,illustration3 ,,portraits ,,of ,,king ,,george ,v ,,peeps ,,at ,,postage ,,stamps ,illustration ,,by ,,stanley ,c4 ,,johnson ,m4,a41 ,d4,sc41 ,f4,r4,e4,s4 ,,with ,,sixteen ,,full-,,page ,,plates ,,containing #afc ,,specimen ,,stamps ,,in ,,black ,,and ,,white ,a4 ,c4 ,,black1 ,,ltd4 #d1 #e #f ,,soho ,,square1 ,,london1 ,w4 #aiae ,,other ,,volumes ,,in ,,the ,,peeps ,,series ,,peeps ,,at ,,many ,,lands ,,and ,,cities #eg ,vols4 ,,peeps ,,at ,,nature #ab ,vols4 ,,peeps ,,at ,,history #i ,vols4 ,,peeps ,,at ,,great ,,railways #e ,vols4 ,,peeps ,,at ,,miscellaneous ,,subjects #ad ,vols4 ,heraldry2 ,the ,heavens2 ,british ,army2 ,royal ,navy1 etc4 ,,published ,,by ,a4 ,c4 ,,black1 ,,ltd4 #d1 #e #f ,,soho ,,square1 ,,london1 ,w4 ,,agents ,,america ,,the ,,macmillan ,,company #fd #ff ,,fifth ,,avenue1 ,,new ,,york ,,australasia ,,oxford ,,university ,,press #bje ,,flinders ,,lane1 ,,melbourne ,,canada ,,the ,,macmillan ,,company ,,of ,,canada1 ,,ltd4 ,,st4 ,,martin',s ,,house1 #gj ,,bond ,,street1 ,,toronto ,,india ,,macmillan ,,company1 ,,ltd4 ,,macmillan ,,building1 ,,bombay #cji ,,bow ,,bazaar ,,street1 ,,calcutta ,,contents ,,chapter ,,page ,,introduction #a ,i4 ,,philatelic ,,terms ,,explained #b ,,ii4 ,,how ,,to ,,form ,a ,,stamp ,,collection #e ,,iii4 ,,specializing #ah ,,iv4 ,,the ,,stamps ,,of ,,great ,,britain #bg ,v4 ,,stamps ,,worth ,,fortunes #cg ,,vi4 ,,common ,,stamps #db ,,vii4 ,,stamps ,,of ,,special ,,interest #df ,,viii4 ,,forged ,,stamps #eb ,,ix4 ,,pioneers ,,of ,,postage #ei ,x4 ,,commemorative ,,stamps #fd ,,xi4 ,,interesting ,,picture ,,stamps #gb ,,xii4 ,,stamps ,,and ,,history #gg ,,xiii4 ,,war ,,stamps #hb ,,xiv4 ,,some ,,famous ,,collections #hh ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations #a4 ,,portraits ,,of ,,king ,,george ,v4 ,frontispiece ,,facing ,,page #b4 ,,overprinted ,,stamps #h #c4 ,,some ,,members ,,of ,,our ,,royal ,,family #ag #d4 ,,postage ,,stamps ,,having ,,special ,,uses #bd #e4 ,,specimen ,,stamps #bg #f4 ,,some ,,penny ,,stamps ,,of ,,great ,,britain #cj #g4 ,,portraits ,,of ,,some ,,european ,,monarchs #da #h4 ,,curious ,,stamps #dh #i4 ,,stamps ,,bearing ,,national ,,emblems #eg #aj4 ,,noted ,,statesmen ,,of ,,the ,u4,s4,a4 #fd #aa4 ,,some ,,view ,,stamps #gc #ab4 ,,zoological ,,stamps #hj #ac4 ,,some ,,hapsburg ,,portraits #hc #ad4 ,,stamps ,,from ,,the ,,great ,,war ,,zone #he #ae4 ,,stamps ,,coming ,,from ,,countries ,,which ,,no ,,longer ,,have ,,separate ,,issues #hh #af4 ,,commemorative ,,stamps #ij ,,note4--,the other volumes in the ,peeps ,series1 with few exceptions1 contain coloured illustrations2 but1 in order to conform with the regulations of the ,inland ,revenue authorities1 the pictures in the present volume are necessarily printed in black4 ,,postage ,,stamps ,,introduction ,every boy and girl--and1 we might add1 man and woman--should collect stamps4 ,our reasons for making this statement are many4 ,first1 stamp-collecting is a highly fascinating pursuit1 which helps to while away countless pleasant hours4 ,on this score alone it is worth following4 ,secondly1 it encourages methodical habits4 ,we examine our stamps carefully1 we discriminate between the good and the bad specimens1 we keep a watch for minor varieties1 we marshal our treasures in correct order1 and so on4 ,thirdly1 a vast amount of geography is learnt by collecting4 ,the stamps bring all sorts of out-of-the-way countries to our notice1 whilst the postmarks make us conversant with various towns4 ,fourthly1 we get to know of hundreds of interesting facts concerning the currency and language used in every corner of the globe4 ,the inscriptions on the specimens teach us these matters4 ,fifthly1 stamp-collecting assists us to gain a real knowledge of history4 ,ask any collector when ,columbus discovered ,america8 ,who was ,prince ,henry the ,navigator8 ,over what country did ,king ,amadeus reign8 ,what form of government is possessed by ,paraguay8 ,his answers will be far more intelligent than those given by a non-collector4 ,but the foregoing are not the only matters which our stamps teach us4 ,what is the difference between an engraving and a lithograph1 between cream-laid paper and wove paper1 between magenta and cerise8 ,these and a thousand other questions the stamp collector can answer correctly and without hesitation4 ,surely a pastime which can help us to gain so much valuable knowledge is worth the attention of every boy and girl1 as well as man and woman4 ,,chapter ,i ,,philatelic ,,terms ,,explained ,,adhesive4--,a stamp which is kept in position by moistening the gummed under-surface4 ,most stamps are adhesives4 ,postcards1 envelopes1 and wrappers which have the stamp printed on them1 are not adhesives4 ,,block4--,a number of stamps not torn apart4 ,a strip of stamps and a number of stamps forming an odd shape are1 however1 not considered as blocks4 ,,chalk-,,surface4--,a surface given to stamps by means of a preparation of chalk1 in order that obliterations may not be cleaned out4 ,,commemorative ,,stamps4--,stamps issued to remind people of bygone events4 ,,control ,,letters4--,letters on the margin paper of sheets of stamps1 for official purposes of control4 ,,entire4--,a postcard1 wrapper1 or envelope complete as it has passed or would pass through the post--i4e41 not the stamp cut from it4 ,,error4--,a stamp which contains some faulty workmanship1 of whatever kind4 ,,facsimile4--,see ,forgery4 ,,forgery4--,an unofficial stamp1 one made in order to cheat4 ,in cases where a real stamp is given an unauthorized overprint 7which see71 the stamp constitutes a forgery4 ,,hinges4--,the papers gummed on one surface used for fixing stamps to the album4 ,,imperforate4--,stamps that are not provided with perforated margins to facilitate separation4 ,,label4--,another name for a stamp4 ,,local ,,stamps4--,stamps which are available for use in some town or special area4 ,there are none in ,england at the present time4 ,russia and ,morocco are probably the only areas where they still exist1 though ,switzerland1 ,turkey1 ,germany1 ,china1 and the ,united ,states recognized them until within recent years4 ,,mint4--,a term applied to an unused stamp in perfect condition1 including the gum on the back4 ,,mounts4--,see ,hinges4 ,,obliteration4--,marks placed on a stamp by the authorities to denote that it has gone through the post4 ,,obsolete4--,a stamp that is no longer issued by the postal authorities4 ,,official ,,stamps4--,those printed for use in ,government offices--i4e41 the obsolete ,inland ,revenue officials of ,great ,britain4 ,,overprint4--,an inscription printed on the face of a stamp to alter in some way its original use4 ,,perforated4--,a frame of small holes around a stamp made in order to facilitate separation from its neighbour4 ,,perforation1 ,,compound4--,exists when the holes are not of the same size and distance apart around the four sides of a stamp4 ,,perforation ,,gauge4--,an instrument for measuring the perforations of a stamp4 ,usual cost about #f;d4 ,,philatelist4--,not merely a stamp collector1 but one who loves 7,greek3 philosa lover7 his stamps4 ,,plate ,,numbers4--,usually spoken of in connection with the line-engraved stamps of ,great ,britain4 ,they serve to indicate the plate from which any particular stamp was printed4 ,,provisionals4--,stamps which are intended for temporary use whilst a permanent issue is being prepared4 ,,remainders4--,genuine stamps left over after the particular issue has become obsolete4 ,there is no objection to remainders as there is to reprints4 ,,reprints4--,stamps printed from dies after they have become obsolete4 ,many countries sell their obsolete dies1 with the result that more or less inaccurate reprints are made from them4 ,reprints1 for philatelic purposes1 should be classed with forgeries4 ,,rouletted4--,the presence of a frame of small slits around a stamp in order to facilitate separation from its neighbour4 ,,speculative ,,stamps4--,postage stamps issued by an unscrupulous ,government for philatelic1 rather than postal1 purposes4 ,,strip ,,of ,,stamps4--,a row of stamps joined together 7compare ,block74 ,,surcharge4--,an overprint placed on a stamp to alter its face value4 ,,variety4--,a term to describe a stamp that differs from another in some slight way4 ,,watermark4--,a thinning of the paper on which a stamp is printed so as to create a distinctive design4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,how ,,to ,,form ,a ,,stamp ,,collection ,most philatelists drift into stamp-collecting--that is to say1 the start is made unconsciously1 and without any definite planning4 ,probably the first specimens are obtained through the generosity of a friend who possesses a few duplicates1 or may be the letters coming regularly from a relative living in some remote part of the world supply the earliest treasures4 ,but however the beginning is made1 progress will be slow unless friends are very generous or a little money is spent on buying sufficient specimens to make a fair start4 ,in the ordinary course1 the collector will be wise if he spends a few shillings on buying a packet of the commoner stamps which form the basis of all collections4 ,the packet should cost as much as the beginner can reasonably afford1 and be composed of different stamps--that is to say1 without containing any duplicates4 ,if four or five shillings are to be invested1 as many as four hundred varieties may be expected1 whilst a thousand varieties will usually cost about half a guinea4 ,armed with such a nucleus as this1 the fascinations of the pastime begin to make themselves evident4 ,duplicates will quickly accumulate1 and serve to form the basis of exchanges amongst friends4 ,approval sheets will invariably come to hand from dealers1 and permit of additional specimens being secured at a very cheap rate2 whilst attractive bargains will be obtained1 from time to time1 through the medium of advertisements in newspapers and magazines4 ,but the reader may argue that stamp-collecting is a costly pastime if every specimen must be bought4 ,in practice it is anything but an expensive hobby4 ,if the writer were to sell his collection1 he would obtain about three or four times the amount he spent on forming it4 ,the reason for this lies in the fact that stamps seldom lose their value1 but frequently rise in price4 ,when a hundred or more varieties have accumulated1 an album should be procured4 ,these may be obtained at all prices and in a bewildering variety of patterns4 ,too often the young philatelist provides himself with a voluminous album in which his tiny but growing collection appears as a drop of water in the ocean4 ,it is far better to buy a small1 cheap album which may serve as a temporary home until the treasures have grown sufficiently numerous to warrant a more expensive one4 ,many collectors prefer to house their stamps in a scrap-book containing a number of fairly stout1 smooth1 blank leaves4 ,in such a book as this we are free to arrange the stamps just as fancy dictates2 we can place them close together or far apart1 and we can reserve as many or as few pages as seems desirable for each individual country4 ,the writer's collection is contained in two books of this description4 ,great ,britain fills the first fifteen pages1 and the ,colonies follow in alphabetical order in the first volume4 ,in the second volume the foreign countries are set out in the order in which their ,governments first issued stamps--i4e41 ,brazil comes first1 then the ,united ,states1 then ,france1 ,belgium1 ,bavaria1 ,spain1 etc4 ,this is1 of course1 a somewhat unusual plan to follow1 but it certainly has advantages4 ,whilst speaking of albums1 it will be well to point out that stamps should never be fixed to more than one side of a page4 ,if both faces are used1 the stamps will rub against each other and also catch one with another4 ,before the specimens are placed in the album1 each should be carefully examined1 and cleaned1 if necessary4 ,when paper is adhering to the backs1 it should be removed4 ,this unsticking process is easily performed when the specimen is immersed in a bowl of hot water1 but1 unfortunately1 many stamps will be utterly ruined if even a trace of moisture is allowed to come in contact with their colours4 ,no rule can be given as to which stamps spoil and which do not when treated with a hot bath1 but it is safe to say that valuable specimens suffer considerably1 whilst common varieties emerge from the ordeal unscathed4 ,perhaps this is just a matter of natural contrariness4 ,to be on the safe side1 however1 no stamp should be plunged into hot water4 ,cheap varieties may well be floated on the surface of warm water1 but the rarer kinds must not be subjected to even this treatment2 they should be placed face upwards on a sheet of wet blotting-paper1 and left until the adhering paper can be peeled off without an effort4 ,after the under-surface of a stamp has been cleaned1 it should be pressed between two sheets of dry blotting-paper and carefully dried4 ,if it seems liable to cockle or is creased in any way1 it is a good plan to flatten it out by means of a warm1 though not hot1 iron1 the stamp being protected by three or four thicknesses of white blotting-paper4 ,fixing the stamps to the album is the next operation4 ,on no account should the under-surface be gummed all over and the whole stamp stuck down to the page of the hook4 ,the collection will need constant rearranging1 certain specimens will have to make way for more perfect copies1 and so on2 this will be quite impossible unless hinges are used4 ,these contrivances are thin but tough pieces of paper1 approximately one by three-quarters of an inch in size1 and gummed on one surface4 ,they cost about sixpence per thousand4 ,illustration3 ,,overprinted ,,stamps #a ,indian stamp used by ,chinese ,expeditionary ,force #b ,great ,britain3 ,army ,official #c ,india3 ,on ,her ,majesty's ,service #d ,indian stamp used in ,patiala #e ,north ,borneo stamp used after institution of ,british ,protectorate #f ,indian stamp of #a_/b anna converted to #a_/d anna #g ,great ,britain3 ,inland ,revenue #h ,bulgaria3 ,change of value #i ,bermuda #as4 value converted to #a_/d d4 #aj ,portugal stamp surcharged ,republic ,when a stamp is to be fixed to the album1 a gummed strip is taken and folded so that the adhesive side is turned outwards2 one flap is then moistened and stuck to the stamp and the other is moistened and stuck to the page4 ,the specimen is thus hinged to the album in such a way that its underside can be inspected easily--a necessary matter when the watermark or the quality of the paper requires examination4 ,the hinge should be fastened as high up on the back of the stamp as possible1 but not so high that it touches the perforated edge4 ,one little point needs mention4 ,on no account should cheap hinges be used or hinges made at home and fixed with ordinary gum4 ,unless the adhesive is entirely free from acid--and ordinary or cheap gum is not--the stamps will become discoloured and entirely ruined4 ,the writer laments to this day a fine set of old ,queenslands which he fixed1 many years ago1 by means of some cheap and nasty hinges4 ,the stamps grow more and more discoloured as time wears on1 but the exasperating thing is that good copies of these ,australian treasures are now worth almost as many pounds as they were pence in the days when the offending gum was applied to their under-surface4 ,some method must be adopted for the arrangement of the stamps in the album4 ,beginners are apt to fix the specimens in no particular order1 merely one after the other as they come into their possession2 but this is clearly a wrong plan to follow4 ,either of the following methods is worth adopting3 #a4 ,sort out the stamps of each country according to the prices printed on them1 and then stick all the specimens of one value together1 but in order of age4 #b4 ,sort out the stamps of each country according to their issues2 then arrange each set in the album1 in ascending order of the values4 ,to follow either of these plans1 we must know the date of issue of all our specimens4 ,this1 of course1 requires a certain amount of knowledge1 but information of such a kind comes with marvellous rapidity when once the collector's interest has become fully aroused4 ,as a guide1 however1 a catalogue such as the one published by ,messrs4 ,stanley ,gibbons1 ,ltd41 should be procured4 ,the colour1 pattern1 watermark1 approximate market value and date of issue of every postage stamp may then be learnt with certainty4 ,we must guard against cramping the specimens too closely together4 ,in order that our collection may grow naturally1 space must be left for additions which may reasonably be expected to fall into our possession4 ,every distinct issue should be started on a fresh line1 and room must be allowed at the end of a country for future issues4 ,as to the stamps which ought and which ought not to be admitted into the album1 a great deal could be written4 ,in the first case1 it is well to rule out every specimen which is not perfect in every detail4 ,torn stamps are almost worthless--even though they may be copies of rarities--and on no account should a place be found for them in the collection4 ,there is no need to throw them away or get rid of them2 they might well be allotted a home in a minor album4 ,not only torn stamps1 but copies which have lost two or three teeth of the perforated edge1 copies which have been heavily postmarked1 copies which are dirty or discoloured1 and copies which have served for revenue and not for postal purposes--all these should be kept out of the collection4 ,concerning the stamps which have been cut out of entires--that is to say1 from postcards1 letter-cards1 wrappers1 and impressed envelopes--a difference of opinion exists among experts4 ,some say that they ought not to be included1 whilst others urge their inclusion4 ,without a doubt1 these stamps are interesting2 and as they serve for purely postal uses1 there seems no reason why they should not be allowed a home in the collection4 ,perhaps the collector should be advised not to seek after specimens of this nature1 but that is quite another thing to excluding them rigorously4 ,there are many kinds of stamps which do not serve for franking letters in the usual way1 but as their functions are purely postal1 a position in the album should be awarded them4 ,among such stamps as these may be mentioned the ,postage ,due issue which ,great ,britain put into use early in #aiad4 ,these labels serve the purpose of indicating and at the same time checking the fees which are levied on letters and parcels that have been insufficiently prepaid4 ,it is interesting to note1 that though our authorities have only issued stamps of this nature recently1 foreign countries have used them for close on half a century4 ,such stamps from abroad may be recognized by the inscriptions which they bear--,a ,percevoir1 ,a ,payer1 ,te ,betalen1 ,deficit1 ,segnatasse1 ,too ,late1 etc4 ,another kind of stamp which should be accepted is the ,parcels ,post label4 ,though we at home have no special labels for this particular service1 many ,continental countries use them1 notably ,belgium and the ,united ,states4 ,then there are