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The first appeared in New York barely two weeks after this Act came into effect. George Washington formed was the subject and the stamps were recess-printed by Messrs Rawdon, Wright & Hatch (later the American Bank Note Company). The 5c stamps were printed in black on bluish paper, the portrait being taken from the die used in the production of the bank notes then current. The stamps were initialled in red ink as a security measure before sale. The initials of the postal clerk Alonzo Castle Monson are those most frequently encountered, but those initialled by the postmaster, Robert H. Morris are scarce. Only four stamps with the initials ‘M.M. Jr.’ (Marcena Monson Junior) have ever turned up – a pair on cover, a single on cover and a single, putting Marcena’s stamps into the super league of the world’s greatest rarities.

The 1846 versions

James Madison Buchanan, postmaster of Baltimore, Maryland, issued 5 and 10c stamps in 1845, consisting of his signature above the denomination, enclosed in a thin rectangular frame. The make-up of the printing plate is unknown, although 11 varieties of the 5c and three of the 10c have been recorded. The stamps were printed in black on white or bluish paper, but Buchanan also produced postal stationery consisting of envelopes bearing his signature above the word PAID and the value in a circle. Only seven examples of the 10c stamp (one on a piece and six on cover) have been recorded and the last time one came up at auction, in October 1989, it fetched $121,000.

The 1846 Postmasters stamps are all in the rarity class. Annapolis (Maryland) had a 5c stamp printed by hand direct on to blue envelopes which are only known in used condition and have a current Gibbons quotation of £50,000. A crude stamp, typeset on thin paper, consists of the inscription PAID 5 CENTS in three lines without a frame. Only one example has been recorded, and that on cover with pen cancellation from Boscawen, New Hampshire. Almost as unique is the double oval stamp of Lockport, New York, of which only a solitary example on cover has ever been found, although a second cover is known bearing the remnants of such a stamp. The circular stamp from Millbury, Massachusetts, printed singly from a woodcut with a portrait of Washington, is more common in so far as it is recorded mint, used and on cover (with Gibbons prices of £75,000, £17,000 and £60,000 respectively).

The most intriguing of the Postmasters stamps was the circular type-set 5c produced by Daniel Bryan at Alexandria, Virginia. It was blatantly copied by the Russian zemstvo (local) post of Aleksandria, Kherson on a 10 kopek stamp in 1870. The US stamp wasn’t discovered by philatelists until 1872. Only one example has ever been found of the 5c on blue paper. The Alexandria ‘Blue Boy’ as it’s dubbed was sold by David Feldman for $1 million in 1981.

Civil War makeshifts

The stamps of New Haven, Connecticut were handstruck direct on to white, buff or bluish envelopes in red or grey-blue, completed by the signature of the postmaster, E.A. Mitchell in various colours. These permutations and combinations gave rise to five distinct varieties which are today in the price range of £55,000-£70,000. The tiny 5c black on buff stamps from Brattleboro, Vermont are more plentiful and range from a mere £4,000 used to £13,000 mint.

In the early months of the Civil War many Postmasters in the South resorted to their own makeshifts. With the exception of the stamps from Charleston, Fredericksburg, Lynchburg, Memphis, Mobile and New Orleans, all of the Confederate locals are rare and several are unique – the 10c black on yellow from Beaumont,Texas; the circular 10c from Hallettsville, Texas; the 5c from Liberty, Virginia; the 5c woodcut of Mt. Lebanon, Louisiana; the 10c on 5c from New Smyrna, Florida and the 10c black from Port Lavaca, Texas.

The first general USA issue appeared on August 5, 1847. The stamps – in denominations of 5c and 10c – were recess-printed by the same firm (now known as Messrs Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson) and portrayed Benjamin Franklin (the first Postmaster-General) and George Washington. A total of 4,400,000 of the 5c and 1,050,000 of the 10c were printed.

