The United States 1869 Issue

137 Pages·2016·36.47 MB·English

THE UNITED STATE§
1§69 ISSUE
An History
Essay~Proof
by
PUBLISHED BY
THE l'OLIJECTORS ('Ll'B Ul<~ CHICAGO
rrHE 1869 ISSUE
UNITJ~~D srrATJ1~~
AN J~SSAY-PROO~' HISTORY
© Copyright 1974, by
Fred P. Schueren
LilJrary of Con~ress CataloguP :\umber 74-82406
Printed in the United States of America
by
J. W. Stowell Printing Co.
Federalsburg. \·Iaryland
Dedication
To my wife, Mary,
for her patience,
encouragement and
help; and to
our children
Mary .Joan.
Bett~· Jane,
Barbara Ann,
and
Paul.
THE COLLEC'l'ORS CLUB OF CHICAGO
CA REE.Y HO['SE
This is the fonrth book published under the sponsorship of the Collectors
Club of Chicago.
The Committt>e on l'uhlil·ations and Administration of the Clarence W.
llettnan Memorial Publi(·ation l•'un(l was t·r~-;ponsible for establishing the guide
litH'!' of this stud~· <111(1 for hanclling· of the many finan~ial and other details
of publi~ation.
'l'hl· Committee apprcL·iates thl' eontrilmtion nntdl' h~· the Hicharcl l\feP.
and Rlema E. Cabet>n .:\Iemorial Fund. administered b,,. thl• Chicago Community
'l'rn..;t (~rea ted in 1 !1/0 to support the publieation of philatelic items).
1t is the aim of the Coll!'don; Club of Chicago to continue publishing
worthwhilP works on philatl'lic· subjeds for the betterment of our hobb,\'.
The Committre on Publications
Charless Hahn
Dr. Harvey M. Karlen
Paul C. Rohloff
Raymond Vog-rl
Morrison \Y and
Anthony C. Husso, Chairman
CONTENTS
Foreword Xl
Prt>facP XU!
Chapter 1. Background 1
Chapter 2. Competition for the Co11tt·act 8
Chapter :~. The 186!1 Contrad 15
( 'haptt>l' 4. ControYer·sy 0\'!'1' the Co11tract 24
Chapter ;). First Pictorial HPries 35
Chapter 0. The OnP-( 'ent J)psign 47
Chapter 7. The Two-Cent Design 54
Chapter H. The Three-Cent Design 61
Chapter ~ J. The Six-Cent Desig-n 67
Clurpter 10. The 'l'Pn-Cent Design 72
Chapter Jl. The 'l'\\·t>lYe-l'ent Desig·11 78
Chapter 1: Z. The Fifteen-CPnt Design 84
Chapter 1 :l. The 'l'W!-'nty-:B...,our-Cent J)p,-;ign 89
Chapter H. 'rhe Thirty-Cent Design 93
Chapter 15. The ;..;inety-Cent Design 97
Chapter lo. Large Die Proofs 102
Chapter ] 7. Small Die ProofH 111
(:hapter lb. Plate Proofs 115
BibliogTaphy 1:25
Acknow ledgme11 ts 127
Foreword
The author of this work, F'red P.
:-ielmPt'PJI, was born in New York City,
and as reported in Who's Who in Finance
and lnd11sh·y, Parne<l his degree from
l•'ordham l1 niver·sity followed by g-raduate
studiPs at Manhattan CoJiege and New
York I' niYersity. He was a<lmittPd to pro
fessional practice as a CPrtified Publir
At<·ountant b~· the state of N<~w York
(and later hy Ill inoi.-;) "·it h headquarters
in tlH' \YaJI :-ltreet district of Manhattan.
l Tpon relo<·ating· to the Chicag-o area hP
serYP<l as <·hief finaneial and administra
tiw officpr· as well as dir<~ctor for lead
ing- industrial org-anizatim1s. H<' is attive
as a Financial Planning Consultant for
business and ]Wrsonal rstate planning.
l•'red has researched and writt<'n this definitiw study and is wPll qualified m
the fiPld, bPing a speeialist in both 19th ce11tury proofs and essays and the l'.S.
1869 <'lassie stamp llisue as well.
He won the cowted Brazer ;\len1orial Trophy in l 968, the top award in the tiPld
pr·rsentt>cl annuall~- by The Essay-Proof So<·iety. His other major awards and
honors in intemationa I and national <~ompPtition are too numerous to list.
We are proud to add his work to the publications of the Collectors Club of
Chicago.
ARTHUR SALi\I
President
XI
Preface
MANY collectors consider the 1869 issue of stamps to be the most attractive
and best engraved U.S. series. It was thought appropriate to prepare
this history of the essays and proofs in ordrr to appre<~iate the stamps even
more.
