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CHATS ON
POSTAGE STAMPS

BOOKS FOR COLLECTORS

With Coloured 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.

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 MINIATURES.
By J. J. Foster.

CHATS ON ENGLISH EARTHENWARE.

By Arthur Hayden.
(Companion Volume to •* Chats on English China.")

CHATS ON AUTOGRAPHS.

By A. M. Broadley.

CHATS ON OLD PEWTER.
By H. J. L. J. Masse, M.A.

CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS.
By Fred J. Melville.

• Chats on
Postage Stamps

FRED J. MELVILLE

PRESIDENT OF THE JUNIOR PHILATELIC SOCIETY

WITH SEVENTY-FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS

NEW YORK

FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PUBLISHERS

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 " pre-
sents no features which would at first sight differen-
tiate 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

242373

8 PREFACE

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, com-
mercial 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 minuticB 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 dis-
regarded, will not only result in the formation of
an unsatisfactory collection, but will lessen, if not

PREFACE 9

ruin, the collection as an investment. It has been
thought that as time passed on the exacting require-
ments 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 •' Half-
penny 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 n
THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN IDEA . . -77

Early instances of contrivances to denote prepayment of
postage — The '* Tyio-Sous " Post — Billets de port pay^ — 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 re-
formers and their proposals — The Lords of the Treasury start
a competition — Mr. Cheverton's prize plan — A find of papers
11

12 CONTENTS

PAGE

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 Timbrolo^e —
Philatelic periodicals — ^Justin Lallier's albums- The Phi-
latelic 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 — Pro-
posals 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.

CONTENTS 13

CHAPTER VI

PAGE

ON LIMITING A COLLECTION . . . -197

The difficulties of a general collection — The unconscious
trend to specialism — Technical limitations : Modes of pro-
duction ; 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
ceuntries.

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 : bond 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 los. and £\ "Anchor" — A too-clever "fake"
— ^Joined pairs — Drastic tests — New South Wales "Views"
and "Registered" — The Swiss Cantonals — Government
" imitations " — " Bogus " stamps.

14 CONTENTS

CHAPTER IX

PAGE

FAMOUS COLLECTIONS . . . , . 261

The "mania" in the 'sixties — Some wonderful early collec-
tions— The first auction sale — Judge Philbrick and his
collection — The Image collection — Lord Crawford's "United
States" and '* Great Britain" — Other great modern collec-
tions— M. la Renotiere's " legions of stamps " — Synopsis 01
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, o-
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, 18 18, 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

16 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGB

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 i, 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 micro-
scopic 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 im-
pressions from the plate . . . . '33

Examples of some Philatelic Terms : — A " Bisect," or " Bisected
Provisional." The One Penny stamp of Jamaica was in 186 1

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 17

PAGE

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 dotue [i.e.^ with the lines of the design
cut into the plate). The stamp is the 50 lepta of Greece, issue
of 1 90 1, showing Hermes adapted from the Mercury of
Giovanni da Bologna . . . . . 'Si

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, ((y. 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.

18 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

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 ...... i6l

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 . . . . . . iSl

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. ..... 22$

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

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 19

PAGB

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 " Collec-
tion, 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 ps^e 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

20 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

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 i H.M. the
King) 323

A specimen page rom 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 simul-
taneously 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.

B4tonn6. — See Paper.

Bisect. — A term applied to a moiety of a stamp, used
as of half the value of the entire label.

Bleut6. — 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.

Burel6. — 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.

24 PHILATELIC TERMS

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.

Cliche. — The ultimate production from the die, and of
a number of which the printing plate is com-
posed.

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 anni-
versary, centenary, &c., of some often unim-
portant 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.

A Pair of Great Britain embossed Six Pence.

A Pair of- Cape of Good Hope
Triangular Shilling,

A Block of four Great Britain
Penny Ked.

■J^-:

'mW-

IT.

Xi3Dra3VEc: Sl3riI33a5Ci:- [Lr«I:T€aCt'13r

A strip of three Grenada "4d." on Two Shillings.

EXAMPLES OF SOME PHILATELIC TERMS.

PHILATELIC TERMS 27

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 im-
pressions, 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 reproduc-
tions thereof, on which the design is cut to
varying depths, are necessarily in relief, ?>.,
embossed. And see Printing.

28 PHILATELIC TERMS

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 de-
scribing 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.

Pacsimile. — 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-mV
would injure the appearance of the stamp. And
see Chalky.

ir/k^iHtrr fh irn-m-r th* ^mifnt. (201)

r.8

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.

2ri^ M

®'2¥'i

CYPRUS CYPRUS;

Corner pair showing Current Number
"575" in margin.

Corner pair showing Plate Number " 15 "
margin. The Plate Number is also se*
in small figures on each stamp.

The above stamps are those of Great Britain overprinted for use in Cyprus.

EXAMPLES OF SOME PHILATELIC TERMS.

PHILATELIC TERMS 31

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.

32 PHILATELIC TERMS

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 impres-
sion 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 cliches
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.

;^■^'^:■■-^•^"■^•V.^;: \M

% "' .^ ^ ■•■' '^ ■' .'■' ;■' 'f ■'-' 'r

a-s!. , ' K- ,-!-> l^-C- ■ '

^^,:^: ' '^' ^y 'V f :>. ^ ^,-

5; '

■ ~ ^ i

-^ ^^ , ^ !

;c- 1

[?( ^ ^ : . . . . !

^ir :- :; :. 1

,T ■■ '-v -1^^'^. . , . , , 1

\'> . . ■ , !

^. - 1

"a? , .■ . , ,.,.., J

r-.

'^t-Miy=,i}iiiJM-%\k^^iki^^i}id'^uiM

& m

A sheet of stamps of Gambia, composed of two Panes of
sixty stamps each.

(F?

AO :

-i_

.5> "Tr 0/1 ^ «^ A

(0)

fi-,

-5

n/i

w\n

CSl

J-

The single " Crown and CA " watermark as it appears looking
from the hack of the Gambia sheet illustrated above. The
watermark is arranged in panes to coincide with the

PHILATELIC TERMS 35

B^nife. — 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 batonn^. — 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 de-
pressed 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 190 1-7 stamps
of New Zealand, the original perforation was to

36 PHILATELIC TERMS

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.

-I

CIS Oi

^^
a CO

G C5

cx;

^ r-

£ w

. '^
- . c

.2-1

•r c«

« c
o ■*-•

- Xi

!^- <u

en t3

:: Cl,

PHILATELIC TERMS 39

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 manu-
factured, 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.
BI,tonn6 is wove paper, with very distinct lines

as wide apart as those on ordinary ruled

paper.
Laid Mtonn^ : similar to batonne, but the spaces

between the distinct lines are filled in with

laid lines close together.
Quadrille paper is marked with small squares or

oblongs.

40 PHILATELIC TERMS

Eep 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 irregu-
larly, 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 with-
out at the same time destroying the im-
pression of the stamp : usually this paper is
more or less blued, owing to the use of

PHILATELIC TERMS 41

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.

Perc^ is a French term denoting slits or pricks, no
part of the paper being removed, in contradis-
tinction to perforated, in which small discs of
paper are punched out. There are several kinds
of pergage, or, in English, rouletting : —

Perc6 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

42 PHILATELIC TERMS

more curved than, the perforations on the
edges of an ordinary perforated stamp.

Perc6 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.

Perc^ en pointe denotes that the slits are com-
paratively large and cut evenly in zigzag,
so that the edges of a stamp show a series
of equal-sided triangular projections.

Perc6 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.

Perc6 en scie is somewhat similar to perc^ 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.

Perc6 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 piqu^. This word implies
removal of small discs of paper, not simply slits
or cuts. And see Perc6.

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

PHILATELIC TERMS

14
13V«

• •9mm»f %—••••

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 centi-
metres in length and con-
taining a varying number of
dots from, say, 6 to 17 or 1 8.
A stamp, the edge of
which shows holes (per-
forated) corresponding in
spacing and number to the
row on the gauge marked, ""
say " 12," is said to be "per
forated 12." If the stamp J^'T
gauges the same on all four

•■■•••••»■••»•

sides, it is simply " perforated .,

101

9\k

7Vz

" ; if the top and bottom
are of one gauge, say 12,
and the sides, say, 14, the
stamp would be perforated I
" 12 X 14." If the gauge q^^
varies on each of the four
sides — an unlikely combina-
tion— then the order of
noting same is, top (say 12), ^y^
right (say 11), bottom (say 5
13), and left (say 15) — "per- ^y^
forated I2x 11 x 13 x 15."
In the above the gauges are perforation gauge.
supposed to be regular.

Should, however, the gauge be irregular, the
extremes are noted even if not showing on the
stamp : for instance, a stamp may be per-
3

44 PHILATELIC TERMS

forated 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
1 6 J, all quite distinct over a particular space.
This would be termed "perforated 14, 16,
1 6 J," 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) " x 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 com-
binations 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, " <piXog " (= fond
of) and ^^ariXEia" (= exemption from tax) —
signifies a fondness for things (vz'js.y stamps)
which denote an exemption from tax, i.e., that
the tax, or postage, has been paid. The word

PHILATELIC TERMS 45

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 Perc^.

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 cliches 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

46 PHILATELIC TERMS

practice undoubtedly opens the door to pos-
sible 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 indenta-
tion on the surface of the paper and a corre-
sponding 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. "Litho-
graphy" 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 tem-
porary want of the proper stamp, which may
have been unexpectedly sold out, or may not
have been supplied owing to lack of time.

Quadrille. — See Paper.

PHILATELIC TERMS 47

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 — retouchhig is generally under-
taken to remedy minor defects caused by wear
and tear: re-setting suggests slight re-arrange-
ment of stamps made up, wholly or partly, of
printer's type ; re-engravings the replacing of
parts of a design worn away by use or inten-

48 PHILATELIC TERMS

tion : 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.

Eevenue. — 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

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 perc6 en points
(pin-perforated), which see.

Rouletted. — See Perc6.

Rouletted in coloured lines is a variety of rou letting,
and always so termed, in which the slits or
cuts are made by means of type ("printer's
rule ") a little higher than the cliches or stereos

PHILATELIC TERMS 49

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 con-
tractor 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 Perc6 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).

50 PHILATELIC TERMS

Stationery. — See Entires.

Stereotype or stereo. — A reproduction of the original
design, made by means of a papier-mache 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 affect-
ing 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.

Tdte-b^che is a French expression signifying the in-
version of one stamp of a pair (or more) in
relation to the other stamp (or stamps) : natur-
ally, 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.

i)i

«<-s.^.

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.

PHILATELIC TERMS 53

Type. — A representative common design, as distin-
guished from "variety," which indicates slight
deviations therefrom.

Type-set. — Stamps — e.^,, the 1862 issue of British
Guiana — have sometimes been set up with
ordinary printet'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 pro-
duced 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 b^tonn^. — See Paper.

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 diplomator—Tdt 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. i. Aerial Building, London."