Source: www.stampmagazine.co.uk

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The post office established in September 1851 wasn’t under government control but was farmed out to Henry M. Whitney, a printer and stationer of Honolulu who published a newspaper, The Commercial Advertiser. It isn’t known whether the first stamps were printed there, or at the office of the government paper, The Polynesian. The stamps were type-set and printed in September 1851, being placed on sale the following month.

The Polynesian of October 4 mentioned the three denominations of 2c, 5c and 13c. The lowest value prepaid the newspaper rate while the 5c represented the letter rate. The 13c stamp denoted the payment of three separate fees – 5c Hawaiian postage, 6c United States postage, and a 2c ship letter fee for conveying the letter from Hawaii to America. All three stamps were inscribed in upper and lower case lettering ‘Hawaiian Postage’, though the 13c was re-issued in 1852 with the inscription amended to ‘H.I. & U.S. Postage’.

Because the majority of the known examples of these stamps were discovered on correspondence from US missionaries they acquired the nickname of the ‘Missionaries’. These stamps are all major rarities, especially the 2c denomination for which there was little use, since the inland service which it was intended to represent didn’t materialise until eight years later. In any case, most 2c stamps, if used on newspaper wrappers, would have been torn and discarded when the wrapper was removed.

The stamps were printed in blue ink on extremely thin, brittle paper and thus few of the Missionaries are in perfect condition. They continued in use until 1853 when they were superseded by intaglio designs printed by Holland of Boston.

Celebratory issue

On October 24, 2002 the US Postal Service issued a miniature sheet bearing a strip of four 37c stamps, each of which reproduces one of the Missionaries including the two versions of the 13c. The sheet margins reproduce one of the most celebrated of all the entire letters, the cover addressed to Miss Eliza A. Dawson of New York, bearing the 2c and 5c Hawaiian stamps, but having the US postage paid by means of a pair of the US 3c Washington stamps. The Hawaiian stamps bear the red Honolulu postmark while the US pair were cancelled at San Francisco before the letter made the journey overland to New York.

This cover was rescued from a bonfire in 1903 when a load of waste paper was being incinerated. It was subsequently taken to a dealer who recognised its rarity and sold it to G.H. Worthington for $6,000. When the Worthington collection was sold in 1917 this realised only $6,100. It was later acquired by Alfred Caspary and when Harmers disposed of his collection in 1957 it made $25,000. A dozen years later it fetched $120,000 at the Ostheimer sale, and in 1995 was sold in New York by Siegel for a cool $2,090,000 million to a private collector, Geoffrey Brewster.

Only 28 covers bearing the Missionary stamps are known to exist, but the Dawson cover is the only one to bear the 2 cent stamp. There is also a piece bearing the 2c and 13c (first type) side-by-side. From the surviving fragment of the cover it appears to have been addressed to a Miss A… and the stamps are tied by the red San Francisco postmark of March 15, 1851. In the same 1995 auction this piece was knocked down to the US National Postal Museum for $99,000. A baker’s dozen of used 2c stamps are known off paper, including one in the Tapling Collection at the British Library in London.

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The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901 for Chemistry, Physics, Physiology or Medicine, and Peace. Early that year, the Nobel Foundation commissioned the Swedish sculptor and engraver Erik Lindberg to produce the medals for the Prizes for Chemistry, Physics, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature. These are now sometimes referred to as the “Swedish” medals. The Peace medal, occasionally called the “Norwegian” medal, was to be created by the Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland. Unfortunately, Erik Lindberg couldn’t finish designing the reverses of the Swedish medals and each of the Prize-winners received temporary medals featuring only the obverse – a bust of Alfred Nobel – cast in a base metal. The first Swedish medals were finished in September 1902 and were 66mm in diameter, weighed approximately 200g and made of 23kt gold. In 1980, the composition was changed to 18kt green gold, (75% gold and 25% silver) plated with 24kt gold. I don’t quite understand why it was necessary to make the change – considering how much money a Nobel laureate receives, I would think that they’d get a solid gold medal.

