The American Philatelist is the oldest continuously published philatelic journal in the world, with the earliest issue dating to January 1887. Its archive (available in print and online to APS members via the APRL) is a rich seam of philatelic writings and history.
In November of 1923, the AP was engaged in rather more technical subjects than the previous month, with Warren L. Babcock's Supplementary Mail Cancellations of the New York City Post-Office and the latest of many parts of Carroll Chase's The 3c Stamp of the United States 1851-1857 Issue. I hope Chase was paid per part of his long-running article.
If the articles I transcribed this month were representative of the whole, the staff of the AP was in rare form in this issue, offering scathing opinions on Dutch stamps, casting aspersions at undeserving Scotsmen, delivering over-the-top demands for increased recruitment, and overall reminding us that these men were very much "of their time."
If you have an interest in the remaining articles, columns, or fascinating advertisements from this issue, you can always visit us here in Bellefonte and seek out one of our copies of this issue, or find what you need online via the digital library collection.
Note: Wherever possible, excerpts were transcribed exactly as printed, including formatting and the occasional spelling error or grammatical quirk.
The American Philatelist
Published by and in the Interest of the AMERICAN PHILATELIC SOCIETY
Volume 37. No. 2. November, 1923.
APS President: Charles F. Heyerman
Editor: Adolph D. Fennel
This Month (* indicates article is included in "From the Vault")
Supplementary Mail Cancellations of the New York City Post-Office
by Warren L. Babcock, Detroit Philatelic Society
The 3c Stamp of the United States 1851-1857 Issue
by Carroll Chase. Continued from the October issue.
Notes from the Eighth Ferrary Sale*
Editor's Column*
Reviews
Including Grosser Ganzsachen Katalog, 1924; Provisional Issues of the Irish Free State; and Yvert-Tellier-Champion Catalog, 1924.
Arranging the Specialized Collection of U.S. 1870-88
by W. Bates. Continued from the October issue.
The Specialist*
Discussion of block of eighteen Tonga #8, containing a, b, and c varieties, as well as a follow-up to the "Kicking Mule" cancel discussion from a previous issue.
New Issue Notes and Chronicle*
Precancels Chronicle and Notes
Society Items
Report of the Treasurer
Report of the Secretary
Including Notices*
Report of the Sales Superintendent
Wants and Exchanges
Eighth Ferrary Sale.
The sale of the Ferrary collection will be resumed at the Hotel Drouot, Paris, France, on November 7th, 8th and 9th and in this installment 662 lots will be disposed of. That the cream of this collection has not yet been sold is apparent at a moment’s glance at the catalog of this sale. Among the 121 lots of Austria and Lombardy to be offered, there is a very fine unused copy of the 9 Kr., 1850 Type 3, also a 12 Kr. Essay with pen line drawn through and many unused and used blocks with St. Andrews crosses attached. Of the rare yellow Mercuries there are no less than 36 copies together with 21 of the rose and 9 of the scarlet color. The Lombardies include 3 unused copies of the rare 4 Kr. Newspaper tax.
While there are only 2 lots of Baden, 1 of these is the 3 Kr. Green error on original cover, there are only 3 copies of this stamp known. Belgium is represented in 13 lots with some very nice early blocks and the 6 lots fo [sic] Brunswick include a copy of No. 1 unused. Dominican Republic is represented with 15 lots, among them several of the very rare blank labels or missing inscriptions. Spain is again well represented and behold, here is another 2 Real 1851 blue error, but not se tenant this time. The 1865 12c inverted centers appear perf. and imperf. and there is a block of 8 imperf. in used state. Next we have Grenada with 11 lots including some rare surcharge varieties followed by 13 lots of Hungary including some superb lithographs. The follow lots of German, English, Austrian and French Levant contain nothing startling except the French “piastte” error se tenant. The Russan Levants include a pair of the 20 K. of 1865. The 23 lots of Oldenburg that follow are very attractive and contain the 3 G. yellow on white paper in a pair with the error se tenant. An extensive lot of Orange Free State follows with most everything possible. There is also quite an extensive showing of Peru with 6 copies of a half peso error in rose of 1858 and 27 copies of a half peso buff. Then we have an uninteresting lot of Transvaal which, however, contains many valuable pieces, among which the most notable is an entire sheet of 60 of 1879 1 Penny black surcharge showing all the varieties. Fifteen lots of Turkey follow including 2 copies, one se tenant, of the 1876 25 piastre error. Scotts No. 57 B and the rare 25 piastre postage due of 1867. The sale closes in fine style with an almost unbelievable number of early Victoria. There are ONLY 53 copies of the 1850 1d. rose or red unused including a block of 10, a block of 4, a strip of 3 and a pair. Of the 2d. lilacs there is a modest showing of 44 unused copies and of the 3d. blues 52 copies. Someone with plenty of money and Lathrop Pack’s book ought to have a fine time when these lots are up. While this sale does not offer the same number of outstanding rarities as have previous sales, the material offered is extremely unusual and desirable.
