T I: I h: ^<4^juYcT 1867. THE jltomp-dfflllMtflifs JWapgitt^ ILLUSTEATED YOL. V. LONDON: E. MARLBOROUGH & CO., AVE MARIA LANE. BATH: ALFRED SMITH & CO., THE FOREIGN STAMP AND CREST DEPOT. MDCCCLXYII. SURPLUS •# c Z DUPLICATF i$*> .mo ir-4*. EX TO YOL. T *** Where only name of country ia given, its stan.ps are intended to be indicated. American Hoax (An), 54 American (The) Post-office, 141 Ainoy, 18 Answers to Correspondents, 16, 32, 48, 64, 80, 96, 112, 128, 144, 160, 176, 192 Argentine Confederation, 4, 65, 108, 128, 174, 177, 190 Republic, 57, 122, 138, 154, 159, 167, 172, 176, 183 Arms of our West-Indian Colonies, 46 Arrangement of a Collection of Postage Stamps, 123 Austria, 29, 91, 105, 119, 131, 133, 153, 170, 181 Austrian Stamps (The), 133 * Commei-cial Stamps, 29 Spread Eagle, 91 Authentication of the Scinde Dawk Stamp, 145 Baden, 179 Bahamas, 4, 180 Barbados, 4, 14, 32, 179 Basle, 126 Bavaria, 4, 10, 41, 94, 110, 164 Belgium, 9, 14, 16, 25, 58, 73, 135, 164, 191 Bergedorf, 111, 131 Bergen, 185 Bermuda, 4, 128, 180 Bird's Nest (A) in a Letter Box, 142 Bolivia, 25, 138, 152, 186 Brazil, 4, 41, 44, 58, 64, 74, 90, 106, 137, 144, 159^ 169 Bremen, 4, 179, 182 Breslau, 73, 122 British Circular Deliverv Stamps, 95, 96, 103, 10S British Guiana, 25, 101," 176, 180, 190 British Honduras, 4, 54, 158 British Postal Guide, 162 Brunswick, 48, 80, 128, 180, 182 Buenos Ayres, 64, 77, 128, 129, 141, 180 Canada, 18, 182, 186, 192 Cape of Good Hope, 110, 112, 144, 180 Cashmere, 4, 25, 112 Central America, Notes on the Stamps of, 97 Ceylon, 11, 32, 40, 122, 153, 160, 171 Chili, 7, 32, 89, 107, 112, 136 Chilian Stamps, The Portraits on the, 7, 32 Collection (The) of Envelope Stamps, 181 Confederate States, 17, 113, 158, 192 Constantinople, 21, 32, 80, 90 Correspondence, 15, 32, 47, 64, 79, 95, 111, 126, 142, 159, 173, 190; in defence of Mercury, 15; the postal values at Montevideo, 15 ; the great idea, 15, 32 ; another adhesive preparation, 32 ; the new Peruvian stamps, 32; new shade of the Malta stamp, 47; the engravers of the United States stamps, 47 ; on the collection of varieties of perforation, 47 ; a suggestion - to M. Lallier, j54 ; a new stamp catalogue, 64 ; the fifth series of New Granada stamps, 79 ; a permanent stamp album, 79, 95, 111, 126; the stamps of the Mexican Republic, New Granada, United States, &c, 79 ; cheap packets of forgeries, 95 ; watermarked Newfoundland, &c, 95 ; another stamp album, and Correspondence continued : — ■ why not required, 112 ; the United States stamps, 127 ; laureated New South Wales stamps, 142 ; the album question, 143, 159, 175, 192 ; philatelic facts, 159 ; The Post Magazine, 160 ; the Honduras stamps, 173; how are envelopes to be mounted? 173; Mr. Stourton and Mr. Overy Taylor, 173, 190 ; the large- figured Argentine, 174," 190; Oppen's Album, British Guiana, &c, 190 ; price of Mulready envelopes, 190 ; the mounting of envelopes, &c, 191 ; collecting on the chronological system, 191 Corrientes, 130 Costa Rica. 97 Cuba, 5, 16, 26, 42, 160 Cuttings from old stamp papers, 37 Danubian Principalities, 26, 166 Denmark, 95, 182 Details concerning the Confederate States stamps, 113 Dog's (A) Fidelity, 141 Dutch East Indies, 59, 158 Ecuador, 5 Egypt, 5, 14, 40, 107, 122, 131, 136, 160 Essays for the Empire of Haiti, 86 Finland, 5, 42, 48, 80, 105, 129, 155, 182 France, 22, 43, 64, 73, 95, 106, 131, 166 French Post-Office (The), 43 Gaucho stamps, 77, 95, 126, 180 Geneva, 89, 112, 137, 152 Germany and the Free Cities, 73, 89, 139, 186 Germany, 5, 48, 58, 131, 170 Great Britain, 5, 25, 48, 67, 90, 104, 112, 121, 135, 138, 144, 153, 165, 172, 182, 190, .92; locals, 42, 57, 80. 95, 106, 108, 153 Greece, 64, 110, 131 Grenada, 160 Guatemala, 74, 88, 99, 185 Haiti, Essays for the Empire of, 86 Hamburg, 5, 58, 91, 105, 129, 131, 182 Hand on the old Turkish stamns, 118 Hanover, 16,25, 126, 129, 182' Heavy Impressions, 158 Heligoland, 87 Historical (An) Pillar-Box, 172 Holland, 137, 152, 164, 169 Holstein, 5, 42, 131 Honduras, 98, 173 Hong Komr, 96 Hungary, 88, 94 India, 5, 14, 26, 42, 63, 89, 107, 121, 125, 128, 135, 138, 141, 145, 160, 182, 184 Invitation (An) to the Prince of Wales, 79 Ionian Islands, 110, 131 Irish Post-Office (An), 115 Italy, 10, 24, 40, 57, 73, 89, 96, 131, 153, 161, 192 Kaffir Postm-n, 94 IV INDEX. Ladies' Letters, 142 Large-figured Argentine, 65, 108, 174, 177, 190 Laughable Mistake (A), 78 Liberia, 128, 158 List of Stamps first noticed in The Stamp- Collector s Magazine, 1866, 4, 19 London Circular Delivery Company, 95, 96, 109. 156 Lubeck, 5, 111, 129, 131* Luxembourg, 6, 10, 58 Malta, 47, 80 Manufacture of French Stamps, 22 Martyr (A) to Philately, 171 Mauritius, 6 Mecklenburg Schwerin, 6, 105, 131, 182 Mecklenburg Strelitz, 131 Minutia? of Stamps, 63 Mexico, 11, 74, 79, 100, 121, 138, 152, 169, 184 Modena. 48, 144 Montevideo, 9, 15, 21, 90, 128, 130, 135, 182 Moresnet, 72, 90 Natal. 91, 105, 160 New Caledonia, 16 Newfoundland, 6, 95, 110 New Granada (or Colombia), 6, 41, 56, 78, 79, 80, 123, 129, 153 New Scotland, 186 Newlv-issued or Inedited Stamps, 8, 24, 39, 56, 71, 87, 1 )4, 119, 136, 152, 167, 183 New South Wales, 26, 33, 48, 68, 81, 96, 110, 112, 142, 153, 182 New Zealand, 6, 16, 126, 160, 186 Nevis, 11, 58 Nevis Stamps and their Design, 11 Nicaragua, 80, 94, 97 Norway, 6, 107, 121, 137, 185 Notes and Queries, 67, 164, 186 Notes on the Second Series of New South Wales, 33 Stamps of Central America, 97 Stamps of "Western Australia, 59 Notes on the later Stamp Forgeries, 179 Novel Collection (A), 189 Oldenburg, 6, 131 Orange Free State, 170 Paraguay. 19, 64 Parma, 64 Perforation, On the Collection of Varieties of, 47 Peru, 6, 32, 130, 138, 154, 168 Poland, 78, 182 Portrait on the Chilian Stamps, 7, 32 Portugal, 7, 26, 42, 57, 153, 189 Postage Stamp (A), 92 Money, 129 Postage Stamps of British Guiana, 101 the United States, 49 in the Paris Exhibition, 131, 154. 165 Postage to the United States, 32, 63, 141 Postal Chit-Chat, 14, 31, 46, 63, 78, 94, 110, 126, 141, 158, 171, 189 g Envelopes in 1818, 161 1'oat Magazine {The), 142, 160 Postage Stamp Portraits. — Prince Charles of Roumania, 27 ; Emperor of Brazil, 44 Post-Office Sunday Work, 171 (The)^ and the Circular Delivery Companies 156 and the Police-Office, 145 under the Caliphs, 23 (A) in Mid-Ocean, 131 Trince Edward Island, 19 Prussia, 7, 10, 16, 41, 57, 63, 122, 129, 170; locals, 73, 122 Queensland. 11, 25, 48, 110, 137, 160, 192 Retrospective, 1 Reunion, 176 Reviews of Postal Publications, 13, 30, 93, 109, 125, 139, 157, 170, 188 Rigi-Kaltbad, 32 Roman States, 64, 168 Roumania, 19, 26. 27, 42, 80, 131, 166 Russia, 20, 31, 182, 187 St. Domingo, 20, 40, 59, 110 St. Helena, 64 St. Kitts, 54 St. Vincent, 20 Salvador, 26, 88, 99, 123, 171 Sandwich Islands, 20, 32, 73, 107, 155 Saxony, 20, 73, 80 Schleswig Holstein, 57, 131 Scinde Dawk Stamp, 89, 125, 145 Scotch Locals, 42, 57, 80, 108 Second Issue of AVurtemburg, 55 Servia, 10, 20, 27, 96, 131 Servian Postal Decree, 27 Shanghai, 8, 16, 20, 25, 48 131 Some Suspicious Characters, 17 South Australia, 20, 48, 58, 72 Spain, 14, 16, 20, 24, 40, 48, 89, 94, 106, 120, 144, 183 Spanish Currency, Intricacies of, 14 Spread Eagle, The Austrian, 91 Straits Settlements, 170, 184 Stamp Collecting in America, 172 Stamp Exchange (A) New, 171 Stamped Postage Paper, 172 Stamps of New South Wales, 33, 182 Sweden, 21, 80 Switzerland, 58, 74, 80, 89, 112, 123, 126, 13], 137, 152, 176, 186, 189 Tahiti Fabrications, 16 Tasmania, 48, 63 Ticino, 176 Trinidad, 110, 154 Turkey, 21, 32, 80, 90, 118, 131, 160 ; Locals, 169 Turks Lslands, 105 Tuscany, 21, 110, 130 United States, 21, 47, 49, 58, 63, 79, 80, 107, 123, 127, 138, 141, 159, 160, 182 Locals, 17, 58, 76, 80, 123, 141, 165, 187 Uruguay, 9, 15, 21, 90, 128, 130, 13-5, 182 Vancouver's Island, 144 Varieties (On), and why they should be Collected, 148 Verv Old Postmarks, 86 Venezuela, 22, 89, 110, 144 Views of Sydney, 68, 81 Virgin Islands, 9, 42, 46, 80, 90, 120, 153 Victoria, 8, 16, 22, 48, 63, 91,96, 186 Watermarks, Discovery of, 48 ; Collection of, 148 Western Australia, 14," 59, 110 West Indian Mails, 189 When Posts were first established in Spain, 94 Why a British Man-of-War went to Carthagena, 76 Whiterthur, 80 With a 'Funny Friend' at the Post-Office, 172 Word to the Wise (A), 75 Worth Registering, 63 Wurtemburg, 55, 106, 164, 170 Yesterday and To-day, 63 STAMP-COLLECTORS MAGAZINE. RETROSPECTIVE. It is now two years since we took the opportunity, at the commencement of the third volume, to address ' To our Readers ' a few remarks on the then state of pi ii la- tely. In the interval which has elapsed many interesting events have occurred, which we purpose touching upon in the course of our brief retrospect. Perhaps the most interesting fact to ourselves is, that The Stamp-Collector's Magazine has growu two years older; and as periodicals arrive at maturity earlier than man, we may fairly assume that it has attained to years of discretion. To all literary bantlings the first year or two of existence is fraught with danger ; but if they survive the contempt or rough- handling with which they may be greeted on their appearance by the elder members of the family, they soon become consoli- dated, and fall into a habit of living from week to week, or from month to month, which is continued, it may be, through a long series of years. Such a habit The Stamp-Collector'' s Magazine has, we believe, in some measure, acquired, through the kind support afforded by our readers, and we trust to a continuance of that support to confirm it. The spread of collecting during the last two years is so patent a fact that we need not enlarge upon it ; but, noting the increase in the number of adult col- lectors, the question naturally arises — by what peculiar fitness to the requirements of the age has this pursuit so largely recommended itself? Fashion, perhaps, has had something to do with its extension, though far more formerly than now. But the chief elements in the success of phila- tely have doubtless been the facility with which it can be studied without a tax on the physical energies, and the opening it gives for the exercise of patient com- parison and classification. In the present day, when everybody lives so fast, recreation is sought, at any rate during the working months of the year, by those engaged in business, less in bodily exercises than in quiet sedentary pleasures. Natural history, with all its charms, has few votaries ; for those in- vestigations into the habits and structures of animals, without which book-knowledge is useless, can only be carried on at a considerable loss of time, and frequently at a distance from home. To botany the same objection applies. But postage stamps can be studied and compared in any leisure moment; and the systematic commerce which has sprung up renders the acquisition of the greater number of stamps a mere question of money. At the same time, in spite of all the guides, catalogues, and albums, which have been published, there still remain many little intricacies of detail connected with stamps which can only be fully comprehended upon actual ex- amination, and thus the interest of the collector is sustained by continued dis- coveries. The publication of new editions of the principal albums evidences the continued taste for ready-prepared books. To many philatelists it may perhaps be a sufficient labour to fill the allotted spaces in such books ; but it is certainly to be regretted that these works should so frequently place a limitation on the number or class of stamps collected. Watermarks remain unstudied, and shades are disregarded, because collectors will not disturb the the stamp-collector's magazine. [Jan. i, 1867. symmetry of design of the various sheets of their albums. The popularity of the French editions of Moens' and Lallier's albums proves that on the continent there are at least as many as in this country, who collect, as it were, by rule and measure, and never seek to obtain a stamp for which a place is not already marked out ; the complaint, therefore, that English phila- telists collect in a peculiarly slavish style is unwarranted, our neighbours and our- selves being in fact equally open to im- provement. The pages of this magazine bear witness that the science of philately has been as carefully studied in this as in other countries ; yet it is much to be desired that more originality should charac- terise the great mass of collections. In the exercise of our duty as reviewers, we have brought to our readers' notice nearly a score of new stamp publications. Foremost among these is that excellent journal, Le Timbrophile, which has done more, probably, than any other foreign paper to systematise collecting. No less than three magazines have been started by New Brunswick dealers, but of these only one — The Monthly Gazette — survives ; and that appears to be in a flourishing state. One has appeared in the United States, hardly worthy of the place of its birth ; and one in Hamburg, which is now defunct. Eng- lish dealers have contributed more largely than any others to the number of ephemeral papers. We have noticed eight in the interval above referred to, and of these we are not sure that any survive. One or two efforts were worthy of a better fate than extinction ; but the majority Were weak, badly-conducted publications, and, with all charity, we cannot say we greatly lament their decease. They were, as a whole, unsubstantial, and of little use. We have always held that there is room for more than one literary representative of stamp-collecting interests, and are now happy to hail, without fear, the appearance of one, denominated The Philatelist, which gives promise of the requisite stability and excellence. The number of catalogues extant has been increased by two French, one Swiss, and one English. Our old friend, Mount Brown, has retired from the field; but Dr. Gray has filled with credit the place he occupied, and the general appreciation of his work is shown by its having reached a fourth edition. Careful works on forged stamps have also emanated from the pens of Messrs. Stourton and Dalston, which have each found admirers. The expected French edition of Berger-Levrault's cata- logue has not yet appeared ; but we trust its publication will not be long delayed. That it will prove of great assistance we do not doubt. Among albums the English edition of Lallier's— that old-established favourite — has reached the fourth edition. Moens' has not been re-published, and, we believe, is now out of print ; but we have hopes that a revised edition will shortly be pro- duced. Oppen's has passed through four editions in the two years, the current one being the ninth ; and a new album, the work of Mr. Stafford Smith, has ap- peared, which bids fair to rival the rest in its claims for support. Trade is a subject which does not ordinarily receive our attention, but in a general retrospect we think it will not be too great a digression to remark that, judging by the advertisements and general activity of dealers, we should say there is no diminution in the commerce in stamps. At any rate, we can safely say that the panic in the money market has not led to the break-down of any well-known or little-known stamp merchant. Public opinion has changed on many points during the period we have under review. Essays, at one time considered excellent things in their way and worthy to be collected, have now fallen, and justly so, into thorough disrepute. The change in the character of a stamp made by its being perforated is now generally recog- nised; the importance of a due knowledge of watermarks admitted ; and some pro- gress has been made in the study of the paper on which stamps are printed. In this country attention has latehT been paid to newspaper stamps ; but unless it can be proved that all which have been men- Jax. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 3 tioned prepaid postage as well as duty, they can be of no value to the philatelist pure and simple. A new class of labels, the emissions of railway and circular com- panies, have sprung into existence, and are patronised by many collectors ; and our continental friends show a slight hankering after telegraph stamps. In this connexion it is not unimportant to mark that there is a likelihood of our government buying up the telegraph com- panies, and putting the lines under the control of the post-office authorities. The number of forgeries has probably increased largely within the last two years ; bat we doubt whether they are now such stumbling-blocks as they once were, at least not in England. On the continent we have seen forgeries not only of unused but of used stamps by hundreds — common as well as uncommon varieties — and there, we should imagine, a good work on counter- feits would be welcome. We, at present, need only particularize the Montevideo and Natal fabrications, as at once novel and dangerous. Of course, if collectors will buy packets containing stamps worth twenty or thirty fold the price charged, they must not be surprised if all are not genuine. During the past year, we have introduced to our readers 166 stamps, of which all but 16 were new emissions. This large number is composed of representatives from every division of the globe, and of every degree of beauty. The most con- spicuous are probably the sets for New- foundland, Brazil, and Egypt; of which latter more anon. Spain has, of course, contributed a series, and has presented the unusual spectacle of a country re- issuing an old design in consequence of the forgery of the new. Hamburg, the United States, and Montevideo, have each added to the number of envelopes ; and those of the first and last named deserve special mention for their excellence. We have had to describe several re- suscitations ; notably, the large figure Ar- gentine and Sandwich Islands ; and several states have brought forth their first con- tributions to our albums. Of these, Egypt and Servia are the most prominent. The reform in the postal arrangements of the former, coupled with other and more important innovations on the part of the viceroy, indicates a revival of energ}-, perhaps even of prosperity, in that land of hieroglyphics, which sometimes seems to us such an incongruous relic of anti- quity as to be only lit to be placed, duly ticketed and glass-cased, in some gigantic museum. The emission of Servian stamps, again, we may justly consider to be in part the result of the scheme which the prince of that state meditates for rendering himself, as far as possible, independent of the Porte. To what beneficial intrigue we owe the Cashmeerian issue we neither know nor care, being satisfied with the fact that such a state has so far advanced as to find it necessary to give greater facilities to regular communication. We are equally pleased to know that the black West Indian republic of St. Domingo has taken the like step, but hope for better things eventually from it. Did we think our lucubrations would reach its rulers, we should be tempted to enlarge on the excellence of the American engraving company, whose name has been so frequently before our readers during the past year. Amongst the most interesting series emitted, was the first for Shanghai, whose appearance told as plainly as a tea-chest whence they came. The large viguette for New Granada was quite as interesting, and we regret that its precise use should be still a mystery. Our own colonies are well represented amongst the new emissions. Newfoundland, of course, comes first in order of beauty ; and then, though at some distance, the pleasing set for that far-off little patch, British Honduras. India has produced a new design, and has employed a transformed bill stamp to do postal duty, the rough hand-printed word, postage, sufficing to effect the transformation. Such impres- sions are always unsightly ; and in this poor remnant of a stamp the addition has been made in such a slovenly manner as to be specially ugly. Besides India, New Zealand, Bermuda, St. Vincent, South THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Jan. 1, 1867. Australia, Victoria, Bahamas, and Barbados, have all sent stamps, more or less meri- torious, to swell the list, but we need not now detail them. On the continent, no great changes have been made. The reduction in the Austrian postage, which we announced as about to take place,°in our February number, has not yet been made, and the 20c. provisional Italian still lingers on. The war has probably had much to do with the general sparseness of novelties, and has, on the other hand, reduced the number of current stamps. It has how- ever caused the emission of a few field-post envelopes, which will be plain but interesting mementoes, in years to come, of the struggle of 1866. And now it is time we should take leave of our readers, which we do with the seasonable wish that they may all enjoy A HAPPY NEW TEAR. LIST OF STAMPS FIRST NOTICED IN THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE, 1866. In the subjoined list only stamps issued by the postal authorities of the countries named, or by virtue of a contract entered into with them, are described. Argentine totfetoration. 1858. — Arms (rising sun and interlaced hands beneath cap of liberty) in small Greek border, inscription, confeon. Argentina, and value, numerals of value large. Col. imp. ; rect. 10 centavos green. 15 „ blue. laljamas. Same device as issue of 1862. Sixpence deep-violet. gatbato. Same device as issue of 1862. Sixpence brick-red. §atatia. RETURNED letter stamps. Arms in white oval, surrounded by in- scription, COMMISSION FUR RETOUR- briefe mdnchen, in ornamented frame. Blk. imp. ; rcct. Similar design, but bamberg substituted for ' Munchen.' Blk. imp. ; rect. gcrmtita. Profile of Queen, crowned, to left, in circle, with value in curved label beneath, and Bermuda in upper margin. Col. imp. ; rect. perf. Twopence light-blue. §ngS, Portrait of Emperor Don Pedro II. m oval or circle, brazil above, numerals in lower angles, and value below. Col. imp.; rect. perf. 10 reis red. 50 „ deep-blue. 80 „ lilac. 100 „ green. 500 „ orange. Profile of Emperor (?), to left, on engine- turned ground, in sinuous frame, brazil above, numerals on sides, and value below. Col. imp.; rect. perf. 20 reis lilac. Similar device. Blk. imp. ; rect. perf. 200 reis black. grentm. official stamp (?). 185-. — Arms in circle, inscription, stadt post amt. Bremen. Blk. imp.; scal- loped edges. Lavender. griiislj fmtte. Profile of Queen, crowned, to left, in oval garter, inscribed British Honduras and value. Col. imp. ; rect. perf. One penny blue. Sixpence pink. One shilling green. Cashmere. Solid circular disk, with Arabic inscription. Circ. Black. Blue. Red. Arabic inscription on solid oval disk, and in broad surrounding border. Blk. imp. ; rect. Black. Jan. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTORS MAGAZINE. m Cuba. Same device as issne of 1864, with date added. Col. imp. ; rect. 5 centesimos lilac. 10 „ bine. 20 „ green. 40 „ rose. borate. Arms in oval, correos Ecuador in scroll above, value below, border com- posed of scroll-work. Col. imp. ; rect. 4 reales rose. Mathematical device, with Arabic inscrip- tion in black ink, value in Roman letters at each angle. Col. imp. ; rect. perf. 5 paras slate-green. 10 „ brown. 20 „ azure. 1 piastre rose-lilac. 2 „ yellow. 5 „ rose. 10 „ dull-blue. Intlntk. Same device as issue of 1862. Col. imp. on tinted paper ; rect. perf. . 5 pen. violet on mauve. 20 „ deep-blue on light-blue. 40 „ carmine on rose. Black imp. on tinted paper ; rect. perf. 10 pen. black on buff. (fernmnj. NORTHERN STATES. ENVELOPE. Same device as issue of 1861. Blk. imp. ; oval. J silb. groschen black. SOUTHERN STATES. ENVELOPE. Same device as issue of 1861. Col. imp. ; oct. 1 kreuzer light-green. (great §ritain. Same device as issue of 1861, but with larger letters in each angle. Col. imp. ; rect. perf. Ninepence brown. lantag. Col. imp. Same device as issue of 1864. rect. perf. 2\ schilling light-green. Embossed numeral and arms in oetagonal frame, with value on sides, ham- burg above, postmarke below. Col. imp. ; oct. perf. \\ schilling carmine. Same device enclosed in rectangle. Col. imp. ; rect. perf. 1J schillinge mauve. ENVELOPE STAMPS. Same device as \\ schg. above described, with black envelope inscription in upper right hand corner. •§ schilling black. 1J „ lilac. H J5 carmine. 2 3 55 orange, blue. 4 7 55 55 green, deep-mauve Inscription, herzogth holstein, in oval reticulated band, enclosing central numeral of value. Col. imp. ; oval, perf. 1J schg. deep-mauve. InMa. Profile of Queen, to left, in circle, value in curves above and below, postage hand-stamped in upper margin. Col. imp. ; rect. Six annas lilac. Profile of Queen, to left, in circle, east india postage above, and value below in curved labels, corners truncated. Col. imp. ; rect. perf. Four annas green. fnfotfe. Arms in oval disk, in octagon, luebeck above, and value below, corners filled in with lace pattern. Col. imp. ; rect. perf. \\ schilling mauve. ENVELOPE. Arms in oval disk, in octagon, brown THE STAMP-COLL: 'S MAGAZINE. [Jam. 1,1867;. envelope, inscription in left U] comer. Col. inip. : oct. 1J schilling mauve. 1 :mbourg. Same device us issue : 1859-60. Col. imp. : rect. perf. 1 centime brown. 10 ., lilac. 25 .. bine. jjtouritms. Same device as issue : : 1862. Col. imp. : rect. pei S ::: : ence hhrish-green §T:rkl:r.burg-^rt!hjrrm. Same device as issue of 1856. CoL imp.: red. perf. _ - hilKng lilac. evvzi : :z Same device ae issue of 1856. Col. imp.: large oval. _ achflKng lilac. Cod-fish in transverse oval, inscribed r ::: _: above, : Wl m aides, and value below, -with numeral in circle at each corner. Col. imp. ; obi. perf. - senli green Seal and Arctic landscape in transverse oblong witi SEWFOUlTDLAHD and is and figures of value above, and value repeated in lower mar- gin. Col. imp. ; obi. per£ arts brown. Portrait of the Prii. rawi : ohi - laxd above, value below. 1 Ik imp. ; re : : 10 cents black. Profile of in oval g inscribe &n> and value. Col. imp. : rect. perf. 1*2 cents red-brown. Sailir _ in transverse obi g xd above, vain- and numeral on sides. Col. imp. ; obL perf. 13 cents ora: _ Portrait of Queen in octagon. LAHD al - below, and numeral of value in circles at lower corners. Col. imp. : : perf. 24 cents blue. i inuufa n Colombia). EEGl STRATI ON STAMPS. Tricolour flag, yellow, blue, and red. the yellow rip inscribed CEKTXFICA tenitx); the blue vali " - I c:: 3KM . : c ; and the red salts ...en ..DB...DE...186... : above the flag KSTADOH TNIDOS PE COLOMBIA; in the upper an; lea KACIOHAL«S, and scrolls containing the value in figures : the I par: : -TAmp filled with ~ oblong label. Large lithographed vignette. Col. imp. : rect. 25 centav Same device, but yellow strip ins : CEi.nr;. udo, and the blue strip vali CEBTA'f : ; sntav : s y sTI w, b£ Same device as issue of January, 1865. L imp. : rect. 1 pe Ban. Same device as issue of 186( Col. imp. ; rect. perf. Fourpence yellow. Same device as issue :: 1864. CoL imp.; rect. perf. o skilling mauve. tanking. field- post iv :::::. Printed, form of address occupying the entire front of envelope. Blk. imp. on white. x* Armorial shield containing two llamas, with forte fraxco above, and cobeeos lot Peru in arched label in upper margin, value in straight me doubt exists as to whether the 10 c, 2-5 c, and 1 s:»l stamps for this oouc i in our last number, are really postage stamps, we h:' best to omit them from our annual list, pending inquiries. Jan. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE, label below. Col. imp. ; rect. perf. 5 centavos green. fortttpL Embossed profile of king, to left, in oval, value above and below, Portugal on the left, and correos on the right. Col. imp. ; rect. 20 reis yellow-ochre. 80 ,, orange. 120 „ blue. Same device. Blk. imp. ; rect. 5 reis black. Numeral in transverse oval ground, com- posed of minute repetitions of the Prussian eagle, preussen above, value below. Col. imp. ; obi. 10 silb. gr. rose. Numeral in transverse oblong ground, composed of minute repetitions of the value in words, same in- scription. Col. imp. ; obi. 30 silb. gr. blue. FIELD-POST ENVELOPE. Printed form of address occupying the entire front of envelope. Blk. imp. on white. (To he concluded in our next?) THE PORTRAIT ON THE CHILIAN STAMPS. BY FENTONIA. The MagazinfurBriefmarken-Sammler, having quoted with approbation our North American correspondent's letter on this subject, fur- nishes its readers with the following addi- tional information. 'Ramon Freire acted a conspicuous part in the South American struggle for freedom. He was governor of Concepcion, but as he could obtain no money from the adminis- tration for the payment of his troops, he went over to the democratic party, and having conquered the royal troops, took possession of Santiago, in January, 1823. Having formed a republican constitution, he was chosen Director the following April. As is often the case in new republics, Freire was so hard pressed by the jealousy of party leaders, that he was obliged to take refuge in Peru. With the assistance of this re- public he several times invaded Chili, but never succeeded in resuming the Director- ship. He died in exile, and it is only latterly that the Chilians have begun to revere his memory.' We have read the whole discussion, as it has appeared in the several volumes of The Stamp-Collector's Magazine, respecting the Chilian stamps. That the portrait is that of Columbus cannot for a moment be sustained. The same was once said of the tenpence Canada stamp, though there is not the slightest resemblance between the two portraits, except perhaps partially in the shape of the hat. Columbus never penetrated far into South America, though it is possible he may have seen parts of Venezuela and Guiana. The first land which he de- scried on his voyage of discovery (which, as every schoolboy knows, was in search of a western passage to India) was one of the Bahamas — San Salvador, or, as the English call it, Cat's Island, which, if we mistake not, is still uninhabited. As Co- lumbus for some time fancied that he had really reached India, he was, even when convinced of his mistake, unwilling to re- linquish the name ; hence the various islands which he subsequently discovered were collectively called the West Indies. It is quite true that Columbus' name in Spanish was Cristoval Colon ; but the COLON on the Chili stamps has a colon after it, indicating that it is an abbreviation, no doubt of the word Colonia. Notwithstanding the sturdy asseverations of well-informed individuals, we must take leave to doubt whether there be a seaport of the name of Colonia on the coast of Chili. The well-known seaport of that name is on the Rio Plata, in the Re- public of Uruguay, not far from Monte- video ; and we are not too proud to confess that if there be any other, we are ignorant of it. Nor, on the other hand, is there any place called Colon, in Chili, the town so- named (otherwise Aspinwall), being situated on the western side of the isthmus of Panama. Having disposed of these two hypotheses, 8 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Jan. 1, 1867. we next come to weigh the possibility of COLON : standing for the Spanish word colonia, or colony. And why not ? The modern Chilenos (or Chilians, as we more naturally call them) may not be so ashamed of their former dependence as some folks imagine, nor may they even now be quite independent of the mother country, though nominally under a republican government. That the bust of Freire, one of the promoters of democratic freedom, should be associated with the word colony does seem an anomaly, but perhaps so only from oar not being sufficiently acquainted with local popular feeling. General San Martin, who in 1817 gained the decisive victory which commenced, if not established, the freedom of Chili, certainly to our European notions, has as great a right to postal celebrity as the pop- ular agitator Freire. In the absence of proof positive in favour of Freire we would suggest the probability of the bust being that of Diego d'Almagro, the actual dis- coverer of Chili in 1536, who got himself appointed the first viceroy, and laid the foundation of its future civilization and commerce. The word colony would not seem inconsistent when associated with this name ; but we will forbear further argument, hoping that some resident Chileno will soon kindly give us such official information as may satisfactorily place the point beyond dispute. [Whilst admitting the probability of our esteemed con- tributor's conjecture as to the meaning of the word colon, Ave must add that, after a close inspection of both blue and white paper stamps, we remain unconvinced of the existence of any mark of punctuation thereafter. — Ed.] NEWLY-ISSUED OR INEDITED STAMPS. 18G7. — Rightly do we turn to the east, and, with the new year, first cast our regardful eyes to the quarter of the rising sun, the quarter of our first parentage, the most ancient inhabited portion of our globe ; and while nothing is new under the sun, yet our glance eastwards is not fruitless, and we discover an existing type, called into fresh service, and doing duty under a new denomi- nation of value for Shanghai. — A new series has been emitted or this settlement, of the present well- known dragon type, printed in colours, on plain, unwatermarked, white woven paper, per- forated and adhesive. The only variations from the former series of this type are in the value, which is in canda- reens instead of cents, and in the size, which is rather smaller. The representation of the dragon may, possibly, be more correct than in the previous series ; at any rate, it is a shade more hideous, and each stamp, as in that series, bears this central figure enclosed in a differently-patterned frame. The new emissions are printed in London, and pro- duced by the makers of the former issue. They are four in number, as under. 1 candareen brown (a rich light-amber). 3 „ orange (very decided in tone). 6 „ neutral-grey (bluish). 12 „ brown-grey. The colours of the first two are bright and positive, of the others, rather negative. By candle light they are not easily distinguishable, and, we doubt not, must undergo some change after a little practical &uwuuw. experience of actual use. We probably owe this new emission, in part, to the dislike of the manager of the local post to the series of 1866, referred to in our number for July last, p. 104. As the design remains sub- stantially the same as before, we presume it was the ornamental details which were deemed unsatisfactory in that issue, but with respect to them, we do not think the new- comers have much the advantage. Victokia. — We annex a representation of the new threepence, fully described in our December number, and we strongly advise our collecting friends to secure speci- mens at once, because it is clear the watermark now existing of the figuro 8 in the paper, is but tempo- 5 sf\* w xjru^rvvu-irMrk Jan. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOB'S MAGAZINE. 9 rary, and will soon be modified, and the present issue become rare. Belgium. — We also give an engraving of the new 2 centimes stamp, which will appear contemporaneously with the publication of our present number. Our readers will readily recog- nize it as the same design as that of the current 1 centime, with the value only changed, and the background formed of horizontal, instead of diag- onally-crossed lines. The sole specimen we have seen is a proof struck in azure-blue, on thick paper (papier cartonne), similar to that used for the other Belgian essays, and we understand that the stamp will also be issued in blue. Montevideo.