When Erik Lindberg was commissioned to design the Swedish medals, he was living in Paris, and was greatly influenced by the contemporary French engravers. He decided that all of the medals should have a common obverse with a bust of Alfred Nobel and the dates of his birth and death in Latin (NAT-MDCCC XXXIII OB-MDCCC XCVI). Lindberg finished his obverse design in October 1901 when it was sent to Janvier’s in Paris to be reduced and then cast in Stockholm. Since Gustav Vigeland, the designer of the Peace medal, was not an engraver, Lindberg was asked to produce the dies.

Lindberg decided that he would use two different reverse designs: one for chemistry and physics, the other for literature. On all of his Swedish medals is the line from Virgil’s Aeneid (6th song, verse 663), “Inventas vitam juvat excoluisse per artes.” This is loosely translated, “And they who bettered life on earth by new found mastery.” The centerpiece of the reverse of the chemistry and physics medals, according to the Nobel Foundation, is a representation of “Nature in the form of the goddess Isis, emerging from the clouds and holding in her arms a cornucopia. The veil which covers her cold and austere face is held up by the Genius of Science.” The line from Virgil’s Aeneid runs across the top of the reverse, while on the bottom is, “REG. ACAD. SCIENT. SUEC.” (The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences). The Nobel Laureate’s name is engraved prominently on a plate at the bottom of the reverse. For the Physiology or Medicine medal, Lindberg depicts the Genius of Medicine holding an open book in her lap and collecting water from a rock to give to a sick girl. On the top is the line from Virgil and on the bottom is, “REG. UNIVERSITAS MED. CHIR. CAROL.,” which stands for the Karolinska Institute. As typical of the Swedish medals, there is a plate onto which the Laureate’s name is engraved.

The last of Lindberg’s medals is for Literature, which depicts a young man sitting under a laurel tree, listening and writing the song of the Muse on the reverse. There is Virgil’s line at the top and the words “ACAD. SUEC.” (Swedish Academy) at the bottom. This medal also features the plate for the Laureate’s name. Today, these medals are cast by Myntverket, the Swedish Mint, located in Eskilstuna, Sweden.

Both sides of Vigeland’s medal for the Peace Prize differ from Lindberg’s designs. The obverse depicts an enlarged portrait of Alfred Nobel (it only shows his face as opposed to the Swedish medals which go down to his shoulders) with the same inscription as the Swedish medals circling around the perimeter of the obverse. On the reverse is a portrayal of three men, holding each other’s shoulders, which the Nobel Foundation describes as “forming a fraternal bond.” Circling around the image is the text “Pro pace et fraternitate gentium” which is translated as “For the peace and brotherhood of men.” Unlike Lindberg’s medals, the Peace medal does not have a plate onto which the name of the winner is engraved on the reverse, so the edge is used instead to inscribe “Prix Nobel de la Paix” (Nobel Prize for Peace), the year the prize was awarded, and the name of the Laureate. The Peace medal is currently cast by Den Kongelige Mynt, the Royal Norwegian Mint, located in Kongsberg, Norway.

In 1968 a sixth prize, officially titled the “Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory or Alfred Nobel,” was begun in 1968 by the Bank of Sweden on the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Bank. Gunvor Svensson-Lundqvist was asked to design the medal, which depicts Alfred Nobel on the top half of the obverse and the Bank’s crossed horns of plenty on the bottom half. Around the perimeter of the obverse is the phrase, “Sveriges Riksbank till Alfred Nobels Minne 1968” which translates as, “The Bank of Sweden, in memory of Alfred Nobel, 1968.” The reverse depicts the North Star emblem of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, with the text, “Kungliga Vetenskaps Akademien” (The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences), circled around the emblem. The name of the winner is inscribed around the edge of the medal.

There is an interesting story associated with this Prize. In 1975, there were two winners of the Economics Prize, an American, Tajalling Koopmans, and a Russian, Leonid Kantorovich. Their medals had somehow been switched before the award ceremony and the winners left Stockholm without exchanging the medals. Because of Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, it was difficult to get them to swap medals. In fact, it took four years of diplomatic efforts before they finally received their proper medals.

