The following is an excerpted version of the article from the second quarter 2022 Philatelic Literature Review, to subscribe to the PLR click here.

This article will confine itself to the essential volumes that belong on the bookshelves of a collector of United States revenues that are listed in the Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps & Covers. Every one of these volumes grace the shelves of my philatelic library. Whenever I delve into one of these areas, these are among the first places that I go for background and basic information about these stamps. While the philatelic periodical literature contains much additional information about revenue stamps, the periodicals are an enormous field, too vast to explore in an article such as this.

Perhaps the best beginning is to look at a number of volumes that address the broad range of revenues listed by Scott. With one exception, these are anthologies of columns that were published in philatelic periodicals. That exception is the Historical Reference List of the Revenue Stamps of the United States Including Private Die Proprietary Stamps, frequently referred to as the Boston Revenue Book, the earliest published volume (1899) that I recommend here. The authors of this foundational work were George Toppan, Hiram Deats, and Alexander Holland. Included in this volume is basic philatelic information about all the Scott-listed revenues issued in the 19th century.

Figure 1. Historical Reference List of the Revenue Stamps of the United States Including Private Die Proprietary Stamps, colloquially known as The Boston Revenue Book. 

In addition, collectors of Scott-listed revenues need to have on their shelves the anthologies of published columns by three prominent dealer-writers, the first of which is George B. Sloane. His writings were collected in Sloane’s Column, published in 1961 by the Bureau Issues Association at the urging of one of the premier mid-twentieth century collectors of U.S. revenues, Morton Dean Joyce. Sloane’s writings range over the entire field of U.S. postage and revenue stamps and are contemporary with the issuance of many of the Scott-listed revenues. They are a valuable resource on the origins of 20th century revenues.

The second of the prominent dealer-writers is Elliott Perry, whose early writings were published beginning in 1918 in McKeel’s Weekly Stamp News under the pen name of Christopher West. These were collected and published in a single volume by Castenholz & Sons under the title of The Revenue Stamps of the United States. Later, Perry wrote and self-published a series of articles under the ongoing title of Pat Paragraphs. These were collected under that title and published in 1981 by the Bureau Issues Association.

Figure 2. Scan from Pat Paragraphs. 

An excellent successor to Sloane and Perry, among the next generator of dealer-writers is Richard Friedberg. His columns were published in Linn’s Stamp News and eventually collected and published by Linn’s in 1994 as Introduction to United States Revenue Stamps.  

All five of these broad-ranging volumes are essential reading for collectors of U.S. revenues. They provide a basic background of revenues and frequently delve quite deeply into the chosen subject. What follows are additional volumes, each of which is in a chosen area of the Scott-listed revenues.

References

Bidwell, Ray W. Series of 1941 Wine Revenue Stamps of the United States of America (Andover, CT: Bidwell, 1965). Available at the APRL: G3701 .R451 B585s

Castenholz, Bill J. Field Guide to Revenue Stamped Paper (Pacific Palisades, CA: Castenholz and Sons, 1989-91). Issued in seven parts by region of the United States. Available at the APRL: G3701 .R451 C349f

Chappel, Clarence Henry and Morton D. Joyce. Proprietary Revenues of 1898: Precanceled Varieties (American Revenue Association, 1957). Available at the APRL: G3701 .R451 C467p Reprint 1957

Combs, W.V. First Federal Issue 1798 -1801: U. S. Embossed Revenue Stamped Paper (State College: American Philatelic Society, 1979). Available at the APRL: G3701 .R451 C731f 1979

Combs, W.V. Second Federal Issue 1801-2 (American Revenue Association, 1989). Available at the APRL: G3701 .R451 C731s 1988

Combs, W.V. The Combs catalog of usages and varieties of U.S. embossed stamped paper, 1791-1817 (Ashland, OH: W.V. Combs, 1992). Available at the APRL: G3701 .R451 C731c

Combs, W.V. Third Federal Issue, 1814-1817 and other U.S. embossed revenue stamped paper 1791-1869 (Rockford, IA: American Revenue Association, 1993). This includes the licenses, still licenses, and supervisor’s seals. Available at the APRL: G3701 .R451 C731t 1993

Drummond, James N., Narcotic Tax Stamps. (Self-published, 2018).