68 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 Depart-
ment 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

THE GENESIS OF THE POST 59

he might be smitten and die. The unfortunate
Uriah was himself the rn., ..^.., ucci^.n^ ^...
letter to Joab with his ovv,i 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 Govern-
ment 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 (posttus=p\diced), 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

60 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 mono-
poly 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 15 16

THE GENESIS OF THE POST 61

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 Treves, 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 Revolu-
tion, 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, Bruns-
wick, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Holstein, Oldenburg,
Lauenburg, Luxemburg and Saxony had indepen-
dent 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 185 1, 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 com-
pletion of the consolidation of the German Empire
by purchasing for three million thalers (approxi-
mately ;£"450,ooo) the last remaining rights of the

62 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

house of Thurn and Taxis in the postal affairs of
Germany.

In England the royal Nuncii et Cur sores 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 Crom-
well, 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 Cam-
bridge. His memory is perpetuated in the common
expression of " Hobson's choice." The innkeeper

THE GENESIS OF THE POST 63

kept a stable of forty good c«fcttle, but made it a
rule that any who came to hire a horse was obliged
to take the one nearest the stable dobr, " 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) con-
veyed 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 gd.

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

m CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

^*Uv^ II. upon his son, the Duke of York, afterwards

^^^^ff^ James II., and the latter took care upon his acces-
Hg^'^^ sion to the throne to secure the continuance of his
^ enjoyment of its revenues.
Jr^^^ ^ 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 establish-
ing 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 power-
ful 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

( « )

The Pradical Method .

O V THE

PENNY POST

Being a Sheet very ncccffiiry for all Perfons to luvc by them,

For their Information in the Regular Ule of a De-

\ {ign fo well Approved of, for quicken Ing Corre-

fpondencc, Promoting Trade and PiihiickGood,

pyah an Exf lunation of the following Stamps fur the
Mtirl^ng of nil Letters,

Jrh w IIP .

^ b,Co

fadjc I 0 r T^t cc, 1 1 <, 3 ^

vjn^bc-"i.ru I omcF V\t. ii^
cnll) fiomuicl nora! i,in<ir i\k ^ ,
Convi-'ced, b> u.n ind cxjcuc ,\
Un 1 rnki irs Compk t , for rl c *u.
d fti>, niuch (.\pcicc of urt^ a d
fortTiLr M(.tkd:>, ^Cthtj loix ;\ n
Irsbccii much Noil, il o t tiie j uk
Ferry Ifjf, w'licli h s rifen thir h i
the UndorUkcrs c..n fufrciei^ly Evid<.i c \
ready to produce, for the Jufti'icstion or U-
" 'fo many Caulicfs and Unjuft R.:.

it hi^ly Ntceilary to undeceive t! _
Tpring, vtz. Some Men fuppoR-, :

atleai Delayed,) becaufethey Lavs ;x-

1 o f •

sard

Ten Pourd n

w !.l D

iLn^sof

Lc UiO ? rr

.1 , h^rc-

d Buiit c< J

n-^ ui «

sfor

aD(

»fca\eTp i\

1^.

sof

ndsCrarfc ii.

Good , t

1 I .

ch (it

'^pr3

i tt hj he

tc,cf{

il P0 5l

Will 11

, iiid 1 CJ

liN>.v

> 1 »\<- \ rh

r t ll!

n L

ch Alu ti)

in 1

!•;

-1.

■> \\\ \

S 1

^y^

THE GENESIS OF THE POST 67

their chances of employment, vented their spleen
in the manner of vulgar rioters.

Proceedings were taken against Dockwra for in-
fringement 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 1 80 1, 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 ;£"ioo 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 pro-
moter 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 HI., 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

68 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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
regime 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
Between 15 and 20 miles...

120

170

230

300

'.*'

.. 4u.

.. 6d.

.. 7d.

.. 8d.

.. 9d.

.. lOd.

.. iid.

.. I2d.

and one penny in addition on each single letter for
every 100 miles beyond 300. These rates did not
include " id. in addition to be taken for penny
postage" and in certain cases toll-fees.

Under these rates, a single letter to Kirkwall
from Southampton cost is. ^d. ; to London 9d.,

APosT-CrMCE IV 17SG.

By permission of the Proprietors of the City Pre

THE GENESIS OF THE POST 71

plus the penny postage ; Cork is. 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.

I oz. Letter.

1830.

1911.

Austria

2S. 3d.

... 2jd.

Brazil x

Buenos Aires I

Chili, reru, &c. J

3s. 5d.

... 2id.

Canary Islands

2s. 6d.

... 2id.

Germany

IS. 9d.

... 2jd.

Hayti

2S. iid.

... 2id.

Honduras

2S. I id.

... 2id.

Portugal

2S. 2d.

... 2jd.

Russia

2S. 3d.

... 2jd.

Spain

2S. 2d.

... 2id.

Sweden

IS. 8d.

... 2jd.

Turkey

2S. 2d.

... 2id.

United States

2S. id.

... Id.

British West Indies and )
British North America 1

2S. id.

... Id.

Malta, Gibraltar

2S. 2d.

... Id.

St. Helena

IS. 8id.

... Id.

The registration fee on foreign letters was, in the
early nineteenth century, one guinea per letter ; to-
day it is twopence.

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

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."

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 gUEEN VICTORIA WITH POSTAL REFORM ARE RECORDED.

74 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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.

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 prepay-
ment 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-col-
lectors deem the objects of their interest to have
achieved a vast reform in internal and universal
communications, giving a powerful impetus to social

THE GENESIS OF THE POST 75

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

1880 ..

1,176,423,600

1850 .

.. 347,069,071

1890 ..

1,705,800,000

i860 .

564,002,000

1900 ..

. 2,323,600,000

1870

862,722,000

I9I0 ..

2,947,100,000

THE

DEVELOPMENT
OF AN
IDEA

CHAPTER II

THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN IDEA

Early instances of contrivances to denote prepayment of postage — The
"Two Sous" 1*051 — Billets de port pay i — A passage of wit
between the French Sappho and M. PelHsson — 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

80 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 person-
ally, 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 ditre 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

THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN IDEA 81

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 " \.viO'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 payd of M. de
Villayer are in the two fragments of correspondence
between M. Pellisson and the French Sappho, Mile.

82 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

Scud^ri. Pellisson, who was not noted for his good
looks, addressed " Mademoiselle Sapho, demeurant
en la rue, au pays des Nouveaux Sansomates^ k Paris,
par billet de port pay6." 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 post-
ing 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 correspon-
dence through the posts, and in the last quarter of
that century the Chevalier Paris de I'Epinard pro-
posed 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.

There is a curious account given by a corre-
spondent in The Philatelic Record \yi\\. 138] of some

"<;i

- o

- K
w H

k2
|o

a: 2

THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN IDEA 85

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 dis-
covered 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 no-
body has been able to bring them to light, conse-
quently 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 X 19 centimetres ; whilst the side which is most
interesting to us — the * address ' or * stamp ' side —
is folded to a size of 103 x 88 mm. Up to the
present the following values have been found : —

black

red
black

(daukli; that is to say, two stamps
** 1 of 6 stivers side by side.

red

*' 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

3 stivers

...

5 »

...

5 n

...

6 „

...

6 „

...

10 „

...

10 „

...

IS .»

...

MANIFESTO

CAMERALE

toTlstitt notificanza che la Carta Postale-bollata , stabillta
colle Regie Pateoti delH 7 (lello scorso novembre , sara
prowisionalmeote posta in corso noo filagraoata ; della
dfhoeniiobe ordlnaria della Carta cos\ delta da Lcttere ,
« munltQ dei bolli retaiivi alie tre quality della medesima
pienamente cooformt agH impmoti tvi delioeati.

In data delU 3 dicembre 1818.

TORINO ,

DALLA STAMPERIA REALE.

THE OFFICIAL NOTIFICATION OF DECEMBER 3, I818, RELATING TO
THE USE OF THE SARDINIAN LETTER SHEETS.

Described In tht records of the Schroeder collection as "tlie oldest ofAcial
notification of any country in the world relating to postage stamps."

3. Che air epoca in cui comincier^ la distrlbuziooe dcIU
nuova carta filagranata cesser^ V uso della carta bollala
Hon filagranata ; e che i foglj rimanenti della raedestma
potranno essere cangiati contro altrettanll della ouova
con filagraoa.

I diversi boUi che verranno appostl sovra la carta prov-
iri&ionale non filagranata , saraono pienamenle cooformi
agP impronti infra delineati , i quali unitamenle ai loro
modclli , ed agli esemplari della carta suddetta sono stati
depositati negli Archivj nostrl giusta il disposto dalTar-
ticolo 2 delle mentovate Regie Palenti- delli 7 dello
scorso novembre. ^

Modelli de BoHu

nfandiamo il prescnte pubblicarsi ai luoghi , e modi soliti,
ed alle copie che ne verranno stampate nella Stamperia
Rcalc prestarsi la stessa fede che all' originale.

Dat, in Torino li ire dicembre mille ottocento diciolto.

Per delta Eccellentissima Regia
CAMERA

FAVA.

{Continuation from previous P<^.)

THE MODELS SHOW THE DEVICES FOR THB THREE DENOMINA-
TIONS : 15, 25, AND 50 CBNTBSIMI RESPECTIVELY.

88 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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."

The foregoing statement is open to much ques-
tion, 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
confreres.

The Sardinian letter sheets of the early nineteenth
century are now tolerably well known to stamp-
collectors. They, however, represented a Govern-
ment 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
18 1 8, a system whereby the people for whom the
Government post was inconvenient, if not absolutely

SARDINIAN LETTER SHEET OF 1818 : 15 CENTESIMI.

11.

THE 25 CENTESIMI LETTER SHEET OF SARDINIA.

Issued in Sardinia, 1818 : the earliest use of Letter Sheets with
embossed stamps.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN IDEA 91

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 de-
nominations, 15, 25, and 50 centesimij 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.

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 Chartae Sigillatse deputies,
or by other persons appointed for that purpose by
the General Chartae Sigillatse 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.

92 CHATS ON POSTAGE ^STAMPS

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

y system, not very different in principle from that of

Great Britain in 1840.

I now come to the period of the active development

;5f:jvn-.

-a

Ju^ Crr^/i€n%^^

//4

f^^M'^^^^^\

THE HIGHEST DENOMINATION, $0 CENTESIMI, OF THE SARDINIAN
LETTER SHEETS.

'! ; • ' ; :?; til. W. x :'s-: or L>>hI)< o\\\y\

' • i -ONE PENNY.- \V.i^:ht ,u>t t- fer!^^^ -.

j^^^jg^^^.'

Jy^y'

./y>r^^

'J.^-/^^'^ -

>^^

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, I84O.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN IDEA 95

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." ^ 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
18 1 8 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

* "Select Committee on Postage, First Report, 1838," p. 122,
questions 1829, 1830.

96 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

stamped bands for the prepayment of postage on
printed matter.^

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 success-
ful 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 Know-
ledge," 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 recom-
mended 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

* It should be remembered that newspapers had for many years
(since 17 12) been the subject of a tax, and until 1855, when the
newspaper tax was abolished, such papers passed through the post
free.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN IDEA 97

rate of a penny by the distributors of stamps in the
same way as receipt stamps." ^

Mr. Knight had made the proposal referred to in a
private letter to Lord Althorp, Chancellor of the
Exchequer.2

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 AthencBum^^ he
stated in that journal that " I have simply said I
believe I was the first who proposed the system

* Hansard^ xxxiii., p. 12 14.

