UC-NRLF STANLEY GIBBONS, Inc. 19$ Br*4w*y, Nw Yrk 591 Strand, Lndn s o in C\J o M. RTCHABD90N. THE GENERAL ISSUES OF UNITED STATES STAMPS THEIR SHADES AND VARIETIES TO WHICH IS AFFIXED A HISTORY OF THE PRIVATE PERFORATING MACHINES AND THEIR PRODUCTS BY EUSTACE B. POWER WITH ILLUSTRATIONS 1909 Copyrighted, 1909, by Stanley Gibbons, Inc. FIRST EDITION NEW YORK STANLEY GIBBONS, INCORPORATED 198 BROADWAY LONDON STANLEY GIBBONS, LIMITED 391 STRAND PRESS OP THE HANN A ADAIR PRINTING Co. COLUMBUS. OHIO FOREWORD In offering this n the c >r United states Stamps I do so with the full knowledge tnat there are more exhaustive works already published, and I do not claim any originality in the work. It has been produced in response to many requests for a guide to shades, and also as a kind of warning to collectors what to avoid and what not to avoid. In the present day the value of unused stamps is often so stupendous that unscrupulous people are tempted to turn a dishonest penny by cleaning pen- struck copies, perforating and gumming proofs, erasing the word "specimen," etc., and it is to warn collectors of these practices that I have at times gone into seemingly minute descriptions. I am exceedingly indebted to the Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Mr. C. H. Mekeel, Mr. John N. Luff and many others for use of portions of their copyright works. * EUSTACE B. POWER, November, 1909. 198 Broadway, New York. 50019 THE ISSUE OF 1847. These two stamps do not require any particular atten- tion, inasmuch as there are no varieties to trouble the general collector. We have the five cents in various shades of brown and the ten cents in black. The paper is invar- iably a greyish blue, sometimes considerably varying in its thickness. The yellowish white papers have in my humble opinion been reduced to this state by discharging the blue from the original paper, whilst the lilac-grey laid paper varieties, the Gibbons' catalogue states are fraudu- lentexperimental, I think, would be a better description of them. Certainly, they were never made in 1847. VARIETIES. Ten Cents with shifted impression which makes the words ''Ten Cents" or "Post-office" appear double lined or with a double impression. COUNTERFEITS. The Government, when preparing sets for the Centen- nial Exhibition, held in Philadelphia in 1876, not having the original plates of this issue ordered the Government Bureau of Engraving and Printing to make imitations of these two values, which they did and managed it excellently. The ink on these imitations' is always uniform in color, whilst the original printing of the Five Cents nearly always shows little blotches, or better described, dark and light spots of colour. The gum on the 1847 is dark brown and crackly, UNITED STATES on the 1875 issue, very smooth. Perhaps the best test for the Five Cents is that the cravat above the letter I of FIVE is more hollowed out in the counterfeit. The best test for the Ten Cents is that the shading of the collar of the coat and of the cravat is not as distinctly separated as it is on the original. Washington also has a sleepy look not found on the originals, and the 1875 imitation has, for want of a better term, a misty appearance. FRAUDS. The favorite pastime for unscrupulous people is to take these two stamps, wash off the pen cancellations with eradicator, apply a nice clean and generally very white gum to the backs and pass them off as bargains! at half catalogue. The operation is: cost of one copy, one dollar wash, regum, sell at half catalogue for unused, five dollars, which makes the gum work out at about four dollars profit per application. Cancellation dies were uncommon in 1847 arid pen- struck copies are plentiful, but the cleaned stamps usually show a faint yellow-brown mark where cleaned, and if one trains the eye to look for it one can often see the two parallel scratches in the paper made by the two sides of the pen-point. VALUES. 5c Brown, unused $10.00 used $1.00 to $1.50 5c Deep Brown, unused 15.00 used i.oo to 1.50 Sc Red Brown, unused 10.00 used 1.25 5c Light Orange Brown, unused 30.00 used 5.00 loc Two shades of Black, unused 30.00 j 4.50 postally used. ( 3 . oo pen-struck. Pairs of the Five Cents are worth two dollars and a half and are not rare. Pairs of the Ten Cents are very POSTAL ISSUES. 7 uncommon and worth twelve to fifteen dollars. Green cancellations in this issue are also rare ; blue, red and black cancellations are common. The Ten Cents is known bisected and used as Five Cents, and is worth $35.00, but care must be exercised when purchasing this variety as forged splits are known. THE ISSUE OF 185160. These issues present considerable difficulty to the amateur. Here we find descriptions of one cent stamps with or without scrolls three cent stamps with or without lines five cent stamps with all, or part, or no projections and ten cent stamps with or without side scrolls, so that perhaps a careful description of the varieties will make things easier. THE ONE CENT, BLUE, FRANKLIN, IMPERFORATE. Here we have four really distinct types, although the catalogues usually make only three. Scott calls them I. II. III. Gibbons calls them A. B. C. Either term is as good as the other. TYPE I, The first type I or A is generally described as "full ornaments," sometimes as "full scrolls/' whilst the official description of the Post Office Department goes to the extreme of calling them "convolute scroll-work ornaments," but a better, (though not so euphonious) a description would be "with curls/' because it is the curls that consti- POSTAL ISSUES. tnte the variety or type. With these curls the stamp is a.s originally engraved and produced. The original die from which the plates were made was so engraved AND so REMAINED as the reprint with curls made in 1875 proves. In my opinion it is the scarcest of all the regular U. S. stamps in prime unused condition. Washed and cleaned copies are met with, mint copies hardly ever. The forger usually tries to paint in the curls from a copy of type II or B, whilst another trick is to cut off the perforations of the perforated issue and add margins. This, however, is not often done, since the color of the perforated stamp is never the deep rich blue of the imperforate issue. TYPE II. Type II or B is much like type I, inasmuch as the curved line still remains intact, but the curls and some- times the tips of the left and right corners at the bottom have been cut away. This is the variety most commonly met with and does not require further description except to warn collectors to look out for cleaned copies. Interesting cancellations are those of "United States City Delivery," "United States Mail," etc., showing their employment as government carriers from the post-office to the destination. 10 UNITED STATES TYPE III. Type III or C is generally described in the catalogues as the " broken circle. " The same line which in type I had curls beneath it, in type II had the curls cut away, in type III has the circle broken and is a hard stamp to find with satisfactory margins, and these are essential because the broken circle in the perforated stamp is its commonest state. The forger usually endeavors to work a poorly im- pressed circle away by scratching, and any specimen that is offered for sale will bear careful scrutiny. Hold the stamp flat with the light and look along the surface for any irregularities or roughening of the paper. Type IV, not in either catalogue, is Type III with the broken circle recut. This recutting is apparent by the heavier line of color which very often does not precisely join the old line. The variety is not rare, in fact it is quite as common if not commoner than Type II or B. FRAUDS. The only things to look out for are, as I have before mentioned, the painting in of the curls or the taking out POSTAL ISSUES. 1 1 of the curved line. The stamps 'are plentiful pen-struck which means harvest -time to the cleaner, but as a rule the same tell-tale brown line shows the attempt. The original brown gum is smooth and thick, the fraud gum is generally lumpy and whiter. A regummed stamp usually has a dis- tinct curl to it and the gum often shows along the edges on the color side of the stamp. VALUES. Fine Ordinary Unused Used Copies ic Blue, Type I $150.00 $30.00 $25.00 ic Deep blue, Type 1 150.00 30.00 25.00 TC Blue. Type II 2.50 .60 .40 ic Deep blue, Type II 2.50 .75 .50 ic Blue, Type III 50.00 10.00 7.50 ic Deep blue, Type TIT 50.00 10.00 7.50 ic Blue, Type IV 2.50 .60 .40 ic Deep blue, Type IV 2.50 .60 .40 A scarce shade is the light pale blue, worth double the ordinary blue price. Specimens with carrier cancellations are worth (in the common types) about one dollar each. Pairs with nice clear margins are worth three times the price of one fine copy. Red cancellations are nearly as common as black, while green cancellations are very rare, T have seen only one. THE THREE CENTS, RED, WASHINGTON. This stamp, of which more than twenty-eight plates were made, is the commonest of all the unperforated United States stamps. The stamp is found in innumerable shades. Many of the impressions show considerable wear and consequent blurring. We might perhaps list them : 12 UNITED STATES EARLY . SHARP IMPRESSIONS (RARE) . 