Friedberg, Richard. Introduction to United States Revenue Stamps (Sidney, OH: Linn’s Stamp News, 1994). Available at the APRL: G3701 .R451 F899i 1994a

Fullerton, Richard D. A Catalog of Railroad Company, Street Railway Company & Express Company Printed Cancellations on the 1898 U.S. Revenues (Dayton, OH: R.D. Fullerton, 1952). Available at the APRL: VERT FILE

Griffenhagen, George B. Private Die Proprietary Medicine Stamps [and Facsimile Labels] Handbook No. 66 American Topical Association, 1969. Available at the APRL: HE6183 .A1 A512a no.66 1991

Holcombe, Henry and George B. Griffenhagen. Patent Medicine Tax Stamps (Lawrence, MA: Quarterman Publications, 1979). Available at the APRL: G3701 .R451 H725p 1979

Joyce, Morton Dean. The Case of Dr. Kilmer: An Analysis of the Dr. Kilmer & Co. Provisional Proprietary Revenue Stamps Overprinted on the 1895 Postage Stamps of the United States (Self-published, 1954). Available at the APRL: G3701 .R451 J89ck

Mahler, Michael. A Catalog of United States Revenue Stamped Documents of the Civil War Era by Type and Tax Rate (Rockford, IA: American Revenue Association, 1999). Available at the APRL: G3701 .R451 M214u

Mahler, Michael. United States Civil War Revenue Stamp Taxes (Pacific Palisades, CA: Castenholz & Sons, 1988). Available at the APRL: G3701 .R451 M214u

Nussmann, David G. and Donald A. Woodworth, Jr. A Handbook of Cancels on United States Federal Wine Tax Stamps (Rockford, IA: American Revenue Association, 2011) Available at the APRL: G3701 .R451 N975h 2011

Perry, Elliott. Pat Paragraphs (Takoma Park, MD: Bureau Issues Association, 1981). Available at the APRL: G3701 .P856 P462p 1981.

Priester, Thomas W. United States Beer Stamps: A Catalogue of Federal Beer Stamp Issues (Self-published, 1979). Available at the APRL: G3701 .R451 P949u

Sloane, George B. Sloane’s Column (West Somerville, MA: Bureau Issues Association, 1961). Available at the APRL: HE6184 .R451 S634p 1961

Toppan, George L., Hiram E. Deats, and Alexander Holland. Historical Reference List of the Revenue Stamps of the United States Including Private Die Proprietary Stamps (Boston Philatelic Society, 1899). Available at the APRL: G3701 .R451 T675h [Reprint] 1980

Troutman, Scott M. The Black Proprietary Stamps of 1914-1916 (American Revenue Association, 2004). Available at the APRL: JOURNAL American Revenuer

Turner, George T. Essays and Proofs of U. S. Internal Revenue Stamps (Arlington: MA: Bureau Issues Association, 1974). Available at the APRL: G3701 .R451 T946e 1974

Wald, Kimber A. A Centennial Survey of the United States Civil War Revenue Stamped Paper Issues, 1865 - 1883 (Dover, DE: Dover Litho Printing Co., 1983). Reprinted in the American Philatelic Congress Book. Available at the APRL: G3701 .R451 W157c

West, Christopher [Elliott Perry]. Private Die Match Stamps (Pacific Palisades, CA: Castenholz & Sons, reprinted 1980). Available at the APRL: G3701 .R451 W516p 1980

West, Christopher [Elliott Perry]. The Revenue Stamps of the United States (Pacific Palisades, CA: Castenholz & Sons, 1979). Available at the APRL: G3701 .R451 W516r 1979

West, Christopher [Elliott Perry]. United States Match and Medicine Stamps (Pacific Palisades, CA: Castenholz & Sons, reprinted 1980). Available at the APRL: G3701 .R451 W516u 1980