengthening the - engraving, with, perhaps, slight accidental variations of the - design. - -REVENUE.--This word indicates availability for fiscal use, as - distinguished from postal use. A stamp may be available for - either purpose, or for one only; the use is almost invariably - indicated by the inscription. - -REVERSED.--Backwards-way; "as in a looking-glass." The term - is often, but quite erroneously, used for INVERTED--which - see--implying upside-down. - -RIBBED.--_See_ PAPER. - -ROSACE.--The small ornament frequently found on the upper flap of - old envelopes; known also as TRESSE. - -ROUGH PERFORATION.--When the holes in the lower plate of the - perforating-machine get damaged or partly clogged up, or the - punches are very worn, the perforation becomes very defective, - the little discs of paper not being punched out, but (though - generally distinct) left only partly cut through: this state is - termed "rough," but must not be confused with PERCÉ EN POINTS - (pin-perforated), which see. - -ROULETTED.--_See_ PERCÉ. - -ROULETTED IN COLOURED LINES is a variety of rouletting, and always - so termed, in which the slits or cuts are made by means of type - ("printer's rule") a little higher than the CLICHÉS or STEREOS - composing the plate, and which cut into the paper under the - pressure of the printing-press. - -SAFETY PAPER.--_See_ PAPER. - -"SEEBECKS."--The late Mr. N. F. Seebeck, the contractor to various - South American Republics had an arrangement under which there - was a new issue of stamps every year, he to retain for his - own benefit any demonetised remainders of the previous set: - stamps provided under such conditions are called after their - originator. - -SE TENANT.--A French expression signifying that the stamps - referred to have not been separated: usually employed in - reference to an error, or variety, when still forming a pair - with a normal stamp. - -SERPENTINE ROULETTE.--_See_ PERCÉ EN SERPENTIN. - -SHEET (OF PAPER).--There are three "sheets": a mill-sheet, as - manufactured; a sheet as printed, which may be, and often is, - less than a mill-sheet; and a "post-office" sheet, either the - whole or an arbitrary part of a printed sheet, so divided for - convenience of reckoning. - -SILK-THREAD PAPER.--_See_ PAPER (DICKINSON). - -SINGLE-LINE PERFORATION.--_See_ GUILLOTINE. - -SPANDREL is the term for the triangular space between a circle, - oval, or curve, and the rectangular frame enclosing it. - -SPECIALISING.--To develop in a collection a complete record of - the inception, history, and use of the stamps of a particular - country, or group of countries, in the fullest and most - detailed manner. In contradistinction to GENERALISING (which - see). - -STATIONERY.--_See_ ENTIRES. - -STEREOTYPE OR STEREO.--A reproduction of the original design, made - by means of a _papier-maché_ or other mould, in type-metal. And - see MATRIX. - -STRIP is the philatelic term for three or more stamps unsevered and - in the same row, horizontal or vertical. - -SURCHARGE.--An overprint (which see) which alters the face value - of a stamp, or confirms it in the same or a new currency. The - term is loosely used to mean any overprint, but it is desirable - that its application be confined to inscriptions affecting the - denomination of face-value. - -SURFACE-PRINTED, that is, printed by a process in which the parts - of the plate, &c., which produce the coloured portions of the - stamp are raised up. _See_ PRINTING. - -TAILLE DOUCE.--When a design is cut into the substance of the plate - it is said to be engraved in TAILLE DOUCE. A familiar example - is a visiting-card plate. - -TÊTE-BÊCHE is a French expression signifying the inversion of one - stamp of a pair (or more) in relation to the other stamp (or - stamps): naturally, the peculiarity disappears on severance, - and such varieties must necessarily be in a pair or more. - -TONED, as applied to paper, implies a very slight buff tint. - -TRESSE.--_See_ ROSACE. - -TRIALS.--These are impressions from die, plate, stone, &c., taken - to ascertain if the design be correct, or to assist in the - selection of a suitable colour. - -[Illustration: EXAMPLES OF SOME PHILATELIC TERMS. - -Photograph of a flat steel _die_ engraved in _taille douce_ (_i.e._, -with the lines of the design cut into the plate). The stamp is the 50 -lepta of Greece, issue of 1901, showing Hermes adapted from the Mercury -of Giovanni da Bologna.] - -TYPE.--A representative common design, as distinguished from - "VARIETY," which indicates slight deviations therefrom. - -TYPE-SET.--Stamps--_e.g._, the 1862 issue of British Guiana--have - sometimes been set up with ordinary _printer's type_, as used - for books, and the ornamental type-metal designs to be found in - a printing establishment. - -TYPOGRAPHED.--_See_ SURFACE-PRINTED. - -USED ABROAD.--Prior to certain countries and colonies having their - own stamps, British post-offices were established in them, - at which British stamps were to be purchased; such stamps, - identified by their postmarks as having been so used, are - termed "British _used abroad_." The stamps of other countries - have been similarly "used abroad." - -VARIETY.--A slight variation from the normal design, or TYPE, which - see. - -WATERMARKS.--A thinning of the substance of the paper, in the form - of letters, words, or designs, &c., during the manufacture. - On the paper being held up to the light, or placed on a dark - surface, the designs become more or less visible. - - So-called "watermarks" are sometimes produced by impressing a - design on the paper _after_ manufacture; this has a somewhat - similar effect, though the paper is only pressed, not thinned. - -WOVE.--_See_ PAPER. - -WOVE BÂTONNÉ.--_See_ PAPER. - - - - -I - -THE -GENESIS -OF THE -POST - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE GENESIS OF THE POST - - The earliest letter carriers--The Roman _posita_--Princely - Postmasters of Thurn and Taxis--Sir Brian Tuke--Hobson - of "Hobson's Choice"--The General Letter Office of - England--Dockwra's Penny Post of 1680--Povey's "Halfpenny - Carriage"--The Edinburgh and other Penny Posts--Postal Rates - before 1840--Uniform Penny Postage--The Postage Stamp regarded - as the royal _diplomata_--The growth of the postal business. - - -Postage is so cheap and so easy to-day that we are apt to forget -how, not very many years ago, it was a privilege of the rich. To-day -the Post Office is no respecter of persons, and the "all swallowing -orifice of the pillar-box" receives without favour or distinction the -correspondence of the humble with the messages of the mighty. The Post -Office treats everything confided to its charge with the same organised -routine. In the palatial new edifice, King Edward the Seventh Building, -a few days before Christmas, a letter was handed to me for inspection -in the "Blind Division," where they deal with insufficiently addressed -letters. The missive bore in the handwriting of a little child, "To -Santa Claus, No. 1, Aerial Building, London." That letter, I was -informed, had to be passed through the Blind Division, thence to the -Returned Letter Office, where it would be opened to discover if the -enclosure contained any indication of the identity and whereabouts of -the writer. If not returnable, the letter would be preserved for a -period lest it should be claimed. The Department is as careful of the -precocious petitions of a child as it is of the papers of State which -it carries throughout the length and breadth of the land. - -By all who would know the true love of stamps it must needs be -understood how postal matters were before the birth of the Penny Black. -Else we shall not fitly appreciate all the benefices that the "label -with the glutinous wash" has brought to our present civilisation. -Without this comparison of the old order with the new, we should be in -peril of passing over the true significance of the postage-stamp in the -surfeit of blessings it confers upon the world to-day. Postage to-day -is as fecund of bounties as a fruitful garden, yet do we accept all as -our rightful heritage, without giving much consideration to the little -postage-stamp which was the seed which, planted in every civilised -country of the earth, has yielded blessings in abundance. - -So in our first chat, we would open up the book in which is told -the history of things that are written from one to another. The -first letter of which we have any particular knowledge was that by -which David achieved his evil purpose of sending Uriah the Hittite -to the forefront of the battle, that he might be smitten and die. -The unfortunate Uriah was himself the messenger, bearing the fatal -letter to Joab with his own hand. The brazen-faced Jezebel forged her -royal husband's name to letters, so our first meeting with letters in -scriptural history shows that they could be used to evil as well as to -good purpose. - -As the Scythians made contracts one with another by mingling the warm -blood of their bodies in a cup and drinking thereof, so the Persians -used living letters in their early correspondence. Herodotus tells us -how they shaved the heads of their messengers and impressed or branded -the "writing" upon their scalps. Then they were shut up until the hair -had grown again and concealed the message, when the runners were sent -off upon their divers journeys. A messenger on reaching his destination -was again shaved and the epistle was made plain to the eyes of the -beholder. - -This was a primitive method, one of many which had vogue amongst the -ancients. Under Darius I. the Persians had a service of Government -couriers, for whom were provided horses ready saddled at specified -distances on their route, so that the Government could send and receive -communications with the provinces. "Nothing in the world is borne so -swiftly as messages by the Persian couriers," says Herodotus. - -The word "post" descends to us from the Roman _posita_ (_positus_ = -placed), and is a link between our posts of to-day and the _cursus -publicus_ of the time of Augustus. In those days of arms the -roads were laid for armies to traverse, not for traffic, and the -organisation of the _posita_ was military. Stations were established -at intervals on the chief routes, where couriers and magistrates could -be furnished with changes of horses (_mutationes_.) For the benefit of -the travellers _mansiones_ or night quarters were erected. These State -posts were only for the use of the Government, and they were ridden by -couriers who had, besides their own mount, a spare horse for carrying -the letters. Individuals were at times permitted to use the posts, for -which privilege they had to have the permits or _diplomata_ of the -Emperor. The Romans also had what may be compared with sea-posts, from -Ostia and other ports. - -Foot-runners and messengers on horseback have been organised for -Government communications in most lands where civilisation has dawned, -even in remote times. In the West the Incas and the Aztecs had runners -from earliest times, and in the Orient carrier-pigeons provided an -additional means of communication. - -It is not until the fifteenth century that we find posts in operation -on a more public scale, the first being a horse-post plying between -the Tyrol and Italy, set up by Roger of Thurn and Taxis in 1460. -From that modest beginning sprang the vast monopoly of the Counts of -Thurn and Taxis, which dominated the posts of the Continent during -five centuries, remaining into the early period of the postage-stamp -system. By 1500, Franz von Taxis was Postmaster-General of Austria, -the Low Countries, Spain, Burgundy, and Italy. In 1516 he connected -up Brussels and Vienna, and his successor Leonard provided a link -between Vienna and Nuremberg. In 1595, Leonard von Taxis was the -Grand Postmaster of the Holy Roman Empire, and he established a post -from the Netherlands to Italy by way of Trèves, Spire, Wurtemburg, -Augsburg, and Tyrol. In the next century, Eugenius Alexander subscribes -himself in a postal document as "Count of Thurn, Valsassina, Tassis -and the Holy Empire, Chamberlain of His Majesty the Roman Emperor, -_Hereditary Postmaster-General of the Realm_." The postal dominion -of this princely house flourished until the wars of the French -Revolution, from which period the power of the Counts began to -dwindle. Some of the German States withdrew from their arrangements -with the house of Thurn and Taxis, and others purchased their freedom -and set up postal establishments of their own. By the middle of -the nineteenth century Austria, Prussia, Bavaria, Hanover, Baden, -Brunswick, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Holstein, Oldenburg, Lauenburg, -Luxemburg and Saxony had independent posts, but the Thurn and Taxis -administration still controlled an area of 25,000 square miles (with -3,750,000 inhabitants), under the direction of a head office at -Frankfort-on-the-Maine. In 1851, however, Wurtemburg, at a cost of -over £100,000, bought its freedom from the monopolists; and sixteen -years later (1867) Prussia paved the way for the completion of the -consolidation of the German Empire by purchasing for three million -thalers (approximately £450,000) the last remaining rights of the -house of Thurn and Taxis in the postal affairs of Germany. - -In England the royal _Nuncii et Cursores_ were the forerunners of the -King's Messengers of to-day, and were exclusively employed upon State -affairs and for the correspondence of the Sovereign and of the Court. -At what period the people were admitted to the privilege of the posts -is obscure. The first Master of the Posts of whom we know was one -Brian Tuke, Esq., afterwards Sir Brian Tuke, who is best remembered in -Holbein's several portraits of him, and as the author of the preface to -Thynne's "Chaucer." He was at one period secretary to Cardinal Wolsey, -and it is in a letter (1533) to his successor in that office, Thomas -Cromwell, that we find the one clue to the state of the posts at that -time: - -"By your letters of the twelfth of this moneth, I perceyve that -there is grete defaulte in conveyance of letters, and of special men -ordeyned to be sent in post; and that the Kinges pleasure is, that -postes be better appointed, and laide in al places most expedient; with -commaundement to al townshippes in al places, on payn of lyfe, to be in -suche redynes, and to make suche provision of horses, at al tymes, as -no tract or losse of tyme be had in that behalf." - -In the sixteenth century, there were regular carriers licensed to -take passengers, goods, and letters, and of these the most remarkable -was Tobias Hobson, who was an innkeeper at Cambridge. His memory -is perpetuated in the common expression of "Hobson's choice." The -innkeeper kept a stable of forty good cattle, but made it a rule that -any who came to hire a horse was obliged to take the one nearest the -stable door, "so that every customer was alike well served, according -to his chance, and every horse ridden with the same justice." Milton, -in one of his two punning epitaphs on Hobson, refers to his position as -letter-carrier:-- - - "His letters are deliver'd all and gone; - Only remains this superscription." - -From 1609, the Posts of Great Britain have been under the monopoly -of the Crown, and at that time they were carried on at a loss. As -the posts did not carry the correspondence of the public, there -was no likelihood of their being made self-supporting until the -facilities they offered were of utility to the people. The general -admission of the public to these facilities dates from 1635, under the -Postmastership of Thomas Witherings, and two years later was set up -the "Letter Office of England." The cheapest rate under Withering's -management was 2d. for a "single letter" (that is, one sheet of paper) -conveyed a distance not exceeding 80 miles. If the letter weighed an -ounce, the charge was 6d. A single letter to Scotland cost 8d. and to -Ireland 9d. - -For a number of years prior to 1667, the posts were farmed to various -individuals, and during the Commonwealth, Parliament passed an Act -settling the postage of the three kingdoms, which "pretended Act" was -practically re-enacted at the Restoration. The profits on the Post -Office were settled by Charles II. upon his son, the Duke of York, -afterwards James II., and the latter took care upon his accession to -the throne to secure the continuance of his enjoyment of its revenues. - -Private enterprise was responsible for putting a good deal of pressure -on the Post Office in the early days. In 1659, a penny post was first -proposed by one John Hill and certain other "Undertakers," but the most -notable instance was the success that attended the efforts of William -Dockwra in establishing the London Penny Post in 1680. By this penny -post, Londoners had for three years an excellent and frequent service -of postal collections and deliveries of their letters and parcels -within the City and suburbs. The Government post had one office in -London--the General Letter Office--up to 1680. Consequently, persons -who had letters to send by post had either to take them, or procure -messengers to take them, to the office in Lombard Street. Dockwra -established between four and five hundred receiving offices for -letters, and a good part of the business he did was in transmitting -letters to and from the General Letter Office in Lombard Street. - -The penny post made many friends, but also a few enemies. Of the few -there was one of powerful influence, the Duke of York, who envied -the prospective income to be derived from a popular post; there were -others who were unscrupulous in their attacks, led by the notorious -Titus Oates, who pretended to expose the whole of Dockwra's plan as "a -farther branch of the Popish plot," and the porters of London, who, -fearing to lose many of their chances of employment, vented their -spleen in the manner of vulgar rioters. - -[Illustration: SCARCE PAMPHLET (FIRST PAGE) IN WHICH WILLIAM DOCKWRA -ANNOUNCES THE PENNY POST OF 1680.] - -Proceedings were taken against Dockwra for infringement of the Crown's -monopoly, and the case being carried, the London Penny Post was shortly -afterwards re-established and carried on under authority for nearly a -hundred and twenty years, until 1801, when the penny rate was doubled -and the Penny Post became the Twopenny Post. - -Charles Povey's "halfpenny carriage" (1708) was a poor copy of -Dockwra's post, covering a smaller area at the lower fee of one -halfpenny. Its originator was fined £100 in 1760, and the incident -of this post is only remarkable in postal history for its having -originated the use of the "bellman" for collecting letters in the -streets. - -The Edinburgh Penny Post, set up by the keeper of a coffee-shop in the -hall of Parliament House, Peter Williamson, in 1768, was also stopped -by the authorities as a private enterprise; but its promoter was given -a pension of £25 a year and the post was carried on by the General -Post Office. Just three years previously, local Penny Posts had been -legalised by the Act of 5 George III., c. 25, provided they were set up -where adjudged to be necessary by the Postmaster-General. Such penny -posts increased rapidly towards the end of the eighteenth century, and -just before Uniform Penny Postage was introduced there were more than -two thousand of them in operation in different parts of the country. -In spite of the increase in these local posts, however, the general -postage was high, the tendency of the later changes in the rates being -to increase rather than to lessen them. - -In the early part of the nineteenth century, the rates were such that -few but the rich could make frequent use of the luxury of postage, and -these rates, coming close up to the period of the new _régime_ of 1840, -form an extraordinary series of contrasts. Here is an old post-office -rate-book kept by the postmaster (or mistress) at Southampton in the -'thirties, which I like to show my friends when they sigh for the good -old times. It is a printed list of the chief places to which letters -could be sent, with columns to be filled in by the postal official -after calculating distances and exercising simple arithmetic. In Great -Britain the rates were for single letters:-- - - From any post office in England or Wales to any place - not exceeding 15 miles from such office 4d. - - Between 15 and 20 miles 5d. - " 20 " 30 " 6d. - " 30 " 50 " 7d. - " 50 " 80 " 8d. - " 80 " 120 " 9d. - " 120 " 170 " 10d. - " 170 " 230 " 11d. - " 230 " 300 " 12d. - -and one penny in addition on each single letter for every 100 miles -beyond 300. These rates did not include "1d. in addition to be taken -for penny postage" and in certain cases toll-fees. - -[Illustration: A POST-OFFICE IN 1790. - -By permission of the Proprietors of the _City Press_.] - -Under these rates, a single letter to Kirkwall from Southampton cost -1s. 7d.; to London 9d., plus the penny postage; Cork 1s. 3d., &c. -These rates were for a single-sheet letter, the charge being multiplied -by two for a double letter, by four for an ounce, which is one-quarter -of the weight at present allowed on a letter which costs us a modest -penny. - -Letters for overseas were correspondingly high as the following -comparisons will show:-- - - Single-sheet Letter. 1 oz. Letter. - 1830. 1911. - - Austria 2s. 3d. 2½d. - Brazil } - Buenos Aires } 3s. 5d. 2½d. - Chili, Peru, &c.} - Canary Islands 2s. 6d. 2½d. - Germany 1s. 9d. 2½d. - Hayti 2s. 11d. 2½d. - Honduras 2s. 11d. 2½d. - Portugal 2s. 2d. 2½d. - Russia 2s. 3d. 2½d. - Spain 2s. 2d. 2½d. - Sweden 1s. 8d. 2½d. - Turkey 2s. 2d. 2½d. - United States 2s. 1d. 1d. - British West Indies and} - British North America } 2s. 1d. 1d. - Malta, Gibraltar 2s. 2d. 1d. - St. Helena 1s. 8½d. 1d. - -The registration fee on foreign letters was, in the early nineteenth -century, one guinea per letter; to-day it is twopence. - -[Illustration: THE COMMEMORATIVE LETTER BALANCE DESIGNED BY MR. S. -KING, OF BATH (1840). - -A monument "which may be possessed by every family in the United -Kingdom."] - -These are but a few examples showing what a mighty change was wrought -with the introduction of the Uniform Penny Postage plan of Rowland -Hill. The circumstances under which the new plan was introduced -included several factors to which may be attributed a share in the -success of Hill's plan. First, the uniform and low minimum rate of -one penny on inland letters, dispensing with tedious calculations of -distance. By some it was feared that the necessity for calculating the -weight would be more troublesome than examining the letter against a -lighted candle to see if it were "single" or "double," and scores of -"penny post letter balances" were placed upon the market at the outset. -Next was the increased facility of transit provided by the then growing -system of railways, and the subsequent development of steam-power at -sea. - -[Illustration: MR. KING'S LETTER BALANCE HAD A TRIPOD BASE, AS IN -THE UPPERMOST FIGURE, THUS AFFORDING THREE TABLETS, ON WHICH THE -ASSOCIATIONS OF J. PALMER, ROWLAND HILL, AND QUEEN VICTORIA WITH POSTAL -REFORM ARE RECORDED.] - -But the one factor which to us is the most notable contribution to the -success of the Penny Postage plan, was the square inch of paper with -its backing of glutinous wash. This enabled the authorities to effect -the introduction of prepayment, and save the long delays formerly -occasioned by the postman having to await payment for each letter on -delivery. It saved the complicated system by which the Post Office had -to ensure that the postman did get paid, and in his turn accounted for -the money to his office. It was to this simple contrivance of a small -label, issued by authority, to indicate the prepayment of postage that -the practical success of Hill's plan was greatly due. The little stamps -are the royal _diplomata_ which enable us all, at a modest fee, to use -His Majesty's mails, a privilege enjoyed by great and small, by rich -and poor. So stamp-collectors deem the objects of their interest to -have achieved a vast reform in internal and universal communications, -giving a powerful impetus to social progress, international commerce, -and the world's peace. - -The year before the introduction of Uniform Penny Postage there were -75,907,572 letters dealt with by the Post Office. The number was more -than doubled in the first year of the new system, and the subsequent -growth of correspondence is outlined in the figures (letters only) for -the following years:-- - - 1840 168,768,344 - 1850 347,069,071 - 1860 564,002,000 - 1870 862,722,000 - 1880 1,176,423,600 - 1890 1,705,800,000 - 1900 2,323,600,000 - 1910 2,947,100,000 - - - - -II - -THE -DEVELOPMENT -OF AN -IDEA - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN IDEA - - Early instances of contrivances to denote prepayment - of postage--The "Two _Sous_" Post--_Billets de port - payé_--A passage of wit between the French Sappho and M. - Pellisson--Dockwra's letter-marks--Some fabulous stamped - wrappers of the Dutch Indies--Letter-sheets used in - Sardinia--Lieut. Treffenberg's proposals for "Postage Charts" - in Sweden--The postage-stamp idea "in the air"--Early British - reformers and their proposals--The Lords of the Treasury start - a competition--Mr. Cheverton's prize plan--A find of papers - relating to the contest--A square inch of gummed paper--The - Sydney embossed envelopes--The Mulready envelope--The - Parliamentary envelopes--The adhesive stamp popularly preferred - to the Mulready envelope. - - -The simplest inventions are usually apt adaptations. The postage-stamp, -as we know it to-day, can scarcely be said to have been invented, -though much wild controversy has raged about the identity of its -"inventor." The historian must prefer to regard the postage-stamp of -to-day as the development of an idea. - -It would not serve any purpose useful to the present subject to trace -to its beginnings the use of stamped paper for the collection of -Government revenues; but it is highly interesting to disentangle -from the web of history the facts which show this system to have -been recognised as applicable to the collection of postages by the -prototypes of the reformers of 1840. - -The first known instance of special printed wrappers being sold for -the convenience of users of a postal organisation occurred in Paris -in 1653. At this time France had its General Post, just as England -about the same time had set up a General Letter Office in the City of -London; but in neither case did the General Post handle local letters. -To despatch a letter to the country from Paris, or from London, there -was no choice but to deliver it personally, or send it by private -messenger, to the one solitary repository in either city for the -conveyance of correspondence by the Government post. - -The porters of London found no small part of the exercise of their -trade in carrying letters to the General Letter Office, and in Paris, -no doubt, a similar class of men enjoyed the benefit of catering at -individual rates for what is now done on the vast co-operative plan of -the State monopoly. - -In 1653, a Frenchman, M. de Villayer, afterwards Comte de Villayer, -set up as a private enterprise (but with royal authority) the _petite -poste_ in Paris, which had for its _raison d'être_ the carrying of -letters to the General Post, and also the delivery of local letters -within the city. He distributed letter-boxes at prominent positions -in the chief thoroughfares in Paris, into which his customers could -drop their letters and from whence his _laquais_ could collect them at -regular intervals. At certain appointed places M. de Villayer placed -on sale letter-covers, or wrappers, which bore a _marque particulier_, -and which, being sold at the rate of a penny each (two _sous_), were -permitted to frank any letter deposited in the numerous letter-boxes -of the Villayer post to any point within the city. The post is the one -afterwards referred to by Voltaire as the "two-_sous_ post." - -These wrappers, then, were the first printed franks for the collection -of postage from the public. The exact nature of the matter imprinted -upon them is uncertain; but it probably included M. de Villayer's -coat of arms, and it was on this hypothesis that the late M. Maury, -the French philatelist, reconstructed an approximate imitation of the -original form of cover. The covers, it should be stated, were wrapped -around the letters by the senders, and were then dropped in the boxes. -In the process of sorting for delivery, the servants of M. de Villayer -removed the special cover, which removal was practically the equivalent -of the cancellation of the stamps of to-day. - -These covers undoubtedly represent the first known form of printed -postage-stamps, being the forerunners of the impressed non-adhesive -stamps of to-day. The Maury reconstruction is fanciful, but the -inscriptions thereon are literally correct. Owing to the removal of the -covers (which were probably broken in the process) during the postal -operations no originals of these covers are now known to exist. Indeed, -the only true relics of the _billets de port payé_ of M. de Villayer -are in the two fragments of correspondence between M. Pellisson and -the French Sappho, Mlle. Scudéri. Pellisson, who was not noted for -his good looks, addressed "Mademoiselle SAPHO, demeurant en la rue, -au pays des _Nouveaux Sansomates_, à Paris, par billet de port payé." -Signing himself "Pisandre," he inquired if the lady could give him -a remedy for love. Her reply, sent by the same means, was, "My dear -Pisandre, you have only to look at yourself in a mirror." It was of -this correspondent that the lady once declared, "It is permissible to -be ugly, but Pellisson has really abused the permission." - -The London Penny Post of 1680, while it did not use special covers -for the prepayment of letters, introduced the system of marking on -letters, by means of hand-stamps, the time and place of posting and -the intimation "Penny Post Payd." Dockwra, instead of setting up boxes -in the public streets, organised a great circle of receiving houses to -which the senders took their letters and paid their pennies over the -counter. So the principle of the postage-stamp, as we know it to-day, -was not represented in the triangular hand-stamps of Dockwra, or of his -successors in the official Penny Post. - -A device representing the arms of Castile and Leon was used in the -eighteenth century as a kind of frank or stamp which passed official -correspondence through the posts, and in the last quarter of that -century the Chevalier Paris de l'Epinard proposed in Brussels the -erection of a local post with a mark or stamp of some kind to denote -postage prepaid--a plan which, however, was not adopted. - -[Illustration: A FACSIMILE OF THE ADDRESS SIDE OF A PENNY POST LETTER -IN 1686, SHOWING THE "PENY POST PAYD" MARK INSTITUTED BY DOCKWRA AND -CONTINUED BY THE GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES.] - -[Illustration: FACSIMILE OF THE CONTENTS OF THE PENNY POST LETTER OF -1686.] - -There is a curious account given by a correspondent in _The Philatelic -Record_ [xii. 138] of some so-called stamps said to have been used -in the Dutch Indies. The writer, whose account has never so far as I am -aware received any definite confirmation, says:-- - -"At the beginning of this year [1890] were discovered amongst some old -Government documents at Batavia some curious and hitherto--whether here -or in Europe--unknown postally used envelopes, with value indicated.... -In the time of Louis XIV. it is believed that postage-stamps existed; -but nobody has been able to bring them to light, consequently we have -in these hand-stamped envelopes of the Dutch East Indian Company -absolutely the oldest documents of philatelic lore. - -"The letter-sheets are all made from the same paper, and are all of the -same size--namely, about 23 × 19 centimetres; whilst the side which is -most interesting to us--the 'address' or 'stamp' side--is folded to a -size of 103 × 88 mm. Up to the present the following values have been -found:-- - - 3 stivers black - 5 " " - 5 " red - 6 " black - 6 " " {_double_; that is to say, two stamps - {of 6 stivers side by side. - 10 " " - 10 " red - 15 " " - -"On the address-side is no date stamp, and no indication of the office -of departure; also the figures denoting the year are only discernible -on the seal of each letter. On the specimens hitherto found are the -dates from 1794 to 1809; but it is quite possible that other values -may be unearthed. So far, of all the above values together, only about -thirty specimens are known.... These envelopes came from various places -in the Dutch Indian Archipelago." - -[Illustration: THE OFFICIAL NOTIFICATION OF DECEMBER 3, 1818, RELATING -TO THE USE OF THE SARDINIAN LETTER SHEETS. - -Described in the records of the Schroeder collection as "the oldest -official notification of any country in the world relating to postage -stamps." - - -MANIFESTO CAMERALE - - Portante notificanza che la Carta Postale-bollata, stabilita - colle Regie Patenti delli 7 dello scorso novembre, sarà - provvisionalmente posta in corso non filagranata; della - dimensione ordinaria della Carta cosi detta da Lettere, e - munita dei bolli relativi alle tre qualità della medesima - pienamente conformi agli impronti lvi delineati. - -_In data delli 3 dicembre 1818._ - -TORINO, - -DALLA STAMPERIA REALE.] - -[Illustration: (_Continuation from previous page._) - -THE MODELS SHOW THE DEVICES FOR THE THREE DENOMINATIONS: 15, 25, AND 50 -_CENTESIMI_ RESPECTIVELY. - - 3. Che all'epoca in cui comincierà la distribuzione della nuova - carta filagranata cesserà l'uso della carta bollata non - filagranata; e che i foglj rimanenti della medesima potranno - essere cangiati contro altrettanti della nuova con filagrana. - - I diversi bolli che verranno apposti sovra la carta provvisionale - non filagranata, saranno pienamente conformi agl'impronti - infra delineati, i quali unitamente ai loro modelli, ed agli - esemplari della carta suddetta sono stati depositati negli - Archivj nostri giusta il disposto dall'articolo 2' delle - mentovate Regie Patenti delli 7 dello scorso novembre. - -_Modelli de' Bolli._ - - Mandiamo il presente pubblicarsi ai luoghi, e modi soliti, ed - alle copie che ne verranno stampate nella Stamperia Reale - prestarsi la stessa fede che all'originale. - - Dat. in Torino li tre dicembre mille ottocento diciotto. - - _Per detta Eccellentissima Regia_ - _CAMERA_ - - FAVA.] - -The foregoing statement is open to much question, in view of the lapse -of twenty years since the matter was first aired in _The Philatelic -Record_. If authentic, these would be the earliest denominated -stamps for the prepayment of postage, the Dutch _stuiver_ in use in -the colonies being a copper coin equal to about one penny. Perhaps -the introduction of the matter in these Chats will, in the light of -increased modern facilities for research, bring the subject before the -notice of our Dutch philatelic _confrères_. - -The Sardinian letter sheets of the early nineteenth century are now -tolerably well known to stamp-collectors. They, however, represented -a Government tax on the privilege of letter-carrying, rather than a -direct prepayment of postage. These were the product of a curious -anomaly in the exercise of the postal monopoly by the Government of -Sardinia. It was forbidden to send letters and packets otherwise than -through the Government post; but as this latter was very inefficient, -and in many parts of the country was practically non-existent, the -authorities established by decree, in 1818, a system whereby the people -for whom the Government post was inconvenient, if not absolutely -useless, could send their letters by other means. To effect this the -senders had to supply themselves from a post-office with a stock of -special letter sheets, stamped with a device of a mounted post-boy, -within a circular, oval, or octagonal frame, at a cost of 15, 25, or -50 _centesimi_ apiece. The use of these stamped letter sheets, bought -from the post-office, was an authority for their conveyance by private -means, but not through the ordinary channels of the Sardinian postal -organisation. Thus, while the Post Office took its full charges for the -conveyance of such letters, it did not perform the work of collecting, -transmitting, and delivering them. The three denominations, 15, 25, -and 50 _centesimi_ were used for letters conveyed varying distances -according to the Government postal tariff, from which, however, the -actual messenger derived no benefit, his remuneration being over and -above these official charges. - -[Illustration: SARDINIAN LETTER SHEET OF 1818: 15 CENTESIMI. - -THE 25 CENTESIMI LETTER SHEET OF SARDINIA. - -Issued in Sardinia, 1818: the earliest use of Letter Sheets with -embossed stamps.] - -The next proposal of stamped covers the historian has to note, is that -embodied in a Bill introduced in the Swedish Riksdag, March 3, 1823, by -Lieutenant Curry Gabriel Treffenberg. His proposals included: "Stamped -paper of varying values, to be used as wrappers for letters, should -be introduced and kept for sale in the cities by the Chartæ Sigillatæ -deputies, or by other persons appointed for that purpose by the General -Chartæ Sigillatæ Office at Stockholm, and in the rural districts, by -the sheriffs and other private persons." Private persons were to be -granted the privilege of selling these "Postage Charts" by the local -officials representing the Crown authorities on obtaining proper -security. - -The actual proposals for the distinguishing character of the stamped -covers were:-- - -"The Postage Charts should be made of the size of an ordinary letter -sheet, but without being folded lengthwise as these are. The paper -should be strong but not coarse, and in order to make forgery more -difficult, should contain a circular design, easy to discover. It -should also be of some light colour. - -"In the centre of the paper two stamps should be impressed side by -side, occupying together a space of six square inches. One of the -stamps should be impressed into the paper and the other should be -printed with black ink. Both should contain, besides the value of the -Chart, some suitable emblem which would be difficult to imitate. The -assortment of values should be made to meet all requirements." - -The letters were to be folded so that the stamps would be outside, and -so easily cancelled or otherwise marked if required; and in the case of -the despatch of packets too large to enclose within a chart, the latter -could be cut down, preserving the stamped portion, which was to be sent -along with the packet, both packet and chart bearing marks by which the -two could be identified and associated in the course of the post. - -The Bill did not pass the Riksdag, and so Sweden was deprived of the -national credit of giving a lead to the nations of the world in a -postage-stamp system, not very different in principle from that of -Great Britain in 1840. - -[Illustration: THE HIGHEST DENOMINATION, 50 CENTESIMI, OF THE SARDINIAN -LETTER SHEETS.] - -[Illustration: ONE OF THE TEMPORARY ENVELOPES ISSUED FOR THE USE OF -MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS, PRIOR TO THE ISSUE OF STAMPS AND COVERS -TO THE PUBLIC, 1840.] - -I now come to the period of the active development of the idea, -and so far from the stamp being a particular invention of the fourth -decade of the nineteenth century, we must recognise that, beyond all -controversy, the notion--whether for an impressed or an adhesive -stamp is of little matter--was "in the air." It was stated before the -Select Committee on Postage, on February 23, 1838, by a Mr. Louis, -formerly Superintendent of Mails, that a plan for stamped covers was -communicated to him "by Mr. Stead of Yarmouth, a gentleman who has -interested himself a good deal about the Post Office."[1] The sheets -of paper were to be stamped and sold to persons who would then be at -liberty "to send their letters by conveyances not suitable to Post -Office hours." - -The scheme had been proposed to the Post Office according to Mr. Louis -in his evidence "many years ago," and it is attributed by some writers -to 1829, though I can trace no source for their information as to this -date. - -The plan, from the rather vague remembrance of the witness before the -Committee, may have been simply one to introduce the Sardinian method -of 1818 into this country, and in any case there are no concrete relics -of Mr. Stead's ideas in the shape of essays. Mr. Charles Whiting, of -the Beaufort House Press, entered the arena of postal reform some -time prior to March, 1830, but we have no definite knowledge of his -proposals previous to that date. In that year Mr. Whiting suggested -the use of stamped bands for the prepayment of postage on printed -matter.