" Athenceum^ No. 1836, January 3, 1863, p. 18.

3 Nos. 1834 (December 20, 1862) and 1835 (December 27, 1862).

98 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

of a small uniform rate of postage to be prepaid
by stamps." When Mr. Knight entered upon the
Athencsum 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 pre-
payment 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 gentle-
man of scientific eminence, would not have been
better suited to a costermonger returning from
Greenwich fair than to mine."

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

*'0 f «^:'<:

THE "JAMES CHALMERS" ESSAY.

ROUGH SKETCHES IX WATEK-COLOLKS SUBMITTED BY
ROWLAND HILL TO THE CHANCELLOR OF THE
EXCHEQUER FOR THE FIRST POSTAGE STAMPS.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN IDEA lOT

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.

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 Dis-
trict 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,"^ 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, t^^ fi^st 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

* Second edition 1838.

iOSr CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

proposals in competition for prizes of ;f 200 and ;£"ioo,
for the best and next best proposals. My Lords
stated that in the course of the inquiries and discus-
sions 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 : —

" I. 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 ;f400,
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 com-
petitors. 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.

However, in May, 1910, an article which I con-

HITHERTO UNPUBLISHED EXAMPLES OF THE PROPOSALS
SUBMITTED TO THE LORDS OF THE TREASURY IN
1839 IN COMPETITION FOR PRIZES OFFERED IN CON-
NECTION WITH THE PENNY POSTAGE PLAN.

{From the Author's Collection.)

103

THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN IDEA 105

tributed 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 pro-
mised 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 un-
availing, 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 Craw-
ford, who prepared and subsequently read before
the Royal Philatelic Society a scholarly reconstruc-
tion 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 191 1.

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

106 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 com-
bination 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 i8i8 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 is. 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."

// ^^-^ /L^.^^^

yy^ ^^

^ /

P'l.JL^

'-l^^'Z^y^

THE ADDRESS SIDE OF THE MODEL LETTER WHICH HAS THE
STAMP (SHOWN BELOW) AFFIXED TO THE BACK AS A SEAL.

yy A^/y^^if^^^ ^. e^ /'^■^-o^ A^

ANOTHER OF THE UNPUBLISHED ESSAYS SUBMITTED IN THE
COMPETITION OF 1839 FOR THE PENNY POSTAGE PLAN.

{From the Author's Collection.)
107

THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN IDEA 109

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.y 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 Mul-
ready 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 em-
bedded 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 Com-
mittee 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 Athenceum for April 28, 1838,
on the thread paper. ^ Mr. Dickinson's firm was at
that time supplying the regular Athenceum 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

* Mr. John Collins Francis refers to this issue in his two volumes,
"John Francis and The Athernxunty^ published by Bentley in 1888.

110 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

using the penny "post-frees." There are several
kinds with inscriptions reading " Houses of Parlia-
ment," " House of Lords," and " House of Commons."
These were in use from January i6th, 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 I, 1840, when Sir Rowland Hill reports,
"Great bustle at the Stamp Office" — £2,soo 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."

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.^ It was not the public lack of

^ It is said to have cost ;^ 1,000; the art of the label cost, to
Mr. Corbould ;^I2 I2s., to Mr. Heath ^CS^ lOs.

Ill

112 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 i per cent., I
believe), shows that the demand for them is com-
paratively insignificant"

SOME

EARLY

PIONEERS

PHILATELY

CHAPTER III

SOME EARLY PIONEERS OF PHILATELY

** Hobbyhorsical " collections — The application ot 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
Timbrologic — 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 curiositi.

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

lis

116 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 tessercB of a mosaic. At these times collect-
ing 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

EARLY PIONEERS OF PHILATELY 117

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. Moens, started collecting about 1855,
and produced the earliest of the continental periodi-
cals 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 begajm
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

118 OHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 i860 that Dr.
Viner took up the pursuit on his own behalf. And
with i860 and the next few years we have evidences
of the spread of the newer form of stamp-collecting,
which was to givQ 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 com-
paratively 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 keard
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."

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 i860 in Birchin
Lane, London, where crowds of youngsters used to

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A POSTAGE STAMP "CHART "—ONE OF THE EARLY FORMS OF
STAMP-COLLECTING.

119

EARLY PIONEERS OF PHILATELY 121

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. Charac-
teristic examples of the conversation at these gather-
ings 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 p
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 green-
ness 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. Mahd
tells in his reminiscences. For a long period she

122 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

held "le sceptre dans le royaume des timbres,
royaume ou 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 sug-
gestion 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 collect-
ing 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. Stain-
forth 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 informa-
tion to impart. Perhaps a too abundant good-nature

EARLY PIONEERS OF PHILATELY 123

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 1 860-61,
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 Phil-
brick, K.C., and Mr. Hughes- Hughes, who had been
called to the Bar in 1842. There was also a physi-
cian in Dr. Viner, a young merchant in Mr. Mount
Brown, and a youngster in his 'teens, who occa-
sionally 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. Pember-
ton 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

124 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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

EARLY PIONEERS OF PHILATELY 125

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. Frangois 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 Poti-
quet 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 employe
of the French Ministry, essayed to present his cata-
logue 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 {lithographies^ gravis en
tailk'douce^ typographies and, more remarkable still,

126 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

he states when the specimens are perforated
(^piques).

The catalogue of Francois Valette — " P^re 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 drudit, 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 ambi-
tious 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: (i) Genealogical; (2) heraldic;
(3) systematic, the latter being a scheme for arrang-
ing the stamps according to their colours for com-
parison.

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

EARLY PIONEERS OF PHILATELY 127

preferred the style of " timbrophile," while M. G.
Herpin produced by a combination of the Greek
words (piXog (" philos " = fond of), arEXna (" ateleia "
= exemption from tax) the word Philatele, 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 Soci^t6 Fran^aise de Tim-
brologie.

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 reminis-
cence 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 his-
torian, 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

128 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 Contro-
versialist^ 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 pre-
cise in our knowledge of the early issues of stamps.
Le Timbre' Poste^ of Brussels (i 863-1 900), 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.
Moens. 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 cacoethes scribendiy
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

EARLY PIONEERS OF PHILATELY 129

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 in-
tegral portions of them to beautify the purely com-
mercially 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 distin-
guished 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, ex-
tending the popularity of the stamp collector's hobby

130 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

in every country which has seen the dawn of civilisa-
tion, and moreover creating a bond of universal
brotherhood which makes Philately a world-wide
Freemasonry, and an " open sesame " to the fellow-
ship and hospitality of collectors everywhere.

ROLL OF PRESIDENTS AND VICE-PRESI-
DENTS OF THE ROYAL PHILATELIC
SOCIETY, LONDON.

Presidents.

Sir Daniel Cooper, Bart, F.R.G.S., April lo, 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.

FORMING A
COLLECTION

CHAPTER IV

ON FORMING A COLLECTION

The cost of packet collections— The beginner's album— Acces-
sories— 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 speci-
mens, 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

185

136 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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: — |

per packet*;

500 varieties from

3s.

6d.

4s. pe

1,000 „

1 2s.

15s.

1,500

30s.

35s.

2,000 „

4SS.

£^

3.000 „

;^8

£S los.

4.000 „

;^I3

lOS.

£h

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 com-
prehensible than if scattered meagrely through a
wilderness of blank, or nearly blank, pages. If
the stamps are carefully arranged in a small album.

ON FORMING A COLLECTION 137

a rare delight will be found later on, when the col-
lection is bulging the first album covers, in transfer-
ring 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 here-
after), 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

138 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 float-
ing 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 re-
moved 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 treat-
ment 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 pro-
cess 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

ON FORMING A COLLECTION 139

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

140 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 his-
torical 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 en-
deavours 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 read-
ing, and that no grease-stained finger should unfasten
the clasps or turn the leaves of a book " ; it should
be no less a part oC-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

ON FORMING A COLLECTION 141

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 pro-
cess 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 " un-
used," and so on until after the proverbial seventy
times seven the stamp would come within the cate-
gory of "soiled." So, too, with each successive

142 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 pos-
sible, 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, \ in.) slips of similar paper, gummed at

ON FORMING A COLLECTION 143

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 -^ 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 con-
siderably 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 : ii may,

144 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 quadrille 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 9J in. high by
7 in. wide, then the gauge would be thus, cut out
of fairly stout white cardboard with a sharp knife : —

,7m.,

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

ON FORMING A COLLECTION 145

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 equi-
distant from the centre. The former is the prefer-
able 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 of

No. in

stamp.

row.

Centre

li"

ItV

If"

IT^"

lA"

2^V

ItV

III

Ifl

2^V

146 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

Width of No. in
stamp. row. Centre.

5 2 I C I 2

5 Iff M c fl Iff -

r 4 I| i . i If

5 iH H c H iH

1«M

t? 4

0 '/

6 2/^ l/^ ,V . A IH 2^

7 2t\ I^ ^ C ^ I^ 2A

4 i^ i ■ J ItV

5 Iff fi c fl iM

6 27»T I^V A • /^ I^V 2^

7 2if lif ^ C iJ IM 2^1

4 li i . i i^

2t If f C f If 2|

2*1^1. i Ij 2j

2i li 4 C i If 2i

2ii IH II T^ • ^ H IH 2^

lA i • J itV

6 2^ li t'? . 1^ li 2t^

7 2^4 IH if C if lil 2M

8 2j iH ^ ^ . tV ^ iH 2j

4 If J . i i|

5 lii H c H lii

6 2t^ It^ ^ . T^ ItV 2tV

7 2^ IT^^ A C t\ It^ 2^^
2| I| I i . i I I| 2|
2ii IM lA tV C t2^ Ij% III 2H

I^ i . i IVV

TT 4 *TS

5 Iff f^ c H Iff

6 2tV li -a . tV iJ 2tV

7
8

4 ^ , , ,

5 li t c t li
lyf lya T5 • T^ Itf IT6

7 2§ li f C f Ij 2§

8 2| If f i . * ^ If 2i

9 2| 2 li i C 4 Ij 2 2|

10 2|| 2/t Iff ft /^ . sV ff Iff 2^^ 2^1

2tV ii ts ' tV iJ 2tV

2^ Iff fl C ^^ IH 2/7

2^ li If * . i If If 2^

2M Iff IfV ff C if lA I|i 2fl

Ij J . i li

ON FORMING A COLLECTION 147

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 quadrille 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

148 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 judg-
ment 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 circum-
stances 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

ON FORMING A COLLECTION 149

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 supers

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 inspira-
tion ; 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

150 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 with-
drawal, supersession, or demonetisation ; the
quantity of remainders (if any), and what became
of them.

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

163

154 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 lan-
guages, and are sent out to show postal ofificers 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-ofBce. 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

SCOPE OF A MODERN COLLECTION 155

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 £7^,

These things do happen, but in the " legitimate "
stamp-collecting they are necessarily of rarer occur-
rence in these days of popular newspapers, over-
educating in certain directions, or at least pander-
ing 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 accumu-
lation 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

156 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

Judge) Philbrick and the late Mr. W. A. S. Westoby,
and published by the Philatelic Society, London, in
1 88 1. This book was sold by auction after Mr.
Peacock's death, and realised only ;^I9, 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.