If there are any stamp collectors out there, you may be interested to know (or already know) that since 1961 the Swedish Post has produced stamps honoring the Nobel Laureates. The first stamp commemorating Alfred Nobel was made in 1946 and there have been several other stamps that commemorate the institutions and buildings associated with the Prize produced after. The Nobel Prize website, located at: http://nobelprize.org/nobel/stamps/index.html, features more information about the stamps along with pictures of all the stamps produced.

The Nobel Prizes have been awarded, almost continuously, since 1901, with the Economics Prize being awarded every year since it’s inception in 1968. The Prizes are awarded on December 10, with the Prizes for Chemistry, Physics, Medicine or Physiology, Literature, and Economics being awarded in Stockholm by the King of Sweden, and the Peace Prize being awarded in Oslo by the Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee in the presence of King of Norway. The reason that the Peace Prize is awarded in Norway is simple: at the time the first awards we given (1901), Norway was still under control of Sweden and when they separated in 1905 they decided to continue awarding the Prize in Oslo.

When a Laureate receives the Prize – either by the King of Sweden or the Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee – they are handed a certificate confirming the Prize money, a diploma, and, of course, the medal. The Nobel Prize is known internationally as a symbol of genius and the gift of humanity. The medals given to all Laureates showcase this theme of ingenuity and progress. While few numismatists have ever seen one of these medals, perhaps there is a numismatist and future Laureate reading this.

By Max Spiegel.

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The early Greek and Roman post systems were carried out in relays by the fleet of foot and by horse. Pigeon posts and carriages were also used in those days. Post systems are known to have been established by the pharaohs of ancient Egypt, Charlemagne, the holy Roman Emperor, King Henry VIII of Great Britain, and the leaders of the Hanseatic League of Towns, etc. The Incas and the Aztecs of the Western Hemisphere used runners for their highly efficient post systems. This was a necessity to maintain authority, collect taxes and tribute, as well as to be alerted in case of insurrection or impending invasion.

As Genghis Khan (1162-1227), the great Mongol Conqueror extended his empire over vast areas of plains, deserts and mountains, he established along his route well organized and efficient posts. Between these went dispatches of army communications and matters of state. His grandson, Kublai Khan, further improved this system, establishing over 10,000 postal and refreshment stations, with riders travelling back and forth day and night with frequent changes of horses. The Venetian traveler Marco Polo mentioned that messages of urgency were forwarded at the rate of 250 miles per day.

Later the merchants of the Hanse towns along the Baltic coast set up their Hanseatic League and employed a postal service for their own convenience and occasionally, as a favor perhaps, a message would be carried for someone not a member of the league. The counts of Thurn and Taxis established a private postal system that covered much of Europe and made their services available to all who would pay their fees. This was the beginning of our modern postal system.

In London in 1680, almost 200 years before the introduction of a modern postal system, an efficient penny post system was established by William Dockwra with over 400 receiving stations. Letters would be collected from the boxes every hour and would be stamped at the branch office with the exact time of their collection. He is supposed to have been the first to have originated the postmark indicating the date, time and place of mailing. Dockwra conflicted with James, Duke of York, and his post office was taken over and incorporated into the government postal service. It continued in operation until 1800 when it became “The Two-Penny Post.”

For centuries the old posts served only royalty, the nobility and the church since not so many people knew how to read or write. No one may claim the origin of the postal system. In one form or another it existed all over the globe wherever there were people, in all of the civilizations throughout history.

In 1837 Sir Rowland Hill, after having completed exhaustive studies of the postal service then in effect, made public his revolutionary idea. This was, reduced to its simplest expression, simply the fact that it cost no more to deliver a letter a hundred miles than it did to deliver one a few city blocks. After three years of pushing his claims the idea was officially adopted and along with it the means of collecting postage in advance – the postage stamp.