50 Rose brown Unused, $7.50 Used, $0.16 30 Claret Unused, 7.50 Used, .16 3c Deep brown orange Unused, 7.50 Used, .25 LATER IMPRESSIONS (COMMON). 30 Red Unused, $2.50 Used, $0.02 30 Pale red Unused, 2.50 .Used, .02 30 Dull orange red Unused, 2.50 Used, .06 30 Yellowish red Unused, 2.50 Used, .06 Red cancellations are uncommon and should be worth twenty-five cents each. Pairs, hitherto plentiful, are get- ting very scarce, since one specialist absorbs all that are offered in his attempt to reconstruct the plates. They are worth, at least, twenty-five cents a pair. Cancellations in green, "United States, Boston Express Mail," and other scarce obliterations usually command from twenty-five to fifty cents each. FRAUDS. I do not know of any scheme on this stamp except the usual cleaning of penstruck copies. THE FIVE CENTS, BROWN, JEFFERSON. This is always found with its projections on all four sides intact thus: It is necessary to insist on good margins on all sides to distinguish the variety from its successor of 1855. The stamp is not rare and comes in two shades of red-brown. Unused it is decidedly rare mint, and the collector must be POSTAL, ISSUES. 13 cautious of the cleaner as it is a simple matter to wash a $7.50 copy into an unused specimen at $50.00. 5c Red brown .... 5c Deep red brown VALUES. Unused $50.00 50.00 Fine Used Ordinary $10.00 $7.50 10.00 7.50 Pairs unused are very rare, used pairs and even strips are not uncommon and should command not more than a reasonable premium. Both red and black cancellations are easily found. By some curious chance vertical pairs seem much more plentiful than horizontal pairs. I do not know why possibly some large correspondence may have turned up with pairs in this condition. THE TEN CENTS, GREEN, WASHINGTON. While the Scott catalogue does not make the distinc- tion of the two major type. differences, we find the Gibbons catalogue does. The distinction lays in the complete or incomplete condition of the Arabesque scrolls. TYPE A. TYPE B. In (A) it will be seen that these scrolls are complete whilst in (B) they are not so. Two shades, usually called 14 UNITED STATES blue-green and yellow-green are found, but I must really decline to call either shade blue-green. Dark green and yellow green would be better. Fine Unused Used Ordinary loc Dark green (A) $18.75 $i .00 $0.90 ice Yellow green (A) 18.75 i.oo .90 loc Dark green (B) 18.75 i.oo .90 loc Yellow green (B) 18.75 i.oo .90 Pairs are not rare, and cancellations seem equally divided between red or black. Blue and green obliterations are rare. Penstruck copies are numerous and cleaning has been greatly indulged in. From ninety cents to eighteen dollars is a great inducement. Green stamps when exposed to acid or ammonia nearly always assume a bluish cast. Therefore, any copy with blotchy gum and a suspiciously bluish cast should be put under the glass. Nine cases out of ten it has been cleaned. To my mind this value has always been a handsome stamp and the green a bea.utiful heavy color. With a red dated postmark, it makes a hand- some specimen. THE TWELVE CENTS, BLACK, WASHINGTON. This stamp is found in two very marked impressions of black, one of which is almost a grey. The stamp is very often found in pairs either with red or black cancellations. Green cancellations are very rare. The stamp is known bisected and used as six cents. Cleaned copies should be watched for and trimmed copies of the 1855 issue are sometimes found in albums. POSTAL ISSfKs. 10 VALUES. Fine Unused Used Ordinary ijc Deep black $20.00 $2.25 $i .85 I2c Grey black 30.00 3.00 2.50 I2c Split and used as six cents on cover with cancellation over the split 30.00 T1IK 24c, 30c, 90c VALUES. Although some albums space for these under 1851, the catalogue hooks the date '56 on the issue, and I believe these stumps were issued at the same time as the perforated set. At any rate they do exist unperf orated. The twenty- four cents is known in singles, with large margins, in pairs and in a very large part of a sheet. The thirty cents undoubt- edly unperf orated and on the entire cover was sold by rs. Stanley Gibbons to Mr. J. C. Morgenthau. who sold it to Mr. Tuttle. of Philadelphia, in about 1899. Other copies of the Thirty Cents are known, and the stamp is always in a brownish orange tint. Mr. Luff, in his magni- ficent work on United States Stamps, says: a well known philatelist makes this statement "I myself bought a Thirty Cents orange imperf orate at the New York post-office in 1860, and I distinctly remember having used one on a letter containing some photographs." Th? Ninety Cents unper- fprated was sold in the famous Hunter collection. There are other copies. A well known Xew York collection has a specimen. While none of the specimens I have seen have ever had really fine margins, there is a depth to the indigo which makes the color quite a contrast to the deep blue of the perforated stamp. 36 UNITED STATES VALUES. 240 Lilac grey " Unused, $150.00 Used, * * 300 Brownish orange Unused, 250.00 Used, * * poc Deep indigo .*. Unused, 450.00 Used, * * Pairs are so rare that no approximate price would ba of any use. THE ISSUE OF 1855 PERFORATED 15. This was the issue of 1851, perforated fifteen, and with various additions of varieties from a collector's point of view. THE ONE CENT, BLUE, FRANKLIN. Here we find the broken circle, Type III of the 1851 issue the commonest variety, while neither Type I nor Type II are nearly as scarce as in the previous issue. The shades are far more numerous than in the unperforated issue, and unused copies not very rare. The cleaning process of the forger is still much in evidence, and those copies that have gum should have a smooth dark brown variety. THE REPRINT. The reprint of this stamp is easily told. It was made for the Centennial in 1875, is not gummed, is perforated twelve instead of fifteen, is type I, and is always sky blue. VALUES. Fine Unused Used Ordinary ic Deep blue, Type I $20.00 $7-5O $6.00 ic Blue, Type 1 20.00 7.50 6.00 ic Pale sky blue, Type 1 30.00 10.00 7.50 ic Deep blue, Type II 10.00 1.25 .90 ic Blue. Type II 8.00 1.25 .90 ic Pale sky blue. Type II 12.50 2.00 1.50 ic Blue. Type III .50 .30 .15 ic Deep blue. Type III .50 .30 .15 ic Blue. Type IV 5.00 1.25 .75 ic Grey blue, Type IV 5.00 1.25 .75 ic Reprint (1875^ Type I 3.00 18 UNITED STATES THE THREE CENTS, RED, WASHINGTON. In the unperforated issue each stamp is surrounded by a rectangular line of colour, and this line is also found on the earlier plates of the perforated issue, forming the variety listed in the catalogue as "outer lines." But when it became necessary to have more room for the perforations, space at the top and bottom of every stamp was secured by providing plates without the horizontal lines, resulting in the ordinary variety "without lines" that is so plentiful today. Large quantities of this stamp seem to have been in the hands of Confederate postmasters, and when the issue was demonetized, a plentiful supply seems to have found its way into the dealer's hands, for one can purchase entire sheets even today. Red and green cancellations are very uncommon, and the darker shades are quite the better colours. REPRINT. The Centennial reprint is perforated twelve and is only found ungummed and printed in vermillion. VALUES. 3 r Brown rose, Type I Unused $12 ^0 Fine Used i $O 2s Ordinary $O 20 ?r Dull red Type I 12 ^0 2s 1 20 ?f* Claret Type I 15 oo I OO JC 30 Brown rose, Type IT.... 7.7C IO 06 V Pale red Type II 12 OS O2 30 Dull red, Type II 18 05 OS *r Partly perforated Used 15 oo vr Vermillion, Reprint .... .. . 10 OO V. Various colours with red cancellations. Each.. .25 POSTAL ISSUES. 19 THE FIVE CENTS, JEFFERSON. Perhaps this is more of a stumbling block to collectors than any one variety. We find the design intact, partly cut away and whoJy cut away. Type I has the four pro- jections intact and is exactly similar to the unperforated variety of 1851. Type II shows these projections at top and bottom partly cut away forming little angles, whilst in Type III we find the projections and the angles missing and part of the colourless hoops cut away. Types II and III are found on the same sheet. Mr. Luff states that the first, third, sixth and tenth rows are Type II and the balance of the sheet Type III. This stamp in the lake brown shades of Type I is often found cleaned of its penmarks. The crackly gum and humped appearance of the stamp usually tell the story. REPRINT. This value was reprinted in 1875, perforated twelve, without gum, in a bright orange brown from a plate which shows both Types II and III. Light red brown, Type I ... Red brown Type I . Unused $100.00 4O OO Fine Used ( $7.00 4 5O Ordinary $5.oo -j 71; Lake brown, Type I 4O.OO 6 oo c OO Deep brown Type I 25 oo 4 OO -i en Orange brown, Type II 5.00 4 OO T.OO Deep brown Type II 7 50 A OO 7 OO Orange brown, Type III Deep brown Type III 3.15 12 5O 3.50 2 50 2.50 300 Reprint Type II 10 OO Reorint. Tvoe III.. 10. OO 20 UNITED STATES VALUES. 