“I wish to call your attention to a neglected series of United States stamps, a collection which will fully vindicate the assertion that stamps do commemorate national events, and in that respect are not one whit behind their venerable competitors, coins. The stamp before us has for its principal design the American Eagle, the bird of all others selected by our forefathers to represent the country. It is a little unfortunate that their knowledge of ornithology did not equal their love of freedom. However, he is now firmly established as the national emblem, and we must take him with all his faults and invest him with sufficient virtues for his honorable position. The bird as represented clasps three arrows in his right and an olive branch in his left claw; above is inscribed ‘Brooklyn Sanitary’ and below ‘Fair Postage.’ Unfortunately, the value is not given, but, perhaps, this was intentional. The stamp is produced by lithography, and printed in green on white paper.
“The stamp itself speaks volumes, and cannot fail to recall the time when our country was torn by internecine strife. Three years of war had filled our homes with mourning, our hospitals with maimed and crippled soldiers, and exhausted the resources of the national Government to relieve their sufferings. It was then that the ladies of the North organized fairs in the different cities to raise money to supply the wounded with comfort and delicacies; to send the convalescent to their homes, and to care for the widows and orphans of the slain.
“The stamp was used in the fair held in the Academy of Music, in Montague Street, Brooklyn, in 1864. But the spacious building was not large enough to contain all the offerings of the people or the attractions provided to tempt the dollars from the pockets of the thousands who filled the various rooms, so a light wooden bridge was erected across the street to a building on the opposite side. One of the most interesting features of the fair was the model post-office, equipped with all the paraphernalia which appertains to that useful institution. Here you could post a letter to any part of the world, provided you placed the necessary number of Uncle Sam’s stamps on it, and one of the fair’s labels to take it to the general post-office. This was not all. If you inquired of the innocent young lady at the window if there was a letter for you, you would certainly get one, for one of the clever lady assistants would write a little note while you waited, rather than have you disappointed, and even if there should be considerable postage due on it, for you certainly would not refuse it on that account, for it might be from your ‘Long Lost Brother,’ or some fair one who had promised to be a sister to you.’ The Brooklyn Fair netted over $400,000.00 for the benefit of the cause. Thus we find the Sanitary Fair Stamps were a source of innocent amusement to the young people, while they turned in considerable cash for the benefit of our wounded heroes, and left behind fragments of history to be gathered up by the Bancrofts of the future, to say nothing of the pleasure they have afforded to a generation of stamp collectors.
“Of the second Brooklyn Fair I have been unable to obtain any particulars other than that afforded by the stamp. The design consists of a foundry cut of an eagle, with ‘Post’ above and ‘Office’ below, which is enclosed in a rectangular frame inscribed, ‘Young Ladies of Brooklyn Bazaar’: a figure five being in each corner. The stamp is typographed in black on buff paper.
“Our next stamp is from New York, and is beautiful in design and elaborate in detail. In the center we have the American Eagle with outstretched neck and upraised wings; he is standing on the United States shield, with flags and stars in the background and national motto above; the inscription is artistically entwined around and reads: ‘Great Central Fair Postage Stamp, U. S. Sanitary Commission,’ with value above and below. The stamps are perforated and of three denominations—10 cents, blue; 20 cents, green; 30 cents, black. They were engraved on steel by the American Bank Note Co. This fair was held in Union Square, New York City, where buildings were erected for the purpose. It was opened from the latter part of April to the end of June, and was presided over by the leaders in society, wealth and beauty of the metropolis. It netted the enormous sum of $1,200,000.
“The next fair I call your attention to was held in the city of Albany. Unfortunately, I have no particulars concerning it except such as relate to the stamps. The first, of elegant design and workmanship, was prepared by Gavit, the well-known engraver of that city, but as the time drew near it was found impossible to have a supply printed in time; the plate was accordingly laid aside and never used. The design is copied from the one-cent blue carriers’ stamp, the well-known eagle on a branch to the left, with ‘Bazaar Post Office’ above, ‘Ten Cents’ below, the whole enclosed in a neat frame. I have seen impressions in scarlet, blue and black on yellow surface paper. The stamp actually used was much smaller, and produced by lithography by the same firm. The design is an eagle on a rock, with ‘Bazaar Post Office’ above and ‘Ten Cents’ below, enclosed in frame of single lines. It was printed in both red and black, and used during the fair. I may add, that, as far as I know, this is the only stamp of the series that has been counterfeited; the false stamp can easily be recognized by the absence of shading around the eagle.