With the adoption by Great Britain on May 6, 1840 of Sir Rowland Hills’s plan, the world’s first postage stamp was born and called “Penny Black”. From then to the present, the postage stamp has been the effective instrument facilitating communication between people.

POSTAGE STAMPS IN UNITED STATES:

The use of postage stamps in the United States was not inaugurated by the government but instead by a private carrier, Alexander M. Greig of New York City. Greig established a “City Despatch Post” on February 1, 1842 which covered New York City as far north as 23rd St. He issued stamps, bearing a portrait of Washington, printed from line engraved plates.

A few months after founding this post, Greig sold out to the U.S. Government and the post became known as the “United States City Despatch Post.” The goverment began operation of this local post on August 16, 1842 under an Act of Congress of some years earlier which had authorized such local delivery. The Act of Congress of March 3, 1845, effective July 1, 1845, established uniform postal rates throughout the nation. But it was not until 1847 that Congress authorized the general use of postage stamps.

With the establishment of uniform postage rates effective July 1, 1845, Robert H. Morris, postmaster of New York City took it upon himself to issue his own postage stamps. These bore a portrait of George Washington and were printed from line engraved plates.

Thus the succession of use of postage stamps in the United States would be 1. Greig’s City Despatch (soon the US City Despatch post) from February 1, 1842; 2. The postmaster provisional stamps from July 14, 1845 and, 3. The first general issue of postage stamps authorized by Congress which were issued on July 1, 1847.

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A stamp, which is worth more used than new, is canceled by a private party with the intention of making a neat profit, it is called “canceled to deceive.” The two classes are plain out-and-out frauds, there being no way to tell between the genuinely used one and the canceled. Countries which desire to make money out of the stamp cranks without making issues too often adopt the cancellation system. But several countries issue stamps for speculation and then cancel them.

It is all very nice to have the stamps of Guatemala and other countries priced at a few cents in a canceled condition. But the catalogues call them used, which is certainly inapplicable to them. If a philatelist desires only to collect used stamps, and to do so sends to Guatemala (knowing the character of the emissions of that country priced in the catalogues as used) and has the entire set placed on a letter and addressed to himself. Is this same collector over-delighted when he receives the letter and finds the stamps are canceled, the same as he could have bought in New York for a dollar or two? I fancy I heard him praying backward and forward.

Can’t you see that the used stamps are a swindle pure and straight? So, if we wish our stamps to be such, we must buy the unused ones, and nothing would be gained by the action of these obliging governments. If collectors desire the stamps at reduced prices, why not have them surcharged “obligers,” or something of the sort, and not have them confused with the postally used ones? About the only objection to this is that they would take rank with reprints, but is not that where they belong? A Seebeck in an unused condition has no philatelic value, but if we collect only the used ones we find ourselves in as bad a “hole” as ever, for, in addition to their Seebeckism, these countries have adopted the cancellation business. This is exceptionally dangerous, as most of the Seebecks are worth more in a used condition than unused.

A collector may denounce speculative issues but buy these cancellation frauds, which, in truth, are also speculative in nature, as they are issued entirely for the benefit of philatelists. Most of the countries which issue canceled stamps are very unimportant, and thus endeavor to increase their income and also oblige the collector, all at one stroke.

The Seebecks, as also many other countries’ cancellations, properly belong to the “canceled to deceive,” as they certainly do deceive. The stamps of Guatemala, Samoa, North Borneo, and some of Hawaii, Costa Rica, Liberia, Martinique, Colombian Republic, Montenegro and several others are among these speculative countries, but it will be observed that they are not many, as many countries have not heard of this new method of defrauding collectors, but if collectors continue to buy them because they are cheap they will soon be as great a nuisance as speculative issues.