5c 5c 5c Red cancellations are not rare, but Type I is very difficult to find in center, the perforations almost always cutting the design. I have quoted the nominal catalogue price on the orange brown shades of Types II and III, but to my mind this stamp is far commoner unused than used. THE TEN CENTS, GREEN, WASHINGTON. The two varieties of side ornaments and the two shades found in the issue of 1851 are seen here. Beyond this there is but little to describe. The stamp is as often found with red as with black cancellations. REPRINT. The reprint, perforated twelve, no gum, made in 1875 is always a distinct blue-green. VALUES. Fin< , Unused Used Ordinary roc Dark green, Type I $7.50 $0.75 $0.60 ice Yellow green, Type 1 5.00 .75 .60 ice Dark green, Type II 7.50 .50 .36 loc Yellow green, Type II 2.50 .50 .36 loc Blue green, reprint 10.00 POSTAL ISSUES. 21 The large remainder stock were all yellow-green and of Type II. THE TWELVE CENTS, BLACK, WASHINGTON. Perhaps this stamp may be called really hard to get well centered. The division between the stamps is very narrow, and rarely does one find a nicely centered copy. Being black it is often found cleaned and regummed. The reprint, perforated twelve, no gum, made in 1875, is al- ways a very greenish black. VALUES. Fine Unused Used Ordinary I2c Full deep black $2.50 $i-75 $1.25 I2G Grey black 2.50 1.75 1.25 120 Greenish black reprint 12.50 .... THE TWENTY-FOUR CENTS, LILAC, WASHINGTON. I never could reconcile the term lilac to this stamp. Its real colour is " stone" I should say. However, it is found in four distinct shades two of them are really more than shades. The stamp is often found cancelled with heavy black bars which spoil the appearance of used copies. Dated post-marks are considerably -scarcer than these bars, and red cancellations both scarce and very pleasing to the eye on this colour. The reprint, perforated twelve, no gum, made in 1875, is always a deep purple. Fine Unused Used Ordinary ... $=;.oo $4.50 $3.50 lilac 5 oo i 50 *rO * -J^ 3 50 purple 50.00 -r J^ J O 3^ sh lilac . 100.00 22 UNITED STATES VALUES. 240 Grey 240 Grey 240 Deep 240 Redd 240 Deep purple, reprint 15.00 The deep purple shade and the reddish lilac are on very thin paper. All the copies I have seen came from Europe, so possibly they may be some kind of sample im- pressions for official interchange. There was a beautiful pair of red-lilac in the Breitfuss collection which were bought by that collector possibly forty years ago. THE THIRTY CENTS, ORANGE, FRANKLIN. There is nothing particular to say about this specimen. There are two slight shades of the orange, and being easily oxidized can be found wholly or partly brown. A careful immersion in H 2 2 . (peroxide of hydrogen), will restore the colour. This is a nasty stamp to take the 'Cancellation, heavy bars as in the twenty-four cents being the usual obliteration. The reprint, made in 1875, no gum, perforated twelve, is distinctly yellow in colour. VALUES. Fine Unused Used Ordinary 30c Orange $8.75 $7.50 $6.00 300 Yellow, reprint 12.50 POSTAL, ISSUES. 23 T1IK N1NKTY (.'KNTS, BLUK, WASHINGTON. This stamp is very much scarcer used than unused, and many forged obliterations are about. There is practically no shade two tints of indigo would be all one can find. This stamp generally comes well centered, and until about h-ii years ago was fairly plentiful. The reprint .made in 1875, perforations twelve, is a'.so in the indigo shade of the .original. VALUES. ooc Indigo Unused, $18.75 Finely used, $20.00 ooc Reprint, indi/o Unused, 20.00 THE ISSUE OF 1861. PERFORATED 12. The first designs for this issue appeared in August, and were quickly 'Changed into retouched or amplified de- signs in the following month. But little is known of this first or August issue. They were printed in very deep rich colours on a very thin brittle paper which cracks easily. The Ten Cents and Twenty-four Cents values were un- doubtedly used, and I have had and sold the One Cent and Three Cents, cancelled, with three circles in the corner either "to order" or for some other purpose. To show both the original and the modified designs I put the two illustrations side by side: but I may add that no distinc- tive mark has ever been found on the Twenty-four Cents or on the Thirty Cents values. Their colour, however, easily marks them out from the September issue. The August impressions are usually very clear and very heavily inked, in fact, their clearness and sharpness have often earned for them the name of premieres gravures. THE ONE CENT, BLUE, FRANKLIN. AUGUST SEPTEMBER The distinguishing mark of the August is its deep rich indigo colour and the absence of the little dash under the POSTAL ISSUES. 25 extreme right end of the left foliate ornament at the top of the stamp. The September issue with the little dash is, of course, quite a common stamp, seeing it was in use for over six years. Shades are numerous, and two very distinct papers are found, one of which is much thicker than the other. It is not generally known why so many unused specimens are found with full gum, but with perforations cut carelessly away by scissors. Years ago, ten of these stamps were folded up, put into an envelope and used during the war as ten cent currency. One New York dealer showed me hundreds of this stamp so mutilated, and he stated to me that he had several thousands of them at one time, years ago. I have seen a copy used with the carrier cancellation of 1851, which must be very uncommon. Red cancellations are unusual, and the deep shades decidedly rare. The stamp was reprinted for the Centennial in a bright blue on white paper with white gum, but unlike the reprints of the issues of 1847 and 1855, it is still available for postage, and is analogous to the reissues of France in 1862 &c. The original issue has been found on a distinctly laid paper. VALUES. Fine Unused Used Ordinary ic Indigo, August $600.00 .... ic Deep blue, September 1.25 $0.36 $0.25 ic Bright blue, September 1.25 .30 .20 ic Blue, September .50 .18 .12 ic Pale grey blue, September.. .50 .18 .12 ic Blue on laid paper 15.00 ic Reissue (1875) 9.00 9.00 26 UNITED STATES THE THREE CENTS RED, WASHINGTON. AUGUST SEPTEMBER The difference between the designs of the August and September issues lays in the addition of a ball in each corner. The August issue did not and the September issue did have this distinguishing mark. There is but one real shade of the August stamp, which is generally called claret, but specimens in vermillion and other fancy colours are known which are probably either essays or proofs. In the September issue we find .an enor- mous range of shades, running from pink to deep lake. The pink has always been very highly prized and sought after why, I do not know there are many shades so close to it and so many shades almost as uncommon that I per- sonally am inclined to call this shade the most over-rated United States stamp. However, the catalogues list it and the albums space for it, and great is their influence. I do not believe the deep-rose was ever issued to the postmasters, as I have never seen a used copy although I have looked through at least ten thousand of this stamp. The stamp exists unperforated, both unused and used copies in this condition being quite in evidence ; and it is also found on the same laid paper as the One Cent value. It was re- printed in 1875 in a dark brownish red on white paper with very white gum. I have been asked why the reissues of this three cent stamp and the three cents of 1869 are priced so POSTAL ISSUES. 27 much more than the surrounding values. The cause is easily explained; the Three Cents, both of this and of the 1869 issue, were so very common that collectors in 1875, nut realizing that the Centennial prints were varieties, did not buy these values as they already had, (as they sup- posed) these specimens in their collections. Hence fewer were bought, fewer saved, and therefore their scarcity today. VALUES. ^C Claret August Unused $40 oo Fine Used Ordinary O*- 30 Pink, September *r -r^ v ^ w 7^.00 $5 oo $4 oo 7 ,c Deep rose September O 3 * ^ * I ' ^O C/ ' **** *r~T * v ^-' *j^ 3C y 3C 3c 3c 3c Deep terra-cotta, September Brown rose, September Pale brownish rose, Sept... Rose (Imperf.) September. Rose, on laid paper Brown red, reissue 1875.... * ~ 3*-* 25 .25 .25 7-50 50.00 JJ-50 .04 .04 .04 5.00 5.00 .02 .02 .02 4.00 3-oo THE FIVE CENTS. MUSTARD. .JEFFERSON. AUGUST SEPTEMBER The difference between the August and the September issue lies in the corner ornaments. In the September issue we find a curved foliate ornament added to the center of the design in each corner. The August issue is a soft orange brown colour. The September colours run in ochre, brown ochre and an olive yellow. The ochre shade is alwavs a bad one for used 28 UNITED STATES copies which do not show up well, the brown ochre being more pleasing. I have seen copies of a distinctly greenish yellow colour, but consider them chemical changelings. On account of its rarity unused, cleaned specimens are not uncommon and should be guarded against. VALUES. Fine Unused Used Ordinary 5c Orange brown, August $450.00 5c Ochre, September 40.00 $6.00 $5.00 50 Brown ochre, September 40.00 6.00 5.00 5c Olive yellow, September.... 