— A new stamp of extremely small value has been issued by this republic, which ap- pears intent on having a completely-revised issue of postage stamps. It is one cantesimo, and is printed in black on thinnish white unwatermarked paper, is adhesive and unperforatecl. The device is so fully evidenced by the annexed engraving, that we need not*enter into any other description ; the general simil- arity to the new issue of stamps and envelopes will be apparent at a glance: and we do not think we shall be far wrong in attributing this stamp to Messrs. De la Rue, who produced the dies of the others. The annexed cuts re- present two official frank stamps of the postal administration of Uruguay. They are both printed in relief on the flaps of envelopes — the first in blue, and the second in red. We un- derstand that these stamps free the letters of ''"- .1 §8§K '•" -■'; i^wSPPS W4*/ !---*l_H'ffl5= SMVe* 1SHS1I m tX *\r* ,<-\ r< \_rx-i v-rxxx-/"1 designs, that we make no apology for intro- ducing engravings of the remaining two individuals. Belgium. — As a rule, we now avoid men- tion of essays, but we are induced to break through our regulation on behalf of a beau- tiful set for this country. We have no data respecting them at present ; we know not when, or for what occasion they were de- signed, but they have not the appearance of having been concocted merely for the sake of filthy lucre. The portrait of the late king is wonderfully exact, and the engraving, altogether, we have never seen surpassed. The design, resembling that of the obsolete series, bears the head of Leopold I. in an oval, which is contained in a rectangular frame, foliated at the sides, and having two blank white disks at the top for the value. Our specimens are printed in black, red, and green, on cartridge paper. Great Britain. — There is no class of stamps on which a reliable paper is more needed than those of our native country. Will not 26 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Feb. 1, 1867. some of our readers devote a little time and patient research to this subject ? Mr. Pearson Hill has furnished our columns with data of unquestionable accuracy and great value; and the elaborate papers by M. Herpiu, in Maury's periodical, will give ample sugges- tions as well as many curious details. Meantime, a proof hitherto unnoticed, be- cause unknown, has been discovered among the papers of the post-office. But two or three specimens are known to exist, and they cannot be reproduced. It is a proof of the circular die used for the fourpenny envelope as submitted for final approbation, after the design was selected, but before the three circular spaces for the date had been cut in the engine-turned pat- tern below the head ; and consequently this pattern appears intact. The beauty of the die, which was produced by Messrs. De la Rue & Co., is strikingly shown in this proof, which, in common with all the dies of the series, possesses no small artistic merit. New South Wales. — With the November mails from Sydney came sundry specimens of the large square sixpence purple-lilac, watermarked with a figure 5 in the paper, in lieu of the 6; probably an error analogous to that of the twopence diademed head, printed on paper similarly watermarked. Portugal. — Another of the new series has made its appearance, viz., the 25 reis lake- pink, of exactly the same design as those formerly described in this magazine. Cuba and Spanish Colonies. — A provisional stamp for these colonies has been sub- mitted to our notice. It is the former j real plataf. black on buff, utilized for the occasion by impressing the figures ' 6G' on the lower part of the face and bust. These figures are, we suppose, intended to indicate the date — 18G6. But we hope to receive further in- formation as to this stamp for our readers before long ; and will then give them such details as shall have come to us. India. — We have lately received the eight annas pink on paper watermarked with the elephant's head; this stamp completes the current series on this paper. With these were specimens of the one anna brown, of a much lighter shade than the one already known on this paper. Copies of the pro- visional six annas also accompanied the others ; and on comparing these with those first used, we remarked that they were of a much redder lilac thau their predecessors ; and further, that the green imprint of postage was done in a rounder and more extended type than that first used. The present letter- ing is not nearly so high, and occupies more space. Danubian Principalities. — De mortals nil nisi bomun : we do not know if this has any qualified application to a living prince no longer reigning ; but the present good of Prince Couza (in a timbrophilic sense) is, that the well-known 20 p. (effigy) has appeared printed, not in red, but in carmine or rose- pink. San Salvador. — In another part of our columns will be found an article on suspicious characters ; we have two very ambiguous specimens now to notice. They began to appear at the commencement of the year, as if to evade immediate notice, and secure a month's unchallenged currency. The design is very similar to that of the Hawaiian. The value appears in the centre, and again in words above and below ; on the left is correos, and on the right sax Salvador. The frame is composed of a dark outer line, and a thinner line within the inscription. They are printed in black and also in blue ink on cream laid paper; are unperforated, and not adhesive. Whence come they, and for what postal service intended? Not St. Salvador (or Cat Island) where Columbus first touched land in his great voyage of discovery ; for that is one of the Bahama Islands, and a British possession ; whereas the language and value of these comers point to a Spanish origin. Nor yet St. Salvador, in Bahia, in the Brazils ? Surely, the Brazilian series is in currency there : as well as the Portu- guese language. We cannot locate these at St. Salvador, in the central part of South America (Tucuman), for similar reasons ; nor, again, at St. Salvador, in Loando, a Portuguese settlement on the West Coast of Africa. We are consequently driven, as a last resource, to suppose that the San Salvador, intended to be referred to, is the state of that name, one of the five in Central Feb. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 27 America which are typified by the five stars on the Costa Rican stamps. But it seems hardly likely that, with the example of the last-named republic before it, the postal authorities of San Salvador would perpetrate such crudities as are these questionable stamps. The appearance of these new-comers is very much against their authenticity ; and until we have further information in their favour, we must esteem them as not having proved any right or title to be reckoned as genuine, or to deserve a place in our col- lections. THE SERVIAN POSTAL DECREE. The decree authorizing the emission of these stamps is substantially as follows : — 'Michel ObrenovitchIIL, by the grace of God and the national will, prince of Servia, announces to all and each, that the Senate has decreed, and we have approved, the law concerning stamps, directing that they should serve to frank letters and journals. 'Art. 1. — All letters, journals, &c, sent by letter-post, shall be prepaid by means of stamps, with the exception of estafettes (?). 'Art. 2. — The government printing-office shall be charged with the stamps and shall have the sale of them. ' Persons authorized by the minister of the interior to sell stamps, shall receive a com- mission of 10 per cent, upon their sales if they amount to 100 piastres ; that favour is not accordedonlesser sums nor on fractions of 100 piastres above the first. ' The post-offices will also sell the stamps, but will not allow any reduction on them to purchasers. 'Art. 3. — No person will have the right of selling stamps above their facial value. Who- soever violates this law shall be punished by a fine of 5 thalers,and by employment on such works as^may be decided in conformity with Article 114 of the Criminal Code. ' Art. 4. — Whosoever shall falsify or coun- terfeit the stamps, or knowingly use such counterfeits, shall be punished with three -months' imprisonment and deprivation of civil rights. 'Art. 5. — The minister of the interior will designate the design, the shade, the quality of paper, and the quantity of stamps which are to be printed. The minister of the interior, together with the controller-general, shall also have the supervision of the sale and impression of the stamps. ' Art. 6. — If the minister of the interior shall judge it necessary to replace the exist- ing stamps by others, he shall make known the change to the public, through the official journal, three months in advance, so as to permit of the stamps in their possession being exchanged, which shall be done at the go- vernment printing-office. ' Art. 7. — This law shall come into force im- mediately upon its receiving the sanction of the prince, and henceforth all prior laws shall be abrogated. ' We charge our ministers of the interior, of finance, and of justice, to publish and put in force this law, and to cause all the authorities to execute and respect it. Bel- grade, the 31st October, 1866. (Signed), M. M. Obrenovitch.' — Then follow the coun- ter-signatures of the ministers of the above- named departments. POSTAGE-STAMP PORTRAITS.— V. PRINCE CHARLES OF KOUMANIA. In our September number we presented our readers with an engraving of one of the stamps of the new issue for Roumania, bear- ing the profile of Prince Charles, and since then they have each received a specimen of the lowest value, so that we doubt not they are familiar with the handsome features of the Prussian Hospodar. We have now the pleasure of laying before them an extract from the Times, showing, in the words of that paper, how ' a younger son in a family reigning over one of the most diminutive German principalities, passed at once from the 2nd regiment of Prussian dragoons, where he filled the rank of supernumerary sub-lieutenant, to the throne of the Danubian principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia — now to be known as Roumania, a country with about 4,000,000 inhabitants.' Here is the account of his adventures, taken from a private letter. ' Few people in Europe, and I doubt even if many in Roumania, know the curious ad- 28 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Feb. 1, 1867, ventures of Prince Charles, when going to take possession of the crown. He was simply a lieutenant in a garrison town of Rhenish Prussia, and one fine day lie found himself marked out, almost without his knowing it, in the communications of high- placed diplomatists, to occupy a tottering throne likely soon to be vacant. The mo- ment for action came. Three or four persons only knew what was to happen ; but among these, it is true, were Count de Bismarck, and, perhaps, a crowned head. 1 The prince ]3ut on a disguise and set off on a journey. He went to Zurich, left that town under a feigned name, as a commercial traveller in the wine trade, with a case of champagne as baggage, and took the train for Dresden. In another carriage was a Wallachian officer, supposed not to know his highness in disguise. ' Charles I., before committing himself further in entering upon Austrian territory, took instructions from a person who, better than any other, knows men and affairs in Koumania, and who, a Lombard by birth and a Frenchman by adoption, has not been a stranger to Roumanian politics since 1848. He then boldly entered on the unknown; passed through Bohemia, Vienna, and Hungary, by train and steamer, carrying with him his passport and his case of cham- pagne, and close by was always the Wal- lachian officer, — whom he did not know, and who did not know him, when other people were present. He heard discussions going on around him of the war about to take place in Germany, of the fall of Couza, the singular vote of the Roumanians, their strange choice of a Prussian prince, and the attitude of the guaranteeing powers. At Turn-Severin, on the Wallachian shore, the steamer stopped an hour or two. On a hill are some Roman ruins — a tower built by Septimus Severus; the traveller in wine and the Wallachian officer landed to see the remains and study archaeology. The hour for starting came round, but the two pas- sengers did not return, and the steamer left without them. You know the rest. The prince had thrown off his disguise, and the officer had resumed his uniform ; and the prefect of the village had the signal honour of announcing to the provisional government the arrival of the elect of the Roumanians. Who was astonished ? All Europe, with the exception of four persons. Because, let this be borne in mind, this remarkable enterprise was conceived, carried on, worked out, and executed against the will of Austria, and in the teeth of the guaranteeing powers, by four individuals. I do not know that there is in history an example of such another fortunate undertaking. ' Charles I. has a high idea of his princely duties; you will see him working with a real will, and conscientiously, as Germans usually do. One of the first things he did will give you an idea of what he is, and how immeasurably superior to his pre- decessors. The political personage whom I have already mentioned who accompanied the prince to Dresden, knew the influence which women had always exercised in the councils of Roumanian princes, and did not hesitate to hold to his pupil the language of Mentor to Telemachus, and, as a guarantee for the success of the new reign, he made him promise to banish ladies from his court. Charles I. had hardly arrived when he de- clared his intentions; the court of Roumania, formerly charming, as all know, and filled with allurements, intrigues, and fascinations, became more austere than the cell of a Western monk, a place of business and study worthy of Germany, wThence its new master had come. There were some who did not find this change to their taste. At first there was some little murmuring ; then they began to adapt themselves to the change ; they were not much in the habit of looking at things seriously, but it was neces- sary to do so, and accordingly they are beginning to get used to it. Prince Charles begins by establishing a reform among those who surround him ; he does not commence with apparent and outside reforms, but goes straight at the seat of the disease, and there applies the searing iron. It is society which first of all requires to be purified, and that reform he is endeavouring to effect.' To this narrative Ave may append the following interesting remarks by the Times. ' By what secret agency the exaltation of this fortunate youth was originally promoted Feb. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 29 will, perhaps, never be quite clear to the world ; but nothing could be more propitious than the combination of circumstances which subsequently favoured it. The vote of the Roumans and the acceptance of their prince- elect were announced as an almost simul- taneous event. It was not at first acknow- ledged as an accomplished fact. It was hardly made a subject for deliberate comment or diplomatic explanation. It was simply set aside as an insignificant episode, lost in the magnitude of the drama which was just then filling the European stage, and left to find its denouement either in the general catastrophe or in some separate settlement after it. The war of Bohemia was neither one day too short nor one day too long for Prince Charles of Hohenzollern. It called away public attention from his affairs while it lasted, and brought about at its close that exhaustion which disposes great powers to concession and compromise. * Prince Charles may now " congratulate himself on the good state of his international relations." He has just come back to Bucharest laden with honours and presents from his nominal Suzerain, the Sultan. Russia assures him of all the sympathy which " his descent and the first acts of his government " enlist in his behalf. Austria proposes that a protocol for the recognition of his hereditary rights should be drawn up by all the powers which signed the treaty of 1856 ; and as for France and England, if we had any doubt as to their mind on the subject, we have the testi- mony of our Bucharest correspondent to the effect, that the good understanding between the Porte and its royal vassal was mainly due to the " cordial and united action " of the Western powers. On the part of Prussia we fancy no insuperable objection to a Hohenzollern's promotion need be appre- hended. ' The Moldo-Wallachians have thus ob- tained at last what they for a long time wanted — a " heaven-sent " sovereign. Rou- mania had too long an experience of Hos- podars chosen among its native Boyards to expect under them either order within or respect from without. So long as the Porte had only to deal with a subject, it hardly realized to its full extent the downfall of its supremacy in its Danubian provinces. But even that poor Sigmaringen purple gave the prince born in it the right to feel at home in the sublime presence. We have seen how much Russia is willing to allow for "descent," and any deficiency in the late sub-lieutenant's princely title was more than made up by the distant cousinship of King William of Prussia, and possibly by the more immediate goodwill of Count Bismarck.' AUSTRIAN COMMERCIAL STAMPS. We are induced to pen this brief paper from a regard for our own ease and comfort. From the earliest number even unto the present time we have been constantly troubled with inquiries concerning certain mysterious Au- strian stamps. It mattered not that we explained to some correspondent, who had sent a careful tracing of one of the number, that his label was not postal at all, but commercial. Our reply was hardly pub- lished, ere another eager philatelist would forward an elaborate description of these uncatalogued stamps of unknown origin, with a request that we would enlighten him, as to the land of their nativity, or seek enlightenment ourselves from our readers. And so, as time passed on, we have replied, over and over again, to the queries of un- studious collectors. May we hope that a few words, descriptive of these stamps, will prevent the frequent repetition of unneces- sary inquiries. Taking first the design, we may observe that several contain the value within an ornamented circle, surmounted by a little cherub, and with the Austrian arms in the lower part. The device is singular, con- sisting of a kind of Gothic church- window frame of two arches, with scroll wrork on the sides. The open space, whereon the value appears, is white; but the ground of the stamps is composed of a finely-executed imitation of the network of a -leaf. The circular design, which is printed in black, occupies the upper part of the stamp, the lower part being filled with the tracery alone, which, in some stamps, is printed in green, and others light-brown. The value 30 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Feb. 1, 1867. is stated thus — 6 kr. ; but we have a variety of the 5 kr. before us, with the words of value — fi'iif kreuzer in full — beneath the cir- cle. Of the type we have described, we know four denominations — ^, 5, 6, and 12 kr. ; but there are, doubtless, others. Beside those we have named, there is a 1 kr. An- iumdigungs-Stempdj having the groundwork blue, and the circle bearing only the arms and a slight scrolled ornament ; and also a 7 kr. with a child-face on each side. For the higher values, rather different devices are chosen ; though the leaf tracery and the circular shape are preserved in all. A 30 kr. stamp bears the value on a scrolled frame of unusual pattern, with the arms above, and a woman's face on either side. A 50 kr. stamp has the circle rather fan- tastically embellished with a bird on one side, and a cherub-head on the other. The 25 and 60 kr. contain the value in the centre of a bold six-pointed star, with the arms above, and the ever-present cherub below. In the stamps of 15 kr. and 75 kr., the value is in the middle of a diamond with curved sides, having the arms on each side above, and a book, axe, and other emblems below. The 1 florin is yet more ambitiously adorned with a full-length figure of a child playing on a reed on each side ; and between the figures a large shell. The 2 florin is simpler, showing a return to the church-window style ; but still with two children, one on each side, reveren- tially holding up wreaths towards the Au- strian arms, which are placed above. In the highest value we possess — the 3 florin — the circle is double the size of those of the lower denominations ; the numerals and letters of value appear in the centre of a large white cross ; behind which, on one side, stands a winged boy, holding a pair of scales, and standing on a bunch of lictorial fasces; on the other, a similar figure, grasping a sword, and kneeling on an open book." Lastlv, there is a commonly-engraved stamp — value 1 kr.— differing entirely from all the rest, the device being square in shape ; and consisting chiefly of a steam-engine and packet-boat. That these stamps are not used to prepay postage is well known to all experienced collectors ; but beginners are frequently de- ceived by the appearance of hand-stamped i cancellation marks upon them. The fact, however, is that they are used, and the obliterations made, by the officials in other departments of the revenue — the customs, for instance ; and some again are used as bill, others as receipt stamps: thus it | happens that of the lot before us now, some are obliterated by a stamp, and some by written signatures. The labels we have described are, we understand, in use throughout the Austrian empire ; and are consequently very common there. By chance, a few specimens have, from time to time, arrived in this country, mixed with postage stamps ; and hence have arisen our troubles. But we hope we have now laid these vexatious stamps for ever. Should, however, any inquiring collector, in future, ask the name, or country, or use, of these Austrian stamps, we shall refer him, with the utmost briefness consistent with courtesy, to this present article for infor- mation. REVIEWS of POSTAL PUBLICATIONS. The Illustrated Postage-Stamp Album and Catalogue. By H. Stafford Smith. London: Hall & Co. Brighton: Stafford Smith & Co. 1 A new album on a new plan' is the author's description of his work. The new plan con- : sists in giving a numbered list of the stamps 1 of each country parallel Avith the spaces, I numbered to correspond, whereon the stamps are intended to be placed. As the list con- tains the stamps in chronological order, a i collector has only to mount his treasures on | the particular spaces prepared for them, and ! he has them at once well-arranged without trouble. This is an improvement on Oppen's ' album, in which a certain number of squares is allotted to each country, but no directions \ are given as to the placing of the stamps ; and in which the catalogue, instead of running with the countries, is placed at the end of the volume, where it is not so readily available for reference. Moreover — and this advan- tage will be appreciated by possessors of Moons' or Lallier's albums — a considerable number of blank squares is left for occupa- pation by future emissions. Turning over Feb. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 31 the leaves at random we observe that Bel- gium has sixteen such squares; Luxembourg, twelve ; Queensland, eight ; Shanghai, fif- teen ; and so on. The numbering is likewise arranged, so that each issue commences a fresh line and is thus kept separate from the rest. By this plan an odd square or two is secured at the end of each series for varieties, which can be added without injury to the design. With regard to varieties ; the catalogue, which is generally speaking a pretty com- plete one, hardly pays enough attention to them, but the extra squares we referred to will enable purchasers to add any such varie- ties when they may get them. The author gives in his preface some sen- sible advice respecting the mounting of stamps. ' Collectors,' he says, ' are strongly recommended to gum only the corners of the stamps [whereby we presume the upper cor- ners alone are meant] when fixing them in their albums. If this plan be adopted no difficulty will be experienced in removing any stamp uninjured, should it be deemed desirable to substitute a good specimen in lieu of one less so.' We have seen several collections in which the stamps were thus secured, and can bear testimony at once to the neat appearance of the stamps and to the facility with which they can be — if we may so term it — dismounted. The squares into which the pages are divided are generally large enough to take the stamps allotted to them without crowd- ing, but such is hardly the case with those provided for the English railway stamps. It may be a question whether they should be admitted at all, but the entree being once i accorded to them, sufficient room should have been allowed to them for display. We observe that no mention is made of the large United States periodical stamps. Perhaps the author doubts their existence ; we can but assure him that they are veritable stamps in actual use, as we have lately received sets direct. They have, how- ever, for some reason been kept back for several months, and quite recently they were not obtainable at the New York post-office. In a book destined to be ornamental as well as useful, the ' get-up ' is a matter of considerable importance to intending pur- chasers, and on that score we can award unqualified praise. The work is clearly printed, and a good effect is obtained by the use of red ink for the dividing lines and borders. Care has been taken to place a sufficient number of guards between the leaves, and paper of a tine quality has been chosen. Last, but not least, the cover bears a handsome and appropriate device, and the binding being also good, no philatelist need hesitate to place it on his table. The only feature we do not quite approve of is the introduction of engravings. Excellent in a work Avhich is a catalogue and nothing more, as illustrative of the text, they are useless in an album where they but contrast with their originals. If a collector pos- sesses the stamps, he does not want the cuts; and if he have not the stamps, the cuts are unsatisfactory substitutes, howsoever well engraved they may be. In the present work they are simply superfluities ; not detracting from its value, but not adding to it. We have but to add that the new album is got up (vide advertisements) in several styles of binding to suit all purses and all tastes ; and that there is a cheaper edition, well suited for the collections of juveniles, en- tirely printed in black ink on paper of a thinner quality, but scarcely less attractive externally than its more expensive brethren. Carefully compiled, well printed, and well bound, the new album enters in competition with the old favourites, and will we think obtain a large share of the public favour. POSTAL CHIT-CHAT. Russian Postal Arrangements. — Registered letters can only be obtained by tbe persons to whom they arc addressed at the General Post-Office ; and must be opened in the presence of, and witnessed by, the police. A Curious Calculation. — The New York Scientific American estimates that twenty tons of postage stamps have been used in the United States dining the year — enough to make a ribbon twice the length of the Mississippi river, or to cover a superficial area of 48| square miles. Expensive Postage. — The London Times, in 1842, paid upwards of £300 for conveying a letter from Marseilles to London. This contained the news of the massacre in Cabul, which the Times was the first to make known. From Marseilles to Paris the conveyance was by carriages especially hired ; from Paris to Boulogne by horse ; thence to Dover by special steamer; and from Dover to London again by horse. 32 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Feb. 1, 186: Sad News.— 'Now, girls,' said Mrs. Partington, the other day, to her nieces, k Yon must get husbands as soon as possible, or they will be murdered.' ' Why so, aunt ? ' 1 Why, I see by the papers that we've got almost fifteen thousand post-offices, and nearly all of 'em dispatches a mail every day. The Lord have mercy on us poor widows!' and the old lady stepped quietly up to her looking-glass, to put on her new cap. Postal Anomaly. — There is no book-post between Great Britain and the United States of America; while there is a book-post between France and the latter country : and what is still more strange is, that this French service all passes through England. A New Yorker sends to a Pans house for an English book, because he cannot get it direct from English publishers ; the Paris house procures it from England, and posts it in France for his New York correspondent; and the book thus posted goes through England to reach New York. — Stamp- Collector's Monthly Gazette. The Portrait ont the Chilian Stamps. — Since the publication in The Sta»/p- Collector's Magazine of the article by Fentonia on this subject, a friend of ours wrote to the Chilian Consul-General, in London, to inquire what wasthe meaning of the name, colon, and who was intended to be represented on the stamps. He received a rather laconic reply, undated, unsigned, and not addressed from any place, to the effect that 'Colon means in Spanish Columbus, and the head on Chili stamps i-epresents Christopher Columbus, the navigator.' We do not place much faith in the latter statement ourselves. There is no evidence that it was written b}- any person who could speak with authority; and the question is no nearer a settlement than it was before. CORRESPONDENCE. THE GREAT IDEA. To the Editor of ' The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Sir, — I have read with much pleasure the letter of your correspondent, 'W. G.,' in this month's magazine. If you refer to a communication of mine in your number for March last, you wall find the following paragraph : — ' I consider your magazine and publications of a kindred character as the only foundation for that history of the great postal revolution, which will doubtless appear at some future day.' Although I may thus lay some claim to hay'mgjirst broached the ' grandidea' in your magazine, I am quite willing to appear again as seconder to your correspondent, and beg to thank him for his excellent letter upon the subject, and with him hope that ' Dr. Gray, or Mr. Pemberton, or Fentonia, or some one,' will take the matter in hand. Truly yours, lilley, Herts. II. J. ANOTHER ADHESIVE PREPARATION. To the Editor of ' The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' DearSir, — lhavcoften observed requests in the Stamp- Collector's Magazine for the best preparation with which to mount stamps. I have tried several things for my Monograms, and find that the most excellent is the white of an egg, carefully kept clear in separating it from the yolk, and put into a small bottle (the mouth wide enough easily to admit a cami'ls'-hair paint-brush), with half a teaspoonful of the best brandy; this keeps it for a lung time if always carefully corked, and a very small portion laid on the back of the monogram is sufficient to attach it, leaving no dirty mark; and the monogram can be easily removed by slipping a fine pen-knife carefully under it. It never discolours the book. I have not yet used it for stamps, but shall do so, as it will of course be equally good for them. It has this advantage too— tune does not alter or deteriorate its merits. Cheltenham. C THE NEW PERUVIAN STAMPS. To the Editor o/*'The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Deah Sir, — I think you did right to exclude the Peruvian stamps from your list. Their general appear- ance is that of bill, not postage stamps. The absence of the word correos, that word having invariably appeared in the former series of Peru, is a great proof of the non- postal character of these stamps. I understand, also, that there is yet more conclusive evidence to this effect, in the fact that stamps, value respectively 5 sol (£1) and 10 sol (£2), have been received in this country. It would appear then, that there are yet to come the companions to the beautiful 5 c, and that the appearance of bill- stamps, at a time when those companions were expected, has led to a general misapprehension. I am, dear sir, Yours truly, Weston-super-Mare. SENTINEL. [We are not yet in a position to speak decisively on the question raised by ' Sentinel," but we incline to believe he is correct. On the other hand, we may state that we, ourselves, wrote to a correspondent in Peru, desirinjr liim to send copies of the new postage stamps, and received specimens of the doubtful individuals, together with the orthodox 5 c.-Eu.j ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. Repandunensis. — We must refer you to stamp cata- logues for the lengthy list you require, as we cannot give it without trenching too largely on our space. We may, however, say that the envelope stamps of Ceylon are not watermarked. — The publishers of the Magazin fiir Brief- marken Sammler are Messrs. Zschiesche & Koder, of Leipzig. Saxony; of the Monthly Gazette, Mr. George Stewart, junior, St. John's, New Brunswick. We do not know the price of the first ; the second is five cents per number. Novice does not belie his name by a show of knowledge of abstruse points. He describes the designs of the first issues of Prussia and Austria, and inquires to what countries they respectively belong, for his information we may state that the stamps inscribed freimarke are Prussian, and those bearing the double-headed eagle Austrian. — The Rigi-Kaltbad stamps are used to pay the postage of visitors' letters from an hotel on the Rigi mountain, Switzerland, to the nearest Federal post-office, and are issued by the proprietor of the said establishment. H. E. H., Warkworth. — The five-cents blue Sandwich Islands, with head of Ivamehameha III., was printed on bluish paper, the present oc. is on white. — The 2 c. New- foundland is now current. Notts.