Foremost among the “canceled to deceive” come revenues used postally. Many foreign revenues are worth almost nothing as revenues, but are great rarities when they have a postal cancellation. Here is where the counterfeiter does his little part. Many acids are known which will remove ink, so that it is comparatively easy to remove the pen cancellation, used on fiscals. Then to have some obliging postmaster cancel it is also an easy matter, and presto! a change has come to pass and a valueless stamp is worth several dollars. An experienced philatelist can tell one of these changelings from a genuine cancellation by some trace of the original ink being left, but a small collector probably cannot tell them, and therefore his only course is to buy them of responsible dealers.

The reprints of several countries have been canceled by a “counterfeit killer,” and thus made to appear valuable. This is especially true of those of Heligoland.

Enormous numbers of remainders of certain countries have been sold, and thus the unused stamps are rendered common, while the used ones are scarce. It is in these countries’ stamps that a fraudulently disposed person has a grand chance, for all he has to do is to make a “killer,” and be-hold! this same “killer” in his hands becomes a magician’s wand, for with it he can make valuable stamps out of cheap ones.

But, after all, we have no right to object to these cancellation frauds if we collect speculative stamps, for they are all of a class.

GORDON C. CORBALEY
reprinted from Eastern Philatelist, October 1895

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Now She had carried on exchange relations with several members of the masculine gender for some time, yet never once had she had occasion to see any truth in that assertion. On the contrary, She had found herself taken advantage of more than once, much to her later indignation, so as She read the paragraph her bit of a nose tired a trifle more than Nature had intended it should, and with a scornful expression She treated the walls of her chamber (for, as ” walls have ears,” why shouldn’t they be addressed?) to the following homily:
“Now isn’t that just like a man? I wonder how many times he has acted up to his own light and given the “fair collector” a better exchange than was legally due! It sounds all very nice, and of course I don’t know him, but I wouldn’t be afraid to wager the entire first issue of Mauritius, if 1 had them, that he would be just as willing as any one else to get the better of a poor lone female if he saw a good opportunity. Every one is; I believe it’s an understood thing among the men that all worthless stamps, packets, etc., shall be sent to us. I’ve noticed several times when sending for packets that a better assortment comes, and fewer damaged specimens, too, when only my initials are signed instead of the full feminine name. If I should offer some good stamps for sale I don’t believe any dealer would offer as much for them as he would if I was of his own sex. I wonder-.”

But here the Idea sprang into being with a suddenness that took away her breath. She paused for a moment, vacantly eyeing a wasp playing hide-and-go-seek with himself among the lace curtains, a sight that would usually have brought her to her feet at once with horror in every feature and a flourishing towel in each hand (She detests wasps); then, coming to herself, She added emphatically, “I’ll try it! ” and, springing up, inaugurated such a vigorous war with the duster for a weapon that Mr. Wasp speedily decided that out-side air would be more beneficial to his health, and, much to her relief, departed to make the trial.

It was some months before a chance came to put the Idea into execution, but at last there came a day when She found herself in a certain well-known city, her shopping all done, and at least an hour to spare before train time. This could and should be devoted to stamps, so, making her way up the long flight of stairs that led to the rooms of a large stamp company (stamp dealers, like cream, seem to rise to the top), She entered the office and drew out some specimens brought along especially for the occasion, a valuable assortment of ancient British Colonials and hinted they were for sale – would they care to purchase?

Why, certainly, was the prompt reply; would be pleased to buy all She would bring, as they were not commonly seen. Yes, these were catalogued $3.25 apiece, those at $1.25, those others at 85 cents, etc., etc. Would She please make a price? Of course She didn’t expect to receive full catalogue valuation. She didn’t; She hadn’t expected to be so fairly treated at all, and, much surprised, She made some excuses and stumbled out, for, truth to tell, those stamps had not been brought in for sale, but only as an experiment, that She might find out whether as fair and square treatment would be given to her as to the masculines whom She knew had traded stamps with the same dealer.