50.00 12.00 10.00 THE TEN CENTS, GREEN, WASHINGTON. AUGUST SEPTEMBER The difference between the August and September issues lies in the bottom ends of the lines running under the five stars at the top of the stamp. In the August issue the lines are not bounded by any line of colour, whereas in the September issue at the toe of these shading lines there is a line of colour which runs from the foliate orna- ment at the right to the foliate ornament at the left. The August variety is always a very deep green and is generally found with red cancellations. A large number were used on correspondence to Ham el & Co., of Haibana. The September issue also comes in the exact colour of the August issue, and also in blue-green and yellow-green. I POSTAL ISSUES. 29 consider the blue-green a scarce stamp either used or un- ised. The reprint made in 1875 is a bright green, is on the usual very white paper, and has white gum. It has a bluish cast to the colour, but nothing like the blue-green of 1861. Pen-cancellations are often removed by the cleaners and should be guarded against. VALUES. Unused Used Ordinary ice Deep green, August $50.00 $7-50 $6.00 loc Blue green, September 5.00 .36 .18 loc Deep green, September 3.75 .36 .18 loc Yellow green, September... 2.00 .25 .12 loc Bluish green, reissue (1875) 12.50 THE TWELVE CENTS, BLACK, WASHINGTON. SEPTEMBER The difference between the August and September issues is easily noted. The latter has the entire corner added, bringing the design into rectangular form. The later issue is found in two shades of black, also in a peculiar slatish black shade on very thin paper. This stamp is hard to find well centered, is often cleaned and passed off as unused, and with red cancellation is quite scarce. The reprint made in 1875 is dead black on the usual white paper with white gum. 30 UNITED STATES VALUES. Fine Unused Used Ordinary i2c Black, August $400.00 I2c Black, September 2.00 $0.75 $0.62 I2c Grey black, September 2.00 .75 .62 i2c Slate black, September 4.50 1.50 .75 I2c Black, reissue (1875) 17.50 THE TWENTY-POUR CENTS, REDDISH-PURPLE, WASHINGTON. There is no distinguishing mark between the Auinist and September issues except by colour. The August issue is invariably a deep soft violet, the September issue a sharp reddish purple. The stamp is very hard to find well cen- tered. The reprint made in 1875 is called violet, but brownish violet would be a better description. It has the usual white paper and gum. VALUES. Fine Unused Used Ordinary 24c Violet, August $150.00 $50.00 $40.00 24c Reddish purple, September 17-50 i.oo .75 24c Purple, September I/-5O i.oo .75 24c Brown violet, reissue 1875. 25.00 .... .... THE THIRTY CENTS, ORANGE, FRANKLIN. Again no distinction between the August and Sep- tember issues except colour. The August stamp is bright orange-red, the September stamp deep orange and orange- yellow, two distinct colors which should be more fully POSTAL ISSUES. recognized. The reprint made in 1875 is a very deep orange on the usual white paper with white gum. The originals of 1861 are very hard to get in fine used condition, the cancellations being particularly heavy and unsightly as a rule. VALUES. Fine Unused Used Ordinary 300 Orange red, August $450.00 300 Deep orange, September... 7.50 $1.25 $0.75 300 Orange yellow, September. 5.00 i.oo .75 300 Deep orange, reissue 1875.. 35 - THK NJNKTV CENTS, BLUE, WASHINGTON. AUGUST SEPTEMBER Tin- difference between the August and the September s lies in the arch at the top which surmounts the rib- bon bearing the words United States Postage. In the Aug- ust issue the white portion of this arch has no engraving, whilst the September issue shows small horizontal dashes running along the center of the white portion of the arch. The August variety comes in a slate blue, sometimes rather mottled in appearance, whilst the September issue is found in three shades, deep blue, blue and marine blue. The reprint made in 1875 is a very deep but clear blue, is on the usual white paper, with white gum. 32 UNITED STATES VALUES. Fine Unused Used Ordinary QOC Slate blue, August $650.00 QOC Deep blue, September 15.00 $3.50 $3.00 QOC Blue, September 15.00 3.50 3.00 ooc Marine blue, September 25.00 5.00 3.00 QOC Deep biue, reissue (1875).. 35. oo THE ISSUE OF 1862-6. PERFORATED 12. Really consists of the Three, Five and Twenty-four cent stamps of the 1861 design, in changed colours, with the addition of a two Cents value. THE TWO CENTS, BLACK, JACKSON. This is one of the best known stamps of the United States. Ask any person who collected years ago what United States stamps he had and he will tell you "a post boy," "a steam-engine" and a stamp that was "all head." This "all head" stamp is the Two Cents Jackson of 1863. The stamp sometimes is found on Avhat appears to be a greyish green paper, but in reality this is caused by poor wiping of the plates. Two shades, grey black and deep black constitute the only varieties of color. Stamps are known bisected and used as One Cent. This stamp has been found on the laid paper like the One and Three Cents, 1861. Specimens are known on a brown chemical paper which was an experimental production by Dr. Francis. By wetting the stamp, the paper changed color and the stamp became obliterated. The Postmaster General had ten thousand of these made. All that I have seen were used from Newport, R. I. The stamp was re- printed for the Centennial in a very deep clear black, on the distinguishing white paper and with the usual white crackly gum. 84 UNITED STATES VALUES. Fine Unused Used Ordinary 2c Grey black on greyish sur- faced paper $0.50 $0.12 $0.08 2c Black on yellowish paper... . .50 .12 .08 Bisected and used as I Cent 30.00 .... 2c Deep black, reissue (1875).. 12.50 THE THREE CENTS, SCARLET, WASHINGTON. That this stamp was really issued there can be no doubt. Mr. Scott secured some at face value from the New Orleans postmaster. The used copies I have seen have generally had cancellations of the period of 1883 and were probably cancelled ''to oblige,'' although why any collector should desire to cancel so handsome a stamp I cannot see. The imperforate copies are undoubtedly proofs, and these are sometimes privately and fraudulently perforated. Care should be taken that the size of the stamp is correct when purchasing this variety. VALUES. 3c Scarlet Unused, $90.00 Penstruck, $35.00 THE FIVE CENTS, BROWN, JEFFERSON. This is the same stamp issued in 1861 except for its new shades which run from chestnut down to a deep black brown. I have seen copies in the exact bright red-brown of the Five Cents of 1855, but the unused copies never have had gum, and I consider them changelings. The chestnut or red-brown shades are quite scarce, unused, as is also the Unused $IS OO Fine Used ( $7. so Drdinary estnut . . 15 oo 3.50 3-OO 3 . 50 .60 SO 3W11 3 50 .60 own . i S . oo 1. 00 .75 POSTAL ISSUES. 35 In it- black brown shade. The reissue made in 1875 is a warm brown tint, is on white paper with the usual white gum. VALUES. 