Chapter III: Introduction (1)

In 1676 John Heyward, by the authority of General Court of the Colony of Massachusetts, established his postal system with its office in Boston. In 1683 the government of Penn established a postal system for the Colony of Pennsylvania. In 1700 Col. J. Hamilton organized "his postal establishment for British America" including all the English colonies, but soon after disposed of his right to the English crown. In 1710 the English Parliament established by law the first governmental postal system with the general office at New York, which continued until in 1776 the Continental Congress adopted and set in action the postal system proposed by Franklin, who was appointed the first Postmaster General. The first law of the Federal Congress continued this system in operation as sufficient for the public wants, but the postal service was not finally settled until the act of 1792.

This law (1792) liked a tariff which with unimportant changes remained in force until the adoption of the system of Uniform Postage in the United States. Single, double and triple letters were charged 8, 16 and 24 cents respectively when sent to other countries, and four cents plus the internal postage when arriving from foreign countries. The internal postage between offices in the United States was 6, 8, 10, 15, 17, 20, 22 and 25 cents for distances of 30, 60, 100, 150, 200, 250, 350, or 400 miles respectively for single letters, and double, triple, etc., this for double, triple, etc., letters. A single letter was defined by the law to be a single sheet or piece of paper, a double letter, two sheets or pieces of paper, etc., etc.

The following acts of Congress may be consulted with advantage by those curious with regard to the Post Office before the introduction of stamps.

I Congress. I Session. Chap. 16, Sept., 1789
I " II " " 36, Aug., 1790
I " III " " 23, March, 1791
II " I " " 27, Feb., 1792
III " I " " 23, 8 May, 1794
V " III " " 41, 2 March, 1799
XI " II " " 37, 30 April, 1810
XIII " III " " 16, 23 Dec., 1814
XIV " I " " 7, 1 Feb., 1815
XIV " I " " 43, 9 April, 1816
XIX " II " " 61, 3 March, 1825
XX " I " " 61, 3 March, 1827
XXVII " II " " 43, 2 March, 1845

The earliest letters which we have seen, consist of single sheets of paper folded and addressed upon the sheet. An envelope would have subjected them to double postage. They are penmarked with the name of the mailing office, the date occasionally, the amount of the postage paid or due, generally in simple figures, sometimes with the word "cents" in full or abbreviated, added. Gradually, hand stamps were introduced. At first the name of the mailing office in a simple frame, generally circular, the month and day being still written in with a pen, and the amount of postage written as before. A further improvement appears later on in the introduction of the month and day as part of the hand stamp. The word "paid" or "due," the amount of postage in figures or with "cents," either written or hand stamped, always added. And finally all the marks are included in one hand stamp.

There was evidently no uniformity of practice, except the general requirement that the name of the mailing office, the month and day, and the amount of postage should in some form be marked on the letter. Improvements seem generally to have originated in the larger offices, but smaller offices sometimes took the lead in enterprise. An improvement once adopted does not seem always to have been adhered to; letters mailed at the same office on the same day and differently marked may be frequently found in old files. The hand stamps seem to have been obtained by the several offices for themselves, as there is no uniformity of style.

Some of these hand stamps are curious enough to warrant a brief description, and it would be difficult to lay down a rule which would distinguish some of them from the stamps we admit to our albums.

A letter mailed at Philadelphia in 1825, bears an octagonal hand stamp with a double lined frame and the words "Phila. 20 Jan." in three lines, a second similar but smaller hand stamp with the word "Paid," and the figures "26" written with a pen, all in red ink. These seem to have been regularly employed for several years. Other letters from the same city mailed in 1845-6-7 and 8, bear a circular hand stamp, the name of the City and State surrounding the edge, the month and day in the center, a single line surrounding all, the amount of postage in large numerals and the words "DUE" or "PAID" in a small oval are separately hand stamped. Letters from Baltimore of the same dates bear a similar circular hand stamp with name and date, the amount of postage in large numerals in an oval, and sometimes the word "PAID" in large letters without frame. Jacksonville, Ill., Pittsburgh, Pa., and Little Rock, Ark., employed similar hand stamps at the same time.

Louisville, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Boston and New York letters of the same years have the same hand stamp with a numeral or numerals indicative of the amount of postage added at the bottom within the frame. When prepaid the word "PAID" was hand stamped below the other.

Some New York, Boston and Philadelphia letters of the same dates bear the same hand stamp with "5 cts," "10 cts," etc., in the lower margin within the frame, the word "PAID" being separately hand stamped when the letter was prepaid. Many western letters bear also the word "Steam 5" hand stamped upon them. These hand stamps remained in use up to 1851 when the rates were changed and appear even upon letters bearing the adhesive stamps of the first issue.

In 1851 when the rates were changed to 3 cents ordinary postage, and 1 cent for drop letters, many of the same stamps appear with the figures changed to 1 or 3, or to 1 ct., 3 cts., and 6 cts., Boston and Petersburgh, Va., for example. A New York hand stamp of this period has New York above, month and day in the middle and "PAID" and "3 cts" in two more lines.

A Philadelphia hand stamp has name above, month and day in one line, and "3 cts" in another, in the center, and "PAID" in lower margin.