About this time, however, it occurred to her that, being well known at this place as an interested philatelist, it was hardly probable that any attempt would have been made to overreach her, so She determined to try where she was unknown, pretend to a dearth of knowledge concerning what she offered, and see what the result would be. With this object in view She entered the rooms of a dealer whose name would sound familiar to the majority of the readers of this journal, and laying down a few of her specimens, remarked timidly “I have some stamps here that I understand are valuable. Would you care to purchase them?”

Mr. Dealer gave a comprehensive glance at her and her property, then, sitting down, drew a magnifying glass toward him with one hand and Scott’s Catalogue with the other, and plunged into a study of the stamps in a manner evidently intended to impress her with his great knowledge, wisdom and learning upon all matters philatelic. She could have saved him the trouble of hunting for watermarks and measuring perforations, but, remembering her purpose in coming, she held her peace and devoted the moments of silence to a diagnosis of his character, noting among other things that he had ensconced himself in the cosiest chair the office contained without asking her to take a seat at all – a little thing, to be sure, but sometimes even a straw will give a very good idea of what may be expected from the wind. The examination concluded, the Dealer looked up and inquired
“What do you want for them?”

“Their value as nearly as may be,” She meekly answered.
“And what do you suppose that to be?” he asked, with an expression in his eyes that She afterward described as “calculating.”
“I believe somewhere in the neighborhood of $15.00,” She replied, thinking that answer quite exact enough to be in keeping with the character of ignorance that She was supporting.
He looked again at the stamps, then at her, and apparently reaching the conclusion that She was as ignorant in reality as in seeming of their real value, said decidedly
“They are worth just $2.35.”
She fairly gasped, then caught her breath and gasped again, for this treatment was supporting the suspicion of unfair dealing.with her own sex in a decidedly unpleasant manner; then, indicating a group of yellow-green, She said
“I feel sure these alone are each worth more than that. They are perforated, did you notice?
“I know what they are,” snapped the Dealer, getting up with a you-can-take-it-or-leave-it expression, “and you evidently don’t.”
She actually smiled. She did know, and meant to let him see it, so, picking up the catalogue and turning to one of the countries represented by her stamps, She calmly inquired
“May I ask you to show me here how you found those prices?”
If ever a man’s face said “I won’t!” his did, but, thinking better of it, he laid a pencil-point upon the words, “2p., dark green, 60c.,” and waited triumphantly for her next words. They came, but they were not quite what he had expected.
“This price is for dark green, and unperforated,” said She slowly, looking full into his face; “those I offered you are yellow-green, perforated and catalogued at $3.25 apiece; see here (pointing to the place) – I know quite well all about it; but if my own opinion is not enough I have that of the – – Stamp Company to the same effect. They offered to buy all I could bring them, but I did not care to let these go today.” (She did not think it necessary to state the purpose for which they had been kept.)

Mr. Dealer’s face flushed a little; he actually seemed ashamed, She thought, and looked again to make sure, but he gave her-no chance. Turning his back, he stalked abruptly to the window and stood there looking out, while She, with a pucker of amusement about her lips, gathered up her stamps and left the office, dropping a polite “good afternoon” at the door, which he did not notice either by word or glance.

“I do hope I wasn’t rude,” meditated She, while picking her way down the stairs, “but it was so exasperating to have him try to get the best of me because he thought I wouldn’t know it that I couldn’t resist the temptation to let him see that I was well informed. Of course, he must know just what those stamps were – a dealer of his experience couldn’t have the excuse of ignorance. I’m indignant!”

Nevertheless, she was smiling as she hurried through the busy streets toward the railroad station, and was smiling still when she gave me the story. None of us who have heard it will ever patronize that dealer again, rightly thinking that he who will cheat in buying would be quite as apt to do so in selling. He has already lost enough orders through that bit of finesse to more than counter-balance the proper value of the stamps he tried to obtain so cheaply, for this was a real occurrence, and She and the Dealer are real, too, though I am not at liberty to reveal the identity of either.