[2] - -Mr. Whiting called his stamped wrappers "Go frees," and he is -understood to have intended the plan to extend to written matter, if -it proved successful in an experimental trial with printed matter. The -plan did not get a trial, and no greater success attended the efforts -of Mr. Charles Knight, the celebrated publisher, who suggested stamped -wrappers as a means of collecting postage on newspapers, subject to -the abolition of the "Taxes on Knowledge," which were the occasion -of a vigorous campaign set on foot in 1834. According to _Hansard_, -a resolution was moved by Mr. Edward Lytton Bulwer, May 22, 1834, -"that it is expedient to repeal the Stamp Duty on newspapers at the -earliest possible period," and in the course of the debate the member -for Hull, Mr. Matthew Davenport Hill, advocating the payment of a penny -upon an unstamped newspaper sent by post, said: "To put an end to any -objections that might be made as to the difficulty of collecting the -money, he would adopt the suggestion of a person well qualified to give -an opinion on the subject--he alluded to Mr. Knight, the publisher. -That gentleman recommended that a stamped wrapper should be prepared -for such newspapers as it was desired to send by post; and that each -wrapper should be sold at the rate of a penny by the distributors of -stamps in the same way as receipt stamps."[3] - -Mr. Knight had made the proposal referred to in a private letter to -Lord Althorp, Chancellor of the Exchequer.[4] - -The ultimate result of the campaign was the reduction, not the -abolition, of the Newspaper Tax, and, as the reduced tax of one penny -for an ordinary newspaper included free transmission in the post, there -was no need for the adoption of Mr. Knight's proposal at that time. -It is to be noted, however, that Mr. Knight was an active supporter -of Rowland Hill's plan a few years later, and that Hill was not -unaware of the suggestion, for he wrote of it in his pamphlet that: -"Availing myself of this excellent suggestion, I propose the following -arrangement:--Let stamped covers and sheets of paper be supplied to the -public from the Stamp Office or Post Office, as may be most convenient, -and sold at such a price as to include the postage: letters so stamped -might be put into the letter-box, as at present." - -Dr. Gray, the eminent zoologist of the British Museum and one of the -earliest scientific collectors of postage-stamps, made a somewhat -ambiguous claim to the authorship of the proposal for the prepayment -of postage by means of stamps. When challenged by Rowland Hill in _The -Athenæum_,[5] he stated in that journal that "I have simply said I -believe I was the first who proposed the system of a small uniform -rate of postage to be prepaid by stamps." When Mr. Knight entered upon -the _Athenæum_ correspondence, Dr. Gray reminded him of an incident: - -"In the spring of 1834 we [Knight and Gray] were fellow-passengers -in the basket of a Blackheath coach, when the subject was -discussed. I then stated, as I had frequently done before to other -fellow-travellers, my views in relation to the prepayment of postage -by stamps. These views Mr. Knight combated, and so little was he then -prepared to adopt them that he exclaimed, as he quitted the coach at -the corner of Fleet Street, 'Gray, you are more fit for Bedlam than for -the British Museum.'" Knight, whose case has the advantage of attaining -substantial record in _Hansard_ and _The Mirror of Parliament_, -disclaimed any connection with the incident, and left his friends to -decide "whether the language, stated to have been used by me to a -gentleman of scientific eminence, would not have been better suited to -a costermonger returning from Greenwich fair than to mine." - -[Illustration: THE "JAMES CHALMERS" ESSAY.] - -Mr. Wallace, the member for Greenock, was perhaps the first to turn -Rowland Hill's attention in the direction of a serious campaign for -postal reform, and Wallace succeeded in 1837 in getting a Committee -"to inquire into the present rates and modes of charging postage, -with a view to such a reduction thereof as may be made without injury -to the revenue; and for this purpose, to examine especially into the -mode recommended for charging and collecting postage in a pamphlet -published by Mr. Rowland Hill." The Committee started its sessions -in February, 1838, and it had the advantage of the reports of the -Commissioners of Post Office Inquiry, and the collection of much -valuable material by a Mercantile Committee, of which Mr. (afterwards -Sir) Henry Cole was secretary. - -[Illustration: ROUGH SKETCHES IN WATER-COLOURS SUBMITTED BY ROWLAND -HILL TO THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER FOR THE FIRST POSTAGE STAMPS.] - -The proposals from this time on, till the issue of the stamps, were -numerous. The Commissioners of Post Office Inquiry had printed samples -of several suggested letter-sheets for use by the London District post, -in their "Ninth Report, 1837." Mr. J. W. Parker, of the Cambridge -Bible Warehouse, West Strand, London, printed a somewhat similar -letter-sheet, with advertisement on the reverse, which was circulated -with W. H. Ashurst's "Facts and Reasons in support of Mr. Rowland -Hill's plan for a Universal Penny Postage,"[6] and Mr. James Chalmers -of Dundee first communicated to the Mercantile Committee a proposal -that stamped slips should be printed at the Stamp Office on prepared -paper, furnished with adhesive matter on the back. These slips were to -be sold to the public, and affixed by senders to their letters; and -postmasters were to deface the stamps in the course of the post. He -included two specimens; similar specimens were submitted by Chalmers to -the Treasury in the same year. - -In 1839, the first uniform postage Act (2 and 3 Vict. c. 52) was -passed, and the Lords of the Treasury, in preparing to give effect to -the plan of Rowland Hill, extended an invitation to "artists, men of -science and the public in general" to submit proposals in competition -for prizes of £200 and £100, for the best and next best proposals. My -Lords stated that in the course of the inquiries and discussions on the -subject, several plans were suggested, _viz._, stamped covers, stamped -paper, and stamps to be used separately, and "the points which the -Board consider of the greatest importance are:-- - - "1. The convenience as regards the public use. - - "2. The security against forgery. - - "3. The facility of being checked and distinguished at the Post - Office, which must of necessity be rapid. - - "4. The expense of the production and circulation of the stamps." - -The contest brought in about 2,700 suggestions, and although none was -actually adopted, the suggestions contained in some were deemed of -value. The Treasury increased the amount of prizes to £400, dividing -that sum equally between Mr. Benjamin Cheverton, Mr. Charles Whiting, -Mr. Henry Cole, and Messrs. Perkins, Bacon & Co. Mr. Stead of Norwich, -Mr. John Dickinson, the paper-maker, Mr. R. W. Sievier, the sculptor, -Mr. S. Henderson of Dalkeith and others were included amongst the -competitors. Until recently, however, little or nothing has been known -as to the nature of these suggestions, except that the majority were -impracticable; but it is on record that Mr. Charles Whiting sent in -at least one hundred samples, embodying his ideas or illustrative of -designs and methods of duplication in use at his printing establishment. - -[Illustration: HITHERTO UNPUBLISHED EXAMPLES OF THE PROPOSALS SUBMITTED -TO THE LORDS OF THE TREASURY IN 1839 IN COMPETITION FOR PRIZES OFFERED -IN CONNECTION WITH THE PENNY POSTAGE PLAN. - -(_From the Author's Collection._)] - -However, in May, 1910, an article which I contributed to _The Daily -Mail_ brought from the daughter of Mr. Cheverton a letter in which she -made the interesting statement that her late father's papers relating -to the proposals made by him in 1839 were still in her possession. She -very kindly promised me a sight of them. - -Enthusiasts know how difficult it is, when on the verge of an -anticipated discovery, to possess their souls in patience, hoping -for at least a sight of the find; but my patience in this case was -unavailing, for the next I heard of the treasured papers and the dies -was--and this is some consolation--that they were in the capable hands -of the Earl of Crawford, who prepared and subsequently read before the -Royal Philatelic Society a scholarly reconstruction of Cheverton's plan. - -Fortune, however, made me some compensation shortly afterwards. The -upheaval and dispersal of an old store of rubbish and unconsidered -trifles brought into my possession a considerable parcel of papers -accumulated by the Lords of the Treasury in response to their -invitation of 1839, and which, after lying hidden for nearly -three-quarters of a century, have fortunately escaped total destruction -in the year of grace 1911. - -The suggestions are mostly crude designs in the form of pencil or -crayon work on envelopes, pen and ink drawings for adhesive labels, -and in one case the latter were made up in such form as to suggest how -the labels would be printed in sheets. The unravelling of the plans -for which these various suggestions were made is not yet complete, -but they will, I trust, yield to further investigation and admit of -extensive description in a forthcoming work in which Mr. Charles Nissen -is collaborating with me on the subject of British essays and proofs -for postage-stamps. - -It was towards the end of 1839 that Mr. Henry Cole visited Messrs. -Perkins, Bacon & Co., then at Fleet Street, and told them that the idea -of the authorities was that the adhesive labels should be about one -square inch in size, and on December 3, 1839, that firm submitted their -first estimate of not exceeding eightpence per thousand, nor less than -sixpence per thousand, the price being exclusive of paper. The process -by which they were to be produced is the now well-known system known as -the "Perkins mill and die" process, a method of production which was -adopted in due course, and has never been superseded for the production -of artistic stamps. - -The history of the making of the stamp, the combination of the art of -Wyon, Corbould, and Heath, I have dealt with elsewhere, so I turn to -the envelope plan. Stamped covers, as we have seen, had been used in -Sardinia in 1818 and, in a different fashion, in Paris as early as -1653. In 1838, while Britain was in the throes of the postal agitation, -New South Wales actually issued and used embossed envelopes, which -were sold in Sydney at 1s. 3d. per dozen sheets. The embossed design -consisted of the royal coat of arms of William IV. enclosed in a -circular frame, bearing the words "General Post Office--New South -Wales." - -[Illustration: THE ADDRESS SIDE OF THE MODEL LETTER WHICH HAS THE STAMP -(SHOWN BELOW) AFFIXED TO THE BACK AS A SEAL.] - -[Illustration: ANOTHER OF THE UNPUBLISHED ESSAYS SUBMITTED IN THE -COMPETITION OF 1839 FOR THE PENNY POSTAGE PLAN. - -(_From the Author's Collection._)] - -The envelope proposals that were before the Treasury in 1839 consisted -mainly of rough sketches, but in a few cases of elaborate printed -designs (_e.g._, Harwood's envelope), and the patterns made up of -intricate geometrical work like the specimens in Ashurst's "Facts -and Reasons" and the "Ninth Report." Cole called upon Mr. William -Mulready and invited him to draw a design for the envelope, and it was -decided that this design should be printed on the paper with the silk -threads embedded in its substance, a paper which has since been known -to philatelists as "Dickinson" paper, after the name of its inventor. -Mr. Dickinson had all along been keenly interested in the proposals -for postage reform, and was a witness before the Select Committee in -1837, providing paper with threads in it for the essays in the Report. -Many of the chief officials and the agitators were convinced of the -protection that this paper offered against forgery, and it is not -generally known--I mention it as specimens of the paper are by no means -commonly met with--that Mr. Dilke was so convinced of the importance -of the use of this paper that he printed the entire issue of _The -Athenæum_ for April 28, 1838, on the thread paper.[7] Mr. Dickinson's -firm was at that time supplying the regular _Athenæum_ paper. - -Among the rarities for which collectors, even general collectors, will -pay high prices are the temporary letter-covers prepared in January, -1840, to give members of Parliament the first privilege of using the -penny "post-frees." There are several kinds with inscriptions reading -"Houses of Parliament," "House of Lords," and "House of Commons." These -were in use from January 16th, but their great rarity suggests that the -use of them was not extensive. That, no doubt, was attributable to the -injunction, "To be posted at the House of ... only." - -The public in London first saw the stamps on May 1, 1840, when Sir -Rowland Hill reports, "Great bustle at the Stamp Office"--£2,500 worth -were sold on the first day. They did not come into use, however, until -May 6th, when Sir Henry Cole went to the Post Office and reported that -"about half the letters were stamped." - -The envelopes, covers and labels were issued simultaneously. Within -six days the "labels" won the race for popular favour. "I fear," -wrote Hill on May 12th, "we shall be obliged to substitute some other -stamp for that designed by Mulready, which is abused and ridiculed on -all sides.... I am already turning my attention to the substitution -of another stamp, combining with it, as the public have shown their -disregard and even distaste for beauty, some further economy in the -production." - -[Illustration: PROOF OF THE MULREADY ENVELOPE ON INDIA PAPER, SIGNED BY -ROWLAND HILL. - -(_From the Peacock Papers._)] - -Sir Rowland Hill was perhaps pardonably piqued at the success which -the label won from the start, at the expense of the elaborate envelope -design on which the artistic ideals of both Cole and Hill had set -their hopes.[8] It was not the public lack of appreciation of -beauty or art, but their ready selection of the convenient and the -practical, instead of the imaginative and sentimental, and, it must -be admitted, very impracticable, design for the envelopes and covers. -More than two decades later--May, 1863--Sir Rowland Hill, writing to -Signor Perazzi, who was making inquiries on behalf of the Italian -authorities, said, "I do consider them [stamped envelopes] as of real -use to the public, although the small proportion used (not more than 1 -per cent., I believe), shows that the demand for them is comparatively -insignificant." - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] "Select Committee on Postage, First Report, 1838," p. 122, -questions 1829, 1830. - -[2] It should be remembered that newspapers had for many years (since -1712) been the subject of a tax, and until 1855, when the newspaper tax -was abolished, such papers passed through the post free. - -[3] _Hansard_, xxxiii., p. 1214. - -[4] _Athenæum_, No. 1836, January 3, 1863, p. 18. - -[5] Nos. 1834 (December 20, 1862) and 1835 (December 27, 1862). - -[6] Second edition 1838. - -[7] Mr. John Collins Francis refers to this issue in his two volumes, -"John Francis and _The Athenæum_," published by Bentley in 1888. - -[8] It is said to have cost £1,000; the art of the label cost, to Mr. -Corbould £12 12s., to Mr. Heath £52 10s. - - - - -III - -SOME -EARLY -PIONEERS -OF -PHILATELY - - - - -CHAPTER III - -SOME EARLY PIONEERS OF PHILATELY - - "Hobbyhorsical" collections--The application of the term - "Foreign Stamp Collecting"--The Stamp Exchange in Birchin - Lane--A celebrated lady stamp-dealer--The Saturday rendezvous - at the All Hallows Staining Rectory--Prominent collectors - of the first period--The first stamp catalogues--The words - _Philately_ and _Timbrologie_--Philatelic periodicals--Justin - Lallier's albums--The Philatelic Society, London. - - -We have already seen something of the growth of the postage-stamp -idea among the nations of the world. It will now be convenient for us -to discuss the manner in which these postage-stamps first came to be -regarded in the light of _objets de curiosité_. From the beginning of -the postage-stamp system there is no doubt many people of advanced -ideas took a very keen interest in the success of the new institution. -The accumulating of the stamps by individuals began almost immediately -after their issue in 1840, as is clear from the advertisement in _The -Times_ of 1841 in which "A young lady being desirous of covering her -dressing room with cancelled postage-stamps" invited the assistance -of strangers in her fanciful project. This is probably typical of -the character and _motif_ of the collecting until _circa_ 1850, and -_Punch's_ quip (1842) that the ladies of England betrayed more anxiety -to treasure up Queen's heads than King Henry VIII. did to get rid of -them, has served to perpetuate the popular early definition of the -stamps of the Victorian reign as "Queen's heads." - -This form of collecting was "hobbyhorsical" in the extreme; it -recognised no other objects than the attainment of numbers, or the -production of a new form of wall-paper, using the old stamps as -the _tesseræ_ of a mosaic. At these times collecting was probably -considered a test of the _bona fides_ of philanthropic appellants, for -we trace to the earliest decade of stamp issuing the popular notion -that the accumulated treasure of a million of old stamps will provide -an "open sesame" for an orphan into a home, or that in old age one may -find a haven of rest in an asylum. There is the grain of truth in the -latter prospect which is sufficient to perpetuate a great error. To -take a million stamps collected from old letters to any asylum might -well ensure a ready admittance and hospitable retention. - -It was during the middle 'fifties that schoolboys began to give their -attention to the "foreign stamp collecting." I say "foreign" advisedly, -for the early interest was almost entirely centred in the stamp issues -of other countries, and it pleased the youthful mind to receive -specimens from Brazil or the United States. The stamps which passed in -the post before his own eyes every day were treated with the contempt -that is bred of familiarity. In later years the old designation of -"foreign stamp collecting" is by no means correct as applied to the -scope of modern Philately. Patriotism had led the fashion of the time -to the cult of the stamps of our own nation and its possessions. - -There are several claims to priority of interest in collecting stamps -which have been put forward in recent years. Mr. E. S. Gibbons is said -to have collected when at school in 1854. He was then fourteen, having -been born in the year of the introduction of postage stamps. He is said -to have been dealing in stamps about 1856. Mr. W. S. Lincoln tells of -an album still in his possession inscribed "Collection of stamps made -by W. Lincoln 1854." The memoranda in that book are: - - "1854, 210 varieties. - 1855, 310 varieties." - -In the following year (1856) he was exchanging stamps with another -collector. - -The late editor of _Le Timbre-Poste_ (Brussels), M. J. B. Moëns, -started collecting about 1855, and produced the earliest of the -continental periodicals devoted exclusively to philately from -1863-1900. His earliest English rival of any pretensions, _The Stamp -Collector's Magazine_, was edited by Dr. C. W. Viner, whose interest -in the subject began about 1855 by assisting a lady friend to form a -chart representative of the postage-stamps of the world. This simple -form of collecting was evidently much in vogue in the later 'fifties -and remained during the next decade, and a photograph of one of these -taken in the 'sixties will be found among the illustrations. It was -not until 1860 that Dr. Viner took up the pursuit on his own behalf. -And with 1860 and the next few years we have evidences of the spread -of the newer form of stamp-collecting, which was to give the pursuit -the scientific interest and value which were to ensure its permanence -and to make it in the present year of grace the most widely popular of -all collecting hobbies. In those days collections were limited by the -comparatively small number of stamps that had been issued, but even -then the phantom of completeness was not within reach. "I remember -counting my stamps with much glee when they reached a hundred," -wrote Dr. Viner in 1889. "I _saw_ some collections with two or three -hundred, and _heard_ of one with five hundred. Cancelled specimens -were principally seen; but I can recall one collection rich in unused -Naples, Sicily, Tuscany, and other Italian States purchased at their -several post-offices by a young traveller." - -[Illustration: A POSTAGE STAMP "CHART"--ONE OF THE EARLY FORMS OF -STAMP-COLLECTING.] - -It is very significant that the collectors of this early period of whom -any records are preserved were mostly men of culture and of position. -The boy was still the main influence and in a majority, but he was in -stamp-collecting the father to the man. The historic and scientific -possibilities of the pursuit were still but dimly recognised by the -mass of collectors. An active exchange of stamps had been carried on -from about 1860 in Birchin Lane, London, where crowds of youngsters -used to meet and exchange stamps. They were frequently joined by -their elders. Fifty to a hundred barterers of all ages and ranks and of -both sexes were there in the evenings of the spring of 1862. "We have -seen one of Her Majesty's Ministry there," says _The Stamp Collector's -Magazine_ of 1863. Characteristic examples of the conversation at -these gatherings were given in the same magazine: "Have you a yellow -Saxon?"--"I want a Russian"--"I'll give a red Prussian for a blue -Brunswicker"--"Will you exchange a Russian for a black English?"--"I -wouldn't give a Russian for twenty English." The date attributed to -these overheard remarks is 1861. The police intervened later and the -exchanging had to be done more or less surreptitiously. But still -the group formed in the neighbouring alleys, and still included the -Cabinet Minister and "ladies, album in hand," and it is recorded that -one of the ladies "contrived to effect a highly advantageous exchange -of a very so-so specimen for a rarity, with a young friend of ours, -who salvoed his greenness with the apologetic remark that he could not -drive a hard bargain with a lady." - -Similar scenes went on in the gardens of the Tuilleries at Paris, -and in other cities they centred around establishments set up by the -earliest dealers in postage stamps. Birchin Lane contained the business -premises of at least one dealer--a lady--and there was in Paris, -in the rue Taitbout, Mme. Nicholas, a little person, "rather lean, -very active, lively and intelligent," of whom M. Mahé tells in his -reminiscences. For a long period she held "le sceptre dans le royaume -des timbres, royaume où la loi salique n'exerce pas ses injustes -rigueurs." A woman with considerable talent for business, she and her -husband kept a modest little reading-room in a small shop in the rue -Taitbout. To this business she added, possibly at the suggestion of -one of the Paris amateurs of the period, the business in stamps. Her -shop became the regular meeting-place of the _dilettanti_, and these -were men of substance and intelligence who were not to be charged with -following "fancies too weak for boys, too green and idle for girls of -nine." - -In London, too, there was a coterie of amateurs among whom were men of -distinction. We might trace the birth of the higher ideals in stamp -collecting in London to the rectory adjoining All Hallows Staining. -Charles Dickens described the church, all of which save the tower is -now demolished, as "a stuffy little place." The perpetual curate in -charge of this old City living at the time of which I write was the -Rev. F. J. Stainforth, one of the most zealous promoters of the hobby, -"assisting the movement by his well-known readiness to bid high for -any real or supposed rarity." Mr. Stainforth gathered around him the -chief of the serious collectors of the period, and his influence on the -beginnings of the study is probably greater than most collectors of the -present day are aware. Cultured, amiable, and generous, his rectory -was a rendezvous for all seeking information on the subject of stamps -and for those who had information to impart. Perhaps a too abundant -good-nature occasionally resulted in the host being imposed upon, for -it is said that, "utterly devoid of guile himself, he frequently became -the prey of much younger, but more worldly-wise, heads." - -But if there were those who abused the welcome of the rectory, there -were others who imparted a lustre to the little gatherings in the upper -room. Sir Daniel Cooper, Bart., the first Speaker of the Legislative -Assembly of New South Wales, was one of these. He returned from -Australia about 1860-61, and formed an important collection of stamps. -He was elected first President of the Philatelic Society when that body -was formed in 1869. The legal profession was frequently represented at -the rectory by Mr. Philbrick, afterwards his Honour Judge Philbrick, -K.C., and Mr. Hughes-Hughes, who had been called to the Bar in 1842. -There was also a physician in Dr. Viner, a young merchant in Mr. Mount -Brown, and a youngster in his 'teens, who occasionally travelled to -town to attend the Saturday afternoon gatherings and who quickly -displayed an intuition for the scientific in philately which few -have surpassed, and made the name of E. L. Pemberton one of the most -distinguished in the annals of philately. - -The cult was not confined to the metropolis. Most of the early dealers -began operations in the country. The first published list of stamps for -collectors came from a young artist residing in Brighton. Mr. Frederick -Booty was aged twenty when he issued his "Aids to Stamp Collectors" -in April, 1862. Mr. Mount Brown was twenty-five when his "Catalogue -of British, Colonial, and Foreign Stamps" appeared in May of the same -year. The wide difference of years among the enthusiasts of this time -is notable in the third of the early English chroniclers, Dr. Gray, the -eminent naturalist and all-round scientist of the British Museum, who -published his first "Hand Catalogue of Postage Stamps" towards the end -of 1862, the author being then sixty-two years of age. - -The first three catalogues represent three distinct independent -aspects of the collecting of the time. Booty, of Brighton, coming of -an artistic stock, an artist himself, discusses in his preface the -"great variety in execution, colour, and engraving of the design," the -"tasteful arrangement," the whole of a collection, in Mr. Booty's view, -arranged with the embellishments suggested by the artist, forming "a -handsome appendage to the drawing-room table." - -Mr. Mount Brown's catalogue was more practical, if less imaginative in -view. - -Dr. Gray brought the profundity of his scientific training into his -classification of stamps in his "Hand Catalogue." So far as we know, he -worked within the precincts of the British Museum, where he resided, -and had little association, if any, with the rectory reunions. Mr. -Overy Taylor (another of the early and able writers on philately and -the editor of the later editions of "Gray") tells us that the venerable -scientist regarded stamps as "the visible signs of the complete -realisation of a system of communication which in his early maturity -was scarcely more than a generous dream, and by treating them as such -in the preface to his catalogue he at once lifted them above the level -of mere meaningless curiosities." The same writer points out that Dr. -Gray, "bringing to the task the habits and predilections acquired in -the classification of zoological specimens, attached no importance to -colour; to him the design was everything; and whether printed in black -on coloured paper or in coloured ink on white was to him of very little -importance. The intricacies of design he described with the utmost -minuteness, and some of the terms he introduced into his description -have been generally adopted." - -The early continental catalogues showed a similar diversity of -treatment of the subject. The first lists of M. François George Oscar -Berger-Levrault (1861) were mere twelve-page indices to the stamps -known to the compiler, and were printed by autographic lithography at -Strasbourg. - -The first edition of the catalogue of Alfred Potiquet was the first -regularly published guide for the amateur. Its first edition, the -rarest of the items in the collections of the philatelic bibliophiles, -was dated from Paris, 1862, but was actually issued at the end of 1861. -The author, who was an employé of the French Ministry, essayed to -present his catalogue in a geographical classification, but abandoned -it in favour of the alphabetical arrangement as "le plus commode." -His descriptions, though in many cases now known to be inaccurate, -were for the most part very minute, and he notes variations in shade, -the method of production (_lithographiés_, _gravés en taille-douce_, -_typographie_), and, more remarkable still, he states when the -specimens are perforated (_piqués_). - -The catalogue of François Valette--"Père Valette," as the juniors of -the time used to call him--is the most remarkable of all the early -works of this kind. It was more ambitious in its scientific treatment -of the subject. Valette, already an elderly man in 1862, was "un -érudit, un demi-savant," perhaps even a "savant tout entier." He was a -contributor to the journal _La Science_ and acting-proprietor of the -_Bazar Parizer_. His list was arranged on a synoptic basis, and his -introductory essays are the most ambitious of any of the philatelic -writings of 1862, the chapter on frauds and counterfeits providing a -most conclusive indication of the extent to which stamp collecting was -rapidly becoming a popular cult. "Old stamps having become rare, there -are those who have sought methods of counterfeiting them." Valette's -"tableaux synoptiques" are typical of the remarkable character of this -work, and may be briefly summarised here as representing three styles -of classification: (1) Genealogical; (2) heraldic; (3) systematic, -the latter being a scheme for arranging the stamps according to their -colours for comparison. - -It was in Paris that the serious collectors first began to -systematically note the watermarks and to measure the perforations. The -collectors there were divided into two camps over the designation of -the new study. Dr. Legrand, a veteran collector happily still with us, -and still having a warm regard for the objects of his early studies, -led the group who preferred the style of "timbrophile," while M. G. -Herpin produced by a combination of the Greek words φίλος -("philos" = fond of), ἀτέλεια ("ateleia" = exemption from tax) -the word _Philatèle_, which was accepted by many as indicating their -interest in the little labels which denoted that the tax or postage had -been paid. For a long time there was war between the rival camps, and -to this day while Philately (ugly word as it is) is generally accepted -in English-speaking countries and in many other places, _Timbrologie_ -is still preferred by many of the French collectors, and is used in -the title of the chief Parisian institution, the Société Française de -Timbrologie. - -Although several of the English dealers claim to have been engaged in -the business prior to 1862, the study of stamps has been reduced to -so exact a science that students are sceptical of mere reminiscence -and require documental evidence to support claims of this kind. These -should be forthcoming in advertisements in periodicals of the time, -most of which have been thoroughly searched by the historian, and -in early dated lists. In the order of their first known appearances -in print as dealers Mr. P. J. Anderson, of the Aberdeen University -Library, records from _The Boys' Own Magazine_, 1862, Mount Brown, -J. J. Woods, Henry R. Victor, of Belfast, H. Stafford Smith, of Bath -(September, 1862, founder of Stafford Smith and Smith, now Alfred Smith -& Son), Edward L. Pemberton (October), and "Wm. Lincoln, jr., at W. S. -Lincoln & Sons" (December, 1862). Of these the veteran Mr. Lincoln is -still engaged in the business of stamp-dealing, as also are a son of -Alfred Smith and a son of Edward L. Pemberton. - -In 1862 the special periodical literature of the new cult began -with _The Monthly Advertiser_ (December 15th), though _The Monthly -Intelligencer and Controversialist_, published a few months -earlier (September), had been chiefly, but not wholly, devoted to -stamp-collecting. In 1863 _The Stamp Collector's Magazine_ was -founded, and this publication achieved a splendid record during the -twelve years of its existence and laid the basis of much of what is -accurate and precise in our knowledge of the early issues of stamps. -_Le Timbre-Poste_, of Brussels (1863-1900), shared with its British -contemporary a high place in the records of the period and enjoyed -a much longer life of thirty-eight years, the publication having -only ceased upon the retirement of its founder, M. J. B. Moëns. The -beginning having been made, it must soon have become apparent that -there was something in stamp-collecting which called for an extensive -periodical literature; the output practically ever since has been -extremely prolific. These and almost countless monographs have swelled -the libraries of the philatelic bibliophiles to an extent which must -impress, if not necessarily convince, the unbeliever in the fact -of there being some real basis of interest and value to not merely -stimulate the _cacoëthes scribendi_, but also to justify so vast a -number of printers' bills. - -The albums of Justin Lallier date back to 1862, and the name is one -with which to conjure in these days. To describe an old collection for -sale as in a "Lallier" so piques the curiosity of many buyers that -I wot there are many such old collections made up in these days upon -the basis of an old discarded album of the 'sixties or 'seventies, -and offered as tempting baits at the auctions. Lallier is said to -have been no philatelist, and probably that is correct enough, for -those early albums had their spaces so arranged that the collectors -of long ago were led to trim their fine "octagonals" to shape, and to -otherwise vandalise choice items by removing integral portions of them -to beautify the purely commercially issued works which were intended to -be "elegant appendages to the drawing-room table," a character which, -if it did not imply deep study, certainly gave the stamp album of those -days a place second only in veneration and respect to the Family Bible. - -Arising out of the gatherings at Mr. Stainforth's rectory there -grew up in 1869 the Philatelic Society of London, which started its -auspicious career under the presidency of Sir Daniel Cooper, Bart., and -has a roll of Presidents and Vice-Presidents more distinguished than -almost any other learned society can claim. It may fittingly close my -third chapter if I give an outline of this notable succession, adding -only that in November, 1906, His Majesty King Edward VII. graciously -allowed the Society the style and dignity of the prefix "Royal," and -that throughout its long career of usefulness the work of the Society -has been strengthened by numerous other bodies of enthusiasts who -have formed societies in the metropolis, in the provinces and abroad, -extending the popularity of the stamp collector's hobby in every -country which has seen the dawn of civilisation, and moreover creating -a bond of universal brotherhood which makes Philately a world-wide -Freemasonry, and an "open sesame" to the fellowship and hospitality of -collectors everywhere. - - -ROLL OF PRESIDENTS AND VICE-PRESIDENTS OF THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, -LONDON. - - -PRESIDENTS. - -Sir Daniel Cooper, Bart., F.R.G.S., April 10, 1869. - -His Honour Judge F. A. Philbrick, K.C. (elected when Mr. Philbrick), -July 20, 1878. - -H.R.H. the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, K.G. (Hon. President), (elected -when Duke of Edinburgh), December 19, 1890. - -The Earl of Kingston, May 20, 1892. - -His Majesty King George V. (elected when Duke of York), May 29, 1896. - -The Earl of Crawford, K.T., June 16, 1910. - - -VICE-PRESIDENTS. - -His Honour Judge F. A. Philbrick, K.C. (elected when Mr. Philbrick), -April 10, 1869. - -V. G. de Ysasi, Esq., May 20, 1880. - -T. K. Tapling, Esq., M.P., November 5, 1881. - -M. P. Castle, Esq., J.P., May 29, 1891. - -His Majesty King George V. (Hon. Vice-President), (elected when Duke of -York), March 10, 1893. - -The Earl of Crawford, K.T., June 13, 1902. - -M. P. Castle, Esq., J.P. (Hon. Vice-President, June 13, 1902), June 16, -1910. - - - - -IV - -ON -FORMING A -COLLECTION - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -ON FORMING A COLLECTION - - The cost of packet collections--The beginner's - album--Accessories--Preparation of stamps for mounting--The - requirements of "condition"--The use of the stamp-hinge--A - suggestion for the ideal mount--A handy gauge for use in - arranging stamps--"Writing-up." - - -It may be reasonable to judge a philatelist by the stamps he has, -rather than by the way in which he puts them together in his -collection. Yet none can have justice in the process unless he -has given due attention to order and method. Postage-stamps, more -perhaps than any other _objets de collectionner_, are well suited -to neat, orderly arrangement and effective display, with a minimum -of house-room. This very suitability and convenience make some -collectors careless of the arrangement of their specimens, especially -the commoner issues, but I would have everyone treat stamps rare or -common with the same tenderness, and with a keen eye to the beauty of -their arrangement. A rare stamp in itself has little significance; -it requires to be allocated to its fitting place in the mosaic of -stamp-issues comprising a collection, and there can be no beauty -in a few rare stamps if there has been no proper care exercised in -the selection and arrangement of the accompanying issues which go to -complete the picture. - -It is scarcely necessary for me to more than briefly discuss the -methods of starting to collect stamps, but it may serve some useful -purpose to indicate a sound method of establishing a good start. The -prime necessity to the collector is stamps--if he be an enthusiast he -can never have too many. But at the outset, if he have none, the best -start is in one of the numerous packet collections, the stamps in which -are all different. These are sold by all dealers, and a fair price for -such packets is indicated in the following scale:-- - - 500 varieties from 3s. 6d. to 4s. per packet - 1,000 " " 12s. to 15s. " - 1,500 " " 30s. to 35s. " - 2,000 " " 45s. to £3 " - 3,000 " " £8 to £8 10s. " - 4,000 " " £13 10s. to £14 " - -Such packets contain the commoner stamps, as a matter of course, but -they are a necessity to the general collection, which is made up of all -grades of common to rare specimens. - -The album for the beginner should be a small inexpensive one, the -importance of keeping the small collection compact being that it -is more readily comprehensible than if scattered meagrely through -a wilderness of blank, or nearly blank, pages. If the stamps are -carefully arranged in a small album, a rare delight will be found -later on, when the collection is bulging the first album covers, in -transferring it to a more commodious home. But at the outset too -many beginners waste their substance in an elaborate album instead -of on the all-important stamps. They buy cumbersome volumes in which -the collection in embryo is lost. They should realise from the start -that the purpose of the album is to assist in the formation of the -collection, by keeping the stamps easy of access for reference and -study. - -A supply of stamp-hinges or "mounts" should be acquired at the outset -(their use is explained hereafter), and a pair of tweezers--the kinds -sold by stamp-dealers are the most suitable--the points of which should -not be too sharp or pointed, lest they penetrate into the delicate -substance of a stamp. The collector should cultivate the habit of -holding stamps always by means of the tweezers. - -A good catalogue arranged on a chronological basis is indispensable; -the beginner will find the illustrations in it of great assistance in -allocating his specimens to their proper places in the album. - -So much for the primary needs of the beginner. The general collector, -who is advancing towards the large collection, will probably use one -of the large printed and spaced-out albums provided for his needs by -the enterprise of philatelic publishers. He has his work made easy for -him, so far as the identification of specimens is concerned, and the -allocation and symmetrical distribution of them upon the pages. Being -saved all this, and nearly all necessity for individual annotation, he -should give his best attention to the excellence of condition in his -stamps and the perfection of mounting. - -The stamps should be clean before they are mounted, that is to say, -they should have any superfluous envelope-paper removed by careful -floating on warm water, or by moistening between damp sheets of clean -white blotting-paper. If there be any extraneous marking or blemish, it -may be removed if it admits of removal without