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 collec-
tion the early history of the Post Office in this
country, and have been fortunate enough to secure

THE SMALL " EXPP:RIMEXTAL" 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.
(C/. next plate.)

167

SCOPE OF A MODERN COLLECTION 159

several of those rarce 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 con-
venient for inclusion with the stamp collection, but
those relating to the issuance of stamps should be
included where possible. The original of the " pre-
tended 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 " associa-
tion 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 q% 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 pre-

160 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

payment. 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 facsimt/es of Ormond Hill's pattern instruc-
tions for the paper for the Ten Pence and Shilling
adhesives in " Great Britain : Embossed Adhesive

THE TWO PEXCE, GREAT BRITAIN, OX " 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

SCOPE OF A MODERN COLLECTION 163

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.

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 collec-
tion 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 manu-
script 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.

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 cliche^
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 clichi showing only the obverse with the Queen's
head is more convenient for mounting in the album,

'<r*

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

y-^/

CfVlK^

r -J.

o
«

165

SCOPE OF A MODERN COLLECTION 167

in a heavily sunk card, and protected with "glass"
paper.

Original drawings are in nearly every case unique
in themselves. Curiously enough, Mulready is sup-
posed 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,^ 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 Jafifray 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 " id." in
pencil, and similarly " 2d." across the one in blue.

Original drawings of issued stamps very rarely
» " Fifty Years of Public Life," p. 63.

168 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 collec-
tion 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.^ 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.^ 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,

* Illustrated in ** British Central Africa and Nyasaland Protectorate,"
by Fred J. Melville, 1909.

» See further in "The Postage Stamps of the Fiji Islands," by
Charles J. Phillips, 1908.

SCOPE OF A MODERN COLLECTION 169

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

ORIGINAL SKETCH FOR THE " CANOE '
OF FIJI STAMPS.

TYPE

to submit the stamp to Mr. MacWhirter, whose reply
admits of no doubt.

*^ 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
Dunthome, Vigo Street.

" Truly,

'•J. MacWhirter.
"F.J. Melville, Esq."

170 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 Athenceum^ 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 un-
authorised 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, 19 10).
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
jnissionary.

SCOPE OF A MODERN COLLECTION 171

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 succes-
sive printings, and where they exist re-issues, re-
printings, 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 indi-
vidual "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 employes 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 littlq over seventy

172 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 en-
graver Herbert Bourne (i 825-1907), 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 practi-
cally 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 en-
graver, was never forged to defraud the Government,

engraver's proof of the queen's head die for the first
adhesive postage stamps, with note in the hand-
writing of edward henry corbould attributing the
engraving to frederick heath.

173

SCOPE OF A MODERN COLLECTION 175

neither have the stamps been successfully imitated
to deceive the collector.

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 " POST-
AGE ", 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

176 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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.^ 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 inver-
sion 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 chang-
ing 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 £^0^

* See the obituary of Charles Heath in The Art Journal^ 1849,
p. 20, and the argument in my " Great Britain : Line- engraved
Stamps."

!1!

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m^§kM w^kM wUk

m^%m<wm

n^im^.

Z 0

■^

177

SCOPE OF A MODERN COLLECTION 179

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 un-
doubted " proof " of Cape Colony, the celebrated
id. red-brown triangular stamp on paper water-
marked Crown over CC, as an issued stamp, and
to pay a fabulous sum for the privilege of possess-
ing 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.

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 col-
lectors. 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 IS. 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

>*'

180 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 i 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 £2$ — some thou-
sands per cent, over the catalogue quotation for
single copies.

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

'J J

■^■y ^^^jx-o- ^yy^^-i'^j '^-^^

'yc^.

-O::

AX ENVELOPE BEARING THE RARE STAMP ISSUED IN 1 846 BY THE
POSTMASTER OF MILLBURY, MASSACHUSETTS.

) J I ' / /

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

SCOPE OF A MODERN COLLECTION 185

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.

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 con-
taining only unused specimens would indeed be an
" ill-roasted ^g%r 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 excep-
tional interest out of all proportion to "catalogue."
In a specialised price list before me at this moment
it is priced at ;£"io, less 25 per cent, for the entire
letter ; one used on the following Sunday, May

186 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

loth, IS priced at £1$.^ 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 post-
marks 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 Ss.,

^ I mention these and certain other quotations, not as standard valua-
tions, but to indicate the comparative importance of these and other
factors in determining the rarity of individual specimens.

•

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mmijo "itc *

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i.^-^

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187

SCOPE OF A MODERN COLLECTION 189

orange 7s. 6d., yellow 15s., vermilion 4s., carmine
2s. 6d.

Beyond the items the character of which I have
indicated as desirable in the historical collection,
there are others, which will readily suggest them-
selves to the collector who develops a keen enthusiasm
for his specialite. 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 ^L--^
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 speciality 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 news-
papers specially devoted to Philately, such as The
Postage Stamp (weekly) in Britain and MekeeVs
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 con-
siderable importance. Further, the original Act,

100 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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.

WITH THE HON. J. G. WARDS COMPLIMENTS.

3n cye-ixdina jot ijout acceptaticc tfiio, ovu o| t-fte -f^ia-t atticfeo
jxx>tcd itnSc* tkc ^nivctaai ^mnvj So>tcu^ ocf\^\ni. an3 9at«-

MOW tfu5 Ma^on:> aw*ttn<J*, an3 ttiot tfuxt t4» \yta^ wW\c'\

GBMEKAL POST OFPlCE.

WELLINGTON. NJl

Another is a typewritten circular calling for designs
from artists in competition for the new stamps of the
Australian Commonwealth, and I was recently in-
debted to a correspondent in Pretoria for sending me
the following notice, the historic interest in which
needs no enlarging upon from me.

DESIGNS AND COLOURS OF THE STAMPS

THAT WJIL KK IN l.-!. .Mji-R

APRIL THE I-i. 1884.

A ROUGHLY PRINTED CARD SHOWING THE DESIGNS AND COLOURS FOR
THE UNIFIED "POSTAGE AND REVENUE" STAMPS OF GREAT!
BRITAIN, 1884.

191

A '^-^W

Union of South Jlfrica.

li fs notified that a new postage stamp of
the 2sd. denonif nation will f9e 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
ciflminating 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.

THE FIRST POSTAGE STAMP OF THE PRESENT REIGN, TOGETHER
WITH THE POST OFFICE NOTICE CONCERNING ITS ISSUE ON
NOVEMBER 4, I9IO.

193

194 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

This class of document should be the more acces-
sible 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 dis-
appointment 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 im-
mediately 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 !

INTRODUCTION OF

CEflRCE V. POSTAGE STAMPS

SALE OF LETTER CARDS, THIN POST-CARDS AND
BOOKS OF STAMPS AT FACE VALDE.

REDDCTIOS IN PRICES QF EMBOSSED ENVELOPES A WRAPPERS

Halfpenny and Penny adhesive Postage Stamps of new design bearing
the eflBgy 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 ets 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 priced of the principal articles
of stamped stationery WHICH WILL APPLY TO ARTICLES BOTH
OF THE PRESENT AND THE NEW ISSUES, will tak!e effect on
Coronation Day:-?-

POST-CARDS.--Thin post-cards bearing id. stamp*4d, each (Swjut
post-cards will c«ntinue to be sold at 6d a packet of 11, or fd. for
a single card)
LETTER CARDS bearing Id. stamp—lch eack

BOOKS OF STAMPS— Books containing eighteen Id. and twelve
id. stamps of George V design will be issued at an early date— price
2s. each. Pending their issue the present books, containing eighteen
Id. and eleven *d stamps of Edward Vn. design, will, on and after
the 22nd of June, be sold for Is 11 id instead of 2s. as at present.
ESiBOSSED ENVELOPES -

Court size (bearing Id. stampr==ls a packet of 11
Commercial size (bearing Id. stamp)— 2s a packet of 23
Foolscap size (bearing *a stamp)--»ls. a packet of 21.
Commercial size (bearing ^d stamp)— Is. a packet of 22.
NEWSPAPER WRAPPERSr-(Bearing id stamp)— la. a packet of 22.
(Bearing Id. 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 Ist of July.

"•^"•^iS-h iJ^'iaT"^^ By Command of the Postmattter general.

THE OFFICIAL NOTICE OF THE ISSUE OF THE NEW STAMPS OF

GREAT BRITAIN FOR THE REIGN OF KING GEORGE V.

195

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

199

200 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 rudi-
ments 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 fascina-
tion. 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.

ON LIMITING A COLLECTION 201

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 respon-
sible 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 them-
selves 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 them-
selves afford ample scope for a big collection, those

202 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 interest-
ing 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 oppor-
tunity 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 con-
stant 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
;f 30,000, was limited to European stamps. But Europe

ON LIMITING A COLLECTION 203

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 them-
selves 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 attri-
buted— 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

204 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

< I

o
55

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ON LIMITING A COLLECTION 205

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 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 Of 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).

Dominican Republic.
Haytian Republic.

(d) With or without —

Liberia.

206 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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.
Tahiti.

(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 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,

ON LIMITING A COLLECTION 207

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.

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 : bond 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-collect-
ing 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
an

212 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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

COLLECTING AS AN INVESTMENT 213

of commerce. Some of the most valuable contribu-
tions 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 y^
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-h-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

214 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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

COLLECTING AS AN INVESTMENT 215

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 Govern-
ment 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 cir-
cumstances 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

216 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 191 1, 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 com-
paratively 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, ^^.s present in
every sheet printed from Plate 2 of that value, to the

COLLECTING AS AN INVESTMENT 217

number of no less than 35,000, and yet, in mint
unused condition, it is a very scarce stamp, probably
worth £2^. 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 com-
paratively small when it is remembered that of some
stamps many millions were issued ; small, too, when
it is considered that the minimum charge on tele-
grams 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 pat^ 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, £>ITS to ;^200 — towards the end of the 'nineties.
The £1 " Anchor" on bluish paper, which one could

218 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

have bought in 1882 for twenty shillings, is now
priced at ;^8o, showing a profit which makes many
a collector in these days sigh over lost oppor-
tunities.

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 ;^ioo ; 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 1 890 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 sub-

COLLECTING AS AN INVESTMENT 219

sequently 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, sur-
charging each half " id." 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 post-
master 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 un-
earned 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

220 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

so comparatively far back as 1890, the sum they
would realise in open market would not fall far short
of ;£"2,5oo. 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 £^0.

Canada provides a rarity, dating back to 185 1. 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 disappear-
ing 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 every-
where.

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-

COLLECTING AS AN INVESTMENT 221

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
1 86 1, 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 versd — 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 ;!S"SOO. " 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 — ;£"ioo, 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 ;

222 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 I 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 ? — £7 SO ?
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"
— z.e.f 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 water-
marks were arranged very closely together, so that

COLLECTING AS AN INVESTMENT 223

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)

224 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 repre-
sented to-day, say, ;^I30 unused, £yo 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 ;f 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 ;^io or even £1^.

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 Two-
pence "Post Of^ce" of sixty-four years ago will
always be looked upon as the ultimate, even if
seldom attained, goal of the Philatelist.

v-iTWO PK Net

THE king's copy OF THE TWO PENCE
'• POST OFFICE " MAURITIUS.