— There are a rose-red and a vermilion sixpenny Barbados, as well as a i-ose-red and brick-red fourpenuy. Moonraker will find his stamps referred to in our article on newly-issued stamps. Japhet. — There is no question of the genuine character I of the Constantinople local post stamps. They alone pre- pay local letters; and the service being authorized under the direction of the state, and in virtue of a contract, the \ stamps are, in our opinion, as much government emissions as the general imperial series. J A. N, Montreal. — Your communication of Novem- j her 3 has been received. The catalogue which you J ordered was duly sent. March 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 33 NOTES ON THE SECOND SERIES OF THE STAMPS OF NEW SOUTH WALES. BY THE AUTHOR OF ' THE POSTAGE STAMPS OF BRITISH GUIANA.' We are treading on no uncertain ground in ranking the series of stamps so commonly known as the laureated heads of Queen Victoria, as the second emission of this colony. The universal concurrence of all the writers and compilers of catalogues assigns to the stamps now under consider- ation the place next in succession after the views of Sydney. The design of this issue is simple — suffi- ciently so to be within the conception and resources of a colonial engraver. It consists of the head of Queen Victoria, in profile, to the left, crowned with a wreath of laurels (or rather bays), in an upright rectangular frame ; the word postage in white letters in an arched label just over the head ; to the left, new ; above, SOUTH ; to the right, wales ; below, the value in words at length. Co- loured impression. Small ornaments at the angles. The above description suffices to identify the issue ; and we will now proceed to call attention to the various details and differences, which confer so great an interest in these stamps to any careful collector. The two great divisions usually made are of those on blue and those on white paper — a division wThich, to us, seems some- what inexact; and which, for reasons in- dicated below, we do not altogether follow. Undoubtedly, the earlier stamps were printed on blue paper, and the latest set is always found on white paper, bearing a large figure of value in the watermark. We are among those, however, who, in arranging a series of stamps, consider the die of the stamp is the primary consideration, and class as subordinate, paper, watermarks, and perforation. As a mathematician wrould say, the die is a constant quantity, the others accidentals : worthy enough of attention and care, but not entitled to priority in a proper system of classification. The earliest stamp of this series, according to our judgment, is the twopence blue, which differs altogether from its congeners of the same value, and, indeed, from every stamp of the whole series, in having special and peculiar ornaments at the four angles. This ornament is a six-rayed star, with a white centre, inscribed in the Maltese cross placed at the four angles. In all the other stamps, the star is multi-rayed, resembling the beams of a sun. This stamp is a trifle larger in size than any of its successors in the issue ; and the shaded background of the head is formed of coarse wavy, mingled with vertical lines, placed wider apart than in any of the series, except, perhaps, the first sixpence brown and the orange eightpence. It is printed on thick blue wove paper, without watermark ; and is of a less neat execution generally than any others of the issue. With respect to the date of the individual now before us, we believe that it was first issued towards the close of 1852. We are, however, entirely destitute of any official information as to the date of this, or, indeed, any of this issue. Still, we can state that we ourselves have taken a specimen of this variety from the back of a letter dated December, 1852, and had no reason to sup- pose it was otherwise than the real date. We may further add, that our information as to the dates of this issue has been chiefly derived from the following source : — A very distinguished gentleman, formerly in high office in the Legislature of New South Wales, while recently in this country, com- menced the formation of a collection of stamps, to aid in which, the whole of the letters which he had received in his official capacity were carefully gone through, every stamp was removed, and the date of the letter on wdiich it was found noted at the back. An enormous number of specimens, many almost unique in their beauty, was thus discovered : and we had the advantage of seeing and collating the principal results of this search. As the honourable gentle- man's tenure of office extended over the whole period embraced by part of the first issue and the whole of the present, we feel we have some tangible ground on which to proceed ; and that the result of the col- lation of the numerous specimens so found 34 TIIE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [March 1, 1867. is of far greater assistance than any number of stamps could be which were not thus guaranteed as to authenticity of date. The only stamp of this variety found in the set above alluded to was on a letter dated March, 1853. This variety is not common, and is by far the rarest of all the twopences of this series. It is usually found bearing an oval postmark, formed of four bars above and below, with four at each side, leaving a centre space for the distinctive number used by the respective post-offices. The next stamps of the series were issued in 1853 ; and are — ■ Sixpence, brown. Eightpence, orange. Of this pair, we are inclined to give the precedence in date to the latter; but are satisfied no long interval separated them. These stamps, and indeed all of the series we are dealing with, are colonial productions, copper-plate engraved, and each stamp was done by hand on the plate separately ; thus inevitably producing differences of detail. A general resemblance through the whole of the dies on the plate is easily recognizable; peculiar little differences also exist between all the specimens. We are sorry to say we are in total ignorance of the number forming the plate ; nor can we work the problem out as in the case of stamps which carry combinations of letters on them. Both the sixpenny and eightpenny have the wavy lines of the shaded background wide apart, somewhat like the first twopence. Both are printed on plain blue wove paper, without watermark. Turning now to the special characteristics of each stamp, we may remark as to the sixpence — I. — That the shades of colour vary from the umber to the vandylce hroiun of the colour shops. H. — That the lettering, more particularly the words, six PENCE, varies much in size. III.- — That the postmark ordinarily found on these is the one above described. A second mark of the same general design, but with wider black lines, is occasionally met with ; and still more rarely, an oval with a smaller one inside, formed by di- verging lines of four dots in a line, with I the number of the post-office in the central ' space. Unused copies of the sixpence are rare ; and the used copies are generally in very bad condition. As to the eightpence, there is little to remark of a special nature. I. — The colours vary in intensity from i yellow through ochre to orange. II. — The lettering and details of en- ! graving present differences similar to those j of the sixpence. III. — The postmarks are as in the sixpence. This stamp is rare, even in its used con- ! dition. Many copies are found completely I destroyed for a collector's purposes by the 1 thicker postmark above described ; while but very few unused copies are known, | and these are in the elite of collections. I A proof of the die of the eightpence in j blue exists ; but is exceedingly scarce. It is printed on thickish, fragile paper, of a bluish tone. Finally, as to both these stamps, we may remark that the rays of the star in the angles are not so numerous as in the suc- ceeding stamps of the series. Adhering to the order of emission, later in the same year, 1853, we must place — Threepence, green. j Which was followed in turn by — Twopence, blue. One penny, red. ) probably Sixpence, brown. J in 1854. As to the threepence — I. — The wavy lines of the shaded back- ; ground are closer; a fact which, from this i period, is apparent on all the succeeding stamps of the issue. The engraving is finer and more skilful ; and the differences chiefly apparent are in the lettering, and expression of countenance of the Queen, and the position of the leaves of the chaplet. II. - The colours vary much ; we can dis- tinctly classify the subjoined. a. Pure emerald green. b. Dark apple green (a deep positive tone). c. Olive green. d. Yellowish green. e. Neutral green (vert glauque). Of these, which unused are all far from being common, owing to their limited use, the variety b. is the rarest; indeed, we are March 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 35 disposed to consider it as scarce as any of the laureated heads, not excepting even the eightpence. The paper on which it is found, moreover, is of a very deep-blue colour, much more so than any other with which we are acquainted in this series. III. — The postmark usually met with is the thicker-lined one ; but all the others are to be found. IV. — The paper is plain blue wove, without watermark, more or less deep in tone, and varying in thickness. The twopence — I. — The engraving varies much. The generality of the shaded backgrounds are formed of close wavy lines over close vertical ones. Many specimens present a spotted appearance ; which we should attribute to defective management in the printing, rather than to differences in the engraving. Some varieties exist in which the background is composed of perpendicular and horizontal lines crossing each other ; and in some in- stances these are so closely placed as to pre- sent to the first view the appearance of a block ground. II. — The paper used differed at different periods. The earliest was of a deep-blue tint. To that succeeded one slightly toned with blue, thicker in substance; and some copies are to be met with on paper quite white, a creamy rather than a pure tint. At times, a very much thinner blue paper was used. All the papers were woven, without watermark. III. — No value exhibits so many varieties of tint, all probably intended for the same hue, but owing to a want of the nice manipulation necessary to maintain a standard shade, accidentally differing. We will signalize the most noticeable of these, remarking parem thetically that we never accredit to a used specimen per se a distinct colour. So many accidents may have produced the result visible at the time of inspection, that unless we get our view confirmed by a clear and unused specimen, we prefer not to chronicle the shade. a. Light blue. v( , -^ , , b. Deep blue. / near1^ a Prussian blue- c. Purple blue. d. Lavender. All the above have the backgrounds formed of vertical and wavy lines. e. Pale blue ) , ^ , , /. Deep blue.}nearl>' a P™ssian blue- This last pair have the backgrounds formed of horizontal and vertical lines, and present the appearance of a block ground- work. IV. — The postmarks are as above, and call for no special remark. The one penny : — Not only do the dates as deciphered on the specimens examined warrant us in placing this value so late in the list of emissions, but the long run of the penny views of Sydney, to which these succeeded,, and the clearness of engraving, and fine quality of the execution, alike lead us to the conclusion that this value did not appear till 1854. All the stamps show a great advance in engraving on the earlier specimens of the issue ; and with increased fineness comes greater regularity in execution. Conse- quently, individual differences are not so great. We have, however, to notice — L — Paper. — This varies from stout decided blue, through several shades and thicknesses of the same, to a nearly cream white. There are copies of a rust-red, or more truly speaking, red with a shade of brown in the mixing, to be found on blue laid paper of somewhat thick substance : these, however, are rare. The lines of the vergure are perpendicular, and wide apart. II. — Colour. — The shades of red are various. We can enumerate the following as distinct — a. Light brick-red. b. Deep brick-red. c. Rust-red. J. Deep rust-red. e. Vermilion-red (more or less pale). /. Lake, or carmine red (more or less pale). This last is not a pure carmine, but has a trace of vermilion in it. The paper on which this shade is usually (but not in- variably) found is white, more or less creamy. III. — The backgrounds are well executed ; and composed of fine vertical crossed by wavy lines ; and the printing is much better done than in the blotchy twopences. 36 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [March 1, 1867. IV. — As to postmarks, we have nothing to add to our remarks under previous heads; they equally apply here. The sixpence : — The specimens of this value here intended differ from those of the same value before described, in their general execution. The background of the portrait in those already notified was composed of a succession of wavy lines, at comparatively wide intervals, crossing perpendicular lines, and bearing white spaces of some size : while the dis- tinctive mark of the present is that the lines, both perpendicular and wavy, are much finer, closer, and more numerous. The whole execution of the engraving is finer, and more elaborated ; the expression of the face less rude and unrefined ; and the details showing a greater expenditure of time and trouble, as well as a higher degree of artistic skill on the part of the engraver. As an almost necessary result, the specimens of this, the second series of the value, are more like each other, and present no such great points of dissimilarity as may be found in the former series. We must not omit to mention one curious engraver's mistake, the discovery of which was first announced to the world by M. Chandelier, in Le Timbvoplule. It is the accidental printing of walls for wales — L for E, or the omission of the two uppermost horizontal lines in the E of wales. At first, we were somewhat sceptical of this being an actual mistake ; and inclined to think the specimen alluded to had been rubbed, or the omitted lines of the E erased by design or accident. But, on looking over several collections, we have met with five or six similar copies, and found one of them among those collated from the official cor- respondence referred to in a preceding part of our remarks. Further, on submitting several of these specimens to a microscopic examination, we were satisfied that no rub- bing or tampering with the original surface of the paper as it left the press had happened to any of them. We, therefore, are quite convinced that we here have a genuine and curious engraver's error, not without its parallel in stamp history, as witness the famous CORROS for correos of the Philippine Isles. Adopting our general mode of dealing with the value now under notice, we would call attention to the following. I. — Engraving. — The background has been already noticed. The lettering varies in size, some copies having quite large letters, others much smaller ; though none differing to the extent of the first series. II. — Paper. — This is generally of a fairly thick substance, and medium blue hue ; some copies are on a white paper, almost cream coloured. III. — Colour. — This varies much in in- tensity in the different specimens. We can classify the subjoined. — a. Light vandyke brown. b. Dark vandyke brown. c. Black brown. And can find copies of all intermediate shades. IY. — Postmarks. — These are chiefly of the lighter-barred oval, already described. We have a proof of this value, printed on stout, yellowish, card-like paper (cartonne), in vandyke brown. This was struck off in 1863-4, at the same time with proofs of the one penny and threepenny views of Sydney, and is rare. It remains but for us to notice the last series of this issue, which is distinguished by being printed on paper" watermarked with a large figure of value (a double-lined figure) in the make of the paper. Except in cases where we specify a differ- ence, the stamps of this issue are printed from the later dies above described. Only the penny, twopence, and threepence of this series are known to exist. One penny: — Light orange. Orange red. Some of the catalogues, for instance Mount Brown, give a penny brown; this shade is the result of a change in the orange-red, caused by time or accident. We have a series of seven in our collection, ranging from brownish-orange, through deepening shades, wherein the orange gradually dies away, and at last a perfect dark brown March 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 37 succeeds. All these are formed from, the original orange-red by accidental causes. Twopence : — Pale-blue. Blue. Deep-blue. In this value, the groundwork of the central space is formed of lines crossing at right angles, at times so close as to appear to constitute a block background : at other times, wider, so as clearly to show the small squares formed by the crossing lines. The paper in some cases is bluish ; in others, the majority, quite white. Threepence. — The colours found are — Green. Apple- green. Olive-green. And the papers vary from a decided yellow to pure white. We have now dealt separately with all the values, and our further remarks apply to the entire issue. None of these stamps have, to our know- ledge, been reprinted or forged. A reprint is now out of the question, as the dies were destroyed at the great fire, which consumed the Sydney mint, in, if we mistake not, 1864. And forgery offers no inducement, as genuine copies are very plentiful; and the imposture could easily be compared against a good stamp. Unused and perfect copies are very diffi- cult to get; and the bad condition of the obliterated stamps renders the former very desirable acquisitions to a collection. In giving the shades of colour we have above described, we by no means intend to make separate varieties ; but, simply taking our list, from actual stamps before us as we write, assert such can be met with. One copy of each of the more distinct shades ought to answer every collector's purpose. To those who desire to collect and discrimi- nate varieties, we would suggest that the readiest mode of detecting the minute differ- ences of specimens is, first, to examine the wreath ; and, if that does not lead to a clear conclusion, then, in conjunction with it, to compare the lettering in detail ; this will unfailingly test identity of die, and prevent all chance of error. CUTTINGS FROM OLD STAMP PAPERS. We have before us a pile of periodicals, the accumulations of the last four years. They are of all kinds and sizes, and belong to more than one country. Some, the smartest, hail from the United States ; some, the best, from the North American provinces ; and some, the weakest, from our own beloved land. For our readers' benefit, or at any rate amusement, we purpose dipping into these varied stores. We cannot begin with a better illustration of the elevated style, than the following extract from the opening ad- dress of a now-defunct New Brunswick paper affords. ' [Ierc we are,' thrown upon the taste of the reading public, content to live or die on their just decision, content to stand on our merits, and on our merits alone ; content, if our presence is unnecessary, to retire to the enshrouding shades of oblivion ; content, if we deserve it, to be known as the model stamp paper of America; content, when Ave receive just correction for our faults, to bow before the smiting rod; but still read}', if made a target for unjust aggression, to stand to our right, put our back against the walls of Justice, and say with Fitz James — Come one, come all. this rock shall fly From its firm base as quick as 1 ; and there fight it out to the ' bitter end ; ' rejoicing if we triumph, and, if defeated, still knowing that 'might is not always right.' In view of the fact that the journal's pre- sence did 'prove unnecessary,' it is a satis- faction to find that from the commencement, the proprietors were not unprepared to 'retire to the enshrouding shades of oblivion.' Turning over the file of papers, we come to a bit of characteristic Yankee humour. The editor of the Stamp- Collector's Record gives an extract from a Boston paper, in which philately is sneered at, as being one of those senseless, innocent manias, which for a time occupy the attention of mankind ; and then adds — Just so. There are various manias, which, from time to time, afflict the human race — a mania for office under Andy Johnson being the prevalent one at present, as also a mania for becoming the people's representative in Congress. Just so. But, in the classic phraseology of Joe Blueskin, give us a stamp-collector before a truckling politician 1 hany day — vun's a gentleman ; t' other's a sneak.' Still continuing our researches, we come upon a genuine bull in the pages of an English magazine. Under the heading of ' Latest Intelligence,' short summaries of news, a-la- Reuter, are given by ' our own correspon- 38 THE STAMP-COLLECTOB'S MAGAZINE. [March 1, 1867. dents ;' — from Paris, where ' great excitement prevails ' on account of the anticipated emis- sion of envelope stamps; — from Geneva, where ' the stamp fever rages ; ' and from Madrid as follows : — Madrid, August 15th. It is authentically announced that the 1st of January, 1865, will be again favoured with a new issue. Comment on this statement is unnecessary, particularly when it is known that the paper it appeared in was published in 1864. The same journal commences an account of an Hawaiian stamp by the following inter- esting geographical information. Down amongst the coral reefs of the South Pacific Ocean, still remain those islands, which only one hundred years ago were inhabited by a set of barbarians. Persons who, aware of the volcanic origin of the island, may have been apprehensive that it had been swallowed up, may now be assured of its continued existence ; and the fact is also a certain warranty to philatelists that the stamps professing to have been issued for the Sandwich Islands are in actual use there. Our next extract contains a curious pro- posal. Christmas is now coming on, and we write you a request to be remembered. If every one, who receives the paper, ■would send us a small present, in order to help us along, they have no idea what an aggregate amount could be raised. "Will every reader try and send us a gratuity, no matter how small. Our readers will not be surprised at the request, upon learning that it is made by a paper published in that country where sub- scriptions are occasionally paid in flour, eggs, poultry, hogs, and other necessaries or luxuries ; and only Dutch clocks and wooden nutmegs are refused. It is rather a pity that the editor confined himself to a general solicitation for assistance. To have carried out his idea, he should have detailed his wants seriatim, thus — ' The editor is short of slippers; will any grateful lady reader work him a pair ? He also confesses that his coat is not what it should be, and will be happy to forward his measure to any subscriber who may be desirous of pre- senting him with a new garment. The editor has lost his pocket knife ; he trusts to the generosity of his juvenile readers to supply him with another ; ' and so on. Who could read such an appeal, and not immediately go to his wardrobe with a heart full of benevolent resolutions. The passage we have quoted was not, however, permitted to pass unnoticed. A contemporary thus refers to it in the fol- lowing passage — remarkable at once for its humility and its kindly spirit. The Record has more than completed the first year of its existence ; and during that time it has modestly preserved a becoming silence regarding its circulation and value as a timbrophilic journal. It has made no loud-mouthed assertions regarding its mighty influence, nor frantic appeals to the benevolence of a charitable public. It has been content to stand or fall on its own merits ; and, unlike its contemporaries, it has not hitherto found it necessary to resort to the above harmless expedients, for which a large proportion of the timbrophilic press has lately become famous. This is very well in its way ; but in vigour and beauty of expression it falls far short of the following. A colonial stamp paper had rather strongly denied the veracity of the editor of the paper whence our quo- tation is taken ; and the extract we give forms the commencement of his ' crushing ' reply. Away down East, hard by the jumping-off place of creation, in a certain country where the natives are said to have blue noses, and from eating lai ge quantities of fish, have become scaly, or at least exceedingly slippery— down this benighted region, is established a little postage-stamp journal, edited by a diminutive specimen of blue-nose humanity, who, however well adapted to be a valuable acquisition in the department of Barman's celebrated establishment devoted to ' Freaks of Nature,' did certainly mistake his mission on earth when he undertook the task of enlightening the timbrophilic world in the role of editor of a journal, which, for the time, we shall de- signate by the characteristic title of the Blowhard. That even the editing of a stamp paper, especially a gratuitous one, is not always profitable, may be inferred from the fol- lowing notice to correspondents, taken from the British and Foreign Stamp and Coin Advertiser. We have before us a large pile of letters requiring answers. To do so in this column, would take up too much space, without interesting our readers. To answer them by post, would cost more than half-a-crown. We therefore leave them till some kind friend will supply us the necessary stamps. Shakespeare tells us that Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown ; and we may add, with due reverence, that the head that knows the want of half-a-crown is not likely to be much more comfortable. It is pleasant to turn from these mournful March 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 39 thoughts to the contemplation of the bright picture of prosperity, revealed by the fol- lowing sentences from the pens of the pro- prietors and editors of the Stamp and Coin Gazette. In the opening remarks we are in doubt who speaks. In submitting our second number to our readers, the editor desires to add a few prefatory words to this, our second number. These must be the words of the pro- prietors, intended to introduce the blushing- editor with becoming grace to the public notice. He is left to himself, however, in the next paragraph, and acquits himself timidly but creditably. The editor believes that this magazine occupies a place of its own, which he trusts it will continue to occupy with increased vigour and efficiency. Then, after justifying the existence of his paper by the necessity which arose for it, he proceeds to the more serious business cf the article. The editor will indicate the following subjects, which will occupy the increased attention giving to the literature of this magazine. And then follows a list of subjects, and a request for support ; but the proprietors, either from annoyance at the slight gram- matical inaccuracy in the last quotation, or more probably from an eager desire to share with their readers the joyful feelings which filled their hearts after each appearance of the postman, jostle their editor aside, and come before their friends in propria} personce to tell the joyful tidings. The proprietors did not expect such a large sab for No. 1, as orders are arriving every post for additional copies, which answers well for the distribution of this, our second number. We might continue our extracts ; but we should be sorry to mar the picture of the jubilant proprietors, which must arise in our readers' minds. - We may, however, state that at least a temporary enlargement of size is announced as in contemplation, in consequence of the success which attended the publication. Our next extract refers to a strange fait accompli in the opposite direc- tion. It is the International Postage-Stamp Review from which we quote. In consequence of the universal desire of our numerous circle of readers, we have altered the size of our journal, making it a shade smaller, and for the deficiency wc intend giving a superior quality of paper. The diminution of a paper in size is a remarkable proof of its popularity ; and our readers will not be surprised to hear that the International Review has subsided into the shades altogether. Our final extract shall consist of an in- imitable description of a melodramatic scene with which a stamp tale closes. We need only premise, in explanation, that the villain of the piece has just been found guilty of an assault on the heroine with intent to murder. The prisoner had nothing to urge why sentence should not be passed upon him, and the judge thus addressed him, — Prisoner at the bar, you have, after a patient investi- gation by a jury of twelve of your countrymen, been found guilty of a grievous crime, and with their verdict I entirely agree. Nothing now remains for me but to pass sentence, which is, 'That your album be forfeited to the young lady whose life you have attempted, and that you henceforth be declared' incapable of pursuing the high vocation of a stamp collector.' The judge then ordered Alice and myself [her deliverer] to approach, and, joining our hands said, with an intensity of feeling that thrilled the court, 'You have proved yourself worthy of my sister, take her and be happy; and, as a marriage portion, I bestow on her Watson's confiscated album I " Our stores are far from being exhausted, but not so, we fear, our readers' patience, which we will not attempt to draw upon any longer. Our extracts will have shown that, apart from the philatelic information they contain, there is, to use a cant ex- pression, ' a fund of interest ' in stamp papers. NEWLY-ISSUED OR INEDITED STAMPS. We have the pleasure of being fifty numbers old to-day ; this, therefore, is our jubilee, and we are open to receive the congratu- lations of our readers. Looking back over the fifty months of our existence, we may, perhaps, be pardoned for congratulating our- selves a little, for we trust our efforts have not been wholly fruitless of philatelic good. Halting midway to our centenary number, we need not again recapitulate our aims and intentions ; they are already known to our readers, and we have but to say that we shall endeavour to attain those aims and carry out those intentions as far as may lie in our power. As a master of the timbro-postal cere- monies it has been our lot to usher in to notice some hundreds of arrivals from all 40 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [March 1, 1867. parts of the globe, of whom, whilst some few were impostors, the great mass were genuine and valuable acquisitions. On the present occasion we have several individuals to introduce, but few new series of stamps. During the past month the postal army has been principally recruited by stragglers, and first amongst them comes the red native of a black republic. St. Domingo. — This stamp, which only came under the notice of European collectors within the last few weeks, was issued on the 25th October, 1866. The circular by which its emission was announced, dated the 10th Septem- ber, is not very clear as to the particular service for which it was designed. The statement that 'Cette valenr [2 reales] est ex- clusivement pourles timbres clu pays' is rather puzzling, but if for timbres we read lettres the difficulty, arising probably from a clerical error, is overcome. The stamp, in fact, is in- tended for the prepayment of country letters. It will be seen at a glance that it is far su- perior in general appearance to the antecedent stamps of the same country. The colour of the specimen whence we describe is also effective — a rich carmine, which shows up the solid parts of the design. Mr. Chute, of Boston, who kindly forwarded it, informs us that he possesses duplicates of a dirty red, and a foreign contemporary mentions a red- brown variety. Our correspondent obtained his stamp from a relative residing in St. Domingo, who informs him that the use of stamps in the republic, dates from October, 1862 — the time when, according to Le Thnbre-poste, the first 1 real stamp, with value in italic figures, was issued. We are not aware whether the new design has been employed for a 1 real stamp or not, but on this and other points we hope Mr. Chute will be able to procure and favour us with information. Spain. — We understand that the second series of official stamps was withdrawn from circulation at the commencement of last year, on account of the trouble to which its employment gave rise. rvu-VU"0~" Italy. — From Italy we have intelligence of the discovery of a stamp, primarily intended for commercial purposes, having been used for postage. It was taken from a letter sent from Verona on the 1st December, 1866, and addressed by an Italian soldier to his parents. It is the sole specimen known to have been used in this manner, and it is very pos- FIOFt. 