'l'he collecting of essays gives the collector and the serious student of philat
ely <·oncrete ideas on designs, sizPs, proportion:; and subjects not seen in reg
nlarl.v issued stamps. It also informs the student as to the various ideas put
forth by different designers of bygone decades to prevent forgery, washing
of stamps, rtc., with intent to <lefraud the government. In essays, the collector
may find ont that many of the finest and most artistic designs never were ac
cepted. 'l'rial color essays, that is to say, a single design executed in five or six
different colors, help to fix in one's mind what a great difference color make:> in
the same design; in one color the design is pffediYP an<l m-re,sting, and in
a not her color, it is drab and uninteresting.
The proofs are interesting because of their sheer beauty. Uenerally they
an· t hP first impressions taken when the die or plate is new a n<l free from defects.
Tht• ;.harpness of the impre.ssions, the special soft papPr on \Yhich they are
printed, the clarity and purity of colors, give to the philatPlist the best impres
sion tlw stamp is intended to conYey. Proofs may also be nsed a:; standards
of t·ompanson as to details of design from which stamps ma~· be varieties.
No collrdion of the pictorial stamps of 1869 wonld be considered complete
unlt•ss it also contained proofs in their bright, attractive colors which make
11H'lll desirable to those who appreciate the fine art of engraving. Together
"·ith the essays submitted for approval, they form a most interesting historical
background to the stamps.
f'abcen House
.J mmar~·, 197 4 FHED P. ScHCEHEX
xiii
CHAPTER I
Background
A
century has passed since the first pictorial series of United States
postage stamps was released. Up to 1869, the designs had been
limited to portraits of Franklin and Washington, followed by Thomas
.Jefferson, Andrew Jackson and, after his assassination, Abraham
Lincoln.
An interestillg memo from a now-unknown writer who submitted
a specime11 design for thf' series for consideration has come into my
hands rf'CPntly. Jt reads in part as follows:
'!'he accompanying- dr·awing of 1:1 postage stamp was sketeh<>d with a pen.
It will however (•onvey some idea of the changes in the desig-ns of postage
stamps which may be rendered expedient by the adopture of the new inven
tion for cancelling- them with the same ink with which they were printed.
'l'hE' figurE's rudPiy :okE'tdred at thE' top and bottom of thE' accompanying
specim<>n are thm;f' of the locomotive with its train of cars. and the stPam
ship, th<> prineipal and most effitif'nt means of transporting th<> mails.
I would suggest sketches of other important postal dt>vices for the
surroundings of the central numer~:~ls repn>senting thP different denomina
tions, of variom; designs for this purposE' are dremed advisable, sndt as
that of the old stage-coadr which is still r<>tained an!l of thE' mail ear-rier.
The design~-; of the ~-;tamps heretofore used by the post offite Dt>part
ment are liable to the objection of incongruity, for the reason that the
statesmen and genera Is whose miniature portrait~-; constitnt!• HtP central
figures of a majority of these dE'signs had no connection with the postal
service . . . The substitution of postal devices in the place of portraits in
the designs of postage stamps is, howevE't", more congruous ancl consistent
with the idea of our government.
It is interesting to note how many of the ideas expressed by this
unknown author were actually incorporated into the designs of the 1869
1
Proposal by an 11 nknowu a?'tist for a
new series of stamps remarkably like
the .1869s in spi1·it and design
scri0:;;. The reference to "cancelling them with the same ink with which
tlll'y wen• printc(1" recalls that the period from 1860 to 1868 was Olll'
duri11g which numerous patents were granted for devices to re11der
postage stamps free from fraudulent reuse.
Prelude to the 1867 GriHs
The Gibson Patent No. 41,118 of January 5, 1864, provided for
stamps to be printed on fugitive ink that would wash off when wet. In
the \Vyckoff Patent No. 53,723 dated April 3, 1866, a soluble surface
of watercolor was spread the paper and the ink printed over
011
it. DamJmes:;; would remove hoth. The Francis Patent, No. -l-8,389 of
June 27, 1863, called for printing the stamps on chemically treated
paper. Other patents were held by Lowenberg, ~{acdonough, Hulot,
Bowlsby and ~Wyckoff. Experimental papers, inks, gums, and perfora
tions were submitted. The most successful method finally proved to
be the use of grills.~,
*Sol Altman, in a series of articles beginning in THE EssAY-PROOF JOURNAL No.
42, has recorded a complete list of U. S. patents for the improvement of postage,
revenue stamps, postal cards, envelopes, letter sheets, inks, etc.
2