5c Chestnut 5c Dark c 5c Brown 5c Dark t 5c Black 1 5c Light brown, reissue, (1875) 12.50 THE FIFTEEN CENTS, BLACK, LINCOLN. The necessity for this value arose from the regulation fixing upon fifteen cents as the rate for registration. The stamp comes in two very different thicknesses of paper but without much shade. Greyish black and full black will suffice for description. It is a very hard stamp to find well centered, and is often found with a heavy blue cancellation greatly spoiling its appearance. Being black and scarce unused, the cleaner usually endeavors with some success to wash off the pen cancellations. The usual tests will generally show the attempt. The reissue made in 1875 is a deep black on white paper and with the usual white gum. VALUES. Fine Unused Used Ordinary I5c Grey black $8.00 $0.75 $0.50 i5c Full black 8.00 .75 .50 I5c Black, reissue, (1875) 30.00 3(5 UNITED STATES THE TWENTY-FOUR CENTS, LILAC-GREY. WASHINGTON. The rich red-violet shades of 1861 have been replaced by grey and stone shades, and the attempt to describe the colors is well nigh impossible. They range from grey, through grey lilacs down to a deep blue grey. I believe some of the greenish-grey colours that are about to be changelings. A copy is known printed on both sides, which is a very uncommon occurrence with such careful printers as the National Bank Note Company. This stamp is also very difficult to get in center, and the heavy form of cancellation noted on the Fifteen Cents value is much in evidence on this stamp. VALUES. Fine Unused Used Ordinary 240 Grey $5.00 $0.90 $0.60 240 Grey lilac 5.00 .90 .60 24c Grey brown 5.00 .90 * .60 240 Steel 10.00 2.50 1.50 THE ISSUE OF 1867-8. PERFORATED 12. This issue consists of every value of the 1861-3 sets, the difference being that the 1867-8 issue is distinguished by a small rectangular impression on the back of the stamp, sometimes quite heavily marked, at other times so faint as to make measurement difficult. It will be noticed that in previous issues I have repeatedly warned collectors against the manipulations of the "cleaner," and whilst today this is done by unscrupulous people to enhance the value of a stamp, it was also a source of trouble to the Government away back in 1867. In this year Mr. Charles F. Steel patented a process for grilling or engrailing stamps. It would be useless in this work to go into a long and detailed descripton of the means employed to produce this grille, so suffice it to say that a portion of the paper was impressed with a grille thus: ENLARGED CUT OF A GRILLE. This grille broke the even texture of the paper after the stamp was printed and gummed. The general idea was that any ink falling upon the broken portion of the paper would sink into the texture of the paper and remain there, 38 UNITED STATES so embedded that the "cleaner" would be unable to dis- charge it with the usual chemicals employed. These grilles are found in an enormous number of hairsplitting measure- ents which I do not propose to enumerate here, satisfying myself with the usually accepted measurements. These grilles are also found impressed from the front of the stamp, (points down), or from the back of the stamp (points up). These varieties with grille first appeared in 1867, and two years later we find an entirely new issue, so that none of them are very common except the usual three cent value. Before listing the values, I should like to say that I consider the One Cent stamp with the entire face grilled to be, at best, an essay. The variety has never been found used, and the unused specimens 1 have seen have never had the grille pressed out by the hydraulic press, as was always done, after the impression was made. The Three Cents grilled all over, nearly always has some of its perforations missing, the grilling making the perforation points very brittle and easily damaged. VALUES. (A) With embossing covering the entire stamp. ic Blue (very questionable if ever issued) Fine Unused Used Ordinary 3c Rose $32.50 $8.75 $7.50 5c Brown 650.00 500.00 .... 300 Orange 750.00 , The 3c value is known unperforated. I class it with the One Cent blue, grilled all over. (See previous descrip- tion.) POSTAL ISSUES. O* (B) and unless a pair is shown, collectors may view the imperforate varieties with suspicion. The Two Cents vermillion was never re- engraved, and continued in use until replaced by the Two Cents Washington in 1883. THE THREE CENTS, GREEN. WASHINGTON. This being the letter rate and millions of the stamp being used, it is only natural that shades should be numer- ous. The grilled issue, however, is none too plentiful for so common a stamp. Again in this issue we find so-called imperforate copies which probably have been shorn of their perforations. Copies have been sometimes found in blue which are merely colour changelings, probably through contact with ammonia or some >acid. NATIONAL CONTINENTAL The National has but slight shading under the upper prong of the tail ribbon of THREE, while the Continental has a heavy shading. 56 UNITED STATES ORIGINAL RE-ENGRAVED In the re-engraved stamp of 1881-2 the curved shading around the outer colorless line encircling the medallion has been greatly reduced and the background heavily touched up. The re-engraved issue is always in ia blue green, but the shades of the National and Continental printings are so numerous that I shall merely list the more marked tints. (7) Printed "by the National Bank Note Co. Hard paper, with grille. 1870. Finely Unused Used Ordinary 3c Green $2.50 $0.06 $0.04 Without Grille. 1871. 30 Pale green Unused, $i . 50 Used, $0.02 3c Deep green Unused, 1.50 Used, .02 (77) Printed ly the Continental Bank Note Co. 1873. With Grille. 30 Green Unused, $12.50 Without Grille. 30 Deep green Unused, $i . oo Used, $o . 02 30 Pale green "Unused, .75 Used, .02 30 Deep bluish green Unused, i.oo Used, .02 POSTAL ISSUES. 57 SPECIAL PRINTING, 1875, ON A VERY WHITE PAPER, UNGUMMED. 30 Blue green Unused, $50.00 (///) Printed by the American Bank Note Co., 1879. Soft porous paper. 3c Green Unused, $0.36 Used, $0.02 30 Dark green Unused, .36 Used, .02 SPECIAL PRINTING, 1880. UNGUMMED. 3c Blue green Unused, $100.00 RE-ENGRAVED, 1881-2. 3c Pale green Unused, $0.18 Used, $0.02 30 Deep green Unused, . 18 Used, .02 THE FIVE CENTS, BLUE. TAYLOR. Is an easier stamp to handle. Not being issued till 1875, the Continental Bank Note Co. was the designer of the frame while the Government Bureau furnished the medallion, which had been used for some years on a tobacco revenue stamp. This stamp has been often described as on bluish paper. Such, however, is not the ease, but we do find it printed from insufficiently wiped plates, which gives the appearance of bluish surfaced paper. The shades are very marked > III UNPEEFORATED IN SHEETS. Issued in sheets of 400 stamps (20 by 20). 7. Part-Perforated in Strips. The part-perforated stamps, whether rolled "sidewise" or "lengthwise" are attached in consecutive strips of 500 or 1000 stamps and rolled upon a small paste-board cone ready to be placed in the machine for immediate use. The perforation used is the same as the regular issue and a pair of the "sidewise" variety is illustrated as follows: The "lengthwise" variety is represented thus in pair. These stamps are put up neatly with oiled paper en- closing the rolls. Each roll is marked with the name of 96 UNITED STATES the employee who is responsible for the count and the whole endorsed with a printed label, of which the following is a sample. 500 1C. STAMPS ROLLED SIDEWISE PERFORATED The varieties known are listed as follows: /. Part-Perforate : a Perforated vertically between. le. green. 2c. carmine. 4c. brown. 5c. blue. lOc. yellow. b $ Perforated horizontally between. le. green. 2c. carmine. 5c. blue. The following announcement regarding above varie- ties was made by the P. 0. Department in December, 1908, in the official postal guide: STAMPS IN ROLLS. December 23, 1908. The Department is now prepared to issue limited quantities of postage stamps in rolls of 500 or 1000 for use in stamp-vending and stamp-affixing machines. The stamps will be coiled on paper cores, one-half inch in diameter. To secure stamps in this form postmasters will make requisition on Form 3201, and attach to it a letter stating: 1. Whether the stamps are desired for use in a stamp-vending or stamp-affixing machine. 2. Whether the stamps are desired in coils of 500 or of 1000 stamps each. POSTAL ISSUES. 97 3. Whether the strips should be arranged with stamps endwise or sidewise. 4. Whether the blank margin between the stamps should be perforated or unperforated. W<> give an illustration of the machine in which the rolls attached "sidewise" are used. "The Automatic Envelope Sealing and Stamp Affixing Machine" handled from Providence, R. I. This device will seal, stamp and count 4500 envelopes per hour, doing the work of six clerks, and a boy can operate it. US UNITED STATES The stamps attached "lengthwise" are prepared es- pecially for the Elliott Postage Stamp Affixer Co., of San Francisco, Calif. Mr. Charles Elliott, the president of the company writing under date of March 24th, says: When the writer was in Washington last October showing the Hon. A. H. Lawshe, Third Assistant Postmaster General, our stamp vending machines, we asked him if the department would supply stamps in rolls, and Mr. Lawshe agreed to the proposition. We use these stamps in our machines just as they are supplied by the government. There is special mechanism in our machines which we use in conjunction with the transverse perforations to insure the cutting off of the stamp exactly at the perforation. We believe that it is not generally known that stamps of the same denomination vary slightly in length. You will see, if you take a sheet of stamps and measure them very carefully, there is a slight variation. Added to this, when stamps are joined in a continuous strip, same as supplied by the Postoffice, there is necessarily a larger variation in the length where the stamps are joined. This has been a stumbling block to all inventors, although a good many have realized