0.04- (3^~i_n_n_ri_rvr»-rv ^~>./vrwru sible that in the unsettled state of affairs existing in Venetia, such an employment of a bill stamp may have been either permitted or overlooked by the postal authorities. This stamp was emitted on the 1st November, 1836, pursuant to a decree elated the 20th of the previous month. Ceylon. — We are able to pla^e before our readers this month an illustration of the new threepenny stamp for this island. It will be seen that it is entirely devoid of ornament. The name is in very thin extended type, which detracts from its appearance, and the head is in the usual De-la-Rue style. Egypt. — The large circular stamp, of which we annex a representation, is official, and franks the let- ters, whatever may be their weight, of the postal authori- ties of the dif- ferent towns. The upper in- scription signi- fies VICE REGAL POST OF EGYPT, and the central Arabic characters (Bosted masrieli el miricJt), Egyptian government POST; the name of the issuing town is inserted at the foot. These stamps are printed indiscriminately in black on colour, or in colour on white. They are found in violet, dark-blue, grey, green, March 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 41 carmine, yellow, black, &c, are affixed to the flaps of the envelopes, and are obliterated by the receiving office. Brazil. — We have received -from this country a specimen of a field-post enve- lope, of which we give, annexed, the central ornament. We understand there are four kinds — two printed on blue paper for the use of civilians corresponding with persons in the army, and two on white for Brazilian soldiers or sailors. They are in- scribed EXPEDIDA PELO AGENTO POSTAL DO exercito or da esqdadra (sent by the postal agency of the army, or of the squadron), and bear also a printed form of address, to be filled up by the sender. Prussia. — From time to time we have had to notice the improvised postal envelopes of the combatant states in the late war, for the use of the soldiery. We have now another pair to present to our readers, which are unsurpassed in SB. plainness. The letters on the ob- long specimen signify ' Soldier's letter, 2nd Battalion of the 28th infantry regiment.' This stamp was only used to frank the letters of that particular battalion, and was com- posed with type only. The circular stamp belonged to a secondary station, placed in the neighbourhood of the general's quarters. New Granada. — From this country comes a diminutive specimen of stampkind, re- specting which we await further information. We cannot say whether it is in- tended to supersede the pre-existing 10 centavos, or will possess ' co- ordinate jurisdiction ' with it. On reference to the stamp, it will be observed that the number of stars is reduced to seven ; this, however, may be accidental. The stamp altogether is not remarkable for beauty, and the inscription, which is very inartistically divided, is also peculiar. The word estado is thrice repeated. In the outer border is the legend es* (Estados) us- DE COLOMBIA, CORREOS DEL ESTADOS, and within we find estado de bolivar. This is the first stamp on which reference is made to the great South American liberator. He assisted in securing the independence of New Gran- ada, which he united with Venezuela under the title of Colombia ; and some years after his death (in 1842), the congress of the former state decreed the exhumation of his remains and their re-interment in state at Caraccas. Bavaria. — In our impression for February, 186.?, we announced that a new issue of Bavarians was expected in November of that year. In the number for January, 1866, we described the design of the new issue from an engraving of a proof thereof in a foreign journal; and now, after the lapse of another twelvemonth, are able to inform our readers that a series of stamps, similar in device to the above illustration, are to appear shortly. A view of an early set enables us to state that the design is embossed, and that the values are the same as those of the present series, viz., — 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 18 kr. The colours of the stamps are very delicate, and by no means 'fast.' It is much to be re- gretted that their ineffectiveness should mar, as it does, the appearance of these beautifully designed stamps. The hues of the 3, 6, and 9 kr., the respective equivalents of the 1, 2, and 3 sgr. Prussian, are similar to those of the latter stamps, as in the preseut issue ; the highest value, also, continues to be red, but the 1 kr. of the new emission is green, and the 12 kr. lilac. The stamps are printed on unperforated white paper, containing a rose thread, running vertically, but not always in the centre. We have also seen some proofs of the new 3 kr. in black-blue, stone, green, and dull-mauve, on rather thicker gummed, but without the thread. The substitution of an elegant like this for the existing prosaic paper, design figure, is matter for congratulation. That a stamp may be ornamental as well as useful, is 42 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [March 1, 186; a proposition which most postal adminis- trations now show their acquiescence in. Economic reasons are, we fear, too much, in favour of armorial bearings as a device for stamps; but for our part, whilst acknow- ledging the excellence of the change from figures to arms, we must confess we should prefer to see the features of foreign sovereigns on a larger number of stamps than at present bear them. The objection to the employment of our own Queen's effigy on her colonial stamps, that the frequent repetition is mo- notonous and tiresome, would not hold good in respect to continental monarchs, over wThose dominions the sun sets in the ordinary course of nature. Portugal. — The new series is now ap- proaching completion, the 5, 20, 25, 80, and 120 reis have already appeared; to these is now to be added the 10 reis yellow ; the 50, 100, and 240 reis, are all that have yet to be emitted. Le Timbre-poste states that the Portuguese administration has ordered a per- forating machine from the celebrated Belgian makers, MM. Gouveloos, of Brussels. Virgix Islands. — The stamps for these islands, of the designs described and figured a short time since in these pages, have come into circulation. The paper used, as for the proofs, is white. "We observed in a portion of a sheet of sixpennies which came under our notice, a. CO. (probably an abbreviation of the makers' name) watermarked in letters about three-quarters of an inch in length : with this exception the stamps we have seen are without watermark. They are well printed, ■with a space between the rows, giving ample room for the perforations, which, in the sam- ples we have seen, do not encroach at all on the design. The colour of the penny is a rich chrome-green, very pleasant to the eye : of the sixpenny, deep-rose, like the proof. Holstein. — A new 2 schg. stamp for this province was received in Paris at the com- mencement of this year, obliterated with the date olst December, 1866. It resembles the 1 j, l.y, and 4 schg. stamps of the duchy in the border pattern, and bears the figure 2 in the centre. The frame of its predecessor Avas solid. The change was apparently made to bring the design into conformity with the other values ; and the existing \ schg. has, according to Le CuUeciionneur, been pro- visionally replaced by the \ schg. Schles- wig-Holstein of 1865, with the same object. India. — A correspondent at Calcutta has informed us that a stamp, value 6 annas and 8 pice (equal to tenpence), is shortly to be issued fur payment of the single rate of postage, via Marseilles. The supply of these stamps, he says, is on its way out. At present we presume the provisional 6 annas is used in conjunction with the existing 8 pies to prepay the rate we have named. Finland. — A new stamp, value 8 pen., black on green, perforated like the rest, has been issued for this province. Cuba. — A new series of stamps has been emitted for this colony, differing only from the last in the alteration of the date to that of the present year, and in being perforated. The colours are the same. The new date is as clearly visible on the 5 c, as the former was indistinct. The values are as before — 5 c, 10 c, 20 c, and 40 c. B/OUMania. — We learn from Le Collectioa- neur that the supply of 5 paras stamps having been exhausted at Bucharest, the authorities there have issued envelopes with two and a half adhesive 2 para stamps affixed to the left upper corner, the half stamp being cut diagonally. In adopting this expedient, the Roumanian officials have, perhaps unwittingly, taken a leaf out of the books of some of our own colonies. The worm-like capability of independent exist- ence on the part of divided halves of the old Nova Scotian andXewfoundland stamps, has long since been observed and commented on. Scotch Locals. — We have to notice the appearance of local stamps for Glasgow, similar in general design to those issued for London, and, like them, brought out by a circular delivery company. The central shield is occupied with the Glasgow instead of the London arms, viz., a tree, with a fish and a bell at the base, and a bird ou the top. The values are two — one farthing black, one halfpenny red. The Edinburgh and Leith Company has also issued fresh stamps, iden- tical in design with those first issued, but of a reduced size and somewhat better executed. The colours and values are- mauve, one halfpenny green. -one farthing March 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 43 THE FRENCH POST-OFFICE. The history of the post-office in any country is, to a large extent, the measure of its social progress and commercial activity. In the fact mentioned by Sir Walter Scott in one of his letters, that the mail from London towards the middle of the last century once reached Edinburgh with only a single letter from the south, one can read the narrow limits of personal intercourse, the compara- tive isolation of different parts of the country, the strength of local feelings and obstacles to national co-operation which then prevailed. And in the same way one can understand the stagnation of the French provinces and the undue supremacy of the seat of govern- ment, when the country folk had to go for their letters to the chief town of a canton or even in many cases of an arrondissement. In 1829 no fewer than 35,587 communes were completely ignored by the post-office. The quickening of provincial life in all parts of the country, and the general development of industry and trade, are equally illustrated by the modern statistics of the same service. The number of post-offices in the whole of France, which in 1791 was only 1,419, had risen to 1,799 in 1829, and is now not far short of 5,000. The sale of postage stamps has risen from 4,446,766 francs in 1849, to 60,695,548 francs, a sixth of the latter sum being contributed by Paris alone. Thirty thousand employes conduct the service ; 43,000 letter-boxes are daily filled and emptied many times, and every year the mails travel 27,730,000 kilometres by rail, and 51,700,000 on the highways. When the new lines are open the total journeys will not be far short of 100,000,000 of kilome- tres. France has followed the example of England step by step in the management of this service, and the organization in each case is now pretty nearly identical. The trans- mission of letters has survived as a govern- ment monopoly in every country, even where almost every other monopoly has disap- peared. England and France resemble each other in the circumstance that each draws a large profit for the public treasury from the post-office. The United States supplies, probably, the only example of such a service conducted for the benefit of the community at an absolute loss. In France the gross re- ceipts of the post-office have been 424,920,408 francs for the last five years, and the annual revenue to the state 20,000,000 francs. The franking of letters is still continued, and apparently much abused by public func- tionaries of all kinds in France, and also by various charitable societies, agricultural clubs, - and other bodies. The post-office does its best to resist this oppressive free list ; but ministers are with difficulty made to under- stand that they must themselves pay for the delivery of their invitations to dinner, and the gendarmerie sulked for a long while after they were warned that the post-office would not carry their jack-boots for nothing. An article by M. Maxime du Camp in the Revue des Deux Mondes, to which we are in- debted for these facts, bears testimony to the care and conscientiousness of the French post-office. The writer says he has re- peatedly posted letters addressed in Arabic, Russian, and Greek, which have been duly delivered. Two 'blind men,' to use the English phrase, are engaged at the Paris post-office to decipher illegible envelopes, of which about a thousand daily pass through their hands, all but a twentieth of these being sent to their right destination. Of the remnant, a good many are safely delivered, through indications obtained when they are opened ; but eccentric addresses, such as Mdlle. FrariQoise, pour j 'aire parvenir a son fere, or Pour le bon Pieu, dans le Paradis (ciel), naturally baffle the postmen. The clerks in the jposte-restante branch of the Rue Jean- Jacques Rousseau will have hot work this year, if 1855 (when some 2,000 people called daily) be any precedent. The clerks in this department, it is said, continually enjoy glimpses of dramas and farces, and perhaps now and then of tragedies, which eclipse the repertoires of the Gymnase or Palais Royal. One of the most interesting parts of M. du Camp's article is that relating to the cabinet noir of the French Post-Office. Its establishment dates from the first regular organization of the service; for Louis XL expressly enjoined the royal couriers to deliver no letters until they had examined 44 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [March 1, 1867. their contents, and satisfied themselves that there was nothing in them to the prejudice of the government. Succeeding monarchs were equally unscrupulous in dealing with the correspondence of their subjects ; but the cabinet du secret des postes did not be- come an avowed institution till the time of Louis XV. Six or seven clerks were re- gularly employed in opening letters which passed through the post, making a note of their contents, and then carefully sealing them up again. Nothing seems to have been beneath the notice of the King and his favourites, who delighted not only to pene- trate the secrets of political intrigue, but to make merry over the gallantries and scandals of private life. Louis XVI., with his simple honesty, at first would have nothing to do with such proceedings. But the traditions of the old form of statecraft were too strong for him, and before long the ' black room ' was re-established. Notwithstanding the protest of the National Assembly against any tampering with private letters, the same system was maintained with more or less disguise during the greater part of the Revo- lution. Nor was private correspondence any more respected nnder either the Consulate or Empire. At St. Helena, Napoleon spoke contemptuously of the system of opening letters as rather a folly than a crime. 'It is a bad institution,' he said, ' which does more harm than good. It happens so often that the sovereign is in a bad humour, fatigued, influenced by causes having no connection with the matter submitted for his decision ; and then the French are as fickle, as incon- sequential in their correspondence as in their talk.' He confessed, however, that he used to have the letters of his ministers and other officers examined ; and M. de Las Casas confirms the fact, that though the corre- spondence of private persons was allowed to pass as not worth the trouble of investigation, that of the high officers of state, especially when the conduct of any of them excited suspicion, was systematically opened. Kel- lerman's disgrace is thus explained. An annual subsidy of some 600,000 francs was allotted to the ' black room ' under the Em- pire, and also under the Restoration. It survived under the next regime, as was proved by a singular lawsuit. A young lady of excellent family had married a gentleman who was known to hold a lucrative appoint- ment of some sort about the court. His duties occupied him several hours every night, but his wife could never obtain any explicit account of them till the events of July revealed the fact that he was one of the chiefs of the secret chamber of the post- office. The lady made this the ground of an ; application for divorce, but lost her cause, | though she gained the sympathy of the public. M. du Camp passes lightly over the contemporary history of the 'black room.' To the question whether it still exists, he answers in the line — Montaigne eut dit : Quesais-je? Et Rabelais: Peut-etre. He suggests, however, that probability is on the side of its non-existence, as it would now be superfluous. The government can now do openly and legally what it was formerly obliged to do in secret. A simple commis- sary of police can now, on presenting a delegation ad hoc, and giving a receipt, ob- tain from the post-office the letters addressed to any individual. They can then be opened and examined, and if returned to their origi- nal destination, are stamped ' Ouvertes par autorite de justice.' This is the law ac- cording to the Cour de Cassation, but M. du Camp is puzzled to reconcile it with section 187 of the peual code, which runs thus: — ' Any suppression or any opening of letters confided to the post committed by an agent of the government or of the post-office shall be punished by a fine of from 16 fraucs to 500 francs, and an imprisonment of from three months to five years. The offender shall be disqualified for any public duty for at least five years, and not more than ten years.' — Pall Mall Gazette. POSTAGE-STAMP PORTRAITS.— VI. THE EMPEROR OF BRAZIL. The philatelic world is now pretty. familiar with the features of the Emperor of Brazil, as faithfully portrayed on the new series of stamps for that state ; but as an accurate acquaintance with his personal history may not be equally widespread, we make no apology for laying before our readers such details concerning it as we possess. March 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 45 The present emperor, Don Pedro II., was born in the year 1825, and ascended the throne less than six years after. His father, the first emperor of Brazil, had commenced his reign under the happiest auspices ; but a long course of tyranny had estranged his subjects from him ; and his obstinate per- sistence in refusing to grant necessary re- forms, left him at length no choice but to abdicate, which he did in 1831, in favour of his son, the subject of our sketch. A week afterwards, he sailed away from Rio, and said farewell to his child, his people, and his empire. The child-emperor was immediately pro- claimed ; and the crowds, which had threat- ened his father's life, drew him in triumph through, the city. He was placed in a window of the palace ; and for hours the vast multitude thronged past, shouting and blessing him. The Andradas, men who had been foremost in their opposition to the late ruler, stood by him, and by their powerful assistance all tumults were at least tempo- rarily crushed. From the time of his accession until he was fourteen, the empire was governed by successive regencies ; Andrada was the first who held the reins ; and he was followed by Carvalho, Muniz, Peijo, and Lima, all of whom had fierce contests with the opposition in the representative chambers, and had also to repress provincial revolts, which from time to time disturbed the tranquillity of the state. The conduct of these regents, however, needed the watching it received ; and, though the debates in both houses were often violent and tumultuous, constitutional liberty was, in the end, benefited by the parliamentary warfare. In spite also of the insurrections in the interior, the country improved greatly, and became prosperous. In 1840, the opposition commenced their attack on the then regent, Lima — a man greatly disliked — by a motion to declare the emperor of age, notwithstanding that an article of the constitution enacted that the emperor should not be deemed to have attained his majority till eighteen. He was then fourteen years old; but had shown even at that age singular precocity and good sense. The nation caught at the idea ; the more readily, as it was weary of the endless struggles for place and power between the contending factions, and of the tumults they caused. The opposition was supported]] in its demand ; and a great and general interest taken in the debates which followed the motion. As the dispute proceeded [to quote an excellent work, * whence we have drawn most of our information], men's spirits began to get inflamed. The people crowded the galleries more and more, still keeping a decorous silence, but following, with looks of increasing excitement and interest, the changes of the long debate. Speaker after speaker denounced the regent and his party, and vehemently urged the immediate proclamation of the emperor, and the abolition of the regency. The government men grew uneasy ; and fully conscious that hundreds of attentive ears were listening from the packed and ominous galleries, and that excited thousands outside were immediately informed of the sense of every speech, were still more disturbed by the bold assertion of an eminent member, Alvares Machado, ' That the cause of the emperor was the cause of the nation, and ought to receive the approbation of every lover of his country.' The language of the opposition grew more and more threatening. Navarro, a deputy from Mato Grossa, one of the great mining districts, was in the full tide of vehement denunciation of the regent, and all that he had ever done. Suddenly, he shouted, ' Hurrah for his imperial majesty's majority-' In an instant, spectators, audience, and opposition burst into a thundering and uncontrollable roar of applause. Navarro drew his handkerchief from Ms bosom, and waved it. The ministerialists, some fearing this was a preconcerted signal, and others seeing, or pre- tending to see, the glimmer of a dagger in his hand, rose to fl}\ One seized the excited speaker, who struggled violently. It was not for some time that anything like order was restored. Meanwhile, the news had reached the crowds outside ; and through the whole city spread the cry, ' The majority of the emperor.' Some proclaimed him in the squares and public places ; and then- shoutings penetrated even into the chambers. The ministers obtained from the house the appointment of a committee to consider the matter ; but the next day, the regent decreed the prorogation of the houses till November, and the appointment of Vasconellos as minister of the empire. All that Lord Bute wras to our grandfathers and more, Vas- conellos was to the Brazilians ; and his appointment, together with the attempted prorogation, sent the people and the deputies into a fresh paroxysm of rage and loyalty. Amid the shouts of the people, Antonio Andrada called upon the house and strangers to follow him to the senate. The Brazilian house of lords received them with open arms. The two houses appointed a deputation to the emperor himself, requesting his own consent to his im- mediate proclamation. While waiting its return, the * Brazil : its History, People, Natural Productions, &c. London I The Religious Tract Society. 46 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [March 1, 1867. senators exerted themselves to the utmost to keep the vast »es of people quiet. The deputation returned; his had assented, ordered the regent to revoke his . pronounced the chambers again in session, and promised forthwith to take the oa:hs and reins of govern- ment. And thus it was that the emperor com- menced his life-work at fourteeu. In due time he began his progress through the crowded streets. The sight of his pleasant boyish face — even now in mature manhood singularly handsome, — and his tall well- grown form delighted his excitable people. They thronged round his carriage, as he drove to the senate, with cries of boisterous loyalty, and it did not evaporate in noise : for, from that day to this, it has hardly ever wavered. There is not perhaps in the world a more beloved sovereign than Don Pedro II., Emperor of Brazil. Under his reign, the progress of the nation has been steady and prosperous. His personal character and attainments are high : and he is on excellent terms with his subjects, with whom he and his consort mingle freely. He is distinguished by an inquisitive thirst for information, and this inquisitiveness has produced good fruit, his attainments being very considerable in most branches of science. He is a good practical engineer, and a fair artist ; his linguistic at- tainments are altogether above the ordinary run : he can speak six languages, and can translate out of all the European tongues. Travellers, who have been favoured with a personal interview, remark that it seems impossible to start any subject which is un- familiar to this prince. His literary acquire- ments are considerable, and his love of books insatiable. He never misses a meeting of the Brazilian Historical Society, and is intimately acquainted with all European literature. Literary men have found in him a munificent benefactor. It is highly to his credit, that when M. de Lamartine was in deep pecuniary distress, the emperor ordered five thousand copies of his last work, and, in this delicate way, contrived to aid him more materially than any one else. Mr. Longfellow, we are told, is his favourite poet. Indeed, his majesty has, it is whispered, himself achieved certain productions, strictly kept private, of which, not a few are in rhyme ; one has, somehow, slipped out — a poem in Portuguese, from a translation whereof we give a verse. 1 The chair of justice is the throne : Who takes it bows to higher laws : The public good, and not his own, Demands his care in every cause. S glee: of duty, always wrong, Detestable in young or old, By him, whose place is high and strong, ' I? magnified a thousand-fjld.' The excellence of the sentiments, and the youth of the royal poet at the date of the composition, may excuse any defects of the poetry. Let us hope that he may keep to the principles, and improve in their expi ession. POSTAL CHIT-CHAT. In the month of January, for the first time since the opening of railway communication, the snow put a stop for several days To the postal communication between this country and the continent, and even interfered somewhat seriously with the transmission of letters b stureen London and the northern parts of Scotland.— The Bookseller. The Yikgix Islands. — There seems to be a strangp confusion of symbolism in the design of the stamps of these islands. Le Cotlectionneur states that Columbus, hiving regard to their number, named them in com- memoration of the celebrated eleven thousand virgins of Cologne. In that event, the number of the lamps in the margin of the design — eleven — is accounted for ; and the aureola round the virgin's head is also explained, as typifying the glory which accompanied the martyrdom of the aforesaid eleven thousand ladies. But the lamps shed no light on the reason for their own appearance, which is inexplicable, except on the supposition that they, in conjunction with the figure and the lamp it bears, are intended to be either primarily or secondarily suggestive of the scripture parable. Arms of ors. West Indian Colonies. — It is matter for regret that the West Indian Islands generally have not chosen to employ their armorial bearings for the designs of their stamps, in preference to the ever-repeated queen's head. The shield of Antigua bears a pleasant landscape, embracing a tall tropical tree in the foreground, a fortress on the hill in the middle distance, and in the rear the sea and mountain peaks. St. Lucia has another view, that of a harbour guarded by forts, with ships visible beyond, and on the right the sun, partially seen, rising behind two conical hills. The St. Vincent shield, again, contains a representation of two figures, one kneeling and sacrificing on an altar, the other standing bent forward, olive-branch in hand; below is the motto, pax et JUSTITIA. The Bahamas adopt as their motto, expulsis piratis. kestiti ta coMMEHCTA, be- neath a shield, occupied with a view of the sea, on which is seen an English mau -of- war, with the flag of St. George flying at the mizen. In the distance are seen other vessels, and the suu, rising out of the ocean, illumines all. The arms of the Bermudas are a graving- dock, and a dismasted ship outside. The shield of Jamaica contains the arms and supporters known to collectors from their appearance on the Mtttt-postal shilling stamps of the island ; but the principal portion March 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 47 of the armorial device consists of a king, enthroned beneath a canopy, receiving homage and gifts from a kneeling figure. Lastly, the Trinidad shield shows a near view of a harbour, with a fort on the right, whereon a tiag is flying, to the left is a man-of-war at anchor, and in front a boat ; mountains in the background complete the scene. When St. Kitts issues stamps, let us hope she will adopt as the device her arms,— Columbus, standing on the deck of his vessel, telescope to eye, scanning the coast. There would be at once beauty and suggestiveness in such a design. CORRESPONDENCE. NEW SHADE OF THE MALTA STAMP. To the Editor of 'The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Dear Sir,— From the enclosed Malta halfpenny you can see that the last supply received from England shows a difference in colour. The faded buff has been changed to a light-orange, which makes it appear to a better advantage. Besides, the paper is rather thicker than that used formerly. I trust it will always continue so, and at least thus look a decent stamp. Believe me to be yours very truly, Malta. J. S. [We think the paper itself is but little stouter: the gum, in our opinion, causes the apparent increase in thickness. The colour is brighter, and the stamp bears the crown and C C watermark.— Ed.] THE ENGRAVERS OF THE UNITED STATES' STAMPS. To the Editor o/'The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Dear Sir,— The manufacture of the United States adhesives is generally attributed to the National Bank- Note Company; but that company has not had the honour of engraving all of the several issues. The old New York post-office 5 c. and the 5 and 10 c. of 1847 were engraved by Messrs. Rawdon, Wright, Hatch, & Edson ; and at the bottom of the 5 and 10 c. collectors will find their imprint. The issue of 1851-60 was engraved by Messrs. Toppan & Carpenter; and the stamps were issued by government in the following order, viz , 1, 3, and 12 c. in July, 1851, the 10 c. in May, 1855, the 5 c. in January, 1856, the 24 c. in June, and the 30 and 90 c. in August, 1860. Both of the above firms are now incorporated with the American Bank-Note Company, of New York. At the breaking out of the great Southern rebellion the use of the foregoing was discontinued, and a new issue ordered by the United States government, which appeared in 1861, and was engraved by the National Bank-Note Compaq-. Trusting that this may be of some use, I remain, Sir, respectfully yours, Boston, Mass. JAMES M. CHUTE. ON THE COLLECTION OF VARIETIES OF PERFORATION. To the Editor of ' The Stamp-Collector's Magazine. Sir, — In the course of perusal of ) our volume for last j 3_ear, I lighted upon the controversy which took place in the correspondence columns, as to the propriety of col- lecting varieties of perforation. Having begun but recently to study philately, my opinion on the point in question was not fully formed. I therefore read with a mind open to conviction from either side; and upon reflecting over the matter, I felt bound to decide in favour of abstention, in my own individual case, from the attempt to gather specimens illustrative of the different classes of denticulation, for reasons which, with your permission, I will endeavour to state. It appears to me that knowledge to be worth striving for should be of some appreciable use ; and I cannot see that the fact that certain stamps are perforated by a certain number of dents is in itself instructive, or in any manner suggestive. To me such a fact is a fact — and nothing more ; it affords no starting point for reflection, and is in itself infinitely unimportant. I can justify the collection of stamps on the oft-repeated grounds, tha"t tbe little squares of paper are historically, geographically, and artistically useful and suggestive, and that they are. to us the visible signs of those vast agencies whereby the correspondence of the world is carried on. I can justify the collection of perforated as distinguished from un- perforated varieties ; for perforations render stamps more perfect in their adaptability to the uses for which they are manufactured. As in the great majority of instances stamps have been issued perforated, not by private persons, but by the postal authorities, and that from a desire to accommodate the public, I am correct in saying, that perforation is neither an accidental nor an unim- portant change in the appearance and character of a stamp. Again, I can justify the collection of water- marked varieties, on the ground that the watermarks were introduced with a view to prevent forgery, and therefore are of almost as much consequence as the designs themselves. And! can see that changes of paper, though often probably due to some accidental circum- stance, are, on the other hand, as often the result of an intention on the part of the administration of the post to make stamps more serviceable ; as for instance, in the case of the old Turkish 20 para and 1 piastre, which were issued on thin paper first, and then on paper of a thicker and more substantial kind. But the attempt to distinguish and classify varieties of perforation can only result in the discovery of dull, barren, ultimate facts. Differences in the number of holes arise, of course, either from the serrations of the machine having been in some manner altered, or from a new machine altogether being employed ; and such me- chanical changes are not likely to have been the result of deliberate action on the part of the postal administra- tion, but rather of casual arrangement t)y the firm which has the manufacture of the stamps, or the individuals in their service. With respect to the Belgian stamps adduced by Mr. Pemberton in illustration of his argument, it seems to me that if Nos. 3 and 4 really form distinct issues, there must be difference enough between them in coloiu- to justify a collector in admitting both without reference to their perforations; and if there be not such a difference in colour, or in some other important detail, then to my mind the simple difference in perforation of the two sets does not constitute a reason for collecting both. Two issues must be very like each other which can only be distinguished by counting the respective dents ; and if they can be distinguished otherwise, such counting is ' a work of supererogation.' I think this question of perforation admits of argument; and that the 'don't-interfere-with-me' style of reply on the part of the so-called 4 French school ' is not exactly in itself a dignified way of meeting opposing comments ; though I am quite ready to admit that Mr. Pemberton has coupled his deprecatory remarks with a fair defence of his creed. For my own part, I have no more desire than I have power to compel another collector to abjure perforations. Philatelists form a republic, in which free thought is permitted ; and such being the case, I have availed myself of your columns to state my views on this vexed question. I am, Sir, yours respectfullv, Leeds. A PHILATELIST. 48 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [March 1, 186; ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. Thtjbn V Taxi*, Altrincham.— The same dies have been used for all the issues of North and South Germany ; the paper and ink alone have been changed. — The^ s. gr. j red has been obsolete nearly two years. X. C. B. — There are two shades of the Tasmanian 2d. — a dark chrome and alight pea-green. The latter is now in use. — The oval embossed newspaper stamp of New South Wales is no longer current. The design used for i the present penny adhesive is now impressed on the newspaper wrappers. \V. James. — The oblong h s. gr. green of Brunswick is still in use, probably for the simple reason that there is a stock of them still on hand. There are two shades of the old 2 s. gr. Brunswick envelope — a bright blue and a dull or cobalt blue ; and places for both in Lallier's album. Not a bene, York. — The British post-offices in foreign towns are connected with the London office, and not independent establishments. All use the English stamps, j L. S. — You are right in supposing that the inscription, | toste estexsi, on the ducal Modenese stamps does not mean Modena. We may translate it freely as ' the post of the j house of Este' — the ruling family of the state. Ignoramus. — The fact that your 3 and 4 candareen Shanghai stamps, first issue, contain the value in the j singular number proves nothing against them. So little care was used in printing them, that the omission of a letter from the inscription must have been a frequent occurrence. We have in our own collection specimens of j the 2, 3, 4, 8, and 16 candareen stamps with the value in the singular, and also all the denominations, except of course the lowest, with the value in the plural number. | The 16 cand. is found of a dull red, vermilion, and lake- I red ; and we have seen several examples of the 6 cand. printed, not in the usual chocolate, but in orange-red. Pilot, Bury St. Edmund's. — Of the four stamps you sent, the Lubeck only is forged ; the imitation postmark j is employed by the forgers to give a genuine appearance i to such stamps. — The new 1 c. Belgian has been issued both perforated and unperforated, — in the latter state, in consequence of an injury to the perforating machine. There is a 5 c. brown Belgian. — You must refer to a dealer's catalogue to find the value of a Mulready ■ envelope. — The 5 para Egyptian bears a pyramid for watermark. — ' How does it happen,' inquires this cor- respondent, ' that there are so many more unused than used stamps issued r ' He must surely know that all stamps are issued unused. That unused stamps are more easily obtainable than used ones arises from the fact that dealers purchase large quantities of the former, as they are most in request.— There are not two distinct shades of the 5 pen. Finland ; the colour of this stamp varies a little, and is soon affected by exposure. A. C, Liverpool, wishes to know if we can confirm reports he has heard, that it is intended to revive the old tenpenny stamp for payment of the single rate of postage ; to Australia via Marseilles; and to issue a five-shilling stamp for heavy foreign letters. "We are not in a position to confirm or deny these reports; but we fully coincide with our correspondent's opinion, that stamps of the values named are much required. E. D., Oxford. — The penny English stamp bearing the letters o. u. s. (the initials of the Oxford Union Society) is undoubtedly collectable. You are in error in supposing it has not been noticed before. We referred to it in our first volume, and again at p. 96 of vol. ii. W. S. Cooper.— Tour fourpenny English is not the rare variety on blue paper. It is an ordinary specimen of the first issued. Inquirer.— The Finland stamp, given with the last number, is one of a series which has appeared since the publication of your edition of Lallier. In like manner, the black St. Lucia is one of a set of comparatively late appearance; the blue belongs to the older issue. — If the scarcity of stamps named in Lallier were to form a ground for questioning their existence, there are not a few which you would have to set down as doubtful. The Nova Scotia shilling, for instance, about which you inquire, is very rare, and frequently unobtainable for iove or money. — There are two shades of the sixpenny stamps of Queens- land and South Australia. E. E. H. — The stamp you describe is the lowest value of the present issue for the Argentine Republic. J. if. Chl-te, Boston, United States.