T'<rsiACf~S ^^^H pPOSTAcr®

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

COLLECTING AS AN INVESTMENT 227

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 ;£"i,ooo and £1^200
respectively, in used condition.

In 1894 3. firm of stamp-dealers acquired a well-
known collector's unused mini 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 ;^i,45o,
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 subse-

228 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

quently 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 £ss-

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, du^ 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.

COLLECTING AS AN INVESTMENT 229

" 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 unappreci-
ated 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, post-
marked copies are worth several times the old
price of unused specimens ; and for the unused,
from £2$ 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 pro-
duced 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 appre-
ciated : 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 after-
wards, turned out to be the rare perforated One
Penny, brown, of 1872, watermarked "NZ", and
now worth some £'^0 used.

Of provisional issues, limited in quantity,

230 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 1 88 1, a bond fide shortage of the Fourpence
stamps occurred in St. Vincent, and a small
quantity of the current One Shilling was over-
printed "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 £1^

COLLECTING AS AN INVESTMENT 231

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 " 2jd." on Sixpence, costing
6s. 3d., is now catalogued at nearly £g^ whilst the
set of five varieties surcharged on the Two Shillings
stamp, originally costing is. ojd., is now worth £y:>.

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 £^.

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 is. 3d. to its present
value of £'j los. No dealer seems to have obtained
more than a small supply of this Sixpence, and
the subsequent consignments from London to

232 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 los., 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 inter-
mediate 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 1 88 1 Turks' Islands provisionals are priced
from 6d. to 2s. each unused — presumably the
commonest varieties : now these stamps vary from
1 25. to £s for the "J", from £^ to ;^30 for the
"2j", 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

COLLECTING AS AN INVESTMENT 233

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, conse-
quently 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 £i^ 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 invest-
ments in British Colonies : acquired at 6d. each,
the price to the collector was 5 s., then raised to
£2, and now it stands at over ;f 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 — ist issue, ^q thaler, is. (in 1882),
now £2.

Oldenburg — 1859-61 issues (in 1882), from 9d.
each ; now 4s. is the lowest, I2s. the next, and the
highest ;^ii.

Schleswig-Holstein — the pretty little stamps of
1850 were (in 1882) 9d. and is. 6d. each: they
have now risen to 28s. and 50s.

234 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

Holland — ist issue, Qd., 6d., and is. 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 (Mol-
davia), tete-beche 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 illce lacrymce^
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 deprecia-

COLLECTING AS AN INVESTMENT 235

tion as the years roll on — e.g.y the Fourpence Half-
penny 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 ap-
peared 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 exces-
sive, 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 excite-
ment are excessive booms possible ; and the early
bird must have some solid ground of knowledge and
intelligence to guide him to the worm.

vra

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 los. and £l
''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 " Introduc-

240 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

tion " 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 versd."

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 pro-
ductions— 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
I 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,

FORGERIES, FAKES, AND FANCIES 241

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, New-
castle, 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 " fac-
simile " 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 "fac-
simile," 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 fac-
similes, 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 repro-
duction of choice editions (copies) of rare stamps for
limited circulation ! Also in the Stamp Collectof^s
Magazine^ whose proprietors and engravers were as
free of just reproach as Caesar's wife, we find the

242 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

engraver so pleased with the illustration he has pro-
duced for that jotirnal 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 fac-
similes." 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 imita-
tions 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 discrimina-
tion between the right and the wrong copies of
stamps. Forgeries have multiplied enormously be-

FORGERIES, FAKES, AND FANCIES 243

tween 1863 and 191 1, so that now the standard
handbook by the Rev. R. B. Earee is a master-
piece 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. Earde'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 imper-
ceptible 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, litho-
graphed 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

244 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 transac-
tions 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 com-
panionable 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 accumu-
lated 27,000 autographs for about ;£"6,ooo, 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.

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: (i) 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

A GENUINE "PLATE 6.

THE FAMOUS "STOCK EXCHANGE" FORGERY OF THE ONE SHILLING GREEN STAMP OF (

BRITAIN.

One specimen was used on October 31, 1872, and the other on June 13 of the next year
enlargements betray trifling differences in the details of the design as cornpared w
genuine stamp above.

845

FORGERIES, FAKES, AND FANCIES 247

as " fakes." There is another class dubbed " bogus,"
or sometimes more elegantly timbres de fantasia^
which comprises labels which are a pure invention,
and never had any genuine existence at all.

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

248 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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.G. More recent discoveries show that the fraud
was continued for over twelve months,^ 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 : poss^'bly 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

* See Thi Postage Stamps vi. 153.

FOEGEEIES, FAKES, AND FANCIES 249

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

250 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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.

FORGERIES, FAKES, AND FANCIES 251

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 ex-
ceedingly 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 subse-
quently, the lower of these two forged stamps
came agam 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 " 1

252 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 concen-
trated 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.", " LH.—F.L.", showing (as a con-
sequence 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.

FORGERIES, FAKES, AND FANCIES 253

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 com-
pleting 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 tete-beche.

The fraudulent manipulator has turned his atten-
tion to these, generally scarce and frequently very
rare, eccentricities, cutting out from the bicoloured s,
stamp the part printed in one colour and replacing
it with great care, but upside down ; and, as to
the tete-beche 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 *

254 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 repe-
tition 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 sus-
picions as to their character were not raised until an
endeavour was made to ascertain the original posi-
tions 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 (some-
what 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 water-
mark 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 "water-

FORGERIES, FAKES, AND FANCIES 255

mark " on the back with an oily composition which
renders the paper slightly transparent, and so
apparently thinner.

In a comparatively recent forgery of the Registra-
tion stamp of New South Wales sent by a corre-
spondent, 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 por-
tion 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 pro-
duced 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 post-
mark is apt to completely hide them.

256 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

Some stamps have been very extensively forged :
for instance, of the 2j 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 £'j^ unused and £2Z
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
A. ^ 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 !
^^r*^ A reprint is an impression from the old original

die, plate, or stone, taken after the stamp has become

FORGERIES, FAKES, AND FANCIES 257

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 " re-
printed " from a special setting-up of similar type ;
but, as the original printing forme had been "dis-
tributed," even a re-setting of the actual type would
produce little less than a forgery of a class euphem-
istically 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

258 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 insur-
mountable 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, water-
mark 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 con-
tain 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

FORGERIES, FAKES, AND FANCIES 259

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 1
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 j
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), Spits-
bergen ; 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 dis-
covery, 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

260 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 sur-
charged in London, where the dies of the surcharge
and the very genuine-looking combinations of post-
marks were subsequently found during an important
cause celebre.

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 modem collections — M. la Renotiere'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, 1 862, indicates
the benevolent toleration on the part of the out-
side 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 for-
mation of a postage-stamp exchange, the locality
being Change Alley, leading out of Birchin Lane.

264 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

There every evening about fifty boys, and some men^
tooy may be seen industriously exchanging old dis-
figured 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 in-
troduced 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 Telegraphy 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 remark-
able prices which are constantly being realised in
the stamp-market. Considering that stamp-collect-
ing can scarcely be regarded as having started prior
to 1 860-6 1, the prices of stamps quickly attained
respectable proportions. In The Young Ladies'
Journal of December 14, 1864, there is this
paragraph : —

FAMOUS COLLECTIONS 265

" 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 ^ (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,ooo, 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 work-

* 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.

286 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

ing-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 phila-
telic period 1862-1911, it will be interesting to
follow the more notable collections in their vicissi-
tudes. 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 out-
right, 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 is.

FAMOUS COLLECTIONS 267

(representing to-day £70) ; the Nova Scotia is.
{£SS~£^S 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 i soldo {£7 to £%)\ 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 ot 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 litho-
graphic stone for the i peseta. The above error
is priced £1^ used, but an unused copy would be
worth very considerably more. He had also the
I real and 2 reales of the Pacific Steam Naviga-
tion 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 gentle-
man," 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. Stain-
forth 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

268 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 Damns 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 ;£'25o 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 col-
lections 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

FAMOUS COLLECTIONS 269

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 £6(^ on his stamp-
collection in those fifteen years. In 1896 he sold
that collection for ;£"3,ooo. 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 I2d. black of Canada unused; plate 77
of the id. Great Britain unused ; and, mirabile dictUy
an unused copy of the 4d. red " woodblock " error
of the Cape of Good Hope, a stamp which afterwards
fetched ;^50o. 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 J 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 phila-
telic 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 Stras-
burg to Nancy, as a result of the German annexa-
tion of Alsace and Lorraine. The work of setting

270 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 realise^! 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 col-
laborators, F. A. Philbrick and Dr. Magnus." ^

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 : —

' The pseudonym of Dr. Legrand.

FAMOUS COLLECTIONS

271

Bergedorf

.. Nov. I,

186I

... J sch. violet.
3 sch. rose.

Saxony

...

1850

... 3pf.

Great Britain

...

1840

... id.V.R,

Switzerland : Zurich

...

1843

... 4 rapp.

>j j>

... 6 rapp.

„ "Vaud"

...

—

... 4 centimes.

»> »»

...

... 5

Tuscany

...

1849

... I soldo.

))

...

... 2 soldi.

...

... 60 crazie.

Naples

i860

... ^T. arms.

>»

...

»i

... J T. cross.

Reunion

...

I85I

... 15 centimes.

»>

...

»>

... 30 centimes.

"Indies"

1854

... J anna red.

New Zealand

...

1855

... IS.

New Brunswick

...

1857

... IS.

Nova Scotia

...

1857

... IS.

British Guiana

...

1856

... 4 cents carmine.

Peru

...

1858

... i peso.

Buenos Ayres

... April

1858

... 3 pesos.

»» >»

»»

... 4 pesos red.

»» »>

>»

»»

... 4 „ brown.

>> >»

»i

)»

... 5 „ orange.

>> >>

Oct.

... 4 rl. brown.

)> a

I peso brown
(:IN Ps).

j> j>

Jan.

1859

... ipesoblue(:INPs)

»> >>

I „ „ (TOPS)

" 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 ex-
tenuated scale of the modern Gibbons catalogue,
the total of varieties of the issues 1850-56 only
numbers 125.

272 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

The first four-figure price for a stamp collection
was obtained in 1878, when the magnificent collec-
tion of Sir Daniel Cooper, Bart, K.C.M.G., was
transferred to the ownership of Mr. Philbrick, Q.C.,
for ;£'3,ooo. Sir Daniel's public career, chiefly in con-
nection 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

FAMOUS COLLECTIONS 273

The Philatelical Journal oi 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
IS cents error, United States, 1869, with the frame
inverted : " This fetched a good priced' 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 £1 ; it would have sold well but
for the owner's bidding," &c. I suppose a Brattle-
boro, especially " a beauty," would find ready com-
petition in three figures to-day. Other lots bought
in were : —

Lot 15, St. Louis, all three varieties of the 5c. ... £2 13s.

Lot 16, „ „ „ „ IOC. ... £2 7s.

Lot 17, „ 20c., "unique" ... £().

Lot 1 8, „ 20 c, "variety not unique" ... ;[^8 12s.