that there was this variation. Our mechanism is such that it will take care of even greater variations in length than those we find in a roll of stamps. We regret that it the time of writing we have not any printed matter ready to send you, but will give you a brief description of the vending machines, which we are about to submit to the Govern- ment and the stamp affixing machine, of which we have several in use. We are submitting two vending machines to the government, one in which you drop a one-cent piece in the slot, pull a lever down and a stamp is delivered to you down a small chute. The dropping of the coin connects up the mechanism and when the lever is pulled down the following operation ensues : The ribbon of stamps is advanced, then arrested precisely at the perforation, and a knife which has a scissor blade motion cuts the stamp off and allows it to fall down the delivery chute. As soon as the lever is released, it returns to its original position ready for the next opera- tion. In front of the machine is a small window, showing what coin was put into the machine. If an attempt is made to obtain a stamp with a coin or slug smaller than a one-cent piece, the coin or slug is returned down the stamp delivery chute, but no stamp is given. The slot in which the coin is inserted is exactly the size POSTAL ISSUES. 99 for the coin to be used and will not take a bent or mutilated coin. The other machine we are sending the Government is for the sale of 2-cent stamps. The mechanism is practically the same as the machine just described with the addition that two i-cent pieces must be dropped into the slot before a stamp can be procured. Should only one coin be dropped, it is returned and no stamp is given, or should a one-cent piece and a dime be dropped into the machine, both coins are returned and no stamp is given. Our stamp affixing machine contains a special mechanism which insures the cutting off of the stamp at the perforation and has a moistening device and mechanism to press the stamp to the enve- lope. The machine is actuated by the revolution of a small handle. The operation is briefly this : The letter to be stamped is slid on to a small table in front of the machine and passes under the moisten- ing device, which wets the corner of the envelope. As the handle is turned a stamp is projected, cut off and a rubber roller is pressed down on the stamp to affix it firmly to the letter. This rubber roller then revolves, throwing the letter off the machine. A small counter or register inside of the machine advances one unit every time the handle is turned, thus keeping check of the number of stamps used. This can be seen through the glass in top of the case without unlocking the machine. The stamps are always locked up, as it is not necessary to open that part of the machine to operate it. The size of the stamp affixer is 10x7x6. The size of the latest vending machine is 18 inches high, 5 inches deep and 8^ inches wide. It is impossible in the space at our disposal to give even a casual description of all the stamp vending and mailing machines to which the use cf the part perforated II. S. stamps are adapted. The records of between forty and fifty machines may be found in the U. S. Patent Office. UNPERFORATED IX STRIPS. The unperf orated stamps issued in strips rolled "side- wise" or "lengthwise" are attached in consecutive strips of 500 or 1000 stamps, rolled and put up in the same manner as the part-perforates. Some of the machines are furnished with knives for cutting off the stamps as they are fed out; these use the 100 UNITED STATES unperforated stamps which are issued in continuous strips by the P. 0. Department, and rolled 500 and 1000 stamps to the reel. Some of the machines requiring special perforations also use these unperforated rolled strips, but first apply the special perforation that is required. The Brinkerhoff perforation is one that has been applied this way to the Government rolls; they have also had stripped in their own factory the unperforated sheets as supplied by the P. 0. Department. UNPERFORATED IN SHEETS. Sheets are issued by the P. 0. Department of 400 stamps 20 by 20. Most of the special perforations are applied to stamps which are issued unperforated in sheets. We ignore fancy perforations applied by those who seek to devise new varieties for stamp collectors, listing only those that have been originated by patented machines without suspicion of speculation, issued for legitimate pos- tal purposes. We may mention here, the Sewing Machine Perforations that have been applied unofficially to most of the varieties of U. S. Stamps that have been issued un- perforated in sheets. Collectors should avoid paying fancy prices for varie- ties of this kind. This perforation originated with a postage stamp broker, who came into possession of some unperforated stamps which were unsaleable to his custo- mers and he had the sewing machine perforation applied to make them saleable. The stamps soon attracted the attention of collectors, and accommodating varieties were the result. POSTAL, ISSUES. 101 The Schermack Mailing Machine Co. has been the most extensive user of stamps of any patented machine, owing to the successful adoption of their device by many of the large business houses in Chicago. SCHERMACK MAILING MACHINE NOW KNOWN AS THE We illustrate this machine, which is now known as the ' ' Mailometer. " Mr. Joseph J. Schermack, the inventor, has given us some very interesting information with re- 102 UNITED STATES gard to the various methods of perforation that were employed during its development. SCHERMACK NO. I le 1902 green 2c 1902 light bright carmine 2c 1902 dark carmine lake. This perforation was originally applied to sheets of unperforated stamps, it being the same size as the ordinary Government perforation, in which only eight holes ap- peared between the stamps, the idea being to leave an un- perforated margin above and below to strengthen the strip. "Some of the center sections of the special punch backing strip being -a trifle smaller in size than the others, which prevented one or two less of the punches acting at a certain point," is the inventor's way of accounting for the- variations which are sometimes found in this perfora- tion where but six or seven holes appear instead of eight, as shown in our illustration. A question having been raised &bout Schermack Per- forations Nos. 1 -and 2, the following letter was called out from Mr. Schermack, which quieted the matter: "The Detroit Mailing Machine Company, later the Schermack Mailing Machine Company, now the Mailometer Company, made and sold more than 50,000 specially prepared stamps in strip form POSTAL ISSUES. 103 of the one and two cent denomination, having a series of round hole perforations in the center of the strip, leaving an unperforated margin on both sides of the perforations. These stamps were sold to and used by a number of the first prospective purchasers of the Schermack Mailing Machine." This statement can be verified by the following list of witnesses : Mr. Chas. B. Davis, now owner of the Crawford Laundry Co., had been general manager of the S. M. M. Co. when this style of perforation was used; Mr. Rosenberg, Mr. Gracen and others of the Rose Printing Company were assisted by Mr. H. Chaffee and Mr. A. Schermack and others of the S. M. M. Co. in perforating over 50,000 stamps of the style in question in the shop of the Rose Printing Company, spending several days on the work during October, 1907. The following Detroit concerns used the Schermack Mailing Machine and bought and used stamps having the special round hole style of perforation in question, previous to January, 1908: Rogers & Van Leyen Company, used over 50,000. Murphy Chair Company used over 3,000. Park, Davis & Co. used over 3,000. D. M. Ferry & Co. used over 3,000. Michigan State Telephone Co. used over 3,000. Whereas the first tool for the hyphen-hcle perforations was not made until January, 1908, by Mr. Grover Cleveland, now of Sturgis, Michigan. This man did not enter our employ until more than 50,000 stamps having the special round hole style were sold to and used by the above concerns. Aside from these few people, any number of office and factory employes and users can be had to prove my statement." SCHERMACK NO. H Ic 1902 green 2c 1902 light bright carmine 2c 1902 dark carmine lake. 104 UNITED STATES This perforation consisted of six larger holes and was applied only in strips. This perforation was in use on the Schermack Machine in the latter part of 1907, over 50,000 Ic and 2c stamps having been issued to concerns in Detroit, Mich., which w.as the home of the operating company. SCHERMACK NO. Ill Ic 1902, dark green Ic 1902, light yellow green 2c 1902, dark carmine lake 2c 1902, bright light carmine 4e 1902, dark orange brown 5c 1902, blue Ic 1908, green 2c 1908, carmine 3c 1908, violet 4c 1908, brown 5c 1908, blue 2c 1909, (Feb. 12) stamps 2mm apart 2c 1909, (Feb. 12) stamps 3mm apart. This perforation (commonly known as the hyphen- hole) as introduced in January, 1908, when the first tool for the production of this special perforation was made in the shop of the Schermack Mailing Machine Co., in Detroit. POSTAL ISSUES. 