DISCOVERY OF COPPERPLATE ENGRAVING.
Every one has noticed on his visiting-card the extremely delicate lines of his name, and most every one knows that they are produced by printing from an engraved copperplate. Like many other things of use and beauty, this art of copperplate engraving was discovered through the merest accident, by the goldsmiths of Florence, in the fifteenth century. It is a historical fact, however, that, one day, an engraver on gold, wishing to take a proof of his work, made the usual sulphur cast, and then filled up the lines with lamp-black, thus enabling him to see exactly how his work looked. While occupied in doing this it occurred to him that possibly the same results could be obtained by filling up the original engraving with lamp-black instead of making an impression of it, and filling up that. Struck with the idea, he put it into practical use, and with a little damp paper succeeded in getting a fair impression from the engraving. The discovery was communicated to other workers in this art, and they hailed it with joy, as it saved all the arduous trouble of making sulphur casts, but they never saw the full value of the discovery, and consequently the art of plate-engraving lay for almost a century before its true import was discovered and brought out in all its great and beautiful results. To-day collectors of plate-engravings rave over the crude results of earlier times, and search the world for examples of these early masters to add to their collections. Many of these collections have been presented to museums, where they may be seen and appreciated by the people.
This Department is conducted in the interest of stamp and coin collectors, and the Editor will be pleased to answer any question on these subjects so far as possible. Correspondents should address Editor Stamp Department.
Almost every mail brings me a batch of inquiries as to which stamps are sure to advance in value in the near future, and asking advice as to buying up a quantity of certain stamps. To all such inquirers I would say that collecting stamps for pleasure and speculating in stamps for profit are entirely distinct things. Harper's Round Table is not concerned about speculators. They may make money or lose it, as the case may be, but collectors asking advice or information in the making up of an album are always welcome. Of course philatelists rejoice when they find that a stamp bought ten years ago for 25c. is now worth $25, and that a collection on which a $100 had been spent in ten years is now worth $1000. That is simply our common humanity. But the true philatelist rejoices less in the money value of his collection than in the fact that he possesses complete sets of certain countries, has beautiful copies, or unusual shades of common stamps, etc.
Thirty-five years ago collecting began in the U.S. Almost every boy had access to the family letters or those of some business house. The great ambition of every boy was to get more kinds than any other boy of his acquaintance could boast. Stamps had little value, and many a rare stamp has been traded for an absolutely worthless common stamp. For instance, the writer had literally hundreds of 18 kreuzer Würtembergs in strips of three, four, or five copies, and hundreds of Western Australia—sixpences and shillings. These were all exchanged for 20 or 25 centimes, French; 1d, 2d, 4d, and 6d, English; 1, 3, 6, and 9 kreuzer, German, etc.—an exchange of diamonds for pebbles, according to the present stamp standards. And yet I sometimes think we early collectors got a great deal more pleasure from our stamps than the present army of collectors. Even when we got to know that some stamps were scarcer than others the speculative element was not predominant.
G. A. Hall.—Any U.S. printed in two colors in which the centre is reversed is valuable.
R. Wostom.—The Danish coin is no longer current, and is worth bullion only. The 5c. piece can be bought for 10c.
R. S. Chase.—You have not allowed time enough for your Japanese correspondent. It takes three and sometimes four months to exchange letters in ordinary course.
N. Welfare.—The Samoan Express is a reprint. The post-card is worth face only.
E. Kjan.—See advertising columns for stamps or albums.
Francis Paul, 95 Nott Ave., Long Island City, wants to exchange U.S. unused stamps for foreign unused stamps.
N. G. Van Cise.—The U.S. stamps are printed in sheets of 200 or 400, and are cut apart after printing. The guide lines are printed heavily to show where to cut.
G. W. B.—Many of the 1869 blue 3c. stamp can be found with very faint marks of grill, and some with none at all. The rare reprints are on a different paper, and are distinguished by paper only. The New Zealand revenue stamps can be used for postage, but I fancy very few high values are really used for that purpose. Caveat emptor.