— Thanks for the specimen of the new St. Domingo stamp you were good enough to send. — The first issues of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were engraved in this country, where proofs of the dies printed in black on India paper exist. J. L. C, Guildford.— The yellow Spanish stamp is a specimen of the 4 cs. orange of the issue of 1860-1. Your oval blue hand-stamp with a wood-cut of a post-horn and some almost illegible words, apparently baxjehx assixg, is decidedly a humbug. — Your third stamp is a forgery of the very well-known but rare Hamburg essaj-, 1 sch. brown oblong. J. B. B., Norwich. — This correspondent calls attention to the change of the figure on the -id. English from 7 to 8, and inquires the reason, and surmises that it must be important; but in fact the numbers are those of the plate, and entirely connected with the printing. Similarly different numbers may be found in the other values ; these are of no philatelic interest, except in so far as they show the mode adopted in checking or numbering the plates from time to time, and thus prevent fraud. O. "W., King's Lynn. — Thanks for your enclosure; j'ou will see we have made use of it. P. H. C— Your stamp inscribed timrre Madrid must be a forgery; no Spanish stamp would bear the word timbre on it. — A proof of the Mulready envelope on India paper is worth from 15 to 17 6.— Laid paper has lines in it, woven none, but is of a uniform texture. — The distinction between denticulations a la machine (as of our English stamps) and a la roulette (as of the water- marked stamps of Victoria) will be best understood on comparison of the stamps themselves ; one machine makes a round hole and removes a piece of the paper, the other punctures and removes none. — To discover a water- mark hold the stamp between a clear light and the eye, and if no mark is visible, place it on a dark surface, which will throw up the watermark. Should these means fail, wet the stamp, and repeat each process while it is quite wet. A very little experience will suffice for the detection of watermarks. — The 6d. blue (Queen on throne) of Victoria are all watermarked with a star. Sxaefell, Douglas, Isle of Man. — Your inquiry was, we regret, overlooked.— Moens' album was published in 1864, and is now out of print. "We are not able to state whether there will be a new edition, but trust that there will. No loose leaves have ever been provided for the present on?. The last edition of Lallier's was published in the summer of 1866, and contained spaces for most of the new issues to that date. G. "W., Dover, informs us, that 'for the satisfaction of collectors, he has discovered amongst his stamps' a fourpence rose Victoria, watermarked with the words FIVE shillings. On reference to the article on Vic- torian stamps, vol. iii., p. 167, he will find this variety chronicled and commented on. April 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 49 THE POSTAGE STAMPS OF THE UNITED STATES. The emissions of a country so powerful and so prominent as the United States have, since first philately became a study, attracted the attention of collectors. Many detached items of information have been published respecting them, and the meanest tyro, an- swering in the collectorial ranks to Macau- lay's celebrated ' fourth-form boy,' knows something of their history, or is, at any rate, acquainted with their appearance. But hitherto no attempt has been made to group together, in one paper, the many facts which have been added piecemeal to our stock of information. The present article is an en- deavour on our part to remedy the deficiency ; but as we have not been lucky enough to obtain access to hidden stores of data res- pecting these stamps, we cannot promise to reveal to our readers any important discov- eries, but must ask them to be content with a resume, which will be available in a com- pact form for reference. Before describing the stamps, it will, how- ever, be necessary to give a short statement of the postal laws prior to their issue, and we cannot do this better than by quoting the late Mr. Lesley's lucid account of them, which appeared in the first volume of The Stamp- Collector 's Magazine, and will probably be new to many of our readers. Previous to the act of March 3, 1845, the tax upon the carriage of letters was not regulated by weight. The rate for a letter, consisting of not more than a single sheet of letter-paper, varied in accordance with the dis- tance over which it was to be carried. The charges were excessive, and the varying distances caused an endless perplexity of rates. The single rate for any distance between one hundred and three hundred miles was 12J I cents. This was the price charged, for instance^ j between Boston and New York, between New York and i Philadelphia. The agitation in favour of, and final adoption in j England of the penny-postage sjrstem, excited a corres- I ponding interest and movement in the United States in favour of a reduction of what were felt to be, in com- j parison with British rates, extortionate postal charges. As happens with all political reforms, it took time to de- velope public sentiment, and to draw the attention of Congress to this important subject. The government rates for carrying letters were deemed so onerous, that in the fall of 1844 private parties undertook to transport letters on their own account between points where they felt sure that money could be earned at lower rates. And, although such attempts to defraud the post-office revenues were in direct contravention of existing laws, popular sentiment, inpressed with the idea of getting a better service at a lower price, winked at the law's infractions ; and, al- though the violations of the law were carried on with comparatively little secrecy, the perpetrators were never reached, or, at any rate, were never punished. The successful efforts of these private carriers soon commenced to tell upon the postal revenues, and, as the natural consequence, the post-office department was com- pelled to propose the remedy so clamorously called for by public opinion. By the act of March 3, 1845, Congress at one sweep abolished the previous dear rates, as well as the annoying scale of varying distances ; and, whilst sub- stituting the weight-standard, reduced at the same time the rate for a single letter to 5 cents for any dis- tance under three thousand miles, and 10 cents for all distances over three thousand miles. By the pro- visions of the same act. drop-letters (by which was meant letters intended for delivery in the same town where posted, as distinguished from letters intended for transportation to other towns) were chargeable with a tax of 2 cents, prepayment being optional. It will be seen, then, that the adoption of the new postal system was forced on the government by the prior establishment of private posts. The attempt, however, ap- pears to have been made to do without ad- hesives, substituting probably for them a hand-stamp, but it is evident that these make-shifts did not answer. The post- masters in New York, and some other large towns, no doubt finding it impossible to carry on business, in the year 1846-7 issued stamps on their own responsibility. These unofficial emissions were recognized by the authorities as valid for the prepayment of postage, and consequently such stamps did duty, not only on local letters, but on correspondence be- tween one city and another, and even between the States and some of our colonies. They therefore take rank between the issues . of private persons or companies and fully authorised governmental issues, and were as follows : — New York Post Office. — Portrait of Wash- ington in oval, post office above, five cents below, new YORK in upper angles. Blk. imp., large rect. 5 cents black. Providence Rhode Island Post Office. — In- scription, Pitov. ft. i. crossing a transverse oval, with post office above and value below in curved lines, the whole enclosed in a rectangular scrolled frame. Blk. imp., rect. 5 cents black. 10 „ 50 THE STAMr-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [April 1, 1867. St. Louis rest Office. — Device supported by bears. Inscription, saint louis tost office. Blk. imp., rect. 10 cents black. The best-known of the group is the New York Post Office, of which genuine obliterated specimens are easily obtainable. Their com- parative! \' limited circulation is evidenced by the fact, that the cancellations are, as Ave believe, uniformly made with pen and ink. The Rhode Island stamps are much rarer. Reprints of the pair are sold, the plates hav- ing, it is reported, been purchased from the office at a high price, by a New York dealer. We have seen entire sheets of these reprints, and they may, so far as we know, be what they profess to be. We have no means of comparing them at present with undoubted originals, but cannot help noticing the differ- ence, not only in the details of engraving, but in size, between the two stamps, the ten cent being better drawn, and considerably smaller. The St. Louis we cannot describe from sight, having, unfortunately, never been able to get even a glance at one. Neither this nor the Providence stamp is figured or described in Moens' valuable Illustrations, though others, whose existence as genuine, working stamps is far less authenticated, find place in it. The New York stamp is distinguishable, even amongst the emissions of the United States, for its rare beauty of engraving. It was produced by Messi-s. Rawdon, Wright, Hatch, & Edson, and spurious proofs in several colours are now offered for sale. AVhilst on the subject of these preliminary; stamps, we may note that one is said to have been prepared and issued by the postmaster of 13 rattleboro, Vermont, in 1848. The occasion for its emission being the exhaustion of the stock of government five-cent stamps, and the postmaster's preference for an adhesive label of some sort or other, over the hand- stamped words 'paid five cents,' as evidence of prepayment. As, however, this impression was but recently discovered, some further proof of its authenticity is requisite before it can take rank as a duly accredited postage stamp. It was not until the 3rd of March, 1847, that the Act of Congress was passed which authorised the use of postage stamps, and shortly afterwards two were emitted : 5 cents, brown on grey, 10 „ black on blue. The design was a portrait in oval, with post office above, u. s. in the upper cor- ners, the value in words in a curve beneath the oval, and a numeral (Arabic in the five cent, Roman in the 10 cent) denoting the value in the lower corners. The portraits chosen for representation were those of Franklin (on the former) and Washington (on the latter). They are excellently en- graved; the manufacturers of the New York stamps having been employed for their production; the initials of the firm R. w. h. and e. will be found in the lower margin of both values. Very fine proofs of both in their normal colours, on white paper, exist, but they are probably of recent origin. These stamps respective!}7- prepaid the sin- gle rate for distances under and over 3000 miles, as settled by the act of 1845, and they sufficed for the requirements of correspond- ence under the new system, which, though based on the principles adopted in European countries, was, and still is restricted in its benefit by the non-delivery of letters, except for an extra fee. The rates at first adopted were not exor- bitant, when the long distances are taken into consideration, but in 1851 it was resolved to reduce them to three cents for letters under three thousand miles if prepaid, whilst if not prepaidthe old vate office cents was collected.* The reduction thus made was a wise one, and greatly increased the correspondence. The rates have not since been lowered, because under the present system any further lower- in or would cause a greater loss than is at present suffered, and moreover for such long distances the charge of three cents is com- paratively as low as our penny, as Anthony Trollope conclusively shows in a passage we cannot forbear extracting. f When we compare ourselves to them, we must remem- ber that we live in a tea-cup, and they in a washing-tub. As compared with them, we inhabit towns which are close to each other. Our distances, as compared with theirs, are nothing. From London to Liverpool the line of rail- * The Stamp-Collector'' s Muqaziue, vol. i., p. 155. ■j" North America, vol. ii., pp. 375-6. April 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 51 way traverses about two hundred miles, but the mail-train which conveys the bags for Liverpool, carries the corres- pondence of probably four or five millions of persons. The mail-train from New York to Buffalo passes over, about four hundred miles, and on its route serves not one million. A comparison of this kind might be made with the same effect between any of our great internal mail routes, and any of theirs. Consequently, the expense of conveyance to them is, per letter, very much greater than us, and the American Post-office is, as a matter of necessity, driven to an economy in the use of railways for the post- office service, which we are not called on to practice. From New York to Chicago is nearly 1000 miles. From New York to St. Louis is over 1600 miles. I need not say that in England we know nothing of such distances, and that therefore our task has been comparatively easy. Nevertheless the States have followed in our track, and have taken advantage of Sir Rowland Hill's wise audacity in the reduction of postage with greater quickness than any other nation, except our own. Through all the states letters pass for three cents over a distance loss than 3000 miles. For distances above 3000 miles the rate is ten cents or five pence. This increased rate has special refer- ence to the mails for California, which are carried daily across the whole continent at a cost to the United States government of two hundred thousand pounds a year. In consequence of the alteration in the rates, three new stamps were issued : 1 cent, blue. 3 „ red. 12 „ black. The devices of these stamps are too well known to need description. We need only say that they bore respectively the heads of Franklin (on the lower value) and Washing- ton (on the two higher). The engravers of these stamps, which formed the vanguard of a new series, were Messrs. Toppan, Carpen- ter, & Co., and the change of manufacture is evident from the different style and general inferiority of design. The one-cent is not free in its outlines, and the portrait is much too large for its surroundings ; the bust on the three-cent looks naked and gaunt, the corner stars are petty, and the inscriptions are not bold enough ; the twelve-cent, the best of the three, is also disfigured by multi- rayed corner stars, which merely show the skill of the engraver in directing the action of certain geometrical machines. The use of the three-cent stamp has been already explained ; the twelve-cent was no doubt for heavy or foreign letters ; the one- cent paid the charge for carriage of local letters from one district of a city to another, but not the charge for delivery, which was an additional cent. The evil effect of this charge, which still exists, in restricting cor- respondence, is dwelt on with much force by Mr. Trollope, in the course of his review of the United States Post-office. His remarks on this portion of his subject we lave already extracted in a previous volume, to which we must refer our readers.* It was, we believe, in the year 1851, that a small oblong stamp was issued, bearing an eagle on a branch, in an oval inscribed u. s. P. 0. DESPATCH. PPEPAID ONE CENT. This stamp was, as we understand, placed by the senders on letters dropped into the govern- ment letter-boxes, which were set up in all the principal towns in opposition to the local posts, which previously derived a portion of their income from the charges levied on letters put into their boxes for delivery at the central post-office. We are aware that another use is ascribed to these stamps, and also another date of issue. If we are wrong, we shall submit to correction from our better- informed American friends, only quoting as our authority Mr. Lesley's statement on the point. The emission of the one and twelve-cent stamps did not affect the usefulness of the five and ten-cent of 1847, which remained in use, the former until 1856, and the latter until 1855, and no new issue of adhesives took place between 1851 and 1855 ; but in 1852 Congress authorised the emission of stamped envelopes, which appeared, according to M. Moens — whose generally correct chronology respecting these stamps renders him a reliable guide — in 1853. The following is his statement of the order in which they appeared : July 1, 1853, 3 cents, red. Aug. ], „ 6 „ green. Oct. 17, „ 6 „ red. It was not until April 2, 1855, that the 10 cents, green, was issued. Each value was simultaneously issued on white and on buff paper, and there are two varieties of the ten cents, caused by the cutting of the embossed work in the border, leaving more or less space at the top. The design is extremely simple, and rather roughly carried out; it is not worthy of the producing country, but is at any rate supe- * The Stamp- Collector's Magazine, vol. hi., p. 52. 52 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [April 1, 186^ rioor to the issue which followed. All the United Stare- envelopes were engraved by s. Nesbitt & Co.. of New York. In order of date the following adhesives come next : May 4. 1855, 5 cents, brown. Jan. 5, 1856, 1Q .. green. These stamps were much superior in de- sign to those issued in 1851. The head of Jefferson on the five-cent is splendidly en- graved, and the engine-turned border has a capital effect. The frame of the ten-cent is likewise well conceived, the emblematic stars relieve the arch, and the Roman numerals in the upper corners, suggested perhaps by the old ten-cent stamp, appear appropriate. The new comers, like their predece-- were imperforated, but in September. 1857, the five values were issued perforated, but unchauged in colour. The series was completed by the emission, in ] 860, of three high values, perforated. July 18, 24 cents, lilac. Au2. 2. BO .. oransre. „ 15, 90 .. bluer Each of these shows a different style of design. The twenty-four cent has a very fine reticulated border ; the thirty-cent con- tains heraldic shields in the corners, and spears form the side lines, the border being filled in with scroll work ; the ninety-cent, decidedly the finest of the series, bears an excellent portrait in a frame severely simple, in which the inscriptions are properly con- spicuous. The colours of these stamps were well chosen to show off their distinctive merits, the richness of the orange being ially remarkable. Very shortly after the emission of these stamps, on the 10th of Sept., 1860, five new envelopes made their appearnce : 1 cent. blue. 3 ,, red. 4 .. blue and red. red. I1"1 .. green. With the exception of the one-cent, these, like their predf ss s, were printed on both yellow and white paper. The one-cent is only found on the latter when, in conjunction with the three-cent, it forms the compound value, four cents. The design of these stamps is rough, though the bust is well cut, and, as in the primary issues, the two values, three and six cents, are both the same colour — an arrangement we should have thought, tending to confusion. We are not certain as to the use of the four cent, but it was probably issued for the convenience of senders of letters who wished to prepay the delivery fee, as well as the charge for transit of a single letter. The experiment was ap- parently not found to answer, for the value was not repeated in the succeeding series. The reasons, hereinafter detailed, for the supercession of the adhesives in use in 1860, probably operated, in combination with the obvious ungracefulness of the envelopes we have just noticed, to cause their suppression and the emission, in July. 1861, of a new ies of superior merit, consisting of the following values : 3 c. rose on white and buff paper. 6 .. rose ,. „ 10 ., green „ _ „ 12 .. brown and red on light-yellow paper. 20 .. blue and red „ „ 24 .. ereen and red „ „ 40 .. black and red .. „ The two lowest values, differing from the rest in design, bore the bust of Washington in an oval, with a broad border containing an inscription, the outlines of the letters in which were in relief, as also was a numeral at the sides. The 3 c. was issued (in 1^,:?. according to Moens) on blue paper, the im- pression being made on an entire sheet of letter paper so folded as to form its own wrapper. Complete specimens are rare, as also are the proofs of this value which have been struck in yellow and brown. The higher values have a decidedly hand- some appearance. They may not take rank with the fine productions of De la Rue & Co., but they are a considerable step in ad- vance on the preceding series. In the employment of two colours they are unique, and we regret it has been thought necessary to supersede them by the existing set. It is hardly necessary to say that they all bear the bust of Washington in excellent- relief. Being printed from two dies, some speci- mens of the higher values show the red portions overlapping the other colour. This April 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 53 green, black, lilac, orange. series, in common with the other United States envelopes, was printed on laid paper, watermarked with the letters u. s. P. 0. D. (United States Post-office Department). Returning again to the adhesives, it will j probably surprise many of our readers to learn that the series of 1861, now current in the United States, was issued in conse- quence of the rebellion which then occurred. The postmaster- general deemed it expedient to change the design, probably to prevent the then current stamps, of which a large quantity were in the hands of Southern postmasters, from being surreptitiously used for postage or tendered as money. The issue of 1851-60 ceased to be legal tender on the emission of the new series, which, in its main features, resembled its predecessor, and consisted of the following values and colours, all perforated : 1 c. blue. 3 „ red. 5 „ brown. 10 „ 12 ,: 24 „ 30 ,. 90 „ bluer The alterations made in the design were of unequal merit. The 1 c. was much im- proved ; the 3 c, on the whole, rather worse ; the 5 c, though satisfactory, by no means equal to the former one ; the 10 c, likewise a deterioration, the border being crowded with stars ; the 12 c. much superior ; the 24 c, ineffective ; the 30 c, poorer in colour, but more tasteful in design ; and the 90 c, a good second to its predecessor. The 5 c. wTas first issued a yellowish-brown, and in March, 1862, the hue was changed to dark- brown, which it still remains. The 3 c. is frequently found of a dingy colour, and specimens of the 24 c. in black are known. It is said that a sheet of the latter acciden- tally printed in that colour, was allowed to go into circulation, and we ourselves remem- ber taking a black specimen of the 24 c. off a newly-arrived Californian letter. The 1 c. blue only remained in currency until 1863. In the spring of that year the government raised the charge for drop letters from one to two cents, and issued the black stamp of that value wherewith to pre- pay the advanced rate. Every collector knows that grotesque stamp, consisting of head et prceterea nihil, and representing ' Old Hickory ' — the defender of New Orleans against ' the Britishers ' — as he appeared in his seventh age. Proofs of this stamp, says Mr. James Chute, to whom we are indebted for several of the foregoing facts, wTere struck off in orange, red, green, lilac, blue, drab, slate, and yellow, but these proofs were not issued by the company. A boy in its employ having gained access to the plate and press took advantage of the opportunity to print off a large number of sheets in these colours without the knowledge or authority of the company. He disposed of them at a good price to dealers, but the ' National,' with the aid of a detective, succeeded in procuring from the dealers most of the proofs thus purchased. This is our correspondent's account, but for our own part, we are certain that a considerable number must have es- caped detection, as they were at one time common enough in this countiy. Contemporaneously with the 2 c. adhesive, an envelope of the same value and colour was issued, with the head of Jackson on the centre, and inscribed above u. s. postage. It was impressed on coarse brown newspaper wrappers, as well as on straw, yellow, and buff-coloured envelopes, but never on white. In December, 1864, appeared a fresh pair of envelopes — 3 c. rose. 6 „ They both resembled and differed from the previous issue, having the entire letter instead of the outlines raised, the border wider, and the inscription and figures bolder. The 2 c. black, about the same time, underwent a variation, the inscription, u. s. POSTAGE, being curtailed to u. s. post. Proofs of the latter variety, which is now current, exist in burnt- sienna and in lilac on buff. Our task is drawing to a close. Continu- ing our list, we have to notice the emission, in 1865, of the adhesive 15 c. black, conspicuous for its very exact portrait of Lincoln, its gracefulness of design, and its appropriateness of colour. It is employed to 54 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [April 1, 1867, prepay the single rate of postage to states in the German postal union, Prussia, Austria, and France. Following this are the three large newspaper stamps. 5 c. blue. 10 „ green. 25 „ red. These are magnificent specimens of en- graving which every collector should possess on account of their intrinsic merit as works of art, if for no other reason. They are not identical in design, the "Washington bust being contained in a circle on the 5 c. ; the Franklin in an oval on the 10 c. ; and the Lincoln in an octagon on the 25 c. The busts on the higher values are also consider- ably larger, and the machine-turned network and border ornaments are quite different in each stamp. The colours are rich and well laid on, and the perforations small and neat. Proofs exist of the 5 c. in indigo, the 10 c. in brown and blue, and the 25 c. in green, and are of great rarity. We conclude our examination of these stamps with a list of the current envelopes which appeared in 1865-1866. 3 cents brown on white and buff. 6 „ mauve „ ,, 9 „ yellow on buff. 12 ,, brown „ 18 „ red 24 „ blue 30 „ green 40 „ rose It will be observed that this list includes three new values — 9 c, 18 c, and 30 c, and it is expected that a 15 c. envelope will also be issued. The colours of some of the newly- issued stamps are very ineffective, and our correspondent expresses the hope that they may be supplanted by a series which shall excel in beauty the far-famed Cingalese, but the contract for the manufacture must be transferred to some other house before such hopes can be gratified. AN AMERICAN HOAX. We have received from a Boston correspond- ent a pair of ' designs ' for stamps, said to have been produced by Messrs. Perkins, Bacon, & Co., of London. They are on card, and bear in characters printed with a pen, DRAWN AND ENGRAVED BY PERKINS, BACON, AND CO., London. The one purports to be a penny stamp designed for St. Kitts, the other, of the like value, for British Hon- duras. They, at first, puzzled us much; parts were familiar and parts novel to our eye; and till we recollected the history of Barnum's famous mermaid, we were somewhat at a loss. This tale of fabrication, however, of the cute Yankee showman has been equalled by the person who has concocted this pre- cious pair of 'designs.' We will dissect them, and expose the modus operandi adopted by the ' designer.' The soi-disant St. Kitts design is thus made. Cut the circular central part containing the Queen's head out of a new fourpenny South Australian stamp, turn it to a black colour, paste this on a piece of card, draw round it with India ink a scroll-like border, and put ST. kitts above, value beneath, and the name of a respectable firm as producers in the corner. The British Honduras is, if possible, still more mendacious. Cut out the Queen's head of the five-shilling purple New South Wales stamp, reduce its size by clipping the neck, by acids discharge the purple and cause it to: assume a black colour, paste this on a dead- black oval surrounded by white paper cut into the shape of a garter, inscribed British. Honduras, one penny, and mount the whole on a plain rectangular engine-turned ground of no particular pattern. Affix this to a bit of card, and, as in the former recipe, annex the name of the firm of engravers upon which it is desired to father the production. We have deemed it our duty thus to dissect this pair of pretenders ; and we may add, we do not for an instant believe Messrs. Perkins, Bacon, & Co. would countenance the bare- faced imposture intended. The design, in the former case, if design it can be called, is due to the American Bank Note Company ; and, in the latter, to Messrs. De la Rue & Co., who produced the New South Wales five-shilling die, and also the dies of the British Honduras stamps. It is very evident that some one on the other side of the Atlantic has, for motives April 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 55 into which we do not care to inquire, been attempting an imposition, and we have great satisfaction in giving such publicity to the matter, as will, we trust, effectually prevent any of our readers being induced to part with their money under a mistaken idea of what they are obtaining. THE SECOND ISSUE OF WURTEM- BURG. BY EDWAED L. PEMBERTON. To the collectors of the French, school, the individuals coming under my somewhat comprehensive title, often afford much trouble, their colours are so diverse, yet their appearance so similar, it is not easy to arrange a number of them, without any other guide than existing lists. The design (so well known, I almost feel apologetic in enumerating its details) is two stags sup- porting a shield, embossed in slight relief upon a ground of waved lines forming a chain-like pattern, within a square frame, lettered feeimarke above, and value in kreuzer on the other sides, and with a small star in each angle. The stamp is square, and the paper woven and un watermarked ; the series into which the French school di- vide them are six in number, to wit, With silk threads running: through the paper, not perforated. Without threads, unperforated. Without threads, perforated by machine, 18 by 18. Without threads, perforated by machine, 12 by 12. Without threads, perforated by machine, 12 by 12. The colours of each value altered without . threads, roulette perforation. This really seems a very complicated and formidable lot to undertake to arrange and describe, but, like all the countries whose stamps are so confusing, the arrangement appears very simple and very easy when done. Few countries show us better the importance of correct and due appreciation of the points on which the French school so dilate, and which those who are not with them (consequently are against them) at- tempt to ignore and ridicule. Howrever, we eouid challenge any collector of the ' oppo- sition ' to produce an accurate arrangement which is not based on the principles we follow, and this does not simply refer to the stamps of Wurtemburg, but to those with such hecatombs of varieties as the New Zealanders, which it has been my privilege to be the first to describe minutely in any English periodical. That this system of arrangement entails much extra expense I quite deny, and did such ensue, I think that those who have the time must have a pleasure in properly arranging their possessions, and in ' rum- maging' (which conveys the exact meaning of the process) in old albums for varieties essential to a series properly classified, but which were discarded in arranging by Lallier, et hoc, &c. When I think of the biting sarcasms of the North American stamp papers, at my languishing for a Belgian 13 by 15 dents, I feel I am bold in offering so strong a list as the following based principally upon perfo- rations; they have minds which soar with the eagle, and they probably feel ' eaglcr ' (an adjective of A. Ward's) in not noticing these trifling distinctions. Many think these better worth the space devoted to them, than that given to the feeble romances which adorn the pages of so many of the s mallei- fry of stamp publications ; however I must brave their wrath, and trust they may be merciful in their strength. All collectors who take my list may rely upon its scrupulous accuracy, as there is not a stamp in it which cannot be produced. WURTEMBURG. ARMS. I. With silk thread, not perforated. 1 kr. dark-brown, pale- brown. 3 „ pale-orange, deep-orange. G ,, yellow-green, pale-green, dark- green. 9 „ pale-rose, dark bright-rose. 18 „ pale-blue. II. No threads, not perforated. 1 kr. brown, dark-brown. 3 „ pale-orange, deep-orange. G ,, pale yellow-green, dark-green. 9 „ bright-rose. 18 ,, dark-blue. III. No threads, perforated by machine, 18 by 18. 56 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [April 1, 1867. 1 kr. dark-bistre, dark-brown. 3 „ pale-orange, dark-orange. 6 „ green, dark-green. 9 ,, dull purplish-rose, deepbright-rose. 18 ,, dark-blue. IV. No threads, perforated 12 by 12. 1 kr. dark-brown, black-brown. 3 „ orange. 6 „ green. 9 „ dull purplish-rose, darker than III. § There is no 18 kr. of this series. V. No threads, perforated 12 by 12. 1 kr. pale-green, green, dark-green. 3 „ rose, deep bright-rose. 6 „ blue, dark-blue. 9 „ pale-bistre, yellowish-bistre, pale- Drown, black-brown. 18 „ orange. VI. No threads, perforated by roulette. 1 kr. pale- green. 3 „ pale-rose. 6 ,, blue. 9 ,, bistre. NEWLY-ISSUED OR INEDITED STAMPS. We have this month to chronicle a number of minor changes, and the emission of one new series of considerable merit. New Granada. — We cannot do better than commence our bill of fare with the piece de resistance afforded by the new emission for this country. M. Moens considers the frequent issues which take place as the indirect consequence of the frequent changes which are made in the staff of the Co- lombian post-office — changes •which, combined with the irregularity of delivery and the general disorder in that department, have pretty nearly destroyed the confidence of the public in its efficiency. But, whatever be the cause, whether it be that each fresh adminis- . — , trator characterises his ac- cession to office by the emission of a new series of stamps, or, as in Spain, that a short currency is necessary in order that local forgers may be balked in their at- tempt to pass off imitations, most philate- lists rejoice in the appearance of each new issue. We say most, for there are no doubt some who, complaining from opposite points, view the successive apparitions with dismay. Possessors of Lallier's or Moens' album whose Granadine pages are, luckily for them, well filled with specimens of the older issues, and who have no room for a crowd of novelties ; and possessors of the same albums wrhose Granadine pages present a beggarly array of empty spaces which they desire to fill, in preference to obtaining new issues for which there are no appointed squares, will join in reprobating the au- thorities for, as they will deem, unnecessarily multi- plying postal labels. In sober earnestness — to use a cant leading-article expres- sion— it is quite time for M. Lallier to commence the issue ot the promised supplementary leaves, the need for which is demonstrated by each succeeding emission. Our s}Tmpathy for the deserving has led us into digression, wrhence we must now return to our stamps. The values and colours are as follows : — 5 cents. 