Editor’s Column
Elsewhere in this number will be found a notice relative to an increased charge to be made in the insurance rate on books entered in the Sales Department. Those who submit stamps or expect to do so in the department should carefully read this notice which further restricts, for the time being, the class of stamps that will be accepted for circulation. There is now a surfeit of a certain class of stamps, issues of New Europe, Seebecks and purely speculative issues, for which there is no ready sale and on which in many instances the catalogue prices are deceiving. In this connection there has been considerable comment on the wide discrepancy between the prices of wholesale offerings and the quotations of the Standard catalogue on a number of issues and entire countries. While we feel that the publishers of the catalogue are doing their very best to have their publication accurate as far as possible and fairly reflect the market, there is no doubt that unusual discrepancies now exist. Much of this is no doubt due to unsettled conditions abroad and we hope shortly to publish an article on these conditions. We should, however, in the meantime, appreciate the aid of the membership in calling our attention to “underpricing” and “overpricing” on the new catalogue as they see it. We will then publish a list of these stamps and we know none will more value accurate information secured in this wise than the publishers of the catalogue. Mr. Dealer, this is of great importance to you and we look forward to your help in this work!
Branch Societies should strictly obey the regulation of the Society that requires the officers of Branches to be members of the Society. The reason for this rule is too obvious to require comment and the Board of Vice-Presidents requests us to specially call the attention to the Secretaries to the in last month’s issue requiring a copy of the Constitution, membership list and list of officers of all branches. This is a matter of mutual protection and should be unhesitatingly carried out.
Collectors that appreciate philatelic literature and who are keen enough to know the value in pleasure and money that is offered them in the publication of the results of the studies of advanced and scientific collectors will delightedly welcome the revival of “Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal: which has just, after a retirement of about five years, been revived under the editorship of Mr. Lionel W. Fulcher, F.R.P.S.L. and Mr. Stanley Phillips. This time honoured [sic] publication which achieved such a notable success under the leadership of the late Major E.B. Evans, we feel confident will, under the guidance of the new Editors, attain an equally high standing and we extend to them our heartiest good wishes in the success of their enterprise.
We received a short time back, a copy of Mr. Charles Lathrop Pack’s “Victoria” which covers the Half Length “Portrait Stamps” and the Two Pence “Queen Enthroned” in a most thorough and scientific manner.
Though the book has been so carefully and expertly reviewed in the philatelic press by specialists both here and abroad that a technical review here would be but repetition we feel that we would be amiss in not voicing the high praised deserved by the author and The Collectors Club of New York City, which secured this wonderful work for distribution among its membership. No handsomer volume has graced the philatelists [sic] book shelf and no finer study of classical stamps has ever been given to Philately. Mr. Pack’s fame as a serious and painstaking student of stamps has been established these many years but in this truly wonderful volume he has outdone all his former highly creditable achievements and still more, in giving it to the Collectors Club, has made it a truly American product. We hope, some day in the not too distance future, that Mr. Pack will contribute to these pages and so give the widest distribution to his interesting stamp researches.
From the number of news clippings sent us every month one would suppose that the proposed publicity campaign was in full force and at present there is no apparent need for spending money to put stamps before the news reading public. Many of the accounts are quite amusing and one can forgive the inaccuracies for the journalistic thrill that seems a required ingredient in a news item. We are indebted to a great number of our readers for items of this kind and regret that the stress of business prevents us from always replying to each of these but assure them that our appreciation of their thoughtfulness is none the less sincere in making acknowledgement here.
Through Mr. George W. Angers, we learn of the formation fo [sic] a society for the special needs of collectors of “Air Mail” stamps and covers under the name of “The Aero Philatelic Society of America.” All amateur philatelists over 21 years of age are eligible and the Charter will remain open until January first 1924. After that time an initiation fee of $2.00 will be required in addition to the annual dues of the same amount. All interested are invited to write Mr. Angers at 888 Worthington Street, Springfield, Mass., for details or application blank.
The Specialist
Contributions to this page will be appreciated; if you have something unusual or odd, a cancellation, unlisted variety or anything out of the ordinary, send it to the Editor!