Another, the ordinary dated postmark and a second circular stamp, nearly as large, with the word "PAID" in large letters crossed by the numeral "3" nearly an inch long.

A Springfield letter has the ordinary dated postmark and a second hand stamp nearly as large with a large numeral "3" above and "PAID" below.

Cincinnati, Buffalo, Quincy, Ill., and others have the ordinary hand stamp with the name above, month and day in the center and "3 PAID" below.

Another letter has a round hand stamp fully an inch in diameter with the word "PAID" across the center crossed by a large outline "3."

Another letter was hand stamped with a large "6" in an octagon double frame and "PAID" separately hand stamped across it.

The Cincinnati hand stamp also appears with "1 PAID" in the margin.

New Orleans has the ordinary hand stamp and "PAID," "1" in two lines of very large letters beneath.

St. Louis, has the ordinary hand stamp, and another with "1 ct" in large octagonal frame added.

Many letters where the word "paid" appears in the dated stamp are also separately hand stamped "PAID." Some of these letters bear also the 3 and 1 ct. adhesives of the period. Those that indicate postage to be paid differ from postage due stamps in no respect except that they are not adhesive. Those that indicate postage prepaid correspond to many other hand stamps in every thing except that they were applied after, instead of before payment; but in some countries we have examples of adhesive stamps applied in the same way. They are not beautiful but are interesting relics of the old system. A number of similar stamps with the words "Post Office" following the name of the town and "5 paid" have passed through the hands of the compiler, but having been cut from the letters the date could not be authenticated. These would appear to be very similar in character to the adhesives issued by the postmasters of some offices about the same time, and to many similar stamps used in the early days of the Southern Confederacy.

I.

UNITED STATES CITY DISPATCH POST.

Hardly had the discussion of Postal reform begun in England than the subject was taken up in the United States. The daily press was full of it. Pamphlets were distributed broadcast. In nearly every city, private companies undertook to distribute mail matter at less than the government rates. Some even carried letters from city to city. In Congress, members related the expedients resorted to for sending letters at a reduced rate. In New York, a certain A. M. Greig had established a local delivery and employed an adhesive stamp, charging but two cents when the government exacted three. Such competition greatly harassed the department. The act of 1836 had authorized the Postmaster General to establish a carrier system in such cities as he might think advisable. Apparently with the view of disposing of Greig's post, Greig was made a government officer. The following letter authorizing the postmaster at New York to make the appointment was first published by the American Journal of Philately.

POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT,
_Contract Office, August 1st, 1842_.

Sir--

By an order made on Saturday, but journalized to-day, the
Postmaster General has established a letter carrier arrangement
for the City of New York to be called the "United States City
Despatch Post" for the conveyance of letters from one part of
the city to another subject to a charge on each letter of three
cents, under the 20th section of the Act of 1836, and authorizes
you to employ Alex. M. Greig, nominated by you as letter
carrier, other carriers are to be appointed from time to time as
may be required, and you are requested to nominate for that
purpose. And you are also authorized to obtain the necessary
fixtures, pouches, boxes, labels, stamps, etc, at not exceeding
$1,200.00 for the whole and to appoint a clerk to superintend
said establishment at not exceeding $1,000 per annum. You will
be pleased to report the date of commencement of this arrangement.

Very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
S. R. HOBBIE,
_First Ass't P. M. General_.

JOHN LORIMER GRAHAM,
_Postmaster, New York_.

In another number of the same paper we have the text of the following notice concerning the same post.

UNITED STATES CITY DISPATCH POST.

Hours of delivery every day (Sundays excepted) at the principal
office, upper P. O. Park and lower P. O. Merchants Exchange.

Letters deposited before 8, 12, 3 and at the stations before 7,
11 and 2 will be sent out for delivery at 9, 1 and 4.

Letters to be sent free must have a free stamp attached to them,
which can be purchased at the upper and lower Post Offices and
at all the stations. The charge will be 36 cents per dozen, 2
dols. 50 cents per hundred. All letters intended to be sent
forward to the General Post Office for the inland mails must
have a free stamp attached to them. Letters not having a free
stamp will be charged 3 cents on delivery.

JOHN LORIMER GRAHAM, P. M.
_New York, June, 1843._

The stamp issued and used by this post was known in an early day and is catalogued in Kline's Manual 1862, but its true history was unknown until the publication of the above document. It is a stamp probably alone of its kind. Any one familiar with the law of 1836 will see that the Postmaster General widely exceeded the authority conferred on him as it would be construed to day in making the "arrangement" under the power to provide a carrier system. The labels and stamps mentioned in the letter quoted were probably however, not intended to include the postage stamp actually issued, as these terms are used in various documents, reports, etc., of the period to designate quite different articles, the "stamps" being invariably the hand stamps such as we have already described. But whatever may have been intended by the letter, the law did not confer any authority upon the Postmaster General to issue or authorize the issue of the stamp and undertake to insist on its use. It certainly has no more character than the hand stamps already described, but is none the less interesting or worthy of preservation on this account. It was probably employed because the public had seen and appreciated the utility of the adhesive stamp, by its employment by the local or private posts, in advance of the official adoption of the system.

NEW YORK.

ISSUE OF AUGUST, 1842.