10 „ 20 „ orange. lilac. blue. 50 „ 1 peso green, vermilion. The colours of the last issue are adopted for the present, but as will be seen by the subjoined cuts, the designs are widely dif- ferent, wanting neither merit nor peculiarity. The lowest value is, in shape, a reminiscence of the fifth and sixth series, and is the only one which contains the usual Colombian stamp inscription, ee. uu. de Colombia correos nacionales, in its en- tirety. It will be observed that in all the higher values Nacionales is shortened into nales., a horizontal line in the 10 c. indicat- ing the abbreviation. Similarly the words Ustados JJnidos are indifferently repre- sented by ee. uu. on the 10 c, es- u8- on the April 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 57 20 c. and I peso, and E. u. on the 50 c, the exigencies of the design regulating the number of letters. The de- signs are of considerable beauty, and their effect is not lessened by impression in weak or dingy colours. The 1 peso especially is remarkable tor its boldness of outline, resembling in this par- ticular the works of the far-famed New York companies. On this last-named stamp the motto of the republic, libertad y orden, is plainly visible. These new stamps in no way interfere with the currency of the existing sobre porte, or registration stamps, or the lithographed vignettes. Concerning the small 10 c. stamp de- scribed last month, we have received the following interesting communication from an experienced collector. 'In this month's number, page 41, you de- scribed a small stamp of New Granada. This you seem to speak of as new, but this is far from being the case. I have had a specimen more than three years. At that time I paid some attention to receipt stamps of all kinds, and this was sent me with a lot of old receipt stamps of New Granada as being one; but from the inscription this obviously is not the case. I am sorry I can tell no more about it, I never saw it described before ; my own opinion of it is, that it is one of the first (if not the first) issues, and probably from its small size, being found inconvenient, was quickly withdrawn. I believe them to be very rare, as I never saw but the one I have, which, by the way, is obliterated by a few strokes, as we find many in the first issue.' Portugal. — We understand that the new 50 r. green and 100 r. lilac have appeared. Prussia. — The new 10 and 30 s. gr. stamps are used by the postal officials, and are not issued to the public. We have before stated that they are printed on gold-beater's skin, and we may add that they are manufactured on the principles of the French self-cancel- ling stamps, invented a couple of years. On the removal of the stamp, or rather skin, the paper on which it has been fixed retains the impression and the skin comes away blank. We, therefore, caution our friends against attempting to take off their used specimens from the paper to which they are stuck. We wrould also take occasion to warn them against being imposed on by apparent varieties of these stamps on blue and on white, as, in fact, the difference in appearance is simply caused by the colour of the paper whereon the transparent stamps are placed showing through, and giving a tinge to the colour. Italy. — We notice only to discredit the rumour that the government of Italy pur- poses withdrawing the entire present series from currency, and substituting for it a ludicrous design consisting of a hash-up of the arms of Milan, Naples, Parma, Modena, Florence, and Venice, the Tuscan lion, the Savoy cross, and a star of no particular im- portance. The reason for the change being the desire of the authorities to give the preference to an Italian work of art. The finance minister would probably have a word to say on such a proposal, wrere it to be made at the present time. Schleswig-Holstein. — The demise of the stamps for this province has been postponed until the 1st of June, on which day, it is said, the emissions of the free cities will also be suppressed, their place being occupied by the Prussian labels. Great Britain — Locals. — For the benefit of stamp collectors, as dis- tinguished from postage- stamp collectors, we an- nex an engraving of the lately-issued design for Glasgow. We have also to note the emission of a frank stamp by the Liver- pool Parcel Delivery. The name and address of the company, sur- mounted by the words frank stamp, are in an arch above a number, and below is the value, threepence. The stamp is printed in black on rose, and perforated. Argentine Republic. — We have had the chance of inspecting a set of so-called 'essays' for this republic, received from Buenos Ayres, and said to have been submitted to the government there. They resemble the present series to much the same extent that an ape resembles a man. There are three 58 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [April 1, 1867. values, corresponding in colour to those of the current stamps, and each bears a portrait in a differently patterned framework. The portrait, whicli is not the same on the 5 c. as on the 10 c. and 15 c, is, we suppose, intended to represent Rivadavia, but the fea- tures on the 5 c. are rather those of a person reduced to a state of mild idiotcy by a too frequent worship at the shrine of Bacchus, than those of the man who laid the founda- tion of the present prosperity of the Argen- tine Republic, whilst on the 10 c. and 15 c. is portrayed a face, which from its mingled expression of cunning, ferocity, and ignor- ance, might be taken to be a representation of the ideal Fenian. Hamburg. — We have received from onr correspondent in this city copies of the -§ schg. black, and 4 schg. green envelopes, watermarked with the Hamburg arms — a castle with three towers. The watermark is very large and conspicuous, being in the centre, and occupying the entire width of the face of the envelope. The paper used is also of a closer texture, and the 4 schg. is printed a much lighter green. We are also informed that the lj schg. envelope and adhesive stamps, are no longer used. Luxembourg. — We haveomcial intelligence of the suppression of the 2 c. black. The post- office has now in stock only 130 copies, which it offers to collectors at 10 centimes each ! Brazil. — The last specimens received of the 20 reis, are of quite a different colour from previous arrivals — a light reddish lilac. Germany. — Thurn and Taxis North. — The 1 kr. envelope, which was at first printed pea-green, and then grass-green, is now a very deep chrome-green. Collectors whose sets of stamps for this office are incomplete, should lose no time in obtaining such as they require, as the post-office will be closed, and the stamps suppressed on the 1st of July. South Australia. — We have to chronicle the emission for this colony of a fourpenny stamp. The design is a tolerably close copy of the 1 c. Nova Scotia — a somewhat humili- ating proof of the absence of originality on this side of the water. The new stamp is inferior to its model. It is altogether smaller, and the circle is, moreover, hardly large enough for the portrait, which, again, is less clearly engraved than in the example, and is placed on a background patterned like that of our own penny and twopenny stamps. Neither the border work nor the lettering is so clear or fine as in the American pro- duction, but the name certainly is much longer than Nova Scotia and some little crowding of the letters is excusable. The stamp is printed on porous laid paper, water- marked with a star ; and, we are informed, was issued to the public on the 24th January. We purpose giving an engraving of it next month, and may then also be able to give particulars concerning the new two-shilling stamp for this colony, which differs only in colour and value from the fourpence above described. United States. — Wells, Fargo, & Co. — An American correspondent has forwarded us a rare variety, previously unknown here, of the Wells, Fargo, & Co. newspaper stamps. It is engraved and printed in blue on white. The design consists of an oval with border inscribed one newspaper over our California routes. Within is the name wells, fakgo, & CO. crossing the word paid in the centre, whence radiations are carried to the margin. The angles are filled in with ornaments. Belgium. — The new 2 centimes blue is now in circulation. Switzerland. — The new 50 c. stamp, deep mauve in colour, and identical in design with its predecessors, has made its appear- ance. The 10 c. and 30 c. stamps will shortly exchange colours, the former turning red, and the latter blue. The old colours will remain current for a time. The envelopes are still in nub thus. Nevis. — The postmaster for this island has favoured us with specimens of the Id., 4d., and Is., iu their new colours. They are now respectively : Bright red, (Id). Orange, (4d). Sea-green, (Is). We should suppose, from various minute differences observable between the old and new issue, that the designs have been re- engraved. The colours are an improvement, particularly in the case of the Id. and 4d., though the former is much nearer in shade to the common forgery, than was its prede- April 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 59* cessor. The new stamps are printed on [ white paper, which also contributes to im- prove their appearance. St. Domingo. — A halt-real rose stamp, of the design represented in The Stamp-Collec- tor's Magazine for November, 1866, has been discovered. Dutch East Indies — Le Timbrophile re- ports that a new series of six values is to be emitted shortly for these possessions, contemporaneously with a new series for the mother country. NOTES ON THE STAMPS OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA. BY OVERY TAYLOR. We have lately had facilities for examining a large number of Western Australian stamps, including many specimens of the first issue, and now lay before our readers the result of our observations: supplemented i by facts vouched for by French authorities. first issue. The first emission consisted, we believe, of the four following values, — Twopence black on red paper. Fourpence blue on white paper. Sixpence bronze on yellowish paper. One Shilling dark-brown „ „ ,, light-brown „ „ In the catalogues of Mount Brown and Lev- rault the penny black is included in this primary series, but this could have been only a conjecture, founded on the notion that a British colony, must from the commencement of its postal service, have had a penny stamp. We, ourselves, in the absence of definite in- formation, can only argue from probabilities, and. they are much against the contempo- raneous issue of stamps, so widely differing in excellence and general characteristics as the penny black and twopence brick-red of Western Australia. The date of emission of the series we have no means of settling. In M. Maury's catalogue, 1854 is given, but we know not on what grounds, and we are in- clined to believe, ourselves, that a much later . date should be assigned. It appears to us unlikely that the twopence and sixpence would be so rare as they now are, had they been current from 1854 to 1860 — a period of at least six years. Nor is it probable that a design so primitive would have been allowed to remain in circulation for such a lengthened period. Issues of such a character partake, generally, of the nature of temporary ex- pedients, being employed only for a short time, and not unfrequently only whilst a better design is being executed. Again, it appears to us improbable that stamps so unskilfully printed as the two we have named could have been in use for several years without essential variations occurring in en- graving, colour, or paper, yet none have been discovered. Of the Sydneys many varieties are known, but all the early twopences and sixpences of Western Australia are of one type, and are printed on paper of one kind. We, therefore, think it more likely that the first issue was not in exclusive circulation more than two years. We say exclusive, as -—no formal supercession of the earlier stamps having taken place — they are still legal tender for postage, and a paragraph in ' Postal Chit-Chat,' some months since (p. 14, vol. v.), bore witness to the recent use of the octagonal fourpence. Taking now the stamps of the first series in detail, let us begin with the — Twopence black on brick-red. * — The paper on which it is printed is a poor texture of laid.. The red colouring matter is roughly laid on, hardly any two specimens show- ing precisely the same consistency. The colour on many lies about in rough blotches, in- terspaced by untouched portions of the paper. It also varies considerably in depth, some of the copies which came under our notice being only tinged, whilst others are well covered with a rich strong red. In like manner the black impression is by no means of uniform depth, and at the best is not clear nor dark enough. Indeed, foreign catalogues describe the stamp as grey or brown on red, but this uncertainty of shade arises from the acci- dental mingling of the black with the red * [Our engraver, confusing this design with that of the later series, lias introduced a lined ground, and omitted the weeds from his copy, thus detracting considerably from its correctness. — Ed . ] 60 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [April 1, 186^ beneath, or from the red shelving np in portions of the stamp not properly overlaid ■with tbe black. These inequalities of colour are just what might be expected in stamps printed with indifferent appliances in a young colony. The only mark of care in their manufacture is the introduction of the swan watermark, which perhaps may have been necessary as a safeguard against the forgery of such inartistic productions. We may, however, say, whilst on this point, that no watermark we are acquainted with is more difficult of detection than that of the stamp under notice. It is seldom discoverable, ex- cept by wetting the backs of the stamps and holding them up to the light, and not always then. The cancellations on the twopences are generally heavy, which, added to the fact that most copies were carelessly cut by their original employers, to the injury of the de- sign, renders it no easy task to collectors to obtain perfect or even tolerably clean speci- mens for their albums. We observe two varieties of postmark on this stamp, in common with the others of the colony ; one, a number enclosed in a circle of a single line with short horizontal lines surrounding it ; the other, a number in an oval consisting of four straight lines above and below, de- creasing in length outwards, and two curved lines at the side. Sixpence bronze. — The paper on which this stamp is printed is of a yellowish tinge. The design is rather better printed, though many specimens show in place of the bronze a black impression, the colour having pro- bably been rubbed off in course of time. The rough beauty of the device is better shown on this than on the other stamps, and in appearance it certainly seems more truly representative of the new colony than the mathematically-beautiful stamps of the later series. The weedy solitude of the stream on which the swan floats brings to mind with greater force the uncultivated and but half- civilized region in which the stamps were current. Fourpence blue on white. — This stamp is the commonest of the series, by reason of its having maintained an active existence long after its colleagues had become rarities. They were superannuated in 1860, but the fourpence not (as we think) until 186-i. It presents a slight advance in design on the twopence and sixpence, the reticulated back- ground having been added. It is also more uniformly printed, but, as might be supposed, its prolonged currency gave rise to some variations in colour. These differences render it probable, to our view, that this and the shilling stamp were issued at a later date than the twopence and sixpence. Having examined a considerable number, we find three shades distinctly marked ; viz., — light- blue, deep-blue, and dull slatish-blue. We were not fortunate enough to find amongst our copies any dentele a la roulette, but have the authority of the French catalogues for declaring that such do exist. In addition to the postmarks before described, we have to notice one composed of a number in an oval formed of two lines above and three below, all very wide apart, and three at each side. This mark was printed in red. One Fihiffing brown. — Like the fourpence, this stamp remained in use until quite recently, and is characterised by a reticu- lated ground. It is the only oval stamp of the series, and is frequently met with cut round — and spoilt. The vandalism of collectors, some years since was remarkable. 'The stamps, and nothing but the stamps,' appeared to be their motto, and so many a tine Western Australian was mutilated. It would be preaching to the dead to remon- strate now-, for, happily, most collectors at present recognize the fact that a stamp is entitled to as much of the surrounding paper as is fairly necessary to exhibit its proportions. To return : the colour of the shilling varies from light to deep-brown of a warm tint approaching almost to marone ; the paper is, like the sixpenny, toned with yellow, and the impressions are generally rather indistinct. SECOND SERIES. 1 " One penny black. Twopence vermilion. Sixpence green. The type foreshadowed by the fourpence blue appears complete for the first time in April 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. til POSTAGE & 7> ^ONEPENNYi this issue, and no alteration of design has since taken place. We have expressed our own partiality for the rough beauty of the primary series, but it is impossible to deny the considerable artistic merit which per- tains to the stamps under notice. The design is well conceived and the details are clearly executed. The happily-chosen emblem, the swan, shows out distinctly upon the back-ground; the lettering, also, is plain and substantial, and the colours are well chosen. One Penny black. — The design of this stamp and of succeeding issues of the same value in different colours, varies a little from that of the other members of the same type. The difference is the con- tinuation of the reticulated ground into the inscribed border. It will be seen, on examination, behind the letters, whilst the border in all the rest is solid. This stamp is well printed on white paper, which, in many specimens, has acquired a yellowish tinge from the gum which was plentifully laid on. The postmarks are the same as those which appear on the two- pence brick-red, they are generally black impressions, but are occasionally found printed in red. Twopence orange. — This, the commonest stamp of the three, is a brilliant one. The paper on which it is printed is thin, and Ave have had unused copies sent us which were unguium ed. It must have had a longer cir- culation than either the penny or the sixpence. Variations of shade are noticeable in used copies, which may, however, have been caused subsequently to their having been printed. Sixpence green. — Is catalogued by Lev- rault as on paper of two colours, but so far as we have been able to observe, without reason. The difference lies in the colour of the impression itself, which in some is bluish, and in others yellowish-green. The bluish- green is the rarer of the two, and is found .with a green postmark. Neither variety, however, is easily obtainable, and hence it was, presumably, in use for a shorter period. One reason, however, for the comparative scarcity of the old sixpenny stamp lies in the fact, that the greater number were employed to prepay letters to this or other countries at a time when collecting did not receive much attention, and they were, therefore, scattered and destroyed. Rouletted specimens of each value of this second series exist, but are all of considerable rarity. We have a copy of the twopence thus marked, with the serrations close and sharply defined. THIRD SERIES. 1862. The year 1862 was chosen for the re- modelling of the postal issue, and for the emission of a new value. The series put forth in that year consisted of the following: One penny rose. Twopence blue. Sixpence marone. One shilling green. Mons. Maury gives the year 1862 as the date of issue of the fourpence vermilion, but we believe it did not appear until at least two years afterwards. The rare essay in rose may have been produced at the earlier date but the general currency of the first fourpence long after, seems to indicate that the stock then in hand induced the authori- ties to defer the issue of the new stamp. The new issue was perforated and the water- mark appears in it as in the previous issue. All the values are common; we need not, therefore, give them a lengthened individual notice. One penny rose. — This stamp was printed on paper of a yellowish tone, and varied very much in shade, sometimes approaching closely the carmine-red of the next series. Twopence blue. — Was more uniformly printed as to colour, but on paper some- times white, sometimes yellowish, and in some copies the colouring of the impression has spread into the paper and given it a bluish tinge. This is the commonest of all the Western Australian stamps. Sixpence purple-brown. — The colour of this stamp is very peculiar, and affords room for difference of opinion. Our own is indi- cated by the name we use. The description which we find in Mount Brown's and Dr. Gray's catalogues is violet. Maury terms it 62 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [April 1, 1867. violet-brown; Mahe, black- v iolet ; Levrault, violet-rose ; and Moens, dark-violet. One Shilling green. — The colour of tbis value is a very pleasing green, varying con- siderably in shade. To tbese, to complete tbe series on swan- watermarked paper, we must add tbe Fourpence vermilion, 1864, which bad a comparatively short duration, and is remarkable chiefly for the careless way in which it was perforated. It is no easy matter to find a copy which has not the upper or lower inscription mutilated by a line of punctures. We cannot exactly fix the date but believe it was about the year 1863 that the blue proofs of the fourpence were worked. They were once rare, but are not so now ; a good many appear to have been struck, some of which have been used on letters. The paper on which these proofs were printed was also blue. The issue we have just reviewed was the last in which the swan watermark was used, and all the stamps are perforated a la machine. In 1864 the following emission took place. One penny carmine-red. Twopence deep-blue. Sixpence violet-purple and blue-purple. One shilling deep-green. These stamps were without watermark, but whether the absence was accidental or not we cannot determine. We are inclined to speak charily of Western Australian water- marks, for you can seldom be sure that they are present in the stamps you examine, and you can seldom be sure that they are not. In this case we take M. Maury as our au- thority, believing that he has bestowed more study on these stamps than any other conti- nental authority. The penny carmine-red was the only one of the three showing a change of colour, and this was accompanied by a change of paper — a thick porous kind being used, through which frequently much of the ink penetrated. Although the change in colour was marked by a change in paper and the disuse of watermark, our copies of the old penny rose lead us to believe that it was gradual, and, in some measure, accidental as the watermarked pennies vary from rose to carmine. The twopence and shilling are perforated a la machine, but with very small perforations, so small indeed, as to have induced some to imagine them to be made by the roulette. The green sixpence of Trinidad has an exactly similar perforation. We may add that we have met with copies of the twopence orange, and sixpence yellow- green, of the second series, on un water- marked paper. FOURTH SERIES. In 1865 the current series was emitted, consisting of the following values, — One penny straw and ochre-brown. Twopence bright-yellow, orange. Fourpence carmine-rose. Sixpence bright- violet. One shilling green. These are too well known to need detailed comment. They are watermarked with the CC and crown, and form a very handsome series. We append a list of the proofs of these stamps known to us : FIRST SERIES. Fourpence octagon black. One Shilling oval black. SECOND SERIES. 1860. One Penny rect. black, on India paper. Twopence blue, on India paper. Fourpence rose, on plain paper. „ blue on blue paper. The paper of this last series is watermarked with the swan. Sixpence deep brown-purple on plain paper. The fourpence rose is of the very highest rarity, but few copies are known. The dies of all except the first issue were produced in this country. The official puncture in the centre, dis- tinctive of the stamps used in the government offices, is found in all the varieties which have been issued for the colony, except, we believe, the first twopence and sixpence. The plan of perforating stamps intended for official correspondence is a unique one, which we should be glad to see supplanted by some contrivance which would leave the labels, themselves, uninjured. They are worth keeping entire, for they are beautiful specimens of stamp engraving, of which the philatelic world may well be proud. April 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 63 POSTAL CHIT-CHAT. Swiss TeleCxRAphs. — A most important feature in the Swiss telegraphic system, is the arrangement between the postal and telegraphic authorities, by which money-orders may be sent by telegraph, instead of post. — Times. The Minutiae of Stamps.— Under this head, some months since, we noted the presence of certain microsco- pical inscriptions on the Victorian two-shilling stamps, and the sixpennies of the same type. Le Timbrepostc now calls attention to another puzzle" for the eye. On the base of the neck of the portrait of the first Id. and4d. Tasmania, are to be found, by the sharp-sighted, the letters c. av. c, ■which, according to our Belgian contemporary, are the initials of the engraver, ' C. W. Coard.' Postal Changes. — "We are informed by a correspon- dent, that the Prussian stamps will supersede those of Thurn and Taxis North, ou the 1st of July of the present year; also that Saxony has ceded her postal rights to Prussia. At no distant date, as our correspondent re- marks, we shall be inundated with the stamps of the latter country. A foreign journal gives the date of suppression of the Thum and Taxis stamps as June 1st, and adds, that at the same time the stamps of the free cities (Hamburg, Lubeck, and Bremen) will also be withdrawn from circulation, their place being occupied by the ubiquitous Prussians. The Indian Postal Changes.— It was stated in the House of Commons last month, that there will shortly be a weekly mail to India, and that to meet the expected loss from the change, the postage of letters will be increased from sixpence to ninepence per half-ounce, Should this intention be carried out, our own nine-penny stamp will have a longer currency than was anticipated, whilst the new Indian stamp, value 6 annas 8 pice, will hardly come into use at all. Of course, the Australian mails will be undisturbed by this change, and the charge of tenpence per letter, via "Marseilles, will continue to be made. Put what will be the rate for Indian letters, via Marseilles ? If the cost of transit overland be fourpence per letter, a charge of thirteenpence per half-ounce must be made to cover the expenses, or if the French office requires two- thirds ou the ordinary amount— which the present charge of tenpence actually "is— then, pro-rata, that sum will be increased to fifteenpence under the new regulations ; and in either case, a stamp must be issued representing the altered charge. Ye&terday and To -day. — The other day, in the good times of the direction of M. Conte, forty mail coaches (each drawn by four horses) quitted Paris, at six in the evening, bearing with them the entire correspondence between the capital and the provinces. Each morning, likewise, be- t weeu the hours of four and five, forty mail coaches entered Paris, with all the letters from the country. The service was regular, rapid, and excellent. To-day, in place of the forty mail coaches, which traversed our streets at a smart trot, and passed over our roads, twenty bureaux ambulaus leave Paris, behind as many locomotives; and six officials in each bureau utilize the time occupied in the journey by sorting the letters, dividing the packets destined for towns on the route, and preparing in advance for the distribution. Each day, twenty other bureaux ambulans (or travelling post-offices) arrive in Paris, with the nume- rous letters. Arc, which flow in from all parts. Each train, slow, fast, or of middling speed, receives couriers charged with the conveyance, distribution, and reception of letters, which are thrown into the post after the de- parture of the travelling office. — Rtvue des dlux Mondes. United States Stamps. — The shading of the letters of these stamps is done by machinery ; and in this way also is executed the curious, complicated, and beautiful ground- work for the figures. Such is the accuracy and unifomrity of the geometrical lathe- work and cycloidal ruling, that it is impossible to imitate them by hand. The production of these lace-like figures is the result of a mathematical problem Avorked out beforehand. So many turns of certain wheels will produce a certain figure, which can be multiplied by the transferring process indefinitely. The machines are very complicated and expensive (though to one unacquainted with them they seem cheap and simple), and require great skill and experience in their manage- ment and operation. "We were shown in this department a geometrical laihe, not twice as large as an ordinary sewing-machine, and less than half as noisy, which was three years in building, and cost about 10,000 dollars. These machines are never patented, as the secret of their construction is worth more than a patent ; and improve- ments and alterations are made from time to time ; while their great cost prohibits their coming into general or improper use. — American paper. Postage to the United States. — The official cor- respondence on this subjecthasbeen laid before Parliament. The result is, that the post-office of each country is to make its own arrangements for the despatch of its mails to the other, and receive the postage, the other country making no charge for delivering ; and after this year, the Cunard contract then expiring by notice given to that effect, the entire postage on a single international letter is to be 6d. if despatched from the United Kingdom, 12 c. from the United States. It is proposed that the charge for through territorial transit in closed mails be one-tenth of a penny per oz. of letters, and per 10 oz. of newspapers, books, or patterns, for every 19 miles travelled ; of single letters, Id. or 2 c. for transit through either country. It was agreed to fix an earlier date than next New "dear's day for a reduction of the rates charged on printed matter and patterns, and the territorial transit charges on closed- mails. — Times. [The new arrangement also includes the establishment of a book-post between the two countries. At present the United States only permits the transmission of registered newspapers and pamphlets not exceeding 16 ozs. in weight, the latter at a high rate of postage. This prohibition has prevented the sending of English books to the United States, and its withdrawal Avill largely benefit English publishers.] Worth Pegistering. — The Bombay papers mention the transmission to England last mail, by letter-post, of the celebrated Sancy diamond, through Messrs. Forbes & Co., of Bombay. Although the story of the Sancy diamond is not so remarkable as those of some other historic gems, it is still sufficiently noteworthy. The diamond Avas found on the body of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, after his defeat in 1476, by the Swiss. It Avas purchased in 1479 by the King of Portugal, and ten years later it Avassold. by him to Nicholas de Baily, Baron de Sancy, from whom it derives it name. The Baron de Sancy sent it as a present to the King of France, and the servant Avho had charge of the gift, being attacked by robbers, proved himself equal to the occasion, and swal- lowed the diamond. We must assume that his death speedily followed on this act of devotion, for, according to the story, the stone was found in his body. It afterwards came into the possession of James II., of England, by Avhom it Avas sold for £25,000 to Louis XIV. During the French Revolution, the Sancy diamond disappeared, but Avas afterwards recovered and purchased by Napoleon I., by whom it was afterwards sold to Prince Paul Dcmidoft'. It is valued at from £20,000 to £30,000, is pear shaped, and Aveighs 53| carats, — Fall Mall Gazette. 64 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [April 1, 1867 CORRESPONDENCE. A SUGGESTION TO M. LALLIEE. To the Editor o/'The Stamp -Collector's Magazine.' Sir, — May I be allowed to make a proposition to M. Lallier, which may come under his notice (not knowing his address, I write to you) ? It is that, as he wishes to make a permanent edition of his stamp album, it would be better if he would remodel his album up to the issues of the present time; and after every country leave a blank page for any new issues, and after some countries two might be added; also, after England, America, Canada, &c., to leave several extra pages for bill- stamps. I know several collectors who take in these stamps. My reason is, that as philately is progressing, and new stamps are issued every day almost, an album, such as the present edition, would soon be full ; and then there would be no room for the yearly issues of Spain and other countries. I shall be very glad if M. Lallier would adopt this suggestion. I remain vours trulv, Worthing. 'IOTA SUBSCRIPT. A NEW STAMP CATALOGUE. To the Editor o/'The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Sir, — Two of your correspondents having remarked upon the need of a reliable catalogue, embracing all varieties of watermarks, perforations, See., — wvwwuvo.^) .trench stamps. The side border is an improvement on that hitherto used, and the inscription is lengthened into empire erancais. The stamp is very elegant, and the colour — an olive-brown — is good. A little neglect in putting together the differ- ent parts of the design has resulted in the ap- pearance of a thin white line in front of the figure 30 on the right side, which line our en- graver has faithfully represented. This 30 c. will ere long be joined by the other values, and visitors to Paris, during the exhibition, will be able to obtain for a small sum, and frank their letters with, specimens of *Hulot's latest work. Prussia (Breslau).— The subjoined rather peculiar design is issued by a company or firm in this city, which we believe, collects let- ) ters for delivery at the post-office. At any rate, ; they are used to frank letters and packets. The series consists of six values, all printed in black on coloured paper, and forming a 3.