105 In preparing the stamps with this perforation, sixty thousand 'are put through the perforating machine at one time. One hundred and fifty unperforated sheets of 400 each are attached sideways and run through the machine, which perforates and strips the stamps, rolling them into coils of 3000 each sidewise. In this way they are supplied to the users of the machine at an advance over face value of 50 cents per coil of three thousand. The Mailometer Company, which has succeeded the Scherinack Mailing Machine Company, are making a stren- uous effort to have the U. S. Government provide through the Post Office Department, stomps with the necessary perforation for use in their machines, so as to be relieved of the extra expense of special preparation which is now required. The following circular was recently issued by the company : ''REGARDING REELED STAMPS AT PRESENT PROVIDED BY THE POST OFFICE. These stamps are not adaptable to our machine or to any machine doing rapid work. The perforations in the Government stamps cut the paper so completely as to weaken the strip, causing same to frequently break apart, thus making it necessary to be continually re-threading the machine. When the stamps break apart, the envelopes continue to pass through the machine andj as they go through without stamps, must be put through another time, thus causing extra work and destroying the record of count. Also, the perforations are so very small as to make it necessary to provide extremely fine needle-point feeding fingers on the machine or they will not enter the perforations. These fingers being so small, they have a very sharp end and, in a short time, wear down and fail to do their work. If they are kept sharp enough to operate: in the. small perforations, they frequently dig into the stamps and cause improper feeding and cutting of same. For these reasons, the present perforated stamp furnished by the Government cannot be used in a machine. The unperforated stamps are also impractical, as the machine, being blind, cannot see the print and therefore cannot tell where to 106 UNITED STATES cut between the stamps. It must have some sort of perforation in order to feel the point at which the stamp i? to be severed. Without perforations, it is necessary to feed the stamps through by rollers or jaws. In either case, the feed will vary to such a degree as to cause frequent destruction of stamps, as, in dry weather, the gum on the stamps is smooth and they will slip, and in humid or damp weather, the gum becomes tacky and causes a different feed from when dry. This, and several other reasons, makes it absolutely impossible to use the present stamps furnished by the Government. We enclose herewith sample of the stamp which we desire adoptd, and which is the only practical stamp for all machines. MAILOMETER NO. 1 2c, 1908, carmine. The perforation shown above is similar to the Scher- mack No. 2, except that the holes are larger. This perfora- tion is now in use, and was the one first submitted to the Post Office Department. An objection was made at Wash- ington because the holes did not extend clear to the edge, as would be necessary if the Bureau put perforating wheels on their machines to cut this size holes. As a result, it has been suggested that a perforation of large holes be adopted that will extend clear across the space between the stamps. POSTAL ISSUES. 107 MAILOMETER NO. II 2c, 1908, carmine. The last idea is illustrated by the above cut; it has already been issued and applied to some of the Mailometer Machines. It seems quite probable that this will be the perforation used hereafter, succeeding completely the Schermack Perforation No. 3, which is still in use upon most of the machines. Mr. Joseph J. Schermack, the inventor of the mailing machine above mentioned, is no longer connected with the company, but is manufacturing a Stamp Vending Machine, SCHERMACK STAMP VENDER which will sell stamps at face value from druggists' coun- ters with a special advertising feature. This machine is 108 UNITED STATES illustrated herewith and is now dispensing stamps with the Schermack perforation No. 3; he anticipates the issu- ance by the Post Office Department of the Mailometer No. 2 Perforation, or something similar. When this is accom- plished he expects to use the stamps in his machine in whatever form they are supplied by the Government, adapting the mechanism of his machine to the same. The story of the evolution of the three Schermack perforations cannot be told better than does the following extracts from letters of Mr. Schermack to the author: "The hyphen-hole perforation that we now use is the final result of experimenting extending over a period of several years, trying to make a mailing machine handle the regular governmental perforations. We tried them in every possible form, singly, in strips, in sheets and in ribbon form, all with the same result, that the ordinary perforation made the stamp too weak to handle with any degree of safety or rather certainty in a machine. A perfora- tion of some kind has been found absolutely essential in order to insure accuracy in feeding. You no doubt know that the extreme variation in the size of a sheet of four hundred stamps as they are printed is as much as five-sixteenths of an inch. This on a length of twenty stamps would of course make one sixty-fourth of an inch in each stamp, thus you can readily see how impossible it would be to feed an unperforated strip with any degree of accuracy. For after feeding but a few stamps they would cut into the design, no matter how positive a mechanic'al feed was used. So that while a perforation of some kind was needed the stamp must still be strong enough to handle. This led us to adopt in the first place a system of round-hole perforations in the center of the strip." "The first ones used were of the regulation size, same as the government perforation, consisting, however, of only six or seven holes in the middle between the stamps, leaving an unperforated margin above and below to strengthen the strip. Upon finding that the openings were too small for practical use six larger sized holes were adopted." "While this style answered the purpose very well, the round holes did not permit easy entrance of the small hardened steel fingers used in feeding. This suggested the use of slots and the so-called hyphen-hole perforation was adopted. This we find to be thoroughly practicable, and in my opinion is the beginning of its POSTAL ISSUES. 109 universal adoption for use in stamps to be used in mechanical devices." The "U. S. Automatic Vending Co." in New York employ what is known as the "Notched' 1 roulette, and a pair is here illustrated. U. S. AUTO VENDING Ic 1902, green 2c 1902, bright light carmine 5c 1902, blue Ic 1908, green 2c 1908, carmine 3c 1908, violet 4c 1908, brown 5c 1908, blue 2c 1909, (Feb. 12) Lincoln 2c 1909, (June 1) Alaska. The earliest stamps that we have seen, which eame from the machines of the U. S. Automatic Vending Com- 110 UNITED STATES * pany were obtained from the Plaza Hotel, New York, where one of the machines was installed. These were from regularly perforated sheets of the 2- cent 1902 series, but the strips of stamps before they had been put in the machine had been carfully notched at each side, connecting with the regular government perforation. Mr. Livingston Coe, the president of the corporation, favored us with some interesting information, quoting from his letter of the 10th of April, in which he refers to the notched stamp with the scoring that his company had then adopted, he said : "We like this kind of perforation for several reasons : First of all, it delivers through the machine more accurately; next, it does not disfigure the stamp when severed; third, you will find that all our stamps are perfectly centered, which is not an easy matter when you take into consideration the irregularity with which the perforated stamps are sold to the public." * * * -yy e ^3^ a per f ec t right to sell postage stamps if we cheese to do so, but inasmuch as we are not in the stamp business, but rather in the stamp machine business, I have made a request of all the employes of the company not to deal in postage stamps." "* * * Perhaps later the public will be able to purchase them in any quantity from a department in Washington. At present they are preparing stamps in voils, but are not preparing these special perforations. We have applied for patent on the perforation and machine for doing it." Mr. Coe's opinion was evidently that the postoffice de- partment will ultimately adopt this patent perforation and