Portrait of President Washington turned 3/4 to the right on plain oval, enclosed by plain oval band bounded within and without by two colored lines and inscribed: _United States City Despatch Post_ *_Three Cents_*, the lower legend separated from the upper by a star on each side; rectangular frame of two colored lines, corners filled with rayed ornaments between frame and oval.

Plate impression 18 by 22 mm., in black on colored paper.

3 cents, black on violet.
3 " " " brown.
3 " " " green.
3 " " " blue glazed.

II.

UNIFORM POSTAGE.

The "arrangement" put in operation in New York does not seem to have been a great success for it was not extended to other cities, and local posts continued to flourish and do the work at less than the government rates. The demand for better service and lower rates, for "reform" as it was called grew louder and louder, until the Postmaster General in his report dated November 25th, 1844, recommended to Congress a reduced uniform rate according to distance and weight. Stamps were recommended but only for use on foreign letters.

The bill which was introduced in Congress in pursuance of this recommendation provided, it is said, both for obligatory prepayment and the use of postage stamps. But there was great hesitation in adopting the English system in the United States; the conditions were considered to be so different; the distances were so great that a greater rate was necessary; the country was so new that the risk from counterfeiting was much greater; the custom was not to prepay letters, and custom is stronger than law. Such and like objections were raised and the law passed without adopting prepayment by stamp, but the great principle of the reform, uniform rate by distance and weight was adopted. The only portion of the law that is of interest here is the following section of the Statutes of the United States, XXVIII Congress, II Session, XLIII Chapter, approved March 30, 1845.

"From and after the first day of July next, members of Congress
and Delegates from Territories may receive letters not exceeding
two ounces in weight, free of postage during the recess of
Congress anything to the contrary in this act notwithstanding;
and the same franking privilege which is granted by this act to
the members of the two Houses of Congress, is hereby extended to
the Vice President of the United States; and in lieu of the
rates of postage now established by law, there shall be charged
the following rates, viz: For every single letter in manuscript
or paper of any kind by or upon which information shall be asked
for or communicated in writing or by marks or signs, conveyed in
the mail, for any distance under three hundred miles, five
cents: and for any distance over three hundred miles, ten cents:
and for a double letter there shall be charged double these
rates: and for a treble letter treble these rates: and for a
quadruple letter quadruple these rates: and every letter or
parcel not exceeding half an ounce in weight shall be deemed a
single letter, and every additional weight of half an ounce, or
additional weight of less than half an ounce, shall be charged
with an additional single postage.

And all drop letters, or letters placed in any post office, not
for transmission through the mail, but for delivery only, shall
be charged with postage at the rate of two cents each."

The newspaper rate was one cent within one hundred miles and one and a half cents for a greater distance, for all newspapers not exceeding a certain size, and two cents for each sheet over that size, and two cents for all hand bills and circulars per sheet, and two and a half cents for all magazines and pamphlets.

III.

POSTMASTER'S STAMPS.

Notwithstanding the failure of Congress to adopt postage stamps, and to authorize the Postmaster General to issue them, and to provide an appropriation for their manufacture, public attention had been drawn to the advantages of the system, and the convenience, to the business community particularly, of mailing and receiving letters at hours when the post office or business houses were closed. The question as to whether the Postmaster General might not issue postage stamps on his own authority was raised and officially decided in the negative, although the Postmaster General himself favored their use. The postmasters in several places however undertook to meet the public demand by having stamps prepared on their own responsibility, paying the expense of manufacture themselves and selling them to the public at a sufficient advance on the postal rates, to cover the cost of engraving and printing. In some cases the matter was brought to the attention of the Postmaster General and he saw no objection to the arrangement; in others the whole affair seems to have passed without any attention being paid to it by the Department. In fact it was a mere contract between the postmaster and the purchaser of his stamps, that when a letter bearing one of his stamps was mailed at his office, it should be treated as if the money were handed in with it. No postmaster recognized the stamp of any post office but his own. A letter adorned with a New York stamp mailed at the St. Louis office would have been treated as unpaid. A New York stamp was recognized only at the New York office, and a St. Louis stamp only at the St. Louis office. When a letter bearing a stamp was mailed _at the office that issued the stamp_, and accepted as prepaid, the contract between the postmaster and the purchaser of the stamp was fulfilled, the postmaster had to account to the government for the amount of the postage as if he had received it with the letter. The Department had nothing to do with the fact that the stamp had been actually paid for at another time or with its existence at all. Examination at several of these offices show that there was no stamp account kept in the records of the office. Such letters were treated exactly as letters were, on which the postage was either paid in money or charged in the open accounts which the postmaster chose to keep with the commercial houses. It was marked "Paid." The stamp had no significance at any other office, except as the mark or stamp indicating the amount charged, always put on letters at that date, but the word "paid" was recognized by every office. The letter was entered as a paid letter on the way bill, and was treated as prepaid, not because of the stamp, but because the forwarding office treated it as prepaid.

It has been thought necessary to define the exact character of these stamps with some exactness, and at the risk of some re-iteration, because their true character seems to be little understood. They had no official sanction whatever, because no official had any authority to sanction them. It was a mere arrangement between the individual postmaster and the public for their mutual accommodation.

Such stamps were issued at New York, St. Louis, Brattleboro, New Haven, Providence, Alexandria, Baltimore, Millbury and probably other places. Although not governmental or official stamps, they are none the less interesting or valuable mementoes. They show how determined the public were to have the postage stamp, and their history shows how the Public Will compelled the government to adopt the postage stamp in spite of the supposed difficulties in the way.

IV.

STAMP OF THE NEW YORK POSTMASTER.

The stamp issued by the postmaster of New York was chronicled in the earliest American Catalogue, (Kline, 1862,) but its true character was not established until the resuscitation and republication in the communications of the author of this work to the Philatelist and Le Timbre Poste, in 1873-4, of the following articles from contemporaneous newspapers.

The Express of New York in its issue of July 1st, 1845, contains an editorial mentioning, that the Act of March 3rd, 1845, went into force on the day of publication, and a report of the meeting of the Cheap Postage Association. In its issue of July 7th, 1845, the same paper published as part of its Washington correspondence, the following:

_Washington, July 2nd._

It was suggested in New York to Mr. Morris, your postmaster,
that he might accommodate the public very much by selling
stamped envelopes, as the law does not authorize the sale of
stamps on the English plan. When he was here he laid the subject
before the Postmaster General, who has to-day decided that he
may do this. The envelopes are to be marked with the amount of
postage thereon, say 5 or 10 or more cents as the case may be,
and the initials of the postmaster are to be superadded, and
then the envelopes can be sold. The object is to facilitate the
payment of prepaid letters. Postmasters can interchange
envelopes whenever they can agree to do so among themselves.

In the issue of the next day (Express, July 8th) appeared the following editorial:

FREE STAMPED ENVELOPES. When the Bill for Cheap Postage was
before Congress, it contained a clause authorizing the sale of
stamps on the English system. The provision was however stricken
out, leaving the public only the old method of prepaying letters
during the business hours of the Post Office. A suggestion was
made to our new Postmaster, Mr. Morris, that the public
convenience would be very much promoted if he would sell
envelopes which would pass free through his office. By this
measure letters could be sent at any hour of the night to the
post office and the postage paid, where the writer desires it,
by enclosing it in a free envelope. The postmaster proposed to
sell stamps at five cents each, but this not having been
sanctioned by Congress, we should think would not be the best
way, and as the public convenience demands something of the
kind, we are glad to learn that he has prepared envelopes of the
kind referred to, some of which we have seen. They are marked
"Five Cents," and under these words is the name "R. H. Morris."
For letters over one ounce they are marked according to the Post
Office Rates in the same way. These envelopes will be sold by
the Postmaster at six and a quarter cents each, or sixteen for a
dollar of the common kind and common size. This will be as
cheap or cheaper than they can be bought in small quantities at
the stationers. A thin envelope will contain two letters and be
subject only to a single postage. Envelopes of various sizes
will also be furnished and of fine quality when desired by the
purchaser. The plan we hear, has also been adopted by the
postmaster at Washington, D. C., and has met the approval of the
Postmaster General. We think it will add to the revenue of the
Department very considerably.

From the preceding extract we should infer that envelopes marked in some way "Five Cents," "R. H. Morris, P. M." had been issued and used at New York, and possibly something of the kind at Washington. The latter would be signed C. K. Gardner, P. M., but up to the present day none have been found. They must have been prepared at New York at least, since the editor of the Express claims to have seen them. They were probably made by some of the New York hand stamps noted as current at this time, leaving out the date and signed by the postmaster.

Such an arrangement was clumsy and liable to abuse and could have had but a short duration in so large an office as New York, and in the Express of the 14th of July, 1845, appears another editorial as follows:

Post Office Stamps. We would call the attention of merchants and
indeed all who pay postage, to the advertisement of the
postmaster, who offers to sell stamps of the value of five cents
each for the prepayment of letters. This is the cost of the
postage under 300 miles. The stamps should be generally adopted
as they will give additional facilities to business men, and
save them time in making change. The postmaster will receive
nothing for this trouble and his stamps beyond the profit of
lost stamps. The disposition of the postmaster to make the new
system popular merits the thanks of our citizens.

In another column of the same paper appears the advertisement of the postmaster referred to in the editorial.

POST OFFICE,
_New York, July 14th. 1845_.

The public is respectfully informed that the undersigned has
caused to be prepared stamps for the prepayment of postage, made
for five cents each, which will be sold in parcels of five and
upwards. To prevent counterfeits they will be sold only at this
office and the branch office. The public may therefore be
assured that any stamps which may be offered for sale at any
place other than the two post offices are spurious and will not
be considered as prepayment.

(Signed.) Robert H. Morris, P. M.

[Evening papers please copy.]

Unfortunately these articles contain no description of the stamp issued, and it will occur to those familiar with the process of engraving stamps at that date, that the production of a stamp as elaborate as the stamp known, in so short a time as elapsed between the date of the first and last of these articles, was either a remarkable piece of work, or had been commenced some time before. Possibly the stamps first issued were not those known to collectors and have never been discovered.

Be this as it may, the plate contained more than a single stamp. From double copies that have passed through our hands, we have proof that it consisted of at least eight different varieties, arranged in two horizontal rows of four stamps each, differing in minute details and at different distances apart. There may have been more, but this remains to be verified. The stamp which appears to have occupied the upper left hand corner of the sheet shows in each letter the outlines of the same letters, engraved in black and a little lower down than the white ones, as if the intention had originally been to have the value appear in black on a white label. It is said that the plate is now in the possession of the consolidated Bank Note Companies (American) of New York. At any rate PROOFS were struck from it long after the stamp was out of use, in various colors.

NEW YORK POST OFFICE.

ISSUE OF JULY 14, 1845.

Portrait of President Washington, faced 3/4 to left in an oval, 191/2 mm. wide by 211/2 mm. high, with a back ground of colored lines, crossed at right angles and bordered by a colorless line. Solid colored label bordered by a colorless line above and below the oval, inscribed in colorless ordinary capitals, above "_Post Office_," below "_Five Cents_." Foliated ornaments in the four corners, the upper enclosing small colorless labels inscribed in small colored capitals "_New_," at the left "_York_," at the right, the whole surrounded by a colored line forming a rectangle.

Engraved on copper at New York by Messrs. Rawden, Wright and Hatch.

Plate impression 201/2 by 28 mm., on slightly bluish paper.

5 cents black.

In most of the catalogues this stamp has been described also, as on white paper. Such specimens are shown, but they are produced by some chemical action of the gum used to fasten them to letters, or of the composition of the paper or other accidental causes. Specimens may be also found of a buff color as if steeped in coffee, another changeling produced by the action of strong gum.

Each stamp is signed A. C. M. in red ink. They are generally cancelled with a pen and blue ink, or by the word "Paid" hand stamped in red ink, or by the dating stamp.

There is another type of stamp said to have been issued by the postmaster of New York in 1849. The design is two concentric circles, the inner 131/2, the outer 171/2 mm. in diameter. In the center, "_One Cent_" in two lines of ordinary colored capitals, about 2 mm. high. Between the circles, above, "_U. S. Mail_;" below, "_Prepaid_" in similar letters 21/2 mm. high. They were printed in black on small squares of rose colored paper, and afterwards on paper varying from bright yellow to pale drab and generally glazed.

This stamp was chronicled in Kline's Manual, first edition, 1862, as a "Carrier Stamp," and has since been alternately considered a governmental, or a local stamp. Upon what ground it is so confidently asserted to have been issued by the New York postmaster, and its date assigned to 1849, seems never to have been stated. It is certain however that if it were issued prior to 1851, it did not prepay any authorized government postage, and if issued after 1847, such an issue was forbidden by law unless authorized by the Postmaster General. It is hardly to be supposed that the postmaster of New York City would have openly violated the law. The inscription, "U. S. Mail," does not prove anything but probably means "prepaid to the U. S. Mail," and the stamp is probably the issue of some of the local delivery companies.

V.

STAMPS OF THE ST. LOUIS POSTMASTER.

Of all the stamps of this character, those issued by the St. Louis Postmaster have been most discussed in the Philatelical Press. The ten cents was first noticed in an article in the Stamp Collector's Magazine in November, 1863, and the five cents was mentioned in Kline's Manual, 3rd edition, 1865. Mr. L. W. Durbin first mentioned the second die of the 10 cents, Mr. Pemberton the second die of the 5 cents, and Mr. Scott is entitled to the credit of discovering the third die of each.

It is unnecessary to repeat the numerous discussions, pro and con, concerning the authenticity of these stamps, since the present author discovered, and republished in Le Timbre Poste, in May, 1873, the following articles from contemporaneous daily papers, which leave no further room for doubt concerning the two values, 5 and 10 cents.

_Missouri Republican._ July 17th. 1845.

"Free stamped envelopes. For the convenience of those who may
wish to prepay their packages at any hour of the night, Robert
H. Morris, the postmaster of New York, as we learn from the
Express, has prepared a variety of stamped envelopes. They are
marked five cents, ten cents, &c., and under these words is the
name R. H. Morris. The five cent envelopes will be sold by the
postmaster at 61/4 cents each, or 16 for a dollar of the common
kind and common size, and the others in proportion. This will be
as cheap as they can be bought in small quantities at the
stationers. A thin envelope will contain two letters and be
subject only to a single postage. Envelopes of various sizes
will also be furnished and of fine quality when desired by the
purchaser. The plan has also been adopted by the postmaster at
Washington and has met the approval of the Postmaster General.
We think it not only a convenience to the public but that it
will add to the revenue of the Department very considerably. The
above arrangement would be a great convenience to many persons.
Why should not the postmaster here adopt the same plan. We
believe the public generally would buy them."

This article, although a mere repetition of the article of the Express, and like that mentioning envelopes of New York and Washington which no one has ever seen, contains at the end a reference which was evidently the inspiration of the St. Louis postmaster to issue his stamps, for we read in the Missouri Republican of November 5th, 1845, the following:

"LETTER STAMPS. Mr. Wimer, the postmaster, has prepared a set of
letter stamps, or rather marks to put upon letters, indicating
that the postage has been paid. In this he has copied after the
plan adopted by the postmaster of New York and other cities.
These stamps are engraved to represent the Missouri Coat of
Arms, and are five and ten cents. They are so prepared that they
may be stuck upon a letter like a wafer and will prove a great
convenience to merchants and all those having many letters to
send post paid, as it saves all trouble of paying at the post
office. They will be sold as they are sold in the East, viz:
Sixteen five cent stamps and eight ten cent stamps for a dollar.
We would recommend merchants and others to give them a trial."

And a few days later in the same paper of November 13th, 1845, we again read:

"Post Office Stamps. Mr. Wimer, the postmaster, requests us to
say that he will furnish nine ten cent stamps and eighteen five
cent stamps for one dollar, the difference being required to pay
for the printing of the stamps."

The above articles contain nearly the whole history of the stamps of St. Louis. We learn the name of the postmaster who had them made, (the name, however is incorrectly spelled) their use and price, the date and object of their issue. A thorough search of all the files preserved, of the daily papers published in St. Louis from January, 1845, to December, 1848, resulted in no further discoveries concerning them.

ST. LOUIS POST OFFICE.

ISSUE OF NOVEMBER 5th, 1845.

Arms of the State of Missouri. A round shield parted per pale; on the dexter side, gules (red or vertically lined ground), the grizzly bear of Missouri, passant guardant, proper; on a chief engrailed azure (horizontally lined), a crescent argent; on the sinister side, argent, the arms of the United States, (the stamp is dotted or gold) the whole with a band inscribed "United we stand, divided we fall" (The buckle below on the left, in the 5 cents, should be omitted). Supporters on each side, a grizzly bear of Missouri, proper; rampant guardant, standing on a scroll inscribed "Salus Populi Suprema lex esto." Above, the value is expressed in large outline numerals, ornamented and shaded. In the corners "_Saint_" and "_Louis_" with numerous flourishes. Below the arms "_Post Office_" in large ordinary capitals. The whole in a rectangular frame of a thin and thick colored line.

Engraved on copper by J. M. Kershaw, at St. Louis. The plate consisted of six stamps, three of each value, and was delivered to Mr. Wymer, and is said to have been lost with other of his effects during the war. The engraver thinks he printed about 500 sheets, at three different times, upon such paper as he happened to have at hand, and that as the plate deteriorated easily, he probably retouched it slightly each time in parts, before printing. He denies positively the possibility of the figures upon the twenty cent value being his work. These are all the facts he can now vouch for, and states that many of the statements from time to time attributed to him "were the ideas of his interviewers, who tried to refresh his recollection and may have mixed him up."

Plate Impression in black upon three qualities of bluish paper, 3 varieties of each value.

5 cents, black 171/2 by 221/2 mm.
10 cents, black 181/2 by 221/2 mm.

These stamps are printed on a rather thick greenish blue paper, on a thinner grey-blue paper, and on a very thin greyish paper, which agrees with the recollection of the engraver that he printed three different lots of them. A pair is also known on a coffee colored paper. They were taken from buff envelopes, and are undoubtedly discolored by the action of the paper or gum. Those on white paper have been made so by chemical action.

The varieties may be thus distinguished:

FIVE CENTS. The dashes in the corners form a sort of triangular ornament, or branch. The letters are block capitals, shaded by a fine line. There are no lines or dashes under "_Post Office_."

_First Variety._ (_a_) The buckle on the garter has the point and tongue turned up to the left.

(_b_) There are six dashes above "_Saint_," and eight above "_Louis_," of which the top and bottom ones on each side are long strokes.

(_c_) One long and two short lines and a speck under "_Saint_," and one long and three short lines under "_Louis_."

(_d_) A long diamond in top of numeral, and a mis-shapened diamond in the bow of the numeral, with four dots above and nine below it, and a dot in the ball of the numeral.

(_e_) The bear in the shield is on a vertically lined ground.

_Second Variety._ (_a_) The buckle has the tongue and point turned down to the right.

(_b_) There are eleven dashes above "_Saint_," and ten above "_Louis_," one of which cuts the frame on the right.

(_c_) One long and two short lines, a dot, and a horizontal stroke below "_Saint_," one very long, and three short lines under "_Louis_," two above and two below the level of the bear's ear.

(_d_) A triangle in the top of the numeral, and a diamond in the bow of the numeral, with four dots above and nine below the latter. No dot in the ball of the numeral. The right end of the scroll is double, and touches the frame.

(_e_) The bear is on a vertically lined ground.

_Third Variety._ (_a_) The buckle has the point turned down to the right.

(_b_) There are twelve lines above "_Saint_," and seventeen above "_Louis_."

(_c_) There are one long and three short lines under "_Saint_," and one long and two short lines and a dot under "_Louis_," the latter on a line between the ear and eye of the bear.

(_d_) A diamond in the top of the 5, and an upright diamond in the back, with eleven dots below and four dots above it.

(_e_) The bear is on a ground lined horizontally above and vertically below.

Mr. Pemberton thinks, from a fine clear copy he had seen, that for some reason the numeral of this variety had been originally engraved as a 1. He says there is a thin line to the right of the down stroke of the 5, three small dots in a curve to the right of the diamond in the top of the 5, and two small dots, one over the other to the left of the diamond.

_Fourth Variety._[A] Mr. Pemberton describes a fourth type of the Five cents which he claims is a restoration of the second variety, from which one variety of the 20 cents was made by alteration.

(_a_) The buckle has the point turned down to the right.

(_b_) There are eleven dashes above "_Saint_," and ten above "_Louis_."

(_c_) There are four lines under "_Saint_," and three long and two short lines under "_Louis_," the last on a level with the bear's ear.

(_d_) A diamond in the top, and a long diamond in the back of 5, with four dots over and four dots under the latter. Coarser shading around the figure, and a curved vertical line at the back of the bow, being part of the 0 of 20 badly erased.

(_e_) Bear on a vertically lined ground. The two lines of the frame above Louis bulged.

[A] NOTE.--Without examining the specimen from which Mr.
Pemberton described, it is impossible to say that it may not be
one of the retouches which Mr. Kershaw thinks he made.

TEN CENTS. The words "_Saint_," and "_Louis_" are in small, colored, ordinary capitals, unshaded. There is a long flourish curved upwards over each word. It seems to have been intended to have a point with a short dash on each side of it, above each of these, with a second long flourish curved upwards and then brought down round the end of the word, and continued as a flourish under them, but the details are different in the several types. The numerals are ornamented by a diamond in the middle of each down stroke, with three dots, above and below each diamond, except in type one, which has only two dots below the diamond in the 1.

The following varieties will be noticed:

_First Variety._ The point and right dash, between the corner flourishes on both sides, usually missing, and the upper flourish does not come distinctly round the right hand word.

3 lines beneath "Post Office."
5 " " "Saint."
4 " " "Louis."

_Second Variety._ The point and right dash, between the flourishes in the right hand corner, gone, and the upper flourish, does not come round the right hand word distinctly.

3 lines beneath "Post Office," with a smaller stroke over each.
4 lines beneath "Saint."
4 " " "Louis."

_Third Variety._ The point between the dashes, between the flourishes on the left, missing.

3 lines beneath "Post Office," with a smaller stroke over each,
and dots between them.
3 lines and 2 dots beneath "Saint."
4 " 1 " " "Louis."

Mr. Pemberton at one time chronicled a fourth variety of this value also, but could not afterward identify it. Indeed the impressions show great variation from the intended design in the corner flourishes, which seem to have been engraved too fine in parts.

TWENTY CENTS. While the author and many others do not believe the twenty cent value to be genuine, in deference to such authorities as Messrs. Scott and Pemberton, who accept the few specimens known, they are here described. In the American Journal of Philately, of January, 1870, Mr. Scott, after describing the three varieties each of the 5 and 10 cents for the first time, mentions the 20 cent value as a new discovery. Comparing the three specimens, he says: Two are exactly alike, and have evidently been altered from variety three, above described, while the third is different, having evidently been altered from variety two. At a later date he mentions a fourth specimen. Five specimens are all that have ever been chronicled, we believe.

Mr. Pemberton describes the first three more at length, in a paper in the Stamp Collector's Magazine, for January, 1871. He says he had before him 13 stamps of the 5 cent value, and 12 of the 10 cents, but he does not state how many he had of the 20 cents, but that 10 of the 25 specimens were lent him from America. The American Journal, for January, 1871, however, says he had the three known specimens of the 20 cents. The theory of his article is that the twenty cents was made by erasing the numerals, and of course incidentally other surrounding parts of the varieties two and three, of the five cent value on the plate, and engraving the numerals 20, printing that value and afterwards erasing the 20 and replacing the five. It is also the theory of the article that this was done with all three varieties of the 3 cents, although the author had seen only two varieties of the 20 cents, and only one specimen of the 5 cents, which he could torture into a re-engraving. He alters the arrangement of varieties of Mr. Scott, to which we prefer to adhere, and thus describes them:

_Variety One_, from variety three of the five cents.

One long and one short line under "_Saint_." Half of each of the original top strokes and the third stroke under "_Louis_" being erased, but the dot left. The inner line of the frame erased from the T to L, and a smaller portion of the outer frame above erased also.

_Variety Two_, from variety two of the five cents. Four strokes under "_Saint_," but bolder and closer than the original, the vertical stroke over the left bear's paw nearly erased.

Four strokes under "_Louis_," but deeper and more regular, the third stroke downwards on a level with the bear's ear. L of "Louis" has been re-engraved. Bear's paw on the garter erased.

The inner line of frame half erased between "_Saint_," and "_Louis_."

It remains to be added that the numerals are, in both these varieties, very badly drawn, single lined and solid, instead of open and ornamented, and are shaded by miserably drawn irregular horizontal fine lines of uneven length, totally different from the figures in the other two values.

It is both impracticable and useless to attempt to repeat here all the arguments for and against the authenticity of these specimens. It is claimed that they were found in the same file of letters with the greater part of the specimens of the other values known. That the rate they indicate was a regular rate upon heavy letters from St. Louis to New York, and that many letters so marked that do not bear stamps, were found in the same and other files; that there are no traces of erasure of the 5 by scratching, and the paper is no thinner under the numerals than elsewhere. This seems to be the substance of what can be said in their favor.

On the other hand they are not alluded to in the notices published in the Republican, above quoted, or elsewhere; the engraver is positive that he did not alter the values; says that he retained the plate until after Mr. Wyman had ceased to be postmaster, which was at least two years after the stamps were prohibited by law, and that the workmanship of the numerals could not possibly be his, and would be a disgrace to any engraver; the figures are apparently made by an unskilled hand with an ordinary pen and ink; competent authorities in such matters state that it is possible to remove printing ink from paper; three of the known specimens have been photographed, two of one variety and one of another; in all the numerals differ, those of the two varieties mentioned by Mr. Scott as corresponding, vary as much as the two from different varieties of the five cents. While it is true that a portion of the inner line of the frame is gone between Saint and Louis, and that the strokes are bolder beneath these words on one variety, it is not apparent that they are nearer together, or of different shape as Mr. Pemberton thought, or that the L of "Louis" has been re-engraved. The absent lines need no comment. Lastly, the work has a blurred appearance, as if the ink had slightly run into the paper around these famous 20 numerals, and in all the photographs they are of a different color from the remaining parts of the same stamps, and the other stamps photographed with them, particularly noticeable in light photographs, while the blurred appearance is more apparent in the dark photographs. If these facts do not convince those who believe in the authenticity of these 20 cent varieties, that they, with Messrs. Scott and Pemberton, have been the victims of a clever fraud, the question will probably never be settled for them, as no new facts are likely at this date to be discovered.

The two cent value, once chronicled, is of a different design, and an admitted invention.

VI.

STAMP OF THE BRATTLEBORO POSTMASTER.

The stamp issued by the Postmaster, of Brattleboro, Vermont, is catalogued as a local as early as Kline's Manual, 2nd edition, 1863. The first magazine to describe it was Taylor's Record, February, 1865, which states that it was issued in 1848, by F. N. Palmer, to supply a temporary lack of the current five cents and gives a fair description of it. The American Journal of Philately, in January, 1869, in an article by Dr. Petrie, gave the first correct account of it. The article gives a letter purporting to have been written by Dr. Palmer, who says it was a strictly private enterprise, neither ordered or repudiated by the Department, and did not appear in his account with the head office at Washington. "My object," he says, "in issuing it was to accommodate the people, and save myself labor in making and collecting quarterly bills, almost everything at that time being either charged or forwarded without prepayment. I was disappointed in the effect, having still to charge the stamps and collect my bills. As to the number issued, I should say five or six hundred as an experiment. They were engraved by Mr. Thomas Chubbuck, then of Brattleboro, now of Springfield."

Mr. Palmer thinks the stamp was issued during his first year as postmaster, (1845).

The March number of the same journal, for the same year, mentions a specimen on a letter of 1846, postmarked with a pen, November 10th, but the stamp cancelled with the word "PAID," hand stamped in red. In the Stamp Collector's Magazine, November, 1870, Mr. L. H. Bagg, recapitulating the foregoing, states incidentally, that one reason for this accommodating spirit on the part of the postmaster, was that his salary depended on the cash receipts of his office, and hence his anxiety to have as many letters prepaid as possible, a fact which assists us in understanding why a stamp should have been issued at such a small place as Brattleboro then was. The postmarked letter shows that the use of the stamp did not do away with the necessity of marking the letter "PAID," and that it was this mark and not the stamp that was recognized by other postmasters. In his interview with Mr. Bagg, the engraver, Mr. Chubbuck, was quite confident that Mr. Palmer burned all the unsold stamps in his possession upon the appearance of the first regular United States Stamps, that the bill for engraving them was not collected until June, 1848, and that the charges were $7.50 for engraving the plate, and $1.50 for printing 500 stamps. Mr. Bagg also obtained from Mr. Chubbuck a part of a sheet, eight stamps, which was afterwards purchased by Mr. Scott, who got together all the copies he could, and thus reconstructed the sheet, which was shown to have contained ten varieties, in two horizontal rows of 5 stamps each, each stamp separately engraved, the words "Eng. by Thos. Chubbuck, Bratt'o," appearing in small script under the middle stamp of the lower row, and not extending over the length of that stamp.

BRATTLEBORO POST OFFICE.

ISSUE OF 1845 OR 1846.

"F. N. P.", the initials of the postmaster, Frederick N. Palmer, in fac-simile, with flourish beneath, on a vertically lined ground, in an oblong with cut corners, bordered by a heavy colored, a colorless and a finer colored line in a band lined diagonally, (from right above, to left below) and bordered by another fine colored, a colorless and heavier colored line, forming an oblong rectangle, and inscribed above "_Brattleboro, Vt._," in colored black letters, "_P._ and _O._" on left and right, in ordinary colored capitals, and "_5 Cents_" in outline capitals below.

Plate impression 21 by 19 mm., in color, on brownish paper.

5 cents, black.

VII.

STAMP OF THE NEW HAVEN POSTMASTER.

This stamp was discovered in an old collection by Mr. Wm. P. Brown, and described by him in his Curiosity Cabinet in May, 1871. The New Haven Palladium of May 11, 1871, has the following account of the discovery, which, though it contains some errors as to the former postal rates, and some ignorance as to the history of the stamps of the United States, is worthy of insertion here.

"A CURIOSITY."