damage to the specimen. -The result of atmospheric action on some colours (such as vermilion and -ultramarine), which will frequently be found to have turned a red or -blue stamp into one that appears to be black, or at any rate black in -parts, is removed by treatment with peroxide of hydrogen applied with a -camel's-hair brush to the parts which have been affected by the action -of the atmosphere. The process is erroneously called "de-oxidising" by -many philatelists; it is really de-sulphurisation. - -In the case of very stubborn specimens with this defect, they may be -steeped in the peroxide and allowed to soak, but should not be left -longer than is necessary to restore the original fresh colour. - -A crease in an unused stamp may, if it has not cracked the paper, be -removed by following the crease on the back of the stamp with a fine -camel's-hair brush dipped in water. The slight soaking swells the gum -and enables one to gently press the paper into its normal position. -Pressure in the case of a big crease is best applied by ironing, the -stamp being protected between glazed cards. Where the gum is untidy on -the back of an unused stamp it will sometimes be useful to lay it, -after cleaning, upon the surface of smooth glass or the glazing-sheets -used for glossy prints by photographers, which will preserve what -remains of the original gum, and impart a gloss which compensates for a -partial loss of gum. - -To preserve the tidy appearance of a collection in a printed album one -must sacrifice those portions of the margins adjoining stamps from the -outer edges of the printed sheets. In most cases it serves no purpose -to retain them, and they interfere with the symmetry of the pages. -The collector, too, must use his judgment as to the desirability of -trimming away unnecessary ragged protrusions of the perforation. - -For all cleaning purposes benzine is an excellent medium, as its rapid -evaporation is a convenience, and it does not injure the stamp. Most -used stamps may be soaked in benzine and be much improved by the bath; -but where the colours of the stamp are such that immersion in liquid -is unsafe, treatment may be applied to the edges or to the back as -required by means of the camel's-hair brush. - -The whole purpose of this care with individual stamps is to preserve -the specimens and to impart a composite beauty of condition to the -whole, without which no collection can be pleasing to its owner or -to any one else. Every unused stamp should be spotless so far as -extraneous blemishes are concerned; the colour should be fresh as when -it came from the printers' workshops; the perforations of each stamp -should be complete, and should have been neatly severed, and the gum on -the back, unless it is so thick and crackly that it is a danger to the -stamps, should be preserved intact. - -A used stamp should be selected for its lightness of postmark, though -there are often times when a more heavily postmarked copy showing the -date of use will be valuable evidence in the pursuit of historical -researches. The colour of the used stamp should not be less good than -that of an unused one, and the perforations should be all there. - -In the case of imperforate stamps it is desirable always to have as -large margins round the printed impression as possible; while in -all perforated stamps one should endeavour to secure well-centred -copies--that is to say, copies in which the printed impression falls -evenly between the perforations on all four sides. - -These are the chief _desiderata_ for the general collector. They read -rather portentously; but the cult of condition comes by practice to all -who have the true love of stamps, for if stamps are worth collecting -at all they are worthy of our best endeavours to keep them in the pink -of condition. "It is part of the decency of scholars," says Richard de -Bury, "that whenever they return from meals to their study, washing -should invariably precede reading, and that no grease-stained finger -should unfasten the clasps or turn the leaves of a book"; it should -be no less a part of the decency of the philatelist, and in the case -of his treasures the true lover of stamps will not neglect the merest -trifles which will perpetuate the perfect preservation of his specimens. - -The use of the stamp-hinge or mount is simple, and, with proper care, -perfectly effective. It is a small strip of paper gummed on the one -side for folding in the form of a hinge, the gummed surface being on -the outside of the hinge when folded. One arm of the hinge is lightly -affixed to the top back, or right side of the back of the stamp, the -other portion being fixed to the album. The slightest touch of moisture -is sufficient for the purpose. The best hinges are stamped with a die -out of a kind of onion-skin paper, are semi-transparent, and evenly -coated on the one side with a colourless mucilage. In folding for use, -the hinge should be formed of a long arm for the album--say, two-thirds -of the hinge--and a short one--one-third--for the stamp. The short arm -should be applied quite close to the top or side (top mounting is the -more general), so that in turning up a stamp for examination there -is no creasing of the upper part of the stamp. The process should be -manipulated with the tweezers, so that the stamp is never fingered, and -in smoothing down the page of mounted stamps a clean blotter should be -used. - -There can be no doubt that repeatedly mounting a stamp, even if -carefully done by a practised hand, has a cumulative detrimental effect -on the specimens. The temptation to use the convenient digit is present -on every occasion, and even the cleanest finger must make some--perhaps -infinitesimal--mark on the face; multiply this by, say, seven times, -and the stamp, from being "mint," becomes merely "unused," and so -on until after the proverbial seventy times seven the stamp would -come within the category of "soiled." So, too, with each successive -remounting, unless the first mount be preserved intact (as is possible -with good "peelable" mounts handled with care), through a succession of -removals of the stamp there is a loss of the gum which is part of the -stamp, and in the various stages this becomes a skinned, or "thinned," -copy. - -A stamp is a tender, delicate thing--especially if "chalky"--and should -be handled as little as possible, whether common, scarce, or rare; -in fact, the old Latin proverb, _Maxima debetur pueris reverentia_, -might well be parodied, if one knew the Latin for stamps. Care, -coolness (physical), and cleanliness are necessary attributes of the -ideal collector, and even he would do well to use tweezers instead of -fingers; but if he must use a finger, let him interpose a piece of -tissue or blotting paper between it and the stamp. - -The best peelable mounts are good; but the ideal mount which, once -affixed to the back of the stamp, need never be removed therefrom has -yet to be manufactured. I will hand on a suggestion for the ideal -mount, a little troublesome to adopt in the first instance, but which -well repays a little extra initial trouble in the preservation of the -stamps, and which even saves trouble in the event of "removals." - -Imagine a mount, of standard size, and of very thin tough paper, -manufactured from linen rags to give it a long fibre, to be sold ready -folded, but gummed only on the upper part above the fold; this is fixed -in the usual way to the stamp. - -Accompanying each mount are several narrow (say, ¹/₈ in.) slips of -similar paper, gummed at the extreme ends, and as long as the mount is -wide. - -Cut into the mount are two vertical slits--thin pieces punched out, -not mere cuts--immediately below the fold, one about ³/₁₆ in. from -each edge of the mount. Insert one of the narrow slips, so that the -two gummed ends are at the back of, but away from, the mount; slightly -moisten each of these gummed tips--instead of, as usual, the back of -the mount--and fasten the stamp on the page of the album as if the -hinge were of the ordinary make; the stamp will be fixed just as firmly -as if the mount were fastened to the page by a square inch of gummed -back. - -When it is desired to move the stamp, a snip with a pair of small -scissors will sever the narrow slip where it crossed the upper side of -the mount, which will then pull off from the two pieces. To remount use -a fresh narrow slip. - -It sounds tedious, and the original mounting may take longer than -usual, but a removal takes considerably less time than the ordinary -remounting if the hinge has stuck firmly, and there is in any case -absolutely no wear and tear of the stamp, risk of "skinning," -"cockling" from moisture, or possible loss of gum. In fact, a permanent -mount, secured by a movable slip, which can be renewed. - -This ideal mount answers wonderfully well, and should be tried by all -who care for their stamps, and the slight extra cost and trouble should -be more than repaid by the preservation of the stamp, even if the -commonest "continental" ever printed: _it_ may, though it is no reason -for treating it properly, some day be rare. - -In mounting on blank pages some kind of gauge is necessary, and I offer -this one as a very serviceable assistance to the specialist mounting -stamps on either blank or _quadrillé_ leaves or cards. - -The gauge should be in the form of a letter H, the centre-bar being -equal in length to the width of the space available for mounting -stamps, and the uprights about the same height as the full page. - -Suppose the available stamp space, after allowing for leaf-margins and -linen hinge, is 9½ in. high by 7 in. wide, then the gauge would be -thus, cut out of fairly stout white cardboard with a sharp knife:-- - -[Illustration] - -The long sides being placed and kept parallel with the sides of the -ornamental border on the leaf are obviously to enable the centre-bar to -be kept perfectly horizontal, whether at the top or bottom of the page. - -In the measurements about to be given "c" stands for centre, when the -number of stamps in a row is odd; and the figures represent inches, to -be measured from the centre of the page when the number of stamps is -even, or from "c", as the case may be. - -One of two methods can be adopted--mark the lower edge of the -centre-bar in thirty-seconds of an inch, starting from the centre and -working in each direction horizontally; or use a separate gauge for -differently sized (_viz._, in width) stamps, in which case mark the -gauge to show the position of the centre of the middle stamp (if an -odd number), and of the inner corner of any other stamps to be placed -equidistant from the centre. The former is the preferable course; and -the following scale will, it is hoped, be useful, premising that it is -unnecessary to give measurements when there are only _two_ or _three_ -stamps in a row. - - Width No. - of in - stamp. row. Centre - - 1¹/₂" 4 1⁷/₈ ¹/₈ . ¹/₈ 1⁷/₈ - 1⁷/₁₆" 4 1¹³/₁₆ ¹/₈ . ¹/₈ 1¹³/₁₆ - 1³/₈" 4 1¹⁵/₁₆ ³/₁₆ . ³/₁₆ 1¹⁵/₁₆ - 1⁵/₁₆" 4 1⁷/₈ ³/₁₆ . ³/₁₆ 1⁷/₈ - 1¹/₄" 4 1¹³/₁₆ ³/₁₆ . ³/₁₆ 1¹³/₁₆ - 5 2¹/₈ ³/₄ c ³/₄ 2¹/₈ - 1³/₁₆" 4 1³/₄ ³/₁₆ . ³/₁₆ 1³/₄ - 5 2¹/₃₂ ²³/₃₂ c ²³/₃₂ 2¹/₃₂ - 1¹/₈" 4 1⁷/₈ ¹/₄ . ¹/₄ 1⁷/₈ - 5 1¹⁵/₁₆ ¹¹/₁₆ c ¹¹₁₆ 1¹⁵/₁₆ - 1¹/₁₆" 4 1¹³/₁₆ ¹/₄ . ¹/₄ 1¹³/₁₆ - 5 2³/₃₂ ²⁵/₃₂ c ²⁵/₃₂ 2³/₃₂ - 1" 4 1³/₄ ¹/₄ . ¹/₄ 1³/₄ - 5 2 ³/₄ c ³/₄ 2 - 6 2⁵/₁₆ 1³/₁₆ ¹/₁₆ . ¹/₁₆ 1³/₁₆ 2⁵/₁₆ - ¹⁵/₁₆" 4 1¹¹/₁₆ ¹/₄ . ¹/₄ 1¹¹/₁₆ - 5 1²⁹/₃₂ ²³/₃₂ c ²³/₃₂ 1²⁹/₃₂ - 6 2¹¹/₃₂ 1⁷/₃₂ ³/₃₂ . ³/₃₂ 1⁷/₃₂ 2¹¹/₃₂ - ⁷/₈" 4 1⁵/₈ ¹/₄ . ¹/₄ 1⁵/₈ - 5 1¹³/₁₆ ¹¹/₁₆ c ¹¹/₁₆ 1¹³/₁₆ - 6 2⁷/₃₂ 1⁵/₃₂ ³/₃₂ . ³/₃₂ 1¹⁵/₃₂ 2⁷/₃₂ - 7 2⁹/₁₆ 1⁹/₁₆ ⁹/₁₆ c ⁹/₁₆ 1⁹/₁₆ 2⁹/₁₆ - ¹³/₁₆" 4 1⁹/₁₆ ¹/₄ . ¹/₄ 1⁹/₁₆ - 5 1²³/₃₂ ²¹/₃₂ c ²¹/₃₂ 1²³/₃₂ - 6 2³/₃₂ 1³/₃₂ ³/₃₂ . ³/₃₂ 1³/₃₂ 2³/₃₂ - 7 2¹³/₃₂ 1¹⁵/₃₂ ¹⁷/₃₂ c ¹⁷/₃₂ 1¹⁵/₃₂ 2¹³/₃₂ - ³/₄" 4 1¹/₂ ¹/₄ . ¹/₄ 1¹/₂ - 5 2⁵/₈ 1⁵/₈ ⁵/₈ c ⁵/₈ 1⁵/₈ 2⁵/₈ - 6 2¹/₈ 1¹/₈ ¹/₈ . ¹/₈ 1¹/₈ 2¹/₈ - 7 2¹/₄ 1³/₈ ¹/₂ c ¹/₂ 1³/₈ 2¹/₄ - 8 2¹¹/₁₆ 1¹³/₁₆ ⁵/₁₆ ¹/₁₆ . ¹/₁₆ ¹⁵/₁₆ 1¹³/₁₆ 2¹¹/₁₆ - ¹¹/₁₆" 4 1⁷/₁₆ ¹/₄ . ¹/₄ 1⁷/₁₆ - 5 1²¹/₃₂ ²¹/₃₂ c ²¹/₃₂ 1²¹/₃₂ - 6 2⁵/₁₆ 1¹/₄ ³/₁₆ . ³/₁₆ 1¹/₄ 2⁵/₁₆ - 7 2¹⁵/₃₂ 1¹⁷/₃₂ ¹⁹/₃₂ c ¹⁹/₃₂ 1¹⁷/₃₂ 2¹⁵/₃₂ - 8 2¹/₂ 1¹¹/₁₆ ⁷/₈ ¹/₁₆ . ¹/₁₆ ⁷/₈ 1¹¹/₁₆ 2¹/₂ - ⁵/₈" 4 1³/₈ ¹/₄ . ¹/₄ 1³/₈ - 5 1¹¹/₁₆ ¹¹/₁₆ c ¹¹/₁₆ 1¹¹/₁₆ - 6 2³/₁₆ 1³/₁₆ ³/₁₆ . ³/₁₆ 1³/₁₆ 2³/₁₆ - 7 2⁵/₁₆ 1⁷/₁₆ ⁹/₁₆ c ⁹/₁₆ 1⁷/₁₆ 2⁵/₁₆ - 8 2³/₄ 1⁷/₈ 1 ¹/₈ . ¹/₈ 1 1⁷/₈ 2³/₄ - 9 2¹¹/₁₆ 1¹⁵/₁₆ 1³/₁₆ ⁷/₁₆ c ⁷/₁₆ 1³/₁₆ 1¹⁵/₁₆ 2¹¹/₁₆ - ⁹/₁₆" 4 1⁵/₁₆ ¹/₄ . ¹/₄ 1⁵/₁₆ - 5 1¹⁹/₃₂ 2¹/₃₂ c 2¹/₃₂ 1¹⁹/₃₂ - 6 2¹/₁₆ 1¹/₈ ³/₁₆ . ³/₁₆ 1¹/₈ 2¹/₁₆ - 7 2⁵/₃₂ 1¹¹/₃₂ ¹⁷/₃₂ c ¹⁷/₃₂ 1¹¹/₃₂ 2⁵/₃₂ - 8 2⁹/₁₆ 1³/₄ ¹⁵/₁₆ ¹/₈ . ¹/₈ ¹⁵/₁₆ 1³/₄ 2⁹/₁₆ - 9 2²³/₃₂ 1³¹/₃₂ 1⁷/₃₂ ¹⁵/₃₂ c ¹⁵/₃₂ 1⁷/₃₂ 1³¹/₃₂ 2²³/₃₂ - ¹/₂" 4 1¹/₄ ¹/₄ . ¹/₄ 1¹/₄ - 5 1¹/₂ ⁵/₈ c ⁵/₈ 1¹/₂ - 6 1¹⁵/₁₆ 1¹/₁₆ ³/₁₆ . ³/₁₆ 1¹/₁₆ 1¹⁵/₁₆ - 7 2³/₈ 1¹/₂ ⁵/₈ c ⁵/₈ 1¹/₂ 2³/₈ - 8 2³/₈ 1⁵/₈ ⁷/₈ ¹/₈ . ¹/₈ ⁷/₈ 1⁵/₈ 2³/₈ - 9 2³/₄ 2 1¹/₄ ¹/₂ c ¹/₂ 1¹/₄ 2 2³/₄ - 10 2²⁷/₃₂ 2⁵/₃₂ 1¹⁵/₃₂ ²⁵/₃₂ ³/₃₂ . ³/₃₂ ²⁵/₃₂ 1¹⁵/₃₂ 2⁵/₃₂ 2²⁷/₃₂ - -With a gauge and scale as above suggested, it is extremely easy to -quickly mark out a page with pencilled dots, so soon as it is decided -how many stamps are to go in each row--_experto crede_. - -Of course, allowance must be made if the stamps of a set are of uneven -size, but there is no difficulty if a little patience be exercised. - -I have arranged many pages of stamps by the aid of a home-made scale -on this and similar plans, and have experienced no trouble in allowing -for the occasional inclusion of pairs and short strips--a little -mental calculation, and a side movement of the gauge to the extent of -the width of one stamp will compensate for, say, a pair instead of a -single; and so on. - -The specialist can rarely have the advantage of a prepared printed -album, as his possessions include pairs, blocks, marginal pieces, -original covers, and evidential items of a variety of shapes. He works -therefore on albums that have blank pages, generally enclosed within -a form of semi-binding which allows the interchanging of the leaves. -Spring-back covers are now much used, though there are excellent peg -and clutch attachments in the British-made albums of the specialist -class. The leaves are either quite plain or with a faint _quadrillé_ -ground which is an aid to symmetrical arrangement. - -The early stamp collectors used to elaborate their albums with gay -colourings; some, following the early artistry of Mr. Booty in the -preface to his "Aids to Stamp Collectors" (1862), mounted their stamps -on squares of coloured paper, and emblazoned the country's arms and -painted its flags upon the pages of their albums. The stamps, being of -small size, suffered in the contrast with these gaudy trappings, and -in the latter-day philately such contrivances are left to the _nouveau -riche_, who will embellish each of his pages with his name, titles, -address, coat of arms, and would add his portrait were album-pages not -made so ridiculously small for such big men. To-day all extravagant -flourishes and gay trimmings are a vulgarity; simple elegance and nice -judgment in the arrangement make for beauty in our albums. - -At the same time we must recognise for the specialist two schools of -collecting; one is concerned with the collecting of purely philatelic -items, the other devotes itself to the formation of an historical -as well as philatelic collection. The former does not require much -writing-up on the pages. The latter advocates a good deal of it, -and it is this form of collecting--the highest exponent of which is -the Earl of Crawford--that allows of the most free scope for the -individuality of the collector. It is in the collection which aims at -a complete history of the stamps of a country, with all the associated -circumstances leading up to their issuance and connected with their -use, that the highest summit of philatelic pleasure and culture is -attained. - -In writing-up, there are several details about a stamp, some patent -and some latent. To complete the history of a particular stamp, every -collector ought to know and to inscribe in the proper place in the -album these points, so far as the information can be obtained from -reliable sources, and so far as it may be applicable:-- - - Date of issue. - Artist. - Engraver. - Printers. - Mode of production. - Paper, including watermark. - Perforation. - Date of supersession. - -In a more elaborate form the writing-up will develop into a full -manuscript history--not too diffuse--of the postal issues of a country. -The record of each stamp or issue will extend over several pages, -interspersed with the collector's specimens, proofs, &c., appropriately -inserted at points where they will be explanatory to the text and -make a valuable, readable, and individualistic volume. To indicate -succinctly the range of the more comprehensive writing-up, it would be -the student's endeavour to show and explain the circumstances leading -up to the necessity for the stamp; its creation by act, decree, or -order; advertisements or requests for designs, tenders for manufacture, -&c., with results; a note as to some of the principal essays; the -chosen design, with name of artist and source of his inspiration; the -engraver; the maker of the plate and the process of printing adopted; -the number of stamps on the plate and their arrangement and marginal -inscriptions; the varieties (if any) on the plate; how such varieties -arose and how frequently they occurred; the paper used--mill-sheet, -printing-sheet and post-office sheet--and its watermarking; the -printers; the colour, gum, and perforation of the stamps; the -quantities printed; the notices to the Post Office and the public -of the impending issue; the date of issue; the duration of use; the -withdrawal, supersession, or demonetisation; the quantity of remainders -(if any), and what became of them. - - - - -V - -THE -SCOPE OF -A MODERN -COLLECTION - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE SCOPE OF A MODERN COLLECTION - - The historical collection: literary and philatelic--The quest - for _rariora_--The "grangerising" of philatelic monographs: its - advantages and possibilities--Historic documents--Proposals and - essays--Original drawings--Sources of stamp engravings--Proofs - and trials--Comparative rarity of some stamps in pairs, &c., or - on original envelopes--Coloured postmarks--Portraits, maps, and - contemporary records--A lost opportunity. - - -The scope of the modern collector extends beyond the collection of -actually issued stamps. He uses the stamps as a starting-point, but -in the historical collection he works--as it is said the writers of -detective stories used to do--backwards. He traces to its earliest -inception the service which ultimately gave us the postage stamp. The -collection is literary as well as philatelic: stamps are preceded -by documents, prints and postal records of all kinds. The essays, -as we term the suggestions for stamp designs submitted by artists, -inventors or printers to a Government or other issuing authority, are -of a high degree of interest and should be included in the historical -collection, which will also show, where possible, the engraver's proofs -taken in the course of his work, the finished die-proofs in black, -plate-proofs in black and in colours, and the stamps, generally of the -first printing, which are overprinted with the word "Specimen," or its -equivalent in other languages, and are sent out to show postal officers -what the newly-authorised stamps are like. - -It is in this broad field that the collector in these days gets the -most enjoyment; here he may heighten the pleasures of the hunt for -philatelic and associated _rariora_. So many wonderful tales have -been told of the fabulous fortunes acquired in the finding of a few -old letters bearing stamps, that many a deal is frustrated by the -uninitiated owner having too fanciful an idea of the value of his -goods. It is rare in these days for such an incident to happen as I -witnessed about twelve years ago. A gentleman, who had been turning out -some old papers, came across an unsevered block of eight five-shilling -British stamps which had been sent to his father, presumably as a -remittance, somewhere in the early 'eighties. Here was £2 lying idle -for years, but having luckily noticed them in clearing out these -old papers, the gentleman thought he would see if they were still -exchangeable at a post-office. At the first post-office he visited, he -was told that the stamps were of an old issue, and that to get them -converted into cash he would have to take them to Somerset House. On -his way thither he noticed a stamp-dealer's show case, and apparently -the possible interest of his specimens in the stamp-market then first -occurred to him. He called in, and simply asked if the dealer would -give him the £2, to save him the trouble of going on to Somerset -House. The dealer, who had probably never seen an unsevered block of -eight of the five-shillings "anchor" of 1882, obliged him readily, -which he could well afford to do, as he passed on the stamps the same -week to a collector for £75. - -These things do happen, but in the "legitimate" stamp-collecting -they are necessarily of rarer occurrence in these days of popular -newspapers, over-educating in certain directions, or at least pandering -to the common desire for a royal road to easy wealth. Many dealers -have told me that it is their experience that, if they make a fair -offer for valuable stamps submitted to them by the uninitiated, they -never succeed in effecting a purchase at all in these days. The hawker -of "finds" visits the stamp-shops to get an idea of the value of his -wares, and plays off one dealer against another, with the result that -it is necessary for the seller nowadays to state his price in the first -instance. - -The modern collection is specialised, that is to say, it deals with the -postal history of a country or group of countries, instead of being a -mere accumulation of specimens of the postage-stamps of the world. The -advanced collector's albums of to-day are like the "association books" -of the autograph collector, and indeed there have been many successes -in "grangerising" the more important specialist monographs on stamps. -One of the most interesting of these latter was the late Mr. Thomas -Peacock's copy of "The Postage and Telegraph Stamps of Great Britain," -written by the late Mr. (afterwards Judge) Philbrick and the late Mr. -W. A. S. Westoby, and published by the Philatelic Society, London, in -1881. This book was sold by auction after Mr. Peacock's death, and -realised only £19, its treasures not having been generally noticed -before the sale; and it had been denuded of some of its wealth before I -saw it, an act for which it is not easy to forgive the man of commerce. -Peacock, as Inspector of Stamping at Somerset House (1853-93), had had -intimate associations with the Hill family (of whom several members got -comfortable positions in the Government service), and his connection -with the mechanical side of the production of stamps enabled him to -enrich his "Philbrick and Westoby" with copious notes, photographs, -proofs, and stamps. Major Evans published most of the notes in _Gibbons -Stamp Weekly_, and I had the privilege of adding the notes and some -photographs from the original to my own copy of this book. - -The collector "grangerising" a book on the British stamps to-day -would, of course, work on the later authority, "The Adhesive Stamps -of the British Isles," by the late Mr. Hastings E. Wright, and Mr. A. -B. Creeke, jun., or on the sectional works of mine, of which Mr. W. -H. Peckitt has issued large paper sets with special bindings for that -purpose. - -[Illustration: THE SMALL "EXPERIMENTAL" PLATE FROM WHICH IMPRESSIONS OF -THE TWO PENCE, GREAT BRITAIN, WERE MADE ON "DICKINSON" PAPER. - -Only two rows of four stamps were impressed on each piece of the paper. - -(_Cf._ next plate.)] - -Generally, however, it is the stamp collection itself that is enriched -by a variety of evidential matter and extensive notes by the owner. -I have traced with fair success in my Great Britain collection the -early history of the Post Office in this country, and have been -fortunate enough to secure several of those _raræ aves_ among -historic documents, the proclamations relating to the post. Lord -Crawford has the finest set of these in any private collection, and he -has given a list of them in the catalogue of the philatelic section -of the _Bibliotheca Lindesiana_, with details of the location of -all known copies. Acts of Parliament are not always convenient for -inclusion with the stamp collection, but those relating to the issuance -of stamps should be included where possible. The original of the -"pretended Act" of the Commonwealth, to which I have already alluded, -was a bookstall-bargain, costing a few shillings. The Uniform Penny -Postage Acts of 1839 and 1840 should be included in the "association -collection" of the stamps of Great Britain. My copy of the former is -an original, but the 1840 one is a reprint. The years 1837-39 are of -great importance in the history of postage-stamps; this was the first -period of the essays and proposals for the system, to the advocacy of -which Rowland Hill devoted himself with such tenacity of purpose. The -published proposals, samples of the printed envelopes and covers of -which were included in the "Ninth Report of the Commissioners appointed -to Inquire into the Management of the Post Office" (1837), and in Mr. -Ashurst's "Facts and Reasons in support of Mr. Rowland Hill's Plan," -are accessible to the specialist, and are the natural _priores_ of the -Mulready envelopes and covers. Not so accessible are the proposals -of Forrester, Cheverton, Dickinson, and the minor lights who sought -to provide the Treasury with the key to success in the adoption of -prepayment. My "Forrester" is a perfect copy which came from the sale -of the Philbrick library, where it had been overlooked and classed -among some more ponderous but less treasured productions. The Cheverton -papers and the metal dies intended for striking the impressions of his -proposed labels remain in the possession of the inventor's relative, -Miss Eliza Cooper, though casts have been made of the die for the -collections of his Majesty the King, Lord Crawford, the British -Museum, and the Royal Society. Mr. Lewis Evans, the grandson of the -late Mr. John Dickinson, the great paper manufacturer--a contemporary -of Fourdrinier and no mean rival of that genius--has a family -treasure-store in the Dickinson correspondence with Rowland, Ormond, -and Edwin Hill, and Mr. Spring Rice, Chancellor of the Exchequer; and -particularly in a fine series of the patterns drawn up by Ormond Hill -for the envelopes printed on Dickinson "thread" paper. Samples of the -actual thread-papers (unprinted) as used for the Mulready and the -later embossed envelopes and for the first Ten Pence and One Shilling -embossed stamps are surprisingly rare--indeed, the authors of "Wright -and Creeke" had only seen three-quarters of a mill-sheet at the time -of writing their book. Mr. Lewis Evans has a number of the original -samples, and has been good enough to allow me to prepare a complete -transcript of the Dickinson papers, so far as they relate to postal -matters, and I have included _facsimiles_ of Ormond Hill's pattern -instructions for the paper for the Ten Pence and Shilling adhesives in -"Great Britain: Embossed Adhesive Stamps." These are items which -form part of the life-history of the stamps or impressed stationery to -which they relate, and are properly included with the stamp collection. -But, except in the _facsimile_ state, it will be obvious that but few -can enrich their collections with items of so unique a character as -Ormond Hill's carefully measured and ruled patterns and the autograph -letters with instructions from Rowland Hill. But it is open to each -specialist to introduce much individuality into a collection of Great -Britain, or some other country, on these and similar lines. - -[Illustration: THE TWO PENCE, GREAT BRITAIN, ON "DICKINSON" PAPER. - -The upper block is in red (24 stamps printed in all, of which nine -copies are known) and the lower block in blue (16 stamps printed, of -which twelve copies are known). The above blocks of six each are in the -possession of Mr. Lewis Evans; the pairs cut from the left side of each -block were in the collection of the late Mrs. John Evans.] - -Mention has already been made of the "find" of a quantity of the -suggestions submitted to the Treasury in 1839 as a result of the -offer of prize-money. These, too, are within the scope of the stamp -collection carried out on the thorough historical basis, but then -nearly every item being unique designs in pen and ink, in crayon -and watercolour, and with manuscript matter, they are not to enrich -more than one collection at a time. Yet there may be others of a -different kind, each in itself unique, to be had at some future timely -frustration of a holocaust of waste-paper. - -[Illustration: AUTOGRAPH LETTER FROM ROWLAND HILL TO JOHN DICKINSON, -THE PAPER-MAKER, ASKING FOR SIX OR EIGHT SHEETS OF THE SILK-THREAD -PAPER FOR TRIAL IMPRESSIONS OF THE ADHESIVE STAMPS.] - -The City Medal of William Wyon is closely associated with the history -of our stamps, and used to be represented in my collection by a silver -_cliché_, though it has now been replaced by the medal in silver. The -medal is accessible to the collector in bronze, silver, or gold, but -for most philatelic purposes a _cliché_ showing only the obverse with -the Queen's head is more convenient for mounting in the album, in a -heavily sunk card, and protected with "glass" paper. - -[Illustration: ONE OF THE ROUGH PENCIL SKETCHES BY W. MULREADY, R.A., -FOR THE ENVELOPE. - -The "flying" figures are not shown in this sketch.] - -Original drawings are in nearly every case unique in themselves. -Curiously enough, Mulready is supposed to have made two, possibly -three, original sketches for his envelope, though even here each must -be regarded as dissimilar from the others. One is a pencil design in -outline, and is in the possession of His Majesty the King; the sketch -was sold with other drawings and sketches by Christie, Manson & Woods -on April 28, 1864, when it was stated by the auctioneer that this was -the only sketch of the design made by the artist. It is practically -the whole of the design as printed, and shares the peculiarity of the -issued envelopes and covers that one of the flying angels is drawn -without a second leg. Another sketch, according to Sir Henry Cole,[9] -had this omission corrected before it was presented to Mr. Thomas -Baring, M.P. If Sir Henry Cole were not mistaken, I must consider the -sketch in the possession of Miss Jaffray to be yet a third "original," -as it is lacking the winged four figures entirely. - -Another pair of sketches of unequalled importance is in the possession -of His Majesty. These are the two rough sketches in water-colours -of the designs of the first (1840) One Penny and Two Pence stamps, -submitted by Mr. Rowland Hill for approval of the Chancellor of the -Exchequer: across the head of the one in black Rowland Hill has written -"1d." in pencil, and similarly "2d." across the one in blue. - -Original drawings of issued stamps very rarely leave the Government -or printer's establishments, but in a few cases they have come on the -market. A few years ago, in a large collection of colour-proofs of -stamps printed by De La Rue, I saw the original drawing for the 1881 -stamps of Cyprus, a unique item which went to embellish the specialised -collection of the stamps of that colony formed by Mr. J. C. North, of -Huddersfield. Shortly afterwards I myself secured two original colour -drawings for the 1897 issue of British Central Africa.[10] I found them -in the Strand, where, strange to say, many of these out-of-the-way -items are often moderately priced, quite out of proportion to their -interest and relative scarcity, for it is only in comparatively recent -times that specialism has admitted these historic side-issues into the -stamp album. Mr. Charles J. Phillips, one of those rare combinations of -student and dealer, has permitted me to reproduce an original sketch -of the canoe type of Fiji, from the fine collection of this colony -formed by him.[11] The drawing was by Mr. Leslie J. Walker, Postmaster -of Suva, and represents "a young colony (the canoe forging ahead -towards the rising sun shows the progress of the colony); the crown is -retained, indicating that it is a colony of England." - -Other sources of stamp-engravings are of interest, and some are not -difficult of access. A familiar one is the source of the picture on -the "Omaha" $1 stamp which the United States Post Office literally -"cribbed" from the etching published by Dunthorne, of Vigo Street, of -the late Mr. MacWhirter's painting "The Vanguard." The American Post -Office altered the title to "Western Cattle in Storm," but the picture -is unmistakably the same. My statement of MacWhirter's authorship of -the picture having been challenged by an artist, who was probably -misled by the Scottish painter's devotion to landscape, led me to -submit the stamp to Mr. MacWhirter, whose reply admits of no doubt. - -[Illustration: ORIGINAL SKETCH FOR THE "CANOE" TYPE OF FIJI STAMPS.] - - "_August 26 [1906]._ - - "DEAR SIR,--Certainly the picture was painted by me. It was - exhibited in the R.A. about 15 or 18 years since. It was named - by me 'The Vanguard.' The picture belongs now, I believe, to - Lord Blythswood, near Glasgow. It is published as an etching by - Dunthorne, Vigo Street. - - "Truly, - "J. MACWHIRTER. - - "F. J. Melville, Esq." - -A more scarce engraving, which was the basis of some of the most -classic designs in the history of postage-stamps, is the mezzotint by -Samuel Cousins, A.R.A., of the portrait of Queen Victoria painted by -Alfred Edward Chalon, R.A., in 1837. The original picture was a present -from the Queen to her mother, the Duchess of Kent, as a souvenir of Her -Majesty's visit to the House of Lords to prorogue Parliament on July -17, 1837. According to _The Athenæum_, the original picture "may take -its place as _the_ portrait, whether in right of the likeness, which is -faithful and characteristic, or in right of its artistic treatment." -From the mezzotint Edward Henry Corbould, the son of the artist of the -"Penny Black" of Great Britain, made a drawing in water colours, from -which the engraver William Humphrys produced the fine miniature for the -first stamps of New Zealand. - -In a number of cases photographs have provided the subject for stamp -vignettes, and here the collector is able, if he takes a little -trouble, to procure copies for extra-illustrating his collection. The -photograph of the Llandovery Falls in Jamaica, used on the picture -stamp of that colony in 1900, was an unauthorised copy of one of a -published series of local views; that of the Victoria Falls on the -1905 stamps of the British South Africa Company recently formed a -frontispiece to _The Stamp Lover_ (October, 1910). The subject of the -quaint vignette on the British New Guinea and Papua stamps was engraved -from a photograph taken by a naval officer, and I traced a copy to the -collection of a returned missionary. - -Bank-note and other engravings of a like character have provided copies -for stamp pictures, and Lord Crawford has formed a truly magnificent -historical collection of the United States stamps, in which his -lordship, in the course of about forty volumes, traces each design -to its inception, in some cases to the first rough pencil sketch. -He endeavours to show every stage in the development of the stamp, -and, as every philatelist should do, he follows the stamp through its -period of currency, showing the different kinds of obliterations, -the varying shades of successive printings, and where they exist -re-issues, reprintings, and forgeries. His lordship's collections of -Great Britain and of the Italian States are equally comprehensive, but -that this manner of collecting is not entirely exclusive is evidenced -by the number of collectors who have formed really worthy individual -"association albums"--to borrow an expressive term--of the stamps of -these same countries. - -Proofs are comparatively easy of access, which, considering their -relative scarcity, is surprising. The reason that they were neglected -in the middle period of stamp-collecting was probably that the -creation of a market for such items had led in some instances to an -illegitimate supply by the employés of printing firms entrusted with -the storage of Government dies. The misuse of stamp dies is rare now, -most self-respecting Governments taking ample precautions not to admit -of any improper use of their property. The opportunities for finds in -the way of rare proofs are still plentiful. Stamp-collecting, though -firmly established, is still young, and it is little over seventy -years since the first adhesive postage-stamp was issued. A number of -near descendants of the originators of the first postage-stamp are -alive, and no doubt there are still treasures in the way of proofs -among the little-valued waste of later stamp-engravers and designers. -Shortly after the death of the engraver Herbert Bourne (1825-1907), I -acquired practically the whole of his reliques in the way of proofs -of stamp dies; but during his long life the engraver had done so -many engravings that a little while prior to his death he had been -burning the proofs he had saved to clear them out of the way. His son -fortunately saved the thirty to forty items now in my collection, of -which one of the most curious, if least in dimensions, is the extremely -small head of King Carlos for the small opening in the frame of the -picture stamps of Portuguese Nyassa. He appears to have done the die -for the 1876 (June) issue of Spain, which stamps, printed in _taille -douce_ by Messrs. Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co., are a flat contradiction -of the statements of both the Somerset House authorities and the -Crown Agents for the Colonies. Each of these departments has averred -that the recess-plate printing offers more scope to the forger than -our paltry surface-printing, yet Spain, prior to 1876, had to change -her stamp issues practically every year owing to the prevalence of -forgeries making heavy inroads on the Government revenues. Yet the -forgeries were of surface-printed issues, and this first Spanish issue -in _taille-douce_ engraving, printed in London from the die of a London -engraver, was never forged to defraud the Government, neither have -the stamps been successfully imitated to deceive the collector. - -[Illustration: ENGRAVER'S PROOF OF THE QUEEN'S HEAD DIE FOR THE FIRST -ADHESIVE POSTAGE STAMPS, WITH NOTE IN THE HANDWRITING OF EDWARD HENRY -CORBOULD ATTRIBUTING THE ENGRAVING TO FREDERICK HEATH.] - -As an instance of how little Mr. Bourne had regarded the proofs taken -of his work at various stages, a very fine proof in the set obtained -by me was the Queensland head die proved upon a large sheet of thick -porous paper, the whole of which proof had been used as a convenient -blotting-pad! - -Proofs of the Mulready are not very difficult to obtain, even on India -paper. There was in the Peacock papers a proof on India paper to which -Rowland Hill had affixed his signature, the latter being added on a -separate piece of writing-paper pasted over the India paper, which does -not take writing. - -There must be many engravers of stamp dies who have accumulated a -stock of proof specimens of their work, and these are well worth -looking out for. A particularly choice item--said to be one of three -copies originally taken--is the engraver's proof of the first adhesive -postage, head only, without "POSTAGE," and undenominated. Mrs. Haywood, -a grand-daughter of Henry Corbould and daughter of Edward Henry, -and who is still further associated with the stamp as the niece of -Frederick Heath, the engraver, has one of the three, which is in itself -a unique item, for it bears in the handwriting of Edward Henry Corbould -the note: - - "Engraver's Proof by Fredk. Heath after drawing by Henry - Corbould, F.S.A." - -To this undoubtedly important piece of evidence I give special -prominence, as it should establish the association of Frederick Heath, -rather than his father Charles, with the engraving of this stamp. To -Charles it was popularly attributed at the time of the issue of the -stamp, as the father's name had been generally associated with much -of the work done under his supervision, but not necessarily by his -own hand, by his many pupils and assistants.