The 5 cent St. Louis used is now catalogued at
;f 25, and the 10 cent at £10 ; 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 ;£'i,026. Some of the Blood locals
were bought in, but Mr. Pemberton secured for £^
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

274 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 i and 2 rs., fetched in the aggregate
£6 9s., so they were no bargain."

Lot 1 50 was the J 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 £go or
more to-day.

The record of this sale deserves more attention
than I am able to give it here : the event was cer-
tainly 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

FAMOUS COLLECTIONS 275

never will be. It is a young science, but before many
years pass, we shall regard £^ 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
;f 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 Rdnotiere in Paris,
for the then record price of £Zfyoo, At his death,
which occurred so recently as Christmas, 1910, it
would have represented the comfortable fortune of,
say, ;^50,ooo! 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 Collectof^s Maga-
zine 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

276 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 publica-
tion 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).

" II, Earl's Avenub, Folkestone,

" December igth.

*'My Dear Philbrick,—

" After seeing you on Saturday I wrote a letter to Mr. Jeflfery
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 is. to reduce it by photo-
graphy 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
id. annexed.

" That if they would excuse my making a further suggestion it would

FAMOUS COLLECTIONS

277

be that for all the stamps up to is. about four colours would suffice, if
the framings were made different and distinctly visible, . . . thus : —

Green

id.

Ijd.

3d.

pink

like the

present 5s.

fid.
J 2d.
(4d.

blue
ike the

2S.

2id.
5d.

olive

" 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 pro-
tectors against forgeries of stamps that they could have. Not one
came out, but was immediately denounced in the publications circu-
lating 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

278 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

what was in this great collection — and is still pre-
served in the collection of M. la R^noti^re. 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. Moens 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 id. 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. Moens through the medium of a
Bordeaux merchant, M. E. Gimet. The price
Moens 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. I and 2 in Moens's " A History of the Twenty
Known Specimens, &c.," is therefore briefly —

Year.

Owner.

1847

Borchard.

1864 (?)

Coutures.

1865

Gimet.

1865

Moens.

1866

Philbrick.

1882

La Renotiere.

C'-ii ^\

S o

c <

■< en
O

a,
o

._^

X
H

279

FAMOUS COLLECTIONS 281

To-day their "weight in gold" would, of course, repre-
sent but an infinitesimal fraction of their market value.

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 collec-
tion, sold for ;^3,ooo 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 1 89 1 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. Moens 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 £i,^lo.

282 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

But if he lacked the " Post Offices," there was
an abundance of other rarities. Philbrick travelled
to Bury St. Edmunds to see Image'? wonderful
unused 6d. orange of Victoria (" beaded oval "), a
stamp which in the Mirabaud sale (1909) fetched
;6"i40. The copy from the Avery collection
attained in 19 10 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 col-
lections 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.

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

ifelClOCKidOQOaQ

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aonoaaaiiociaQ

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009000000000*^

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PART SHEET (175 STAMPS) OF THE ORDINARY ONE
PENNY BLACK STAMP OF GREAT BRITAIN, 184O.

{From the collection of the Earl of Crawford, K. T^

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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.7.)
285

it^.

SQOOOOO

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itf f fitri

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^' I ^-^fMihrnt,

tldOdOCICIyOi

QmmmQUB

f f

.?i>.Mvi:

PART SHEET (LACKING BUT SIX HORIZONTAL ROWS) OF
THE SCARCE TWO PENCE BLUE STAMP "WITHOUT
WHITE LINES" ISSUED IN GREAT BRITAIN, 184O.

{From the collection of the Earl of Crawford, K.T.)
287

FAMOUS COLLECTIONS 289

in countries or groups, and few suspect the wealth
of material as yet not disclosed, among the
sections which have not yet been publicly dis-
played. 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 col-
lectors 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 lo cents,
black on white, adhesive stamp of Baltimore, of
which but three copies are known.

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 id. black "V.R." (219 stamps out of
the 240), a part sheet of the ordinary id. 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 id. black, and was issued
on May 6, 1840.

The collections of Mr. Leslie L. R. Hausburg,
have, next to those of the Earl of Crawford,
attracted widespread attention and the unstinted

290 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 con-
cludes 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 id. Post Paid, for which
wonderful item its possessor paid ;^i,ooo. 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 collec-
tion 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 collec-
tion 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 dis-
tributed by no means exclusively among the very
wealthy. In stamp-collecting the personal search
is often more productive than lavish expenditure
without personal effort.

In America there are some collections of great
note. That of Mr. George H. Worthington has

i iiA<\,',

t'i'/' / , /f/i

»v.

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 /. Duveen, Esq

291

"§

•1?*

•v

5-v' V

^tV

$ 5

«^

f •^■

'^^ 5

■^-<'»'

i 1

^ s

■ 1

-*-•

- §

§^^

-li

>: ;l

■ ■> ^

^-^•3

'^ "^

5 ^

s 1

s '^

s §

»5 5

^ '^

FAMOUS COLLECTIONS 295

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 1 3 cents " Hawaiian
Postage " on entire. Two of the stamps are Type L
and the other Type H. ; 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.^

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 premieres gravures^ and all the early

^ See further " Postage Stamps of the Hawaiian Islands in the
Collection of Henry J. Crocker," described and illustrated by Fred
J. Melville, London, 1908.

296 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 IOC 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 his-
torical point of view is extremely useful. His
collection, however, was bought for about ;^5,ooo
by Mr. J. T. Coit, and subsequently realised nearly
£7^000 at auction.

Of the great collections of the Continent, that of
M. Philippe la R^notiere 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,^ and as he commenced

» "The Stamp Collector," by W. J. Hardy and E. D. Bacon, 1897.

/>,. /

.^^ \ ^'^

I %#^^fif$i.

A PAGE OF THE 5 CENTS AND I3 CENTS I HAWAIIAN "^MISSIONARY "

STAMPS.

{From the ''^Crocker'''' Collection^
297

\.<

FAMOUS COLLECTIONS 301

about 1864, the extent of his treasures has brought
him to be regarded as a philatelic Comte de Monte
Cristo. The unique British Guiana i cent stamp
of 1856 is in this collection, together with five Post
Office Mauritius, including one of the two known
copies of the id. unused. Other great rarities are
mostly represented by several copies.

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 Reuterskiold, 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
£\,0QO 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.

302 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

Year.

Collection.

Character.

Amount.

1878

Cooper.

General.

£
3>ooo

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

189s

Harrison.

United States.

1,330

1895

Harbeck.

General.

3,000

189s

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 Zea-
land, and Queensland.

4,750

1897

F. W. Ayer.

General (dispersed gradually).

45,000

1897

Dr. Legrand.

Part of General.

12,000

1898

Russell.

General (unused, strong in
British Colonies).

4,600

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. Lamb-
ton.
C. Hollander.

British Colonies.

3,400

1902

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 Pam-

philj.
M. P. Castle.

General.

2,000

1905

Australia.

5»75o

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,ooo

( Rest of Collection, j^22,ooo j

30,000

1909

Sir W. B. Avery.

General.

24,500

1909

J. W. Paul, jun.

General.

11,400

1909

J. F. Seybold.

General.

S,(:)<K»

1911

Miguel Gambin.

Argentina.

6,000

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 ^ 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 Philatelist y vol. iii. pp. 85, 86.
305

306 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 prosper-
ous 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, in-
timated 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.

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

/«24:

v^.f/X^ ^-^ /./^.

f^ '4»;^^rAi^:-TO

A PAGE FROM THE , KING's HISTORIC COLLECTION OF THE STAMPS OF GREAT
BRITAIN, SHOWING THE METHOD OF "WRITING UP."

307

W/^ /?^rp^

//f /T^^^ ^^

K Pu /kc^

;i A

'^..

I i^<

B /^<^-<^//vt.<3TL^/^

/fr^

^••■•<i^

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

ROYAL AND NATIONAL COLLECTIONS 311

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 " Neuch^tel " stamp
of Switzerland, unused ; the 18 kreuzer Wurtem-
burg, 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
id. black V.R. stamps; a I2d. 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., water-
marked star, unused ; an unused id. Sydney View,
Plate I., and an unused 6d. "laureated head."

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
16

312 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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.*

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.

In the line-engraved series, His Majesty has shown
two copies of the id. V.R., and a fine series of
imperforates of the id. red. Die I. and Die H., in
* Ante^ p. 167.

» ■• •■»■•*.».

DESIGN FOR THE KING EDWARD ONE PENNY STAMP APPROVED AND
INITIALLED BY HIS LATE MAJESTY.

• I {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 IX A DIFFERENT FRAME, WHICH
WAS NOT ADOPTED.

{From the collection of H.M. the King.)

315

ROYAL AND NATIONAL COLLECTIONS 317

a large range of shades ; id. red with letters in all
four corners (plates 132 and 225) ; id. red, in a pair,
on Dickinson paper ; Jd. rose-red (plate 9), 2d. blue
with four letters (including plate 7), ijd., plate i
in bluish lake and plate 3 in brick-red.

All the Victorian surface- printed series are shown
imperforate, including the 3d. with reticulated back-
ground ; 3d., plate 3 (" dot ") ; 4d. in lake, water-
marked " small garter " ; 6d., plate i on safety paper
and plate 3 with hair-lines ; Qd., plate 3 with hair-
lines and plate 5 ; lod., plate 2 ; is., plate i on safety
paper, plate 3 with hair-lines, 4 in an unissued colour,
lilac ; 2s., plate 3 ; los., £if and £^ 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., los. 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 FUchs'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 there-
from are included.

Unfortunately, the final result did not come up

318 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 £s 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 £$
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.

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—

'*':.*, **. ». » •» *

A PAGE OF THE ONE PENNY " POST PAID " STAMPS OF MAURITIUS.
{/n the collection of H.M. the King.)

ROYAL AND NATIONAL COLLECTIONS 321

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 tete-beche 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 id. 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 £i,\^o : it is admittedly the finest known
copy of this stamp, and its romantic history has been
alluded to in Chapter VII. These two rarcs 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 com-
paratively recent acquisition, having been acquired
from Mr. D. Field for ;£'500 in 19 10. 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
IS. deep green of 1862. The collection of this colony
is practically complete from beginning to date.

British Guiana presents probably the most difficult

322 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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, 19 10, and included
most of the stamps in a wide range of shades, all the
rarities being present, unused, except the 24 cents per-
forated 1 2 of 1 860 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 " id." on 5s. pro-
visional, 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 id. in green, 4d. in
dull purple, 6d. in orange, and is. in lake. There are
two reconstructed sheets of the id. perforated 13,
and the 4d. rose, unused ; the 6d. grey and is. green,
used and unused. Of the 1867 set the id. is shown
unused, the 4d. both used and unused and the is,
used. Of the lithographs there are four mint sheets
of the id., a mint sheet of the 4d. and another of

» J 3 J 9

THE TWO PENCE "POST PAID" vSTAMP OF MAURITIUS.

^Unique block showing the error (the first stamp in the
illustration) lettered "penoe" for " penxe".

{In the collection of H.M. the King^

323

ROYAL AND NATIONAL COLLECTIONS 325

the 6d., the is. in h'ght and dark green ; and there
are two entire sheets of the id. perforated ii|.