-^— ",iMin"Mr pleasing set, the colours being well chosen and rieh. yellow, rose. 2 ° 1 2 ^2 gr. green, deep blue. colours, as follows — J s. gr. lilac and green, 1 s. gr. black and red, If s. gr. green and bronze, 2 s. gr. blue and gold, 2 J s. gr. rose and black, and 5 s. gr. blue and rose. The stamps are lithographed and pierced with the roulette. Referring to the design, it will be noticed that below the central circle is the word concess, and beneath that again dienstmann's institut. Our engraving was copied, however, from a proof; in the actual stamp only the word dienstmann appears. Saxony. — Some of the Saxon law courts, it seems, have the right of sending their official correspondence free through the post, and the engraving 5 ,, violet. There are proofs of these values in two opposite gives a good idea of one of the frank stamps placed on their letters. The isvru 'j-1 j xr^JX) \_rj-\SKj\j-\j~\j v-> *J H £611131 ||gj £ad)f. H ©criAt«*5lwt •a ^irk^erid >jwn y-> <~- /^_rv. specimen from ? J which our il- lustration was taken, was printed in black, on green paper, and perforated. There are also others inscribed handels-gericht, in place of gerichts-amt, which are used by the tribunals of commerce. Belgium. — We learn from Le Timbre-Toste that a decree has been issued authorising the emission of stamps, value 6 and 8 centimes. Their colours are not stated. Italy. — The provisional 20 c. has been re- prieved. Its suppression is postponed until the end of July, as is also the emission of its successor. Germany and the Free Cities. — Having inquired of a German correspondent, in an official position, whether the rumour of the intention to suppress the stamps of Thurn and Taxis, North and South, and of the free cities also, was well founded, he replies, that in so far as relates to the Thurn & Taxis office it is correct, both the Northern and Southern branches will cease to work after the 1st of June, but that there is no inten- tion to merge the post-offices of Lubeck, Hamburg, Bremen, or Bergedorf in that of Prussia, or to suppress their stamps — infor- mation which will be very satisfactory to philatelists. Sandwich Islands. — Our American con- 74 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [May 1, 186^ temporary, the Stamp-Collector's Record, re- ports that a new 2 c. stamp for these islands will shortly be issued, similar in design and colour to the current one, but bearing the head of the reigning Kamehameha. Guatemala. — We have been favoured with proofs of the dies prepared for the first stamps to be issued for this republic, and hasten to give our readers a description of the design, which appears to our taste most elegant and singularly effective. The shape is upright rectangular, the size large, and the ornamental portion of the design is in a plain circle inscribed in the centre of the stamp ; above the upper edge of the circle is Guatemala, below the lower, edge correos CINCO cent, in white letters on a plain band concentric with the circle. The angles are filled in with plain horizontal lines as a shading, and in each corner is a simple white spot with diverging rays. This last detail seems unfinished and defective, and some- what detracts from the general appearance of the whole. The beauty of the design, however, is :n the landscape enclosed by the circle. An inland sea or lake, shut in at the back by a bold line of mountains, a rocky promontory in front next the spectator, and points of land covered with shrubs and trees to the water's edge right and left. Towards the beholder, and pointed slightly to the left, a large, high-sterned, three-masted ship is at anchor in the centre ; her sails are flapping idly, and from each side small boats are pulling off to her. The high stern and low- cut bow, the round build, and latteen rig re- mind one of the pictures of vessels in which the buccaneers of old used to make their names so well-known and so much, feared, but the aspect of this landscape is altogether peaceful, and we are inclined to think that the scene must be intended to represent the entry of the first Europeans into Guatemala and their reception by the aborigines. "When the issue is to take place we know not. The engraving is, we think, due to American talent, and if we guess that the same designer as produced the Nicaragua stamps is entitled to the credit of this, we think we shall not be very wide of the mark. The proofs we have seen are on plain, highly-glazed paper, and are printed in black, sepia, brown, and green. Switzerland. — We have received the 10 and 30 centimes of the new colours, rendered necessary by the issue of the 50 centimes stamp recently noticed in our columns. The only novelty is the colours, and therefore we need do no more than state that they are as under, viz. : — • 10 c. carmine. 30 „ azure-blue. Brazil. — We have to caution our readers against the so-called blockade envelopes, said to be used for the army and fleet blockading Paraguay. These matters were fully de- scribed in our columns a short time ago, and then believed by ourselves, in common with all the English and foreign authorities, to be genuine. The lapse of time and in- quiries made as to their use have brought to light that they are absolute deceptions, concocted for the fraudulent purpose of taking in the unwary. The design (in a double sense) emanated from the fertile brains of some young men at Buenos Ayrcs, who certainly are adepts in the art of humbug. Mexico. — Acorrespondentmost-obligingly sends us some specimens of a new stamp, provisional, as he calls it, issued by the liberal party at Guadalajara. He vouches for their authenticity, saying the copies forwarded were taken from letters delivered by post at Zacatecas. The specimens are of the rudest ; a plain circular black line, enclosing a space rather larger than a sixpence ; within, the value in reales in small roman type, and the year 1867, while round the inner edge are the words, in thick black letters, franco en Guadalajara ; the F of franco is somewhat like an e, having traces of the lowest limb of the latter letter. They are adhesive, im- perforated, printed in black on plain paper, and as under, — 1 real blue, light-blue. 2 „ white, green. 4 „ white. Two of the copies we saw were obliterated by a two-lined mark, shaped like an irregular ellipse, having a wreath inside. Our strong impression is that these stamps are pure deceptions, notwithstanding our correspondent's voucher. The very selection May 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. '5 of colours would indicate as much ; for if, as supposed, a hurried provisional issue, why two colours for one value, especially as they were both printed from the same type ? Their appearance, too, is generally highly suspicious, and to those familiar with forged stamps, eminently suggestive. On testing them by the postmark, the ellipse shows the mark of a stamp of far too great size to be thus employed, and on comparing the two postmarked copies, the curve of the ell ipse in the one totally differs from that of the other, and the wreath altogether varies also ! To our mind this is decisive against the new comers, but before expressing more than a strong present opinion against them, we wait further information. They have a strong case to make out to establish their claims to be ranked as genuine. A WORD TO THE WISE. BY THE EDITOR. "We had occasion in our ' Retrospective ' article to remark, that, if collectors would buy packets containing stamps worth twenty or thirty fold the price charged they must not be surprised if it turned out that some were forgeries. Further reflection, however, convinces us that the majority of those victimized purchase the packets in ig-norance of the actual value of the promised stamps. We have had several lots of stamps forwarded to us, with a request for information as to their character ; and, in every instance, the style of the writing has made the youth of the inquirer evident. The stamps so sent were all counterfeits, in which the boy-purchasers, deceived by the advertisements in some of their favourite magazines, had invested. Let us take one case which has lately come to our knowledge, in illustration of the manner in which young collectors are duped. A lad at a college informs us that he wrote to a Scotch firm for a shilling packet, and received instead two sixpenny packets each containing fifty varieties. The advertisement of these packets contains the following list of the stamps included among the fifty: — Buenos Ayres, Chili, Turkey, Swan River, Liberia, Capes, Tuscany (lion and cross), Parma, Baden, Russian, and (it is added) many other rare stamps ! A moment's reflection will prove the utter impossibility of giving genuine specimens of the stamps named for the money, without taking into question at all the ' many other rarities,' which go to make up the wondrous whole. The lowest price we have been able to find in any catalogue for the cheapest Buenos Ayres stamp — the first on the list — is fourpence ; for the cheapest Liberian, sevenpence : so that genuine copies of these two alone would cost nearly double the price of the entire fifty. But let us go a little farther, and examine the stamps sent. Here are the actual arrivals : — Buenos Ayres (ship series), used, 1 peso light-green, blue and yellow. Tuscany, unused, 2 crazie blue. Tuscany, unused, 5 centes green, 40 c. lake. Spain, used 1850, 5 reales red. Western Australia, used, Id. red, 2d. orange. Liberia, used, 6 cents red and 12 cents blue. Cape of Good Hope, triangular, Id. red. Cape of Good Hope, triangular, 4d. blue. Danish essay (king's head). Turkish, old issue, 1 piastre lilac. Turkish, old issue, 2 piastres blue. Every one of these stamps were forgeries of the coarse, common, continental class. The Buenos Ayres bore the value, thus — IK ; and the forgers had been so ignorant as to work this ir peso, which we presume to mean in or 1, in green and yellow, as well as in its proper colour, blue. The other specimens showed almost equally- marked blunders, with the exception of the Turkish, which are of a superior character. We have stated that these stamps were obtained from a firm whose head-quarters are across the border ; but there are dealers on this side of the Tweed not a whit more honourable. Another lad writes us that he has been swindled by no less than four stamp merchants, two residing in a city on the banks of the Clyde, one in London, and one in Liverpool. We are sorry for him, and for others who have had similar experiences ; and we cannot too strongly warn our younger readers against the mushroom dealers, who suddenly spring up, and when convicted of dishonesty, as suddenly dis- appear, only to turn up again shortly under another name, and at another address. We 76 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [May 1, 1867.; forbear for the present to give the names of those stamp ' merchants,' whose fraudu- lent practices have come under our notice, but shall assuredly do so, if they are persisted in, for the protection of our readers, whom, meanwhile, we remind of the old proverb — 'All that glitters is not gold.' Since the above has been in type, we have received a letter from a lad at college, enclosing for our inspection another lot of shocking rubbish. Not content with giving forgeries of the Naples cross, the large New Granada, and the ' gaucho' stamps, the worthy firm which seeks to palm these things off on young collectors, has concocted a stamp, whereof it very liberally gives several specimens in a packet. This stamp — the ' United States Letter Express '—is purely a fabrication, which wre describe, so that our juvenile friends may know it at sight. A rough blotch in the centre represents Washington's head, which is on a ground of horizontal lines ; above in an arched label is the word letter ; and u. states on the left ; express on the right ; one cent below ; the letters u. S. in the upper, and c. in the lower corners. Printed pale- pink on white, and perforated : in shape, a large upright rect- angle ; in character, a humbug. WHY A BRITISH MAN-OF-WAR WENT TO CARTHAGENA. As we write these lines, some danger exists of war with Spain, and by the last West Indian mail we had intelligence of a brief interruption of our friendly relations with New Granada. The detention of British subjects is our ground of com- plaint with the former country, and the detention of British mail-bags with the latter. This being the first misunderstand- ing that has arisen between any two states respecting postal rights, we think a short narrative of the circumstances connected therewith, condensed from the Times, will not be out of place. It would appear that for some time past there have been differences between our consul at the port of Carthagena (New Granada) and the ' president' or ' governor.' The exact position of the official indifferently entitled president or governor, we are not acquainted with, but we presume he exer^ cises authority over the town, or perhaps the State of Carthagena, and not over the entire republic of Colombia. Be that as it may, the petty indignities or discourtesy shown by him became quite a national question between the authorities and the consul. The objection of the British consul was that a difference was shown to him that was not observed towards the other consuls. The mail- bags of the British residents were opened and detained by the officials, and other minor matters of complaint had arisen. Representations of these grievances were made by the consul to the president, with- out any favourable results. The consul, therefore, felt it his duty to communicate with Commodore Sir Leopold M'Clintock on the subject, who immediately despatched Her Majesty's steamer Doris, Captain Vesey., to Carthagena. On her arrival, despatches, claiming for the British consul the same ad- vantages as were conceded to the French and American consuls at that port, were communicated to the president. There being considerable delay in obtaining any answer-— the authorities showing great in- difference and disinclination — Captain Vesey considered it necessary to make some demon- stration of earnestness in his demands. Just about this time a steamer belonging to the government, the Columbian, came into port. The captain and crew were all Englishmen, but the purser was a native Spaniard. This vessel is one of the only two belonging to the government. As she arrived, Captain Yesey ordered three boats to be lowered and manned by marines and blue-jackets, fully armed. They approached the Columbian to the great astonishment of the crew. The Spanish purser ordered the sentries to fire and prohibit any attempt to board her, but the captain directed that no resistance should be offered, which created some alter- cation between the purser and the captain, the latter declaring that he would rather die than see an insult offered to his flag. The vessel and crew were disarmed, and British sentries placed on board, but the Colombian flag was not displaced. Captain Vesey, having accomplished the seizure, sent May 1,1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. notification at six p.m. to the British consul that six hours would be granted for the adjustment of the difficulties, or he would resort to other measures; he at the same time requested the foreign consuls to hoist their flags over their respective consulates at day-break the next morning. The seizure of the Columbian produced intense excite- ment on shore against the British ; the consul's life was threatened, and hundreds of the inhabitants paraded the streets with macheats, spikes, and other arms, at the same time vowing vengeance and using violent language towards the British officers who had gone ashore. The other consuls went on board the Doris to request that their property should be respected, and the captain extended the time to ten a.m. the next day, when he would decide upon the measures to be taken. In the meantime three hundred men were under arms in preparation to land. Just half-an-hour before the expiry of the time, a boat was seen coming from the shore, with despatches from the consul, to say that the apology had been amply given, and all that had been demanded had been conceded by the president. This put a stop to hostili- ties, and the Columbian was restored to her captain. The Doris remained in port for a couple of days, and affairs having been settled, the officers of the ship were invited ashore, and kindly entertained by the inhabitants. So ended a difficulty which, but for the timely yielding of the governor, might have had a serious termination. Happily the freedom of postal communication was vin- dicated, and the integrity of the consular mail-bags secured without the loss of life. From a philatelic point of view, a rupture with New Granada would be very undesi- rable, nor less so a quarrel with Spain. Stamp-collectors must always be anxious for the preservation of peace, as war with a stamp- emit ting country would result in the partial stoppage of their supplies of stamps, and should a new series be issued, they could only be obtained at an increased cost from the stamp dealers of a neutral country, unless perchance our troops should happen to seize the enemy's post offices, and confis- cate the stock of adhesives. THE 'GAUCHO' STAMPS. Few stamps are more difficult to obtain than genuine specimens of the gauchos. Until recently we question if there were a dozen copies to be found in this country. A few impressions have been discovered at the ' seat of their nativity,' Buenos Ayres, but it is highly improbable that any considerable number will ever be forthcoming. We are without official information concerning them at present, and therefore can but give utter- ance to the general belief, that they were in use for only a few days prior to the emis- sion of the head series, that is to say, in August or September, 1859. The series consists of four values, 4 rls. yellow. 8 „ 0 „ green . purple. blue. Only the first three of these are at all at- tainable, but we regret that forgeries of all are common, and our present purpose is to give such details respecting the imitations as may put both collectors and dealers on their guard. We say dealers as, owing to the rarity of the genuine originals, even persons engaged in the trade maybe deceived by the counterfeits which have lately been sent over from Buenos Ayres. Their general resemblance would, apart from the originals, be apt to mislead the best judges, but when subject to the test of comparison with the real stamps, their worthlessness is immedi- ately apparent. Dealing with these native forgeries first, we may observe that the paper on which they are printed is thicker than that of the genuine, and that there is a freshness and evenness about the layer of gum on the back, which alone might raise suspicion, in colour the forgeries are duller than the originals, especially the 8 rls. The scenery in the design of the genuine stamps is indistinct, in particular the sun on the left is hardly visible. Our engraver, it will be seen, omitted it altogether from his rep- resentation of these stamps. In the forgeries, 78 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [May 1, 1867. on the other hand, the lines are heavy, the design is clear but coarse, and the sun shows verv plainly sinking below the horizon, and surrounded by rays. The horse's left flank, which iu the original shows a large white patch, is entirely covered with colour in the counterfeit. But the most easy test for those who have not the opportunity of com- paring questionable specimens with un- doubtedly genuine ones, is to count the number of lines composing the shading of the block of stone lying on the left, in the genuine there are eight, in the forgery tJurteen lines. Besides the above, there is a counterfeit of the 6 rls., which is to be found in most of the packets of forgeries now sold. A cast from the engraving above given has got into the hands of some unprincipled persons, who have struck off a large number of im- pressions in various colours, which are now offered by dealers as genuine stamps. Respecting these, it is sufficient to say. that the original 6 rls. were only printed in therefore all copies in other colours are for- geries, and that if a specimen agrees in detail with our cut, it is a forgery. Our illustration, we do not hesitate to say, is a good one, but it is neither necessary nor desirable, for the purpose of giving an idea of the design of a stamp, that the copy should be an exact imitation of the original in every point. As above remarked, the sun which is but faintly visible on the stamp, is entirely absent from our copy, and the horse's right foot does not, as in the original, project into the white oval border. These points will enable our juvenile friends to certify themselves as to the character of any G rls. gaucho stamps they may discover amongst the fifty or a hundred rarities, which they may have purchased for a trifle. TVe may just observe, that as the forgeries which arrive here from Buenos Ayres re- semble the originals as to the position of the horse's foot, should a specimen be found to acrree with the genuiue in that particular, the lines on the stone must be counted as an ultimate test : lastly some of the native forgeries — if native they be — are, like the fraudulent impressions from our own engrav- ing, printed in the wrong colours. Thus we have before us a 4 rls. magenta, and a 6 rls. dark-violet. The price asked for these forgeries by their South American owners, varies from nine shillings to a sovereign for the set of four. The genuine stamp is worth at the present time at least five times the latter sum. POSTAL CHIT-CHAT. Polish Letters. — In the kingdom of Poland proper, -office confiscates all letters not addressed in the Eussian language, and the persons to whom they are ad- dressed are fined in proportion to their ability to pay. — Avenir Xational. Abtemt/sWard is Dead. — The only timbrophilic * goak ' that he ever was guilty of. was the giving away to his patrons Mormon stamps as presents, after the fashion of the Fakir of Ava, and sundry other gift -entertainment lecturers. Alas, poor Arty ! ' a fellow of most infinite jest, of most excellent fancy.' his earthly account is can- celled— green grow the sod o'er him. — Stamp- Collector's Record. The Xew Granada Stamps oe 1860 and 61. — An American contemporary states, that a gentleman having applied, through the United States consul at Bogota, to the postmaster of Colombia for a complete s tofXew Granada stamps, received three separate sets which, however, did not include the series for 1860 or 1861. the postmaster stating that those stamps were unauthorized emissions by the 'rebels.' and therefore not properly postage stamps at all. A Laeghable Mistake. — The Stamp- Collector's Gazette translates a very good story from a French paper, concerning a certain widow Pic-hard, a lady of the dame Partington type. She appeared at a branch post- office in Paris, and" complained vehemently to the clerk, that a person to whom she had sent a letter, duly prepaid, had on its delivery been charged with the postage. The clerk's statement that such a thing was impossible, pro- duced no effect on the widow Richard, save that it made her more positive and violent in her assertion that the overcharge had actually been made. Finally, as she con- tinued to urge her complaint with great passion, the matter was adjourned to a police court, where the widow became more excited than ever. Although the officer requested her to conduct herself properly, the widow persisted in her fury, exclaiming, ' To be told, too, that I don't know what I've done -with it.' ' Done with what:' inquired the magistrate. 'The receipt,' answered the widow ; • the receipt which proves that I prepaid the letter.' So saying she fumbled in all her pock triumphantly produced, as the voucher for prepayment, a postage stamp. The blunder was explained amidst the laughter of the spectators, the widow apologised, and the court let her oft' with a fine of only 16 francs. One of oer French Contemporaries. Lt TimbrophiU, published by Pierre Mahe. in Paris, and to the columns of which Dr. Magnus is principal contributor, has by the working of some regulation of the French authorities, been placed in a very awkward predicament lately. The journal appears monthly, and the censors of the press have prohibited any serial publication from giving en- gravings of stamps in its columns. M. Mahe's ingenuity however, devised this means of practically getting over the difficulty. Sine- January he has given a blank space, the size of the engraving, in the margin, and inserted a number therein, and proposed annually to present a May 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. brochure of the woodcuts to correspond to the blanks. Having had his journal appear thus bare of ornament for three months, we are pleased to see in the March announce- ments, that the obnoxious restriction is removed, and the prohibition relaxed in M. Mahe's favour. No reasonable pretext for it in his case can exist, and we can only imagine red tape is not known exclusively on this side of the channel. We congratulate If. Malie on the result of his efforts to free his publication from this arbitary rule, and wish him and his journal a long career of usefulness. The philatelic world could ill afford to lose so valuable and accurate a publication as Le Timbrophile. An Invitation to the Prince of AY ales. — Below we give a translation of the letter of invitation which has been sent to his Koyal Highness the Prince of AY ales, from the Indians of the Eed River settlement. The letter itself is somewhat unique, and we doubt whether the mail-bags of any nation ever earned its like. The Indians, who feel a great degree of traditional respect for the Royal family, and also a certain taste for barbaric show and glitter, felt that an ordinary ink-and-paper in- vitation would scarcely convey the earnestness of their wish that the prince should come, so they have sent their request in a style peculiar to themselves. The material on which the letter is written, is the fine inner rind of the birch bark, and surrounded with a deep border of gilt. The letters of the heading are in red, white, and blue, the capitals throughout being in old English, gilt. The following is a translation of the letter : — ' To the first- bom of our great mother across the great water, great chief, whom we call royal chief. We and our people hear that our relations, the half-breeds, and the pale-faces at Red River, have asked you to come and see them the next summer. We and our people also wish you to come and visit us. Every lodge will give you royal welcome. We have the bear and the buffalo, and our hunting grounds are free to you ; our horses will carry you, and our dogs hunt for you, and we and our people will guard and attend you. Our old men will show you their medals which they received for being faithful to the father of our great mother. Great royal chief, if you will come, send word to our guiding chief at Fort Carey, so that we may have time to meet and receive you as becoming our great royal chief. — Canadian News. CORRESPONDENCE. THE FIFTH SERIES OF NEW GRANADA STAMPS. To the Editor o/'The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Sir, — Can you or any of your readers inform me whether a one-peso stamp of Colombia (formerly New Granada) was ever issued, of the second series, with name of Colombia, i.e., the one on white ground with plain comers ? I have never seen or heard of such a stamp until I saw it marked in Mr. Moens' last priced catalogue (but with- out price affixed) . Mr. M. writes me that he thinks he has seen the stamp. Yours truly, London. H. [M. Moens is the only person , to onr knowledge, who even alleges he has seen this stamp, and it was inserted in his price list at a time when no 1 peso of the issue coins ornex appeared therein. A vain, d corres- pond, nt of ours, months ajro, called his attention to the omission, and asked also about the stamp H. queries above. M. Moens replied he had had these stamps through his hands, had sold them all, and could not trace one copy. After repeated inquiries and long delay, M. Moens has hitherto been unable to produce a copy or to refer to a possessor of one, and we, therefore, feel sure tlure was an error in the original insertion, which really applied to the series coins onies. We may add, we have no other information as to the existence of the stamp ; the bare fact of its insertion in M. Moens' price list is not alwa> s a final test— as witness the St. Domingo rutin m letters, on plain paper, which appeared therein for many months, and are now erastd, M. Moens being at last convinced of their non-existence.— Ed.] A PERMANENT STAMP ALBUM. To the Editor of- The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Sir, — Every succeeding year, as it passes over, adds several complete sets, many new discoveries, and various single newly-issued specimens, to the already large num - ber of postage stamps, which are worthy of admission into the album of the orthodox collector" who, rejecting essays and parcel stamps, yet finds that this economy of space is n t sufficient to leave room for the new emissions which are a fait accompli, much less for those which are yet to be issued. In this state of affairs, I am of opinion that either M. Lallier, or some other author of a standard album and catalogue, should at once bestir himself, and present to the philatelic world, a work which should give a large number of compartments to annual contributors such as Spain and New Granada, and leave a portion of its space to every country of any importance, whether it has postage stamps or not. Thus a permanent album may be formed, and thus only, and I may add, the sooner such a work is brought out the better. In my opinion, no mere differences in shade should entitle a stamp to more than one compartment, and essays and proofs, as well as parcel and receipt stamps, should be neither catalogued nor spaces left for their reception. As timbrophily is likely to remain as permanent a national pastime and means of instruction as coin collecting, it would be better if a vast number of pages were left for the accommodation of future emissions, but at all events, a lair number should be given to each country. Finally, the proposed album should be of a fairly remu- nerative but moderate price, and as the additional pages would swell the size of the volume, no catalogue should be published with it. All issued stamps should be paid attention to by having spaces marked for their reception. Yours truly, London. K. F. WILME. THE STAMPS OF THE MEXICAN REPUBLIC, NEW GEANADA, UNITED STATES, &c. To the Editor o/'The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Dear Sir, — In the latest edition of Dr. Gray's cata- logue, the set of Mexican stamps, described in your magazine of July, 1865, page 104, is placed in the ignoble company of the essays, where it certainly does not belong. You are doubtless aware, that from the time when the patriotic, but ill-starred Hidalgo first raised the cry of independence, a half-century ago, the condition of affairs in Mexico has been very decidedly mixed ; revolutions and changes of government succeeding one another with a cheerful and unfailing pertinacity, and proving beyond question, that the inhabitants of "that unhappy country are altogether unfit to govern themselves. For the past five years, however, confusion has been worse confounded by the intervention of European powers, and during all this time two governments have nominally existed. The empire represented by Maximilian, and supported by the French, being thus far the de facto; and the republic, represented by Juarez, and supported by his own follow- ers, the (in the opinion of most Americans) de jure government. It would seem as if the prevailing state of chaos there would give little occasion for postage stamps, yet both governments have thought otherwise ; the empire issuing the well-known eagle series of 1864, and the more recent head series of 1866; and the republic, the set wrongfully classed as essays by Dr. Gray, Here we see the unique spectacle of a country having in use, at the same time, two distinct series of postage stamps, 80 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [May 1, 1867. each series being employed in the localities which the government issuing it might chance to be holding at the time, and in turn giving place to the other series, when the fortunes of war migbt place the rival government in possession of those localities. As the republic has been hard pressed at times, its field of operation for postage stamps has been quite narrow, which accounts for the rarity of postmarked specimens, but from present accounts, it is gaining ground, and may at last render obsolete tbe present empire stamps, Avith the dynasty they represent. Whether tbe old issue of Hidalgos were in use by the republic up to the time ol the new issue of 1864, I am not aware, yet think it not un- likely ; but there can be no doubt that these latter are actual postage stamps, regularly employed whenever the republic's circumstances give the opportunity. You may remember a letter of James W. Newall, in the magazine of July-, 1866, page 111, agreeing with this explanation. The stamps were, as generally stated, the work of the American Bank-note Company of Xew York. I have in my possession a stamp not noted in any cata- logue or other "publication, to the best of my knowledge. It was received direct from an official at Xew Granada, and is undoubtedly genuine, though what its exact pur- pose is I am not aware, and would wish to be informed. It may be thus described : central oval, containing arms, with flags on sides, and flying eagle, with nine stars above surmounted b)- inscription estados de clxdixa- marca, the whole enclosed in a rectangular band, in- scribed estados on left side, uxidos above, de collmbia on light side, marginal label at top 2a clase para 1865, at bottom UN peso, large rectangular, black. I believe the exact purpose of the large-sized U.S. labels which appeared toward the close of 186-5 has never been stated in your magazine. They are used in prepay- ment of lax-ge packages of newspapers and periodicals, sent by the publishers to the news dealers, which packages do not pass through the post-office at all, beiug handed to and received from the route-agent having charge of the mails on board the train. By this means the small dealers are able to receive th eh packages with much greater prompt- ness than would otherwise be possible. For some reason these labels are only regularly sold at the post-office in Chicago, Illinois, where they have always been procur- able since the time of issue, but other offices have occa- sionally kept them in stock. Let me close as I began, by having another tilt at that best of catalogues — Dr. Gray's. This time it is in regard to the Wells, Fargo, & Co. stamps. As they were issued by authority of the U.S. government, I think they have nearly or quite the same rank with the La Guaira. stamps of Venezuela, as regular government locals. By the way, I ma)- state that the circular garter stamp of "Wells, Fargo, & Co. (Xo. 180 in Dr. Gray's catalogue), was manufactured by G.F.Xesbitt &Co., of Xew York, who also make for their especial use, through government order of course, the government stamped envelopes of very thin white paper. There is need of a catalogue of American locals, which shall distinguish the true from the false, the government from the private issues, as none existing now does. I have never given much attention to locals hitherto, but if no one better qualified takes up the task, I may perhaps conclude to make the attempt, in which case you shall hear again from, Yours tfuly, West Springfield, Mass., U.S. L. H. B. r A* all the New Granada pontage stamps bear the word connEos, we tti ink tin- stamp above described, which does not rowtatfh it. could not have been used tor postal purposes. It will be observed, that the inscrip- tion shows that iho stamp was Issued by one of the United States of Colombia— Cundinamarca : in like manner the small stamp represented in the Stump-Collector's Vugazint for March, bears the name of another of the integral states — Bolivia. These insciiptions seem to indicate that each separate state was atone time, and perhaps still is, semi-indepen- dent of the central authority, having the power of issuing postal and commercial stamps, and consequently of managing the postal service within its own territory, and imposing taxes on its own citizens. With referuice to the last paragraph of the above letter, we are sure our readers will join with us in expressing satisfaction at the prospect of havnif: a discriminating catalogue of American locals from our corres- pi ndent's pi i).