supply the stamps in coils to the public. We show illustrations of these machines. The follow- ing is from the Scientific American of April 18th: "Recently our postal authorities have been examining various machines for automatically selling stamps, and as an experiment have installed three such machines in the New York Postoffice. These machines respectively sell one, two and five-cent stamps. One of the difficulties we have to contend with, and which is peculiar to POSTAL ISSUES. Ill this country, is the fact that while the bulk of the sales made by machines of this character must necessarily be in two-cent stamps, we have no coin of this denomination in general use. Hence, the two-cent stamp machines must be so arranged that they will not U. S. AUTOMATIC VENDING MACHINE deliver a stamp until two one-cent pieces have been inserted in the slot. The machines are entirely automatic. They do not have to he 'wound up,' and there are no handles to be operated. One needs merely to insert the coin or coins, and the stamp issues from the stamp slot. It is impossible to insert a larger coin than the one 112 UNITED STATES called for, and if by accident or intentioally a smaller coin is in- serted, it will automatically be rejected from the machine. Unless the coin is of the requisite weight, it will fail to operate the mechan- ism. In this way, the usual precautions against fraud are provided. The stamps are arranged in a long strip, which is wound on a brass roller or cone. The coil of stamps is placed in an inclined trough and the end of the strip passes over a drum to the stamp slot. The drum is formed with pins or teeth which engage the perforations between the stamps. When a coin is inserted in the slot, it lifts a weight at the top of the machine. This weight, acting INTERIOR VIEW U. S. AUTOMATIC VENDING MACHINE through the medium of a ratchet mechanism, exerts a tension on the drum, but the latter is prevented from rotating by an escape- ment. The coin after passing along a slide and dropping down a chute, strikes an arm of the escapement wheel, releasing the drum and permitting it to turn and project a stamp through the slot. The stamp is not detached from the strip but must be torn off. It pro- jects through the slot at such an angle that it is impossible to pull out or tear off more than one stamp at a time. In the two-cent stamp machine, the first coin merely raises the weight while the second coin operates the trip which releases the drum. "When the starrip strip has been uncoiled from the core, the latter rolls down the inclined trough and operates to expose a sign POSTAL ISSUES. 113 which will warn people that the machine has no more stamps to sell. By pasting a blank strip of paper to the end of the stamp strip the release of the core is delayed until the last stamp strip is sold. U. S. AUTOMATIC VENDING MACHINE AND LETTER BOX The following advertisement appeared in the New York Times, February 12th, as part of the space used by the Frederick Loeser & Co., Brooklyn Store. "Today in Washington and here in the Loeser store will be installed the first machines ever used in the United States for the 114 UNITED STATES automatic vending of postage stamps at the regular Government price. "They are remarkable pieces of mechanism. They are so great THE BRINKENHOFF STAMP VENDER AND MONEY CHANGER AND THE INVENTOR. a convenience that the Government at Washington has purchased all the completed ones except those which have come to Loeser's. "The installation is especially interesting because in the ma- POSTAL ISSUES. 115 chines will be the first of the new Lincoln 2-Cent Stamps to be sold in Brooklyn. We believe this is the only place in Brooklyn where these stamps may be bought today/ The stamps were author- ized and prepared by the Government in honor of the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln." The Brinkerhoff perforation was brought into exist- ence by Mr. P. H. Brinkerhoff, of Sedalia, Mo., the inventor of the Brinkerhoff Stamp Vender and Money Changer, an elaborate piece of mechanism that we illustrate herewith with a portrait of the inventor. BRINKERHOFF NO I Ic 1902, green 2c 1902, light bright carmine 2c 1902, dark carmine lake. This consists of four large holes horizontally arranged between strips of stamps attached only at the tops and bottoms. This perforation was experimental in its charac- ter and quickly succeeded by the follow.ing: 116 UNITED STATES BRINKERHOFP NO. IT Ic 1902, green 2c 1902, bright light carmine 2c 1902, dark carmine lake Ic 1908, green 2c 1908, carmine 3c 1908, violet 4c 1908, brown 5c 1908, blue 2c 1909, (Feb. 12), Lincoln 2c 1909, (June 1), Alaska. This is a two-hole perforation which serves as a food control coming between the stamps attached in vertical strips, and is supplemented by two cuts >as the stamps are fed from the vending machine. These machines are in operation in various parts of the U. S., notably at the Seattle Exposition, where the special Commemorative 2c stamp is supplied. POSTAL ISSUES. 117 SELLING VALUES OP U. S. POSTAGE STAMPS ISSUED IN STRIPS FOR MACHINE USE. MINT PAIRS OF SELECTED COPIES. U. S. GOVERNMENT PART PERFORATE. PERFORATED VERTICALLY, BETWEEN STAMPS. Net price of pairs ic 1908 green $0.04 2c 1908 carmine 08 4C 1908 brown 15 5c 1908 blue 18 joe 1908 yellow 30 U. S. GOVERNMENT PART PERFORATE. PERFORATED HORIZONTALLY, BETWEEN STAMPS. ic 1908 green $0.04 2c 1908 carmine 08 5c 1908 blue 18 SCHERMACK NO. 1. ic 1902 green 2c 1902 bright light carmine 75 2c 1902 dark carmine lake SCHERMACK NO. II. ic 1902 green 2c 1902 bright light carmine 1 .00 2c 1902 dark carmine lake SCHERMACK NO. III. ic 1902 dark green 15 ic 1902 light yellow green 35 2c 1902 dark carmine lake 35 2c 1902 bright light carmine 16 4c 1902 dark orange brown 5c 1902 blue ic 1908 green 04 2c 1908 carmine 08 3c 1908 violet 4c 1908 brown 20 5c 1908 blue 2c' 1909 (Feb. 12) Stamps 2 mm apart 20 2c 1909 (Feb. 12) Stamps 3 mm apart 20 MAILOMETER NO. I. 2c 1908 carmine 118 UNITED STATES MAILOMETER NO. II. 2c 1908 carmine U. S. AUTO VENDING. ic 1902 green 2c 1902 bright light carmine ". 5c 1902 blue .....'... ic 1908 green 04 2c 1908 carmine 08 3c 1908 violet 15 4C 1908 brown 20 5c 1908 blue 20 2c 1909 (Feb. 12) Lincoln v 25 2c 1909 (June i ) Alaska 1 BRINKERHOFF NO. I. ic 1902 green 2c 1902 bright light carmine 75 2c 1902 dark carmine lake BRINKERHOFF NO. TT. ic 1902 green 75 2c 1902 dark carmine lake 60 2c 1902 bright light carmine 60 ic 1908 green 05 2c 1908 carmine 09 3c 1908 violet 75 4C 1908 brown 75 5c 1908 blue -75 2c 1909 (Feb. 12) Lincoln 75 2c 1909 (June i ) Alaska .15 Selections of LL S* ' * E HAVE innumerable selections of United States Stamps that we are willing to send to earnest collec- tors. Before sending it would be well if the applicant would kindly state about what CLASS of stamps he wishes and whether he desires singles or blocks, un- used or used, and about what priced stamps he wishes. The selection will then be more pleasing and useful to him and of more financial result to us. We gener- ally have almost all the great rarities and would be glad to hear from specialists. We also desire to buy fine mint unused U. S. of any issue up to 1890, also the scarcer colors of the 1898 issue. : : : Stanley Gibbons, Inc. 198 Broadway NEW YORK 391 Strand LONDON A NEW U. S. ALBUM In conjunction with our production 'of a printed album, in sections with movable leaves we have gone out of our turn to produce the sections for the United States in brder that collectors may have a permanent printed album with movable leaves. We now offer : United States and Colonies Pages Prices Post Free 238. Postmasters' Stamps 6 .10 .14 239. General Issues, etc. 56 .65 .78 240. Carriers' Stamps . 8 .10 .14 241. Newspaper Stamps 22 .30 .36 242 J Confederate States \|^ 20 26 (Postmasters' Stamps J 94^ J Confederate States I A nc 19 ^H-J. -\ ^ f- *t .Uo . iz lOeneral Issues . . ) 244. Cuba 14 .20 .26 245. Guam ..... 4 .08 .12 246. Philippine Is. ... 10 .15 .19 247. Porto Rico ... 8 .10 .14 Blank leaves per dozen . . 12c. post free Binders, spring back,cloth, gilt lettered 1.85, free post 2.05 "leather/* " 4J50,-'* " 4.90 Stanley Gibbons, Inc. 198 Broadway NEW YORK THE PRICES Running through the text of this work are those at which Stanley Gibbons, Inc., are prepared to supply specimens, when in stock. Circumstances may alter quota- tions but at the time of going to press we are able to supply almost every stamp quoted. Cor- respondence is solicited with those who desire special selections made up for them. Stanley Gibbons, Inc. 198 Broadway NEW YORK 391 Strand LONDON UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA T TRU 14 DAY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED LOAN DEPT. LD DLD 71963 LIBRARY APR 3 8 1987. LD2lA-40m-8/72 (Q1173SlO)476-A-32 25090 GENERAL LIBRARY -U.C. BERKELEY BQ0031173S '50010 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY