POSTAGE STAMP COLLECTING, OR PHILATELY.
Our young readers may vainly turn over the pages of any existing dictionary to find the scientific alias of the heading of this article. We trust the omission will be soon supplied, Philately, or Postage Stamp Collecting, having reached the dignity of a recognised science.
The word is the English rendering of the French term Philatélie, bestowed by a distinguished Parisian amateur in substitution for what was called timbromania, the latter portion of which word caused an unpleasant association of ideas, and gave rise to many a sneer from the wiseacres who had not sense enough to understand the real utility of the pastime. It is derived from the Greek φίλος and ὰτέλεια, the nearest equivalent traceable in classical lore to a modern postage stamp.
To schoolboys in general be ascribed the honour of introducing the elegant and instructive fancy forming the subject of our dissertation. The young students of the college of Louvain in particular claim to have been the earliest collectors: thence the fancy spread over France and Germany, inoculating many an English pupil in continental seminaries, by whom it was transmitted home. Some Louvain scholars informed us last year that it had been long prohibited by the professors, as tending to induce inattention to their regular tasks! We think this a mistaken notion; convinced that a knowledge of geography, history, and the values of foreign coins is materially facilitated by the study of postage stamps; which, moreover, induces neatness, regularity, and a sure refuge from ennui on a rainy day. Before the reign of postage stamps, who ever heard of the obscure city whence emanates that unit of a strange set of five, engraved at [page 759], or the equally mysterious Thurn and Taxis?
What can give a better idea of the chances and changes fewer than ten years have produced in the vast tract of land known as the Danubian Principalities, whose stamps are representatives of Moldavia alone, of Moldo-Wallachia united, and of the same countries resuming their ancient denomination of Roumania, first under Prince Couza, now under Prince Charles of Hohenzollern?
At the head of this paper is a reprint of an [engraving] taken from an old work on ancient and modern posts, printed at Paris in 1708. It portrays the various methods of transmitting news in use before the present almost universal system. The left-hand tower bears a lighted beacon; on the top of the right and central towers are men supposed to be shouting messages to be passed onwards from place to place, in the way some of our young classical scholars will remember is mentioned by Cæsar, book vii. chapter 3. The carrier pigeon above, and the dog in the foreground, represent other well-known modes. The former was, and still is, common in the East, and by no means disused here in the case of races, prize-fights, &c.; the latter was employed by the Portuguese during their East Indian conquests, and has been used until a late period by the Peruvians and other Americans.
An early anticipation of the modern post-paid envelope is still in existence, appropriately addressed to the celebrated authoress of “Cyrus the Great,” the originator of ἄγγαρα (angara), or posting-stations; but, strange to say, Persia, the earliest postal pioneer, has not yet adopted the stamp system, though essays have been submitted to the State.
The Californian Pony Expresses, and the earliest emission of Buenos Aires, are exemplars of this primitive way of communication. The last-named stamp has been supposed merely an essay; but we have seen it post-marked. A modification of the same is the Humboldt Express of Langton and Co. and a sort of travestie, the United States local of D. O. Blood.
Other methods of transmitting correspondence, &c. are typified by the sailing vessels of British Guiana, the steamers on the extinct stamps of Buenos Aires, and the Pacific Steam Navigation Company; those of La Guaira and the Russian for the Levant sea-ports. An American idea, even too go-ahead for the reckless Yankees, for we cannot hear that it was ever put in practice, is also here embodied.
Nearly two centuries after the plan was broached in Paris appeared the well-known absurd Mulready envelope, an extraordinary evidence of official vagaries, that such an abortion should have received preference over hundreds of essays, of which the [cut] pictures by no means the best!
The current envelopes for Great Britain, simple and compound, comprising every value from one penny to one shilling and sixpence, excepting only elevenpence and one shilling and fivepence, are certainly perfection; but are so little known or used that few are aware of other than the penny ones. We think our undeservedly vaunted penny label far surpassed in its own style by that of the islands of Antigua or St. Vincent, and the St. Kitt’s essay [here] given.
In the third year after the introduction of postal labels in Great Britain, the canton of Zurich would appear to have entertained the idea of imitating our example, the wonderfully rare if not unique pair of essays bearing the date of 1843 testifying visibly to that intention. Brazil, however, in the same year actually produced its first set, and is entitled to all the merit of seconding this marvellously successful move of ours. This was the large figure series, continued in the same style till those lately superseded, of which the red 280 and the yellow 430 reis alone remain in use.
Although the Zurich above alluded to was never in circulation, a pair something like it was so, either in the same or following year. The canton of Geneva next followed the lead. One of its stamps is unique on account of the custom of dividing it when but half value was needed.
The canton of Basle next joined the philatelic ranks, followed after three years’ interval by Vaud and Neufchatel. A twelvemonth previously our transatlantic brethren in the United States started the 5 cents bronze bearing the head of Franklin, and the large 10 cents with that of Washington.
In the same year (1847) a decree for the adoption of postage stamps in Belgium was made, which was carried into effect a year and a half afterwards. Six months in advance appeared the beautifully engraved effigies of the French Republic; during the course of twenty years followed the counterfeit presentments of the Presidency, the uncircled, and the laurelled heads of the Emperor Napoleon.
The ensuing year witnessed emanations from Austria, Bavaria, Lombardo-Venetia, Prussia, Saxony, Sardinia, and the first of the interminable issues of Spain: also the long solitary pair recording the abortive insurrection of Schleswig Holstein in 1848-50. The postal representatives of Schleswig, of Holstein, and of the two States in combination, now number two dozen!
This succession of stamps will ever possess a strong historical interest in consequence of their country’s connexion with the startling events attendant on the continental convulsions of 1866. A similar value in relation to European annals, entitling them to the style and title of Paper Medals, must be laid on the now extinct hosts of Hanoverian labels and envelopes, with those of the defunct office of Thurn and Taxis, overwhelmed by the needle-guns of Prussia, after an existence of more than three hundred years.
An approximate idea of the number of postage stamps, current and extinct, may be obtained from the latest edition of any good catalogue. That of Oppen’s Album (10th edition) contains about 2,800 distinct individual stamps, but includes no varieties of colour other than those recognised by the most fastidiously disposed collectors, such as the light and dark blues of Thurn and Taxis, first issue; neither does it take much note of proofs or essays, or any of railway or local British labels, or of differences in watermark or mode of perforation; which latter variations are now considered important by the higher order of philatelists.
The stamp-issuing localities amount at present to 122, 51 being in Europe; of these no fewer than seven have enlisted within the past twelvemonths, viz. Servia, the Virgin Islands, Guatemala, Salvador (see [p. 758]), Heligoland, Breslau, and Turk’s Island. The latter is exquisitely engraved, but with the exception of the pink, the colours are execrable. The first two, and the Breslau local are [appended].
Excluding the United States locals, whose name is legion, as well as those of Hamburg, most of which are spurious, the emissions of Spain count the highest. They amount to nearly ninety impressions for general postal purposes, besides several telegraphic and exclusively official issues. The later portraitures of Her Catholic Majesty, if correct, prove how very well she carries her age, with the assistance, perhaps, of some Spanish Madame Rachel. Compare one of the current set with those depicted at [pages 759] and [767] and note the dates.
The United States of North America, and those of Colombia, or the Granadine Confederation, afford us each the liberal allowance of between fifty and sixty varieties in colour, device, or value: the stamps of the former country, which are usually models of choice engraving, bear almost invariably the heads of their worthies, such as the late President Lincoln, and General Thomas (Stonewall) Jackson.
The memory of the great Confederate struggle will be ever preserved by the postage stamps issued from various cities in the revolting States; such as Memphis, Baton Rouge, Mobile, Charleston, New Orleans, &c. These had fancy devices, but the features of Jefferson Davis and J. C. Calhoun will reach posterity on two of the Confederate issues. On one of them also figures “Hickory” Jackson, a hero of the war in 1812.
It is a singular fact that the illustrated postage stamp magazines, &c. are purchased by non-philatelic collectors for the purpose of cutting out the miniature portraits of celebrities, whose effigies are otherwise less conveniently attainable.
The palm of beauty will be assigned nem. con. to the current pair of Nova Scotia types. There are three of each, one representing the full front bust of our gracious Queen in state attire; the other Her Majesty’s profile: the former in scarlet, green, and black; the latter in lilac, blue, and black. Of these the pair of black are by far the most effective. One of them is more or less perfectly rendered by the Newfoundland 12 cents, and the South Australian two shilling, and fourpenny stamps; the other by the 24 cents of the former colony.
There are numerous other exquisite specimens of the engraver’s art to be found in a collection of postage stamps. The French republics, the Greek Mercuries, the Russian and Polish adhesives, and the Hong Kongs are admirable.
The current Saxons, Bavarians, all the Portuguese, and the lately emitted Heligolands are the best examples of the relief or cameo style: engravings of these give but a poor idea of the original. The same method of type is much less effective in the Prussians, Oldenburgs, Schleswigs and Holsteins; but radiates in full effulgence in the faultless envelopes of our own country, in those of Baden, Hanover, and the extinct Saxons and Prussians; with our colonials of Ceylon and the Mauritius.
The American Bank Note Company, we must perforce, most unpatriotically, admit to be unrivalled in plain engraving; of which the Nova Scotias, and some others noted above are instances: the trio of large newspaper and periodical labels issued last year in the United States, which bear the profiles of Washington, Franklin, and Lincoln respectively, and the Central-Fair locals too, are wellnigh perfection. The symbolical Newfoundlands are equally noteworthy.
To the same, or a branch firm, we believe ourselves indebted for the lovely landscapes of Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Salvador.
The swans of Western Australia, repeated in such variety of colour, ever attract attention; as do the keys of Bremen, the castles of Hamburg, the compounds of mysterious Bergedorf, the eagles of Lubeck, the quaint emissions of the Argentine Confederation, and the crossed keys and tiara of the Papal States, after the eye is wearied by the incessant array of heads and armorial bearings exhibited by the majority of stamp-emitting countries.
The adhesives of the kingdoms once composing the Two Sicilies are both equally remarkable; that of Naples for its singularity, that of Sicily from its peculiar boldness of design and rich colouring.
The first stamps of Luxembourg, those of the Dutch East Indies, and Holland, exhibit marvellous variations in the portraiture of one and the same individual sovereign.
The marketable value of a postage stamp for collections does not, however, by any means, depend upon its beauty or deformity. The greater portion of the more attractive in appearance are purchasable at a very low figure: the most beautiful of all, the Nova Scotian black profile, can be had at its natal place for one cent, or an English halfpenny. The circular specimen of meagre ugliness below may be worth a couple of sovereigns, even when cancelled; a moderately well-stored juvenile album could be purchased for the price of an unused specimen, were such existing, which we strongly doubt. That of Romagna and the early Van Diemen’s Land are little better.
Some of the frightful libels on the august countenances of the Emperor Napoleon, the Queen of Spain, and our own Sovereign, fetch also exorbitant fancy prices. The French affair goes by the name of the Cayenne essay; possibly because its concoctor was, or at least, deserved to be, transported thither for his impudence. The Queens’ profiles on their colonial stamps for the Philippines and the Mauritius are mere caricatures.
Slight improvement on the British Guiana stamp is made by some of the Honolulu emissions; also the local Bavarian; the Bollo Straordinario of Tuscany; the 10 and 15 centimes à percevoir of France; and the Land Post trio of Baden. The latter have the advantage of being printed on yellow paper.
Some of the Sandwich Islands stamps, nevertheless, far outstrip the productions of some countries that were highly civilized long ere the full dress of one of their natives consisted of aught save a few beads. Portraits of the great, the late, and the regnant kings bearing the joint name of Kamehameha exist on stamps: the one given does but scant justice to its chastely designed original.
The French labels just alluded to are placed by the postal authorities on insufficiently paid letters. They are only surreptitiously purchasable at the post-offices, not being for public use; but this bit of red-tapeism is easily evaded for a con-sid-er-ation. Of similar character are the Bavarian before-mentioned, and the Italian segnatassa, figured above. A collector in Leghorn, unable to procure one of these latter, wrote a letter to himself without stamping it, expecting one of the then new labels to be affixed before delivery. Such was the case; but the letter lying on the hall-table, a friend of ours innocently abstracted the stamp and inclosed it to ourselves as the last new postal curiosity.
Besides such slightly abnormal deviations from the general run of postage stamps, may be enumerated the “too late” label formerly used by the colony of Victoria, now particularly recherché by philatelists, especially in an uncancelled state. This individual is unique in its application; but there are several impressions exclusively devoted to the registration of letters. Those of Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland (like the [cut], but the word “registered” substituted for the value) are well known; and the recently emitted Prussians, one of which is given on the [next page], are of somewhat kindred nature.
The quaint [centre device] is an offshoot from that fertile field for philatelists, New Granada, alias the United States of Columbia; the R standing for registrados (registered).
Besides strictly governmental issues, many private firms and individuals have been tacitly allowed to issue postage stamps, more or less partaking of the character of regular official emanations. Such are those of the United States, amounting to upwards of five hundred; some of which, though catalogued, never did duty, and were only concocted for sale. They are now, we believe, all extinct. Some of them are represented on previous pages. The City of Hamburg has produced upwards of a hundred, of which the greater part are impostors. An unimpeached one will be found depicted [farther on].
The pages devoted to the U. S. locals by those who collect them, present a most varied and extraordinary appearance, from the endless varieties of device and colour employed. Profiles, busts, figures of men and animals, numerals, plain inscriptions, symbolical and allegorical representations meet the eye, varied with all the colours in and out of the rainbow.
Dresden, Breslau, Montreal, Shanghai, Constantinople, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and London, also contribute their quota towards the ranks of locals. These are all emissions of private firms: those of the third place mentioned are more than doubtful; the latter are now prohibited by law.
To these may be added those of Throndhjems (Drontheim), Tammerfors, Helsingfors, with the Levant, Danubian, and Pacific Steam Companies. The legally authorised issues of Malta, the Danish West Indies, &c. and the very low values of continental stamps, may be likewise termed locals; not being available out of their own birthplace. The La Guairas, one of which is figured at [page 754], must not be omitted from the list.
Still farther than the unaccredited locals from a strictly legitimate postal collection are the numerous labels issued by the several railroads. They amount to a considerable number altogether, ranging in value from one farthing to five shillings.
Many of the foreign telegraph stamps are extremely tasty, especially the Belgian and Spanish: these, however, are not usually admitted into collections. Still less are our own now disused “Customs” labels, which far exceed the postals in beauty; as do our receipt, bill, and legal adhesives, some of which are as high as 5l. or more in value.
The “needle-gun” war of 1866 introduced quite a novel genus of postage envelopes. They were employed in Prussia, Saxony, &c.; some for the use of civilians writing to their friends or relatives at camp; others for the exclusive service of the military. Some Brazilian youths, of more ingenuity than probity, concocted an imitation of these, and passed them off at a price among dealers and amateurs, as being employed for a similar purpose in the conflict between the Brazilians and Paraguayans.
The highest priced postage stamps were the once rare Pony Expresses (see [page 753]), one of which cost 4 dollars (16s. 8d.) The 2 dollar one ranks next; then the five shilling of New South Wales, the Mauritius, and our own; the 96 cents of Hong Kong, the 8 reales of Mexico, the 90 cents of the United States, the 1 scudo of Rome, and the 25 piastres of Turkey. The Ceylons are the most numerous in varieties of value, having no fewer than thirteen, from one halfpenny to two shillings. From four to six is the average number of monetary denominations for the same country. Some have more, as Hong Kong, which counts ten. The United States have the same number, besides four additional values in envelopes. New South Wales has eight, and Victoria nine values. France has nine at present, but a higher priced stamp is announced. Liberia, Turk’s Island, and British Honduras have only three; Grenada, Nicaragua, British Columbia, and Antigua, issue but two; and Vancouver’s Island, Malta, Sierra Leone, and Corrientes, only one. The last-named locality, being a small province of the Argentine Republic, has issued the same die for two several values. It was originally marked un real, but this was subsequently erased, no designation of value appearing. Three centavos was then its price. It is impressed in black, on blue, as well as green paper. Like the New Caledonian, it was printed in sheets from a single block, each impression slightly differing.
This is one of the few exceptions to the rule of postage stamps bearing a facial value. The earlier issues of the Mauritius, Trinidad, and Barbadoes partake of the same defect, being distinguishable by colour only. The Ionian Islanders were in a like category: but the sole existing specimens of this inconvenience are the halfpenny and penny Barbadians, and the whole set of St. Lucias.
The result of this is, that the values of more than one of the early stamps of the Mauritius are still a subject of debate among some erudite philatelists. One of these stamps is sometimes found endorsed with “eightpence” in black letters, another with “fourpence.” This clumsy method is even yet being adopted in a few instances, we suppose to save the expense of a new plate. The original sixpenny of St. Helena is printed in three different colours besides its own blue, and does duty in green, carmine, and red, cruelly tattooed with printed characters according to the stated value. The ninepenny of South Australia, doffing its modest hue for a bright orange, hand-stamped with black, is worth a penny more than heretofore. In like manner, the Italian government, wishing to put the screw on its faithful subjects, raised the tariff on home letters from 15 to 20 centesimi, and barred out the original value. The provisional East Indian may be joined to this uncomely group of disfigured identities, as also the newly emitted set for Singapore.
The impressions of Nevis; those now current of the Cape of Good Hope; and what are termed the Sydney stamps of New South Wales, are elegantly symbolical of their respective localities.
The adhesives of British Columbia, Sierra Leone, and British Honduras, claim a very high rank for elegance of design and correctness of execution among our colonials. The extinct shilling stamp of Victoria may worthily dispute with its lately superseded sixpenny the unenviable distinction of ugliness.