Our illustration this month shows a block of eighteen of Scott’s No. 8 Tonga containing the rare “a”, “b”, and “c” varieties of that stamp. The overprint is an unusual one in that it indicates no increase or decrease in postal value or change in the issuing country but is only a precaution of a careful and thoughtful postmaster against the wiles of the unscrupulous counterfeiter. When Mr. Campbell, the Postmaster, found the postal needs required an anticipation of the four and eight penny stamps that been ordered and which were issued in Tonga in November 1892 he naturally thought of making use of the large stock of one penny stamps on hand by overprinting some with the words “FOUR PENCE” and likewise creating a new eight penny stamp by overprinting the two pence violet of the current issue “EIGHT PENCE”. This simple way of providing the public with a needed value was not a new thing at that time but it had generally been the practice to reduce the value of the overprinted stamp instead of increasing it and Mr. Campbell, no doubt of Scotch ancestry, was quick to see that by quadrupling the value of the common stamps of the colony he was offering the forger a wonderful opportunity to make some “easy” money. The one penny and two penny stamps being necessarily on continued sale he thoughtfully evolved a plan to make their indiscriminate sale safe against private overprinting and consequential loss to the Government by having a star printed in the lower left and upper right corners to serve a double purpose, that is to put an obstacle in the way of the forger and to distinguish the low values sold after the making of the increased value stamps from those sold prior to that time. By this simple expedient born of a high degree of caution, uncommon in officialdom, the Government revenue was safeguarded and philately given an odd variety of overprint. Now the official printer, perhaps being an artistic soul or perhaps by reason of an acquaintance with the formerly well known “Hennessy” of “Three Star” fame, scattered a few extra stars around on his overprint plate so that some of the stamps were three starred, a few four starred and a three bore a regular firmament of five stars. After this effervescence of celestial liberality Mr. printer ran out of stars and rather than disturb his heavenly creation descended to use the lowly but equally efficient asterisk to finish out his work thereby going the worthy postmaster four times better in creating philatelic varieties. The excess star varieties, appearing in only one part of the plate, are extremely scarce and blocks showing the several varieties are many times rarer than the catalogue quotations for the single stamps would lead one to believe.
The ”Kickin Mule” is still a kicking and many of our readers have favored us with a view of covers bearing this cancellation, among them one, shown us by Mr. Selianoff, bearing no less than eight mules on the same number of stamps on a large registered cover. A regular Mule corral!
Mr. H.B. Phillips of San Francisco surprizes [sic] us with note of what he claims to be “cold fact” that upsets the theories of previous writers concerning the origin of this cancellation. He says “At the time that cancellation was used at Port Townsend, Washington, there was a brand of plug tobacco much in vogue in the Northwest that was manufactured by J.B. Pace Company of Richmond, Va., for a firm of wholesale tobacconists of Portland, Oregon under the latters [sic] firm brand which was called the “Kicking Mule” in the same manner as the “Star” and other brands of today. The tin tag representing a Kicking Mule made a very neat canceller when taken off the tobacco and placed on the end of a cork! It is very likely that the P.M. at Port Townsend carried a plug of this brand in his hip pocket as that was and still is a lumbermans [sic] town and the Kicking Mule brand was very popular among the lumber workers of the north western states. If anyone has a collection of tobacco tags he ought to find the original from which the genuine canceller was made. Our fellow member, Roll Nr. 2810 was a resident of Portland, Oregon at this time and will no doubt recall the name of the firm that used this brand. I claim that copies supposedly coming from Santa Barbara County, California are fakes applied to genuine covers used at the correct period.”
Now there is something to start the “kicking” all over again!
New Issue Notes and Chronicle
By WM. C. KENNETT, JR. and the EDITOR.
Information for this column, with samples of stamps, which will be promptly paid for or returned, will always be appreciated.
AUSTRIA. Two values have been added to the current set in the type and large oblong format of the “Art & Industry” series. 3000kr. chocolate brown, 5000kr. slate blue.
Also two postage dues, 600kr. claret, 1200kr. claret.
BELGIAN CONGO. Mr. Henry Hooreman has shown us four additional values to the new series engraved and printed by The American Bank Note Co. These are in the same style as the first values chronicled and illustrated in a recent issue and are very fine examples of engraving skill and artistic design. All values depict native characters and industries. 5c yellow, 50c blue, 75c orange and 1 franc brown.