AMY L. SWIFT.
reprinted from Eastern Philatelist, July 1896

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“Mr. Nassau has a room specially built in his house for his collection, which he calls his ‘Philatelic Studio.’ In this room, which is fire and burglar proof, is his collection, mounted in albums specially made for it. He employs four private secretaries, whose duty it is to mount the stamps as fast as they come in. Each country or colony is in a separate album. Some countries, such as the United States, Mexico, England and others, have more than one album; for instance, the United States has almost one hundred volumes.

“Mr. Nassau and his clerk showed me the collection in order – the United States first, Abyssinia next and Zululand last. I will attempt to describe the collection as near as possible. He collects all minute varieties, the collecting of which became quite a fad in 1894. His United States collection is complete, or as nearly so as possible. His provisional stamps are complete ; his 1847 are the same ; he has seventy-eight varieties of the five-cent, differing in the number of freckles on Franklin’s neck; his errors and oddities of this issue take up six pages in the album. His 1869 issue are a gem of the collector’s art. He has over 800 varieties of the three-cent of that issue, differing mainly in the number of spots in the smoke coming out of the smoke-stack, also in the difference between wood and coal smoke. He also has the rare variety discovered by Mr. Withers in 1902, the naphtha smoke variety. He has an elegant collection of double perforation, etc. His collection of grills is a masterpiece. He has every known variety of this interesting method of effacing postage stamps of the 1868, 1869 and 1870 issues. Of the 1890 issue he has the two-cent stamp with all sorts of caps on; he has only eighty-two varieties of this one stamp, and has a standing offer of $100 each for all varieties of this stamp not in his collection. The varieties of paper are also well represented.

“But the Columbian issue is his special forte. They occupy a separate album in his studio, and are perfect. The two-cent has been his particular study. The rumor (published in the dailies) that Mr. Nassau had discovered a variety of this stamp in which an Indian was offering Columbus a copy of the Philatelic World/Monthly is announced by that gentleman to be a mistake ; he authorizes our reporter to say that it is a copy of the EASTERN PHILATELIST. He has over 360 varieties of the two-cent alone.

“His United States entire envelope collection is recognized as the standard from which all catalogues and hand-books are now compiled. He has every variety of gum, from the tasteless variety to the one in which a drop of whiskey is supposed to exist. This envelope is especially supplied to the Chicago collectors by the United States Government. The total number of the United States collection is 600,000 varieties.

“But while Mr. Nassau has, no doubt, specialized in the United States part of his enormous collection, one can see that he has not slighted his foreign collection at all. His French colonial collection, with all varieties of surcharges, fills fifty volumes, everything being complete to date. Inverted, double, triple and even quadruple surcharges were there in abundance. The Colombian stamps, with those of the States of that Republic, were also fine. He has one variety of insured letter stamp with eighty-two varieties of type, not to mention combinations formed by different borders, etc. The Austrians are evidently the pride of Mr. Nassau’s heart, for he has them with every one of the Emperor’s whiskers counted. It is wonderful how many different numbers of hairs it is possible to find. They vary in number from eight to 321.

“The Indian States are another field in which Mr. Nassau has evidently worked very hard, for he has a million varieties of them. He has classified the Bulgarian stamps by the number of stripes on the lion’s tail. There are twenty-four varieties of them on each stamp.

To enumerate all of Mr. Nassau’s treasures would require more space than we have in this paper, so we will not attempt it. Suffice it to say that his collection is contained in 1500 volumes and comprises every variety of paper, gum, perforation, roulette, watermark, type, engraving and color known, and consists of over 30,000,000 varieties. It is well worth a person’s time to look it over.

Mr. Nassau is the author of several philatelic hand-books, among them a description of the stamps of Mexico, enumerating over 100,000 varieties of surcharged numbers. We hope at some future day to have the pleasure of seeing Mr. Nassau’s collection of Chinese local stamps, of which he is said to have the finest collection in existence, numbering over 20,000 varieties, the rarest one of these being the one-tael of Wampy Wum, representing a Chinaman closely pursued by a Japanese.”

reprinted from Eastern Philatelist, March 1895

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