Comparatively little is known of the stamp-collec-
tions 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

326 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

Locale of Switzerland unused ; the " i Pranc ", error
for" I Franc", on the 37j-centime bistre, Luxemburg;
the Hanover lo gr. used ; Oldenburg ^ gr. black on
green ; Nevis 6d. lithographed (in two shades) ;
Trinidad 1858 6d. and is. unused; Uruguay, Dili-
gencias 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, 185 1 10
reales unused and 2 reales used, 1865 12c. with
inverted frame ; France, 1 849 i franc vermilion ;
the double Geneva, types of the Zurich, the 4c.
Vaud and the Poste Locale 2J 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.

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

• J • • J .

11 ■ I ■

m I

■

A SPECIMEN PAGE FROM THE "TAPLIXG" COLLECTION AT THE BRITISH

MUSEUM.

Probably the most valuable page, showing the Hawaiian " Mis<^ion-
aries." The two stamps at the top have been removed from
the cases, and are now kept in a safe in the "Cracherode" Room.

327

ROYAL AND NATIONAL COLLECTIONS 329

great collection which he had formed of the postage-
stamps and postal stationery of the world has been
arranged for exhibition purposes, in specially con-
structed 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 ;^ioo,ooo. 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 oppor-
tunities the collection offers for study. Unfortu-
nately, 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 ^ 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

' ''The Tapling Collection of Stamps and Postal Stationery at the
British Museum," by Fred J. Melville.

330 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 irre-
trievable. 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 id. Post Office

ROYAL AND NATIONAL COLLECTIONS 331

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 1 5 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 collec-
tion 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
id. 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

332 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

cents Hawaiian "Missionary" on envelope. Mr.
Warren H. Colson,^ 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, in-
cluding several Goliads, the Helena, and two very
rare Victorias.

The id. 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 id. plate i with original gum.

* " 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, 191 1.

*.• 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 191 1.

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. Lon^

don, 1898. ••• Twelve plates.

336 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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. Caiman. 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 Societe Fran^aise de Tim-
brologie ; Yvert et Tellier ; Lemaire ; Bernichon ; Mon-
tader ; &c.
Germany. Gebriider 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 cata-
logues 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 ;^24,5oo.
Concise Description of the Collection of Essays of Martin Schroe-
der. By A. Reinheimer. Leipzig, 1903. •.* Seventy-two
plates.
(A celebrated Collection of historical value, brought together
between the years 1893 and 1902.)

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF PHILATELY 337

Postage Stamps and their Collection. By Warren H. Colson.
Boston, Mass., 1907. '.♦ Seventeen plates.
(Chiefly devoted to a description of the Collection of Dr. Wil-
liam 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. Mel-
ville. 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,ooo.

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, Lon-
don.]

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 Confederacion Argentina. By
J. Marco del Pont. Buenos Aires, 1902. •.• Two plates.
Sellos postales de la Republica Argentina. (Emision de 11 de
Enero de 1862.) By J. Marco del Pont. Buenos Aires, 1895.
Timbres de la Republique Argentine et de ses diverses pro-
vinces. Two vols. By J. B. Moens. Bruxellcs, 1882.

338 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

Valores Postales Argentines. 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 Oesterreich und

der oesterreichisch-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 Mar ken von Baden. By A. E.

Glasewald. Gossnitz, 1898. •.• Two plates.
Die Briefmarken von Baden. By C. Lindenberg. Berlin,

1894. •.* One plate.
Die JBriefumschlage 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 Briefumschlage von Bayern. By C. Lindenberg. Berlin,

1895.
Der Specialsammler von Bayern nach Abstempelungen. By

A. Chehus. Munchen, 1900.
Belgium. Belgique et Congo Beige. Catalogue special de tous

les varietes de timbi es-poste, telegraphe, colis-postaux &

cartes postales. By C. Brandes-Hoffstetter. Bruxelles,

1897.
Les Timbres de Belgique. By J. B. Moens. Two vols.

Bruxelles, 1880.
Bergedorf. Die Postfreimarken des beiderstadtischen Postamtes

Bergedorf. By H. Krotzsch. Leipzig, 1896. *.• Nine

plates.
Bhopal. Notes on the Postage Stamps of Bhopal. By G. A.

Anderson. Calcutta, 1899. %* Thirty-two plates.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF PHILATELY 339

Bolivia, How to Collect Bolivian Stamps. By H. R. Oldfield.

London, 1898. ••• Six plates.
Brazil. Catalogue historique des timbres-poste et entiers du

Bresil. 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. Krotzsch.

Leipzig, 1893-6. •.• Six plates.
Die Brief umschlage von Hamburg und Bremen. By C.

Lindenberg. Berlin, 1894.
Les Timbres de Brdme. By G. Brunei. 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 Braun-
schweig. By L. Berger. Braunschweig, 1893.
Die Briefumschlage von Braunschweig. By C. Lindenberg.

Berlin, 1892.
Braunschweig. By O. Rommel and H. Krotzsch. 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'apr^ Rafael Aguirre Mercado, By

Sigismond Jean. Paris, 1910.

340 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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 a 1897. By L. Umana. 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. Caiman, 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 I'ile de Crete et les

modeles des monnaies antiques (translated from the Greek).

[Direction des Postes Cretoises.] La Canee, 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. Kjoben-

havn, 1901.
Danemark-Studie. By O. V. Riise. Munchen, 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.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF PHILATELY 341

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 iiber die Freimarken des Grossfiirstentums Finland,

[Helsingfors Frimarkssamlare Forening.] 3rd ed. Hels-

ingfors, 1908. •.* Three plates.
Forgeries. Album Weeds, or How to detect Forged Stamps.

By the Rev. R. B. Earee. 3rd ed. Two vols. London,

1906-7.
France. Catalogue Descriptif Illustre 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.
Etude 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 fran^ais. By A. Maury. Two

parts. Paris, 1907-8.
Histoire du timbre-poste frangais. 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 remission provisoire des timbres-poste frangais dits

de " Bordeaux." By P. Hermand. Paris, 1901.
Le Timbre-Poste fran^ais, etude historique et anecdotique de

la poste et du timbre en PYance et dans les colonies

frangaises. By Georges Brunei. New ed., with supple-
ment. Paris, 1901.
Gambia. Gambia. By Fred. J. Melville. London, 1909.
Germany and Colonies. Die Aushiilfsmarken von Tsingtau

und ihre Falschungen. By Gebruder Senf. Leipzig, 1903.
Deutsche Reich-Post. By O. Rommel. Leipzig, 1893-6.
Illustrierter Spezial-Katalog der Deutschen Kolonialmarken

und der Deutschen Postamter im Auslande. By Gebruder

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.

342 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

Great Britain : King Edward VII. Stamps. By Fred J. Mel-
ville. London^ 191 1.
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 Brunei.

Paris, 1909.
Die Postmarken von Griechenland. By A. E. Glasewald.

Gdssnitz, 1886-96. •.• Plates.
Die Postwerthzeichen von Griechenland. By A. E. Glasewald.

Gdssnitz, 1896.
The Stamps of Greece. By W. D. Beckton and G. B. Duerst.

Manchester, iSgy. •.• 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 Briefumschlage von Hamburg und Bremen. By

C. Lindenberg. Berlin, 1894.
Hamburg (in German). By O. Rommel and H. Krotzsch.

Leipzig, 1893-6.
Die Postwerthzeichen von Hamburg. By E. Heim. Wien,

1880.
Les Timbres de Hambourg. By G. Brunei. Paris, 1911.
Hanover. Die Briefumschlage von Hannover. By C. Lindenberg.

Berlin, 1895.
Hannover (in German). By H. Krotzsch. Leipzig, 1893.

♦.• Nine plates.
Hawaiian Islands. Descriptive Catalogue of the Postage Stamps

of Hawaii. By W. M. Giffard. Honolulu, 1893.

BIBLIOGEAPHY OF PHILATELY 343

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. Moens.
Bruxelles, 1897.
Originaux et Reimpressions de Heligoland. By A. Wulbern.
Bruxelles, 1911. •.• Two plates.
Holland and Colonies. De Afstempelingen voorkomende op de
Postzegels van Nederland. By Schreuders & Co. s'Graven-
hage, 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., Curasao.
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

344 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

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., Tele-
graph 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. Tun-
bridge 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 Ecritures et la legende des timbres du Japon. By Dr.
A. Legrand. Bruxelles, 1878.
Leeward Islands. Priced Catalogue of the Obsolete Leeward
Isles. By R. HolHck. London, 1895. (See West Indies.)
LuBECK. Die Briefumschlage von Liibeck. By C. Lindenberg.
Berlin, 1892.
Liibeck. By H. Krotzsch. Lei;pzig, iSg^. •.• Forty plates.
Die Postwertzeichen von Liibeck. By O. Rommel. Miinchen,

1895.
Les Timbres de Lubeck. By Georges Brunei. Paris, 1911.
Luxemburg. Timbres du Grand-Duche de Luxembourg. By

J. B. Moens. Bruxelles, 1879. •.• Plates.
Mauritius. Notes sur les Timbres-poste de Maurice. By E. B.
Evans. Paris, 1880.
Les Timbres de Maurice. By J. B. Moens. Bruxelles,
1878.
Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Die
Briefumschlage von Mecklenburg-Schwerin und Mecklen-
burg-Strelitz. By C. Lindenberg. Berlin, 1892.
Mecklenburg-Schwerin und Mecklenburg-Strelitz. By Hugo
Krotzsch. Leipzig^ 1893-6. ••• Seventeen plates.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF PHILATELY 345

Les Timbres de Mecklembourg-Schwerin et Strelitz. By J. B.
Moens. 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. Caiman, with Albert E. Lawrence. New York, 1895.
Los Sobrecargos de los sellos postales de Mexico. 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 Etats de Parme, Modene et Romagna. By J, B.
Moens. Bruxelles, 1878.
Moldavia. See Roumania.
Naples. Timbres de Naples et de Sicilie. By J. B. MoSns.

Bruxelles, 1877.
Nevis. Nevis. By Fred J. Melville. London, 1909.
New Caledonia. Une reimpression des timbres de la Nouvelle-

Caledonie. 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 Briefumschlage des Nord-
deutschen Postbezirks. By C. Lindenberg. Berlin, 1893.

346 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

Norddeutscher Postbezirk mit Occupations-Freimarken. By
H. Krotzsch. Leipzig, 1893-6.
Oldenburg. Die Briefumschlage von Oldenburg. By C. Linden-
berg. 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 Etats de Parme, Modene et Romagne. By

J. B. Moens. Bruxelles, 1878.
Persia. Die persische post und die Postwerthzeichen von Persien
und Buchara. By F. Schiiller. Wicn, 1893. •.* Four
plates.
La Poste des Califes et la Poste du Shah. By P. Hugonnet.
Paris, 1884. .'. Map.
Peru. Beredeneerde Geillustreerde Catalogus aller Postzegels,
Couverten en Briefkaarten, officieel uitgegeven door de
Peruaansche Republiek van af i December, 1857, tot en met
31 December, 1887. By A. E. J. Huart. Amsterdam, 1888.
Catalogue general et detaille des timbres-poste, enveloppes et
cartes postales ofBciellement emis dans la Republique du
Perou. [Societe Philatelique Sud Americaine.] Lima, 1887.
Peru. Investigaciones sobre la emision de estampillas del
coronel seminario en tumbez en Marzo de 1895. By
A. T. Lista. Santiago de Chile, 1899.
Les Timbres du Perou. By J. B. Moens. Bruxelles, 1878.
Studie iiber Postwertzeichen von Peru. By Dr. O. Rommel.
Munchen, 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 illustre de tons les timbres-
poste, &c., du Portugal emis des 1853 a 1895 avec leur
differentes denteleurs, papiers, &c. By T. Ramos. Lisbonne,
1895.
The Dies of the Postage Stamps of Portugal of the Reigns of

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF PHILATELY 347

Dona Maria II. and Dom Pedro V. By R. B. Yardley.

Manchester^ 1907. •.* Thirty plates.
Portugal. Eine Studie iiber 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. Moens. Bruxelles, 1887.
Reprints. Handbuch aller bekannten Neudrucke staatlicher

Postfreimarken, Ganzsachen und Essays. By P. Ohrt.

Dusscldorf, 1907.
Reprints of Postal Adhesive Stamps and their Characteristics.

By E. D. Bacon. London^ 1899.
Roman States. Tinibres des Etats de Toscane et Saint-Marin et

des Etats de I'Eglise. By J. B. Moens. Bruxelles, 1878.
Roumania. Die Postwerthzeichen von Rumanien. Moldau,

Moldau-Walachei, Fiirstenthum Rumanien, Konigreich

Rumanien. 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. MoSns. Bruxelles, 1893.
St. Thomas and Prince Islands. La Guerre aux timbres sur-
charges de S. Thome et Principe. By J. A. da Silva.

Lisbonne, 1895.
St. Vincent. Saint Vincent. By F, H. Napier and E. D. Bacon.

London, iSgS. •.' Two plates.
San Marino. Timbres des Etats de Toscane et Saint-Marin. By

J. B. Moens. Bruxelles, 1878.
Sarawak. The Postage Stamps of Sarawak. By Fred J.

Melville. London, 1907. •.• Eight plates.
Saxony. Die Briefumschlage von Sachsen. By C. Lindenberg.

Berlin, 1894.
Les Timbres de Saxe. By J. B. Mogns. Bruxelles, 1879.
Geschichte der Postwerthzeichen des Konigreichs Sachsen.

By Dr. P. Kloss. Dresden, 1882.
ScHLESWiG - HoLSTEiN. Die Postfreimarken der Herzogtiimer

Schleswig-Holstein. By A. Rosenkranz. Leipzig, i^<)7.
'.' Fourteen plates.

348 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

Timbres des Duches de Schleswig-Holstein et Lauenbourg et

Bergedorf. By J. B. Moens. Bruxellcs, 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. Catalogo ilustrado de sellos de correo de Esparia. By H.

Prats. Barcelona, 1894.
Historia de los sellos de correos y telegrafos de Espaiia. By

M. A. Fernandez. Madrid, 1901-4.
Histoire des timbres-poste ... en Espagne. By J. B. Mogns.

Bruxelles, 1891.
Resefia Historico-Descriptiva de los Sellos de Correo de

Espaiia. By A. F. Duro. Madrid, 1881.
Straits Settlements. A Reference List to the Stamps of the

Straits Settlements, surcharged for use in the Native Pro-
tected States. By W. Brown. Salisbury, 1^^. *.• Supple-
mental plate.
Sudan. Sudan. By E. J. Nankivell. London, 1904.
Suez Canal Company. Timbres d'Egypte et de la Compagnie du

Canal de Suez. By J. B. Moens. Bruxelles, 1880.
Sweden. Sveriges Frankotecken, 1855-1905. [Sveriges Filatelist-

Forening.] Stockholm, 1905. *.• Plates,
Die Postmarken von Schweden, 1855-1905. [A prdcis 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 Reuterskiold. Manchester,

1908. •.* One plate.
Spezial-Katalog und Handbuch iiber die Briefmarken der

Schweiz und Tabellen iiber Abstempelungen der Ausgaben

1843-81. By E. Zumstein. Bern, 1908.
Handbook of the Postage Stamps of Switzerland, from the

above. By E, Zumstein, London, igio, ••• Six plates.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF PHILATELY 349

The Stamps of Switzerland, 1843-54. By Baron C. von

Girsewald. Milnchen, 1893.
Les Timbres Cantonaux . . . Suisses de 1843 a 1852, et leurs

fac-simile a ce jour. By H. Goegg. Geneve, 1893.
Les Timbres-poste Suisses, 1843-62 [and in German and

English]. By P. Mirabaud and Baron A. de Reuterskiold.

Pans, 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.

Gdssnit2, 1893. •.* Ten plates and two maps.
Die Briefumschlage von Thurn und Taxis. By C. Lindenberg.

Berlin, 1892.
Tonga. Tonga. By Fred. J. Melville. London, 1909.
Turkey. Croissant-Toughra (Armoiries de I'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. Sf. Lowis, 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. Loudon, 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 Republique Orientale de 1' Uruguay. By

Dr. E. Wonner. Neuilly, 1887. •.• Map.
Les Timbres de I'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

350 CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS

Colonies in South America. [The Philatelic Society,

London.] London, 1891.
WuRTEMBERG. Die Briefumschlagc von Wiirttemberg. By C.

Lindenberg. Berlin, 1895.
Les Timbres du Wurtemberg. By J. B. MoSns. Bruxclles,

1881.
ZULULAND. Zululand. By B. W. H. Poole. London, 1909.

INDEX

Aberdeen University Library,
127

Abyssinia, 201

Accessories, 136-150

Acts of Parliament : Commonwealth,
63, 159; George III., 67; Uni-
form Penny Postage, loi, 159

"Adhesive Stamps of the British
Isles, The," 156

Africa, 2C4

"Aids to Stamp Collectors,"
Booty's, 123, 147

Aitutaki, 306

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, £04

Argentine Republic, 259

Ashurst, Mr. W. H., loi, 109, 159

AtheruEUjn^ 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

Batonn6 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-I^evrault, M. F. G. Oscar,

125, 269-271
Berlin Postal Museum, 330
Bermuda, 322
Billets de port pay e^ 81
Birchin-lane, Stamp exchange in

118, 121, 263

354

INDEX

Bisected provisional stamps, 23, 37,

219
Blest, Mr. W., 302
BleutCy 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, 17a
Boys^ Own Magazine, The, 127
Bradbury, Wilkinson & G)., 172
Brattleboro, 273
Brazil, 71, 116, 234
British Central Africa, 168
British Colonial Stamps, 32, 203, 311
British Guiana, 53, 219, 268, 269,

27if 275, 277, 282, 301, 321, 329,

331
British Museum, 97, 98, 134, 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
Burele, 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,

32s

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, c^ Dundee,

99, loi
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
Cliche, 24, 45
Clipperton Island, 259
Clotilde, Princess, 305
Coit, Mr. J. T., 296
Cole, Sir Henry, loi, 102, 106,

109, no, 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

INDEX

355

Commissioners of Post-office in-
quiry, loi, 109, 159
Commonwealth, posts during the,

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,

I73> 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 Telegraphy The, 264
Darius, I., 59
David's letter to Joab, 58
De la Rue & Co., Limited, i

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,

3i» 35. 36, 46, 51

Dilke, Mr., of The Athenaeum, 109

Diplomata of the Roman Em-
perors, 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

Earee, Rev. R. B., 243
Edinburgh, H.R.H. the Duke of,

I3i» 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

356

INDEX

Fabri, Sr. p., 302

Facsimiles of postage stamps, 28,
241

" Facts and Reasons," Mr. Ashurst's,
loi, 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 De-
tect 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

Fuchs, 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 y 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 Adhe-
sive 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

PIair-lines, 31

"Hand Catalogue of Postage

Stamps," Dr. Gray's, 124
Hand-made paper, 31, 39
Hanover, 61, 326
Hansardy 96-98
Harbeck, Mr. C. T., 302
Hardy, Mr. W. J., 298
Harrison, Mr. G. 302
Harrow perforating machine, 32
Plarwood's envelope, 109
Hausburg, M*-. L. L. R., 289
Hawaii, 205-207, 234, 259, 274,

295-299. 327-331
Hayman, Mr. H. L., 302

INDEX

357

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, no
House of Lords envelopes, 93, no
** 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-

18s
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 batonne 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

358

INDEX

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 Com-
mittee, 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
MekeePs Weekly Stamp News, 189
Mercantile Committee, The, lOi
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

Moens, M.J. B., 117, 128, 278

Moldavia, 207, 234, 306, 329, 331

Montenegro, 306

Monthly Advertiser, The, 128

Monthly Intelligencer and Contro-
versialist, 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, I75» 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, 3H
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

INDEX

359

Nova Scotia, 228, 267, 271
Nuncii et Cursores, 62

Gates, 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. , loi

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, iii, 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
Perce, per9age, 41, 42
Perforation, 24, 31, 32, 35, 42-44,

48, 139
Perforation-gauge, 43, 44
Perkins, Bacon & Co., 102, 106,

201, 228
Peroxide ofhydrogen. The use of, 138
Persia, 24, 59

Peru, 31, 71, 189, 267, 271, 325
Petersburg, 326
Petite Foste, 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 Col-
lection," 332
Postal fiscal, 45
Postal Stationery, 27, 28, 45
Postmarks, 23, 36, 41, 45, 140, 185

360

INDEX

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
Punchy 116
Puttick & Simpson, 281, 321

Quadrille 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

Renotiere, M. la, 275, 278, 296

Rep paper, 40, 47

Reprints, 47, 256, 325

Resetting, 47

Retouching, 47

Reunion, 269, 271, 329, 331

Reliterskiold, Baron A. de, 301

Revenue, 48

Reversed, 48

Ribbed paper, 40, 48

Roberts, Mr. Vernon, 302

Romagna, 240

Roman /(jJzVfl, 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 181 8,

86-93
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, H.R.H. the

Duke of, 131, 305-311
Saxony, 61, 269, 271
Schleswig-Holstein, 233
Scud^ri, 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 perifomtion, 49

INDEX

361

Smith, Mr. Alfred, 127

Smith, Mr. Stafford, 127

Societ6 Frangaise 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, 3ii> 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^ They

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

Tete-beche pairs, 50, 253

Thorne, Mr. W., 296

Thurn and Taxis, Counts of, 60-

62
Timbre- Poste^ Le^ 117, 128
Timbrologie i 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-j<?«j post, 80-82
Type (design), 53
Type-set stamps, 53
Typography, 46, 53

Uganda, 232

Uniform Penny Postage, 6^, 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

362

INDEX

Uruguay, 179, 180, 234, 306, 326
Used abroad, 53

Valette, M. Francois, 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 batonne paper, 53

Wove paper, 39, 53

Wright, Mr. Hastings E., 156, 160

Writing-up a collection, 148-150

Wurtemburg, 61, 311

Wyon, Mr. William, 1 06, 163

Young Ladies* Journal, Thetl^^t 267
Ysasl, Mr. V. G. de, 131

Zurich, 240, 271, 326

UNWIN BR0THBR8, LIMITED, THK GRESHAM PRESS, WOKING AVD LONDON.

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