CURACO. A set of stamps commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the reign of Queen Wilhelmina has been issued for this colony. The stamps, large vertical oblongs, bear a portrait of the Queen after a photograph by M. Deutman, engraved and printed by Enschede & Sons of Harlem and perforated 11. The stamps will be in use only temporarily. 5c blue green, 7 ½ c olive, 10c black, 1 gulden puce, 2 ½ g gray black and 5g brown.
CZECHO-SLOVAKIA. Mr. F.S. Poteet advises us that a new set of four values is in preparation to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the republic. The values will be 60, 100, 200 and 600h. with portrait fo [sic] President Masaryk after a painting by Svabinsky.
DANTZIG. Theodore Champion shows four values in the handsome Arms type but in reduced size, 1000m brown, 5000m carmine, 20,000m pale blue and 50,000m green.
DENMARK. Mr. A.E. Pade has shown us a change of color in the 5 ore Official stamp which is now a dark brown.
DUTCH INDIES. Specimens of the Jubilee series for this colony have been shown us by The Economist Stamp Co. The design is very similar to the set issued for Curacao. 5c blue green, 12 ½ c carmine, 20c indigo, 50c orange, 1g mauve, 2 1/2 g black brown and 5 gulden brown.
GERMANY. New high values and provisional high values have been issued helter skelter with the fall of the mark and now that the mark of the mark is zero we are advised that postage stamps have been dispensed with and we have received covers bearing a circular handstamp indicating the payment of postage. Mr. Warren Gross has shown us a letter received a short time back bearing the high sounding and astounding postage of 640,000 marks. In addition to the handsome pictorial stamps of 5000 mark blue there has been issued a 10,000 mark brown with a fine view of the Cologne Cathedral and these values being too low to fill postal needs there were in but a short time and are being much sought in Germany today. Values of 4000 (dark lilac), 5,000 (green) and 100,000 mark (carmine) followed in the oblong numeral type together with a number of provisionals produced by surcharging current stamps with new and highly increased values. We have seen, 5000 M on 40 pf. orange (Numeral type), 15000 on 40 M. green (Harvester type), 30,000 M. on 10 M. blue (Harvester type), 30,000 M. on 200 M. blue (Numeral type), 75,000 M. on 400 M. yellow green (Numeral Type) and 75,000 M. on 1000 Mark yellow green (Numeral type). It is said that a new definite set is in preparation and that at least one value will be a million marks which we figure will hardly cover the paper cost. Mr. J. Almar has kindly sent us several of these provisionals all the overprints beings similar, that is a bar obliterating the old value, large numerals of the new value and the word “Tausend” below in gothic characters.
GRENADA. Messrs. Bright & Son’s have sent us copies of the 5d, 9d and 5 shilling values with script watermark.
IRELAND. A new and very neat design appears on the 2 ½ d value just issued, a shield surrounded by shamrocks with “Eire” in the upper tablet and value in lower corners. 2 ½ d brown.
LEBANON. Some more bad news. “The Stamp Collectors Fortnightly” announces that a set of 19 stamps are being prepared for this district of Syria as well as for Syria proper. “Stamp Collecting” reports a forerunner to this new set, a provisional in the shape of the current 2c France overprinted in three lines, “SYRIE, GRAND LIBAN, 10 centimes”. If the French keep up to their previous standard there will be a long list of these provisionals, some inverted overprints and some exceedingly rare varieties.
NETHERLANDS. On August 31st, 1923, the birthday of Queen Wilhelmina, there was issued, to commemorate the twenty fifth year of her reign, a set of five stamps prepared by Enschede and Sons of Harlem, perf. 11 ½. The 5c value at first glance reminds one of the famed “Queen Enthroned” on the stamps of Victoria, but it would not be fair to compare the respective stamps as the engraver of this latest work evidently was handicapped by lack of tools and probably used a hatchet to carve out this crude typification of sovereignty. The other design, a profile portrait of the Queen, is better done but hardly up to the previous standard of this nation’s commemoratives. 5c green, 10c vermillion, 1g vermillion, 2 ½ g black and 5 gulden brown.
NEW ZEALAND. Messrs. Wilcox, Smith & Co. advise us that on October 1st the Dominion reverted to penny postage and issued a new penny stamp to celebrate the event. The design is a map of New Zealand. 1 penny, flesh.
PALESTINE. “Stamp Collecting” reports five denominations of locally printed Postage Due stamps on thin white wove paper. No watermark, perf. 11. 1 milliemes brown, 2m. green, 4m. pink, 8m. violet and 13m. dark blue.