the ,express ,delivery stamps of the ,united ,states1 ,canada1 ,italy1 etc4 ,the purpose of these labels is sufficiently explained by the wording on the ,united ,states stamp3 ,secures ,immediate ,delivery at any ,post ,office4 ,a fourth stamp of special usage is the newspaper stamp4 ,though many of our home railways employ these labels1 there are no ,governmental varieties4 ,abroad1 however1 we find a number of countries use them--the newspaper stamps of ,hungary and ,spain being fairly common4 ,there is one kind of postage stamp1 however1 that should not be extended a welcome in the usual way--we have in mind the specimens known as local stamps4 ,these special labels--they are mostly obsolete--came chiefly from ,germany1 ,russia1 ,switzerland1 and ,china1 and were used by private companies which possessed certain postal privileges4 ,as a rule the operations of these bodies were carried out in small areas 7hence local stamps71 usually in out-of-the-way districts where the ordinary postal arrangements did not penetrate4 ,genuine obliterated stamps of this class possess a certain amount of interest1 and in some cases command high prices2 but as there were so many varieties1 and as it is difficult to discriminate between the genuine and the fictitious1 collectors are well advised to leave them all alone4 ,undoubtedly a number of the carrying companies went on printing and selling their stamps to collectors long after the postal rights were taken from them4 ,this fact alone should make the cautious philatelist hesitate before purchasing specimens known as locals4 ,more dangerous than the locals are the commemorative stamps which certain impecunious ,governments issue with the idea of attracting philatelists4#a ,these stamps invariably bear exquisite designs1 and are usually current for a limited period4 ,their appearance is heralded with much beating of drums1 and the idea is carefully spread abroad that only the earliest purchasers will be able to secure copies4 ,as a rule these labels are printed in millions1 and are often sold to large buyers under face value4 ,the proceeds go towards making the country solvent1 or in providing for palatial postal headquarters4 ,of course1 such stamps can hardly be considered postage stamps1 as the number used for postal service is but a minute fraction of the whole issue4 ,it is on these grounds that the wise collector should refuse to treasure up labels1 the main purpose of which is to amass money for an unscrupulous ,government4 #a ,some commemorative stamps are1 of course1 issued in a purely legitimate way1 and must not be confused with the above4 ,the objection to commemorative1 or perhaps it would be better to say speculative1 stamps disappears in cases where the specimens have been through the post4 ,such labels have franked letters or parcels1 and have thus fulfilled the conditions which we demand of genuine used stamps4 ,unfortunately1 this fact has been noted by at least one ,government1 and in order that its gaudy labels should not be shunned by the collector1 it has had some thousands of unused copies specially cancelled in the hope that the obliterations will serve to make them more acceptable4 ,undoubtedly some of the stamps marked in this way are very attractive2 but1 of course1 they are not postage stamps in any sense1 and can thus make no appeal to the philatelist4 ,a third group of undesirable stamps comes from ,south ,america4 ,about thirty years ago a ,mr4 ,seebeck1 of ,new ,york1 entered into an agreement with ,ecuador1 ,honduras1 ,salvador1 and ,nicaragua1 to supply each of these republics with new stamp-dies once a year on condition that the old dies should be handed to him as they fell out of use4 ,as soon as a set of dies became superseded1 he printed from the plates and flooded the market with unused copies4 ,the ,seebeck issues1 needless to say1 are of little interest4 ,seebeck is not the only man who has printed from discarded dies2 there are1 in fact1 many types of stamps on the market which have been produced from obsolete plates4 ,such stamps are known as reprints1 and are worthless except as curiosities4 ,perhaps the best-known reprints are those bearing the inscription ,heligoland2 but as these labels emanate from the ,government printing works at ,berlin1 and have never been to this little island1 it is clear that they have served no genuine postal purpose4 ,reprints are difficult to distinguish from the original stamps1 but as a rule slight differences in colour prove sufficient clues to their identity4 ,often the correct kind of paper and watermark are unobtainable by those who print them1 and then the merest novice may detect their origin with the aid of a catalogue4 ,there are so many undesirable stamps to be found on the market in an unused condition that the beginner may feel that the safest plan will be to confine his attentions to obliterated varieties alone4 ,there is much reason in such an argument1 but it is not altogether a wise course to follow4 ,unused specimens1 as long as they are issued for genuine postal purposes by reputable countries1 are more sought after than those which have been obliterated1 and their value is more likely to rise in the future4 ,one matter which often puzzles the novice is how to decide whether two particular stamps are similar or different4 ,if there is the slightest variation in--7a7 ,design2 7b7 method employed of printing2 7c7 colour2 7d7 method employed for separating the individual stamps2 7e7 texture of paper2 7f7 watermark--then the two stamps may be looked upon as being different1 and both should be placed in the album4 ,certain stamps bear designs on their reverse side--i4e41 the horn on early issues of ,sweden4 ,copies both with and without the design should be added to the collection4 ,the addition of advertising matter on the reverse side 7see ,new ,zealand issues71 however1 does not constitute a difference4 ,in the case of recent ,belgian stamps which bear the inscription1 ,not to be delivered on ,sunday1 in both ,french and ,flemish1 specimens with and without the label should not both be given a home in the collection4 ,lastly1 it may be well to point out that stamps1 on paper of various textures1 which have been cut from entires1 should not be considered as individual varieties1 seeing that most ,governments are prepared to impress any letters1 cards1 etc41 that may be supplied to them1 and varieties of such stamps must be1 on this account1 unlimited4 ,when the collector has amassed a number of good duplicates1 it will be a wise plan for him to join one of the many exchange clubs4 ,in this way he will be able to turn his surplus stamps into specimens for the collection4 ,the working of these organizations is simple4 ,each member sends a sheet of his own stamps1 with prices marked on them1 to the secretary of the club1 who places them all in a portfolio which is forwarded to each member in turn4 ,when a member receives the portfolio1 he selects specimens at will from any of the sheets1 but he generally endeavours to balance his own takings with the takings of all the members from his sheet4 ,illustration3 ,,some ,,members ,,of ,,our ,,royal ,,family #a ,prince ,albert in #ahea #b ,queen ,victoria #c ,queen ,alexandra #d ,edward ,,vii #e ,george ,v #f ,queen ,mary #g ,prince of ,wales ,another and perhaps better way of enriching one's collection is open to the philatelist who is able to obtain quantities of the medium class ,british and ,colonial stamps4 ,briefly1 the method is to insert an advertisement in a journal1 which enjoys an overseas circulation1 to the effect that for every hundred stamps sent of the reader's country1 a hundred or more well-mixed ,british and ,colonials will be despatched by the advertiser in return4 ,the writer used to make it a practice of inserting some such notice as this two or three times every season1 and the plan invariably brought in many valuable additions to his collection4 ,suitable mediums are the ,overseas ,daily ,mail1 the ,boy's ,own ,paper 7in the ,boy's ,own ,column71 ,the ,philatelic ,journal of ,america1 and ,l',echo de la ,timbrologie4 ,before closing this chapter1 it may be well to give some hints on how to value one's collection4 ,possessed of a stamp catalogue1 the philatelist can easily jot down the price of every stamp in his album1 and so arrive at the total catalogue value4 ,but this figure will be much above the price a dealer would give for the treasures4 ,the catalogue value of a stamp is the selling price4 ,what we want to know is the buying price--a very different matter4 ,to get an approximate idea of the value which a collection would realize1 we should calculate as follows3 #a4 ,nothing for all stamps catalogued at #a;d4 or #b;d4 #b4 ,one penny each for stamps marked #c;d4 or #d;d4 each4 #c4 ,three-halfpence to twopence each for stamps marked #e;d4 to #h;d4 #d4 ,quarter catalogue value for stamps quoted between #i;d4 and #ds4 #e4 ,half catalogue value for other stamps1 except for rarities1 which often command full catalogue figures4 ,none but first-class specimens1 and1 in the case of used stamps1 only those which have served postally1 should be taken into consideration4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,specializing ,as a rule it takes but a few months for the young collector to discover that he much prefers the stamps of one particular country1 or group of countries1 to any of the others figuring in his album4 ,when such a preference manifests itself1 it is a good plan to specialize in the favoured country or group4 ,by this we do not mean to say that the general collection should be discontinued1 or even neglected1 but merely that special attention be given to the stamps which have made the greater appeal to the philatelist4 ,some countries are better suited to specializing than others4 ,undoubtedly ,great ,britain holds the premier position4 ,not only does it stand first from patriotic motives1 but the plate numbers and plate letters which the earlier issues bore1 the control letters which later issues bear1 and the colour varieties known to exist amongst certain of the current values1 all help to make it a country full of interest4 ,among the ,colonies there is much scope for the specialist1 notably in ,queensland1 ,south ,australia1 ,india--if the ,native ,states be excepted--,canada1 including the specimens issued by the various provinces prior to #ahfd1 and the ,transvaal4 ,in other parts of the world we may single out the ,united ,states1 ,portugal1 the ,argentine ,republic1 the ,spanish ,colonies1 together with the subsequent occupation of certain of them by the ,united ,states1 and the ,french ,colonies4 ,of the latter only used specimens should be collected1 as unused copies of any of the ,dependencies may be bought at face value in ,paris--a matter which largely robs the labels of their interest4 ,but the specialist need not necessarily confine himself to a country1 or even a group of countries4 ,in this connection the following divisions may be suggested3 #a4 ,stamps issued owing to wars4 #b4 ,edwardian stamps4 #c4 ,parcels post stamps4 #d4 ,commemorative stamps1 as long as they are not issued for speculative purposes4 #e4 ,the line-engraved stamps of ,great ,britain 7see following chapter74 ,just as certain countries or groups present exceptional chances for specializing1 so others offer but poor opportunities4 ,in cases where the issues are few1 or where the stamps are high priced1 the path of the specialist is beset with difficulties1 and should not be followed4 ,the first need of the collector who intends to pay particular attention to an individual group of stamps is a blank album containing about two dozen pages4 ,into this volume should be gathered the specimens bearing on the chosen section as they are obtained4 ,less formality and regularity will be called for when placing the stamps in this book than was demanded in the general collection2 in other words1 the stamps need not be ranged so precisely according to age and value4 ,whatever method is adopted should be used rather for contrasting and comparing minor details than for showing complete issues4 ,in the stamps of ,great ,britain1 for instance1 we should not place1 say1 the ,edwardian issue in two or three methodical rows1 the halfpenny first1 followed by the penny1 then the three-halfpenny1 and so on1 up to the one pound4 ,we should group together the varieties of1 say1 the threepenny1 which include such shades as purple on yellow1 purple on lemon1 deep purple on lemon1 dull purple on yellow1 and which are found perforated #ad1 also #ae by #ad4 ,when placed side by side1 these various shades and perforations will show up clearly2 but if scattered over two or three pages of the album1 their meaning will be lost entirely4 ,it is clear that the specialist must know a good deal more about his stamps than was demanded of the general collector4 ,in the first place1 he must be able to distinguish one form of printing from another4 ,for his benefit it may be well to mention that the chief processes employed in printing stamps are 7#a7 ,typography1 7#b7 ,lithography1 and 7#c7 ,engraving4 ,typography1 or surface-printing1 is the process employed in the production of our current ,british stamps4 ,a die is cut with the design standing out in relief--i4e41 the portions which are to receive the ink are raised4 ,from this die a number of identical moulds are taken and ranged side by side4 ,they are then clamped together and placed in an electro bath which deposits a layer of copper upon the moulds4 ,when the coating is deemed sufficiently thick1 the electrical action is arrested1 the moulds are removed1 and the copper plate reveals a number of replicas of the original die4 ,lithography is a process which results from etching on stone4 ,a piece of stone possessing a flat surface is taken1 and the design drawn in ink upon it either by hand or some mechanical means4 ,the surface of the stone is then flooded with a weak acid1 which eats away the unprotected parts1 but leaves untouched the parts covered by the greasy lithograph ink4 ,the stone is then sponged with water1 and printer's ink1 also greasy1 applied4 ,this latter adheres only to the lines made by the lithographic process1 with the result that impressions of the design may be transferred to paper4 ,lithography1 it should be added1 is only suitable in cases where comparatively few copies are needed1 or where a temporary issue must be printed expeditiously4 ,it is a process which demands but little capital outlay1 a fact which has made it a favourite means of stamp-producing among the poorer republics of ,south ,america4 ,with forgers1 too1 it has gained favour in their work of imitating genuine stamps4 ,engraving1 known variously under the name of copper-plate printing1 engraving in taille-douce1 and line-engraving1 produces the finest stamps figuring in our collections4 ,the process is worked much on the lines detailed for typography1 but the main difference is that in the latter the design is printed by the raised parts of the block1 whilst in the former the recessed parts produce the lines which form the design4 ,in addition to the above1 the following occasional methods of producing stamps may be registered3 #a4 ,by the use of ordinary printer's type4 7,examples may be found among the earliest issues1 as in the case of the first stamps of ,british ,guiana47 #b4 ,by photographic means4 7,example--the ,mafeking stamps bearing the head of ,baden-,powell47 #c4 ,by means of rubber hand-stamps4 7,example--first issue of ,new ,republic1 ,south ,africa47 #d4 ,embossing4 7,example--the current ,british stamped penny and halfpenny envelopes47 ,after the various styles of printing have been recognized1 the specialist must study the papers used in stamp-production4 ,the chief varieties are-- #a4 ,,wove4--,this paper possesses no patterns of any kind1 but under the microscope appears to have a number of porous marks4 ,it is used for the current ,british stamps4 #b4 ,,granite4--,a variety of wove1 used fairly frequently4 ,it may be distinguished by the short1 tiny1 coloured hairs which are impressed upon the paper4 #c4 ,,laid4--,this paper possesses a number of parallel ribs1 which can only be seen when the stamp is held up to the light4 #d4 ,,quadrilled4--,a paper bearing vertical and horizontal watermark lines of a somewhat obvious character4 ,the various methods used for separating stamps is the next matter for study4 ,in the earliest times postmasters used ordinary scissors for detaching one stamp from another4 ,the specimens so treated are styled imperforate4 ,the use of scissors was clearly an awkward way of performing what is now a simple matter1 and it is well known that from the outset the need for a more expeditious method was felt4 ,as a consequence many people gave the question of stamp-separating their attention1 with the result that1 eight years after the advent of the first postage adhesive1 ,henry ,archer patented the rouletting machine1 which cut slits along the margins of the stamps4 ,the slits served the same purpose as the perforation holes in the stamps of to-day1 but the drawback to this pioneer method was that in pulling one copy from another the labels were likely to become torn4 ,between #ahdh and #ahed ,archer tried many systems for separating stamps1 and1 in the latter year1 perfected a machine for perforating instead of rouletting the margins of adhesives4 ,most stamps are now described as perf4 #ac1 #ad1 or #ae1 which means that within the space of #b centimetres a specimen contains #ac1 #ad1 or #ae holes4 ,a stamp catalogued as perf4 #ae ,x #ad--;e4g41 ,british fourpenny bright orange1 ,edward issue--has fifteen holes per #b centimetres along the top and bottom edges1 and fourteen holes along either side4 ,as a difference of perforation often makes a considerable difference in the market value of a stamp1 every philatelist should possess a gauge for measuring the holes2 these are obtainable from dealers at a cost of sixpence each4 ,we said at the commencement of this chapter that ,great ,britain offered the greatest opportunities to the specialist4 ,let us now see how the stamps of our own country should be treated in a specialized collection4 ,first of all1 it should be the aim of the philatelist to procure not merely one specimen of any particular label1 but specimens in pairs and in blocks of four or more4 ,individual copies of the early penny black are worth about two shillings1 but four copies in one block would fetch as much as ten to twelve shillings2 also a fine copy on a postal wrapper would be much more valuable than a loose specimen4 ,the moral1 therefore1 is clear3 we should never separate costly stamps nor tear them from their envelopes4 ,young collectors seem to dislike the plan of admitting entire envelopes to their albums1 but this is a prejudice which should be overcome4 ,illustration3 ,,postage ,,stamps ,,having ,,special ,,uses #a ,canada3 ,registered ,letter ,fee ,stamp #b ,belgium3 ,parcels ,post ,stamp #c ,u4,s4,a43 ,parcels ,post ,stamp #d ,italy3 ,unpaid ,tax ,stamp #e ,india3 ,telegraph stamp #f ,germany3 ,official stamp #g ,austria3 ,stamp for franking newspapers #h ,sweden3 ,official stamp #i ,spain3 ,war-tax stamp