[12] Mrs. Haywood tells -me that there has never been any doubt among the older members of the -family--the Heaths and Corboulds having intermarried--that Frederick -was the engraver and not Charles, and Edward Henry Corbould was himself -a collaborator with Frederick Heath on the coin-shaped Five Shillings -stamp of New South Wales, of which Mrs. Haywood treasures also an -engraver's proof. - -In the plate stage proofs are more common than die-proofs, but still in -many cases they are scarce compared with the stamps; yet, by a strange -inversion of scarcity value, one can obtain a magnificent proof of the -famous "twelve pence" black stamp of Canada for fewer shillings than -the stamp itself costs in pounds. The old-fashioned collector used -to say he only wanted "stamps," and turned up his nose at a "proof," -but the modern advanced school is changing all that. The old idea -is the more ridiculous when one considers that the Connell essay of -New Brunswick (it was never issued for postal use), if perforated -and gummed, _though still not an issued stamp_, fetches £30, -while an imperforate proof costs 20s. More absurd still is it where -philatelists, in the desire to establish _rariora_, are inconsistent -enough to deem an undoubted "proof" of Cape Colony, the celebrated -1d. red-brown triangular stamp on paper watermarked Crown over CC, -as an issued stamp, and to pay a fabulous sum for the privilege of -possessing it. The price--if its rarity be the token by which price -may be gauged--was cheap enough; there are about ten copies known to -collectors, all the specimens being unused, but by that same token we -know that it was never used in the post nor issued to any post-office. - -[Illustration: AN EXCEPTIONAL BLOCK OF TWENTY UNUSED ONE PENNY BLACK -STAMPS, LETTERED "V.R." IN THE UPPER CORNERS FOR OFFICIAL USE. - -(_From the collection of the late Sir William Avery, Bart._)] - -In regard to the actual stamps, there is much in the modern advanced -collection which has not yet been fully appreciated even by the -majority of collectors. Much less has it been grasped by the -uninitiated vendor of "finds" among old letters and papers. It is but -little known that a stamp in itself may be very common, but in a pair -it may be of a high degree of value. This is putting it by extremes; -but in the case of early imperforate stamps it is a fact that many of -the first issues of Great Britain, her colonies, Holland, Belgium, -German States, Uruguay, Chili, and other countries, the stamps are -readily accessible as single copies, but pairs, much less blocks of -four, are almost unheard-of rarities. Our own first stamp, the Penny -Black, may cost 6d. to 1s. for a single used specimen, but a pair -fetches 6s. to 7s. 6d., and a block of four would be worth 40s. to 50s. -Alas! that many a one even among collectors has never yet realised that -it is vandalism to take the scissors to a fine block of imperforates, -simply because he is a collector of the one-stamp-of-a-kind order and -has no use for a block. - -Mr. Hugo Griebert of London, in a painstaking study of the -"Diligencias" of Uruguay, says: "If blocks and pairs had been available -it would have saved me years of work"; and again, "It is very -unfortunate that blocks of the 'Diligencia' stamps are practically -unknown. Not a single pair even of the 60 centavos or 1 real has come -to my knowledge." Of the 80 centavos, there are a priceless block of -fifteen and a block of four in a collection in the United States; there -may be others to be found, and they would well repay the finding! - -A block of eight of the Penny Black stamp (used) has fetched £15, and a -block of sixteen would bring its owner at least £25--some thousands per -cent. over the catalogue quotation for single copies. - -[Illustration: AN ENVELOPE BEARING THE RARE STAMP ISSUED IN 1846 BY THE -POSTMASTER OF MILLBURY, MASSACHUSETTS.] - -[Illustration: ONE OF THE STAMPS ISSUED BY THE POSTMASTER OF BATON -ROUGE, LOUISIANA, DURING THE CIVIL WAR, 1861.] - -Here, too, I may remark that with old used stamps, especially the -imperforates, really fine copies cannot always be got at the prices -indicated for them in the standard catalogues. The same applies to -some extent to the unused copies also; but the beginner would be well -advised to choose even his (apparently) common stamps with painstaking -regard to their perfection of condition, and not to break up pairs or -blocks of early imperforates, even though they may be inconvenient -for insertion in his album. Fine copies are often sold by the smaller -dealers and in the provinces and from private sources at prices based -on the catalogue rates, and it is in these directions that even -to-day, with many thousands of keen hunters, bargains are still to be -had by the collector possessing an appreciative eye for the rarity of -condition. - -[Illustration: ANOTHER OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES RARITIES ISSUED BY THE -POSTMASTER OF GOLIAD, TEXAS.] - -[Illustration: THE STAMP ISSUED BY THE POSTMASTER OF LIVINGSTON, -ALABAMA. - -(_From the "Avery" Collection._)] - -In the advanced collection of to-day there is no wavering over the -used and the unused question. A lot of ink has been spilt in the -controversies over the comparative interest, importance, or other claim -of these two general conditions of postage-stamps. To-day both unused -and used stamps are necessary to the study of stamps. A specialised -collection containing only unused specimens would indeed be an -"ill-roasted egg," and would fail to show the history of the stamps -during their currency. The unused stamps show the pristine condition of -the varying shades of successive printings; the used ones enable the -collector to place those successive shades in their correct sequence, -even to show for what purpose special printings were required. The -most evidential items in a stamp collection are often the used copies -which have been preserved on the entire original envelope, a fact which -gives to the stamp used on the envelope a special value not always -to be gauged by the catalogue quotation for an ordinary used copy. A -Penny Black stamp of Great Britain should be worth at least two to -three times "catalogue" if on the entire original; but if the original -had been used on May 6, 1840 (the first day authorised for its use), -the envelope with stamp would acquire an exceptional interest out of -all proportion to "catalogue." In a specialised price list before me -at this moment it is priced at £10, less 25 per cent., for the entire -letter; one used on the following Sunday, May 10th, is priced at -£15.[13] The Rev. G. C. B. Madden, of Armitage Bridge, had a copy on a -letter of May 5th, but the _stamp_ was not cancelled. The cover bears -the stamp and the indication-- - - "_Paid Penny Postage_, - "Miss Jones, - "Addington Square, - "Camberwell." - -and the enclosure is as follows:-- - - "BROMPTON PLACE, - "_May 5, 1840_. - - "MY DEAR FLORAL FRIEND,--To make you stare I send you a Queen's - Head, the day before it is in Penny Circulation. To-morrow it - will be obliterated by a Post Office Stamp. What a pity that - they should make Victoria Gummy like an old woman, without - teeth as I am. I write this without spectacles, therefore will - strain my ninety-and-one eyes no longer than in saying I hope - you are All well at Home. - - "Yours - "Gratefully, - "JOHN ALEXANDER." - -The cancellation may also be a factor in the relative scarcity of a -used specimen. Coloured postmarks often have some special significance -or may be merely accidental applications of the "chops" to the wrong -inking pad. In the price list already mentioned I find the Penny Black -quoted with the various coloured Maltese cross postmarks (ordinary used -copies, not on "entire") as follows:--red 8d., black 9d., blue 60s., -violet 40s., marone 4s., brown 5s., orange 7s. 6d., yellow 15s., -vermilion 4s., carmine 2s. 6d. - -[Illustration: THE ONE PENNY "POST OFFICE" MAURITIUS ON THE ORIGINAL -LETTER-COVER. - -(_From the "Duveen" Collection._)] - -Beyond the items the character of which I have indicated as desirable -in the historical collection, there are others, which will readily -suggest themselves to the collector who develops a keen enthusiasm for -his _specialité_. Portraits of persons concerned in the production of -the stamps and in their use often lend an enhanced interest to the -collection as a whole, and sometimes maps are conveniently inserted -in the album to show the geographical disposition of the places where -stamps were issued or used. No one can expect those who have not -studied the particular _specialité_ to understand, without such a -guide, the use of the "zemstvo" stamps of Russia, the courier stamps of -Morocco, the Treaty-Port stamps of China, the provisionals of Mexico, -or the Chilian stamps used in the Peruvian campaign of 1881-3. - -In concluding this chapter I would allude to the interest and value of -the collector's acquisition and preservation of modern documents. In -the present day there are few events of importance that are not duly -chronicled in the newspapers, and events of philatelic interest are -largely recorded in the newspapers specially devoted to Philately, -such as _The Postage Stamp_ (weekly) in Britain and _Mekeel's Weekly -Stamp News_ in the United States. But with the enormous increase in -bulk of newspaper records, they are becoming constantly more difficult -of ready access for information on many points of even considerable -importance. Further, the original Act, Decree, Postal Notice included -within the album containing the stamps referred to leaves no room for -any question of printer's errors, which may often crop up in newspaper -reproductions, telegraphed perhaps in cipher from a distant colony. -Among modern items added to my own collection I regard the card sent -out by the Rt. Hon. Sir Joseph Ward, as Premier and Postmaster of New -Zealand, on the establishment of Universal Penny Postage from that -colony as of historic interest. - -[Illustration: - - WITH THE HON. J. G. WARD'S COMPLIMENTS. - - In sending for your acceptance this, one of the first - articles posted under the Universal Penny Postage scheme, and - date-stamped as the bells are ringing in the new century, I - offer you the season's greetings, and trust that the year which - brings New Zealand within the circle of the penny post may be - one of happiness and prosperity to you and yours. - - _GENERAL POST OFFICE. - WELLINGTON, NZ_ - - Sir Joseph Ward] - -Another is a typewritten circular calling for designs from artists in -competition for the new stamps of the Australian Commonwealth, and I -was recently indebted to a correspondent in Pretoria for sending me the -following notice, the historic interest in which needs no enlarging -upon from me. - -[Illustration: A ROUGHLY PRINTED CARD SHOWING THE DESIGNS AND COLOURS -FOR THE UNIFIED "POSTAGE AND REVENUE" STAMPS OF GREAT BRITAIN, 1884. - - DESIGNS AND COLOURS OF THE STAMPS - THAT WILL BE IN USE AFTER - APRIL THE 1ST 1884.] - -[Illustration: THE FIRST POSTAGE STAMP OF THE PRESENT REIGN, TOGETHER -WITH THE POST OFFICE NOTICE CONCERNING ITS ISSUE ON NOVEMBER 4, 1910. - -_Union of South Africa._ - -It is notified that a new postage stamp of the 2½d. denomination -will be on sale from the 4th November the day of the opening of -the Union Parliament and will be practically, therefore, a stamp -commemorative of the culminating fact of Union. The denomination -represents the Universal Postal Union unit of postage, and the stamp is -being issued in advance of, and apart from, any general issue for the -South African Union. - - By Order. - - Pretoria, 1st October, 1910.] - -This class of document should be the more accessible to collectors from -the little interest attached to them by the officials to whom they are -generally sent. How little they appreciate their evidential value was -brought home to me in a painful disappointment a year or so ago. Having -been on the Continent for a few days, I returned to find among my -correspondence an offer from an elderly man who had kept a post-office -for a long period of years, and he had saved in a series of portfolios -all the printed notices sent out from the General Post Office to -postmasters from the 'fifties until the end of the nineteenth century. -I had had some curiosities from this individual before, which led him -to offer me these papers when he came upon them in a clearing-up mood. -I was then engaged on a section of my history of the English stamps, -and wrote off immediately upon my return home. To my utter dismay he -replied that, not having heard from me, after a few days of waiting he -had burnt the lot to get rid of them! - -[Illustration: THE OFFICIAL NOTICE OF THE ISSUE OF THE NEW STAMPS OF -GREAT BRITAIN FOR THE REIGN OF KING GEORGE V. - - INTRODUCTION OF - GEORGE V. POSTAGE STAMPS - - SALE OF LETTER CARDS, THIN POST-CARDS AND - BOOKS OF STAMPS AT FACE VALUE. - - REDUCTION IN PRICES OF EMBOSSED ENVELOPES & WRAPPERS - -Halfpenny and Penny adhesive Postage Stamps of new design bearing the -effigy of His Majesty King George, and registered letter envelopes -and thin post-cards bearing impressed stamps with the same effigy, -will be placed on sale on the 22nd of June, the day of His Majesty's -Coronation, at all Post Offices open on that day. At other Post Offices -they will first be sold on the 23rd of June, or, at Offices which are -closed on that day also on the 24th of June. New adhesive stamps of -other denominations and other articles of stationery bearing impressed -stamps of new design will be issued as soon as possible afterwards - -Adhesive postage stamps and stamped stationery of the present issue -will also be on sale at Post Offices until the remaining stocks are -exhausted. All Edward VII postage stamps and all stamps of previous -issues which are at present available in payment of postage will still -be available - -The following reductions in the prices of the principal articles of -stamped stationery WHICH WILL APPLY TO ARTICLES BOTH OF THE PRESENT AND -THE NEW ISSUES, will take effect on Coronation Day: - - POST-CARDS.--Thin post-cards bearing ½d. stamp--½d. each - (Stout post-cards will continue to be sold at 6d a packet of - 11, or ¾d. for a single card) - - LETTER CARDS bearing 1d. stamp--1d. each. - - BOOKS OF STAMPS--Books containing eighteen 1d. and twelve - ½d. stamps of George V design will be issued at an early - date--price 2s. each. Pending their issue the present books, - containing eighteen 1d. and eleven ½d stamps of Edward VII. - design, will, on and after the 22nd of June, be sold for 1s. - 11½d instead of 2s. as at present. - - EMBOSSED ENVELOPES-- - - Court size (bearing 1d. stamp)--1s. a packet of 11 - Commercial size (bearing 1d. stamp)--2s. a packet of 23 - Foolscap size (bearing ½d stamp)--1s. a packet of 21. - Commercial size (bearing ½d. stamp)--1s. a packet of 22. - - NEWSPAPER WRAPPERS--(Bearing ½d stamp)--1s. a packet of 22. - (Bearing 1d. stamp)--2s a packet of 23. - -All cards, envelopes and wrappers are sold in any quantities less than -a complete packet at proportionate prices. Full tables of these prices -will appear in the Post Office Guide issued on the 1st of July. - - GENERAL POST OFFICE. - 20th June, 1911. By Command of the Postmaster General. - -(1120) Printed for His Majesty's Stationery Office by W P Griffith & -Sons Ld. Prujean Square. Old Bailey, E C. 6/11] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[9] "Fifty Years of Public Life," p. 63. - -[10] Illustrated in "British Central Africa and Nyasaland -Protectorate," by Fred J. Melville, 1909. - -[11] See further in "The Postage Stamps of the Fiji Islands," by -Charles J. Phillips, 1908. - -[12] See the obituary of Charles Heath in _The Art Journal_, 1849, p. -20, and the argument in my "Great Britain: Line-engraved Stamps." - -[13] I mention these and certain other quotations, not as standard -valuations, but to indicate the comparative importance of these and -other factors in determining the rarity of individual specimens. - - - - -VI - -ON LIMITING -A COLLECTION - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -ON LIMITING A COLLECTION - - The difficulties of a general collection--The unconscious - trend to specialism--Technical limitations: Modes of - production; Printers--Geographical groupings: Europe and - divisions--Suggested groupings of British Colonies--United - States, Protectorates and Spheres of Influence--Islands of the - Pacific--The financial side of the "great" philatelic countries. - - -To the child in stamp-collecting the boundless world is small; he will -seek to bring into his net stamps from everywhere, postage and fiscal, -exhibition labels, trading stamps, and all that has the shape or -semblance of what he conceives to be subjects for his collecting. The -collector of fuller experience knows that he must make a lesser world -of his own. To attempt the whole wide world, even in what I may term -"ordinary" postage-stamps, is a task which can scarcely attain even -approximately to completion in these days, and the collector on such -a scale would lose much of the advantage that comes of specialisation -in particular directions. He would know little of the world's -postage-stamps except in a superficial way, that would never bring -him a bargain, and would probably make him a frequent victim of the -unscrupulous. - -It is well enough that the beginner should first flounder in a sea -of stamps, to learn the first rudiments of the study. The specialist -needs a general education as a groundwork in stamp-collecting, just as -he does in any other pursuit. But it is almost unavoidable that the -tendency must come to the advancing collector to reserve his strength -in the direction which most attracts him, or for which he enjoys -special advantages. - -It is in the defining of these limitations that many collectors are -constantly seeking for guidance. "Can you tell me a good country in -which to specialise?" is an ever-recurring query. The answer should, -of course, be extracted from the experience of the individual who sets -the question. It may be laid down as a maxim that the general collector -is not yet ripe for specialism until his general experience has turned -his inclinations to some well-defined speciality. The trend of one's -inclinations may be clearly reflected in the general collection, -where it is seen that one country has been by some--possibly -unconscious--bias developed beyond all others. Every stamp-lover knows -that there are some stamps which exert over him personally a peculiar -fascination. It may be due to some interest in the country of their -issue, or to some special attractions in their style of production, and -indeed to a variety of other causes. - -It was a solitary--rather bilious-looking--stamp that first obsessed -me, a good many years ago now. It was the 3 cents Sarawak, 1869, -printed in brown on yellow paper, which was in the collection of -my schooldays, and I had always wanted to make it the nucleus of a -special collection. But, before the opportunity came for realising -this ambition, a different interest had arisen in that adventure-story -republic of Hayti, which led me first to try to specialise its stamps, -which having done, after my notions of specialising at that period, -the next start was made with my early friend the peculiar yellow-brown -label which a Scottish firm lithographed for the Rajah of Sarawak. I -suppose the spice of adventure suggested by both Hayti and Sarawak, and -subsequently China and Abyssinia, was responsible for turning one's -specialistic tendencies into definite channels. - -But whatever the influence may be with some, the question is so -constantly being put that it may be useful to outline some skeleton -plans, which are all capable of providing good scope for the exercise -of philatelic talent. - -The close study of detail, and particularly the increasing interest -taken by collectors in the manner of production, has led some students -to devote themselves to the stamps produced by a particular firm of -manufacturers. The finest collection on these lines would be that -dealing with the stamps produced by Messrs. Perkins, Bacon & Co. -during the period of, say, 1840-80. This would include the low-value -English stamps of the line-engraved series, the early imperforate and -perforated Ceylons, which in themselves afford ample scope for a big -collection, those old favourites the triangular Capes, the majority -of the stamps of the West Indian Islands, a few from Mauritius and -Natal, the most interesting of the issues for New Zealand, and several -of the Australian States, some of our North American possessions, with -many others, not forgetting Chili's early issues. The stamps in such a -collection would all be line-engraved. - -Messrs. De La Rue & Co., the greatest stamp-printers in the world, -would also provide an interesting sphere for special study, embracing -line-engraved stamps from the old Perkins-Bacon plates, printed in -a superb series of pigments, distinctive from those of the earlier -printers, and also the long range of surface-printed stamps for which -this firm has been noted. - -There are other printers whose work could be dealt with by the -collector in a like manner, and the would-be specialist on these lines -has an opportunity of choosing a very small field or a very large one, -the two I have expressly mentioned being capable of treatment on a very -large scale indeed. - -A more general limitation begins with political or geographical -grouping. "Europeans" are in constant demand, as there are many -collectors who confine themselves to the stamps of the European States -as a group. It is, however, a very large group, and few could hope -to successfully cope with the whole of it on anything approaching -specialist lines. The Castle-Mann collection, sold in 1906 for nearly -£30,000, was limited to European stamps. But Europe for the collector -naturally subdivides into lesser groups, _e.g._, the German States, -Italian States, Balkan States, &c., and these in their turn yield -single countries, many of which will provide in themselves an abundance -of work and study for the enthusiast. - -The fashion which has for many years kept the stamps of the British -Empire in constantly increasing demand is rather curious, in that -what may be attributed--at least partly--to patriotism at home has -yet prevailed in foreign countries, where British Colonials are -collected even more than the national products. In the United States, -for example, the collector has until quite lately somewhat neglected -the grand series of beautifully engraved stamps of the Republic and -has followed the crowd of collectors of British Colonials. This -may be explained in some measure by the shrewdness of the American -investor, whose confidence in the security of his money in good -old British Colonial stamps is still unbounded. At the same time -philatelic experience is that every country is gradually being taken -by the students and getting its turn, so that as the United States -has a growing family of its own, it is not unlikely that in due -course we shall find more United States collectors working out their -philatelic salvation on their own lines on a national, or American, -basis. The American field is a particularly fine one and offers the -most virgin philatelic soil. Nearly every other group has been pretty -well collected and studied, though not exhaustively. The United States -itself has had much attention, but Mexico and South and Central -America, Cuba, Hayti, the Dominican Republic are comparatively fresh -soil, and the student can invest at present prices with a good -assurance that, as United States expansion and influence become more -overwhelming in the Western Hemisphere, all these countries will enjoy -increased popularity with the stamp-collector. - - -THE WEST COAST OF AFRICA. - - National African Company, Ltd. - (No stamps) - | - Royal Niger Company - (Charter of July 10, 1886) - | - 1892-1893 - | -Sierra Gold Oil Rivers Protectorate -Leone, Gambia, Coast, (Africa Order in Council, 1889) - 1860 1869 1875 | - | | | | - -+- -+- -+- Niger Coast Protectorate, 1893 - | - +----------+---------+ - | | - Northern Nigeria, Southern Nigeria, Lagos, - 1900 1901 1874 - | | - +--------+-------+ - | - Southern Nigeria, - Feb. 16, 1906 - - THE LEEWARD ISLANDS. - -Antigua, Dominica, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Christopher, Virgin Islands, - 1862 1874 1876 1861 1870 1866 -----------------------------------+---------------------------------------- - | - Leeward Islands General Issues,[14] 1890 - -Antigua, Dominica, Montserrat, St. Kitts-Nevis, Virgin Islands, - 1903 1903 1903 1903 1899 - - -The foregoing British Empire groups are given as -examples of how this great division may be sub-divided. - -Of the stamps of the great English-speaking Republic and the countries -now or lately under her protection or looking to her for financial help -groups may be formed:-- - - -UNITED STATES: THE GENERAL ISSUES:-- - - (a) _With or without_-- - - The Postmasters' stamps. - The Carrier's stamps. - Confederate States, General issues. - Confederate States, Postmasters' stamps. - - (b) _With or without_-- - - Cuba (since 1899). - Guam (since 1899). - Hawaii (since 1898). - Panama Canal Zone (since 1904). - Philippine Islands (since 1899). - Porto Rico (since 1898). - - (c) _With or without_-- - - Dominican Republic. - Haytian Republic. - - (d) _With or without_-- - - Liberia. - -Other suggested groupings may be taken from:-- - - -THE PACIFIC ISLANDS. - - (a) _British._ - - Aitutaki. - British Solomon Islands. - Cook Islands. - Fiji (after Sept., 1874). - Gilbert and Ellice Islands - New Hebrides (Condominium). - Niue. - Papua. - Penrhyn. - Tonga. - - (b) _French._ - - New Caledonia. - New Hebrides (Condominium). - Oceanic Settlements.[15] - Tahiti. - - (c) _German._ - - Caroline Islands. - German New Guinea. - Marianne Islands - Marshall Islands. - Samoa (since 1899). - - (d) _United States._ - - Guam. - Hawaii (since July, 1898). - Philippine Islands (since 1899). - -Each of these, and the numerous other groupings, political, -geographical, &c., which they will readily suggest to the reader, is -capable of subdivision down to single countries or colonies, or into -periods, just as others are capable of expansion if larger groups be -desired. - -In making his choice the collector will do well to give free scope to -his tastes and inclinations, but he should not be disregardful of the -financial side of the question, which is apt to confine the limitations -of a speciality rather more closely than would his inclinations. It -is well to realise from the start that some capital will be required -to tackle a large group, and if the collector wants to specialise in -the first issues of British Guiana, the "Missionaries" of Hawaii, -the "Post Offices" and "Post Paids" of Mauritius, the "Gold Diggings" -of New South Wales, the "circular" Moldavias, he will have to loosen -wide the strings of a bounteously filled purse. Happily for the -stamp collector, the interest and charm of his hobby is its broad -adaptability to all requirements, and it cannot be gainsaid that the -joys of the hunt for stamps are more real and stimulating to the -collector of modest means, who personally knows and loves his stamps, -than to the magnate who deputes the "collecting" to a secretary. In -many instances, of course, the secretary is a _desideratum_; the -vast collections of modern times practically necessitate an expert -assistant, especially where the owner is a busy man; but in the really -great collections of postage-stamps it is good to see the evidences -of the personal attention and study of the owner. Philately is indeed -fortunate in the number of wealthy stamp-lovers who build up monumental -collections, at great personal labour and expense, and are ever ready -to show portions of them at exhibitions and societies' meetings, and, -indeed, to publish the results of their researches for the benefit of -their fellow-students. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[14] The supersession of the stamps of the different islands lasted -from October, 1890, to 1899 in Virgin Islands and 1903 in the -other groups, when separate stamps were again issued by the five -Presidencies (St. Christopher and Nevis being in one Presidency) of the -Leeward Islands, the general and separate issues being in concurrent -circulation. - -[15] The Oceanic Settlements comprise the more easterly French islands, -administered by a Governor, with Privy and Administrative Councils, -&c., the seat of government being at Papeete, in Tahiti. - - - - -VII - -STAMP-COLLECTING -AS AN -INVESTMENT - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -STAMP-COLLECTING AS AN INVESTMENT - - The collector, the dealer, and the combination--The factor - of expense--Natural rise of cost--Past possibilities in - British "Collector's Consols," in Barbados, in British - Guiana, in Canada, in "Capes"--Modern speculations: Cayman - Islands--Further investments: Ceylon, Cyprus, _Fiji Times_ - Express, Gambia, India, Labuan, West Indies--The "Post - Office" Mauritius--The early Nevis, British North America, - Sydney Views, New Zealand--Provisionals: _bonâ fide_ and - speculative--Some notable appreciations--"Booms." - - -If we define the philatelist as a lover of postage-stamps, we may very -properly express the view that his affections should be chiefly centred -upon their historic and philatelic associations. Stamp-collecting for -most of us is a recreation and a respite from the anxieties of the -money-market, and many collectors are quite content with the joys of -collation and research. At the same time we are not out of sympathy -with the individual who, - - "Whatever thing he had to do - He did, and made it pay him too." - -He represents one of the strongest influences in the collecting -world, and is no doubt a tower of strength, imparting stability to the -stamp-market. The term "amateur" is little used in connection with our -pursuit, and the quibbles which seem inseparable in other pursuits, -from the endeavour to draw an imaginary line round the amateur to -separate him from the professional, are all but non-existent in -philately. - -We use the terms "collector" and "dealer," but that one is not the -negation of the other is clear from the admission of the compound -term "collector-dealer," which combination applies to a very great -proportion of the more promiscuous portion of the philatelic world. -The mere vending of postage-stamps would not, I think, convert the -collector into the collector-dealer, as by the ingenious and widespread -system of stamp-exchanges collectors are obliged to put a price upon -their duplicates, and cash is the universal medium of exchange. - -In a broad sense the collector-dealer class is composed of collectors -who are glad to enjoy their hobby, but are under the necessity, or have -the desire, to make their hobby pay for itself, and perhaps yield an -addition to their regular income. - -It is perhaps due to the all-absorbing character of the hunt for rare -stamps that collectors and dealers enjoy unrestrained intercourse in -most of the societies, though in the Royal Philatelic Society the rules -forbid the admission of regular dealers to membership. - -Among the best dealers we find some of the most advanced students of -philately, who when it comes to research have many a time risen above -considerations of commerce. Some of the most valuable contributions -to the literature of philately have come from their unaccustomed but -painstaking pens, and most of the dealers of repute take a pleasure -in assisting the student to unravel a problem. In whatever spirit we -form our collections, and with no matter what object in view, it is but -human to nourish the hope, even if some shrinking from the admission of -pecuniary motives never permits us to express it, that the collection -formed with loving care and a considerable expenditure of money shall -not, if parted with, result in a loss, or if retained suffer a heavy -depreciation. If we desire to interest others we must be prepared -for the _motif_ of the primary questions of the uninitiated, "What -is it worth?" "What did you give for it?" though one can never hope -to satisfy the ingenuous folk who ask the collector of many years' -standing "How many stamps have you got?" and "I suppose they ought to -be worth pots of money--how much do you think?" - -There are several factors in the stamp trade which are worth noting, -as they have contributed in no small measure to the prosperity of the -business, and they must increase our confidence in the security of -our collections as investments. A world-wide market is open to the -vendor of rare stamps; it is convenient of access beyond all other -markets for _bric-à-brac_, because the rarest stamp in the world may -be safely transmitted anywhere, within an envelope, through the post. -The adaptability of the postage-stamp to effective and convenient -arrangement is not of more importance to the collector than the -portability of his goods, rare or common, is to the dealer. It involves -no more trouble to sell a rare stamp in Yokohama than it does over -a counter in that thoroughfare of stamp-dealers, the Strand. Nor is -there the risk of damage that would attend the transmission of a bulky -article of _vertu_ to a customer in a remote country. - -It is this same portability which is constantly increasing the demand -for good and rare stamps from collectors. For the majority, almost -any form of collecting brings with it a serious problem of space, -arrangement, and security. We may display our collection of old English -porcelain about the house, and beautify our surroundings, but it is at -the cost of no little risk from the philistine fingers of the abigail. -We may bring together a great array of ornithological specimens, but -the cabinet space taken up by a collection of but moderate proportions -is out of all comparison to the compact album, which may contain a -large and portable collection of stamps. I would not be understood to -even cursorily enter upon comparisons of different hobbies, but it is -useful to mention the comparative facility with which transactions in -rare stamps can be negotiated to indicate the cumulative effect this -convenience must have in the value of old stamps. - -Another important factor is the comparative standardisation of stamp -values. No person of average intelligence need ever be totally in -the dark as to the approximate selling value of the majority of old -postage-stamps, for in nearly every language, excepting some of the -Oriental tongues, there are standard price-lists of the leading dealers -which serve as guides to the majority of both buyers and sellers, for -these works are accessible both to the dealer and the collector. - -When we come to consider the supply of old postage-stamps, we cannot -but recognise a further important factor in their security as an -investment. The majority of the rare, medium and common postage-stamps -have been issued with the Government imprimatur; re-issues and -reprintings are known, but they are the exception. Generally speaking, -a stamp is no sooner obsolete than it commences to soar in the -stamp-dealers' price-lists. In the cases of stamps of the larger -countries which have had a long period of currency the rise is slow, -but the frequency of the occurrence of unusual circumstances which cut -short the life of a stamp on the active postal list has introduced a -sporting element into even the collecting of current stamps. But it is -inevitable that, with the retirement of a postage-stamp from use, there -must come sooner or later a stoppage in the supply at the normal rates -prevailing during its period of currency. The older stamps, most of the -early issues of all countries, have for fifty years past been gradually -absorbed in the great collections, some of them extremely limited in -their original use, now withdrawn from the market into the stable -repositories of national museums, and the supply is the one serious -difficulty with which the dealer has to contend. This difficulty has -its value to the collector, for to replenish their stocks the dealers -have to buy back from the collector, and they compete keenly for the -acquisition of collections formed by private individuals, if they -contain the right class of stamps. My endeavour in this chat will be to -indicate the character of the stamps which have risen in the philatelic -period 1862 to 1911, all of which may be classed as "Collector's -Consols," but most of which are at this date and at present prices -likely to yield an excellent return in the future. - -To take our own country first, for here purchases would have been made -at first-hand, that is, at the post-office, there are many stamps, -some of comparatively low facial value, that would have formed most -desirable investments _if_ one had only been able to prophesy, and -prophesy correctly. - -The most notable examples amongst British stamps of rapid and great -appreciation in value are the Twopence Halfpenny of 1875, with error of -lettering, the Two Shillings, orange-brown, the Ten Shillings and One -Pound of 1878-83, the Five Pounds--both telegraph and postage in the -earliest shade--and certain "Officials": there are, of course, others -which show an even greater appreciation on their original face-value, -but the reason in that case is that small printings were made of -certain stamps from a particular plate or on certain paper--"abnormals" -to give them their usual name--and such stamps were not obtainable -except by accident. - -The Twopence Halfpenny error, though not known to the philatelic world -until 1893, was present in every sheet printed from Plate 2 of that -value, to the number of no less than 35,000, and yet, in mint unused -condition, it is a very scarce stamp, probably worth £25. And yet -none amongst the thousands who purchased and used one of these errors -thought--even if he noticed the fact--that a mistake in one of the -corner letters would some day cause a great rise in value. - -Another well-known example is the Two Shillings, brown: issued -originally in 1867, the first colour of that value was blue; but -in 1880, to avoid confusion with other stamps, it was changed to -orange-brown. It is said that only 1,000 sheets, or 240,000 stamps, -were printed, a large number certainly, but comparatively small when -it is remembered that of some stamps many millions were issued; small, -too, when it is considered that the minimum charge on telegrams was -a shilling, and foreign postal rates were high. An early price in -dealers' catalogues was seven shillings and sixpence; now a fine unused -copy realises more pounds than it formerly did shillings. - -The _desiderata_ of British stamps--ignoring the "abnormal" varieties -of plate and paper--are the Ten Shillings and One Pound of 1878-83. -Few among the great multitude of collectors purchased the two stamps, -each on Cross _paté_ paper and each on that watermarked with a Large -Anchor, when current. But those few who did, and who kept them through -the years when the rise in value was very slight, ultimately realised -at the top of the market--say, £175 to £200--towards the end of the -'nineties. The £1 "Anchor" on bluish paper, which one could have -bought in 1882 for twenty shillings, is now priced at £80, showing -a profit which makes many a collector in these days sigh over lost -opportunities. - -Five Pounds is a high facial value, but that sum invested in the -purchase of the telegraph-stamp, or of the postage-stamp which -superseded it, would now be represented approximately by £100; but -in the case of the Five Pounds postage-stamp, the paper must be -"blued"--"naturally," and not through the medium of the blue-bag--and -the colour should be of a vermilion almost merging into orange, and not -the scarlet-vermilion in which this stamp finished its career in 1902. - -In a somewhat different category are the various Official stamps, but -as they were obtainable up to about 1890 by any respectable applicant -at Somerset House, the earlier varieties may fairly be included. Sets -bought during the 1884-90 period appreciated very little until towards -the close of the last century, when they attained high prices, the One -Pound "I.R. Official" in brown-violet, on Imperial Crown paper, being -the rarest, even rarer than the similar stamp on the Orb paper, which -without the Official overprint is rarer than the normal variety. - -Of subsequent Official stamps, _not_ obtainable for the asking, special -mention should be made of the three high values of the Edwardian -issue--Five Shillings, Ten Shillings, and One Pound: in 1903 mint -PAIRS of the three stamps were sold for forty guineas, and single sets -for £25. Nowadays, pairs--the particular ones above referred to were -subsequently severed--would probably fetch a sum running into four -figures. - -It may be interesting to record a few of the notable rises in value, in -the space of a comparatively short period, of stamps issued in one or -other of the British colonies, or in some foreign country. - -In March, 1878, there was an unexpected shortage in Barbados of the -then current One Penny stamp, and the island Post Office authorities -supplied the deficiency by means of a provisional: they perforated -the large Five Shillings stamp down the centre, surcharging each half -"1d." These makeshifts in due course reached England, and orders were -duly sent out for a supply for the stamp-market; one dealer's order was -actually held back by the Barbados postmaster until the arrival of a -further supply of the ordinary One Penny, when a supply of that stamp -was sent him. Other dealers and collectors probably fared as badly, and -an unused pair, or even a single copy, of this rare stamp supplies an -example of unearned increment which would delight a Chancellor of the -Exchequer on the look-out for more subjects for taxation. What a nice -little nest-egg would a shilling's-worth of those stamps now represent! - -Of the circular British Guiana stamps of 1850-51 it is hardly fair -to speak, as they were issued and became obsolete before even the -oldest philatelist ever thought of collecting; but if any far-seeing -individual had then invested the modest sum of thirteenpence in the -purchase of an unused copy of each of the four values, and had had -them "laid down" until the present year of grace, or even until so -comparatively far back as 1890, the sum they would realise in open -market would not fall far short of £2,500. So, too, with the very rare -large oblong type-set stamps of 1856, one of which--the One Cent, black -on magenta--is literally unique. - -The smaller stamps of 1862, printed from ordinary type with a frame of -fancy ornaments, and issued on a shortage of One, Two, and Four Cents -stamps, were for some considerable time fairly common, being obtainable -for a few shillings, or sometimes, if one were fortunate, for pence; -now a used set of the commonest variety of each value costs nearly £30. - -Canada provides a rarity, dating back to 1851. A stamp--and it is a -beautiful piece of work--of the apparently peculiar value of Twelve -Pence was issued, but for some reason a very small portion of the large -supply was sold, the remainder disappearing without a trace, never to -be found even to this day: that stamp is now worth two thousand times -its original cost. The reason for the value being expressed somewhat -quaintly was that, whereas "One Shilling" was a fluctuating amount -according to locality, "Twelve Pence" was the same everywhere. - -It goes without saying that it is the rarities which have appreciated -the most, and therefore a list of the stamps which ought to have been -secured as an investment is practically a list of the rare and scarce -stamps. - -Beautifully engraved, of chaste design, and of quaint shape, the Cape -"triangulars" are, and always have been, favourites; but they have -been out-distanced, as regards profitable investment records, by the -two roughly-executed stamps, of similar design and shape, printed from -hurriedly made stereotyped blocks to meet a temporary shortness of the -ordinary One Penny and Fourpence. - -These provisionals, erroneously called (as they always will be) -"wood-blocks," were issued early in 1861, and the ordinary specimens -are of considerable scarcity even used, and very difficult of -acquisition unpostmarked; much more then are the errors, caused by the -unintentional inclusion in the group of stereotypes of each value of -one block of the other denomination. - -These two stamps--the One Penny in blue, and the Four Pence in red, -instead of _vice versâ_--are well-known rarities used, and there are -only three known copies in an unused condition; one of these, obtained -by its owner during the period when the wood-blocks were in issue -at "face," realised five-and-thirty years later no less than £500. -"Prodigious," but true! - -Another desirable Cape stamp owes its rarity to having been printed -in a small quantity on a paper in use for a short time only--the Five -Shillings, orange-yellow, of 1883, on paper watermarked with a Crown -and "CA". For some three to four years, 1883-87, these stamps were -purchasable unused at the post-office; and now--£100, perhaps. - -Cayman Islands, that hotbed of official speculation and jobbery, -furnishes a more modern instance--instances would be more correct--of -sudden and excessive rise in price, if not in philatelic worth; -certain provisionals, made by surcharging higher value stamps to meet -the usual, and often avoidable, shortage. Fortunate, indeed, from the -investors' point of view, are those who, subscribing to some "new -issue" service, managed to obtain even single copies of these scarce -labels at a small percentage over face. - -Ceylon! The name raises a vision of the gorgeous East, and, to the -philatelist, of rare imperforates, issued in the early days before -Philately was. Who in the end of the 'fifties would have thought of -investing in, say, a block of four of the Fourpence, dull rose, and, -having held it for forty years, receiving the handsome return of--what -shall I say?