RUSSIA. Mr. Karl Koslowski shows us an interesting cover bearing the four values of a new issue to commemorate the 1923 All Russian Industrial and Agricultural Exposition in Moscow. The stamps in large vertical oblongs picture various industries and come both perf. 13 and imperf. The cover bearing the stamps was made from a piece of a map and is reminiscent of Civil War Confederate wall paper covers. 1 ruble brown, 2 rubles green, 5 rubles blue and 7 rubles red. Mr. Koslowski also tells us he has seen Scott’s Nos. 85 and 133 with inverted surcharge and that the report is that but two sheets were so printed.
SURINAM. A similar set as that issued for Dutch Indies and Curacao to celebrate the twenty fifth anniversary of the reign of Queen Wilhelmina. One type, portrait of Queen with date 1898-1923 above, value and “Suriname” below. 5c green, 10c carmine, 20c black, 50c orange, 1g puce, 2 ½ g black brown and 5 Gulden brown.
URUGUAY. The “Philatelic Magazine” chronicles two changes of color for the “Mercury” type stamps. Lithographed on paper watermarked “Republica del Uruguay”, perforated 11 1/2 . 2 centismos carmine, 5 centismos light brown.
There has also appeared a new series of one design which adds a new bird to the list for those that specialize in zoological designs. The bird is the terutero, a long legged South American flier that makes a decorative stamp design to say the least of his virtues. The stamps are surface printed, perforated 12 ½, paper wmk,, with a caduceus, one to each stamp. 5m grey, 1 c yellow, 2c lilac, 3c green, 5c pale blue, 8c carmine, 12c blue, 20c brown, 36c green, 50c orange, 1 peso rose and 2 peso green.
Report of the Secretary
Notices
Recruiting Committee Appointments.
Ronald M. Angus, 1339 Newport Ave., Victoria, B.C.
Joseph Gallant, Box 64, Hempstead, N.Y.
R. Kenneth Milne, Box 499, Sta. G., Los Angeles, Calif.
R. Kenneth Milne Prize, 1923-34.
Mr. Milne again offers a prize of a five dollar gold piece for the largest number of recruits obtained by a collector. Officers of the Society and Dealers in Stamps are not eligible. The winner must obtain at least 10 recruits.
The A.P.S. Lapel Button (Official).
The Company who made these Buttons have only eight on hand: 4 gold at $3.00 each and 4 silver sterling, gilt at $1.25.
After these are sold, to make them singly the price will be $4.00 for the gold and $1.75 for the silver. They may be obtained of Bailey, Banks and Biddle Company, Philadelphia, Pa.
A.P.S. Branch Doings.
This promises well to be a lively year among our Branch Societies. A big drive in recruiting is being organized by several of the Branches and late developments tend to show there will be a lively competition along this line.
We realize we have a big job ahead of us to increase our membership to 5000 members. This means we have to almost double our membership as at present. “Can we do it?”, the Secretary is asking the Branches. “You bet we can and will,” comes back the answer from several Branches, from workers full of fire, pep and ginger. That’s the spirit! I want to thank these members for the splendid cooperation promised.
The Secretary has written all the Branches, asking cooperation from each one. The first detail is to make your Branch 100% A.P.S. Several branches are going to do this. Which will be the first? Each Branch is to appoint at least one member to serve on the National Recruiting Committee. The names will be announced from month to month.
We have an application from another large Society in the East for a Branch Charter. The Secretary writes: “*** and we are going to make it 100% A.P.S. ***”. Several other cities and towns are organizing Societies which will be chartered as Branches of the A.P.S. All in all, “things are looking up,” details are being perfected and our workers getting into harness.
Our Dealer Members.
In the past, the dealer has been the backbone of our Society in Recruiting. All hail him! and let’s be loyal to our A.P.S. dealer members. Many of them have signified their willingness to again get into the game of recruiting. The Secretary will send on request as many application blanks and recruiting folders as you can use. They will be sent you all folded and ready to enclose in your mail. We ask that you check your mailing list for A.P.S. members, so none of the literature will be wasted. Will you cooperate with us in sending out blanks and folders? How many I send YOU, dealer member?
Our Collector Members.
Over 200 individuals sent at least one application during the last fiscal year. Where are the 24000? Have YOU ever sent in a new application? Do not say you are the only collector in your town and you cannot obtain a recruit. I KNOW you CAN. I’ve been THERE. There are many ways. If you cannot get one in your own town, get one from out of town. Make a collector in your own town and at the same time make him an A.P.S. member. I KNOW whereof I speak, it CAN be done. Read the folder, “What Is Is” carefully and thoroughly, then go uot [sic] and get your man. GET him.
###