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.