--£750? And yet it would be so. - -Another Ceylon which has appreciated at a rapid rate is the Two Rupees -Fifty Cents issued in 1880; for long it was catalogued and obtainable -at 7s. 6d., but on suddenly becoming obsolete (through a change of -postal rates) its price began to rise by leaps and bounds, until it is -worth about twice as many shillings as it formerly was pence. - -A glance at the catalogue prices of the first Cyprus set of Edwardian -stamps, which were printed on paper known to philatelists as "Single -Crown CA"--_i.e._, one entire watermark to each stamp--is a mild -example of the abnormal rise which took place in nearly all colonial -stamps, bearing the head of King Edward and printed on this "single" -paper, when the unexpected change was made in 1904 to a "multiple" -paper--that is, one in which the watermarks were arranged very closely -together, so that each stamp must show parts of three or four of the -devices. Stamps sold in 1902 or 1903 at a little over their original -cost jumped up and up in price until they fetched, even at auction, 700 -or 800 or even 1,000 per cent. over "face": small fortunes were made; -but, as has happened, the rise was permanent and still continues. - -The quaint "_Fiji Times_ Express" stamps, produced by private -enterprise, and which were the forerunners of a most interesting -series of stamps, many rare, were issued within the memory of many -collectors--One Penny, Three Pence, Six Pence, and One Shilling--and -yet that set of four stamps, dating from only 1870, is worth five -hundred times "face," a fair return even for a wait of forty years. -Certain stamps of a subsequent (1874) issue are now also very scarce; -but they are varieties as distinguished from the normal printings, and -scarcely come within the category of stamps obtainable by the casual -purchaser. - -The pretty embossed Gambias, particularly those printed on the old -"Crown CC" paper, afford another instance of unearned increment: the -set of seven values was, say in 1885, to be bought for 3s. or 4s.--now -it is valued at about £6. - -The reward of any far-seeing investor who had happened to purchase the -Four Annas, red and blue, issued in India in 1854, would have been a -rich one had he noticed an inversion of the Queen's head as regards its -frame--copies of this rarity are known on the entire original envelope, -so evidently they were, even if noticed, regarded merely as the results -of carelessness. It would have been a (perhaps fatal) shock to any -specialist in Indian stamps who had happened to purchase one of these -rare errors still on the original, to find that he, by the irony of -fate, had addressed and presumably stamped that very envelope thirty -or forty years previously. The stamp bought originally for a few pence -would have represented to-day, say, £130 unused, £70 used. - -The purchase of a few copies of the Two Cents and Twelve Cents of the -first issue of Labuan, in 1879, some years before the advent of the -handsome "labels," all happily now obsolete, would not have proved a -matter for regret, seeing that the prices have for some years been well -over £10 for the two. - -At present, the current Five Shillings stamps of Montserrat, Sierra -Leone, Southern Nigeria, &c., are catalogued, unused, at about 25 per -cent. over face, as once were the Two Rupees Fifty of Ceylon, the Five -Shillings St. Vincent, and the Five Shillings Victoria, blue on yellow; -without recommending it as an investment, it is by no means impossible -that within twenty years from now a Montserrat Five Shillings may be -worth £10 or even £15. - -Incomparable as regards romantic interest and actual value, the first -two stamps of Mauritius have been, ever since their discovery in the -'sixties, the _desiderata_ of every collector. - -Other stamps--and there are several--may be rarer; but, as examples -of a genuinely necessary issue, small in quantity, the One Penny and -Twopence "Post Office" of sixty-four years ago will always be looked -upon as the ultimate, even if seldom attained, goal of the Philatelist. - -[Illustration: THE KING'S COPY OF THE TWO PENCE "POST OFFICE" -MAURITIUS.] - -[Illustration: THE MAGNIFICENT UNUSED COPIES OF THE ONE PENNY AND TWO -PENCE "POST OFFICE" MAURITIUS STAMPS ACQUIRED BY HENRY J. DUVEEN, ESQ., -OUT OF THE COLLECTION FORMED BY THE LATE SIR WILLIAM AVERY, BART.] - -Originally looked upon as errors of engraving--"POST OFFICE" instead -of "POST PAID"--on the sheets of what is now known to be the second -issue of Mauritius, it was many years before they took their position -as a rare and distinct emission; now something under thirty copies are -known, and their status is firmly established. - -From philatelic records we learn that the first-known copies changed -hands for the merest trifle: to-day they are catalogued at £1,000 and -£1,200 respectively, in used condition. - -In 1894 a firm of stamp-dealers acquired a well-known collector's -unused _mint_ copies of these stamps at what would now be the very low -price of £680: they went into the collection of the late Sir William -Avery, and have now passed to another famous collector at the record -price of £3,500 for the two. - -For romance, however, nothing approaches what occurred early in 1904. -A collector, visiting a friend resident in the north-west of London, -mentioned his hobby to his host, who, remarking that he once collected -stamps, brought out his almost-forgotten schoolboy album. Looking -casually through the old collection, the guest saw, to his amazement, -what proved to be the finest known unused copy of the Twopence "Post -Office," purchased by its owner forty years previously for a few pence: -this stamp was sold shortly afterwards at auction for £1,450, and now -adorns the fine collection of Mauritius stamps owned by King George V. - -The quaintly designed stamps of Nevis, printed at first direct from -line-engraved plates, and subsequently from lithographic stones, show -a wonderful increase in value, from a few shillings each in 1880 to -three or four times the same number of pounds at the present time; -then, the stamps were only just obsolete, and most collectors were -satisfied with one or two single copies; now, the demand is for entire -sheets of twelve varieties, or, failing these, from the not very large -supplies printed, for plates "made up" from singles, pairs, and blocks, -arranged in their respective proper places. - -The handsome "pence" issue of New Brunswick, some of the similar -stamps of Newfoundland, and the first emission of Nova Scotia, all -supplied by Messrs. Perkins, Bacon & Co., those unrivalled producers -of postage-stamps, were, within the memory of many collectors, -obtainable at very low figures; now many of the values, notably the One -Shilling, realise, especially when "mint," very high prices indeed. -As an instance, it may be mentioned that a young collector of thirty -years ago, submitting his stamps to a well-known expert, had a nice -unused copy of the One Shilling Nova Scotia valued at 25s., the present -valuation of which would be £55. - -It is related, on excellent authority, that, long ago, a dealer, -learning that there was a small stock of these One Shilling stamps at -one of the Nova Scotia post-offices, forwarded a remittance to secure -them: he was successful in his desire, _but_ the postmaster had applied -to each stamp a fine impression of the local obliterator, possibly as a -concession to the then collector's presumed preference for postmarked -copies. - -"Sydney Views," as the stamps of the first (1850) issue of New South -Wales have been, and probably always will be, known to philatelists, -afford another instance of unearned increment. - -Far back in the 'sixties, the period of unappreciated but now regretted -opportunities for wonderful bargains, "Sydney Views" were a few pence -a dozen used, and about £1 a copy if unused--whether singles, strips, -or blocks did not matter then; now, postmarked copies are worth several -times the old price of unused specimens; and for the unused, from £25 -to £50, according to condition and absence or presence of the original -gum, is not unreasonable. And yet, despite this enormous increase in -value, at a recent meeting of the Royal Philatelic Society a total of -2,363 of these now scarce stamps were produced from the collections of -fourteen members for purposes of study. - -Other stamps there are of New South Wales, showing a great increase in -value during recent times, but none to compare in interest or demand -with the famous "Sydney Views." - -New Zealand has issued many stamps, even in fairly modern times, which -have greatly appreciated: a famous collector, who has recently parted -with most of his treasures, had sent him years ago a quantity of -stamps at _one penny_ each--one of them, on an examination some time -afterwards, turned out to be the rare perforated One Penny, brown, of -1872, watermarked "NZ", and now worth some £30 used. - -Of provisional issues, limited in quantity, ephemeral of use, and the -prey of speculators, there are many instances; but, though the rise in -value, from the original cost at the post-office, is often sharp, such -stamps can hardly be looked upon as investments one has missed, because -they were never obtainable by the public at large, as were the great -majority of stamps now rare and much sought after. - -An instance of this limited and speculative creation of so-called -"provisionals" occurred in the Niger Coast Protectorate, at the -end of 1893, when a _very_ few copies of the current One Shilling -were surcharged "20/-," one or two (_literally_) in one colour, -three or four in another, and so on. Possibly these proved to -be good speculations, but they were not investments open to the -man-in-the-street, gifted with the most prophetic of philatelic spirits. - -In 1881, a _bonâ fide_ shortage of the Fourpence stamps occurred -in St. Vincent, and a small quantity of the current One Shilling -was overprinted "4d": for some time the quotation for unused copies -was about thirty shillings, but now the price is nearer £20. Other -provisionals were issued in St. Vincent about this time, and most -of them have similarly appreciated in value; but collectors little -realised, even in 1881, that what was then considered a full price--and -grumbled at as such--would ever attain to its present day dimensions. -The very handsome Five Shillings stamp was priced five-and-twenty years -ago at 7s. 6d.: now it costs about £14. - -Sierra Leone afforded an instance, in 1897, by issuing Twopence -Halfpenny provisionals, made by surcharging certain fiscal stamps of -the value of Three Pence, Six Pence, One Shilling and Two Shillings: -only fourteen years ago, and yet a sheet of thirty of the "2½d." on -Sixpence, costing 6s. 3d., is now catalogued at nearly £9, whilst the -set of five varieties surcharged on the Two Shillings stamp, originally -costing 1s. 0½d., is now worth £50. - -The great rarity of South Australia is the Fourpence, specially printed -in blue in 1870-71, to be surcharged "3-PENCE", but from a sheet (or -possibly part of a sheet) of which the new value was accidentally -omitted. Very few copies are known, and all but two are used: the two -being in a "pair." - -The first issue of Tasmania, then known as "Van Diemen's Land," affords -an instance of a substantial rise during the last thirty years; but, -although substantial, it is not abnormal. The Fourpence, blue, of -1870-71, would have proved a satisfactory investment to the purchaser -of a moderate quantity at its original cost, for it is now catalogued -at £5. - -Owing to the greater part of the stock of the Sixpence, stone, 1884, -of Tobago, with watermark of Crown "CA", having been used for a -provisional surcharged Halfpenny, that stamp rose from its first -catalogue price of about 1s. 3d. to its present value of £7 10s. -No dealer seems to have obtained more than a small supply of this -Sixpence, and the subsequent consignments from London to Tobago were -printed in a totally different colour, orange-brown. - -Practically all the stamps of the Transvaal have greatly appreciated, -and large sums have been made by the fortunate holders of stock -acquired at the old 1882 figures. In an old, but well-known catalogue, -thirty-five stamps are priced in unused state, varying from 3d. to -10s., the latter being for a One Penny in red, on Sixpence, black, -of May, 1879: and sixty-four used, ranging from 6d. to 7s. 6d., and -including amongst the intermediate prices those of four of the May, -1879, provisionals. A glance at Gibbons will show, even taking the -commonest varieties, a great rise all round, sufficient even to satisfy -a greedy investor. Of minor Transvaal varieties there are many, and -several of these show an abnormal rise in price: on the other hand, -some have appreciated very little. How, therefore, is the would-be -speculator-investor to know what to take? - -In the old catalogue above referred to, some of the 1881 Turks' Islands -provisionals are priced from 6d. to 2s. each unused--presumably the -commonest varieties: now these stamps vary from 12s. to £5 for the -"½", from £3 to £30 for the "2½", and from 30s. to £7 for the -"4". The One Shilling, lilac, of 1873-79, largely used for the above -provisionals, has increased some twelve-fold in value since 1882. - -If the reverend gentleman who, by the help of a typewriter, evolved -the earliest of the 1895 issues of Uganda, had only a few remainders -on hand, he should reap a handsome return for his original outlay of -two or three hundred cowries: but most probably he did not keep any, -consequently the stamps are, and will remain, scarce and expensive. - -The Five Shillings, Victoria, blue on yellow, is a striking stamp, -and its present value is somewhere about £15 unused: a very famous -collection contains several mint copies, which the owner once remarked -were "Not bad at 7s. 6d. each." - -Mr. Stanley Gibbons's well-known half-sheet of the Twopence, Western -Australia, printed in 1879, in mauve, the colour of the Sixpence, -affords a fitting close to this cursory list of good investments in -British Colonies: acquired at 6d. each, the price to the collector was -5s., then raised to £2, and now it stands at over £20. - -Space precludes a similarly long list of foreign stamps which have -greatly appreciated; but the following examples, with early prices (as -indicated) and those at present asked, may be interesting, showing the -rises in many of the medium stamps:-- - -Egypt--1st issue, set, 6s. 3d. (in 1882), now £6 2s. 6d. - -Oldenburg--1st issue, ¹/₃₀ thaler, 1s. (in 1882), now £2. - -Oldenburg--1859-61 issues (in 1882), from 9d. each; now 4s. is the -lowest, 12s. the next, and the highest £11. - -Schleswig-Holstein--the pretty little stamps of 1850 were (in 1882) 9d. -and 1s. 6d. each: they have now risen to 28s. and 50s. - -Holland--1st issue, 9d., 6d., and 1s. respectively for the three -values, unused: now 15s., 20s., and 30s. - -Of the following, most, if purchased twenty years ago, would now show -a very handsome profit, even after allowing 5 per cent. _compound_ -interest. - -The Swiss Cantonals, first issue Roumania (Moldavia), _tête-bêche_ -pairs of France, inverted U.S.A., Paris prints of Greece, early -Uruguays, some Brazils, early Japans, middle-period Hawaiian Islands, -Italian States, early Spain and Colonies, first Samoas, first -Shanghais, &c. - -Concerning the inverted U.S.A., it is said--though these stories are -often more interesting than true--that a purchaser of a quantity of -one of these errors took them back to the post-office and had them -exchanged for normally printed stamps. If true, the present feelings -of the purchaser (if he survives) on being reminded of his neglected -opportunity would be interesting. - -Instances might be multiplied almost indefinitely by comparing the -prices in old and present catalogues, but the instances given are -sufficient to show the great profits which might have been made by the -judicious investment of _small_ amounts in the _proper_ stamps: large -amounts would probably lower prices. - -A purchase in 1882 of twenty £1 "Anchor" would not lower the market if -now offered for sale, but £500 worth would probably result in a slump. - -However, it is generally a case of _Hinc illæ lacrymæ_, for the -would-be traveller on the royal road to ease and great wealth has -either never invested at all or has selected stamps which show a marked -depreciation as the years roll on--_e.g._, the Fourpence Halfpenny of -Great Britain, which was going to rise abnormally, but which has been -"unloaded" at, or even under, "face." Only a trifling instance, but it -serves to show the risks of investment in stamps when current or just -obsolete; it is safer to buy those which have during a period of some -years shown an inclination to rise steadily--but then investors and -speculators are generally impatient and won't wait. - -During the late South African War, there was an excessive speculation -by the uninitiated among the soldiers and the populace in the -provisional stamps overprinted "V.R.I." and "E.R.I."; thousands -appeared to think that a few pounds invested during the war would -enable them to retire on reaching the Strand with their booty. They -all bought to sell, and genuine collectors, finding the supply so -excessive, have only required a little patience to benefit their -pockets by acquiring at "greatly reduced prices," much under "face," -from the would-be get-rich-quicks who wouldn't or couldn't wait. As a -rule, however, it is the early bird who catches the worm, and only at -such rare seasons of extraordinary national excitement are excessive -booms possible; and the early bird must have some solid ground of -knowledge and intelligence to guide him to the worm. - - - - -VIII - -FORGERIES, -FAKES, AND -FANCIES - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -FORGERIES, FAKES, AND FANCIES - - Early counterfeits and their exposers--The "honest" - facsimile--"Album Weeds"--Forgeries classified--Frauds on - the British Post Office--Forgeries "paying" postage--The One - Rupee, India--Fraudulent alteration of values--The British 10s. - and £1 "Anchor"--A too-clever "fake"--Joined pairs--Drastic - tests--New South Wales "Views" and "Registered"--The Swiss - Cantonals--Government "imitations"--"Bogus" stamps. - - -Mr. Edward L. Pemberton, whose early writings on Philately will always -be regarded as little short of inspired from the marvellous intuition -which led him to the precise and the accurate, wrote a booklet on -"Forged Stamps, and How to Detect Them" in 1863. Already in the history -of this new hobby the forger had been at work catering for collectors; -it was, of course, from still earlier times that the unscrupulous had -endeavoured to relieve Governments of some portions of their revenues -by counterfeiting what is a kind of paper currency. Pemberton was not -the first author on this subject, but I turn to him because he was -the best of several contemporary writers in this as well as in other -directions. Of this superiority he was not entirely unconscious, for -in his "Introduction" he says: "We have tested the usefulness of the -only English work on the 'Falsification of Postage Stamps,' having gone -through it carefully, and after an impartial reading, feel convinced -that, from the vagueness of the descriptions, both of the forgeries and -genuine stamps, many persons testing stamps from them would select the -forgery as genuine, and _vice versâ_." - -To satisfy (in some measure) the curiosity of his readers, our -early authority gives some particulars of the forgers. The "first -and foremost" in the nefarious practice was a Zurich forger, whose -productions--Swiss Cantonals, Modena, Romagna, &c.--had the largest -circulation in Mr. Pemberton's time. This gentleman (evidently well -known to the author) had an agent for the sale of his wares at Basle, -the prices of these latter being quoted at "for most of the Swiss 80 -cts. each used, or unused 1 franc; for the Orts Post and Poste Locale -50 cts. each; for Modena and Romagna 80 cts." - -The dealer who occupied the second position of dishonour in the -estimation of this philatelic Sherlock Holmes was a Brussels -individual, whose provisional Parma, Modena, Naples, and Spain sold -largely and were well executed. - -These two appear to have been the leaders of the counterfeiting of -their time, "those indeed who have made almost a trade of it"; but -there was also a Brunswick dealer who "tried his hand at the Danish -essays," and a few forged stamps were supposed to hail from Leipsic. - -A couple of years later John Marmaduke Stourton, in a brochure "How to -Detect Forged Stamps," gives evidence of a swarm of forgers cropping -up in even our own country at Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle, and -London, in Hamburg and New York, as well as the Swiss and Belgian -forgers who still plied their traffic. The Glasgow productions were -of the "facsimile" class, and were possibly manufactured with the -well-intentioned but unwise endeavour to provide approximately correct -coloured facsimiles of stamps which were too scarce to be readily -accessible to all collectors. The "facsimile" has no doubt often been -produced with the best of intentions by firms of high repute, but the -protecting word "facsimile" or "Falsch," or other sign by which the -true nature of the copy may be identified, has so often been removed -for fraudulent purposes after it has left honest hands that there is -no alternative in these days of later and fuller experience to define -"facsimile," so far as it relates to Philately, as, in the words of my -glossary, "a euphemism for a forgery." - -It is, however, to be borne in mind by the student that in the -beginning of Philately there was not entirely the same attitude -towards the production of legitimate (if any could so be called) or -honest facsimiles, and, indeed, a writer in one of the early journals, -in proposing the formation of a philatelic society, suggests that -one of the duties such an institution could properly fulfil would -be the reproduction of choice editions (copies) of rare stamps for -limited circulation! Also in the _Stamp Collector's Magazine_, whose -proprietors and engravers were as free of just reproach as Cæsar's -wife, we find the engraver so pleased with the illustration he has -produced for that journal of the Nicaragua stamp of 1862 that he -announces:-- - - "NICARAGUAN STAMP.--Will be ready in a week. A beautiful proof - of the Nicaraguan Stamp (equal to the original) will be sent - for 13 postage-stamps. Only 75 proofs of this will be taken; - each proof will be numbered, and then the block burnt. An early - application is really necessary, 25 copies being already sold. - Address...." - -These "proofs," rarer, no doubt, than the originals, were endorsed -editorially, and collectors unable to procure the original stamp were -told they "would do well to provide themselves with one of these -facsimiles." The astute Mr. Pemberton, however, took a very different -view. "Although he tells every one that they are merely facsimiles and -not the real stamps, we cannot but help thinking that he is acting -wrongly; for less scrupulous dealers than himself will sell them as -genuine.... Again, these imitations are by far the best executed of any -we have seen. The regularly forged stamps are wretched in comparison -with these, and therefore all the more caution will be required to -detect them." So he proceeds to a detailed description of the small -differences existing between genuine and imitation. - -There is no royal road by which the collector can attain to the -accurate and ready discrimination between the right and the wrong -copies of stamps. Forgeries have multiplied enormously between 1863 -and 1911, so that now the standard handbook by the Rev. R. B. Earée is -a masterpiece of detail entitled "Album Weeds," occupying two large -volumes containing nearly 1,300 pages of text. It would be idle to -pretend that even the expert has every description contained therein -"at his fingers' ends." Yet the expert is rarely deceived in a stamp, -even when he has not access at the time to Mr. Earée's work or other -references. I remember an early instruction, the only one that covers -the subject, but I forget whence it comes. It was that if you study -your stamps an imperceptible sense will come to you that will enable -you at once to acclaim the true and to suspect if not denounce the -false. - -Beyond this I can only advise the reader that, as a complete novice, he -would be unwise to purchase costly rarities and valuable stamps from -unknown and irresponsible persons. The novice will remain a novice in -these matters, unless he acquires some knowledge of the differences -(generally readily distinguishable) between a stamp that is from -an engraved plate and a forgery that is, say, lithographed or from -a wood-cut. It is important to remember also--at least for the new -collector--that strange though it may seem to him, stamps really do -fetch what they are considered to be worth by collectors and dealers -of experience, and that if rare stamps are offered much below the -current quotation by individuals supposed to know their true worth, it -may often be, and generally is, that the wares they have for sale are -either forgeries or carefully mended copies of damaged originals. - -There is little danger of the collector being much at the mercy of the -forger if his transactions are confined to the reputable dealers, for -these latter have done more to purify the honest trade in stamps than -can, I think, be said of the dealers in the objects of other forms of -collecting. They have expert knowledge on their staff, and access to -highly specialised opinions and advice in the various branches of the -subject. - -Personally, I do not consider the forgery question nearly so serious an -obstacle in Philately as in other crafts. Most active stamp-collectors -are companionable with other students of the same subject, and -there would be little opportunity for an _Affaire Vrain-Lucas_, in -which during a period of several years a French autograph collector -accumulated 27,000 autographs for about £6,000, mostly forgeries, and -all from the same source, or for such a string of incidents as was -exposed in the recent china case in Great Britain. - -[Illustration: A GENUINE "PLATE 6."] - -Forgeries of stamps are made either for the purpose of defrauding the -Government or else for rifling the pockets of the stamp collector; -these may be classed in two groups: (1) where a stamp is a forgery -either in its entirety or in some added, as distinguished from -"altered," material detail; and (2) where a genuine stamp is so altered -as to apparently convert it into some other stamp. The first group are -generally covered in the term "forgeries," the second being specially -distinguished as "fakes." There is another class dubbed "bogus," or -sometimes more elegantly _timbres de fantasie_, which comprises labels -which are a pure invention, and never had any genuine existence at all. - -[Illustration: THE FAMOUS "STOCK EXCHANGE" FORGERY OF THE ONE SHILLING -GREEN STAMP OF GREAT BRITAIN. - -One specimen was used on October 31, 1872, and the other on June 13 of -the next year. The enlargements betray trifling differences, in the -details of the design as compared with the genuine stamp above.] - -The first attack on the Post Office revenue of which there is any -record is the subject of a letter from Downing Street, London, dated -September 2, 1840, and addressed to the late Sir (then Mr.) Rowland -Hill:--"Mr. Smith has just called and informed me that a forgery of the -Penny Label was yesterday detected in his office. The letter bearing -the forged stamp has been handed over to the Stamp Office to be dealt -with by them ... the forged stamp is a wood-cut...." An entry a few -days later in Mr. Hill's diary reads:--"At the Stamp Office I saw the -forged label. It is a miserable thing and could not possibly deceive -any except the most stupid and ignorant." - -The above seems to have been an almost isolated attempt to defraud the -revenue, but it is interesting as being the earliest known forgery, -appearing, as it did, within four months of the issue of the first -postage-stamp. - -A far more romantic forgery, and one of almost colossal magnitude, was -discovered in 1898. About that time, a large quantity of British One -Shilling stamps--those of the 1865 type in green, with large uncoloured -letters in the corners--came on the market, though, as they had been -used on telegram forms, they ought to have been destroyed: probably the -guilty parties relied on this official practice, not always honoured in -observance, as offering a security against not merely the tracing of -the offence but the discovering of the fraud itself. - -Anyhow, after a lapse of twenty-six years, it was found that amongst -these one shilling stamps there was a large proportion of forgeries -(purporting to be from plate 5), all used on July 23, 1872, at the -Stock Exchange Telegraph Office, London, E.C. More recent discoveries -show that the fraud was continued for over twelve months,[16] and, as -an indication of the precautions taken by the forgers, plate 6 (which -came into use in March, 1872) was duly imitated, although the change of -the small figures was a detail probably never noticed by members of the -general public. - -According to calculations, based on the average numbers used on several -days, the Post Office must have lost about £50 a day during the period -mentioned above. Who were the originators and perpetrators of the fraud -will probably never be known: possibly a stock-broker's clerk (or a -small "syndicate" of those gentlemen), or, more probably, a clerk in -the Post Office itself. It was an ingenious fraud, well planned and -cleverly carried out at a minimum of risk, and, but for the market for -old stamps, it would never have been discovered. - -Amongst foreign countries, Spain has been the greatest sufferer from -forgery: her numerous, and until recent times almost yearly, issues -were mainly necessitated by the circulation of counterfeits, which -appeared on letters within a very short time after each new series of -stamps had been put on sale. - -Some of the old Italian States, particularly Naples and the Neapolitan -Provinces, were defrauded of part of their revenue by numerous -forgeries of some of their stamps; and in these cases, as in that of -Spain, letters survive on which the postage has been entirely, or in -part, "paid" by means of counterfeits. - -An ingenious fraud on the Indian Post Office was discovered in 1890, -through the care with which collectors frequently examine their stamps. -The One Rupee, slate, of the 1882-88 issue, very cleverly imitated, -was found to be frequently coming to this country on letters from -Bombay, and police inquiries, made on the information of a well-known -philatelist, led to the detection of the culprit; he, it seems, -engraved a facsimile on box-wood, and printed his stamps, one by one, -on paper as similar as possible to the genuine, but without watermark; -the perforation he effected by placing the printed label between two -plates of thin metal each with holes corresponding to the intended -perforations, and then, by the aid of a blunt wire, punching out the -small circular pieces of paper! - -Other instances have been noted, but those given are the best known, -and serve as good examples of frauds against Post Offices, so far as -forgery of the entire stamp is concerned; but, of recent years, a new -kind of fraud has come into vogue--the alteration of a genuine stamp -into one of a much higher denomination, affecting British Colonies -only. - -The possibility of this has resulted from the desire of the authorities -to print the majority of colonial stamps, available for postal -or fiscal purposes, in two colours--one being distinctive of the -particular value, and the other a purple or green, very susceptible to -any attempt to remove an obliteration or cancellation, whether by the -Post Office or by a member of the public: by the latter, in writing-ink. - -The _modus operandi_ is ingenious--a stamp is selected, of which nearly -the whole design is, say, in green, the name and (low) value being in -some distinctive colour; the original value and name are removed by -chemical means, the name and new (high) value being substituted in -a colour applicable to the higher denomination--result, if the work -be carefully done, a stamp which would deceive not only the ordinary -official (who is seldom of real philatelic inclinations) but even, -at first glance, the average collector, unless he is on the look-out -for such "fakes," which, as a matter of fact, have been made for his -delectation also. - -As has been remarked, the number of forgeries made to deceive -collectors has been immeasurably greater than of those prepared for -defrauding the Revenue; and it has been endeavoured to select some -of the most daring, and often successful, attempts to palm off a -clever forgery as a genuine--generally rare, but sometimes quite -common--postage-stamp. - -In 1903, taking our own country first, an attempt was made to place on -the market unused copies of the rare Ten Shillings and One Pound stamps -of 1878-83, printed on Large Anchor paper, and perforated 14: these -were almost at once discovered by Mr. Nissen, the same philatelist who -first noticed the One Shilling (plate 5) counterfeits used at the Stock -Exchange Post Office, to be exceedingly clever forgeries. They were, -save for a slight lack of finish in the finer details, practically of -design identical with that of the original stamps; the colours were -well matched, and, most deceptive of all, the paper and perforation -were undoubtedly genuine. This timely discovery nipped the forgers' -schemes in the bud, but, some eight years subsequently, the lower of -these two forged stamps came again on the market, this time provided -with a neat, though fraudulent, postmark. - -So far as can be judged from the examination of specimens of this -forgery, the paper used was that on which were printed certain "Inland -Revenue" stamps--probably the Threepence, which alone was watermarked -and perforated as were the two stamps imitated; but possibly other -fiscals also were used--the colour being chemically removed, -leaving a blank piece of paper, properly and genuinely watermarked -and perforated, all ready to receive the fraudulent imitation. An -undoubtedly clever, but almost unsuccessful, fraud on collectors; -though rumour has it that a well-known philatelist, usually credited -with capability to protect himself, was a victim for a substantial sum, -as the price of an unused "Pound Anchor"! - -A recently attempted fraud--this time of the kind known as a -"fake"--has been, it is hoped, successfully exposed. As is well -known, especially to collectors of British stamps, the first Twopence -Halfpenny stamp, issued in 1875, shows an error of corner-lettering -on plate 2: the twelfth and last stamp in the eighth horizontal row -should have been lettered "L.H.--H.L." but, through want of care, -actually bore the letters "L.H.--F.L." This error, especially in unused -condition, is scarce, and the faker has naturally made an effort to -supply the deficiency. - -Obviously, the easiest way to manufacture this error is to select a -stamp from plate 2 with the lettering of "L.F.--F.L." (the last stamp -in the _sixth_ row), and alter the first "F" into "H", with hope of -probable success because the collector's criticism would naturally -(if wrongly) be concentrated on the incorrect letter in the lower -left-hand corner. Unfortunately for the "fake," which was very well -executed, its creator, wishing no doubt to enhance its value, had left -the "error" in pair with the eleventh stamp in the same row: result, a -very nice pair from the sixth row, lettered "K.F.--F.K.", "L.H.--F.L.", -showing (as a consequence of being in pair) a mistake--"H" for "F" in -the upper right-hand corner. This, of course, condemned the error at -once, but the example serves to show how very careful one must be, -and how necessary it is to examine and consider every circumstance in -connection with the particular stamp under observation. - -There are two varieties of stamps, differing from the normal through -some slip in the process of manufacture--bicoloured stamps, in which -the portion printed in one colour is inverted as regards the remainder -of the design, caused by carelessness in "feeding" the partly-printed -sheet wrong way up into the press, for the second impression completing -the design; and pairs of stamps, which, each quite normal if severed, -are when _se tenant_ inverted in respect to each other, a condition -philatelically termed _tête-bêche_. - -The fraudulent manipulator has turned his attention to these, generally -scarce and frequently very rare, eccentricities, cutting out from -the bicoloured stamp the part printed in one colour and replacing it -with great care, but upside down; and, as to the _tête-bêche_ pairs, -manufacturing them by means of two single copies, a strong adhesive -mixture and heavy pressure. - -Sometimes, so well have these frauds been made that nothing short of -several hours' _boiling_ has sufficed to dissolve the illegal union of -the two pieces of paper--a drastic test, and one somewhat detrimental -to the value of such copies as are enabled, by their genuineness, to -survive the ordeal. The possible result to, say, a mint imperforate -Fourpence, Ceylon, suspected of having recently acquired its otherwise -desirable "margins," reminds me of the test given (not advocated) by -a famous philatelist for the detection of forgeries of early Cashmere -stamps, which were printed in water-colour--"Put them in water; if the -colour is 'fast' the stamp is a forgery; if it comes off, leaving a -blank piece of paper, the stamp is genuine"! - -A famous forgery was put on the market some years ago, the stamp -imitated being the One Penny value of the well-known first issue of New -South Wales, commonly called "Sydney Views." This stamp was issued in -sheets of twenty-five, each repetition of the design being separately -engraved on the plate and so giving twenty-five minor varieties; and -subsequently the entire plate was re-cut, doubling the number of -varieties for the specialist. The forger engraved his fraudulent wares -and printed the labels, as were the originals, direct from the plate, -in a very good imitation of the ink used in 1850 and on similar paper; -and these reproductions, often in pairs, were affixed to old envelopes -and cancelled with forged postmarks. - -So well executed were these forgeries that suspicions as to their -character were not raised until an endeavour was made to ascertain the -original positions on the sheet of these desirable (?) specimens: then -it was found that the details of design did not tally with those of -any of the known varieties, and the career of yet another forgery was -brought (somewhat tardily) to an untimely end. - -Watermarks in the paper were for many years a stumbling-block to -the counterfeiter, and practically all the old and generally poorly -lithographed forgeries were on plain paper: nowadays, however, the -watermark is imitated by actually thinning the paper where necessary, -or by impressing it with a die cut to resemble the design, or by -painting the "watermark" on the back with an oily composition which -renders the paper slightly transparent, and so apparently thinner. - -In a comparatively recent forgery of the Registration stamp of New -South Wales sent by a correspondent, the counterfeit was produced by -the same process (from line-engraved plates) as the original; the -watermark showed very distinctly when the label was placed face down, -but was not visible at all when held up to the light: it was a "paint" -mark in a very faint tint of the ink used for printing that part of the -forgery where it appeared. - -Occasionally, but it must be admitted not very often, forgeries are so -inscribed. A notable instance is the series of large handsome stamps -issued by the United States during 1875-95 for payment of the postage -on newspapers, singly or in bulk, and ranging from one cent to the high -value of one hundred dollars: on each of these particular counterfeits -the word "Falsch" was engraved as part of the design, and "Facsimile" -was printed across the central portion of the stamp. - -Practically the same course was adopted in the native manufacture of -forged sets of the early Japanese stamps, the counterfeits (which -were produced by the same process as the originals) being marked in -the design with two microscopic characters signifying "facsimile": -unfortunately for the honest intention of the forger to give due notice -of the spuriousness of his productions, the incriminating letters are -so small that a carefully applied postmark is apt to completely hide -them. - -Some stamps have been very extensively forged: for instance, of the -2½ rappen issued in the Swiss Canton of Basle, in 1845, no less -than seventeen distinct counterfeits have been detected. The stamp, of -which an embossed dove carrying a letter in its beak is the central -part of the design, is tricoloured--pale greenish blue, dull crimson -and black--and, in common with most of the other Swiss Cantonals, is -becoming rare. Copies have also been faked by thinning down card proofs -of the genuine impression and adding gum. - -Of the rarest Cantonal stamp, usually known as the "double Geneva," and -consisting of two stamps of 5 centimes each, joined at the top by a -long label inscribed with the aggregate value of 10 centimes, fifteen -(probably more) forgeries are known; and as the entire stamp is priced -at £75 unused and £28 used, it is naturally worth the counterfeiter's -while to persist in the improvement of his imitations, with little -hope, however, of attaining a perfection sufficient to defy discovery. - -Individuals, however, are not the only forgers of postage-stamps: -Governments, too, in their anxiety to provide so-called "reprints" -for sale to dealers and collectors, have not hesitated to supply -the necessary dies and plates, replacing those originally used and -long since cancelled; and some have sunk so low as to deliberately -manufacture counterfeits, and sell them as genuine stamps out of a -supposed stock left on hand! - -A reprint is an impression from the old original die, plate, or stone, -taken after the stamp has become obsolete; but prints from a new die, -however faithful a copy it may be, can only be correctly given one -name--forgery. - -In 1875, the United States Government, desiring to exhibit a complete -series of their postage-stamps, and finding that the original dies and -plates used for production of the Five and Ten Cents, 1847, were not -available, ordered new dies to be cut: impressions from these, though -closely approaching the originals, can be distinguished therefrom by -certain minute but well-defined differences in the design. - -The first issue of Fiji--a series printed from ordinary printers' type -at the office of a local newspaper, and known amongst philatelists as -the "_Fiji Times_ Express" stamps--has been twice "reprinted" from -a special setting-up of similar type; but, as the original printing -_forme_ had been "distributed," even a re-setting of the actual type -would produce little less than a forgery of a class euphemistically -described as "official imitations." - -The greatest sinners in this respect were the officials at Jassy, -Roumania, who, in response to numerous applications for copies of the -four very rare stamps of July, 1858, caused to be made, at different -times, no less than three varying types of the 54, 81, and 108 -paras--which they sold as genuine. It was only in the late 'seventies -that this official fraud was thoroughly exposed. - -As I have indicated, it is impossible, within the limits of a single -chapter, to do more than touch the fringe of the subject of forgery -and "faking," and the dissection of a few skilful imitations would -not materially add to the warning which the previous few pages will -have conveyed--that the interest taken by the forger in Philately is a -purely mercenary one, detrimental to our scientific hobby and damaging -to our pockets; the collector must always be on the defensive and on -the look-out for pitfalls, not relying too much on a guarantee of -genuineness (which only secures reimbursement of money paid) to prevent -the admission into his album of a forgery or clever fake. - -The prevalence of forgery--and the almost equally reprehensible -"reprinting"--should be no insurmountable obstacle to the collector; -rather it should be a spur to prick the sides of his intent to intimate -study and patient research. By collecting in a thorough and scientific -manner, the collector will so impress on his memory the general -features of the majority of the world's issues, together with the -details of the safeguards afforded by paper, watermark and perforation, -that the first glimpse at a forgery or fake will reveal a something -which at once rouses suspicion that the particular label is not the -legitimate offspring of the Post Office. - -The "bogus" stamp, that is, the fraudulent label which has never -existed as an original, is not to be feared: standard catalogues of -the present day contain a practically accurate list of the designs -of all issued stamps, and information as to new issues is so widely -disseminated by the philatelic press that the chances of successfully -placing a bogus stamp or issue are very small. - -There have been frauds of this kind, but they are so few, and their -character is so easily ascertained from the perusal of any catalogue -deserving of the name, that it will suffice to merely mention two or -three countries which have had bogus issues foisted on them. - -A place supposed to be named Sedang and said to be ruled by a Frenchman -was credited with a set of stamps for its non-existent Post Office; -Brunei, in 1895 or thereabouts, was reported to have issued a set of -stamps, which eventually turned out to be the private speculation of -some European trader; and Cordoba (a province of Argentina) had her -two legitimate stamps of 5 and 10 centavos supplemented by four higher -values of similar design made for the delectation of collectors. - -There are a good many more, including the so-called issues for -Clipperton Island, Torres Straits, Principality of Trinidad, Counani -(the character of these last named is, I believe, still contested), -Spitsbergen; and certain labels purporting to hail from Hayti, Hawaii, -German East Africa, and Mozambique. - -For the novice it may be well to add that the absence of a variety -of a known stamp from the catalogue does not necessarily signify -that it must be so rare in that particular form that it is unknown -to the cataloguer. It may, of course, be a new discovery, but it is -not less likely to be a variety which has been built up by some one -interested in beguiling you with a fancy of his own. Forgers have been -known to add new denominations to the sets of stamps they have been -counterfeiting, that is to say, bearing face values unknown in the -genuine series, and sometimes fictitious overprints or surcharges are -applied to genuine stamps. The most remarkable instance of the latter I -can recall is the "Two Cents" overprint on the 3 cents brown on yellow -Sarawak, which even the local authorities had come to believe in as -having been applied by an up-country official in need of Two Cents -stamps, but which were surcharged in London, where the dies of the -surcharge and the very genuine-looking combinations of postmarks were -subsequently found during an important _cause celèbre_. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[16] See _The Postage Stamp_, vi. 153. - - - - -IX - -FAMOUS -COLLECTIONS - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -FAMOUS COLLECTIONS - - The "mania" in the 'sixties--Some wonderful early - collections--The first auction sale--Judge Philbrick and his - collection--The Image collection--Lord Crawford's "United - States" and "Great Britain"--Other great modern collections--M. - la Rénotière's "legions of stamps"--Synopsis of sales of - collections. - - -To fail to emphasise the broadly democratic character of the world -of stamp collectors would be to overlook an important aspect of the -popularity of this science, or, as it is to the majority, the "hobby" -of stamps. I have already indicated the dual side of the collecting in -the 'sixties, when the boy-collector predominated in numbers, but the -adult student had the influence that gave "Philately" or "Timbrologie" -a permanent place among the recreative studies. A note on the "Postage -Stamp Exchange" in _The Express_, in April, 1862, indicates the -benevolent toleration on the part of the outside public and the press -concerning the new "mania." "... We may mention that the mania has -been increased in such a degree as to lead to the formation of a -postage-stamp exchange, the locality being Change Alley, leading out -of Birchin Lane. There every evening about fifty boys, _and some men, -too_, may be seen industriously exchanging old disfigured stamps, most -of which are carefully fastened in books. The earnestness and assiduity -with which the 'trade' is carried on is very remarkable." - -"'Some men, too,'" says Mr. Mount Brown in sending me the paragraph, -"is very lovely." It would be idle to disguise the fact that the mantle -of bare toleration of the "mania" has not been entirely discarded by -the uninitiated, and it has been a very disconcerting privilege to have -for chairmen at lectures on postage-stamps, at literary and scientific -institutions, gentlemen who have introduced the subject by confessing -that they had once been collectors themselves, _but that was when they -were at school_. The press, however, has shown a greater respect for -the substantial basis of scientific interest which underlies the hobby, -and to-day _The Daily Telegraph_, which has led the modern journalism -in the matter of regular specialised articles, has its column of -"Postage Stamp" notes every week, and so too has _The Evening News_. - -To-day, the press frequently discusses interesting new issues of -stamps, and much publicity is now given to that _argumentum ad -populum_, the remarkable prices which are constantly being realised -in the stamp-market. Considering that stamp-collecting can scarcely -be regarded as having started prior to 1860-61, the prices of stamps -quickly attained respectable proportions. In _The Young Ladies' -Journal_ of December 14, 1864, there is this paragraph:-- - -"We had almost heard nothing of late of the postage-stamp collecting -mania, till suddenly the formidable announcement is made by -advertisement that an amateur is ready to sell his collection--for what -sum would it be thought?--nothing less than £250." - -Had the doubting Thomas[17] (for I dare say gentlemen edited ladies' -papers in those days, much as they undertake the duties of "Aunt Molly" -and the "Editress's Confidences" in the ladies' journals of to-day) had -the foresight to buy a collection worth £250 in 1864, it would have -been worth not less than, say, £25,000, probably more, to-day. - -The collecting of stamps has at all times in the history of Philately -been enjoyed by young and old, by men and women of all ranks and -stations. Kings have shared this pastime with the humblest of -their subjects, and do so to this day. His Majesty King George V. -once wrote of stamp-collecting to a friend that "it is one of the -greatest pleasures of my life." A letter "enthusing" on the delights -of stamp-hunting reached me the other day from a correspondent who -claimed to be "only a working-man." There are few old stagers amongst -collectors who have not encountered, and perhaps even been stimulated -by, the boastful eagerness with which a youngster in his 'teens tells -you of bargains got from Gibbons's books, or of a rare "snap," an -unnoticed variety priced as the normal from Peckitt. For the Strand -is full of bargains to-day, to the personal hunter who has the right -knowledge. - -Having alluded to the wide differences in ages and in stations of -collectors throughout the philatelic period 1862-1911, it will -be interesting to follow the more notable collections in their -vicissitudes. M. Alfred Potiquet, one of the very earliest collectors, -whose catalogue is of extreme rarity in its first edition, was probably -an almost solitary example of the collector of unused stamps only, in -the first days of the hobby. It is strange that in these later days -the collectors on the Continent, almost to a man, prefer used stamps. -But to return to Potiquet: he was probably the first collector of -importance to sell his collection outright, which he did about the -time the second edition of his catalogue was issued by Lacroix. The -collection was a small one, about five hundred stamps, all unused, and -he sold the lot to Edard de Laplante in 1862 for five hundred francs, -of which sum the purchaser had to borrow one half to complete the -deal. But, if the reader considers that five hundred francs represents -approximately £20, he will appreciate the purchaser's bargain when -told that the collection included the New Brunswick 1s. (representing -to-day £70); the Nova Scotia 1s. (£55-£65 to-day); the Natal 3d. and -6d. embossed in plain relief, which now are almost unattainable, except -as reprints; Tuscany's 60 crazie (now worth £35) and the 1 soldo (£7 to -£8); and the 4 and 5 centimes "Poste Locale" stamps of the transitional -period of Switzerland, which catalogue at £100 and £10 respectively; -and add to these many of the early issues of the Americas, the prices -of which are now leaping up in the catalogues, and of which we know -Potiquet to have had a good number, including the very rare error, -the half-peso of Peru, printed in rose-red instead of yellow, through -a transfer of that denomination getting mixed up in the making up of -the lithographic stone for the 1 peseta. The above error is priced £13 -used, but an unused copy would be worth very considerably more. He had -also the 1 real and 2 reales of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company -stamps, on _blued_ paper. - -Who was the amateur whose collection was referred to in the _Young -Ladies' Journal_ in 1864? It was possibly the "long cherished album" -of that "worthy embodiment of Christian and gentleman," the Rev. -F. Stainforth, the chief gems of which passed about this time into -the possession of Mr. Philbrick. What price the reverend invalid -(he survived the sale but eighteen months) received has not been -handed down to us, but as Mr. Stainforth had been in the swim from -the beginning, as he was a ready and high bidder for "any real or -supposed rarity," and as his album was a general reference collection -at the Saturday afternoon rendezvous at the rectory of All Hallows, -London Wall, it goes without saying that it was rich in stamps that -to-day would be of the greatest value. At least two of the St. Louis -Postmaster stamps were included. The first "Patimus" British Guiana -known was in the Stainforth collection, a rarity with the motto of the -colony _Damus petimusque vicissim_, wrongly spelt "patimus," an error -which, as Mr. Edward L. Pemberton pointed out, laid the colonists -open to "the charge of selecting that which was beyond their ability -to spell," but which was purely an engraver's error. The Stainforth -collection was also rich in the American locals, and it was to this -collection that Mr. Mount Brown was indebted for the useful lists of -these stamps in his catalogues. From the little we know of the reverend -gentleman's collection, we may be sure it would have well justified the -remarkable price of £250 even in 1864 or 1865. - -Few--very few--collectors of that period, and indeed of later times, -withstood the temptations of a rapidly rising market or the emergencies -of pecuniary embarrassments; many sold their collections when prices -seemed to be great but were, as events have proved, still in their -early stages. One collector retained his collection from 1859 to -1896: its owner, Mr. W. Hughes-Hughes, of the Inner Temple, started -collecting in the former year, but ceased active collecting in 1874, -from which time his album was latent until 1896--with the exception of -some items lent for display at the London Exhibition of 1890. Happily -for our instruction, Mr. Hughes-Hughes was one of those methodical -men who keep a strict account of expenditures, and he had spent £69 -on his stamp-collection in those fifteen years. In 1896 he sold that -collection for £3,000. It was then cheap at the latter price, for it -contained among its 2,900 varieties a yellow Austrian "Mercury" unused; -a 4 cents British Guiana of 1856, on blue "sugar" paper; the 12d. -black of Canada unused; plate 77 of the 1d. Great Britain unused; and, -_mirabile dictu_, an unused copy of the 4d. red "woodblock" error of -the Cape of Good Hope, a stamp which afterwards fetched £500. One could -go on to the rare used stamps, and so "pile on the agony," but let -it suffice for the present to say that the collection contained many -gems, especially in those classic early issues of Victoria, Trinidad, -Mauritius, France, Reunion (the 15 centimes), Mexico, Naples (the -½ Tornese in both types), Tuscany, Saxony, &c., the very names of -which countries conjure up for the present-day philatelist visions of -pocket-money for millionaires. - -Hying back to the Continent, the troubles in France led to considerable -disruption of the philatelic life, and no doubt many collectors and -their albums were parted. M. Oscar Berger-Levrault was the producer -of the earliest privately printed lists of stamps. His firm of -typographical printers, which had been established in Strasburg (the -city of Gutenberg associations), had to move from Strasburg to Nancy, -as a result of the German annexation of Alsace and Lorraine. The work -of setting up, in a new centre, establishments for his four hundred -workmen left M. Berger-Levrault no time for stamps from 1870 to 1873, -and this lapse in the continuity of his collection was so serious a -gap that he decided to sell, especially as he had to undertake long -bibliographical researches into his family history. He has told us -something of his collection, but not the price it realised in 1873. -Here is a brief statistical outline:-- - - Contents of the collection, September, 1861 Stamps 673 - " " " August, 1862 " 1,142 - " " " April, 1863 " 1,553 - " " " July, 1864 " 1,857 - -These figures are without counting varieties of shade. In 1870 the -collection contained 10,400 stamps in all, including 6,300 unused, -and more than 1,400 genuine essays. "I was only short of fifty -postage-stamps known at that date," he writes, "as also a certain -number of Australian stamps, with their various watermarks, which I had -begun to study towards 1866, with my old friends and collaborators, F. -A. Philbrick and Dr. Magnus."[18] - -Here indeed was a collection, probably as near to the collector's -elusive ideal of completeness as has ever been attained in a general -collection. Writing from memory, in January, 1890, he gives the -following list of special items he remembers to have been amongst the -6,300 unused stamps:-- - - Bergedorf Nov. 1, 1861 ½ sch. violet. - 3 sch. rose. - Saxony 1850 3 pf. - Great Britain 1840 1d. V.R. - Switzerland: Zurich 1843 4 rapp. - " " " 6 rapp. - " "Vaud" -- 4 centimes. - " " -- 5 " - Tuscany 1849 1 soldo. - " " 2 soldi. - " " 60 crazie. - Naples 1860 ½ T. arms. - " " ½ T. cross. - Reunion 1851 15 centimes. - " " 30 centimes. - "Indies" 1854 ½ anna red. - New Zealand 1855 1s. - New Brunswick 1857 1s. - Nova Scotia 1857 1s. - British Guiana 1856 4 cents carmine. - Peru 1858 ½ peso. - Buenos Ayres April, 1858 3 pesos. - " " " " 4 pesos red. - " " " " 4 " brown. - " " " " 5 " orange. - " " Oct. " 4 rl. brown. - " " " " 1 peso brown (:IN Ps). - " " Jan. 1859 1 peso blue (:IN Ps). - " " " " 1 " " (TO Ps). - -"On the other hand, Spain, without its colonies, was represented in -my collection for the period of 1850 to the end of 1856 by 79 unused -stamps, 80 postmarked stamps, 8 essays of the Madrid stamp (bear), and -was very complete." Even on the extenuated scale of the modern Gibbons -catalogue, the total of varieties of the issues 1850-56 only numbers -125. - -The first four-figure price for a stamp collection was obtained in -1878, when the magnificent collection of Sir Daniel Cooper, Bart., -K.C.M.G., was transferred to the ownership of Mr. Philbrick, Q.C., for -£3,000. Sir Daniel's public career, chiefly in connection with the -promotion of "Advance, Australia!", is still well remembered, but it -is significant of the character of the assemblages at Mr. Stainforth's -rectory that this distinguished Australian should have been one of -their most active promoters in 1861 and the following years. He was, -with Mr. Philbrick, one of the founders of the Philatelic Society in -1869, and was the first of the line of distinguished occupants of the -presidential chair of the now Royal Philatelic Society. It is only -natural that, with his intimate associations with Australia, the early -stamps of that continent and of New Zealand should figure strongly in -his collection. It was he who supplied the data which enabled the young -philatelic giant, Mr. E. L. Pemberton, to announce the existence of a -pre-Rowland Hill stamped envelope in New South Wales, leading to the -discovery of the embossed letter-sheets of Sydney, 1838. - -On March 18, 1872, there was held the first auction of rare -postage-stamps at the rooms of Messrs. Sotheby, in Wellington -Street, London. The experiment was made with what was described as a -_portion_ of an American collection, and the only reason the _whole_ -collection was not offered was that the time of the public was too -valuable to spread over three days! A criticism in the columns of -_The Philatelical Journal_ of April 15, 1872, attributes some of the -prices, even then considered low, to the distrust of amateurs when the -owner was bidding. I give a few of the prices realised. Lot 6 was the -15 cents error, United States, 1869, with the frame inverted: "This -fetched a _good price_" in the opinion of the contemporary philatelic -writer, being knocked down to Mr. Atlee for 36s. My friend, Mr. E. B. -Power, in his priced work "United States Stamps," 1909, prices this -stamp at $2,500 unused, $150 used. Lot 12 was a 5 cents Brattleboro: -"a beauty, was bought in at £3; it would have sold well but for the -owner's bidding," &c. I suppose a Brattleboro, especially "a beauty," -would find ready competition in three figures to-day. Other lots -_bought in_ were:-- - - Lot 15, St. Louis, all three varieties of the 5c. £2 13s. - Lot 16, " " " " 10c. £2 7s. - Lot 17, " 20 c., "unique" £6. - Lot 18, " 20 c., "variety not unique" £8 12s. - -The 5 cent St. Louis used is now catalogued at £25, and the 10 -cent at £30; a _pair_ of the 20 cents, these stamps being part of -the treasure-trove of the celebrated find of 1895, was sold in the -'nineties for £1,026. Some of the Blood locals were bought in, but -Mr. Pemberton secured for £5 a copy of the very rare _pink_ Jefferson -Market P.O. stamp. - -"Here," says our chronicler, "occurred something amusing; the -auctioneer probably fancied that as this was unique and exciting -competition, it was a _handsome_ stamp, so as the bidding rose -described it as 'beautifully engraved,' which created great laughter, -for it was a foully hideous thing, and the engraving apparently done by -a blind man with a skewer." Altogether there were many rare American -locals, the majority of which fell to Sir Daniel Cooper, Mr. Atlee, and -Mr. Pemberton. Then came "some miscellaneous lots, sets of used, &c., -of which some fetched exorbitant prices, for instance, four varieties -of 5 cents, green, eagle, Bolivia, were sold for 14s., the 5 cent lilac -for 23s., the 10 cent brown for 17s. The early Luzons (Philippines), -used, were good lots and the 5 and 10 cent 1854, with 1 and 2 rs., -fetched in the aggregate £6 9s., so they were no bargain." - -Lot 150 was the ½ T. Naples, arms type, bought in for 40s., and the -cross type was bought in for 9s. Lot 160 was "a remarkably good 13 -cent of the commoner type of the 1852 figure Sandwich Islands, which -the owner boldly started at £6 and bought in for an additional ten -shillings, _a very full price indeed_." Nevertheless it would have cost -£90 or more to-day. - -The record of this sale deserves more attention than I am able to -give it here: the event was certainly one of extraordinary interest, -though it was considered at the time something of a failure, and was -not repeated. The next auction sale of stamps did not take place until -sixteen years later. But I must spare a few lines for my chronicler's -peroration. - -"The results of this sale are so far satisfactory that they prove that -Philately is not yet on the wane, _and never will be_. It is a young -science, but before many years pass, we shall regard £5 for a valuable -stamp as calmly as we do now the pound sterling for an ordinary -specimen; and those who have been the mainstays of the dealers will -undoubtedly find that their outlays, however extensive, will produce at -least cent. per cent. What are we to think of the matchless collections -of Mr. Philbrick, Sir Daniel Cooper, Mr. Atlee, Baron Arthur de -Rothschild, E. J., and others, gathered together with unflagging toil -and patience, but all of which contain practically unattainable things? -And will not these in the course of years inevitably become of fabulous -value?" - -Four years after the Cooper collection was sold for £3,000, Mr. -Philbrick, to the deep regret of all his British colleagues, sold his -general collection (not the Great Britain portion) to M. la Rénotière -in Paris, for the then record price of £8,000. At his death, which -occurred so recently as Christmas, 1910, it would have represented the -comfortable fortune of, say, £50,000! It would be a shorter task to -say what was _not_ in this truly wonderful collection than to attempt -a list of its gems, for the absentees were almost _nil_. The best idea -of the strength of this collection must be gathered from the valuable -papers Philbrick contributed to _The Stamp Collector's Magazine_ and -_The Philatelic Record_, chiefly under the pseudonyms "Damus petimusque -vicissim," "An Amateur," and several "By the author of the 'Postage -Stamps of British Guiana,'" and by his collaborated work with the late -Mr. W. A. S. Westoby, "The Postage and Telegraph Stamps of Great -Britain." Here I may fittingly place on record a souvenir I recently -acquired of this collaboration and close friendship between these -two most renowned of the students of stamps, whose work is a classic -in the literature of Philately, and is still constantly referred to, -being only in some respects superseded by later authorities. The letter -itself amply justifies publication in entirety here, as it throws -an interesting light on the philatelic evidence before the Joint -Committee on Postage Stamps appointed by the Postmaster-General, the -"confidential" report of which was printed in 1885 ("Bibl. Lindesiana," -p. 159). - - "11, EARL'S AVENUE, FOLKESTONE, - "_December 29th_. - - "MY DEAR PHILBRICK,-- - - "After seeing you on Saturday I wrote a letter to Mr. Jeffery - saying that you had told me the substance of what passed, - and that I most thoroughly endorsed what you had said about - forgery. It was not the difficulty of forging a stamp which - constituted their protection, so much as the difficulty of - disposing of the stamps when forged. - - "I further said that if they determined on having a surface - printed series not combined with embossing they must allow - me to point out what I considered to be a fatal error in all - Messrs. De La Rue's designs, and this was the introduction of - a lined background, the lines of which were almost coincident - with the lines of shading in the head. The merit of Bacon's - design was that he had a light head thrown up by a dark - background, and I could scarcely point out an instance where - surface-printed stamps had not either a solid background or - none at all, like the Hungarian of 1872. As they would possibly - not like a solid background I suggested to them to adopt a - standard profile of the Queen's head, and for all the stamps up - to 1s. to reduce it by photography to the size of the head on - the 2d., and for those above they might reduce it to a larger - size, so as to keep the same likeness through all, and to put - it on a plain white ground, and I sent them a 2d. from which I - had removed the lined background like as I have done in the 1d. - annexed. - - "That if they would excuse my making a further suggestion - it would be that for all the stamps up to 1s. about four - colours would suffice, if the framings were made different and - distinctly visible, ... thus:-- - - ------------+------------------+-----------------+----------- - { ½.| pink {1d.| blue { | {6d. - Green { 1½d.| like the {2d.| like the { 2½d. | olive {9d. - { 3d.| present 5s. {4d.| 2s. { 5d. | {1s. - ------------+------------------+-----------------+----------- - - "I have had a very courteous reply from Mr. Jeffery, thanking - me much for the letter, and saying he would lay it before the - Committee at the next meeting. - - "I forgot to mention one thing I said. That I knew that stamp - collectors were not regarded with too much favour by the - authorities, who were inclined to regard them as too curious - and desiring to look into mysteries into which even angels were - forbidden to look, but that they ought to take a very different - view, for we were the greatest protectors against forgeries - of stamps that they could have. Not one came out, but was - immediately denounced in the publications circulating amongst - collectors and the forger's trade stopped. - - "I have written you a long lot of twaddle, but I have tried to - sound the trumpet of the Philatelist--what Bunhill Row will - think I do not know nor care; I said their manufacture was - good--the best--but that the least said about their designs - and colours the better. I also said that as to the lettering I - agreed with you that it was practically useless _if_ the stamp - was properly obliterated and the saving slips done away with. - - "The kind of stamp I suggested that they should have the design - made of as a trial was the 2d. head turned the other way, when - they could see the effect. - - "Ever yours very affectionately, - "W. A. S. WESTOBY." - -I am not entering upon any details of the Philbrick collection, for the -most I could give would be a bald citation of an almost untold list -of rarities. Imagine--if you can--a complete list of all known stamps -up to 1880, imagine also some of the rarities not merely in duplicate -or triplicate, but in the course of advanced plating of the settings -(especially in British Guiana), and you may get some idea of what was -in this great collection--and is still preserved in the collection of -M. la Rénotière. His two used "Post Offices" of Mauritius were the -first known copies of these rarities, and were at first considered -to be an error of the inscription "Post Paid" of 1848, instead of a -distinct issue of 1847. They came from the correspondence of a M. -Borchard, whose widow found no fewer than thirteen of the twenty-five -copies now known. The first pair was exchanged for a couple of -"Montevideos," which had, in the eyes of the lady, so M. Moëns tells -us, "the supreme advantage of having a place indicated for them in the -Lallier album, where the 'Post Office,' like many other stamps, were -not indicated." The two stamps were used on one envelope, and were -postmarked together with one impression of the "Inland" handstamp, -the 1d. specimen having the left upper corner defective. M. Albert -Coutures, a youngster of twenty, secured the stamps in the "swap," and -afterwards (October, 1865) parted with them to M. Moëns through the -medium of a Bordeaux merchant, M. E. Gimet. The price Moëns paid must -have been a mere trifle, as he parted with them to Mr. Philbrick on -February 15, 1866, for a few pounds. The record of these stamps Nos. -1 and 2 in Moëns's "A History of the Twenty Known Specimens, &c.," is -therefore briefly-- - - Year. Owner. - 1847 Borchard. - 1864 (?) Coutures. - 1865 Gimet. - 1865 Moëns. - 1866 Philbrick. - 1882 La Rénotière. - -To-day their "weight in gold" would, of course, represent but an -infinitesimal fraction of their market value. - -[Illustration: THE UNIQUE ENVELOPE OF ANNAPOLIS (MARYLAND, U.S.A.) IN -LORD CRAWFORD'S COLLECTION OF STAMPS OF THE UNITED STATES.] - -The Image collection was sold in the same year as the Philbrick -albums. Mr. W. E. Image was yet another of the _vieille garde_ of -Philately, though he ploughed a lone furrow during the early years of -his collecting, which began in 1859. His collection, sold for £3,000 -in 1882, deserves to be especially noted, as it was in one sense the -basis of the great national collection now at the British Museum. The -late Mr. T. K. Tapling, M.P., was the purchaser, and so magnificent was -his new acquisition that he at one time thought of parting with his own -and continuing the Image collection. At this juncture, the death of Mr. -Tapling's father enabled him to amalgamate the two collections, his own -with that of Mr. Image, and to launch out upon the grandly conceived -collection bequeathed in 1891 to the nation. - -Mr. Image at first compiled his collection almost entirely by -correspondence, and did not see the inside of a dealer's shop until the -'seventies. He is said, however, to have never refused a good specimen -of a stamp he lacked, save on one occasion, an historic one. Moëns -offered him for £240 the two Post Office Mauritius, but he declined, -as he hoped to get another chance at a more moderate figure. That was -in the 'seventies. Image lived to the advanced age of ninety-six (b. -1807), and within a few months of his death a copy of the 2d. Post -Office alone was sold by Messrs. Puttick and Simpson for £1,450. - -But if he lacked the "Post Offices," there was an abundance of other -rarities. Philbrick travelled to Bury St. Edmunds to see Image's -wonderful unused 6d. orange of Victoria ("beaded oval"), a stamp which -in the Mirabaud sale (1909) fetched £140. The copy from the Avery -collection attained in 1910 a price still higher. British Guiana, -Guadalajara and the American locals were amongst the specially strong -sections of this collection. - -There have been so many really important collections formed since -the Philbrick collection that almost any entry into details becomes -invidious in a brief review. The collections of to-day are, as I have -indicated, on a more broadly historical basis than was general in the -early days of the study, though even the collections of Dr. Gray, Sir -Daniel Cooper and Judge Philbrick, and others, were on a sound basis -of historical research. Philately has had no more precise or more able -historians than Judge Philbrick and his collaborator, Mr. W. A. S. -Westoby, while to Dr. Gray we are indebted for the history of most of -the English essays of the first period. - -[Illustration: PART SHEET (175 STAMPS) OF THE ORDINARY ONE PENNY BLACK -STAMP OF GREAT BRITAIN, 1840. - -(_From the collection of the Earl of Crawford, K.T._)] - -But the collections of Lord Crawford have carried the historical and -scientific aspects of Philately to more profound depths, and the -stamps have been collected on a more lavish scale to provide ample -reference material not only for present but future study. Condition, -too, has received more attention, and is now a primary consideration. -The collections are mostly arranged in countries or groups, -and few suspect the wealth of material as yet not disclosed, among -the sections which have not yet been publicly displayed. The United -States collection, when shown to the New York Collectors' Club a few -years ago, opened up a new aspect of Philately to the collectors in -the States, and gave an effective stimulus to the serious side of -collecting in America. The collection is very fully written up in the -Earl's own writing, much of which was done on board his yacht, the -_Valhalla_. The collection contains practically all that could be got -together to illustrate the postal history of the United States, and -makes the mention of particular items useless. The _unique_ envelope of -Annapolis, however, is especially noteworthy, and also the 10 cents, -black on white, adhesive stamp of Baltimore, of which but three copies -are known. - -[Illustration: NEARLY A COMPLETE SHEET (219 STAMPS OUT OF 240) OF THE -HIGHLY VALUED ONE PENNY BLACK "V.R." STAMP, INTENDED FOR OFFICIAL USE. - -(_From the collection of the Earl of Crawford, K.T._)] - -Of Great Britain, too, Lord Crawford has a large number of well-filled -albums, including some extraordinarily large blocks ("part sheets" -would describe them better) of the imperforate line-engraved stamps. -There is nearly a complete sheet of the 1d. black "V.R." (219 stamps -out of the 240), a part sheet of the ordinary 1d. black (175 stamps), -and all but six rows of a sheet of the scarce 2d. blue, "no lines," -which was the companion stamp of the 1d. black, and was issued on May -6, 1840. - -[Illustration: PART SHEET (LACKING BUT SIX HORIZONTAL ROWS) OF THE -SCARCE TWO PENCE BLUE STAMP "WITHOUT WHITE LINES" ISSUED IN GREAT -BRITAIN, 1840. - -(_From the collection of the Earl of Crawford, K.T._)] - -The collections of Mr. Leslie L. R. Hausburg, have, next to those of -the Earl of Crawford, attracted widespread attention and the unstinted -admiration of philatelists. They have hitherto dealt chiefly with the -Australasian portions of the British Empire, but latterly have been -extended to a number of foreign countries. Mr. M. P. Castle, J.P., -has formed several great collections, as will be noted in the list of -sales which concludes this chapter, and Mr. Henry J. Duveen has one of -the three finest collections of Mauritius, including the superb "Post -Offices," both unused, from the Avery collection, and a matchless -block of four, unused, of the 1d. Post Paid, for which wonderful item -its possessor paid £1,000. These "Post Offices" are the ones which in -1910 carried the record price for this popular pair of rarities up to -£3,500. Mr. Duveen's Switzerland collection is also a very notable one, -and contains the block of double Genevas, and the part sheet of "large -Eagles" from the Avery collection, and the beautiful block of fifteen -Basle "doves," which was the subject of a recent find in Berne. Baron -Anthony de Worms is the owner of a fine collection of Great Britain and -the collection _par excellence_ of Ceylon. Mr. Harvey R. G. Clarke's -collection of New South Wales is justly celebrated, and in the less -costly countries the honours of possessing the most perfect collections -are distributed by no means exclusively among the very wealthy. In -stamp-collecting the personal search is often more productive than -lavish expenditure without personal effort. - -[Illustration: THE UNIQUE BLOCK OF THE "DOUBLE GENEVA" STAMP, THE -RAREST OF THE SWISS "CANTONALS." - -(_Formerly in the "Avery" Collection, but now in the possession of -Henry J. Duveen, Esq._)] - -In America there are some collections of great note. That of Mr. -George H. Worthington has been referred to elsewhere. Mr. Henry -J. Crocker, a San Francisco magnate, had the misfortune to lose about -£15,000 worth of his stamps in the disastrous fire which followed -the earthquake of 1906. This included eleven out of forty-three of -his albums, but luckily his greatest work, the Hawaiian collection, -was safely in England at the time of the catastrophe. A wonderful -collection of Japanese was completely destroyed. Mr. Crocker has no -fewer than sixteen of the Hawaiian "Missionaries"; outside of the -British Museum, his is the only copy of the 2 cents, Type I.; he has -four used copies of the 5 cents, two of them being on the entire -envelopes; and there is a unique item in an unbroken strip of three -13 cents "Hawaiian Postage" on entire. Two of the stamps are Type I. -and the other Type II.; he has also an unused and two used copies of -each type. Of the "H.I. & U.S. Postage" 13 cents stamp there are two -specimens, one of each type used together.