Excluding the railway stamps, and the United States newspaper labels, Liberia produces the largest stamps; Mecklenberg Schwerin and Brunswick the smallest. The latter two countries present the singularity of allowing the four small stamps to be used singly or in combination.
The inscriptions on stamps being of course in the language of their native country, many impressions necessarily bear a particularly quaint appearance; as those of Egypt, Turkey, Cashmeer, Shanghai, Poland, Moldavia (see [page 765]), and Servia (see [p. 756]). The early emission of the Argentine Confederation is also an oddity.
The shapes of postage stamps present but little variation; a very large majority being more or less unequally sided rectangles. Few are perfectly square. The set of Bergedorf, and the disused Danish and Thurn and Taxis adhesives are instances, the former showing the further peculiarity of different sizes in regular gradation according to value. The impressions run sometimes on upright, sometimes on oblong rectangles. The narrowest of the latter is one of those of Wells, Fargo, and Co.; of the former, a very rare English essay, too elaborate for description.
Some few are octagonal, more or less irregular; some oval; some perfectly round; some indescribable, as the one-and-ninepenny Ceylon; and the ninepenny envelope of the Mauritius. The earlier emissions of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were printed in such a way as to render the stamp lozenge-shaped.
A small minority are triangular; the superseded stamps of the Cape of Good Hope, a solitary type of Newfoundland, and one of New Granada, are the only ones we can recollect ever seeing, except a black Austrian newspaper adhesive. The Langton local is unique in form.
Many stamps have been issued exclusively for newspapers, feuilletons, and printed matter in general, such as some Austrian and Venetian impressions. The B. G. and tassa gazzette of Modena, the 6 c. and 9 centesimi of Parma, and others, were of like nature; as are the lower priced French, Italians, and Belgians. That of Frankfort is not adhesive, but hand-stamped, like those on our own newspapers, and is by some considered inadmissible in strictly postal collections.
The returned letter stamps must not pass unmentioned. That of Wurtemberg was long “alone in its glory;” but Munich, Augsburg, Nuremberg, and other Bavarian cities, have lately adopted them. Those forming the seal on returned letters in our own country are collected by some amateurs.
The enormous accumulation of proofs and essays, all which are ignored by many philatelists, are not to be lightly rejected. The former are certainly articles de luxe or fantaisie, being simply veritable stamps printed in abnormal colours, as some of the United States, &c. Of the latter are three sorts—those by authorisation; those proposed by enterprising individuals to various governments; and those invented for sale to entrap the unwary.
The best, as in the case of England, were not always chosen: look at the essay of Pellas the Genoese, and admire Italian discrimination—if you can. The Sicilian, on the other hand, is indubitably inferior to the adopted design. In the centre lies the audacious offspring of the Fenian rebellion.
Several essays proposed for Governments which have not yet instituted the postage stamp system, are surpassingly beautiful in device and execution. Those by M. Riester, of Paris, are particularly elegant, Bolivia for example. The Poisson d’Avril (April Fool) stamp is a curiosity in philatelic lore; it was gravely chronicled as emanating from Moresnet, and deceived the very knowing ones. (See cut at foot of next page.)
The longest reign in postal annals is twelve years; the defunct Dutch having lasted that period. Of the Spanish sets only two have outlived a twelvemonth unchanged. The 1 franc of the French empire, and the first issue of Schleswig-Holstein (see [p. 755]), were current rather more, the 25 centimes of the Empire and the Italian (represented [below]) less than a year. The 1⁄2 tornese, Neapolitan arms, and the same transmogrified into the Cross of Savoy, endured each about a month. The 1⁄2 schilling violet, and 3 sch. rose of Bergedorf, were a nine days’ wonder.
Among the notabilities of a choice postage-stamp collection may be chronicled the Connel essay. A New Brunswick postmaster of that name took the liberty of having his own physiognomy transferred to a sheet of postage stamps;—the result was his resignation. The tenpenny [above] depicted is unique, and was long supposed to be from Van Diemen’s Land; but we rather believe it an English essay.
The space allowed us compels an abrupt conclusion. We had intended touching on the eight various distinct modes of perforation, besides variations; and the distinguishing watermarks of various issues. We should also have liked to describe the amusing and exciting humours of ‘Change, which many of our readers may remember witnessing in Lombard Street and its neighbourhood, or in the gardens of the Luxembourg and the Tuileries in Paris, during the early days of stamp-collecting; but we trust enough has been written to excite the interest of many who have purchased this volume on other accounts, yet may thus be induced to become votaries to the interesting and instructive pursuit of Philately.