levied on letters ,an ideal first page for a special collection of ,british stamps would show a whole wrapper bearing a nice copy of the penny black1 then the individual stamp in pairs or blocks1 followed by a somewhat similar arrangement affecting the sister stamp--the twopenny blue4 ,the page should not be crowded with specimens1 but much space ought to be given up to explanatory written matter4 ,at the head of the page1 for instance1 the following might be neatly printed3 ,line-,engraved ,stamps4 ,issued ,may #ast1 #ahdj4 ,elsewhere room might be found for the statement that the adhesives given on the page were engraved by ,mr4 ,frederick ,heath1 and printed by the famous firm of ,perkins1 ,bacon and ,co42 whilst below each stamp the particular watermark1 paper1 and method of separation should be mentioned4 ,nor should the notes end here2 any little piece of postal information which may be discovered should be added to swell the interest of the collection4 ,as an example of such matter1 we may quote the following recipe for making red obliterating ink1 which was sent to every postmaster in the kingdom when the penny black was first issued3 ,take #a lb4 printer's red ink1 #a pint linseed oil1 #a_/b pint of the droppings of sweet oil1 ,and well mix4 ,another early stamp which will well repay attention is the perforated penny red with control letters in the four corners4 ,this specimen bears various plate numbers1 from #ga to #bbe 7,nos4 #ge1 #gg1b #abf1 #abh excepted74 ,the collector will do well to seek out a copy of each number and arrange them in numerical order on three or four pages of the album4 ,the distinctive numbers are to be found on either side of the head1 hidden among the filigree lines4 ,no4 #bbe1 it may be said1 is somewhat difficult to obtain1 but all the others are fairly common4 #b ,plate ,no4 #gg is supposed to have been rejected as unfit for use4 ,an unused copy1 however1 figures in the ,tapling ,collection in the ,british ,museum4 ,plate reconstructing is another favourite work of the specialist4 ,let us first explain that many of the early ,british stamps contained various letters in the four corners4 ,in a sheet of #bdj stamps1 the specimens found in the first row were all lettered ,a1 in the lower left-hand corner1 those in the second row ,b1 in the third row ,c1 and so on throughout the twenty rows4 ,in the right-hand lower corner the first stamp of every row was lettered ,a1 the second ,b1 and so on until the twelfth stamp bore the letter ,l4 ,the following diagram will make the arrangement quite clear3 ,illustration3 ,,specimen ,,stamps #a ,imperforated stamp #b ,a perforated stamp #c ,a rouletted stamp #d ,a line-engraved stamp #e ,a lithographed stamp #f ,a surface-printed stamp #g ,an embossed stamp #h #i ,three of the best known rarities #aj ,row #a4 ,,aa1 ,,ab1 ,,ac1 ,,ad1 ,,ae1 ,,af1 444 ,,al4 #b4 ,,ba1 ,,bb1 ,,bc1 ,,bd1 ,,be1 ,,bf1 444 ,,bl4 #c4 ,,ca1 ,,cb1 ,,cc1 ,,cd1 ,,ce1 ,,cf1 444 ,,cl4 #d4 ,,da1 ,,db1 ,,dc1 ,,dd1 ,,de1 ,,df1 444 ,,dl4 #e4 ,,ea1 ,,eb1 ,,ec1 ,,ed1 ,,ee1 ,,ef1 444 ,,el4 4 4 4 4 4 #bj4 ,,ta1 ,,tb1 ,,tc1 ,,td1 ,,te1 ,,tf1 444 ,,tl4 ,the work of plate reconstructing consists in obtaining one stamp of each of the combinations of letters1 placing them in their correct positions as given above1 and so remaking a whole sheet of stamps4 ,such is the way in which a specialist's collection should be managed4 ,our remarks have been directed more particularly to the stamps of ,great ,britain1 but the suggestions apply equally well to any country which the philatelist may select for particular study4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,stamps ,,of ,,great ,,britain ,so far these talks have dealt almost entirely with ways and means of stamp-collecting1 but now our attention must be centred on the stamps themselves4 ,we naturally turn to the issues of ,great ,britain1 the first specimen to be considered being the penny black1 bearing a portrait in profile of ,victoria the ,good4 ,not only was this stamp the first to be issued within our kingdom1 but it was also the pioneer stamp1 of the whole world4 ,it is thus one of the most interesting labels which can figure among the treasures of any collection4 ,to ,sir ,rowland ,hill1 the promoter of the penny postage and other postal reforms1 belongs the credit of first suggesting that the postage on a letter should be prepared by means of an adhesive label4 ,not only may he be called the inventor of postage stamps1 but he also sketched in rough the design which was used for the first stamp4 ,to him1 also1 was entrusted the work of arranging for the issue of this novel label4 ,on ,august #ag1 #ahci1 ,parliament sanctioned the use of adhesive stamps1 and immediately afterwards the ,lords of the ,treasury asked the public to suggest suitable designs4 ,nearly #c1jjj drawings were submitted1 but none were considered satisfactory4 ,it was then that ,hill made the rough sketch mentioned above4 ,many were the difficulties which ,hill had to overcome1 but probably the most perplexing was how to get the stamps printed4 ,we must remember that in those early days colour-printing was a slow and tedious process1 and there were very few firms who could be entrusted with the work4 ,after much consideration1 ,sir ,rowland went to a ,fleet ,street house of printers named ,perkins1 ,bacon and ,co41 and asked them whether they could undertake the task of producing the proposed adhesive stamps4 ,their reply is sufficiently interesting to be given in full4 #fi1 ,,fleet ,,street1 ,,london1 ,december #c1 #ahci4 ,,sir1 ,we have given the subject you mentioned yesterday afternoon all the attention the time would allow1 and beg to say as the result that we would engrave steel dies of the size you gave us1 containing work of any conceivable value as to cost and quality1 transfer them to any number of plates that could possibly be wanted1 and print them in any numbers per day1 at a charge of eightpence per thousand stamps1 exclusive of paper1 which1 we understand1 would be supplied us2 and1 assuming that the numbers wanted would be very large1 we have only named a fair price for the printing1 and have considered the plates and dies1 which ought to be very costly in the first instance1 as given in without charge4 ,you are probably aware that1 having prepared the original die1 we could insure perfect 'facsimiles' of it for a century4 ,our charge would not exceed what we have named above1 nor be less than sixpence per thousand2 but what relative position it would take between these two extremes would depend upon the exact size of the stamp1 and the number which the paper would allow us to put upon one plate4 ,we could prepare everything so as to commence printing in a month4 ,our present belief is that we could print #da1fjj labels per day1 or double that number in a day and night1 from each press employed upon the work4 ,we are1 sir1 very respectfully1 ,your humble servants1 ,,perkins1 ,,bacon1 ,,and ,,petch4 ,the ,perkins' firm was entrusted with the printing2 instructions were also given them to elaborate the rough sketch made by ,hill4 ,they called upon a then noted engraver1 ,frederick ,heath1 to complete the design which has since become world-famous4 ,he engraved the head and the lettering1 but the beautiful curves forming the background of the stamp were engine-turned by means of a ,rose engine1 a contrivance consisting of a series of moving wheels which produced curved lines in geometric pattern4 ,the stamp proved a great success1 thanks to the energies of ,hill and the assistance of the printers2 but it had one great fault--it was printed with a fast ink1 which enabled dishonest people to wash out the obliterations and use the cleaned copies a second time4 ,as a result1 the black specimens were superseded in less than nine months by red ones printed with a fugitive ink4 ,the short life of the first stamp has1 of course1 much to do with its present high price4 ,the dies used for the black impressions were employed for the red pennies1 so that the two stamps are identical in all respects but colour4 ,gradually1 as years passed along1 slight changes were introduced4 ,first1 the small check letters in the lower angles were substituted by large letters1 then perforated edges were provided1 whilst in #ahed the whole of the dies were re-engraved4 ,stamps printed from the old and the new plates may be distinguished fairly easily4 ,in die ,i4 the nose is straight1 there is little shading around the eye1 and the lobe of the ear terminates with an upward curl4 ,in die ,,ii the nose is slightly rounded1 the eye is surrounded by much shading1 and the lobe of the ear finishes without any upward curl4 ,illustration3 ,,some ,,penny ,,stamps ,,of ,,great ,,britain #a #ahda issue #b #ahed issue #c #aheh issue #d #ahhj issue #e #ahha issue #f #aijb issue #g #aiaa issue #h #aiab issue #i #aiab issue #aj ,envelope stamp #aa ,letter-card stamp #ab ,envelope stamp ,the black and red penny stamps were line engraved 7cf4 previous chapter74 ,the only other stamps printed in this style were the twopenny blue1 issued concurrently with the penny black2 the halfpenny rose2 and the three-halfpenny red rose1 both issued on ,october #a1 #ahgj4 ,it seems somewhat remarkable1 in these days when we have thirteen different stamps of values lower than a shilling1 that in the early years the country was able to carry on its postal arrangements with but a penny and a twopenny stamp4 ,that there was need for specimens of higher value seems certain1 as the inland registration fee was a shilling1 and the postal rates abroad were surprisingly high4 ,in #ahdg the letter rate for the ,united ,states was lowered to a shilling1 and for ,france to tenpence2 consequently1 the time seemed appropriate for introducing three new stamps--a shilling1 a tenpenny1 and a sixpenny4 ,though the line-engraved stamps had proved extremely satisfactory1 there were certain high officials who claimed that these labels were by no means proof against dishonest practices4 ,it was partly to please these dissentients that the three new values bore the familiar head of ,queen ,victoria in cameo relief4 ,the innovation was almost if not a complete bar to forgery1 also to the removal of obliterations by people of questionable character2 but it made printing a slow and expensive process4 ,hitherto a sheet of stamps had been printed by one movement of the machine1 but every embossed stamp needed a separate pressing4 ,there were twenty-four stamps of these three new values on a sheet1 which meant that instead of one action completing the sheet1 twenty-four actions were required4 ,some of these old stamps are to be found with the impression of another partly overlapping2 this is due to the fact that the machines were fed by hand1 and unless the workman placed the paper in exact position one stamp was bound to fall partly on to its neighbour4 ,one curious feature of the tenpenny and shilling stamps must be mentioned4 ,into the paper on which these adhesives were printed was introduced a number of silk threads in such a way that each stamp bore two portions of the thread4 ,the silken lines ran either horizontally or vertically across each specimen1 and made counterfeiting an almost impossible task4 ,the sixpenny value was provided with a watermark as a safeguard4 ,the cameo stamps gained but little popularity1 and were current less than ten years4 ,of the sixpenny specimen1 we know that #f1fei1ibj copies were printed1 and of them1 #b1ida1fdj were destroyed after their withdrawal1 probably about as many copies as are sold of our current penny stamps on an ordinary weekday4 ,on ,july #ca1 #ahee1 a fourpenny stamp was introduced4 ,it was produced neither by the line-engraved process nor by the embossing method4 ,a system of typography1 or surface-printing 7see p4 #ba71 had long been used on the ,continent1 and it was this process which was employed for the printing of the new fourpenny value4 ,messrs4 ,de ,la ,rue and ,co4 were entrusted with the work4 ,the fourpenny surface-printed stamp proved very successful1 and was followed by other values--the shilling green1 the threepenny rose1 the sixpenny lilac1 and the ninepenny straw colour4 ,many of these early stamps bore minor distinguishing marks1 and consequently command high prices4 ,a very dark shade of the shilling green is worth ,l#fe in an unused condition1 the threepenny rose1 with a white dot on either side of the word ,postage1 has changed hands for ,l#dj1 whilst the ninepenny straw colour1 with a fine white line drawn across the exterior angles of the square spaces for the corner letters1 is catalogued as high as ,l#cj4 ,specimens of these values should be carefully examined to see if they happen to be the rare kinds4 ,the surface-printed stamps issued between #ahfb and #ahha bore angular check letters as well as plate numbers1 and therefore prove of exceptional interest to those of us who wish to specialize in the stamps of our own ,kingdom4 ,unused copies should be carefully preserved with the original gum on the backs1 as their prices advance with every season4 ,the used copies1 also1 prove a good investment4 ,in #ahha 7,july #ab7 the well-known penny lilac1 with a large head of ,victoria1 was issued1 and continued in use until the accession of ,king ,edward4 ,the stamps sold during the first five months had fourteen white dots in each corner1 but afterwards the number1 for some unaccountable reason1 was increased to sixteen4 ,the early variety1 needless to say1 commands a much greater price than the later one4 ,the two stamps are easily confused1 but a careful examination of our copies will soon tell us whether each used specimen is worth a fraction of a farthing or a sixpenny piece4 ,some time after the accession of ,king ,edward the writer went into a post office and bought two dozen penny stamps4 ,the clerk who served him half apologized for still selling the old specimens bearing the ,queen's head4 ,on reaching home1 however1 the adhesives were carefully examined1 and found to be the rare fourteen dot variety1 worth1 unused1 about four shillings apiece4 ,it is hardly necessary to add that the block1 intact1 has found a home in the writer's collection4 ,the next stamps to attract attention are those of ,king ,edward4 ,at first sight there appears to be one variety of each value1 with the exception of the halfpenny and the fourpenny1 which are both found in two obvious varieties4 ,on closer examination1 however1 the ,edwardian stamps will be found to possess many minor but interesting differences4 ,in the first case1 most of the values were printed in turn by the firm of ,de ,la ,rue1 by ,harrison and ,son1 also by the ,government at ,somerset ,house1 and each set of impressions shows marked variations in colour4 ,the most interesting ,edwardian differences1 however1 are due to varieties of paper4 ,in #aije the authorities came to the conclusion that the then current stamps were not sufficiently protective against fraud4 ,it was easy enough1 they said1 to compound an obliteration ink for use in the post offices which could not be cleaned away2 but1 as postage stamps were also used in increasing numbers for revenue purposes1 it was also necessary to make the stamps of such colours that they could not be cleaned of even ordinary writing-ink4 ,as a consequence1 the labels on the usual paper were gradually superseded by specimens printed on a specially prepared chalk-surface paper4 ,when this paper is wetted1 the chalky glaze breaks up1 and the coloured design is ruined4 ,this innovation provides a complete check to the practices of fraudulent stamp cleaners1 but makes it almost impossible for collectors to remove the paper backing which disfigures many of their treasures4 ,the easiest way to find out whether a stamp is printed on ordinary unsurfaced or on chalk-surfaced paper1 says ,mr4 ,f4 ,j4 ,melville in ,king ,edward ,,vii4 ,stamps1 is to draw a small silver coin across one of the perforations or a piece of the marginal paper adhering to the stamp4 ,if a black line appears where the silver has touched the paper1 it indicates a chalk surface4 ,a third minor variety of the ,edwardian stamps must be recorded4 ,in certain of the halfpenny and penny values the large crown watermark is found inverted4 ,such specimens were not1 as might be expected1 the result of faulty printing1 they were made especially for the stamp booklets1 which have grown so popular since their introduction in #aijc4 ,the plates from which the booklet stamps were printed were divided into four panes1 each of sixty labels4 ,each pane consisted of ten rows of six stamps surrounded by a fringe of blank paper4 ,the panes were cut vertically down the centre and then along every second horizontal row4 ,this gave ten blocks of six stamps1 five coming from the left of the vertical cut and five from the right4 ,now1 it was necessary to have a strip of edging paper on the left of each block for the binding-pins of the booklet to pass through2 consequently1 the stamps placed on the right of the vertical cut were inverted4 ,as the watermark was not similarly turned round1 the specimens in #ej per cent4 of the booklets were provided with inverted crowns4 ,the stamps of ,king ,george require but little mention4 ,when first issued they caused considerable adverse comment1 owing to their poor design and inferior gum4 ,the earliest dies of the halfpenny and penny values were re-engraved at least twice1 but not until the small head was replaced by the larger profile bust could they be considered even passable4 ,as a whole1 the ,georgian first issue may be now considered fairly attractive in pattern and colour2 but the ,mother ,country has yet much to learn in the matter of stamp designing from her young ,dependencies1 notably ,canada4 ,,chapter ,v ,,stamps ,,worth ,,fortunes ,what a curious thing it is that some stamps--mere scraps of paper--cost over a sovereign apiece to buy6 ,it is still more wonderful1 however1 that quite a number sell for over ,l#ajj each1 whilst a select few command prices running into four figures4 ,probably the reader will never possess any of the more costly rarities1 and as likely as not he will never see copies of them1 unless he has access to the ,tapling or other public collections2 but1 none the less1 it is interesting for him to know of them1 of their prices1 and their peculiarities4 ,among the stamps of ,great ,britain there are a fair number which are worth between ,l#cj and ,l#ajj each4 ,in the previous chapter we spoke of the deep green shilling of #ahfb1 which sells at ,l#fe in an unused condition1 and the ninepenny straw1 catalogued at ,l#cj when used4 ,to these we may add the famous ,l#e orange of #ahhb1 worth about ,l#ajj when unused1 and the ,l#a brown-lilac1 also of #ahhb1 which varies between ,l#ij and ,l#ajj4 ,neither of these labels were in currency for more than two years4 ,this fact1 coupled with their high face value1 readily explains why collectors are so eager to possess them4 ,there have been three different brown-lilac ,l#a stamps1 all issued within a few years of each other1 so the collector is advised to note their descriptions carefully4 ,the valuable type referred to above measures #a-a_/h by #a-c_/h inches1 and is watermarked with an anchor4 ,of the remaining two types1 one has a watermark consisting of three crowns 7worth ,l#ab unused71 and the other has the watermark known as the three orbs 7worth ,l#bj unused74 ,both these stamps have the top and bottom sides much longer than the vertical sides4 ,other ,l#a values1 in various colours and designs1 command good prices1 and should be carefully preserved1 if only for speculative purposes4 ,were the question to be put1 ,which is the rarest stamp in the world8 probably the answer would be1 more often than not1 ,the twopenny ',post ,office' ,mauritius4 ,though it is not the rarest1 it is probably the best-known philatelic treasure1 and the one which collectors covet beyond all others4 ,just how much it is worth would be difficult to say2 we do know1 however1 that the copy which figures in ,king ,george's ,collection was sold at auction in #aijd for ,l#a1dej4 ,were it placed on the market to-day1 it is safe to say that it would change hands at a higher figure--probably a much higher figure4 ,the twopenny and the penny ,post ,office ,mauritius have an interesting history4 ,the officials of this little island in the ,indian ,ocean decided in the year #ahdg to follow the lead of the ,mother ,country and issue stamps4 ,whilst waiting for supplies to come from ,england1 they commissioned a local watchmaker to engrave two dies1 one for a penny and one for a twopenny stamp4 ,the watchmaker took a small piece of sheet copper and engraved upon it1 side by side1 the two dies1 and a neighbouring printer took off #ejj impressions--that is to say1 #a1jjj stamps in all4 ,instead of cutting into the copper the words ,post ,paid1 the engraver scratched the inscription ,post ,office by mistake1 with the result that his dies were soon discarded4 ,the stock of stamps was quickly used up1 for just as the labels were issued1 a ball was being arranged at the ,government ,house1 and numerous invitations were sent out by post4 ,about twenty-two copies only are known to exist1 and most of these have been discovered on the communications which1 nearly seventy years ago1 summoned the ,governor's friends to the long-forgotten festivities4 ,the rarest stamp in the world is usually considered to be the one cent 7#ahef7 of ,british ,guiana4 ,a single specimen only of this variety is known1 the owner being ,monsieur de la ,renotiere1 a celebrated collector of ,paris4 ,to say that this treasure is worth its weight in gold is to understate its value by a great deal1 for specialists claim that ,l#b1jjj would not buy it4 ,one would suppose that so costly a square inch of paper would have a prepossessing appearance or claims to artistic merit1 but the unique specimen is said to be ugly1 of a dullish magenta colour1 and not in the best of condition4 ,the design is a ship1 around which the motto ,damus petimusque vicissim#c is written1 together with the words ,british ,guiana1 ,postage ,one ,cent4 #c ,we give and we ask in turn4 ,another very rare ,british ,guiana stamp is the sorry-looking two cents of #ahea4 ,having more the appearance of an obliteration stamp than a postal adhesive1 this specimen bears the name of the colony and the value1 two cents1 in a circle4 ,it was printed at short notice by the proprietors of the ,royal ,gazette1 and was intended to serve for a new rate of letter-carrying which applied to the town of ,georgetown alone4 ,apparently the new charge failed to serve its purpose1 and was withdrawn after a brief space of time4 ,very few copies were made use of1 and those which still exist are worth about ,l#fjj each4 ,from the ,hawaiian ,islands comes another valuable stamp1 also of poor design3 it is the two cents 7#ahea71 black on bluish paper4 ,this adhesive was printed at ,honolulu1 and served mainly for franking the letters which the ,american missionaries sent home to their relations in the ,states4 ,the issue suffered an untimely fate1 for no sooner had the stamps been put into circulation than a serious fire devastated the quarter of the town in which the post office was situated and destroyed almost all the stock in hand4 ,a round dozen copies are known to exist4 ,one reposes in the ,tapling ,collection at the ,british ,museum1 but the authorities have removed it from the show-cases1 where it used to lie1 and placed it under lock and key in the ,cracherode ,room4 ,it may be well to add that it can be inspected on request4 ,its value is probably ,l#hjj or more4 ,if we turn to the ,united ,states1 many rarities will be found1 but none are so much sought after as the issues known as the ,postmaster ,stamps4 ,for the want of a better term these adhesives have been called locals1 but they must not be confused with the worthless labels spoken of in ,chapter ,,ii4 ,illustration3 ,,portraits ,,of ,,some ,,european ,,monarchs #a ,king ,george ,v #b ,albert #c ,nicholas ,,ii #d ,peter #e ,victor ,emanuel ,,iii #f ,christian ,x #g ,gustav ,v #h ,manoel #i ,franz ,josef ,i #aj ,alfonso ,,xiii #aa ,wilhelmina ,each postmaster in the early years of the ,states designed and printed his own stamps1 and some weird and curious effects were produced as a result of this arrangement4 ,the master at ,milbury1 then a tiny place in ,massachusetts1 issued a two cents label 7#ahdg7 which was no exception in the matter of design4 ,milbury was such a small town that the demand for this two cents stamp was insignificant1 and consequently to-day copies are worth quite ,l#cjj4 ,another local stamp--more highly priced on the ,continent than in ,england--is the ten centimes ,double ,geneva4 ,this curiosity was issued by the ,canton of ,geneva before ,switzerland possessed a regular supply of adhesives4 ,the stamp is composed of two sections1 each bearing the value five centimes1 but a narrow strip of paper joins them together and bears the value ten centimes4 ,the idea was that1 in its entirety1 the stamp would frank a letter anywhere within the ,canton of ,geneva1 but if cut in halves1 the postage was only sufficient for letters circulating within any individual commune4 ,a complete ,double ,geneva is worth ,l#hj odd unused1 but a halved copy may be procured for a ,l#e note4 ,before concluding this chapter on rarities1 some mention must be made of the triangular ,capes4 ,curiously enough1 everybody has heard of these stamps1 whether they are collectors or not1 and every non-collector who happens to possess a copy nourishes the idea that some day a huge fortune may be realized by selling the valued possession4 ,granted that the specimen is not a forgery1 which it very well may be1 the stamp is perhaps worth no more than five shillings1 for this is the market price of the fourpenny blue1 #ahee--the stamp most frequently met4 ,there are two valuable triangular ,capes1 however1 namely1 the fourpenny red and the penny blue1 both of #ahfa4 ,the origin of these stamps is as follows3 ,in making up the dies for printing some penny and fourpenny stamps1 a block of the penny stamp was accidentally placed in the plate of the fourpenny value1 whilst a fourpenny block found its way into the penny plate4 ,as a result of this mistake1 one stamp on each sheet which was printed bore the wrong colour for its value4 ,gibbons catalogues the blue penny at ,l#he1 and the vermilion fourpenny at ,l#ie4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,common ,,stamps ,probably the twelve commonest stamps which have ever been issued are the following3 #a4 ,great ,britain1 ,queen1 #a;d4 lilac1 #ahha4 #b4 ,great ,britain1 ,king ,edward1 #a;d4 scarlet1 #aijb4 #c4 ,germany1 #ahhj1 #aj pfennig 7without the final e7 rose4 #d4 ,germany1 #ahhi1 #aj pfennig rose4 #e4 ,austria1 #e kr41 ,francis ,joseph1 #aheg1 red4 #f4 ,austria1 #e kr4 rose1 #ahhc1 double-headed eagle4 #g4 ,austria1 #e kr41 ,francis ,joseph1 #ahij1 red4 #h4 ,belgium1 #aj c41 ,leopold ,,ii41 #ahhe1 rose4 #i4 ,belgium1 #e c41 arms1 #ahic1 green4 #aj4 ,france1 #ae c41 ,mercury and ,commerce1 blue1 #ahgg4 #aa4 ,france1 #e c41 ,mercury1 etc41 green1 #ahgg4 #ab4 ,hungary1 #e kr41 numeral on envelope1 rose1 #ahge4 ,from the above list it will be seen that all but three of the adhesives are of the penny value1 or its foreign equivalent4 ,the presence of the ,french three-halfpenny 7#ae c47 stamp is due to the fact that1 for many years1 this was the rate charged for letters circulating within the ,republic4 ,of these stamps the ,queen's head of ,great ,britain enjoyed the longest life1 whilst the two ,french specimens took second and third place1 they having a prosperous run of sixteen years to their credit4 ,whilst speaking of the length of currency enjoyed by stamps1 it may be well to say that1 of all the adhesive specimens issued throughout the world1 the large fivepenny green1 ,new ,south ,wales1 remained unchanged for a longer period than any other2 whilst the ,queen ,victoria penny embossed envelope1 with a light pink stamp--not1 of course1 an adhesive--was current still longer1 being on sale from #ahda to #aijb4 ,neither of these labels1 it should be added1 may be reckoned among the commonest varieties4 ,of each of the twelve stamps mentioned in the list above prodigious numbers must have been issued4 ,just how many copies of each were used for franking letters cannot be gauged1 but by turning to the postal records published annually by ,great ,britain some idea may be obtained of their colossal totals4 ,during the year #aiac the ,general ,post ,office dealt with-- #c1bih1cjj1jjj letters4 #hii1jjj1jjj postcards4 #a1jgi1jjj1jjj halfpenny packets4 #bjb1cjj1jjj newspapers4 #acj1bjj1jjj parcels4 ,of the letters1 postcards1 and halfpenny packets1 it seems fair to assume that three-quarters were franked by halfpenny and penny stamps in the proportion1 probably1 of two of the former to one of the latter4 ,in other words1 roughly #a1ejj1jjj1jjj penny stamps and #b1ejj1jjj1jjj halfpenny stamps were used in ,great ,britain during the year #aiac alone4 ,as the life of our ,british stamps averages a trifle over ten years1 we must multiply the huge figures by ten to obtain a rough estimate of the individual copies which are likely to be printed of these two stamps4 ,looked at from the point of view of use1 the dozen adhesives mentioned above have undoubtedly scored heavily2 but if they be examined from the artistic point of view1 little can be said in their favour4 ,the lilac head of ,victoria1 it is true1 is a fine dignified stamp2 whilst the two ,french specimens1 depicting ,mercury and ,commerce1 are pleasing4 ,the remainder1 however1 can claim but little respect1 either on the score of design or workmanship4 ,truly the commonest labels seem to be the least beautiful6 ,what can we do with our accumulations of valueless stamps8 is a question often asked by the young philatelist4 ,a good plan is to collect the various shades of colour and minute variations of design1 which are sure to creep into issues that extend over a lengthy period4 ,in this way an interesting assembly of stamps may be secured which might1 in time1 prove extremely valuable to a collector who specialized4 ,the ,georgian stamps of ,great ,britain1 for instance1 though they have only been in use a few years1 already show numerous variations in design and colour1 and thus lend themselves to such work4 ,the halfpenny is known in two or three shades of green2 there are at least two different engravings of the penny2 the twopenny varies in shade from dark to light orange2 whilst the threepenny may be found in dull purple and also vivid purple4 ,another good plan is to make what might be called a type collection1 with the aid of the accumulations of common stamps4 ,such a collection should comprise 7a7 specimens of all known perforations from eight to sixteen2 7b7 cases of varied perforations--i4e41 one gauge for the vertical1 another for the horizontal sides2 7c7 stamps separated by other means than perforations2 7d7 stamps of every shade of the spectrum1 arranged in a line and gradually merging from red through orange1 yellow1 green1 blue1 and indigo to violet2 7e7 labels printed by different processes2 7f7 labels printed on all the commoner forms of paper2 7g7 stamps mounted face downwards to reveal the watermarks1 etc4 ,a third form of collection1 which helps to use up the valueless stamps1 is a historical collection4 ,in such a gathering as we have here in mind1 it becomes possible to trace out1 by means of postage labels1 such interesting matters as the genealogical tables of royal families1 the changes which certain ,governments have undergone1 lists of succession1 etc4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,stamps ,,of ,,special ,,interest ,most stamps as they repose in their rows on the pages of the album look very sober1 matter-of-fact1 little squares of paper4 ,some appear travel-stained1 others are in the pink of condition1 but all have undergone an experience--we are speaking of the used copies--which1 could it be related1 would make reading matter of a highly interesting nature4 ,one specimen which lies in the album did duty1 say1 in the backwoods of the ,united ,states2 another carried a letter across the snowfields of ,siberia2 a third franked correspondence in the unsettled land of ,mexico2 and a fourth brought a message from the battlefields of ,belgium and ,northern ,france4 ,viewed in this light1 every obliterated specimen which figures in our collection is a curiosity4 ,there are1 however1 other kinds of curious stamps which are worth discussing4 ,who1 for instance1 would ever dream that a stamp could cause serious disturbance among a whole race of some millions of people8 ,yet this is what happened quite recently in ,india4 ,the offending stamp was the two annas1 bearing a profile portrait of ,king ,george4 ,the trouble can be related briefly4 ,the label showed the ,king attractively arrayed1 and bearing a number of decorations1 one of them being the elephant which denotes an ,indian order4 ,unfortunately1 the engraving was a trifle indistinct1 and instead of the creature appearing as an elephant1 as it should have done1 it seemed to be an exact representation of a pig4 ,now1 the latter animal is considered a most unclean thing by all faithful ,mohammedans1 and the people of this religious creed were not slow to suppose that somebody in power had placed the animal on the ,king's breast merely to insult them4 ,had it not been for the tactful assurances made by the authorities1 and the early substitution of another stamp more carefully engraved1 the results would probably have been of a serious character4 ,another curious stamp is the ,connell label1 emanating from the colony of ,new ,brunswick4 ,connell was the postmaster-in-chief of this ,british dependency4 ,on one occasion he was requested to journey to ,new ,york to place a contract with a firm of stamp printers4 ,what possessed him nobody knows4 ,instead of directing that ,queen ,victoria's portrait should appear on all the stamps to be engraved1 he ordered that the five cents value should bear his features1 which1 to be candid1 were not at all attractive4 ,in due course the stamps arrived1 but the authorities1 on discovering ,connell's audacity1 issued a proclamation declaring the label to be worthless4 ,the postmaster1 so history tells us1 became angry1 and rather than appear before a prosecuting council retired hastily to the ,states4 ,the ,connell stamp1 needless to say1 is a rare curiosity1 and few copies are known to exist4 ,it is perhaps a little doubtful1 however1 whether the label can be reckoned as an authentic postage stamp1 seeing that its use never received official sanction4 ,vanity seems to play an important part in the lives of people--at least1 this is the testimony which many of our stamps bear out4 ,some men like ,connell crave for such notoriety as a postage stamp can afford them1 but there are others--crowned heads--who will not allow their features to be portrayed upon the labels of their country1 lest the obliteration marks may render them grotesque4 ,among conceited ,kings of recent times1 ,king ,ferdinand of ,sicily stands out pre-eminently in the minds of philatelists4 ,he possessed something of the ,connell weakness1 for he evinced a keen desire to have his head portrayed upon the stamps of his little kingdom2 but running counter with this desire was a strong fear lest the marks of the postal obliterator should disfigure his none too prepossessing countenance4 ,in the end1 he thought of a kind of compromise4 ,he called in one of the best engravers of the day and commanded him to execute a fine series of adhesives bearing his profile4 ,when the issue was ready1 ,ferdinand provided the postal authorities with obliterating stamps1 each of which consisted of a circular framework of lines1 surrounding an empty space4 ,the idea was that the lines should deface the edges of the stamp1 but that the empty space should save his profile from disfigurement4 ,what happened to his overworked officials who chanced to bring their obliterators down upon the royal countenance by mistake is too awful to contemplate6 ,illustration3 ,,curious ,,stamps #a ,belgium 7,brussels7 ,st4 ,michael encountering ,satan #b ,stamp holding record for length of currency #c ,belgian stamp with two ,dominical labels #d ,stamp of ,king ,edward issued at the time of his death #e ,spanish stamps with face value of #a-djth of a penny #f ,orange ,free ,state stamp indicating ,british occupation #g ,austrian stamp overprinted for use in ,constantinople #h ,king ,manoel's stamps overprinted for ,republican use #i ,local stamp #aj ,indian stamp showing ,king ,george wearing the ,elephant 7,order of ,india7 ,not only do some stamps betray the weaknesses of individuals1 but others reveal the characters of nations4 ,let us look for a moment at the stamps of ,belgium4 ,each is provided with a small label which bears the words1 ,not to be delivered on ,sunday4 ,this label is very insignificant1 and stamp collectors have seen it so often that they are apt to pass it by unnoticed4 ,but this tiny strip of paper has a deep underlying purpose4 ,the ,belgians1 as a nation1 are sharply divided on matters of religion into two great bodies4 ,the ,roman ,catholic section objects to having its letters delivered on ,sundays1 whilst the section of ,freethinkers can see no harm in a postal delivery on the day which we in ,england set apart for rest4 ,the ,belgians are a tolerant race1 however1 and the matter has been settled by providing each stamp with what has been called a ,dominical label4 ,the ,catholics use the label with the stamps they buy1 but the ,freethinkers detach them4 ,the postmen are instructed to deliver letters on ,sundays only when the footnote is missing from the stamps4 ,another curious stamp is the twopenny plum colour ,king ,edward issue of ,great ,britain4 ,who has ever heard of this adhesive8 ,who has ever seen it8 ,the chances are that few collectors know that such a stamp ever existed1 yet a used copy figures in the collection of ,king ,george4 ,the story relating to this stamp is as follows3 ,in the early months of the year #aiaj it was decided to change both the pattern and colour of the twopenny green and carmine4 ,a rather attractive design was selected instead1 and eventually printed in a hue which the authorities called ,tyrian plum4 ,some thousands of these labels were printed and held ready for issue1 but just as they were to be placed on sale1 the sad and unexpected death of ,king ,edward took place4 ,rather than issue a new stamp after the ,king's demise1 the whole stock was gathered together and burned4 ,a few copies1 however1 were preserved for record purposes1 and one at least was stuck to an envelope addressed to our present ,sovereign1 and posted at the ,east ,strand ,post ,office4 ,the ,v4,r4 penny black is another stamp of the ,home ,country which every philatelist should know about4 ,it is a famous label1 not because it has ever made history or fulfilled any important mission1 but because people have grown to look upon it as a rare form of the ordinary penny black4 ,in reality the ,v4,r4 stamps never attained to the dignity of a postal label1 for1 although intended for official use1 the authorities decided at the last moment not to make the issue1 and destroyed the stock4 ,a certain number of copies leaked out1 and found their way into collectors' albums1 and these command a fair price4 ,of late there has been a great increase all over the world in the picturesque type of stamp1 and these have provided a fairly large crop of pictorial inexactitudes4 ,as an example1 two adhesives of the well-known ,united ,states ,columbian issue may be mentioned1 seeing that they have evoked many a smile among philatelists4 ,the stamps in question are the one and the two cents values4 ,the former portrays ,columbus sighting land1 whilst the latter reveals the famous traveller in the act of landing4 ,as is well known1 an interval of but twenty-four hours separated the two events1 yet in the first picture ,columbus appears clean-shaven1 whilst in the latter he possesses a beard of ample and stately proportions6 ,another interesting picture stamp of the ,united ,states is the one dollar value of the ,omaha issue4 ,the stamp bears the title of ,western ,cattle in ,storm1 but those of us who know the canvasses of ,mac,whirter will recognize it as a reproduction of his painting1 ,the ,vanguard4 ,mr4 ,f4 ,j4 ,melville1 a noted philatelist1 says in ,chats on ,postage ,stamps that the ,united ,states ,post ,office literally cribbed ,mac,whirter's picture1 apparently without permission or any sort of payment4 ,many stamps possess particular interest owing to some speciality in manner of production4 ,just now a semi-perforated adhesive is becoming popular4 ,its upright sides are imperforated1 but top and bottom the usual perforation marks are present4 ,such specimens are manufactured in rolls--not in sheets--for special use in automatic machines4 ,they come largely from the ,united ,states and the ,union of ,south ,africa1 and are1 of course1 only available in the penny and halfpenny1 or equivalent1 values4 ,these semi-perforated stamps are of undoubted interest to-day1 though the time may not be far distant when they will completely oust the usual perforated type4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,forged ,,stamps ,stamps are forged for two purposes1 first to cheat philatelists1 and second to cheat the postal authorities4 ,the former kind of trade is fairly lucrative1 but in ,england1 at any rate1 the production of fictitious stamps for postal uses seldom enjoys more than a short-lived success4 ,the forger hardly ever takes up his abode in the ,home ,country1 for the pains and penalties awaiting him1 when apprehended1 are severe4 ,he far prefers a ,continental existence1 where he can work his printing-press in obscurity4 ,his unsavoury wares1 however1 are made to circulate in ,england just as much as abroad1 and the novice must be ever on his guard in consequence4 ,some forgers possess elaborate and costly plant1 and have the means of turning out labels printed quite as well as the originals4 ,but most people in this dishonest trade are handicapped for capital1 and have to rely on the cheaper processes--usually lithography--in the production of their forgeries4 ,it is here that a knowledge of the various means of printing stamps proves so valuable to the collector4 ,a specimen1 say1 of a line-engraved stamp produced by lithography immediately excites suspicion1 and a close examination shows it to be an undoubted counterfeit4 ,the watermark is another stumbling-block with the stamp faker of small means4 ,he has no opportunity of procuring paper impressed with all the various watermarks1 and so he often prints on ordinary paper1 and trusts to the philatelist's ignorance or lack of examining powers4 ,of course1 the beginner is often caught by such practices1 but it is really wonderful how soon a serious collector grows to know at sight the real and the unreal4 ,an ingenious trick of the forger in a small way of business consists in transforming a common stamp into a valuable one4 ,his work is not very arduous1 and his apparatus costs but a few pence4 ,all he needs is an aptitude for drawing1 a few paints1 brushes1 and some chemicals4 ,he selects1 first of all1 an issue where the stamps all bear an identical design and are printed in the same colour1 the value1 and perhaps an additional word or two1 only being printed in a distinctive colour4 ,his choice of stamp is by no means limited1 for in ,queen ,victoria's time it was a favourite arrangement with many ,colonies for the head and ornamentation to be printed in a shade of purple and the name of the colony and the price to vary on each value4 ,the forger takes a nice copy of the halfpenny1 and cleans out the price and any features which make the stamp distinctive1 by means of chemicals2 then he fills in the blank areas with the particular lettering--using1 of course1 the correct colour--of a high-priced stamp4 ,his work takes but a few minutes1 and in this time he can transform a label worth1 say1 a penny into one catalogued at1 perhaps1 ten shillings4 ,this form of faking is particularly dangerous1 because such distinguishing marks as perforations1 watermark1 and quality of paper1 are correct in every detail4 ,the length to which some forgers will go is positively amazing4 ,a few years back a case came to light where one of these rogues regularly used real stamp-paper on which to print his worthless imitations4 ,his plan was to buy a whole sheet of low-priced unused stamps1 to remove all the printing by chemical means1 and then to print on the blank paper so obtained a complete sheet of high-priced stamps4 ,of course1 he had to select his paper and his stamps with care1 but this was a matter simple enough4 ,it is interesting to point out that the home authorities1 seeing the possibility of such practices1 have made it a rule to use one watermark for adhesives of low value and another for those of high value4 ,what is the best way to tell whether a specimen is a forgery8 ,this is a question often asked4 ,the first test is the watermark1 but sufficient has been said already to show that too much faith must not be placed on this detail1 especially as we may add that a very respectable imitation may be produced by painting the back of the label with oil4 ,the next point to note is the perforation4 ,these marks must be shaped in a business-like way1 and be of the correct number as indicated by the catalogues4 ,the third point is the printing1 and the fourth the colour of the ink used4 ,lastly1 the design should be compared with an identical stamp known to be genuine4 ,beyond such simple tests as these the collector needs to exercise ordinary common sense in arriving at a conclusion4 ,if1 say1 a specimen is nice and fresh1 and the catalogue tells us that it is at least fifty years old1 a certain amount of suspicion might not be out of place4 ,it is not always a simple matter to know whether a stamp is a forgery or not4 ,cases are on record where the postal authorities themselves have been unable to distinguish between the real and the unreal4 ,some years ago the shilling value of ,great ,britain was counterfeited and used for postal purposes not once or twice1 but some thousands of times1 and never an atom of suspicion was excited4 ,the case is recorded by ,mr4 ,f4 ,j4 ,melville in his work1 ,chats on ,postage ,stamps1 in the following words3 ,a romantic forgery1 and one of almost colossal magnitude1 was discovered in #ahih4 ,about that time a large quantity of ,british one shilling stamps--those of the #ahfe type in green1 with large uncoloured letters in the corners--came on the market1 though1 as they had been used on telegram forms1 they ought to have been destroyed2 probably the guilty parties relied on this official practice1 not always honoured in observance1 as offering a security against not merely the tracing of the offence1 but the discovering of the fraud itself4 ,anyhow1 after a lapse of twenty-six years1 it was found that amongst these one shilling stamps there was a large proportion of forgeries 7purporting to be from ,plate ,v471 all used on ,july #bc1 #ahgb1 at the ,stock ,exchange ,telegraph ,office1 ,london1 ,e4,c4 ,more recent discoveries show that the fraud was continued over twelve months1 and1 as an indication of the precautions taken by the forgers1 ,plate ,,vi4 7which came into use in ,march1 #ahgb7 was duly imitated1 although the change of the small figures was a detail probably never noticed by members of the general public4 ,illustration3 ,,stamps ,,bearing ,,national ,,emblems #a ,new ,south ,wales #e ,sweden #i ,switzerland #b ,belgium #f ,russia #aj ,turkey #c ,mauritius #g ,italy #aa ,brazil #d ,japan #h ,bosnia ,according to calculations based on the average numbers used on several days1 the ,post ,office must have lost about ,l#ej a day during the period mentioned above4 ,who were the originators and perpetrators of the fraud will probably never be known2 possibly a stockbroker's clerk 7or a small 'syndicate' of these gentlemen71 or1 more probably1 a clerk in the ,post ,office itself4 ,it was an ingenious fraud1 well planned1 and cleverly carried out at a minimum of risk1 and but for the market for old stamps it would never have been discovered4 ,for purposes of reference1 we give below a list of the stamps which have been most frequently copied1 together with hints on how to detect the forgeries4 7,g4 genuine2 ,f4 forgery47 ,,alsace ,,and ,,lorraine4--,g41 the points of the network in the background turned up2 ,f4 has them turned down4 ,the ,p of word ,postes farther from margin in ,g4 than ,f4 ,used copies more likely to be ,g4 than unused4 ,,belgium4--,one centime1 ,leopold1 #ahfa4 ,f41 yellowish paper instead of white4 ,the word ,postes has no outline round each letter in ,f4 ,obliterated specimens often ,f4 ,,brazil4--,the early issues1 with numerals in centre of filigree work often imitated4 ,paper too thick in ,f4 ,,germany4--,nearly all the rarer stamps have been copied2 specimens should be accepted with caution4 ,,cape ,,of ,,good ,,hope4--,triangular issues1 #ahec-ahfd4 ,g4 has knee of ,hope rounded2 ,f41 angular4 ,if top line of knee produced to border1 it cuts through the centre of the letter ,s4 in ,postage1 in ,g4 but through letter ,o in ,f4 ,,cyprus4--,the line-engraved ,great ,britain issue with overprint4 ,in this case forged overprints have been added to genuine stamps4 ,forgeries have the ,c in ,cyprus thicker than the other letters1 also the ,y set higher than other letters4 ,the extreme length from ,c to ,s is seldom accurate1 as given in catalogues1 in ,f4 ,,france4--,the five francs1 #ahfi4 ,f4 perforated #ac2 ,g4 perforated #ac-a_/b4 ,also ,f4 has dots in corner of frame1 not rounded as in ,g4 ,,mauritius4--,many of the earlier issues ,f4 ,,nevis4--,the shilling green1 #ahfa4 ,in ,g4 ink seems to stand up from paper1 but flat in ,f4 ,the lines on woman's arm are straight in ,g41 but in dots in ,f4 ,,new ,,south ,,wales4--,the stamps known as ,sydney ,views have been largely copied4 ,the large fivepenny1 sixpenny1 eightpenny1 and shilling often had unusually wide margins when perforated4 ,the faker has trimmed off the tooth edges1 and called the stamps the rare imperforated specimens4 ,,nova ,,scotia4--,some of the fine early issues have been lithographed in ,f41 while the ,g4 were engraved4 ,,states ,,of ,,the ,,church4--,these stamps have been largely reprinted from original dies4 ,only stamps on original envelopes should be accepted by the novice4 ,,portugal4--,many of the surcharged issues have been forged2 the overprinted words being imitations4 ,,sedan4--,no genuine stamps ever existed2 all were spurious4 ,,sierra ,,leone1 #ahgb-ahha4--;,a type of stamp that is representative of many others4 ,f4 lithographed1 with the delicate lines on the face as heavy as those constituting the background4 ,,united ,,states4--,early issues often had a grille--i4e41 an embossed series of lines to prevent removal of obliteration without being noticed4 ,f4 seldom have grille4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,pioneers ,,of ,,postage ,in a previous chapter we spoke of the penny black of #ahdj as the first postage label to be given to the world4 ,the reader must not suppose from this remark that the appearance of the stamp coincided with the commencement of an organized postal system in ,great ,britain4 ,such a thing as a post was known to exist in this country as far back as the year #afji1 but not until some thirty years later were its operations extended to the public in general4 ,across the sea1 in ,france1 the idea of letter-carrying was also developing in this period of stress and struggle4 ,in the year when ,cromwell was installed as ,protector1 a ,comte de ,villayer was permitted to place pillar-boxes in the thoroughfares of ,paris and provide the inhabitants with a local postal service4 ,villayer seems to have been greatly concerned as to the best method of collecting the postage on the letters placed in his charge until the idea of issuing a wrapper bearing some distinctive design occurred to him4 ,these paper bands were placed on sale in a number of shops1 and cost two sous apiece4 ,each letter had to be wrapped in one of them1 which ,villayer's men tore off prior to effecting delivery4 ,the system is of unusual interest to philatelists1 because the ornamental wrapper devised by this ,frenchman supplies us with the origin from which postage stamps sprang4 ,at home the business of letter-carrying was growing with considerable rapidity1 considering how troublous were these times4 ,villayer's counterpart in ,london was a man named ,dockwra4 ,he organized a system of depots throughout the city for receiving correspondence4 ,people took their letters to these depots1 paid the postage in actual coin1 and an attendant franked the communications by means of a hand stamp4 ,this was a device exactly similar to the obliterating stamps seen to-day on the counters of our post offices4 ,dockwra's hand stamp bore a triangular design bearing the curious legend1 ,post ,payd1 ,peny4 ,we now know the history of the first stamped wrapper1 the first franking stamp1 and the first adhesive stamp4 ,at this point we will speak of the first stamped envelope4 ,the ,mulready1 as this pioneer envelope was called1 owed its origin to ,sir ,rowland ,hill and his co-workers4 ,the penny black adhesive label was considered to be too great an innovation by ,sir ,rowland's followers1 and1 as a sort of compromise1 it was decided to issue a stamped envelope as an alternative to the penny adhesive4 ,the two were placed on sale at the same moment1 and1 curiously enough1 the adhesive immediately proved a tremendous success1 whilst the ,mulready only received slight favours4 ,this happened in spite of the fact that the authorities were confident that the stamped envelope would prove the more popular of the two4 ,the ,mulready was a curious1 if not weird1 production4 ,the design covered half of the face of the envelope1 and consisted of ,britannia surrounded by people and animals treated symbolically4 ,the paper used for the envelope bore the silk threads spoken of in an earlier chapter4 ,the ,mulready deserved a better fate4 ,all the comic papers at the time reproduced grotesque imitations of it2 every wit used it disparagingly1 and in all ways it became a butt for humour4 ,perhaps the best-known caricatures of this unfortunate envelope were those produced by ,doyle1 a boy of fifteen4 ,though his drawings never received postal sanction1 they are often sold by stamp dealers and treasured by collectors as curiosities4 ,before leaving the ,mulready1 we must admit that two other envelopes claim to be older than this production of ,sir ,rowland ,hill4 ,the first is the special-letter cover1 which was issued to members of ,parliament in ,january1 #ahdj1 and the second1 the ,new ,south ,wales embossed envelope of #ahch4 ,of the former we need only say that its use was merely of a private nature1 whilst of the latter our knowledge is very imperfect and hardly trustworthy4 ,the first postcard was issued by ,germany in comparatively recent times2 its use was suggested by ,dr4 von ,stephan1 a high authority in postal matters4 ,the pioneer letter-card emanated from the ,kingdom of ,belgium1 and bore a red ten centimes stamp with the head of ,leopold ,,ii4 ,having discussed the earliest forms of postal stationery1 it will be interesting to examine certain of the adhesive stamps which claim notoriety on account of their positions as pioneers4 ,the first stamp of all1 as we have said before1 was the penny black of ,great ,britain1 but the earliest issue of foreign stamps 7i4e41 omitting those of ,great ,britain7 dates from the year #ahdc1 and came from ,brazil4 ,the labels are not attractive in appearance2 they are large1 and bear large numerals surrounded by a circular background of filigree work4 ,they have been nicknamed1 not inappropriately1 the bull's eye stamps of ,brazil4 ,the stamps remained in currency but one year1 and are1 therefore1 rare4 ,it is rather curious to think that ,brazil--a republic not usually associated with progressive measures--should have been1 with ,great ,britain1 the only country to issue stamps for nine whole years after their introduction4 ,in short1 no other ,government issued adhesives until the ,january of #ahdi4 ,on the first of that month1 however1 both ,belgium and ,france provided stamps for the convenience of their people4 ,the ,belgian stamp consisted of two varieties--the ten centimes1 dark brown1 and the twenty centimes1 blue1 both bearing a head and shoulder engraving of ,leopold ,i4 ,in ,france one label was issued2 it bore the value of ten centimes1 in dark brown1 and was ornamented with the head of ,ceres4 ,these three specimens were1 therefore1 the first adhesives to receive recognition on the ,continent4 ,it is pleasing to note how ,brazil1 ,belgium1 and ,france1 all imitated ,great ,britain in the colour and values of their first issues2 it is also an interesting coincidence that the earliest labels of all these countries1 ,great ,britain included1 were extremely short-lived4 ,the first colonial stamps were the two ,mauritius line-engravings1 which were described at length in the chapter dealing with rare specimens4 ,the first picture stamp is often taken to be the large ,congo adhesive bearing a view of the port of ,matadi1 whilst sometimes pride of place is awarded to the ,columbus ship stamp of the ,argentine ,republic4 ,in reality neither of these can claim the honour of being the forerunner of our picture issues1 an honour which rightly belongs to the early ,sydney ,views of ,new ,south ,wales4 ,these latter stamps are extremely scarce1 and change ownership for from ,l#e to ,l#aj a copy4 ,turning now to the stamps of our ,mother ,country1 the penny black may be again mentioned as being the first adhesive to bear the head of ,queen ,victoria4 ,king ,edward was first revealed to us philatelically by the halfpenny1 penny1 twopence-halfpenny1 and sixpenny values of ,great ,britain--these four stamps being issued on the same day1 ,january #a1 #aijb4 ,king ,george's earliest stamp was the twopence-halfpenny label issued by the ,union of ,south ,africa4 ,,chapter ,x ,,commemorative ,,stamps ,in recent times it has become fashionable1 in certain countries1 to celebrate national events by means of special issues of stamps4 ,the idea is a very acceptable one so long as it is not abused4 ,unfortunately1 however1 we must say that many countries do abuse this interesting way of commemorating their historic achievements4 ,the consolidation of an empire1 the discovery of a continent1 the centenary of a great victory1 are all matters of history which we are glad to see recorded in the pages of the stamp album2 but when a series of labels is issued to acquaint the world of the death of an unheard-of poet1 or the erection of an obscure post office1 then we can only surmise that the stamps were printed more for philatelic than postal purposes4 ,illustration3 ,,noted ,,statesmen ,,of ,u4,s4,a4 #a ,washington #e ,franklin #i ,zachary ,taylor #b ,franklin #f ,grant #aj ,jackson #c ,lincoln #g ,washington #aa ,jefferson #d ,webster #h ,washington ,commemorative stamps coming from most ,european countries1 also the ,british ,colonies1 may usually be accepted for collecting purposes1 but those which hail from one or other of the ,south ,american republics should be purchased with caution4 ,some of these ,governments simply cast around for events to celebrate1 hoping that each new issue will help to swell the national exchequer in no little measure4 ,probably the first celebration issue of any country was the penny envelope of ,great ,britain1 bearing a blue stamp1 which appeared on ,july #b1 #ahij4 ,the occasion was the jubilee of the ,uniform ,penny ,postage1 an event which was celebrated by a festival held in the ,south ,kensington ,museum4 ,the envelope is undoubtedly attractive4 ,beyond the familiar profile portrait of ,queen ,victoria1 and an artistic rendering of her coat of arms1 it bears a picture of the ,north ,mail coach making for ,highgate in #agij at eight miles an hour4 ,in contrast to this antiquated method of locomotion we are also shown the ,north ,mail railway express approaching ,carlisle at forty-eight miles an hour4 ,two other figures1 one a letter-carrier of #ahdj1 and the other a postman of #ahij1 complete the ornamentation4 ,this envelope1 and a correspondence-card enclosed within it1 which appropriately bears a portrait of ,sir ,rowland ,hill1 was sold by post offices on the one day only for sixpence4 ,though it is a curiosity worth obtaining1 there is little demand for it1 and dealers are glad to supply copies even now at the original price4 ,among the stamps of our ,colonies1 those of ,newfoundland have always been attractive2 but probably the set which was issued to celebrate the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of the island by ,jean ,cabot is the most interesting of all4 ,cabot1 it will be remembered1 though born in ,genoa1 settled in ,bristol as a merchant4 ,in #adig he was commissioned by ,henry ,,vii4 to search for undiscovered lands4 ,he set out with two small ships1 and sighted first ,newfoundland1 then ,cape ,breton ,isle1 and afterwards ,nova ,scotia4 ,in #adih he died4 ,from ,newfoundland to ,canada is not a great distance4 ,to this ,british ,dominion we are indebted for two fine commemorative sets4 ,the first1 that of #ahig1 was issued in honour of ,queen ,victoria's ,diamond ,jubilee1 and the second to celebrate the tercentenary of the founding of ,quebec4 ,this town1 on the ,st4 ,lawrence ,river1 owes its origin to ,jacques ,cartier1 a ,frenchman born at ,st4 ,malo4 ,cartier sailed from his native port in #aecd accompanied by two small vessels of twenty tons apiece4 ,he landed on the ,gaspe shores and claimed the territory for ,french sovereignty4 ,his stay was of short duration1 for we read that in #aece he again set out from ,st4 ,malo1 and this time sailed up the mouth of the ,st4 ,lawrence and landed at a little native settlement1 which afterwards received the name of ,quebec4 7,kebek is the ,indian for ,the ,rock47 ,we are bound to state that little came of ,cartier's exploits1 for not until ,champlain visited the district many years later1 with the dual purpose of spreading ,christianity and opening up commerce1 did the ,french settlement prosper4 ,the pictures on the stamps are of interest4 ,the #a cent portrays both ,cartier and ,champlain2 the #e cents gives a picture of the latter's house2 the #g cents introduces ,montcalm and ,wolfe2 the #aj cents reveals ,quebec in #agjj2 the #ae cents depicts ,champlain's departure for the interior1 then an almost unknown world2 whilst the #bj cents is inscribed ,cartier's arrival before ,quebec4 ,another set of commemorative stamps comes from ,barbados1 its object being to celebrate the heroic exploits of ,nelson--the ,battle of ,trafalgar in particular4 ,the tragedy which was enacted on board the ,victory1 almost1 if we may so express it1 at the moment of victory1 the mournful journey to ,england1 the lying-in-state at ,greenwich1 and the funeral in ,st4 ,paul's ,cathedral1 are all too well known to need description2 but it is less well known that ,horatio ,nelson spent many of his early years of seamanship in the ,west ,indies1 and particularly in and around the ,barbados4 ,it is on this account that a fine monument has been erected to his memory in this ,colony1 and a set of stamps was issued to mark the unveiling4 ,australasia has not given us many celebration stamps1 but those which have come from the ,antipodes are extremely interesting4 ,what could be more stirring than the design on the three-halfpenny #aija khaki stamp of ,new ,zealand8 ,it was issued to mark the departure of troops on their way to the fighting-line in ,south ,africa4 ,another interesting set of stamps was provided some twenty years ago by ,new ,south ,wales to remind the world that it had been a colony for just over a century4 ,one of the values bears a portrait of ,captain ,cook1 who discovered the ,colony in #aggj2 whilst another reveals1 appropriately enough1 the features of ,captain ,arthur ,phillips1 the founder of the first convict settlement on these ,australian shores4 ,up till the time of ,phillips our prisoners had been banished to ,america1 but after the war1 which gained for the ,new ,england ,states their independence1 this outlet was closed to our exiles1 and fresh fields were found in ,new ,south ,wales4 ,probably no event in history has received more attention on the part of stamp producers than the discoveries of ,columbus4 ,the ,argentine ,republic was1 we believe1 the first country to honour the memory of this intrepid explorer by the issue of postal labels1 but to the ,united ,states must be awarded the credit of issuing the finest set of ,columbian stamps4 ,this series of postal adhesives is probably one of the grandest collections of historical stamps that has ever been produced1 and1 fortunately1 the lower values are cheap1 and easily obtained4 ,other commemorative stamps of the ,united ,states have been issued--namely1 the ,omaha1 the ,pan-,american1 the ,buffalo1 and the ,panama ,exhibition stamps2 but though some of them are exceedingly attractive in design1 none of them can compare with the ,columbus issue in point of interest4 ,another intrepid explorer to receive recognition by means of an issue of stamps was ,vasco da ,gama4 ,to mention his name recalls to mind the wonderful and perilous journey which he was the first to make around the southern point of ,africa1 and thence to ,india4 ,vasco was fortunate in living in ,portugal at a time when this kingdom was at the height of its fame and prosperity4 ,financed by the then ,king1 ,manoel1 he left ,lisbon on ,july #h1 #adig1 with four vessels manned by #afj men4 ,he took four long months to reach the island of ,st4 ,helena1 and whilst rounding the ,cape the trials of this brave band of men were terrible in the extreme4 ,calicut1 in ,india1 was reached on ,may #bj1 #adih1 and after a short and none too pleasant stay among the unfriendly natives1 a start for home was made4 ,on returning to ,portugal ,vasco da ,gama received a tremendous ovation from the ,king and the people4 ,the ,portuguese stamps issued in #ahih to celebrate the fourth centenary of the discovery of the route to ,india bear very attractive pictures4 ,three events of interest have given rise to special stamps in ,italy3 7a7 ,the fiftieth anniversary of the freedom of ,sicily2 7b7 the jubilee of the kingdom of ,italy2 and 7c7 the festivities to commemorate the completion of the ,venice ,campanile4 ,to appreciate the meaning of the first two events1 we must remember that the present kingdom of ,italy was1 less than sixty years ago1 a number of little states1 each contending against its neighbour4 ,sicily1 one of the conflicting areas1 was ruled by ,ferdinand ,,ii4 of ,spain1 a man noted for the harsh and tyrannical rule which he inflicted on his subjects4 ,in answer to an appeal from the men of ,sicily1 ,garibaldi sailed from ,genoa with #a1jjj followers1 landed at ,marsala on ,may #aa1 #ahfj1 and took ,palermo soon afterwards4 ,the people were jubilant at his success1 and ,ferdinand was quickly deposed4 ,sicily joined ,sardinia1 and ,victor ,emmanuel reigned over the two territories4 ,in the same year1 ,central ,italy1 ,southern ,italy1 the ,papal ,states1 and ,naples1 all joined the kingdom of ,emmanuel and1 in ,february1 #ahfa1 the first ,parliament of all the ,italian ,states was held at ,turin4 ,it was this event that was celebrated by the ,italian ,jubilee stamps4 ,the third event which the ,italian stamps commemorated was the completion of the new ,campanile in ,venice4 ,the old monument collapsed on the square of ,st4 ,mark's some ten years ago1 and a new erection of similar design to the original one has been built in its place4 ,a very attractive series of stamps was placed on sale throughout ,austria in #aijh to commemorate the sixtieth year of the reign of ,franz ,joseph ,i4 ,the labels are particularly interesting1 as they reveal to us many ,austrian rulers about whom our history books have much to say4 ,they are as follows3 #a heller3 ,karl ,,vi4 ,best known1 perhaps1 as the father of ,maria ,theresa4 #b heller3 ,maria ,theresa4 #c heller3 ,joseph ,,ii4 ,a great reformer1 but a very harsh ruler4 #e1 #aj1 #be1 #cj1 and #ce heller3 ,franz ,joseph ,i4 #f heller3 ,leopold ,,ii4 ,brother and successor to ,joseph ,,ii4 ,pacified the ,netherlands and ,hungary which his elder brother had inflamed4 #ab heller3 ,franz ,i4 ,assisted ,napoleon in his campaign against ,russia1 and later joined with other countries to break ,napoleon's power4 #bj heller3 ,ferdinand4 ,was persuaded to abdicate in favour of ,franz ,joseph1 as he was too weak to rule in such troublous times4 ,the last commemorative stamps of which we shall speak were issued in #aiac by ,russia to honour the ,house of ,romanoff4 ,the adhesives are printed in attractive colours1 with bold designs1 indicative of ,russian art4 ,the heads revealed to us in this striking portrait-gallery are those of ,nicholas ,,ii41 ,peter ,i41 ,alexander ,,ii41 ,alexander ,,iii41 ,peter ,,ii41 ,katherine ,,ii41 ,nicholas ,i41 ,alexander ,i41 ,alexei ,michaelovitch1 ,paul ,i41 ,elizabeth and ,michael ,feodorovitch4 ,many other celebration stamps have appeared from time to time in various countries2 notice of them may be found in any postage stamp catalogue4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,interesting ,,picture ,,stamps ,that the picture stamps reposing in our collections are highly instructive as well as interesting needs little argument4 ,we can sit in an armchair and learn the geography of half the world by means of the stamps bearing maps2 we may wander1 mentally1 as far as the ,antipodes1 thanks to the stamps bearing views2 we may learn about the birds of the air and the beasts of the forests from the stamps bearing animals4 ,matters of architecture1 heraldry1 local customs1 mythology1 and history1 are other subjects which we may become acquainted with from our postage adhesives4 ,perhaps the most interesting labels are those which portray the natural wonders of the wide-world4 ,let us turn first of all to the specimens from ,new ,zealand4 ,what delightful views the #ahih stamps give of ,mount ,cook1 ,lake ,wakatipu1 ,mount ,ruapehu1 ,lake ,taupo1 the ,pink ,terrace of ,rotomahana and ,milford ,sound--names which to many of us are mere places mentioned in dry geography manuals1 but here revealed in all their glory6 ,from ,new ,zealand let us wander to ,tasmania4 ,on these pages of our album we find interesting pictures of ,lake ,marion1 ,mount ,wellington1 the town of ,hobart1 ,russell ,falls1 ,lake ,st4 ,clair1 and the waterfalls of ,dilston4 ,illustration3 ,,some ,,view ,,stamps #a ,lake ,taupo and ,mount ,ruapehu #f ,mount ,wellington #b ,llandovery ,falls #g ,table ,bay and ,mountains #c ,sydney ,harbour #h ,view of ,deboj #d ,a ,view in ,costa ,rica #i ,pass of ,narenta #e ,a ,turkish ,view ,curious though it may seem1 waterfalls are favourite subjects for stamp ornamentation4 ,we have ,niagara on the #e cents ,united ,states value of #aija2 the ,llandovery ,falls on the #a;d4 #aijj1 ,jamaica2 the ,kaieteur ,falls on the #aj cents #ahih of ,british ,guiana2 the ,stanley ,falls and the ,inkissi ,falls on the #ahid ,congo issue2 also the ,victoria ,falls on the #aije issue of ,british ,south ,africa4 ,were we to place these picture stamps and others representing similar subjects side by side on a page by themselves in our collection1 we should have quite a fine array of the world's most noted waterfalls4 ,perhaps next to waterfalls1 mountain views claim most popularity on postage labels4 ,besides those mentioned already1 we have ,mount ,kini ,balou on the #ah cents #ahid1 ,north ,borneo2 ,table ,mountain on the #a;d4 #aijj1 ,cape of ,good ,hope2 the ,leon mountains on various ,nicaraguan issues2 ,popocatepetl on the #a peso #ahii1 ,mexico2 ,mount ,konaluanui on the #b cent #ahid1 ,hawaii1 and others4 ,historic buildings are1 as one would expect1 frequently represented in our collections4 ,a most interesting stamp is the ,chinese label bearing a view of the ,temple of ,heaven1 a sacred edifice erected to the memory of ,confucius1 to which the ,emperor repairs periodically and prays for the favour of ,heaven4 ,the ,kremlin and ,winter ,palace1 both well-known ,russian buildings1 figure on the stamps of the ,tsar4 ,the ,grecian adhesives reveal pictures of the ,acropolis1 including the ,parthenon and ,stadium2 the ,egyptian adhesives show a sphinx and the ,pyramids2 a ,dominican adhesive bears a picture representing the ,mausoleum of ,columbus2 whilst a recent issue from ,turkey1 celebrating the recapture of ,adrianople1 bears a fine view of the ,mosque of ,selim4 ,of curious things our stamps provide us in plenty4 ,a ,newfoundland adhesive shows an iceberg2 a ,toga stamp1 a breadfruit-tree2 a ,tasmanian stamp1 ,tasman's ,arch2 a ,kedah stamp1 a sheaf of rice2 a ,north ,borneo stamp1 a sago palm2 a ,columbian stamp1 an ,american execution2 a ,bahamas stamp1 a staircase2 another ,toga stamp1 a prehistoric trilith2 a ,canadian stamp1 a map of the ,british possessions2 a ,roumanian stamp1 a picture of the ,queen nursing a wounded soldier2 a ,portuguese stamp1 the vision of ,st4 ,anthony2 a ,liberian stamp1 a coffee plantation2 a ,united ,states stamp1 an aeroplane2 and a ,peruvian stamp1 a suspension bridge4 ,the ,toga trilith1 it may be well to explain1 is an erection composed of three large blocks of stone placed together like door-posts and a lintel1 and standing by themselves4 ,it may be compared with the monuments at ,stonehenge1 or the ,druidical monoliths to be seen at ,carnac1 in ,brittany4 ,if mythology be of interest1 the stamps of ,greece will prove attractive4 ,this country offers some capital pictures of gladiators1 disc-throwers1 wrestlers2 of ,hermes1 ,apollo1 ,atlas1 ,iris1 ,pallas ,athene2 of ancient chariots1 vases2 as well as tableaux representing such incidents as ,atlas offering the apples of ,hesperides to ,hercules1 and ,the struggle between ,hercules and ,antaeus4 ,ships1 some noted and others merely curious1 figure on many labels4 ,we have an ,atlantic schooner on a ,newfoundland stamp2 a native canoe on a ,papuan stamp2 a ,nile steamboat on an ,egyptian stamp2 a dhow on a ,borneo stamp2 the flagship of ,columbus on a ,grenada stamp2 ,cabot's ship1 the ,matthew1 leaving the ,avon1 and ,guy's ship1 the ,endeavour1 on ,newfoundland stamps2 and the ,hohenzollern1 the ,german ,emperor's yacht1 on the unattractive stamps of the ,german colonies4 ,of animals there are far too many for individual mention1 but the following are some of those depicted in our philatelic zoo3 ,a kangaroo1 zebra1 dromedary1 camel1 platypus1 elephant1 hippopotamus1 lizard1 giraffe1 dog1 gnu1 codfish1 springbok1 seal1 egret1 parrot1 wryneck1 emu1 lyre bird1 ptarmigan1 chimpanzee1 boar1 rhinoceros1 honey bear1 ourang-outang1 stag1 argus pheasant1 panther1 crocodile1 and kiwi4 ,some entire issues of stamps are particularly interesting if they be considered solely from the pictorial standpoint4 ,probably the ,bosnian issue of #aijf is the finest in this matter4 ,the scenes represented in this attractive collection are-- #a heller3 ,view of ,deboj4 #b heller3 ,view of ,mostar4 #c heller3 ,plima ,tower at ,jaice4 #e heller3 ,pass of ,narenta1 with view of the ,prenj4 #f heller3 ,ramatae4 #aj heller3 ,road in the ,valley of ,vrba4 #bj heller3 ,old bridge at ,mostar4 #be heller3 ,sarajevo4 #cj heller3 ,animal carrying letters on passes4 #ce heller3 ,pavilion at ,jezero4 #dj heller3 ,mail waggon with horses4 #de heller3 ,market at ,sarajevo4 #ej heller3 ,mail motor-waggon4 #a kreutzer3 ,the ,carsija at ,sarajevo4 #b kreutzer3 ,the ,lucas ,tower at ,jaice4 ,sarajevo1 it will be remembered1 was the scene of the assassination of the ,austrian ,archduke1 in #aiad1 whilst other places shown in the above pictures have come to our notice through the despatches bearing on the great ,european ,war4 ,how can we make the most of all these interesting and beautiful picture stamps8 ,quite a good plan is to build up a collection devoted to these attractive labels alone1 arranging them not according to their countries1 but according to the subject represented by them4 ,for instance1 there are sufficient stamps portraying animals to permit of a zoological section1 arranged in scientific groups--mammals1 birds1 reptiles1 etc4 ,of course1 a good deal of written explanations should be provided with each adhesive4 ,the ,greek stamp representing ,atlas might be followed by a brief account of the arduous duties imposed upon this unfortunate hero2 the ,toga stamp with the trilith might be accompanied by the short note given a few paragraphs above2 whilst the stamps bearing geographical features might have little sketch-maps placed underneath them so that their exact positions may be learnt4 ,if this plan be followed1 the picture stamps will become extremely fascinating1 and our store of general knowledge enhanced considerably4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,stamps ,,and ,,history ,what a wealth of history is recalled by a glance through the pages of our stamp albums6 ,the romantic changes which ,france has undergone1 the efforts made by ,germany for securing a wider empire1 the ups and downs of ,spain1 the gradual growth of ,italy1 and a hundred other indications of progress and decay are all reflected therein4 ,let us take1 first of all1 the case of ,germany4 ,in the earliest years we find stamps issued by a multitude of little ,states--i4e41 ,baden1 ,bavaria1 ,bergedorf1 ,brunswick1 ,hanover1 ,mecklenburg-,schwerin1 ,odenburg1 ,prussia1 ,saxony1 etc4--whilst the towns of ,hamburg1 ,bremen1 and ,lubeck also had individual postal rights of their own4 ,the first step of consolidation came on ,january #a1 #ahfh1 when most of the above authorities joined what was called the ,north ,german ,confederation1 and nearly all of the separate units ceased to issue stamps4 ,the ,confederation adhesives were current from #ahfh to #ahga--that is1 until the ,german ,empire sprang into being4 ,when the ,franco-,german ,war of #ahgj-ahga placed the provinces of ,alsace and ,lorraine under ,prussian rule1 special ,german stamps were sold in the captured territory4 ,as they bore values in centimes1 they were withdrawn as soon as groschens and kreuzers became generally current4 ,a less important instance of ,prussian absorption occurred on ,august #i1 #ahij1 when the labels of ,heligoland bearing a portrait of ,queen ,victoria were replaced by the regular ,german stamps4 ,further ,teutonic progress is made evident by the numerous colonial issues which this kingdom has placed on sale since #ahig4 ,lastly1 may be mentioned the adhesives bearing the familiar effigy of ,germania1 overprinted for use in ,belgium4 ,the stamps of ,spain are also interesting4 ,the first issue 7,january #a1 #ahej7 bore very crude portraits of the unscrupulous ,queen ,isabella ,,ii4 ,various sets1 all of them highly inartistic1 were issued between #ahej and #ahfh4 ,in the latter year a revolution occurred1 and the ,queen was deposed1 a republic being instituted instead of the monarchy4 ,isabella's stamps were temporarily overprinted with the words ,,habilitado ,,por ,,la ,,nacion1 and when the stock was exhausted1 a new design1 bearing an allegorical head typifying ,liberty and ,spain1 became current4 ,the republic did not last long1 for the claims to the throne of the ,duke of ,aosta were considered well founded1 and he was crowned ,king in #ahgb4 ,amadeus1 as he was called1 figured on the stamps for a brief twelve months4 ,these were stormy times4 ,unable to cope with them1 he abdicated1 and the republic was reinstated1 the new stamps bearing first an allegorical figure of ,peace and then of ,justice4 ,but even the representative ,government was short-lived4 ,the people once more turned to the ,house of ,bourbon1 and ,alfonso ,,xii4 became ,king4 ,he reigned ten years1 and was then succeeded by his son1 ,alfonso ,,xiii41 the present ruling ,sovereign4 ,the ,italian adhesives are no less interesting4 ,we have already indicated the manner in which ,modena1 ,naples1 ,parma1 ,romagna1 the ,roman ,states1 ,sicily1 ,tuscany1 and ,sardinia joined together to form the ,kingdom of ,italy1 and elected the ,king of ,sardinia to be the new ,sovereign4 ,this latter was ,victor ,emmanuel ,,ii4 ,he was succeeded by his son1 ,humbert ,i41 who fell by the assassin's hand whilst riding on the outskirts of ,milan in #aijj4 ,the present ,king1 a fine example of soldier and statesman1 is ,victor ,emmanuel ,,iii4 ,probably no stamps reveal greater matters of historical importance than those of our neighbour1 ,france4 ,when adhesives were first issued by this country a republic was in power1 and so an allegorical head1 that of ,ceres1 embellished the new labels4 ,in #aheb ,louis ,napoleon became ,president of the ,republic1 and1 being a man who loved notoriety1 he placed his bust upon the ten and twenty-five centimes values4 ,later on1 as is known to all1 he became ,napoleon ,,iii41#d ,emperor of the ,french1 and the wording on the adhesives was changed from ,,repub4 ,,franc4 to ,,empire ,,franc4 ,later on1 in #ahfc1 to mark the successes which the ,french won over the ,austrians1 the head of ,napoleon was encircled in a laurel crown4 ,the final stage was reached in ,october1 #ahgj1 when the ,germans gained an almost crushing victory over the ,french4 ,as a result1 the ,empire fell1 and a republic once more ruled over the country4 ,the head of the ,emperor was removed from the stamps1 and ,ceres again appeared upon them4 ,thus the adhesives of ,france plainly indicate the changing course taken by the ,government of our neighbour across the ,channel4 #d ,as there was no ,napoleon ,,ii41 readers may wonder why the above monarch received the title of ,napoleon ,,iii4 ,the reason is a highly amusing one4 ,the draft of the proclamation issued by the ,government announcing his ascendancy to the throne commenced with the following words3 ,,vive ,,napoleon666 ,the printer took the three exclamation marks to be the figures ,,iii1 and his press accordingly reproduced the mistake some thousands of times over4 ,before the error was discovered1 ,paris and the other great towns had been placarded with the incorrect imprints4 ,there was no time to lose1 so the ,emperor1 much to the amusement of his courtiers1 agreed to take the title of ,napoleon ,,iii4 ,illustration3 ,,zoological ,,stamps #a ,dromedary #e ,quetzal #i ,springbok and ,gnu #b ,kangaroo #f ,tiger #aj ,emu #c ,giraffe #g ,panther #aa ,malay ,stag #d ,anteater #h ,swan ,if we turn to the stamps of ,portugal1 a most interesting array of monarchs will be revealed4 ,queen ,maria figures upon the earliest stamps1 but after two years of currency her portrait gave place to that of ,king ,pedro ,v41 which in turn was followed by a representation of ,king ,luiz4 ,in #ahhi ,king ,carlos ascended the throne1 and his effigy was given on the issues of #ahib and #ahie4 ,the assassination of ,carlos and his elder son1 which shocked the whole world1 resulted in the appearance of ,king ,manoel's features upon the stamps printed between #aijh and #aiaj4 ,the events which marred his short and stormy reign are known to all1 and in #aiaj he took up his abode in ,england4 ,afterwards a republic sprang up1 and the present adhesives bear the imprint of ,liberty4 ,if we leave ,europe and examine the stamps of the remaining four continents1 many other events of great historical bearing will be revealed4 ,the labels of the ,transvaal1 for instance1 tell of two ,british occupations and two republics2 the ,egyptian labels show ,turkish influence followed by a ,british protectorate2 the early ,united ,states labels hint at the war which was waged to put down slavery2 whilst the ,cuban labels indicate ,spanish occupation1 followed first by the protection of the ,united ,states1 and then by the creation of an independent republic4 ,the adhesives of the ,central and ,south ,american republics are worthy of special note1 as they point to insurrections1 wars1 provisional governments1 and troublous times in general4 ,but no matter where we turn in our albums1 interesting landmarks of the world's history will be revealed by our treasured labels4 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,war ,,stamps ,among the most interesting stamps which figure in our collections are those which owe their origin to the stern necessities of war4 ,stamps which fall into this division are of two main classes3 those needed for the use of troops fighting outside their own territory1 and those called into being by the subjugation of the enemy's country4 ,the ,great ,war of ,europe1 as the conflict of #aiad-ae has been called1 has naturally provided many additions to the list of war stamps4 #a4 ,germany has overprinted its own labels with the word ,belgien1 and these are of some rarity when in a used condition4 #b4 ,many of the ,german colonial issues have been overprinted with words suggesting ,british or ,french occupation4 ,we have1 for instance1 the ,togo yacht stamps bearing the inscription ,anglo-,french ,occupation1 and the ,samoa yacht labels stamped with the letters ,g4,r4,i4 ,illustration3 ,,some ,,hapsburg ,,portraits #a ,karl ,,vi #d ,franz ,josef ,i in #aijh #g ,ferdinand #b ,maria ,theresa #e ,leopold ,,ii #h ,franz ,josef in #ahhd #c ,joseph ,,ii #f ,franz ,i #i ,franz ,josef in #ahgh #c4 ,in cases where the ,german colonial issues have run short in the conquered settlements we find that labels of ,british or ,french origin have been pressed into service--for instance1 ,new ,zealand stamps have been overprinted for use in ,samoa4 ,all these classes of war labels permit of many interesting varieties1 but1 whenever possible1 used specimens should be preferred to those which have not passed through the post4 ,we make this statement because certain belligerent countries endeavoured to replenish their exchequers by the sale1 to philatelists1 of uncancelled copies4 ,the stamps used by troops who are fighting outside their own territory are probably the most valuable of war labels4 ,the ,british ,expeditionary ,force in ,france and ,belgium was at the outset provided with ordinary ,english postal adhesives4 ,these adhesives1 when bearing such postmarks as ,army ,base ,post ,office1 ,france1 or the ordinary cancel marks of ,ostend1 ,boulogne1 ,paris1 etc41 are extremely valuable4 ,when the ,british stamps ran short1 letters were franked by postmarks alone1 and these are well worth collecting4 ,the circular and rectangular marks bearing the word ,passed by ,censor are also interesting4 ,communications coming from the ,fleet bear cancel marks formed by a number of concentric rings4 ,the varieties of this postal mark should be prized4 ,in all cases the complete envelope or card must be placed in the collection intact1 and not just the cut-out postmark4 ,probably the most carefully planned army postal service is that possessed by our ,indian troops4 ,adhesive stamps are generally used on correspondence1 the ordinary ,indian issues1 overprinted with the letters ,i4,e4,f4 being employed4 ,from a ,field ,service ,manual#e on ,posts and ,telegraphs1 we have been able to glean a few details respecting the organization and establishment of the ,indian military post offices4 ,in times of peace a stock of tents and equipment1 sufficient for the supply of three base post offices1 fifty first-class field post offices1 ten second-class field post offices1 and for the supervising staff1 is kept in store at ,lahore in the charge of the ,postal ,department of the ,punjab4 #e ,quoted from ,stamp ,collecting1 ,december #e1 #aiad4 ,on the outbreak of war the military postal service is organized by the ,director-,general of ,posts and ,telegraphs in ,india according to the requirements of the ,army authorities4 ,the supervising staff is selected by him from a roll of ,european volunteers for such service maintained in his office1 the full war establishment consisting of six ,directors or ,deputy ,directors1 eighteen ,assistant ,directors1 twenty-four ,inspectors1 and fifty ,postmasters4 ,the rest of the establishment is selected by the ,postmaster-,general of the ,punjab4 ,one ,director or ,deputy ,director1 two ,assistant ,directors1 and four ,inspectors constitute the normal postal personnel of an expeditionary force4 ,they wear the ordinary field service uniform of the ,indian ,army according to their respective ranks1 distinguished by the word ,post on the shoulder straps4 ,illustration3 ,,stamps ,,from ,,the ,,great ,,war ,,zone #a ,russia #f ,union of ,south ,africa #aa ,prussia #b ,belgium #g ,france #ab ,bavaria #c ,montenegro #h ,luxembourg #ac ,austria #d ,great ,britain #i ,portugal #ad ,turkey #e ,egypt #aj ,servia ,the following extracts from the ,indian ,army ,order1 ,no4 #fai1 dated ,november #aj1 #aiac1 are of interest3 #g4 ,the ,director or ,deputy ,director1 or1 in his absence1 the ,postmaster-,general under whose orders he is to work1 should1 on receipt of the first intimation that a force is to be mobilized1 take the earliest opportunity to consult the ,general ,officer appointed to command the force as to the postal requirements of the force in respect of the number of field post offices1 the classes of postal business to be undertaken1 the establishment to be provided1 etc4 ,as far as possible1 the wishes of the ,general ,officer commanding should be carried out4 #bc4 ,the ,director-,general will arrange that the treasury nearest to the base office is supplied with about ten times its normal supply of ordinary postage stamps 7including postcards and envelopes71 and that a sufficient stock is maintained throughout the campaign4 ,the base post office should thus be in a position to supply at once the postage stamps required in field post offices4 ,if there is no treasury at hand1 a sufficient supply of postage stamps of all descriptions must be kept at the base post office4 ,the base post office will be supplied with an iron safe1 or two1 if necessary4 #bd4 ,the requisite stamps1 scales1 bags1 and other articles of stock sufficient for six months' requirements1 will be furnished to the base post office for its own use1 and for distribution1 under the orders of the ,director or ,deputy ,director1 to field post offices4 ,section #e ,b shows the books1 forms1 stamps1 etc41 required for field post offices4 ,all books1 forms1 and articles of stock should be packed in the prescribed mule trunks1 each of which1 when packed1 should not exceed one maund in weight4 ,the books1 forms1 and stamps required by the base post office will be the same as those used by a head office in ,india performing the same classes of business2 but in addition to the ordinary stamps it will be supplied with a special 'postage cancelled' stamp4 ,another form of war stamp is the charity stamps2 these have been issued by various countries in order to collect money for ,red ,cross and other funds4 ,the labels serve for ordinary postal work1 but as a rule cost a halfpenny or penny above face value4 ,a charge of three-halfpence1 for instance1 is made for a penny stamp1 a penny of the sum being appropriated by the postal authorities1 and a halfpenny being remitted to the ,red ,cross ,fund4 ,so far1 ,france1 ,monaco1 ,belgium1 ,russia1 ,austria1 and ,hungary have printed charity labels1 and other countries have such issues in contemplation4 ,it may be mentioned that various bogus charity stamps appearing to emanate from ,belgium have reached this country from ,holland and elsewhere2 all such labels1 therefore1 should be accepted with caution4 ,war stamps date back1 at least1 to the time of the ,crimea4 ,in this campaign the ,british forces instituted a military post office at ,constantinople with branch offices at ,balaclava and ,scutari4 ,no special stamps were given to the soldiers1 the current ,british penny reds being used4 ,the postmarks1 however1 were distinctive1 and it is therefore possible to distinguish between the red labels used in the ordinary way at home and those used by the ,expeditionary ,force4 ,the distinctive postmarks were3 #a4 ,a crown placed between two stars1 with straight bars above and below1 the whole forming an oval4 #b4 ,a star placed between two noughts2 then as ,no4 #a4 ,as few people know of this rare and interesting form of obliteration1 it is quite possible to come across specimens when buying the penny reds in quantities for reconstructing plates4 ,other war stamps are--7#a7 ,the ,alsace and ,lorraine issue1 which was printed primarily for military use during the ,franco-,german campaign2 7#b7 the overprinted issues of ,peru1 used during the occupation of this republic by ,chilian forces2 7#c7 the ,egyptian issue overprinted with the word ,soudan1 at the time when ,lord ,kitchener was carrying on the ,soudan campaign2 7#d7 the ,v4,r4,i4 issues of the ,transvaal2 7#e7 the ,italian issues bearing the overprint ,lybia1 current during the ,italian-,turkish ,war2 and 7#f7 the many issues which resulted from the ,balkan ,war of #aiab4 ,before concluding this chapter1 it may be well to speak of the ,spanish stamps of #ahgd-ahgi1 and #ahih-ii1 which bear the inscription1 ,impuesto de ,guerra4 ,these labels were not war stamps in the ordinary sense1 but stamps issued to collect a war-tax4 ,after the ,carlist ,war1 the insurrection of ,cartagena1 the ,civil ,war in ,cuba1 and the ,spanish-,american ,war1 the ,government decided to impose a war-tax upon a number of articles1 such as letters1 telegrams1 theatre tickets and railway tickets4 ,the stamps bearing the above inscription were therefore issued to facilitate the collection of these taxes4 ,when the used copies have done postal duty they may be looked upon as postage stamps1 but collectors should avoid purchasing specimens which served for theatre1 railway1 and the various other uses4 ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,some ,,famous ,,collections ,the ardent philatelist is not only interested in his own collection1 but is ever keen on inspecting those of other people4 ,a great treat1 therefore1 for the reader who lives in ,london1 or who is staying in the great metropolis1 is a visit to the ,british ,museum1 where the famous ,tapling ,collection is stored4 ,to find one's way about the vast treasure-house in ,bloomsbury is no easy matter1 but the stamp exhibits will be quickly located if the visitor1 on entering1 takes the first public turning to the right and then the first on the left4 ,the cases are placed about half-way down the ,king's ,library1 on the right-hand side4 ,illustration3 ,,stamps ,,coming ,,from ,,countries ,,which ,,no ,,longer ,,have ,,separate ,,issues #a ,victoria #d ,cape of ,good ,hope #g ,heligoland #b ,states of the ,church #e ,natal #h ,new ,south ,wales #c ,south ,australia #f ,south ,african ,republic #i ,queensland ,the collection is housed in three separate cupboards1 and the stamps are arranged under glass in frames4 ,it may be well to add that the position is not a very good one from the point of view of lighting1 and1 unless the visitor goes during the brightest part of the day1 he will lose much of the enjoyment on this account4 ,it is difficult to say which are the most interesting specimens in the collection1 for nearly all the great rarities are present4 ,the issues of ,great ,britain1 however1 are very complete1 and should1 therefore1 be examined with care4 ,not only are there copies of the penny blacks and twopenny blues1 sufficient to delight the heart of any very advanced collector1 but there are also copies of the most valuable early surface-printed specimens4 ,some of the essays--i4e41 stamps made for purposes of trial--are extremely interesting4 ,these issues1 naturally1 do not fall into the ordinary collector's possession1 but here they are to be inspected in hundreds4 ,there are1 for instance1 about twenty-five essays1 in different colours1 of the penny with ,queen ,victoria's head1 which was issued in lilac4 ,there are also countless specimens of the complete #ahhd issue in various shades from crimson to blue1 whilst the tenpenny value of #ahij is shown in half a dozen different combinations of colour4 ,a very curious essay to be seen here is a penny line-engraved stamp bearing a profile of ,prince ,consort4 ,apparently1 this tentative label never received official sanction1 as the people of ,great ,britain might have considered the innovation a slight to the ,queen they loved4 ,among the entires of ,great ,britain there are many long-forgotten treasures1 such as the penny-farthing postcard1 the twopenny card1 and the ,south ,kensington ,jubilee cards4 ,of colonial stamps there are some particularly complete sets of early issues4 ,the ,sydney ,views of ,new ,south ,wales are shown in whole panes of twenty-five1 the triangular ,capes are given in numbers1 whilst the array of early ,mauritius adhesives is not to be surpassed4 ,the postcards of ,ceylon are also worthy of mention4 ,it should be pointed out that some of the greatest rarities have been removed from the ordinary cases and placed in the ,cracherode ,room1 where1 however1 they can still be viewed at leisure4 ,the whole collection is said to be worth ,l#ajj1jjj1 was bequeathed to the ,trustees of the ,museum by the late ,mr4 ,t4 ,k4 ,tapling1 ,m4,p41 and has been in their hands since #ahia4 ,no stamps have been added to the collection since it came into the ,trustees' possession1 so that specimens of a later date are conspicuous by their absence4 ,another fine collection of stamps is possessed by the postal authorities in ,newgate ,street1 but1 unfortunately1 no facilities are given for public inspection4 ,the labels in this collection are in an unused condition1 and consist largely of the specimens which are sent out by every country belonging to the ,universal ,postal ,union4 ,this collection also contains a number of trial and imprimatur sheets of ,british stamps4 ,illustration3 ,,commemorative ,,stamps #a ,u4,s4,a43 ,columbus issue #b ,u4,s4,a43 ,columbus issue #c ,canada3 ,queen ,victoria's ,diamond ,jubilee #d ,canada3 ,penny ,postage to ,colonies #e ,roumania3 ,twenty-fifth ,anniversary of the ,establishment of the ,kingdom #f ,portuguese ,india3 ,vasco da ,gama ,celebration #g ,switzerland3 ,jubilee of ,postal ,union #h ,u4,s4,a43 ,jamestown ,exhibition issue #i ,italy3 ,fiftieth year of ,kingdom ,king ,george's collection is probably one of the most interesting in the world4 ,it is a private collection1 and therefore not on view2 but sections of it1 however1 have been exhibited from time to time4 ,mr4 ,f4 ,j4 ,melville1 who is well acquainted with its contents1 tells us in ,chats on ,postage ,stamps 7p4 #cab7 that-- ,the collection contains the original sketch of ,w4 ,mulready1 ,r4,a41 for the famous envelopes and letter-sheets of #ahdj1 to which reference has been made4 ,then there is the historic pair of sketches in water-colours1 roughly executed by ,sir ,rowland ,hill to show the approximate appearance of the penny stamp in black and the twopenny stamp in blue4 ,all the ,victorian surface-printed series are shown imperforate1 including the #c;d41 with reticulated background2 #c;d41 plate #c 7dot72 #d;d41 in lake1 watermarked small garter2 #f;d41 plate #a on safety paper1 and plate #c with hair-lines2 #i;d41 plate #c1 with hair-lines1 and plate #e2 #aj;d41 plate #b2 #as41 plate #a on safety paper2 plate #c with hair-lines1 #d in an unissued colour--lilac2 #bs41 plate #c2 #ajs41 ,l#a1 and ,l#e1 on blue paper4 ,of the ordinary stamps of ,king ,edward's reign1 the ,royal collection contains several essays and proofs of great interest4 ,a photograph of a stamp made up from ,herr ,fuechs's original sketch of ,king ,edward's head1 enclosed in the newly designed frame and border1 deservedly comes first1 and bears the late ,king's written approval3 from this1 temporary copper-plates were engraved so that the effect might be noted1 and three proofs therefrom are included4 ,unfortunately1 the final result did not come up to the anticipated standard1 and there was some talk about having a fresh design prepared after the style of the then new ,transvaal stamps1 but this fell through on the ground of expense2 proofs of this also are in the collection1 together with various colour-trials of the penny value1 as adopted4 ,the ,king's collection also contains specimens of--7a7 ,the unissued ,tyrian-plum twopenny1 ,great ,britain2 7b7 ,mauritius penny red1 post office2 7c7 ,british ,guiana1 many of the #ahfj-ahfb issues2 7d7 some very fine stamps of ,nevis1 ,hongkong1 ,grenada1 ,trinidad1 and ,bermuda4 ,,other ,,famous ,,collectors4 ,monsieur la ,renotiere1 of ,paris4 ,the late ,lord ,crawford4 ,mr4 ,henry ,duveen4 ,king ,manoel of ,portugal4 ,the late ,judge ,philbrick4 ,earl of ,kintore4 ,mr4 ,henry ,j4 ,crocker1 of ,san ,francisco4 ,,billing ,,and ,,sons1 ,,ltd41 ,,printers1 ,,guildford1 ,,england ,,beautiful ,,books ,,for ,,young ,,people ,,many ,,with ,,full-,,page ,,illustrations ,,in ,,colour ,,others ,,fully ,,illustrated ,,in ,,black ,,and ,,white ,,price #a_/f ,,each ,,black',s ,,pictures ,,of ,,many ,,lands ,,series ,,and ,,other ,,similar ,,books ,crown #dto41 paper boards1 cloth back1 with picture in colour on the cover1 each containing #eh illustrations1 of which #cb are in colour4 ,the ,children's ,world ,the ,world in ,pictures ,the ,british ,isles in ,pictures ,the ,british ,empire in ,pictures ,europe in ,pictures ,how other ,people ,live ,beasts and ,birds ,gardens in their ,seasons ,pictures of ,british ,history ,more ,pictures of ,british ,history ,pictures of ,famous ,travel4 ,,note4--,these volumes are also to be had in cloth at #bs4 each4 ,large crown #hvo41 cloth1 with frontispiece4 ,eric2 or1 ,little by ,little ,st4 ,winifred's2 or1 ,the ,world of ,school ,julian ,home3 a ,tale of ,college ,life ,scott's ,waverley ,novels4 ,see also list at the end of this ,catalogue4 ,,price #a_/f ,,net ,,each ,,red ,,cap ,,tales ,,from ,,scott ,large crown #hvo41 cloth1 each containing #h full page illustrations in colour4 ,waverley ,guy ,mannering ,rob ,roy ,the ,pirate1 and ,a ,legend of ,montrose ,the ,antiquary ,ivanhoe ,fortunes of ,nigel ,quentin ,durward ,how to ,use the ,microscope4 ,a ,guide for the ,novice4 ,containing #bj full-page illustrations from photo-micrographs1 etc4 ,life and ,legends of other ,lands3 ,norse and ,lapp ,containing #ab full-page illustrations in colour4 ,,published ,,by ,a4 ,,and ,c4 ,,black1 #d1 #e ,,and #f ,,soho ,,square1 ,,london1 ,w4 ,,price #a_/f ,,net ,,each 7,continued7 ,large crown #hvo41 cloth1 with picture in colour on the cover4 ,,peeps ,,at ,,many ,,lands ,,and ,,cities ,each containing #ab full-page illustrations in colour4 ,australia ,belgium ,berlin ,british ,north ,borneo ,burma ,canada ,ceylon 99,china ,corsica ,cuba ,delhi and the ,durbar ,denmark ,edinburgh 99,egypt ,egypt1 ,ancient ,england ,finland ,florence ,france ,germany ,greece ,holland ,holy ,land ,hungary ,iceland 99,india ,ireland ,italy ,jamaica 99,japan ,java ,kashmir ,korea ,london ,montenegro 99,morocco ,newfoundland ,new ,york ,new ,zealand ,norway ,panama ,paris ,portugal ,rome 99,russia 99,scotland 99,siam ,south ,africa ,south ,seas 99,spain ,sweden 99,switzerland ,turkey ,wales 99,also to be had in ,french at #bs4 net each4 ,see ,les ,beaux ,voyages ,series4 ,for ,larger ,series of ,peeps at ,many ,lands and ,cities1 see list of #cs4 #f;d4 net ,books4 ,,peeps ,,at ,,nature ,each containing #af full-page illustrations1 #h of them in colour4 ,bird ,life of the ,seasons ,british ,butterflies ,british ,ferns1 ,club-,mosses1 and ,horsetails ,british ,land ,mammals ,common ,british ,moths ,natural ,history of the ,garden ,the ,naturalist at the ,sea-,shore ,pond ,life ,british ,reptiles and ,amphibians ,romance of the ,rocks ,wild ,flowers and their ,wonderful ,ways ,common ,british ,beetles ,,peeps ,,at ,,history ,each containing #h full-page illustrations in colour1 and #bj line drawings in the text4 ,america ,the ,barbary ,rovers ,canada ,france ,germany ,holland ,india ,japan ,scotland ,,peeps ,,at ,,great ,,railways ,great ,western ,railway ,london and ,north-,western ,railway ,north-,eastern and ,great ,northern ,railways 7in #a volume7 ,south-,eastern and ,chatham and ,london1 ,brighton and ,south ,coast ,railways 7in #a volume7 ,,peeps ,,at ,,industries ,each containing #bd full-page illustrations from photographs4 ,rubber ,sugar ,tea ,,other ,,peeps ,,volumes ,peeps at the ,heavens ,peeps at ,architecture ,peeps at ,heraldry ,peeps at ,great ,men3 ,sir ,walter ,scott ,peeps at ,royal ,palaces of ,great ,britain ,peeps at the ,royal ,navy ,peeps at ,great ,steamship ,lines3 ,the ,p4 and ,o4 ,,homes ,,of ,,many ,,lands ,,series ,india4 ,containing #ab full-page illustrations in colour4 ,,published ,,by ,a4 ,,and ,c4 ,,black1 #d1 #e ,,and #f ,,soho ,,square1 ,,london1 ,w4 ,,price #a_/f ,,net ,,each 7,continued7 ,,beautiful ,,britain ,large square demy #hvo41 bound in cloth1 each containing #ab full-page illustrations in colour4 ,abbotsford ,cambridge ,canterbury ,channel ,islands ,english ,lakes ,firth of ,clyde ,girton ,college ,isle of ,arran ,isle of ,man ,isle of ,wight ,killarney ,london ,oxford ,peak ,country ,stratford-on-,avon ,leamington ,warwick ,thames ,trossachs ,north ,wales ,wessex ,westminster ,abbey ,windsor and ,eton ,,price #b_/ ,,net ,,each ,,les ,,beaux ,,voyages 7,a ,,series ,,of ,,peeps ,,at ,,many ,,lands ,,in ,,french7 ,large crown #hvo41 cloth1 each containing #ab full-page illustrations colour and a sketch-map4 ,algerie ,alsace ,chine ,ecosse ,egypte ,espagne ,indes ,indo-,chine ,japon ,maroc ,russie ,tunisie ,,price #b_/ ,,each ,,scott',s ,,waverley ,,novels4 ,see also list at the end of this ,catalogue4 ,,pictures ,,of ,,many ,,lands ,,series4 ,see list on page #a of this ,catalogue4 ,,price #b_/f ,,net ,,each ,containing #af full-page illustrations from photographs4 ,what the ,other ,children do ,,bibliotheque ,,rouge ,,en ,,couleurs ,,beautiful ,,books ,,in ,,french ,,for ,,young ,,people ,large crown #hvo41 cloth1 each containing #ab full-page illustrations in colour4 ,les ,contes de ma ,grand'mere ,eric ,,published ,,by ,a4 ,,and ,c4 ,,black1 #d1 #e ,,and #f ,,soho ,,square1 ,,london1 ,w4 ,,price #b_/f ,,each ,large crown #hvo41 illustrated4 ,stories of ,old4 7,small crown #dto47 ,eric2 or1 ,little by ,little ,st4 ,winifred's2 or1 ,the ,world of ,school ,julian ,home3 ,a ,tale of ,college ,life ,stories from ,waverley4 #bnd ,series4 ,scott's ,waverley ,novels4 ,see also list at the end of this ,catalogue4 ,,price #c_/f ,,net ,,each ,,peeps ,,at ,,many ,,lands ,,and ,,cities ,larger ,volumes in the style of the ,popular ,one ,shilling and ,sixpenny net ,,peeps ,,at ,,many ,,lands ,,and ,,cities ,series4 ,each containing #cb full-page illustrations in colour4 ,the ,world ,the ,british ,empire ,the ,gorgeous ,east 7,india1 ,burma1 ,ceylon1 and ,siam7 ,the ,far ,east 7,china1 ,japan1 and ,korea7 ,oceania 7,australia1 ,new ,zealand1 and ,south ,seas7 ,large crown #hvo41 cloth4 ,the ,open ,book of ,nature3 ,a ,book of ,nature ,study for ,young ,people4 #af full-page illustrations in colour and #aad reproductions from photographs1 etc4 ,the ,alps4 #bd full-page illustrations from photographs ,the ,holy ,land4 7,not illustrated7 ,,contes ,,et ,,nouvelles ,,beautiful ,,books ,,in ,,french ,,for ,,young ,,people4 ,large square crown #hvo41 cloth1 each containing #ab full-page illustrations in colour4 ,les ,petits ,aventuriers en ,amerique ,la ,guerre aux ,fauves ,un ,tour en ,melanesie ,la ,case de l',oncle ,tom 7#h pictures in colour and #af in black and white7 ,voyages de ,gulliver ,,published ,,by ,a4 ,,and ,c4 ,,black1 #d1 #e ,,and #f ,,soho ,,square1 ,,london1 ,w4 ,,price #c_/f ,,net ,,each 7,continued7 ,,great ,,buildings ,,and ,,how ,,to ,,enjoy ,,them ,a ,,series ,,of ,,handbooks ,,for ,,the ,,amateur ,,lover ,,of ,,architecture ,square demy #hvo41 cloth1 each containing #dh full-page illustrations from photographs4 ,early ,christian and ,byzantine ,architecture ,gothic ,architecture ,greek ,architecture ,norman ,architecture ,romanesque ,architecture ,,price #c_/f ,,each ,,life ,,stories ,,of ,,animals ,large crown #hvo41 cloth1 each containing #h full-page illustrations in colour ,the ,black ,bear ,the ,cat ,the ,dog ,the ,fowl ,the ,fox ,the ,lion ,the ,rat ,the ,squirrel ,the ,tiger ,large crown #hvo41 cloth1 illustrated4 99,in the ,grip of the ,wild ,wa ,tales of ,st4 ,austin's ,the ,head of ,kay's ,mike3 ,a ,public ,school ,story ,the ,gold ,bat ,psmith in the ,city ,the ,pothunters ,a ,prefect's ,uncle ,the ,white ,feather 99,the ,first ,voyages of ,glorious ,memory 7,hakluyt7 99,nipping ,bear 99,the ,adventures of ,don ,quixote 99,park's ,travels in the ,interior of ,africa 99,by a ,schoolboy's ,hand 99,exiled from ,school 99,from ,fag to ,monitor ,the ,sea ,monarch 99,the ,scouts of ,seal ,island 99,cook's ,voyages and ,discoveries ,dana's ,two ,years ,before the ,mast 99,the ,divers ,stories from ,waverley 99,the ,life of ,st4 ,paul 99,the ,book of ,celtic ,stories 99,the ,book of ,london 99,the ,book of ,stars 99,bunyan's ,pilgrim's ,progress 99,children's ,book of ,gardening ,the ,feats of ,foozle ,now and ,then ,the ,right ,sort ,god's ,lantern-,bearers 99,the ,kinsfolk and ,friends of ,jesus 99 ,with illustrations in colour4 ,continued on next page4 ,,published ,,by ,a4 ,,and ,c4 ,,black1 #d1 #e ,,and #f ,,soho ,,square1 ,,london1 ,w4 ,,price #c_/f ,,each 7,continued7 ,large crown #hvo41 cloth1 illustrated4 ,the ,story of ,stories3 ,a ,life of ,christ for the ,young 99,tales from ,scottish ,ballads ,the ,story of a ,scout ,two ,boys in ,war-,time 99,the ,story of ,robin ,hood and ,his ,merry ,men 99,the ,wolf ,patrol 99,jack ,haydon's ,quest ,red ,men of the ,dusk ,the ,saints in ,story 99,the ,vicar of ,wakefield ,the ,mystery of ,markham ,black ,evans ,j4 ,o4 ,jones1 and ,how ,he ,earned ,his ,living ,jim ,mortimer ,green at ,greyhouse ,tales of ,greyhouse 99,robinson ,crusoe 99,eric2 or1 ,little by ,little 99,st4 ,winifred's2 or1 ,the ,world of ,school 99,julian ,home3 ,a ,tale of ,college ,life 99,beasts of ,business ,hero and ,heroine 99,stories4 7,ascott ,r4 ,hope7 ,half-,text ,history4 7,no illustrations7 ,black and ,blue ,cap and ,gown ,comedy 7,no illustrations7 ,all ,astray 99,the ,king ,who ,never ,died 99,the ,bull of the ,kraal 99,a ,tale of the ,time of the ,cave ,men ,tangerine3 ,a ,child's ,letters from ,morocco 99,willy ,wind1 and ,jock and the ,cheeses 99,life of ,sir ,walter ,scott ,scott's ,poetical ,works ,scott's ,waverley ,novels4 ,see also list at the end of this ,catalogue4 99 ,with illustrations in colour4 ,,price #e_/ ,,net ,,each ,large crown #hvo41 cloth4 ,through the ,telescope ,the ,life and ,love of the ,insect ,the ,ramparts of ,empire ,the ,moose ,highways and ,byways of the ,zoological ,gardens ,wild ,life on the ,wing ,demy #dto4 7oblong71 cloth gilt4 ,our ,old ,nursery ,rhymes ,little ,songs of ,long ,ago 7,more ,old ,nursery ,rhymes7 ,,price #e_/ ,,each ,crown #hvo41 cloth4 ,here and ,there4 7,illustrated7 ,the ,schoolboy ,abroad ,ready-,made ,romance ,dramas in ,duodecimo ,half-and-,half ,tragedy4 ,,published ,,by ,a4 ,,and ,c4 ,,black1 #d1 #e1 ,,and #f ,,soho ,,square1 ,,london1 ,w4 ,,price #f_/ ,,each ,small square demy #hvo41 cloth1 with illustrations in colour4 ,grimm's ,fairy ,tales ,a,esop's ,fables ,the ,arabian ,nights ,hans ,andersen's ,fairy ,tales ,swiss ,family ,robinson ,the ,fairchild ,family ,uncle ,tom's ,cabin ,adventurers in ,america ,the ,children's ,book of ,edinburgh ,the ,children's ,book of ,art ,children's ,tales of ,english ,minsters ,greek ,wonder ,tales ,russian ,wonder ,tales ,tales from ,the ,earthly ,paradise ,gulliver's ,travels into ,several ,remote ,nations of the ,world ,talks about ,birds ,red ,cap ,tales ,red ,cap ,adventures ,the ,tales of a ,grandfather ,the ,book of the ,railway ,,cheaper ,,books ,,suitable ,,for ,,young ,,people ,,published ,,at #as4 ,od41 #i;d41 and #f;d4 ,,each ,,price #a_/ ,,each ,eric2 or1 ,little by ,little ,st4 ,winifred's2 or1 ,the ,world of ,school ,julian ,home3 ,a ,tale of ,college ,life ,rab and his ,friends4 ,,price #a_/ ,,net ,,each ,,tales ,,of ,,english ,,minsters ,large crown #hvo41 each containing #f full-page illustrations4 ,canterbury ,durham ,ely ,hereford ,lincoln ,st4 ,albans ,st4 ,paul's ,york ,scott's ,waverley ,novels4 ,portrait ,edition4 ,crown #hvo41 cloth1 each volume containing a frontispiece in colour4 ,see also list at the end of this ,catalogue4 ,,price #i;d4 ,black's ,painting ,book for ,children4 ,by ,,agnes ,,nightingale4 ,containing #bc page outline pictures for colouring4 ,small crown #dto41 bound in attractive cover4 ,,published ,,by ,a4 ,,and ,c4 ,,black1 #d1 #e ,,and #f ,,soho ,,square1 ,,london1 ,w4 ,,price #f;d4 ,,each ,demy #hvo41 picture paper covers4 99,eric2 or1 ,little by ,little 99,st4 ,winifred's2 or1 ,the ,world of ,school 99,julian ,home ,a ,tale of ,college ,life ,scott's ,waverley ,novels4 ,see also list following 99,these may be had bound together in cloth cover for #bs4 #f;d4 ,,the ,,waverley ,,novels ,by ,,sir ,,walter ,,scott ,the ,authentic ,editions of ,scott are published solely by ,a4 and ,c4 ,,black1 who purchased along with the copyright the interleaved set of the ,waverley ,novels in which ,sir ,walter ,scott noted corrections and improvements almost to the day of his death4 ,the under-noted editions have been collated word for word with this set1 and many inaccuracies1 some of them ludicrous1 corrected4 ,,list ,,of ,,the ,,novels ,waverley ,guy ,mannering ,the ,antiquary ,rob ,roy ,old ,mortality ,montrose1 and ,black ,dwarf ,the ,heart of ,midlothian ,the ,bride of ,lammermoor ,ivanhoe ,the ,monastery ,the ,abbot ,kenilworth ,the ,pirate ,the ,fortunes of ,nigel ,peveril of the ,peak ,quentin ,durward ,st4 ,ronan's ,well ,redgauntlet ,the ,betrothed1 etc4 ,the ,talisman ,woodstock ,the ,fair ,maid of ,perth ,anne of ,geierstein ,count ,robert of ,paris ,the ,surgeon's ,daughter1 etc4 ,for ,details regarding ,editions and ,prices see below4 ,,list ,,of ,,editions ,,of ,,the ,,waverley ,,novels ,new ,popular ,edition4 #be ,volumes4 ,price #f;d4 per ,volume4 ,the ,portrait ,edition4 #be ,volumes4 ,price #a_/- net per ,volume4 ,victoria ,edition4 #be ,volumes4 ,price #a_/f per ,volume4 ,two ,shilling ,edition4 #be ,volumes4 ,price #b_/- per ,volume4 ,standard ,edition4 #be ,volumes4 ,price #b_/f per ,volume4 ,dryburgh ,edition4 #be ,volumes4 ,price #c_/f per ,volume4 ,,published ,,by ,a4 ,,and ,c4 ,,black1 #d1 #e ,,and #f ,,soho ,,square1 ,,london1 ,w4 ,transcriber's ,notes3 ,hyphenation has been standardized1 e4g41 watermarks4 ,typographical errors have been corrected as follows3 ,page #be - separtaion replaced with separation ,figure after page #dh1 missing parenthesis added ,page #ga - ,accent on ,napoleon for consistency4 ,note3 some books are listed twice in the back with different prices1 e4g4 ,eric2 or1 ,little by ,little4