[19] - -[Illustration: PART SHEET OF THE SCARCE 5C. "LARGE EAGLE" STAMP OF -GENEVA, SHOWING THE MARGINAL INSCRIPTION AT THE TOP. - -(_From the collection of Henry J. Duveen, Esq._)] - -Of other American collections, that of Mr. Francis C. Foster, of -Boston, impressed me as much as any that I have seen across the -Atlantic. Mr. Foster has been interested in stamps probably longer than -any other living collector in the United States, and his collection -now comprises the United States, the possessions, and British North -America. In the general issues of the Republic he has a superb set of -the _premières gravures_, and all the early issues are extensively -shown, together with the beautiful proofs and essays associated with -them. The Confederate States Postmasters' stamps include the 5c. Athens -used on the envelope; the 5c. and 10c. Goliad; and the Livingston, -Alabama. The late Mr. Thorne, an old New York collector, showed me his -collection in 1906, which was of great proportions and was exclusively -composed of blocks of four, a state in which he had the greatest -difficulty in obtaining even many modern stamps. His collection, or -some of it, has been disposed of by auction in America. The late Mr. -J. F. Seybold, of Syracuse, had the credit of fostering the cult -of collecting the used stamps on the entire envelope or letter, -which from the historical point of view is extremely useful. His -collection, however, was bought for about £5,000 by Mr. J. T. Coit, and -subsequently realised nearly £7,000 at auction. - -[Illustration: A PAGE OF THE 5 CENTS AND 13 CENTS HAWAIIAN "MISSIONARY" -STAMPS. - -(_From the "Crocker" Collection._)] - -Of the great collections of the Continent, that of M. Philippe la -Rénotière is the greatest ever brought together, but its owner has -not been in the habit of exhibiting it, and the number of living -philatelists who have seen even portions of it must be extremely few. -He has certainly got together in the aggregate a collection greater -than the Tapling one, and he has absorbed in the process the albums -of Sir Daniel Cooper and Judge Philbrick, and has had the pick of all -the greatest collections which have come on the market for many years. -It was estimated years ago that he must have spent a quarter of a -million of money on the collection,[20] and as he commenced about -1864, the extent of his treasures has brought him to be regarded as -a philatelic Comte de Monte Cristo. The unique British Guiana 1 cent -stamp of 1856 is in this collection, together with five Post Office -Mauritius, including one of the _two_ known copies of the 1d. unused. -Other great rarities are mostly represented by several copies. - -[Illustration: HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 1851. THE 5 CENTS "MISSIONARY" STAMP ON -ORIGINAL ENVELOPE. - -(_From the "Crocker" Collection._)] - -The collection of the late M. Paul Mirabaud, a wealthy Parisian banker, -was exceptional for the beauty of the condition of the stamps it -contained, and at the auction sale many of the stamps fetched prices -much beyond the standard quotations of the catalogues. The Swiss -portion, which formed the basis of a most sumptuously illustrated -work written in collaboration by M. Mirabaud and the Baron A. de -Reuterskiöld, was sold privately. - -The following synopsis of the chief sales of collections (whether -by auction or privately) covers only those which are known to have -realised £1,000 and upwards; there are many more which have doubtless -been sold for amounts well into four figures, but the transactions, or -at any rate the amounts, have not been disclosed. The amounts given -below must not in every case be taken as the exact purchase price; -where not exact they are approximate. - - -------+----------------------+------------------------------+------- - YEAR. | COLLECTION. | CHARACTER. |AMOUNT. - -------+----------------------+------------------------------+------- - | | | £ - 1878 |Cooper. |General. | 3,000 - 1882 |Philbrick. |General. | 8,000 - 1882 |Image. |General. | 3,000 - 1885 |Burnett. |General. | 1,000 - 1890 |Caillebotte. |General. | 5,000 - 1891 |Colman. |British Colonies. | 2,000 - 1894 |Winzer. |General. | 3,000 - 1894 |Castle. |Australia. |10,000 - 1894 |Philbrick. |Great Britain. | 1,500 - 1895 |Harrison. |United States. | 1,330 - 1895 |Harbeck. |General. | 3,000 - 1895 |W. Cooper. |General. | -- - 1895 |J. E. Wilbey. |General. | -- - 1896 |Hughes-Hughes. |General. | 3,000 - 1896 |Ehrenbach. |Germany. | 6,000 - 1896 |Earl of Kingston. |British Empire. | 1,800 - 1896-7 |Blest. |New South Wales, New Zealand, | 4,750 - | | and Queensland. | - 1897 |F. W. Ayer. |General (dispersed gradually).|45,000 - 1897 |Dr. Legrand. |Part of General. |12,000 - 1898 |Russell. |General (unused, strong in | 4,600 - | | British Colonies). | - 1898 |H. L. Hayman. |General. | 4,000 - 1899 |Pauwels. |General. | 4,000 - 1900 |M. P. Castle. |Europe. |27,500 - 1901 |W. T. Willett |Great Britain (with Nevis). | 2,000 - 1902 |Major-Gen. Lambton. |British Colonies. | 3,400 - 1902 |C. Hollander. |South Africa. | 1,500 - 1903 |J. N. Marsden. |General. | 2,350 - 1903 |E. J. Nankivell. |Transvaal. | 3,000 - 1904 |P. Fabri. |General. | 3,000 - 1904 |A titled collector. |Selection of great rarities. | 4,700 - 1904 |Prince Doria Pamphilj.|General. | 2,000 - 1905 |M. P. Castle. |Australia. | 5,750 - 1906 |W. W. Mann. |Europe. |30,000 - 1906 |A. Bagshawe. |Straits Settlements. | 2,000 - 1907 |V. Roberts. |Cape Colony, Queensland, &c. | 3,800 - 1907 |Tomson. |West Indies. | 6,800 - 1908 |P. Mirabaud. |{Switzerland, £8,000 }| - | |{Rest of Collection, £22,000 }|30,000 - 1909 |Sir W. B. Avery. |General. |24,500 - 1909 |J. W. Paul, jun. |General. |11,400 - 1909 |J. F. Seybold. |General. | 5,000 - 1911 |Miguel Gambin. |Argentina. | 6,000 - -------+----------------------+------------------------------+------- - -FOOTNOTES: - -[17] Earlier in the same year this boudoir gossiper had answered no -fewer than three correspondents, "Mercury," "Daniel," and "Milly" -at one shot thus: "We cannot encourage 'exchanging foreign stamps,' -for we do not see the smallest good resulting from it. This foreign -stamp-collecting has been a mania, which is at length dying out. Were -the stamps works of art, then the collecting them might be justified. -Were they, in short, anything but bits of defaced printing, totally -worthless, we would try to say something in their favour. There are now -so many lithographic forgeries in the market that he is the cleverest -of the clever who can detect the spurious stamps from the true."--_The -Young Ladies' Journal_, April 27, 1864. - -[18] The pseudonym of Dr. Legrand. - -[19] See further "Postage Stamps of the Hawaiian Islands in the -Collection of Henry J. Crocker," described and illustrated by Fred J. -Melville, London, 1908. - -[20] "The Stamp Collector," by W. J. Hardy and E. D. Bacon, 1897. - - - - -X - -ROYAL AND -NATIONAL -COLLECTIONS - - - - -CHAPTER X - -ROYAL AND NATIONAL COLLECTIONS - - The late Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha as a collector--King - George's stamps: Great Britain, Mauritius, British Guiana, - Barbados, Nevis--The "King of Spain Reprints"--The late Grand - Duke Alexis Michaelovitch--Prince Doria Pamphilj--The "Tapling" - Collection--The Berlin Postal Museum--The late Duke of - Leinster's bequest to Ireland--Mr. Worthington's promised gift - to the United States. - - -Royalties have been included amongst collectors almost from the -beginning of Philately. The late Mr. Westoby, in describing[21] a -number of rarities in private albums in Paris in 1869, includes a -mysterious rarity of Mexico as being one of which three specimens only -are known to exist, "one of them [_i.e._, one of the remaining two] in -the possession of the Princess Clotilde, wife of the Prince Napoleon, -and the other in that of the King of Portugal." - -King George V. probably owes some of his early enthusiasm for stamps to -his uncle, the late Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. As Duke of Edinburgh, -the latter had long been a collector before the fact was made publicly -known by his cordial support of the London Philatelic Exhibition -of 1890, which he formally opened. At the lunch which followed the -ceremony he said:-- - -"To-day Prince George of Wales starts--nay, probably has started--from -Chatham in the _Thrush_, to the command of which he has been appointed. -I am sure you will join me in wishing him a prosperous and pleasant -cruise. He also is a stamp collector, and I hope that he will return -with a goodly number of additions from North America and the West -Indies. I am a collector, too, and I have been only too glad to -contribute specimens to this fine exhibition." - -The newspaper reports of that Exhibition state that "The Duke of -Edinburgh, before leaving, intimated his intention of again visiting -this marvellous proof of civilization and progress." In the same year, -H.R.H. became Hon. President of the London Philatelic Society. - -[Illustration: A PAGE FROM THE KING'S HISTORIC COLLECTION OF THE STAMPS -OF GREAT BRITAIN, SHOWING THE METHOD OF "WRITING UP."] - -The late Duke's collection was, I believe, on general lines, a large -range of countries and colonies being included in his exhibits at -the Portman Rooms in 1890. These included a fine lot of Uruguay, and -displays of Cyprus, Gibraltar, Heligoland, Ionian Islands, and Malta; -Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden; Greece, Servia, Bulgaria and -Montenegro; Cuba, Porto Rico and Fernando Po. At the 1897 Exhibition, -at the galleries of the Institute of Painters in Water Colours, the -Duke showed only a few specimens in the class for rare stamps, his -exhibit including the 2 kreuzer, orange, of Austria unused; the 54 -paras of Moldavia; the Half Tornese Naples, cross, unused; several -of the rare 2 reales stamps of Spain and the 3 cuartos "bear" stamp of -Madrid; the Swedish 24 skill, bco., unused; the so-called "Neuchâtel" -stamp of Switzerland, unused; the 18 kreuzer Wurtemburg, with silk -thread, unused; Buenos Ayres 4 pesos, red; United States, 1856, 5c. -red-brown and 90c. blue, perforated; and some other rarities. Of -British and colonials he displayed two of the 1d. black V.R. stamps; a -12d. black of Canada; Hong Kong 96 cents, yellow-brown; a small show of -rare Nevis, including the 6d. lithographed and the surface-printed 6d. -green; St. Vincent 5s., watermarked star, unused; an unused 1d. Sydney -View, Plate I., and an unused 6d. "laureated head." - -[Illustration: THE THREE COPIES OF THE UNISSUED 2D. "TYRIAN-PLUM" STAMP -OF GREAT BRITAIN IN THE COLLECTION OF H.M. THE KING. - -The one on the envelope is the only specimen known to have passed -through the post.] - -It will be seen from the wide field covered by his exhibits that the -philatelic inclinations of the late Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha were -broadly catholic. His royal nephew, King George, has limited his -collecting--though not his interest--to stamps of the British Empire. -His Majesty's interest in stamp-collecting has been made popularly -known by the newspapers, but it is not always realised, I think, that -the interest is an appreciative personal one. Of this philatelists -have had many gracious proofs. The King is understood to have been -consistently collecting since his midshipman-days on the _Bacchante_, -and his collections to some extent coincide with his travels, several -of his finest albums being those which contain the stamps of West -Indian colonies. - -There is little collected information on the subject of His Majesty's -collections, so I will endeavour to outline a few of the salient points -in those sections which have been most nearly completed. - -_Great Britain._--The collection contains the original sketch of W. -Mulready, R.A., for the famous envelopes and letter sheets of 1840 to -which reference has been made.[22] - -A note accompanies it to the effect that, "From statements made by Mr. -Mulready to his friends, it would appear that the original idea for the -design was given to him by Queen Victoria and was carried out by the -artist in accordance with Her Majesty's suggestions." - -On this point of the origin of the design, Sir Rowland Hill's journal -contains an entry which scarcely bears out the legend that the Queen -devised the idea together with the Prince Consort. The entry, under -April 3, 1840, is: "Mr. B[aring] has sent a proof impression of the -cover stamp to the Queen, with a memorandum from Mulready and Thompson -[the engraver] explanatory of the design." - -Then there is the historic pair of sketches in water-colours, roughly -executed by Sir Rowland Hill to show the approximate appearance of the -penny stamp in black and the twopence stamp in blue. This was sent by -Hill to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. - -[Illustration: DESIGN FOR THE KING EDWARD ONE PENNY STAMP APPROVED AND -INITIALLED BY HIS LATE MAJESTY. - -(_From the collection of H.M. King George V._)] - -In the line-engraved series, His Majesty has shown two copies of the -1d. V.R., and a fine series of imperforates of the 1d. red, Die I. and -Die II., in a large range of shades; 1d. red with letters in all -four corners (plates 132 and 225); 1d. red, in a pair, on Dickinson -paper; ½d. rose-red (plate 9), 2d. blue with four letters (including -plate 7), 1½d., plate 1 in bluish lake and plate 3 in brick-red. - -[Illustration: THE COMPANION DESIGN TO THAT ON PAGE 313, AND SHOWING -THE CORRECT POSE OF THE HEAD, BUT IN A DIFFERENT FRAME, WHICH WAS NOT -ADOPTED. - -(_From the collection of H.M. the King._)] - -All the Victorian surface-printed series are shown imperforate, -including the 3d. with reticulated background; 3d., plate 3 ("dot"); -4d. in lake, watermarked "small garter"; 6d., plate 1 on safety paper -and plate 3 with hair-lines; 9d., plate 3 with hair-lines and plate 5; -10d., plate 2; 1s., plate 1 on safety paper, plate 3 with hair-lines, -4 in an unissued colour, lilac; 2s., plate 3; 10s., £1, and £5 on blue -paper. - -In addition to the scarce items in the Victorian series of official -stamps, the King possesses the extremely rare I.R. Official 5s., 10s. -and £1, of the Edwardian issues, in mint corner pairs; also the almost -unique Sixpence of the same set, in similar condition. Of this last -stamp, no other unused copy is known, and only three which have been -through the post. - -Of the ordinary stamps of King Edward's reign, the Royal collection -contains several essays and proofs of great interest. A photograph of -a stamp made up from Herr Füchs's original sketch of King Edward's -head, enclosed in the newly designed frame and border, deservedly comes -first, and bears the late King's written approval: from this, temporary -copper-plates were engraved, so that the effect might be noted, and -three proofs therefrom are included. - -Unfortunately, the final result did not come up to the anticipated -standard, and there was some talk about having a fresh design prepared, -after the style of the then new Transvaal stamps, but this fell through -on the ground of expense; proofs of this also are in the collection, -together with various colour-trials of the One Penny value, as adopted. - -Of unissued stamps during the late reign, there are only three -instances: the £5 value, which did not proceed so far as the completion -of the plate; and a small printing of the Twopence Halfpenny, in the -adopted design, but in mauve on blue paper, was destroyed, owing to a -decision to print in blue on white paper. Both these stamps, the £5 and -the Twopence Halfpenny mauve on blue, together with proofs of the lower -value in shades and tones of blue, are in the King's collection. - -The last of the unissued stamps is the Twopence "Tyrian-plum," which, -owing to the lamented death of King Edward, the authorities decided not -to issue; his present Majesty possesses an unused pair, and a unique -used copy on the original envelope. - -Beyond these, the collection contains proofs of the contractors' -designs for three of the new stamps, the One Penny in four types of -head and bust, in the old frame of the 1881 stamp, and the Twopence and -Fivepence in frames similar to those of the 1887 issue; in all these -King Edward is shown in military uniform, the best of these being, so -far as the portrait is concerned, the Fivepence. - -[Illustration: A PAGE OF THE ONE PENNY "POST PAID" STAMPS OF MAURITIUS. - -(_In the collection of H.M. the King._)] - -A curiosity, for it was not for issue except after severance, is the -sheet of one penny stamps as prepared for the booklets on sale at the -post-office--for convenience in making-up and binding these small -books, the stamps were specially printed in four panes of sixty each, -in vertical rows of ten, each alternate three rows being inverted, and -so producing a certain number of _tête-bêche_ pairs. King George's -sheet is, outside the printers' establishment and Somerset House, -probably unique. - -_Mauritius._--In the stamps of this colony the royal collection is -particularly strong. There is here the 1d. red Post Office _used_, -which came from Mr. Peckitt out of the collection of the Earl of -Kintore for £850, and the matchless unused copy of the 2d. blue which -was purchased in Messrs. Puttick & Simpson's saleroom on January 14, -1904, for £1,450: it is admittedly the finest known copy of this -stamp, and its romantic history has been alluded to in Chapter VII. -These two _raræ aves_ are followed by a grand display of the Post Paid -series, including three fine 2d. unused, one with the error "PENOE" -for "PENCE," and a wonderful mint block of five, containing the error -_se tenant_ with four of its neighbours in the sheet. This block is -a comparatively recent acquisition, having been acquired from Mr. D. -Field for £500 in 1910. There is a considerable number of used copies -showing all states of the plates of the 1848 issue, the small head of -1849, and the "fillet" of October, 1859. The 4d. green of April, 1854, -is represented unused and used, and there is also an unused copy of the -perforated 1s. deep green of 1862. The collection of this colony is -practically complete from beginning to date. - -_British Guiana_ presents probably the most difficult set of stamps -that any collector ever attempted to get together. The King's -collection is representative, but is strongest in the issues of -1860-82: they formed the basis of a display before the Royal Philatelic -Society on March 17, 1910, and included most of the stamps in a wide -range of shades, all the rarities being present, unused, except the 24 -cents perforated 12 of 1860 on thin paper, and the provisional series -of 1862, and a few of the "officials." The used portion was practically -complete, and in the case of the 1882 provisionals there were entire -and also reconstructed sheets, showing all the varieties. - -The _Barbados_ collection, which was shown by His Majesty at the -Imperial Stamp Exhibition held by the Junior Philatelic Society in -London in 1908, was exceptionally rich in the scarce "1d." on 5s. -provisional, of which there were no fewer than a pair and two single -copies, four in all, in the unused condition, and five used pairs and a -number of single used copies. - -_Hong Kong_ and _Grenada_, _Bermuda_, _Trinidad_ and _Turks' Islands_ -have also been arranged and exhibited, as well as a small but choice -collection of the stamps of _Nevis_, which contains, among other items, -the beautiful card proofs of the first 1d. in green, 4d. in dull -purple, 6d. in orange, and 1s. in lake. There are two reconstructed -sheets of the 1d. perforated 13, and the 4d. rose, unused; the 6d. -grey and 1s. green, used and unused. Of the 1867 set the 1d. is -shown unused, the 4d. both used and unused and the 1s. used. Of the -lithographs there are four mint sheets of the 1d., a mint sheet of the -4d. and another of the 6d., the 1s. in light and dark green; and -there are two entire sheets of the 1d. perforated 11½. - -[Illustration: THE TWO PENCE "POST PAID" STAMP OF MAURITIUS. - -Unique block showing the error (the first stamp in the illustration) -lettered "PENOE" for "PENCE". - -(_In the collection of H.M. the King._)] - -Comparatively little is known of the stamp-collections of other -monarchs, but both King Alfonso of Spain and King Manuel are known to -have formed collections of the stamps of their respective realms. The -Spanish King's expressed desire to add the stamps of Portugal to his -collection led to the reprinting of certain of the obsolete stamps of -which the dies were on hand at the Lisbon Mint; these are the stamps -known as the "King of Spain Reprints," a complete set of which was -presented by King Manuel to the Reference Collection of the Royal -Philatelic Society. - -His Imperial Highness the late Grand Duke Alexis Michaelovitch was a -member of the Philatelic Society. His early death lost to Philately a -collector with a keen sense of the beauty of condition. Although only -nineteen at the time of his death, he had been engaged for some years -on a semi-official work on the history of the postal issues of Russia, -and his collection was strong in the stamps of his own country and in -Russian proofs and essays. His collection covered a very broad field, -and he acquired the Peru section of the Koster collection _en bloc_. -When the first Castle collection of Australians came on the market, the -young Grand Duke acquired a number of its choicest copies, including -some plated items. Some of the rarities he showed in London on the -occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Philatelic Society -(1894) were brilliant used copies of the 2 reales Spain of 1851 and -1852; the Poste Locale of Switzerland unused; the "1 Pranc", error -for "1 Franc", on the 37½-centime bistre, Luxemburg; the Hanover 10 -gr. used; Oldenburg ¹/₃ gr. black on green; Nevis 6d. lithographed (in -two shades); Trinidad 1858 6d. and 1s. unused; Uruguay, Diligencias -60c. and 80c. unused; entire sheets of Bergedorf essays in green of all -values; and a beautiful and much admired group of thirty-two Russian -essays. - -Prince Doria Pamphilj, of Italy, is another of the devotees of the -"royal" hobby of stamp-collecting, and his British Empire collection -contained an Archer roulette and many choice items in English and -colonial stamps. Of the stamps of other countries he has also had a -very comprehensive collection; and at the Manchester Exhibition of 1899 -he displayed some rarities of these, including the United States 1861 -30 cents with grille, and the 1869 15 cents with frame inverted; the -5 cents Confederate local of Petersburg; Spain, 1851 10 reales unused -and 2 reales used, 1865 12c. with inverted frame; France, 1849 1 franc -vermilion; the double Geneva, types of the Zurich, the 4c. Vaud and -the Poste Locale 2½ rappen with cross unframed in used condition. -The Prince has made a speciality of the Italian States. Although His -Royal Highness sold his chief collection in 1904 for £2,000, he is, I -understand, still to be numbered amongst the active philatelists. - -[Illustration: A SPECIMEN PAGE FROM THE "TAPLING" COLLECTION AT THE -BRITISH MUSEUM. - -Probably the most valuable page, showing the Hawaiian "Missionaries." -The two stamps at the top have been removed from the cases, and are now -kept in a safe in the "Cracherode" Room.] - -Of National collections, Great Britain possesses the finest, in the -bequest of the late Mr. T. K. Tapling, M.P. Mr. Tapling died in 1891, -and since then the great collection which he had formed of the -postage-stamps and postal stationery of the world has been arranged -for exhibition purposes, in specially constructed cases, in the King's -Library of the British Museum. It is estimated to contain 100,000 -specimens, the total market value of which would probably not be much -short of £100,000. Since the complete collection has been available -to the public for inspection, there has been no one feature at the -Bloomsbury institution which has attracted more visitors; and it is -good to know that philatelic students are freely using the magnificent -opportunities the collection offers for study. Unfortunately, there -is no comprehensive official guide to this important collection, but -by the courtesy and assistance of the officials I was able to compile -a fairly detailed index[23] to its beauties, which was published, -together with a history of the formation of the collection, by Messrs. -Lawn & Barlow. To detail the gems is but to recount the Mauritius, -the British Guianas, the Hawaiians (these are particularly fine), the -Moldavias, Newfoundlands, Reunions, &c., to most of which frequent -reference has already been made in these pages. There is here one of -the copies of the famous Fourpence blue of Western Australia with the -centre inverted. Unfortunately the copy is a damaged one, but the stamp -is rarer than the Mauritius "Post Office," and a celebrated and fine -copy fetched £400 at auction. - -It is a very real misfortune to Philately that the Trustees of the -British Museum have taken no steps to continue the collection beyond -1890, or to add items which are lacking prior to that date. It is, -I understand, simply a question of money, and the Trustees would -not be unwilling to allow the necessary space for the growth of the -collection if money were forthcoming for that purpose. It is now twenty -years since Mr. Tapling died, and the loss of that period in the -collection is almost irretrievable. Yet the collection as it stands -is the most comprehensive treasure store of the first half century of -stamp-issuing, and students in this country are fortunate indeed in -having such a wealth of material at their disposal for comparison and -for reference. - -The collection which has been formed by the authorities of the Berlin -Postal Museum has been attaining a high rank in recent years. The -Museum, which is the finest repository of postal records and curios -in the world, was founded by Dr. von Stephan, the first Director -of the Posts of the German Empire, and the first to propose the -use of post-cards. The stamp collection was based at first on the -stamps received at the General Post Office in Berlin from the postal -administrations of other countries. But the collection is being built -up on philatelic lines, and is not to be compared with the fancy frames -devised by decorative fiends for the postal museums of other countries. -In Berlin the collection shows essays and proofs, those of the old -German States being particularly fine, and most of the prominent -rarities have been acquired, chiefly by exchange of duplicate stamps. -There is the 1d. Post Office Mauritius used, and the 2d. unused; the -2 cents circular British Guiana, the 2 cents, 5 cents, and both types -of the 13 cents of the Hawaiian "Missionaries"; _pairs_ of the 27 paras -and 108 paras of Moldavia, and a set of the 27, 81, and two of the -108 paras all cut round, and all used together on one envelope; the -woodblock errors of the Cape of Good Hope; the 15 cents and 30 cents -Reunion; and a wonderful range of the stamps of all the German States. - -The late Duke of Leinster left his valuable collection to the Irish -National Museum; and there are several instances of bequests and -gifts of lesser importance to local museums. In 1910 Mr. George H. -Worthington, the owner of the finest collection in the United States, -made the announcement that he was going to leave his great collection -to the city of Cleveland, Ohio. - -It is to be hoped that Mr. Worthington may be spared to continue his -collection for many years to come, but on the ultimate fulfilment of -the bequest the people of the United States will enjoy the public -possession of what is now one of the three largest collections in the -world. Mr. Worthington's gems include most of the well-known rarities. -He has the Cape woodblock 4d. error in a block with three of the 1d. -stamps all in red, and his entire collection of Capes is extremely -fine. Like most of the larger collections in America, the Worthington -one contains a strong showing of the Hawaiian stamps and of the United -States and Confederate States "Postmasters'" stamps. There is, for -example, the only known 2 cents Hawaiian "Missionary" on envelope. Mr. -Warren H. Colson,[24] of Boston, records that Mr. Worthington prizes -highly the only unused copy known of the United States 15 cents of -1869 with the inverted frame, and as a companion treasure he has the -30 cents in like condition, but of this three other unused copies are -recorded. - -The Confederate Postmasters' Provisionals, I gather from the same -authority, include all the rare Baton Rouge; a 10 cent Beaumont, on -pink paper; the Emory, Va.; Grove Hill, Alabama; the rare Macons and a -particularly fine lot of the Texas locals, including several Goliads, -the Helena, and two very rare Victorias. - -The 1d. Post Office Mauritius is included in two copies used on the -entire envelope; the Sydney Views are a splendid lot, and include a -superb unused block of four of the 1d. plate 1 with original gum. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[21] _The Philatelist_, vol. iii. pp. 85, 86. - -[22] _Ante_, p. 167. - -[23] "The Tapling Collection of Stamps and Postal Stationery at the -British Museum," by Fred J. Melville. - -[24] "Postage Stamps and their Collection," by Warren H. Colson, -Boston, 1907. - - - - -A SHORT -BIBLIOGRAPHY -OF -PHILATELY - - - - -A SHORT BIBLIOGRAPHY OF PHILATELY - - -BIBLIOGRAPHY - -Catalogue of the Philatelic Library of the Earl of Crawford, K.T. By E. - D. Bacon. _London_, 1911. - - ⁂ This work constitutes the most complete Bibliography of the - literature of Philately, giving entries for all known printed books - and pamphlets published up to 1908, and all periodicals up to 1907. - -The following short Bibliography is a handy practical guide to the -standard reference works on the special subject, and includes the -handbooks and monographs issued up to 1911. - - -GENERAL HANDBOOKS - -The A B C of Stamp Collecting: A Guide to the Instructive and - Entertaining Study of the World's Postage Stamps. By Fred J. - Melville. _London_, 1903. ⁂ Nineteen plates. - -A Colour Dictionary. By B. W. Warhurst. 2nd ed. _London_, 1908. - -Hints on Stamp Collecting. By T. H. Hinton. 3rd ed. _London_, 1908. - -How to Collect Postage Stamps. By B. T. K. Smith. _London_, 1907. ⁂ - Forty-eight plates. - -How to Start a Philatelic Society. By Fred J. Melville. _London_, 1910. - -A Penny All the Way. The Story of Penny Postage. By Fred J. Melville. - 2nd ed. _London_,1908. - -Postage Stamps worth Fortunes. By Fred J. Melville. 2nd ed. - _London_,1908. - -The Romance of Postage Stamps. (An Introductory Lecture.) By Fred J. - Melville. _London_,1910. - -The Stamp Collector. By W. J. Hardy and E. D. Bacon. _London_, 1898. ⁂ - Twelve plates. - -Stamps and Stamp Collecting: A Glossary of Philatelic Terms and Guide - to the Identification of the Postage Stamps of all Nations. By E. - B. Evans. _London_, 1894. - -What Philately Teaches. (A Lecture delivered February 24, 1899.) By J. - N. Luff. _New York_, 1899. - - -GENERAL CATALOGUE (NOT PRICED) - -A Catalogue for Advanced Collectors of Postage Stamps, Stamped - Envelopes, and Wrappers. Compiled from the most recent authorities - and individual research. By H. C. Collin and H. L. Calman. _New - York_, 1890-1901. ⁂ Two hundred and forty-six plates. - - -GENERAL CATALOGUES (PRICED) - - These are current, general, illustrated and priced lists of the - world's postage-stamps, briefly indicated under the country of - publication and under publisher's name. - -GREAT BRITAIN. Stanley Gibbons, Ltd.; Bright & Son; Whitfield King & - Co.; D. Field (Colonials). - -AMERICA. Scott Stamp and Coin Company; Stanley Gibbons, Inc. - -FRANCE. Catalogue Officiel de la Société Française de Timbrologie; - Yvert et Tellier; Lemaire; Bernichon; Montader; &c. - -GERMANY. Gebrüder Senf; Paul Kohl, Ltd. - -SPAIN. Galvez. - - -COLLECTIONS - - The Catalogues of Stamp Exhibitions held in London, the Provinces, - and abroad are useful for succinct accounts of numerous Collections - of interest and importance. I do not, however, include them here, - nor do I list the catalogues of auction sales, which have a similar - reference value. - -The Avery Collection of the Postage Stamps of the World. By W. H. - Peckitt. _London_, 1909. ⁂ This collection was sold after the death - of Sir William Avery, Bart., for £24,500. - -Concise Description of the Collection of Essays of Martin Schroeder. By - A. Reinheimer. _Leipzig_, 1903. ⁂ Seventy-two plates. - - (A celebrated Collection of historical value, brought together - between the years 1893 and 1902.) - -Postage Stamps and their Collection. By Warren H. Colson. _Boston, - Mass._, 1907. ⁂ Seventeen plates. - - (Chiefly devoted to a description of the Collection of Dr. William - C. Bowers, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, but containing comparative - notes on other American Collections.) - -Postage Stamps of the Hawaiian Islands in the Collection of Henry J. - Crocker, of San Francisco. By Fred J. Melville. _London_, 1908. ⁂ - Eight plates. - -A Priced List of the Rare Stamps in the "Winzer" Collection. Stanley - Gibbons, Ltd. _London_, 1894. - - ⁂ A fine Collection formed by Ernst Winzer, of Dresden, and sold for - £3,000. - -The Tapling Collection of Stamps and Postal Stationery at the British - Museum: A Descriptive Guide and Index, with Portraits and - Illustrations. By Fred J. Melville. _London_, 1905. - - -SPECIAL HANDBOOKS - - [For grouped Countries, see under comprehensive title, _e.g._, - Africa, Australasia.] - -ABYSSINIA. Abyssinia. By Fred J. Melville. _London_, 1909. - -AFGHANISTAN. The Postage Stamps of Afghanistan. By [Sir] D. P. Masson - and B. G. Jones. _Madras and Birmingham_, 1908. ⁂ Twenty-four - plates. - -AFRICA. The Postage Stamps, Envelopes, Wrappers, Post Cards and - Telegraph Stamps of the British Colonies, Possessions and - Protectorates in Africa. [The Philatelic Society, London.] - - I. British Bechuanaland to Cape of Good Hope. _London_, 1895. ⁂ Eight - plates. - - II. Gambia to Natal. _London_, 1900. ⁂ Fourteen plates. - - III. New Republic to Zululand. _London_, 1906. ⁂ Thirty plates. - -AMERICA. The Postage Stamps, Envelopes, Wrappers, and Post Cards of the - North American Colonies of Great Britain. [The Philatelic Society, - London.] _London_, 1889. ⁂ Six plates. - -ARGENTINA. Sellos postales de la Confederación Argentina. By J. Marco - del Pont. _Buenos Aires_, 1902. ⁂ Two plates. - - Sellos postales de la Républica Argentina. (Emisión de 11 de Enero de - 1862.) By J. Marco del Pont. _Buenos Aires_, 1895. - - Timbres de la République Argentine et de ses diverses provinces. Two - vols. By J. B. Moëns. _Bruxelles_, 1882. - - Valores Postales Argentinos. By C. Carles. _Buenos Aires_, 1897, 1898. - - [The work is of a semi-official character, containing specimen - ("muestra") copies of the Stamps accompanied by the official - decrees relating to their issue.] - -ASIA. The Stamp Designs of Eastern Asia. By C. A. Howes. _New York_, - 1905. - -AUSTRALASIA. The Postage Stamps, Envelopes, and Post Cards of Australia - and the British Colonies of Oceania. [The Philatelic Society, - London.] _London_, 1887. ⁂ Thirty-one plates. - -AUSTRIA. Die Postwertzeichen des Kaisertumes Öesterreich und der - öesterreichisch-ungarischen Monarchie. By H. Kropf. _Prag_, 1908. ⁂ - Thirty-five plates. - -BADEN. Baden (in German). By O. Rommel. _Leipzig_, 1893-6. ⁂ One plate. - - Die Abstempelungen der Marken von Baden. By A. E. Glasewald. - _Gössnitz_, 1898. ⁂ Two plates. - - Die Briefmarken von Baden. By C. Lindenberg. _Berlin_, 1894. ⁂ One - plate. - - Die Briefumschläge von Baden. By C. Lindenberg. _Berlin_, 1894. - -BARBADOS. The Stamps of Barbados. By E. D. Bacon and F. H. Napier. - _London_, 1896. ⁂ Three plates. - -BAVARIA. Bayern (in German). By O. Rommel. _Leipzig_, 1893-96. ⁂ Two - plates. - - Die Postwerthzeichen von Bayern. By S. Friedl. _Wien_, 1880. - - Die Briefumschläge von Bayern. By C. Lindenberg. _Berlin_, 1895. - - Der Specialsammler von Bayern nach Abstempelungen. By A. Chelius. - _München_, 1900. - -BELGIUM. Belgique et Congo Belge. Catalogue spécial de tous les - variétés de timbres-poste, télégraphe, colis-postaux & cartes - postales. By C. Brandès-Hoffstetter. _Bruxelles_, 1897. - - Les Timbres de Belgique. By J. B. Moëns. Two vols. _Bruxelles_, 1880. - -BERGEDORF. Die Postfreimarken des beiderstädtischen Postamtes - Bergedorf. By H. Krötzsch. _Leipzig_, 1896. ⁂ Nine plates. - -BHOPAL. Notes on the Postage Stamps of Bhopal. By G. A. Anderson. - _Calcutta_, 1899. ⁂ Thirty-two plates. - -BOLIVIA. How to Collect Bolivian Stamps. By H. R. Oldfield. _London_, - 1898. ⁂ Six plates. - -BRAZIL. Catalogue historique des timbres-poste et entiers du Brésil. By - C. O. Vieira. _Paris_, 1893. - - Catalogue of Postage Stamps issued in Brazil, accurately described - and formed from the stock of Exemplar Stamps collected by C. J. L. - of Bahia in Brazil. By C. J. Lindgren. _Bahia_, 1891. - -BREMEN. Bremen (in German). By O. Rommel and H. Krötzsch. _Leipzig_, - 1893-6. ⁂ Six plates. - - Die Briefumschläge von Hamburg und Bremen. By C. Lindenberg. - _Berlin_, 1894. - - Les Timbres de Brême. By G. Brunel. _Paris_, 1907. - -BRITISH CENTRAL AFRICA. British Central Africa and Nyasaland - Protectorate. By Fred. J. Melville. _London_, 1909. - -BRITISH HONDURAS. The Stamps of British Honduras. By B. W. H. Poole. - _London_, 1910. - -BRITISH NEW GUINEA. British New Guinea and Papua. By Fred J. Melville. - _London_, 1909. - -BRUNSWICK. Die Postwerthzeichen des Herzogthums Braunschweig. By L. - Berger. _Braunschweig_, 1893. - - Die Briefumschläge von Braunschweig. By C. Lindenberg. _Berlin_, 1892. - - Braunschweig. By O. Rommel and H. Krötzsch. _Leipzig_, 1893-6. ⁂ Four - plates. - -CAMPECHE. Some Notes on the most remarkable Postage Stamp ever issued. - By W. C. Bellows. _New York_, 1909. - -CANADA. The Postage Stamps of Canada. By C. A. Howes. _Boston_, 1911. ⁂ - Fifteen plates. - -CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. Cape of Good Hope. By E. J. Nankivell. _Tunbridge - Wells_, 1909. - -CAYMAN ISLANDS. The Cayman Islands: Their Stamps and Post Office. By D. - Armstrong, C. Bostwick, and A. Watkin. _London_, 1910. ⁂ Two plates. - - Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. By E. J. Nankivell. _Tunbridge - Wells_, 1908. - -CEYLON. The Postage Stamps, Envelopes, Wrappers, Post Cards, and - Telegraph Stamps of British India and Ceylon. [The Philatelic - Society, London.] _London_, 1892. - -CHILI. Estudios de la filatelia de Chile. By R. Aguirre Mercado. - _Coquimbo_, 1905. - - Les Timbres du Chili, d'après Rafael Aguirre Mercado. By Sigismond - Jean. _Paris_, 1910. - -CHINA. Notes on the Postage Stamps of China, 1878-1905. By J. Mencarini - (of the Imperial Maritime Customs Service). _Shanghai_, 1906. ⁂ - Four plates. - - The Postage Stamps of China, with a History of the Chinese Imperial - Post. By Fred J. Melville. _London_, 1908. ⁂ Three plates. - -COLOMBIA. Catalogo de estampillas postales de Colombia: emisiones 1859 - à 1897. By L. Umaña. _Cali_, 1897. - -CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA. Catalogue of the Stamps, Envelopes, and - Wrappers of the United States of America, and of the Confederate - States of America. By H. L. Collin and H. L. Calman, with John N. - Luff and Geo. L. Toppan. _New York_, 1900. - -COREA. The Emissions of China, Shanghai, Corea, and Japan. By W. A. - Warner. _Chicago_, 1889. - -CRETE. Les nouveaux timbres-poste de l'ile de Crete et les modèles - des monnaies antiques (translated from the Greek). [Direction des - Postes Crétoises.] _La Canée_, 1905. - - The New Postage Stamps of the Island of Crete. Translated from the - above. _New York_, 1905. - -DENMARK. Danske Postfrimaerker 1851-1901. [A semi-official jubilee - work, containing reprints.] By O. Koefoed. _Kjobenhavn_, 1901. - - Dänemark-Studie. By O. V. Riise. _München_, 1893. ⁂ Three plates. - -DOMINICA. Dominica. By B. W. H. Poole. _Tunbridge Wells_, 1909. - -DUTCH INDIES. Beschrijving van alle Nederlandsch Indische - Frankeerzegels, Postzegels. [Nederlandsche Vereeniging van - Postzegelverzamelaars.] _Amsterdam_, 1895. - -EGYPT. The Stamps of Egypt. By W. S. Warburg. _Tewkesbury, Egremont_, - 1895. - - De Postzegels van Egypte. By J. C. auf der Heide. _Amsterdam_, 1902. - -ERRORS. The World's Stamp Errors. By Miss Fitte. Part I., The British - Empire. Part II., Foreign Countries. _London_, 1910. - -EUROPE. The Adhesive Postage Stamps of Europe. By W. A. S. Westoby. Two - vols. _London_, 1898-1900. - - Catalogue-Memento pour servir de Manco List: Europe et Colonies. By - Paul Morand. _Paris_, 1909. - -FALKLAND ISLANDS. The Postage Stamps of the Falkland Islands. By B. W. - H. Poole. _London_, 1909. - -FIJI ISLANDS. The Postage Stamps, &c., of the Fiji Islands. By Charles - J. Phillips. _London_, 1908. ⁂ Fifteen plates. - -FINLAND. Die Ganzsachen von Finnland. By R. Granberg. _Berlin_, 1903. - - Katalog über die Freimarken des Grossfürstentums Finland. - [Helsingfors Frimärkssamlare Förening.] 3rd ed. _Helsingfors_, - 1908. ⁂ Three plates. - -FORGERIES. Album Weeds, or How to detect Forged Stamps. By the Rev. R. - B. Earée. 3rd ed. Two vols. _London_, 1906-7. - -FRANCE. Catalogue Descriptif Illustré de toutes les Marques Postales - de la France. By A. Maury. 2nd ed. _Paris_, 1899, with supplement, - 1905. - - Catalogue Memento, pour servir de Manco-Liste: France et ses - Colonies. By Paul Morand. _Paris_, 1909. - - Étude et description des signes de controle sur les timbres de la - France de 1846-99. By H. Valois. _Amiens_, 1896. ⁂ Three plates. - - Histoire des timbres-poste français. By A. Maury. Two parts. _Paris_, - 1907-8. - - Histoire du timbre-poste français. By L. Leroy. _Paris et Bruxelles_, - 1891. - - Les Vignettes postales de la France et de ses Colonies. By F. - Marconnet. Two vols. _Nancy_, 1897. ⁂ Second vol. consists of atlas - of plates. - - Notes sur l'émission provisoire des timbres-poste français dits de - "Bordeaux." By P. Hermand. _Paris_, 1901. - - Le Timbre-Poste français, étude historique et anecdotique de la poste - et du timbre en France et dans les colonies françaises. By Georges - Brunel. New ed., with supplement. _Paris_, 1901. - -GAMBIA. Gambia. By Fred. J. Melville. _London_, 1909. - -GERMANY AND COLONIES. Die Aushülfsmarken von Tsingtau und ihre - Fälschungen. By Gebrüder Senf. _Leipzig_, 1903. - - Deutsche Reich-Post. By O. Rommel. _Leipzig_, 1893-6. - - Illustrierter Spezial-Katalog der Deutschen Kolonialmarken und der - Deutschen Postämter im Auslande. By Gebrüder Senf. _Leipzig_, 1907. - -GIBRALTAR. Die Postwertzeichen von Gibraltar seit 1889. By W. - Breimeier. _Leipzig_, 1892. - -GREAT BRITAIN. Great Britain: Embossed Adhesive Stamps. By Fred J. - Melville. _London_, 1910. - - Great Britain: King Edward VII. Stamps. By Fred J. Melville. - _London_, 1911. - - Great Britain: Line-engraved Stamps. By Fred J. Melville. 2nd ed. - _London_, 1910. - - A History of the Adhesive Stamps of the British Isles. By H. E. - Wright and A. B. Creeke, Jun. _London_, 1899. ⁂ Thirty-eight - plates. With a Supplement. By A. B. Creeke, Jun. _London_, 1904. ⁂ - One plate. - - The Postage Stamps of Great Britain. By Fred J. Melville. _London_, - 1904. ⁂ Eight plates. - - The Postage and Telegraph Stamps of Great Britain. By F. A. Philbrick - and W. A. S. Westoby. _London_, 1881. - - The Postage Stamps of the United Kingdom, 1840-90. By W. A. S. - Westoby. 2nd ed. _London_, 1892. - - Standard Priced Catalogue of the Stamps and Postmarks of the United - Kingdom. By H. L. Ewen. 6th ed. _London, S. E._, 1898. - -GREECE. Les Emissions des Timbres Grecs. By Georges Brunel. _Paris_, - 1909. - - Die Postmarken von Griechenland. By A. E. Glasewald. _Gössnitz_, - 1886-96. ⁂ Plates. - - Die Postwerthzeichen von Griechenland. By A. E. Glasewald. - _Gössnitz_, 1896. - - The Stamps of Greece. By W. D. Beckton and G. B. Duerst. - _Manchester_, 1897. ⁂ Three plates. - -GRENADA. Grenada. By E. D. Bacon and F. H. Napier. _London_, 1900. ⁂ - Nine plates. - -GRIQUALAND. The Stamps of Griqualand West. By F. H. Napier. - _Manchester_, 1903. ⁂ Two plates. - -HAMBURG. Die Briefumschläge von Hamburg und Bremen. By C. Lindenberg. - _Berlin_, 1894. - - Hamburg (in German). By O. Rommel and H. Krötzsch. _Leipzig_, 1893-6. - - Die Postwerthzeichen von Hamburg. By E. Heim. _Wien_, 1880. - - Les Timbres de Hambourg. By G. Brunel. _Paris_, 1911. - -HANOVER. Die Briefumschläge von Hannover. By C. Lindenberg. _Berlin_, - 1895. - - Hannover (in German). By H. Krötzsch. _Leipzig_, 1893. ⁂ Nine plates. - -HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. Descriptive Catalogue of the Postage Stamps of - Hawaii. By W. M. Giffard. _Honolulu_, 1893. - - Hawaiian Numerals. By Henry J. Crocker. _San Francisco_, 1909. ⁂ - Twenty-two plates. - - History of the Postal Issues of Hawaii. By Brewster C. Kenyon. _Long - Beach, Cal._, 1895. ⁂ Eight plates. - - Postage Stamps of the Hawaiian Islands in the Collection of Henry J. - Crocker, of San Francisco. By Fred J. Melville. _London_, 1908. ⁂ - Eight plates. - -HAYTI. The Postage Stamps of Hayti. By Fred J. Melville. _London_, 1905. - -HELIGOLAND. Heligoland et ses timbres. By J. B. Moëns. _Bruxelles_, - 1897. - - Originaux et Réimpressions de Héligoland. By A. Wulbern. _Bruxelles_, - 1911. ⁂ Two plates. - -HOLLAND AND COLONIES. De Afstempelingen voorkomende op de Postzegels - van Nederland. By Schreuders & Co. _s'Gravenhage_, 1897. ⁂ Twelve - plates. - - Beschrijving van alle Nederlansche Postzegels. [Nederlandsche - Vereeniging van Postzegel-verzamelaars.] _Amsterdam_, 1894-5. ⁂ - Part I. deals with Holland; II., Dutch Indies; III., Surinam; IV., - Curaçao. - - Holland. By Fred J. Melville. _London_, 1909. - - Perforations Galore. By A. H. Warren. _London_, 1910. ⁂ Plates. - -HONG KONG. Descriptive Catalogue of the Postage Stamps and Cards issued - by the Hong Kong Post Office. By J. Mencarini. _Amoy (China)_, 1898. - - The Postage Stamps of Hong Kong. By B. W. H. Poole. _London_, 1908. - -HUNGARY. Die Wasserzeichen der Ungarischer Postwerthzeichen. By Dr. S. - Lengyel. _Leipzig_, 1890. - -INDIA. The Adhesive Fiscal and Telegraph Stamps of British India. By C. - S. Crofton and W. Corfield. _Calcutta_, 1905. - - British Indian Adhesive Stamps, surcharged for Native States. By C. - Stewart-Wilson. Part I., Chamba, Faridkot, Gwalior. _Calcutta_, - 1897. ⁂ Four plates. Part II., Jhind, Nabha, Patialla. _Calcutta_, - 1898. ⁂ Four plates. (A revised edition by the same author in - collaboration with B. G. Jones, was published in one volume. - _Calcutta_, 1904. ⁂ Nine plates.) - - The Postage Stamps, &c., of British India and Ceylon. [The Philatelic - Society, London.] _London_, 1892. ⁂ Twenty-four plates. - - Notes on the De La Rue Series of the Adhesive Postage and Telegraph - Stamps of India. Supplement to preceding work. By J. A. Tilleard. - _London_, 1896. - - The Postage and Telegraph Stamps of British India. Part I., Postage - Stamps. By L. L. R. Hausburg. Part II., Telegraph Stamps. By C. - Stewart-Wilson and C. S. F. Crofton. _London_, 1907. ⁂ Twenty-three - plates. - -ITALY. I Francobolli Italiani. By G. Damiani. _Milano_, 1894. - - Catalogo Filatelico-Storico dell'Italia dal 1818 a 1901. By G. - Rocereto. 2nd ed. _Napoli_, 1902. - -JAMAICA. Jamaica. By Fred J. Melville. _London_, 1910. ⁂ Six plates. - - Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. By E. J. Nankivell. _Tunbridge - Wells_, 1908. - -JAMMU AND KASHMIR. The Stamps of Jammu and Kashmir. By Sir D. P. - Masson. Vol. I., _Calcutta_, 1900. ⁂ Six plates. Vol. II., - _Lahore_, 1901. ⁂ Eleven plates. - -JAPAN. Dai Nippon Teikoku Ubin Kitte Eukakushi (_lit._, History of the - Postage Stamps of the Great Japanese Empire). [Japanese Postal - Department.] _Tokio_, 1896. ⁂ This work is illustrated with actual - stamps, and is of considerable rarity. A forgery or unofficial - imitation of the work has been published. - - Les Écritures et la légende des timbres du Japon. By Dr. A. Legrand. - _Bruxelles_, 1878. - -LEEWARD ISLANDS. Priced Catalogue of the Obsolete Leeward Isles. By R. - Hollick. _London_, 1895. (_See_ West Indies.) - -LUBECK. Die Briefumschläge von Lübeck. By C. Lindenberg. _Berlin_, 1892. - - Lübeck. By H. Krötzsch. _Leipzig_, 1893. ⁂ Forty plates. - - Die Postwertzeichen von Lübeck. By O. Rommel. _München_, 1895. - - Les Timbres de Lubeck. By Georges Brunel. _Paris_, 1911. - -LUXEMBURG. Timbres du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg. By J. B. Moëns. - _Bruxelles_, 1879. ⁂ Plates. - -MAURITIUS. Notes sur les Timbres-poste de Maurice. By E. B. Evans. - _Paris_, 1880. - - Les Timbres de Maurice. By J. B. Moëns. _Bruxelles_, 1878. - -MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN AND MECKLENBURG-STRELITZ. Die Briefumschläge von - Mecklenburg-Schwerin und Mecklenburg-Strelitz. By C. Lindenberg. - _Berlin_, 1892. - - Mecklenburg-Schwerin und Mecklenburg-Strelitz. By Hugo Krötzsch. - _Leipzig_, 1893-6. ⁂ Seventeen plates. - - Les Timbres de Mecklembourg-Schwerin et Strelitz. By J. B. Moëns. - _Bruxelles_, 1879. - -MEXICO. Catalogue of Mexican Postage and Revenue Stamps, Envelopes, - Post Cards, &c. By C. H. Mekeel. 4th ed. _St. Louis, Mo._, 1896. - - Catalogue of the Stamps, Envelopes, Wrappers, and Postal Cards of - Mexico, including the Provisional Issues of Campeche, Chiapas, - Guadalajara, &c. By H. Collin and H. L. Calman, with Albert E. - Lawrence. _New York_, 1895. - - Los Sobrecargos de los sellos postales de México. By J. Marco del - Pont. _Buenos Aires_, 1903. (See also _Campeche_.) - -MODENA. I Francobolli del Ducato di Modena e delle Provincie Modenesi. - By Dr. Emilio Diena. _Modena_, 1894. ⁂ Seven plates. - - The Stamps of the Duchy of Modena and the Modenese Provinces. By - Dr. Emilio Diena. _Manchester_, 1905. ⁂ Seven plates. (A revised - version in English, prepared by the author from his original work - in Italian.) - - Timbres des États de Parme, Modène et Romagna. By J. B. Moëns. - _Bruxelles_, 1878. - -MOLDAVIA. _See_ Roumania. - -NAPLES. Timbres de Naples et de Sicilie. By J. B. Moëns. _Bruxelles_, - 1877. - -NEVIS. Nevis. By Fred J. Melville. _London_, 1909. - -NEW CALEDONIA. Une réimpression des timbres de la Nouvelle-Calédonie. - By A. Maury. _Paris_, 1880. - -NEW HEBRIDES. New Hebrides. By Single CA. _London_, 1910. - -NEW SOUTH WALES. A History and Description of the Sydney View Stamps of - New South Wales. By R. C. H. Brock. _Philadelphia_, 1890. - - History of the Post Office, together with an Historical Account of - the Issue of Postage Stamps in New South Wales. Compiled chiefly - from the Records, by A. Houison. _Sydney_, 1890. ⁂ Fifteen plates. - - The Postage Stamps, Envelopes, Wrappers, Post Cards and Telegraph - Stamps of New South Wales. By A. F. Basset Hull. Two vols. - _London_, 1911. ⁂ Sixteen plates. - - The Registration Stamp of New South Wales. By A. Houison. _Sydney_, - 1888. - -NIGER COAST. Niger Coast Protectorate. By E. J. Nankivell. _Tunbridge - Wells_, 1909. - -NORTH GERMAN CONFEDERATION. Die Briefumschläge des Norddeutschen - Postbezirks. By C. Lindenberg. _Berlin_, 1893. - - Norddeutscher Postbezirk mit Occupations-Freimarken. By H. Krötzsch. - _Leipzig_, 1893-6. - -OLDENBURG. Die Briefumschläge von Oldenburg. By C. Lindenberg. - _Berlin_, 1893. - - Oldenburg (in German). By P. Ohrt. _Leipzig_, 1893-6. - -ORANGE RIVER COLONY. South African War Provisionals. By B. W. H. Poole. - _London_, 1901. ⁂ Six plates. - -PANAMA. Bartels' Check List of Canal Zone Stamps. By J. M. Bartels. 2nd - ed. _Boston, Mass._, 1908. - - Bartels' Check List of the Postage Stamps of Panama, 1907. By W. W. - Randall and J. M. Bartels. _Boston, Mass._, 1907. - - A Reference List of the Stamps of Panama. By J. N. Luff. _New York_, - 1905. - - The Stamps of the Canal Zone. By G. L. Toppan. _New York_, 1906. - -PARMA. Timbres des États de Parme, Modène et Romagne. By J. B. Moëns. - _Bruxelles_, 1878. - -PERSIA. Die persische post und die Postwerthzeichen von Persien und - Buchara. By F. Schüller. _Wien_, 1893. ⁂ Four plates. - - La Poste des Califes et la Poste du Shah. By P. Hugonnet. _Paris_, - 1884. ⁂ Map. - -PERU. Beredeneerde Geïllustreerde Catalogus aller Postzegels, Couverten - en Briefkaarten, officiëel uitgegeven door de Peruaansche Republiek - van af 1 December, 1857, tot en met 31 December, 1887. By A. E. J. - Huart. _Amsterdam_, 1888. - - Catalogue général et détaillé des timbres-poste, enveloppes et cartes - postales officiellement émis dans la République du Perou. [Société - Philatelique Sud Americaine.] _Lima_, 1887. - - Peru. Investigaciones sobre la emisión de estampillas del coronel - seminario en túmbez en Marzo de 1895. By A. T. Lista. _Santiago de - Chile_, 1899. - - Les Timbres du Perou. By J. B. Moëns. _Bruxelles_, 1878. - - Studie über Postwertzeichen von Peru. By Dr. O. Rommel. _München_, - 1890. - -PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. The Postage Stamps of the Philippines. By J. M. - Bartels, F. A. Foster and F. L. Palmer. _Boston, Mass._, 1904. - -PORTUGAL. Catalogue descriptif et illustré de tous les timbres-poste, - &c., du Portugal emis dès 1853 à 1895 avec leur differentes - denteleurs, papiers, &c. By T. Ramos. _Lisbonne_, 1895. - - The Dies of the Postage Stamps of Portugal of the Reigns of Dona - Maria II. and Dom Pedro V. By R. B. Yardley. _Manchester_, 1907. ⁂ - Thirty plates. - - Portugal. Eine Studie über die Ausgaben 1853-76. By L. Berger. - _Berlin_, 1898. - -PORTUGUESE INDIES. Portuguese India. By G. Harrison and F. H. Napier. - _London_, 1893. ⁂ Two plates. - -PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. Prince Edward Island. By R. E. R. Dalwigk. - _London_, 1910. - -PRUSSIA. Preussen. By P. Ohrt. _Leipzig_, 1893-6. - - Les Timbres de Prusse. By J. B. Moëns. _Bruxelles_, 1887. - -REPRINTS. Handbuch aller bekannten Neudrucke staatlicher - Postfreimarken, Ganzsachen und Essays. By P. Ohrt. _Dusseldorf_, - 1907. - - Reprints of Postal Adhesive Stamps and their Characteristics. By E. - D. Bacon. _London_, 1899. - -ROMAN STATES. Timbres des États de Toscane et Saint-Marin et des États - de l'Église. By J. B. Moëns. _Bruxelles_, 1878. - -ROUMANIA. Die Postwerthzeichen von Rumänien. Moldau, Moldau-Walachei, - Fürstenthum Rumänien, Königreich Rumänien. By H. Roggenstroh. - _Magdeburg_, 1894. ⁂ Five plates. - - Timbres de Moldavie et de Roumaine. By Dr. Magnus. 2nd ed. - _Bruxelles_, 1869. - -RUSSIA. Die Postmarken von Russland. By Dr. E. von Bochmann. _Leipzig_, - 1895. - - Les Timbres de Russie. By J. B. Moëns. Bruxelles, 1893. - -ST. THOMAS AND PRINCE ISLANDS. La Guerre aux timbres surchargés de S. - Thomé et Principe. By J. A. da Silva. _Lisbonne_, 1895. - -ST. VINCENT. Saint Vincent. By F. H. Napier and E. D. Bacon. _London_, - 1895. ⁂ Two plates. - -SAN MARINO. Timbres des États de Toscane et Saint-Marin. By J. B. - Moëns. _Bruxelles_, 1878. - -SARAWAK. The Postage Stamps of Sarawak. By Fred J. Melville. _London_, - 1907. ⁂ Eight plates. - -SAXONY. Die Briefumschläge von Sachsen. By C. Lindenberg. _Berlin_, - 1894. - - Les Timbres de Saxe. By J. B. Moëns. _Bruxelles_, 1879. - - Geschichte der Postwerthzeichen des Königreichs Sachsen. By Dr. P. - Kloss. _Dresden_, 1882. - -SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN. Die Postfreimarken der Herzogtümer - Schleswig-Holstein. By A. Rosenkranz. _Leipzig_, 1897. ⁂ Fourteen - plates. - - Timbres des Duchés de Schleswig-Holstein et Lauenbourg et Bergedorf. - By J. B. Moëns. _Bruxelles_, 1884. - -SEYCHELLES. The Postage Stamps of the Seychelles. By B. W. H. Poole. - _London_, 1906. - -SHANGHAI. Shanghai. By W. B. Thornhill. _London_, 1895. ⁂ Eight plates. - -SIAM. The Postage Stamps of Siam. By A. Holland. _Boston, Mass._, 1904. - ⁂ One plate. - - Siam: Its Posts and Postage Stamps. By Fred J. Melville. _London_, - 1906. - -SICILY. History of the Postage Stamps of Sicily. By Dr. E. Diena. - _London_, 1904. ⁂ Twenty plates. - -SIRMOOR. Sirmoor I. By [Sir] D. P. Masson. _Madras_, 1906. - -SOUTH AUSTRALIA. South Australia. By F. H. Napier and Gordon Smith. - _London_, 1894. ⁂ Three plates. - -SPAIN. Catálogo ilustrado de sellos de correo de España. By H. Prats. - _Barcelona_, 1894. - - Historia de los sellos de correos y telégrafos de España. By M. A. - Fernandez. _Madrid_, 1901-4. - - Histoire des timbres-poste ... en Espagne. By J. B. Moëns. - _Bruxelles_, 1891. - - Reseña Histórico-Descriptiva de los Sellos de Correo de España. By A. - F. Duro. _Madrid_, 1881. - -STRAITS SETTLEMENTS. A Reference List to the Stamps of the Straits - Settlements, surcharged for use in the Native Protected States. By - W. Brown. _Salisbury_, 1894. ⁂ Supplemental plate. - -SUDAN. Sudan. By E. J. Nankivell. _London_, 1904. - -SUEZ CANAL COMPANY. Timbres d'Égypte et de la Compagnie du Canal de - Suez. By J. B. Moëns. _Bruxelles_, 1880. - -SWEDEN. Sveriges Frankotecken, 1855-1905. [Sveriges - Filatelist-Förening.] _Stockholm_, 1905. ⁂ Plates. - - Die Postmarken von Schweden, 1855-1905. [A _précis_ of the above in - German.] By H. Djurling and R. Krasemann. _Leipzig_, 1908. - -SWITZERLAND. The Forgeries of the "Cantonal" Stamps of Switzerland. By - Baron A. de Reuterskiöld. _Manchester_, 1908. ⁂ One plate. - - Spezial-Katalog und Handbuch über die Briefmarken der Schweiz und - Tabellen über Abstempelungen der Ausgaben 1843-81. By E. Zumstein. - _Bern_, 1908. - - Handbook of the Postage Stamps of Switzerland, from the above. By E. - Zumstein. _London_, 1910. ⁂ Six plates. - - The Stamps of Switzerland, 1843-54. By Baron C. von Girsewald. - _München_, 1893. - - Les Timbres Cantonaux ... Suisses de 1843 à 1852, et leurs fac-similé - à ce jour. By H. Goegg. _Genève_, 1893. - - Les Timbres-poste Suisses, 1843-62 [and in German and English]. By P. - Mirabaud and Baron A. de Reuterskiöld. _Paris_, 1900. ⁂ Fourteen - plates. - -TASMANIA. The Stamps of Tasmania. By A. F. B. Hull. _London._ 1890. ⁂ - Nine plates. - -THURN AND TAXIS. Die Abstempelungen der Marken des Thurn und - Taxis'schen Postgebietes. By A. E. Glasewald. _Gössnitz_, 1893. ⁂ - Ten plates and two maps. - - Die Briefumschläge von Thurn und Taxis. By C. Lindenberg. _Berlin_, - 1892. - -TONGA. Tonga. By Fred. J. Melville. _London_, 1909. - -TURKEY. Croissant-Toughra (Armoiries de l'Empire Ottoman). By F. - Mongeri. _Bruxelles_, 1887. - - Katalog der Postwerthzeichen des ottomanischen Kaiserthums. By F. - Meyer. _Wien_, 1878. - -UNITED STATES. History of the Postage Stamps of the United States. By - J. K. Tiffany. 2nd ed. _St. Louis_, 1893. - - The Postage Stamps of the United States. By J. N. Luff. _New York_, - 1902. ⁂ Twenty-three plates. - - The Postage Stamps of the United States. By Fred J. Melville. - _London_, 1905. - - A Tentative Check List of the Proofs of the Adhesive Postage and - Revenue Stamps of the United States. By G. L. Toppan. _New York and - Boston, Mass._, 1904. - - United States Postage Stamps, 1847-69. By Fred J. Melville. 2nd ed. - _London_, 1910. - - United States Postage Stamps, 1870-93. By Fred J. Melville. _London_, - 1910. - - United States Postage Stamps, 1894-1910. By Fred J. Melville. - _London_, 1910. - -URUGUAY. A Study of the Stamps of Uruguay. By Hugo Griebert. _London_, - 1910. ⁂ Seven plates. - - Les Timbres de la République Orientale de l'Uruguay. By Dr. E. - Wonner. _Neuilly_, 1887. ⁂ Map. - - Les Timbres de l'Uruguay. By S. Jean. _Paris_, 1908. - -WEST INDIES. The Postage Stamps, Envelopes, Wrappers, Post Cards and - Telegraph Stamps of the British Colonies in the West Indies, - together with British Honduras and the Colonies in South America. - [The Philatelic Society, London.] _London_, 1891. - -WURTEMBERG. Die Briefumschläge von Württemberg. By C. Lindenberg. - _Berlin_, 1895. - - Les Timbres du Wurtemberg. By J. B. Moëns. _Bruxelles_, 1881. - -ZULULAND. Zululand. By B. W. H. Poole. _London_, 1909. - - - - -INDEX - - - - -INDEX - - -Aberdeen University Library, 127 - -Abyssinia, 201 - -Accessories, 136-150 - -Acts of Parliament: - Commonwealth, 63, 159; - George III., 67; - Uniform Penny Postage, 101, 159 - -"Adhesive Stamps of the British Isles, The," 156 - -Africa, 204 - -"Aids to Stamp Collectors," Booty's, 123, 147 - -Aitutaki, 206 - -Albino, 23 - -Albums, 128, 136, 137, 147 - -"Album Weeds," 243 - -Alexis Michaelovitch, H.I.H. the Grand Duke, 325 - -Alfonso XIII., H.M. King, 325 - -All Hallows Staining rectory, 122, 268 - -Alsace and Lorraine, 269 - -Althorp, Lord, 96 - -Anderson, Mr. P. J., 127 - -Aniline colours, 23 - -Annapolis, 279, 289 - -Antigua, 204 - -Argentine Republic, 259 - -Ashurst, Mr. W. H., 101, 109, 159 - -_Athenæum, The_, 97, 98, 109, 170 - -Atlee, Mr. W. D., 273-275 - -Auction sale of stamps, The first, 272 - -Augustus, Emperor, 59 - -Australian Commonwealth, 190, 202 - -Austria, 60, 61, 71, 269 - -Avery, late Sir W. B., 9, 177, 183, 225, 282, 290, 291, 302 - -Ayer, Mr. F. W., 302 - - -Bacon, Mr. E. D., 298 - -Baden, 61 - -Bagshawe, Mr. A., 302 - -Balkan States, 203 - -Baltimore, 289 - -Barbados, 219, 322 - -Baring, Mr. Thomas, M.P., 167 - -Basle, 256, 290 - -Batavia, Find of old papers in, 85 - -Bâtonné paper, 23, 39 - -Baton Rouge, 181, 332 - -Bavaria, 61 - -Beaufort House Press, The, 95 - -Beaumont, 332 - -Belgium, 179 - -Bellman, Origin of the, 67 - -Benzine, The use of, 139 - -Bergedorf, 271, 326 - -Berger-Levrault, M. F. G. Oscar, 125, 269-271 - -Berlin Postal Museum, 330 - -Bermuda, 322 - -_Billets de port payé_, 81 - -Birchin-lane, Stamp exchange in 118, 121, 263 - -Bisected provisional stamps, 23, 37, 219 - -Blest, Mr. W., 302 - -_Bleuté_, blued paper, 23 - -Blind division, General Post Office, 57 - -Blocks of stamps, 23, 25 - -Blood locals, The, 273 - -Bogus stamps, 23, 247, 258-260 - -Booty, Mr. Frederick, 123, 124, 147 - -Borchard, Mme., 278 - -Bourne, Mr. Herbert, 172 - -_Boys' Own Magazine, The_, 127 - -Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co., 172 - -Brattleboro, 273 - -Brazil, 71, 116, 234 - -British Central Africa, 168 - -British Colonial Stamps, 32, 203, 311 - -British Guiana, 53, 219, 268, 269, 271, 275, 277, 282, 301, 321, 329, 331 - -British Museum, 97, 98, 124, 160, 281, 327, 329, 330 - -British New Guinea, 170 - -British North America, 71, 202, 295 - -British Post-offices abroad, 53 - -British Solomon Islands, 206 - -British South Africa Company, 170 - -British West Indies, 71, 202 - -Brown, Mr. Mount, 123, 124, 127, 264, 268 - -Brunei, 259 - -Brunswick, 61 - -Buenos Aires, 71, 271, 311 - -Bulgaria, 306 - -Bulwer, Mr. Edward Lytton, 96 - -Burelé, 23 - -Burnett, Mr. M., 302 - - -Caillebotte, Mm., 302 - -Canada, 176, 220, 269, 311 - -Canary Islands, 71 - -Cancelled to order, Stamps, 23 - -Cape Colony, 25, 179, 202, 220, 269, 331 - -Caroline Islands, 206 - -Cashmere, 40, 253 - -Castle, Mr. M. P., 131, 290, 302, 325 - -Castle-Mann collection, The, 202 - -"Catalogue of British Colonial and Foreign Stamps," Mount Brown's, 124 - -Catalogues, Stamp, 137 - -Cayman Islands, 221 - -Centimetre, 24 - -Ceylon, 201, 222, 224, 253, 290 - -Chalk-surfaced paper, 24 - -Chalmers, Mr. James, of Dundee, 99, 101 - -Chalon, Mr. Alfred Edward, R.A., 170 - -Change-alley, Stamp exchange in, 263 - -Charles II., 64 - -Cheverton, Mr. Benjamin, 102, 105, 159, 160 - -Chili, 71, 179, 189, 202 - -China, 189, 201 - -Christie, Manson & Wood, 167 - -City medal, Wyon's, 163 - -Clarke, Mr. Harvey R. G., 290 - -Cliché, 24, 45 - -Clipperton Island, 259 - -Clotilde, Princess, 305 - -Coit, Mr. J. T., 296 - -Cole, Sir Henry, 101, 102, 106, 109, 110, 167 - -Collections, Sales of, 302 - -Colman, Mr. C., 302 - -Colour trials, 24 - -Coloured postmarks, 186 - -Colours, 23, 28 - -Colson, Mr. W. H., 332 - -Comb perforating machine, 24 - -Commemorative stamps, 24 - -Commissioners of Post-office inquiry, 101, 109, 159 - -Commonwealth, posts during the, 63 - -Compound perforations, 24 - -Condition, The Importance of, 8; - Essential details of, 139-142 - -Confederate States of America, 296, 331 - -Control letters, marks, 24 - -Cook Islands, 206 - -Cooper, Miss Eliza, 160 - -Cooper, Mr. W., 302 - -Cooper, Sir Daniel, 123, 129, 131, 272, 274, 275, 282, 298, 302 - -Corbould, Mr. Edward Henry, 170, 173, 175 - -Corbould, Mr. Henry, 106, 175 - -Cordoba, 259 - -Counani, 259 - -Cousins, Mr. Samuel, 170 - -Coutures, M. Albert, 278 - -Crawford, The Earl of, 105, 131, 148, 159, 160, 171, 282-289, 279 - -Creased stamps, How to treat, 138 - -Creeke, Mr. A. B., jun., 156, 160 - -Crocker, Mr. Henry J., 295, 297, 299 - -Cromwell, Thomas, 62 - -Crown Agents for the Colonies, 172 - -Cuba, 205, 306 - -Current-number, 27, 29 - -Cut-outs, cut-squares, 27 - -Cyprus, 29, 168, 222, 306 - - -_Daily Telegraph, The_, 264 - -Darius, I., 59 - -David's letter to Joab, 58 - -De la Rue & Co., Limited, 168, 202, 276 - -Denmark, 240, 306 - -"De-oxidisation," 138 - -De-sulphurisation of stamps, 138 - -Dickens, Charles, 122 - -Dickinson, Mr. John, 102, 109, 159, 160, 164 - -"Dickinson" paper, 27, 41, 109, 157, 161, 164 - -Dies, postage-stamp, 23, 24, 27, 31, 35, 36, 46, 51 - -Dilke, Mr., of _The Athenæum_, 109 - -_Diplomata_ of the Roman Emperors, 60 - -Dockwra, Mr. William, 64-67, 82-84 - -Dominica, 204 - -Dominican Republic, 205 - -Doria Pamphilj, Prince, 302, 326 - -Double prints, 27 - -Dutch East Indian Company, 85 - -Dutch Indies, 85 - -Duty-plate, 27, 32 - -Duveen, Mr. Henry J., 187, 225, 290-293 - - -Earée, Rev. R. B., 243 - -Edinburgh, H.R.H. the Duke of, 131, 305-311 - -Edward VII., H.M. King, 129, 313, 317, 318 - -Egypt, 233 - -Ehrenbach, Mr. R., 302 - -Electrotypes, 27 - -Embossing, 27 - -Engraving, 28 - -Entires, 28 - -Envelope stamps, 28 - -Errors, 28 - -Essays for postage stamps, 28, 103, 107 - -European stamps, 202, 203 - -Evans, Major E. B., 156 - -Evans, Mrs. John, 161 - -Evans, Mr. Lewis, 160, 161 - -_Evening News, The_, 264 - -_Express, The_, 263 - - -Fabri, Sr. P., 302 - -Facsimiles of postage stamps, 28, 241 - -"Facts and Reasons," Mr. Ashurst's, 101, 109 - -Fakes, 28, 249-253 - -"Falsification of Postage Stamps, The," 240 - -Fernando Po, 306 - -Field, Mr. D., 9, 321 - -Fiji, 168, 169, 206, 223, 257 - -Fiscal stamps, 28, 45, 48 - -Flap ornaments, 28 - -"Forged Stamps and How to Detect Them," 239 - -Forgeries, 28, 31, 239-260 - -Forrester, Mr. Samuel, 159, 160 - -France, 234, 269, 326 - -Francis, Mr. John, 109 - -Francis, Mr. John Collins, 109 - -French Revolution, 61 - -Füchs, Herr Emil, 317 - -Fugitive inks, 28 - - -Gambia, 37, 204, 223 - -Gambin, Sr. Miguel, 302 - -Gauge for measuring perforations, _see_ "Perforation Gauge" - -Gauge for use in arranging stamps, 144-147 - -General Post Office, London, 57, 80, 195 - -Generalising, 31, 49, 199, 200 - -Geneva, 256, 290-293, 326 - -George V., H.M. King, 131, 160, 167, 195, 225, 265, 305-325 - -German East Africa, 259 - -German Empire, 61 - -German New Guinea, 206 - -German States, 61, 71, 179, 203, 330 - -Gibbons, Mr. E. S., 117, 233 - -_Gibbons Stamp Weekly_, 156 - -Gibraltar, 71, 306 - -Gilbert and Ellice Islands, 20 - -Gimet, M. E., 278 - -Gold Coast, 204 - -Goliad, 183, 332 - -Government imitations, 31, 256 - -Grangerising philatelic monographs, 155 - -Granite paper, 31, 41 - -Gray, Dr. J. E., 97, 98, 124, 282 - -Great Britain, 25, 31, 32, 45, 53, 62, 68, 99, 154-161, 170-173, - 177-180, 191, 195, 201, 216-219, 235, 244-248, 251, 269, 271, - 275, 283-290, 307, 312-321 - -"Great Britain: Embossed Adhesive Stamps," 160 - -Greece, 51, 234, 306 - -Grenada, 25, 322 - -Griebert, Mr. Hugo, 180 - -Grille, The, 31 - -Grove Hill, 332 - -Guadalajara, 282 - -Guam, 205, 206 - -Guillotine perforation, 31 - -Gum, 36 - -Gumpaps, 31 - - -Hair-lines, 31 - -"Hand Catalogue of Postage Stamps," Dr. Gray's, 124 - -Hand-made paper, 31, 39 - -Hanover, 61, 326 - -_Hansard_, 96-98 - -Harbeck, Mr. C. T., 302 - -Hardy, Mr. W. J., 298 - -Harrison, Mr. G., 302 - -Harrow perforating machine, 32 - -Harwood's envelope, 109 - -Hausburg, Mr. L. L. R., 289 - -Hawaii, 205-207, 234, 259, 274, 295-299, 327-331 - -Hayman, Mr. H. L., 302 - -Hayti, 71, 201, 205, 259 - -Haywood, Mrs., 175 - -Head-plate, 32 - -Heath, Mr. Charles, 106, 176 - -Heath, Mr. Frederick, 106, 173, 175 - -Helena, 332 - -Heligoland, 306 - -Henderson, Mr. S., of Dalkeith, 102 - -Herodotus, 59 - -Herpin, M. G., 127 - -Hill, Mr. Edwin, 160 - -Hill, Mr. John, 64 - -Hill, Mr. Matthew Davenport, 96 - -Hill, Mr. Ormond, 160 - -Hill, Sir Rowland, 71-75, 97-101, 110-112, 159, 160, 164, 167, 175, - 247, 272, 312 and frontispiece - -Hinges for mounting stamps, 137, 140-144 - -Hobson, Tobias, 62 - -Holland, 179, 234 - -Hollander, Mr. C., 302 - -Holstein, 61 - -Honduras, 71 - -Hong Kong, 322 - -House of Commons envelopes, 110 - -House of Lords envelopes, 93, 110 - -"How to Detect Forged Stamps," 241 - -Hughes-Hughes, Mr., 123, 268, 302 - -Humphrys, Mr. William, 170 - -Hungary, 276 - - -Iceland, 306 - -Image, Mr. W. E., 281, 302 - -Imperforate stamps, 32, 140, 179-185 - -Imprimatur, 32 - -Imprint, 32 - -India, 223, 249 - -Inverted, 32 - -Ionian Islands, 306 - -Irish National Museum, 331 - -Irregular perforation, 32 - -Italian States, 118, 171, 203, 234, 249, 326 - -Italy, 60 - - -Jaffray, Miss, 167 - -Jamaica, 37, 170 - -James II., King, 64 - -Japan, 234, 255, 295 - -Jezebel's forged letters, 59 - -Joab, 59 - -Johnson, Mr. H. F., 9 - -Joint-Committee on Postage Stamps, 276 - -Jubilee line, 32 - -Junior Philatelic Society, 9, 322 - - -Kent, H.R.H. The Duchess of, 170 - -Key-plate, 27, 32 - -King, Mr. S., of Bath, 72, 73 - -King's Messengers, 62 - -Kingston, The Earl of, 131, 302 - -Kintore, The Earl of, 321 - -Knife, 35 - -Knight, Mr. Charles, 96-98 - - -Labuan, 224 - -Lacroix, M., 266 - -Lagos, 204 - -Laid bâtonné paper, 35 - -Laid paper, 35, 39 - -Lallier, M. Justin, 128, 278 - -Lambton, Major-General, 302 - -Laplante, M. Edard de, 266 - -Lauenburg, 61 - -Lawn & Barlow, 329 - -Leeward Islands, 204 - -Legrand, Dr. A., 126, 270, 302 - -Leinster, The Duke of, 331 - -L'Epinard, Chevalier Paris de, 82 - -Letter-balances, 72-74 - -Letter-office of England, The, 63, 80 - -Letters, The earliest, 58, 59; - penny-post letter in 1686, 83, 84; - statistics, 75 - -Lincoln, Mr. W. S., 117, 127 - -Line-engraving, 35, 46 - -Lithography, 35, 46 - -Livingston, 183 - -Locals, 35, 273 - -Louis, Mr., witness, Select Committee, 95 - -Luxemburg, 61, 326 - - -Macon, 332 - -MacWhirter, Mr. John, 169 - -Madden, Rev. G. C. B., 186 - -"Magnus," Dr., 270 - -Malta, 71, 306 - -Manila paper, 35, 40 - -Mann, Mr. W. W., 302 - -Manuel, H.M. King, 325 - -Marianne Islands, 206 - -Marsden, Mr. J. N., 302 - -Marshall Islands, 206 - -Matrix, 27, 35, 50 - -Mauritius, 47, 187, 202, 207, 224-227, 269, 278, 281, 290, 301, - 319-323, 329-332 - -Maury, M. A., 81 - -Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 61 - -_Mekeel's Weekly Stamp News_, 189 - -Mercantile Committee, The, 101 - -Mexico, 189, 203, 269, 305 - -Millbury, 181 - -Millimetre, 35 - -Million stamps fable, The, 116 - -Mill-sheet, 35 - -Mint, 35, 141 - -Mirabaud, M. Paul, 282, 301, 302 - -_Mirror of Parliament, The_, 98 - -Mixed perforations, 35 - -Modena, 240 - -Moëns, M. J. B., 117, 128, 278 - -Moldavia, 207, 234, 306, 329, 331 - -Montenegro, 306 - -_Monthly Advertiser, The_, 128 - -_Monthly Intelligencer and Controversialist, The_, 128 - -Montserrat, 204, 224 - -Morocco, 189 - -"Mounted" stamps, 36 - -Mounting stamps in albums, 137 - -Mounts, 137 - -Mozambique, 259 - -Mulready, Mr. William: envelopes and covers, 109-111, 159, 160, - 165, 167, 175, 312 - - -Nankivell, Mr. E. J., 302 - -Naples, 47, 118, 240, 249, 269, 271, 274 - -Natal, 202, 267, 311 - -Native-made paper, 36, 40 - -Nepal, 40 - -Netherlands, 61 - -Nevis, 204, 227, 311, 322, 326 - -New Brunswick, 176, 228, 266, 271 - -New Caledonia, 206 - -Newfoundland, 228, 329 - -New Hebrides, 206 - -New South Wales, 106, 123, 176, 207, 229, 254, 255, 272, 290, 311 - -Newspaper tax, 96 - -New Zealand, 35, 170, 190, 229, 271, 272 - -Nicaragua, 242 - -Nicholas, Mme., 121 - -Niger Coast Protectorate, 204, 230 - -Nissen, Mr. C., 9, 106, 251 - -Niue, 206 - -North, Mr. J. C., 168 - -Northern Nigeria, 204 - -Norway, 306 - -Nova Scotia, 228, 267, 271 - -_Nuncii et Cursores_, 62 - - -Oates, Titus, 64 - -Obliterations, 36 - -Obsolete, 36, 47 - -Oceanic Settlements, 206 - -Oil Rivers Protectorate, 204 - -Oldenburg, 61, 233, 326 - -Original covers, stamps used on, 185 - -Original die, 36 - -Original gum, 36 - -Overprint, 36 - - -Pacific Steam Navigation Co., 267 - -Packet-collections, 136 - -Pairs, 25, 36 - -Palmer, J., 73 - -Panama Canal Zone, 205 - -Panes of Stamps, 33, 39 - -Paper, 39-41 - -Papua, 170, 206 - -Paraphe, 41 - -Parker, Mr. J. W., 101 - -Parliament, Temporary letter-covers for Members of, 93, 109 - -Parma, 240 - -Patte, 28, 41 - -Paul, Mr. J. W., jun., 302 - -Pauwels, Mr. J., 302 - -Peacock papers, The, 111, 155, 175 - -Peckitt, Mr. W. H., 9, 156, 266, 321 - -Pellisson, M., 81 - -Pelure paper, 40, 41 - -Pemberton, Mr. E. L., 123, 127, 239, 242, 268, 272, 274 - -Pen-cancelled, 41 - -Penny post, first proposed, 64; - in Edinburgh, 67; - local penny posts, 67 - -Penny post of 1680, 4, 82-84 - -Penrhyn, 206 - -Perazzi, Signor, 112 - -Percé, perçage, 41, 42 - -Perforation, 24, 31, 32, 35, 42-44, 48, 139 - -Perforation-gauge, 43, 44 - -Perkins, Bacon & Co., 102, 106, 201, 228 - -Peroxide of hydrogen, The use of, 138 - -Persia, 24, 59 - -Peru, 31, 71, 189, 267, 271, 325 - -Petersburg, 326 - -_Petite Poste_, 80 - -_Philatelic Record, The_, 82, 88, 275 - -Philatelic Society, The Royal, 105, 123, 129, 131, 158, 160, 229, - 272, 306, 322, 325 - -_Philatelical Journal, The_, 272 - -_Philatelist, The_, 305 - -Philately, Definition of, 7, 44, 127 - -Philately, The higher, 8 - -Philbrick, Judge, 123, 131, 155, 270, 272, 275-282, 298, 302 - -Philippine Islands, 205, 206, 274 - -Phillips, Mr. Charles J., 168 - -Pin-perforation, 42, 45, 48 - -Plate, 24, 27, 45, 46 - -Plate-number, 29, 45 - -Porto-Rico, 41, 205, 306 - -Portugal, 71; - King of, 305 - -Portuguese Nyassa, 172 - -Post, Genesis of the, 55-75 - -"Post," Origin of the word, 59 - -"Postage and Telegraph Stamps of Great Britain, The," 155, 276 - -"Postage Charts" proposed in Sweden, 91, 92 - -_Postage Stamp, The_, 189 - -Postage Stamp "chart," A, 119 - -"Postage Stamps and their Collection," 332 - -Postal fiscal, 45 - -Postal Stationery, 27, 28, 45 - -Postmarks, 23, 36, 41, 45, 140, 185 - -Post-office in 1790, 69 - -Posts in early times, 59-75 - -Posts, Master of the, 62 - -Potiquet, M. Alfred, 125, 266 - -Povey, Mr. Charles, 67 - -Power, Mr. E. B., 273 - -Pre-cancellation, 45 - -Presidents and Vice-Presidents of The Royal Philatelic Society, London, 131 - -Prices of old stamps, 9 - -Printers of postage stamps, 202 - -Printing postage stamps, 46 - -Proofs, 46, 171-179 - -Provisionals, 46 - -Prussia, 61 - -_Punch_, 116 - -Puttick & Simpson, 281, 321 - - -Quadrillé paper for albums, 147; - for stamps, 39, 46 - -"Queen's Heads", the early use of the term, 116 - -Queensland, 175 - - -Re-cutting, 47 - -Re-drawing, 47 - -Re-engraving, 47 - -Re-issues, 47 - -Remainders, 47 - -Rénotière, M. la, 275, 278, 296 - -Rep paper, 40, 47 - -Reprints, 47, 256, 325 - -Resetting, 47 - -Retouching, 47 - -Reunion, 269, 271, 329, 331 - -Reuterskiöld, Baron A. de, 301 - -Revenue, 48 - -Reversed, 48 - -Ribbed paper, 40, 48 - -Roberts, Mr. Vernon, 302 - -Romagna, 240 - -Roman _posita_, The, 59 - -Rosace, 28, 41, 48 - -Rothschild, Baron Arthur, 275 - -Rough perforation, 48 - -Rouletting, 41, 42, 48; - in coloured lines, 48 - -Roumania, 234, 257 - -Royal Niger Co., 204 - -Russell, Mr., 302 - -Russia, 71, 189, 325 - - -"Safety" paper, 40, 49 - -St. Christopher, 204 - -St. Helena, 71 - -St. Kitts-Nevis, 204 - -St. Louis, 268, 273 - -St. Vincent, 224, 230, 311 - -Samoa, 206, 234 - -Sandwich Islands. _See_ Hawaii - -Sappho, The French, 81, 82 - -Sarawak, 201, 260 - -Sardinia: Letter sheets of 1818, 86-93 - -Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, H.R.H. the Duke of, 131, 305-311 - -Saxony, 61, 269, 271 - -Schleswig-Holstein, 233 - -Scudéri, Mdlle., 81, 82 - -Scythia: early communications, 59 - -Sedang, 259 - -Seebeck, Mr. N. F., 49 - -Select Committee on Postage, 95, 98-101 - -Serpentine roulette, 49 - -Servia, 306 - -Se tenant, 49 - -Seybold, Mr. J. F., 296, 302 - -Shanghai, 234 - -Sheet of paper, of stamps, 49 - -Sicily, 118 - -Sierra Leone, 204, 224, 231 - -Sievier, Mr. R. W., 102 - -Silk-thread paper, 49 - -Single-line perforation, 49 - -Smith, Mr. Alfred, 127 - -Smith, Mr. Stafford, 127 - -Société Française de Timbrologie, 127 - -Somerset House, 154-156, 172, 321 - -South African War provisionals, 235 - -South America, 49, 203 - -South Australia, 231 - -Southern Nigeria, 204, 224 - -Spain, 60, 71, 172, 234, 240, 248, 271, 311, 325, 326 - -Spandrel, 49 - -Specialising, 49, 200-207 - -Spitsbergen, 259 - -Stainforth, Rev. F. J., 122, 129, 267, 272 - -"Stamp Collector, The," 298 - -_Stamp Collector's Magazine, The_, 117, 121, 128, 241, 275 - -_Stamp Lover, The_, 170 - -Stanley Gibbons, Ltd., 9, 266 - -Stationery, 45, 50 - -Stead, Mr., of Norwich, 102 - -Stead, Mr., of Yarmouth, 95 - -Stephan, Dr. von, 330 - -Stereotyping, 46, 50 - -Stourton, Mr. J. M., 240 - -Strip of Stamps, 25, 50 - -Surcharge, 36, 50 - -Surface-printed, 46, 50 - -Sweden, 71, 91, 306, 311 - -Switzerland, 234, 240, 256, 267, 271, 290, 291, 301, 311, 325 - -Sydney, Embossed envelopes used in, 106, 272 - - -Tahiti, 206 - -Taille douce, 35, 50 - -Tapling, Mr. T. K., M.P., 131, 281, 298, 326-330 - -"Tapling Collection of Stamps and Postal Stationery, The," 329 - -Tasmania, 231 - -Taxes on knowledge, 96 - -Taylor, Mr. Overy, 124 - -Tête-bêche pairs, 50, 253 - -Thorne, Mr. W., 296 - -Thurn and Taxis, Counts of, 60-62 - -_Timbre-Poste, Le_, 117, 128 - -_Timbrologie_, 127 - -_Times, The_, 115 - -Tobago, 231 - -Tomson, Mr. A. S., 302 - -Toned paper, 50 - -Tonga, 206 - -Torres Straits, 259 - -Transvaal, 232, 318 - -Treasury Competition, The, 102-109, 163 - -Treffenberg, Lieut. Curry Gabriel, 91 - -Tresse, 28, 41, 50 - -Trials, 50 - -Trinidad, 269, 322, 326 - -Trinidad, Principality of, 259 - -Tuilleries open-air stamp exchange, 121 - -Tuke, Sir Brian, 62 - -Turkey, 71 - -Turks' Islands, 232, 322 - -Tuscany, 118, 267, 269, 271 - -Two-_sous_ post, 80-82 - -Type (design), 53 - -Type-set stamps, 53 - -Typography, 46, 53 - - -Uganda, 232 - -Uniform Penny Postage, 67, 71-75 - -Union of South Africa, 190, 191 - -United States, 31, 35, 71, 116, 168, 171, 189, 203, 205, 234, 255, - 257, 273, 279, 289, 295, 311, 326, 331 - -"United States Stamps," 273 - -Universal Penny Postage, 190 - -Uriah the Hittite, 58 - -Uruguay, 179, 180, 234, 306, 326 - -Used abroad, 53 - - -Valette, M. François, 126 - -"Vanguard, The," 169 - -Variety, 53 - -Vaud, 271, 326 - -Victor, Mr. Henry R., 127 - -Victoria, 224, 233, 269, 282 - -Victoria, Queen, 73, 170, 312 - -Villayer, Comte de, 80-82 - -Viner, Dr. C. W., 117, 123 - -Virgin Islands, 204 - - -Walker, Mr. Leslie J., 168 - -Wallace, Mr., M.P., 98 - -Ward, Sir Joseph, 190 - -Watermarks, 37, 53, 254 - -Western Australia, 233, 329 - -Westoby, Mr. W. A. S., 156, 275-277, 282, 305 - -Whiting, Mr. Charles, 95, 96, 102 - -Wilbey, Mr. J. E., 302 - -Willett, Mr. W. T., 302 - -Williamson, Mr. Peter, 67 - -Winzer, Mr. E., 302 - -Witherings, Mr. Thomas, 63 - -Woods, Mr. J. J., 127 - -Worms, Baron Anthony de, 290 - -Worthington, Mr. George H., 290, 331 - -Wove bâtonné paper, 53 - -Wove paper, 39, 53 - -Wright, Mr. Hastings E., 156, 160 - -Writing-up a collection, 148-150 - -Wurtemburg, 61, 311 - -Wyon, Mr. William, 106, 163 - - -_Young Ladies' Journal, The_, 264, 267 - -Ysasi, Mr. V. G. de, 131 - - -Zurich, 240, 271, 326 - - * * * * * - -UNWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED, THE GRESHAM PRESS, WOKING AND LONDON. - - * * * * * - -Transcriber's note--the following changes have been made to this text: - -Page 346: Republique changed to République. - -Page 360: Reüterskiold changed to Reuterskiöld. - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Chats on Postage Stamps, by Frederick John Melville - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS *** - -***** This file should be named 53431-0.txt or 53431-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/3/4/3/53431/ - -Produced by Susan Skinner, Adrian Mastronardi, The -Philatelic Digital Library Project at http://www.tpdlp.net -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/American -Libraries.) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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