— Ed. J ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. J. E. K., Glasgow, sends us forgeries of the 1, 4, and 6 crazie Tuscany, with the statement that a great number are current in Glasgow,— a statement which we regret to be able to confirm. It. F. Wilme. — Mr. Pemberton is now publishing a series of papers on forged stamps in the columns of a con- temporary, but we cannot say whether it is intended to re- publish them in a book form. F. IL, St. John, Xew Brunswick. — Your stamp is worth 8 6. Pilot, Bury St. Edmunds. — Will you have the good- ness to forward a directed envelope for the return of the stamps you sent us for examination? J. L, St. Ives, Cornwall. — The Virgin Islands are a small group in the West Indies ; the principal island is Tortola. Alpha, Montreal. — The local post of Constantinople is authorised by the imperial government, and its stamps are not, as you term it, 'bogus,' but are all in active em- ployment. Hospodar, Xottingham. — We believe the Xicaraguan stamps are uniformly cancelled with a pen-stroke. They are only used for home postage. Uncertain-, Eamsgate. — The town of Bamberg is in Bavaria, not Hanover. — The reported stamp for Bergen is an impostor. H. T., Xorwich.— The shield on the 8 pen Finland is either printed from the same die as the shield on the old 5 and 10 kop. of 1862, or from one very closely resembling it. There are only two stars at the top instead of three, as in the other values of the current issue. The corner stars in each ditfer in size, and in the disposition of the rays. Sachsex, Chester. — The Saxon envelopes with head are obsolete, but having ourselves recently received letters franked with the 5 and 10 sgr. respectively, it is evident that their employment is still permitted. 0. K. P., London. — The 9 ore Sweden is obsolete. Examixer, Preston. — The test of genuine Winterthur is, as pointed out by Mr. Pemberton in his work on forged stamps, the number of twists in the cord from which the post-horu is suspended, there are eight in the genuine, six in the forged. Post-amator. — The S.T.P.Fr. Brunswick envelopes are still in use. Their value we believe to be h sgr. — The newspaper stamp of the Xorth British and Edinburgh and Glasgow railway has been superseded by a similar stamp inscribed only xorth British railway compaxy. X.X., Lancaster. — There are a light and a dark 2 p. and 20 para of the current Koumauian, very clearly dis- tinguishable. Melita, Mansfield, Xotts. — The Maltese officials pro- bably never noticed that their early supplies of the single value in use in the island were on bluish papir, or paid any attention to the watermarked and unwatermarked varieties. The article at p. 163, vol. i\\, S/a/np-Co/tector's Magazine, will supply you with full details respecting these stamps. — Your album was published before the emission of the Egyptian stamps, hence there are no spaces for them. June 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 81 VIEWS OF SYDNEY.— THIRD PAPER. BY EDWARD L. PEMBERTON. Although so much was said last month upon the variations of the twopenny stamps, we have much more to say, the result of ex- tended observation, and examination of numberless specimens. We find the boun- daries of the three divisions into which the roughly-engraved twopennies have been arranged, to be corroborated further, as our examination of actual stamps is extended. Of the three divisions based upon the fan ornaments, we have discovered a few more distinct varieties, whose interest to the general collector may be enhanced by the fact of their being prominent, and in some sort errors of engraving. When it is con- sidered that each view of Sydney was en- graved separately, it may be thought a work of supererogation to describe varieties, or to attempt a classification, Avhich a single eccentric copy (if we may so express our- selves) may overrule. Doubtless many of our English philatelists have so thought, perhaps some may express their dislike to these minute researches — their contempt of them — in the same sheets that we ourselves are detailing them. To these we would urge the following considerations : stamp collect- ing is now dignified into philately, and is a science to a fully equal degree with numis- matics ; the latter has its own intricate chronicles of mint-marks and minutiae, to which much consideration is given; every thing is registered that appears upon a coin, and why not upon a stamp, especially those whose value is derived from their strange appearance, their self-evident variation, and which, in addition, have been neglected by nearly every writer of the day ? Surely all these wonderfully different varieties must have some method in their variation ; they could never have beenengraved at haphazard, or by only one man : is not this point worth an investigation, or are we always to look on the Sydneys as a sealed book ? It generally happens that we have some official record, which may give us some clue to the issuing or making of strangely different stamps, but here (as far as we know J we have no guide. If we wish to get at an approximate to the truth about them, we must work from the stamps themselves, chronicling those varie- ties which are prominent from some defect or redundancy of design, and at the same time attempting classification, and hazarding some opinions as to the reasons for such variations. . Working entirely in the dark, and solely from our own researches, we have groped about till we reached the point indicated in our last paper ; the publicity there given to many crude ideas, has given us the chance of further revision, and the opportunity for much examination of fine specimens. This, as we before said, has proved that the boundaries between the three divisions (which the difference of the fan ornament suggested) are clear, and further facilities for examination strengthen these divisions. There is something very fascinating in plunging into a morass of undescribed stamps, to take first one point, and then another, and find them all glide away as we advance further, leaving us in a slough of despond, from which there seems no escape. It is when nearly wearied out that we often seize upon some forgotten point, and find it to be the open sesame for which we seek ; and even then what toil is before us ere the way is clear ! So it is with the views of Sydney ; our first paper seemed very clear, read very smoothly, and seemed incapable of much improvement at that time, yet until now have we been speculating, arranging, and re-arranging, until our re- searches at last seemed approaching an end from our inability to arrange further, rather than a want of desire to do so. An attempt to classify such variable stamps as these, has necessitated a mass of notes, the bulk of which our readers would hardly credit. We find we have written descriptions of nearly two hundred varieties of one penny and twopenny Sydneys, any one of which might be identified with its special variety, such care have we felt bound to exercise in their study. Turning to our last paper, we find the three divisions by fan have the following as their general characteristics : 1. — Fan No. 1, hill with two or three trees, bale inscribed, links of chain visible, ground shaded, but not so deeply as No. 3. 82 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [June 1, 1867. 2. — Fan No. 2, hill without trees, bale not inscribed, ground unshaded. 3. — Fan No. 3, hill without trees, bale not inscribed, ground shaded strongly, spandrels Avith lines wider apart. Upon these we have already enlarged, but further examinations have proved as facts what were only half-formed surmises when Ave last wrote, we therefore deem further and more detailed notanda not uncalled for. 1. — The surest test for this variety is the date on the bale. "When the impressions of this variety are worn, it frequently happens that the acute points to the segments of the fan, and also the inner segments with their shading, wear away, leaving just the bare outline of the fan, and engendering doubt whether it is fan No. 1 or 2 ; should the specimen be so far gone as to show no trace of the mark on the bale, we must try another test. Strange to say, however worn an impression may be, there is nearly sure to remain some trace of the date upon the bale, even though the outline of the bale itself be gone : the date outlasts the fan, the trees, and the ground: the links of chain are seldom lost, as they wear down to shapeless dots, but when the date has gone, the only remaining test is in the corner stars, which in the variety with fan No. 1, have each a dot in their centre. This trifling distinction is curious from its very constancy ; although many of the No. 2 stamps have corner stars, counter parts of those in No. 1 (which are always uniform), we never find a dot in the stars of No. 2. Surely this trivial difference being confined to one series, whose differences are not shared by the other two series, surely it is not the result of accident that it should invariably be found? The charac- teristic, ground shaded but not so strongly as 3, is not so invariably accurate as the others we have given, as we have two before us, the shading of which is very strong, and extends as far as in 3 ; still, as a rule, No. 1 has a break in the shading, either before it reaches the knee of the sitting goddess, or immediately over the pick and shovel. We have one copy in which the shading goes across to the knee of the goddess, so that in tliis and Xn--. '1 and :! this matter of shading must not be adhered to too implicitly, as it is only in true types of these divisions that we meet with the shading as we have given it, yet again, specimens of the true types greatly exceed the number of those which differ. In addition to variety a., given last month, we have found another, which will be called b. ; in it there is shading in the circle on each side of the fan, extending for an eighth of an inch on each side, and is in point of shading in the circle, similar to the finely-engraved stamps, which, it will be remembered, always exhibit this character- istic ; Ave have therefore two varieties, a. Crevit wanting. b. Shading on each side the fan in the circle. 2. — It is very seldom the fan is worn in this variety as in 1. Indeed there is a great difference in the distinctness of the impres- sions in 1 and 3, of which more anon ; but should the fan be obliterated by a heavy postmark, or be Avorn down, then take the absence of the date which proves that it is not a., with the closeness of the lines in the spandrels, Avhich distinguishes it from its congener 3. With respect to the shading of the ground on Avhich the pick and shovel lie, it is in the true type 2, always wanting. In our own series of twenty picked and different varieties, Ave find two with shading right across the ground, one very clear, with a great many lines of shading, which we have called var. a. ; in the other the lines of shading are few. On two others Ave have a few strokes of shading, the remaining six- teen being of the pure type. This average will be found pretty just. In addition to var. b., we have identified another, Avhich we introduce as c, no clouds. It will be observed that in all these No. 2 there are clouds ; even the most worn copies have slight tracings of them, but this variety is a fine deep impression, precluding the idea of their absence beine the result of wear. We have further verified this by another speci- men of the same variety, in an almost equal state of perfection. There will be noticed in this A^ariety, a peculiar shape of the w in two, it is flattened (or truncated will per- haps better explain) on the left side, owing to the T preceding it being extra large. We Juke 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 83 have a further curious variety, which we feel wants verification, namely, a rouletted specimen of one of the worn impressions. This copy has been in our album for a length of time, and has always passed for a fine copy of the worn impression, but in examin- ing recently, when all our twopenny Sydneys were being re-arranged and unbacked, we remarked this seeming roulette, which re- sembles that found on many of the New Zealands, and is extremely difficult to identify. The edge left on the stamp by this roulette is simply ragged, showing no distinctive dents, as in the later roulettes ; the appearance is often the same as if the stamp had been severed from the ones ad- joining by doubling the paper, and tearing away. Perhaps these early roulettes the public did not understand ; very likely the stamps did not separate easily, and the paper was doubled on the rouletted lines, and then torn asunder, which, if we try it ourselves with a penknife and a piece of paper, at once give us ragged edges, without much trace of the roulette holes or cuts. We have said that our copy of the two- penny rouletted requires verification, it is in this way, — the roulette marks only show along one of the side edges, and, there being- no other copy of any New South Wales stamp known to us so perforated, this copy is, of course, doubtful, as it does not show decided dents along the torn edge, but re- sembles those ragged and difficult-to-be- distinguished roulettes which we find on the stamps of New Zealand. Many of the roulettes of this last country are very clear, showing large cuts in the paper, far clearer than those to be found on the sixpenny Victoria, blue, Queen on throne. The varieties of No. 2 type as they at present stand, are — a. Ground shaded across. b. Fan with six segments. c. No clouds. 3. — The only certain test for this is the presence of the pearl on the fan, in con- junction with which we finda clear engraving, and spandrels of lines wider apart and very regularly separated; each line can be fol- lowed by the eye through all its undulations. A\re have little fresh to say about these, ex- cept that we have never met with specimens much worn. The only variety we have noticed is one with six segments to the fan ; the colour of our specimen of which is an excessively bright ultra-marine blue. Having now rendered the determination of specimens into one of the three leading- divisions easy to be made, we will advance another idea, illustrating and proving from specimens before us the probability of what we are advancing. From the Government Gazette we are enabled to prove that the views of Sydney were issued January 1st, 1850, and about August, 1851, the first two- penny laurels were ready for use, followed by penny stamps at the end of the same year. This gives us a period of about eighteen months for the circulation of the S}Tdneys. We find the following differences exist between the papers of the twopenny Sydneys of the rough type, Nos. 1, 2, and 3. 1. — Has the paper in two ways ; the fine clear impressions, evidently the first, are on a porous yellow-white paper varying in in- tensity of tone, causing us to give the variety last month as upon white and upon yellowish papers, whereas these two merely owe their greater or less depth of yellow to age or circumstances. The ink has a greater pro- portion of oil than we find elsewhere, and the paper being porous the oil is absorbed by the stamp, and so we frequently find this variety showing a greasy edge to every line in the design. As the impressions become more worn so the paper becomes of a smoother texture, loses its sponginess, and is of a whiter tone ; the colour even of the printing ink altering, becoming more de- cidedly blue. On the yellowish paper the colour is a peculiar creamy shade of dull- blue, not approached by any twopenny of 2 or 3 with which we have met. 2. — Upon a pale-blue paper of a very hard smooth texture we find light and dark shades of deep-blue, indeed we have a copy of a sky-blue shade. We next have a very strong dull- white paper, laid vertically, and showing the vergure (the laid lines) very deep in the paper; the colour in which our two are printed appears the nearest match to that of the worn stamps of No. 1, which are printed in dark-blue as stated above. We next 84 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [June, 1, 1867. come to the worn stamps, which differ from the worn impressions of 1 and 3 in this, that though the lines in the spandrels be worn quite away, we yet find the view tolerably clear and the fan invariably distinct, fre- quently the view has every line well pre- served, as also the side frames and the lettering, top and bottom. Another singu- larity about No. 2 worn impressions, is the thickness and comparative whiteness of the paper, which is hard and finely surfaced ; the colour, also, has a distinctive peculiarity, being an intensely bright pure blue, perhaps from its purity more susceptible to accidental changes, since we seldom find the pure shade, although we find every gradation of dis- colouration from blue to blue-black and olive. We still find another variety of paper, one rather thin in comparison with the last mentioned, of a dirty brown- white, and the blue of the impression much dis- coloured ; doubtless this is the blue-paper stamp changed by some fortuitous circum- stance to its present tone, although they are frequently to be met with. Our rouletted stamp is the worn one, in the deep shade of blue. 3. — We notice this on three papers ; first, vertically laid, thick, hard, and yellowish- I white, colour the same bright pure-blue met with in the last series. Second, dull- white and struck in blue similar to the last, but not so pure. Third, upon blue paper of va- rious tones ; the blue of the ink is generally rather pale or subdued, but not invariably. We have it on a rather thinner paper than or- dinary, pure-blue in tone, and struck in bright ultra-marine. The blue papers are those most commonly met with, that upon laid is rare. From these notes on the different papers, we see that the three divisions, 1, 2, and 3, occur upon papers and in shades peculiar to each, except in the case of 2 and 3, where we do find a close approach in some copies, although not an actual resemblance. This leads but to one conclusion, that 1, 2, and 3 were different plates, .separately engraved, and issued at separate intervals. Had they all been issued upon one plate and struck off together, specimens of 2 and 3 must have come before us printed in the creamy shade of blue upon the porous yellow paper, .which everyone is forced to acknowledge is peculiar to No. 1. Apropos to this we may notice that this creamy blue twopenny is, without doubt, the fellow to the ' rose, a creamy tint,* mentioned in our last paper, and which frequently shows the oil in the printing ink, but to the detriment of the impression. The oil marks do not detract much from the appearance of the blue stamp, although they give a most unhealthy appearance to the fellow pennies. The true shades and the papers peculiar to each division, we should take as follows : — 1. — Creamy-blue upon soft yellowish paper. 2. — Dark-blue upon dull pale-blue. Intense pure-blue (discoloured to blue-black and olive) on stiff, hard, dull-white paper oc- casionally laid. 3. — Pure-blue upon pure-blue. We, last month, tried to dispose of argu- ments in favour of one plate for all penny Sydneys, and we have this month tried the more ambitious task of proving that three plates were made for the roughly-engraved twopennies. This we have done to the best of our abilities, and hope that the proofs ad- duced by us may be found trustworthy, and may be of sufficient interest to induce others to follow up the study which we have so laboriously begun. We will conclude the present paper with a few observations upon the finely-engraved twopenny stamps. There seem but two prominent varieties of this type — the one with four trees on the hill, the other without any. In these splendidly-engraved stamps the sky is a mass of fine shading, as also the foreground and the hill itself: the man ploughing is wonderfully clear, and, in comparison with the rough engravings, they are from finely- cut dies. The paper is woven, yellowish- white, and the colour perhaps a trifle creamy, but of a curious dingy shade (see p. 71). The worn impressions are upon a whitish paper, and the blue of the impression is paler than in general. As we have before said, the proportion of good copies amongst a number of specimens is very small, indeed a thoroughly clear copy is of great rarity, for the die could not have been long in use ere it deteriorated. June 1, 1867. J THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 85 The threepenny stamps have hitherto passed us with a very slight notice, and as far as the view itself is concerned, we have very little to say. It seems a counterpart in every important particular of No. 2 two- penny, except that the motto, sic fortis etruria crevit, is written in three lines, and that in place of a fan ornament, we have a three-lobed thing, looking more like three 1 fir cones,' than anything else of w^hich we can think. We find it upon yellowish paper, soft and spongy, which shows much of the oil in the printing ink, though we have never met with it in the advanced greasy state of the twopenny upon the same paper ; upon white paper, and upon blue woven paper. The colours in which they are impressed are different shades of yellow-green and emerald- green. A very rare proof exists of this value in very dark-green, upon toned paper, which is a magnificent-looking stamp, though from its very great rarity it is seldom to be seen, even in the finest of collections. In the selection of a good series of Sydneys for one's album, where a limit is imposed, a good copy of each of the following ought to suffice : One penny, rough, on dull-white, on pure blue, selecting a good distinct blue paper, as this will give us the two clearest colours, red and lake. One penny, fine, dark rosy-lake on yellowish. lake-red on blue. Twopence, raugh,l, on yellowish, pale creamy- blue. 2, on dull pale-blue. on smooth, hard, dull-white paper. 3, pure blue paper. And a variety may be added of either of the last upon laid paper, Twopence, fine, on yellowish. Threepence, on yellowish, on blue. If more are wished, the following may be added to make a fine series: One penny, rough, on bluish-white, lake-red. ditto laid, lake-red. One -penny, fine, pale rosy-lake, on yellowish. Twopence, rough, 1, on smooth, hard paper, dark-blue. 2, laid paper, dark-blue. 3, dull- white, deep-blue, laid paper, intense blue, blue paper, ultramarine. Twopence, fine, two shades of the clear stamp may be introduced, as also a worn impression, choosing the latter upon as white a paper as possible, to afford a better contrast. Qf course if we take more than these, we come to the varieties of design, which we -do not consider in this case to be of such im- portance as copies showing the distinctions of paper and colour, as pointed out. In selecting these stamps for a collection, let the preference be always given to stamps with a full margin ; nothing detracts from a fine copy of a good stamp more than the absence of a margin, and whatever we do with our stamps, never let the scissors approach their margins. It is a remnant of barbarity to arrange a fine collection in any album printed and ruled for the reception of stamps. A collector's album should be a handsome blank book, and his arrangement his own. He is not then tied down to a single square for a stamp which he may find in half a dozen more forms than a ruled album would have space for ; neither is he forced to clip and shear his stamps to fit the appointed space. We do not mean to say but that a printed album is of infinite service to many, but after a certain stage a printed album cramps one, and makes col- lecting simply a fight to fill all the ruled spaces, instead of an interesting study, having for its object the formation of a col- lection, whose boundaries shall be with the owner, and not with the printer of the album. The postmark upon the twopenny stamps is frequently an entire obliteration of the whole stamp, they are often much mangled by clipping, and not unfrequently they are irreparably spoilt by being fastened on the letter by a wafer, to cause the tight adhesion of which the sender used one of those serrated seals peculiar to offices. We have met with many thus barbarously treated and spoilt for any collector's use, by one or more of the above causes, so it will be seen that fine clear copies, with good margins, are really uncommon. We have been able THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Juke 1, 1867. to prove from the Government Gazette, that the views of Sydney were issued on the 1st of January, 1850, and that the first of the laurel series was issued in August, 1851, so that in nineteen months we have four different emissions of the twopenny views of Sydney, — rather a large number. The consideration of the reasons for these numerous stamps, taken in conjunstion with a study of the comparative dates of issue of the Sydneys in connection with the laureated series, promises to be of con- siderable interest when fully worked out. As we are at present engaged upon it, our readers will be glad to escape for the space of another month from any more about the views of Sydney. VERY OLD POSTMARKS. The stamps represented below carry us back far beyond the days of Rowland Hill — be- yond the days of Palmer — to the time when the postal service of the metropolis was per- formed by a private person. The happy thought of instituting a London metropolitan post occurred to John Murray, an uphol- sterer, in 1683, suggested perhaps by the success of private carriers in other parts. It was, we may safely assume, a very profitable speculation, for only a few years after we find the government settling upon its then proprietor — Mr. Dockwra — a pension of two hundred pounds a year, a sum equal to four or five times that amount in the present currency. The correspondence of a busy capital — busy in pleasure, if not work — must even then have been something considerable, and John Murray's trifling charge probably encouraged it. A penny per letter was the rate at which he carried the amatory effu- sions of the belles and beaux of the period, and the business epistles of city merchants. Adhesive stamps, however, were not re- quired, but each letter was hand-stamped. The impressions had not much superfluous ornament about them, but were plain and to the purpose, as the reader will see. ^^ JC£ They are the earliest known postmarks, and they establish the facts that correspond- ence was prepaid and that there were then [1683-4] two deliveries only per day, namely, at twelve at noon and at nine in the evening. The different initials in the centre would also seem to show that some kind of check was in use. ESSAYS FOR THE EMPIRE OF HAITI. We have been favoured by Mr. T. W. Kitt with the following interesting extract from a letter written by a merchant at Port-au- Prince, Haiti, to a friend (a stamp-collector) at Weymouth, and sent to Mr. Kitt for perusal. The letter is dated ' Port-au-Prince, March 20th, 1867,' and was brought by the Royal- Mail Company's steam-ship Atrato, which ar- rived at Southampton on the 12th April last. " I have just returned from Cape Haitien, and did not forget to make the inquiries respecting stamps (which you requested me to do) there, as well as in Port-au-Prince. The Haitien government is too much occu- pied with internal broils in the shape of revolutions to give much attention to postal matters, consequently the republic of Haiti cannot at present boast of possessing post- age stamps. ' When at Cape Haitien I had occasion to visit Mr. F , a planter, who resides at about six miles from that city, and was in- troduced to his son, a young coloured gen- tleman, who, in the course of conversation, turned out to be what we Englishmen call a " curiosity collector." Knowing that I was acquainted with his father, he politely in- vited me to view his objets, an invitation which I accepted, and found that his collec- June 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 87 tion principally consists of small articles of native workmanship, formerly belonging to the Haitien monarchs, Dessalines, Christo- phe, and Soulouque, cherished not from a respect for royalty, but to illustrate the state of the arts in his country. What attracted my attention most was some sheets of post- age stamps, or what I think you call " essays," privately prepared by order of, and submitted to, the Emperor Faustin I. (Sculouque), but from some cause or other never adopted. Of these essays, young Mr. F has but one perfect sheet, comprising seven stamps (three in the top and four in the bottom row), values 6, 10, 12, 15, 25, 50 centimes, and 1 franc, which are printed respectively in violet, green, vermilion, blue, orange, grey, and pink; while in the two remaining sheets, or rather portions of sheets, the stamps are all printed in black. ' There is but one design for the whole set of stamps, and the description is as follows : ■ — rectangular, the arms of the empire of Haiti (a shield bearing the im- perial eagle, and the tree of liberty ; supporters, two lions) in a circle ; and surrounded by a band bear- ing the words, faustin l, [lF]|TiMBflE-POSfE][lfjj EMPEKEUR ; at the top of each stamp is the inscrip- tion, empire d'haiti, with the date, 1850, in the corners, while at the bottom will be found, timbre-poste, and the value in both corners. The stamps are tolerably well executed, and were prepared in Port-au-Prince, each sheet having printed at the top, bureau des postes DE L' EMPIRE D'HAITI, PAR L'ORDRE DE l'EMPE- reu-r, and at the bottom, port-au-prince, join, 1850. 1 After much persuasion, I induced young Mr. F to allow me to take one of the imperfect sheets home, that I might copy the design of the stami ■ ....-. ^xjps. inis 1 wras en- abled to do after some four hours work upon it, and consequently I now send you a pen- and-ink sketch of one of them, which will give you a very good idea of what they are. The central design being more than I could manage, I took a rubbing from a coin in Mr. F- 's possession, the arms on which I found to be an exact counterpart. The size i of the stamp will no doubt appear very large to you, but it was carefully measured on paper in all its details from the original. 'From what I can learn, the projected issue of postage stamps by the Emperor Faustin was not to be wondered at, con- sidering that he took France for his pattern in many things ; take for instance the char- acter and antecedents of his coronation. The stamps themselves you will see bear some similitude to those at present in use in France (?) I shall have to make another journey to Cape Haitien, when the country is a little tranquillised, so if you entertain any idea of making an offer for one of the sheets, or wish for any further particulars respect- ing them, do not fail to let me know by next mail. Mr. F believes that these w^ere not the only essays prepared by order of the emperor, but they are the only ones that he has been able to meet with.' The engraving above given was copied from the tracing alluded to, which was kindly forwarded with the letter by Mr. Kitt. NEWLY-ISSUED OR IKEDITED STAMPS. The first three or four months of the year are, so far as past experience goes, the most prolific of stamps, but the present year seems to be an exception, as the influx of new stamps continues still. The number of novelties has not, wre believe, been so great in the whole, as in former years, but they have been more equally distributed over the spring months than before. We are happy to be able to introduce the emissions of two new coun- tries this month, and commence w7ith Heligoland. — We are not aware what stamps have hitherto been employed upon this little sandbank, but presume the British have done duty, and that the values of our home stamps wrere not the exact equivalents of the postage on German letters. Hence, or for some other equally cogent reason, the authorities have caused a series to be emitted, which philatelists will welcome. Though not deserving to be placed in the first rank amongst stamps of distinguished excellence, they are far superior to many of the conti- 88 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [June 1, 1867. nental stamps. .ruri_r,_T_ri_-l-r.-rt-nrjT-n ' k SCHILLING k They were designed and executed at the Berlin office, where the Prussian and most of the other German stamps are made, but we are glad that a different style of device was chosen, from that of the Prussian themselves, and their congeners. The head in the centre, our readers will perhaps recognize as that of our Queen, more from its likeness to the other stamp portraits of her Majesty than from any real resemblance to her. The portrait is, however, embossed, and its finer traits can hardly be copied, but upon an examination of the stamp itself, it will, we think, be conceded that this portrait is an advance upon all the others. Some attempt is made to represent our sovereign's features as they actually appear to us ; and this in itself, as truth is always so desirable, is a commendable effort. Our engraving will sufficiently show the design, which is plain and neat. The peculiarity of these stamps is, that the series, consisting of four values, is all printed in two colours, rose and green, differently disposed on each stamp. The values are, \ schilling. i „ 2 „ . 6 » The \ schilling has the central oval green, the spandrels rose, and the border and in- scription in green letters on a white ground. In the 1 schilling these colours are reversed, the centre is rose, the spandrels green, and the border and letters rose on white. In the 2 schilling the centre and spandrels are green, the inscriptions are in white letters on dark labels, and the figures in the corners are printed in rose. The 6 schilling is the opposite, oval and spandrels rose, and frame green, with white corners, containing dark figures. They are printed from compound dies on white paper, in sheets of fifty, per- forated a la roulette, and were issued on the 15th of April. HUNGARY. — By a paragraph in our current 'Postal Chit-chat,' it will be seen that stamps for this kingdom may be expected. Truly the philatelist's album is becoming in- cidentally a valuable and trustworthy chronicle of the world's history. Guatemala. — We this month present our readers with an illustration ofthedesignforthiscountry. In the article extracted from Jj Evenement, which ap- peared in our February No., it was stated that stamps for Guatemala were being prepared in the Hotel cles Monnaies, but at the time we warned our readers against implicitly accepting this statement as correct. As the proof from which we last month described was received from the United States, it is more than probable that this tasteful design is, as we suggested, the work of one of the bank-note companies of New York. St. Salvador. — This republic appears at last to have issued stamps. A very short time after that very odd looking one real appeared, we received such information as led us first to distrust, and then altogether to disbelieve in it, but the present stamp is one which is most undoubtedly authentic. It is a very handsome-looking affair, printed on plain white paper, un watermarked, oblong, and perforated, 18 by 12. It is evidently of American production. The only stamp we have seen is 2 reales green, of the same shade as the Newfoundland 2 c, but we have in our possession proofs in the following shades and values : \ real blue. vermilion. green. brown. and we are informed by a correspondent, that he has specimens of 1 rl. pink and 3 rls. brown, obliterated we presume. The general design is that of a volcanic mountain in eruption, on a plane horizon with 11 stars round it, the whole enclosed in an oval frame. At the four angles is the figure of value in an ornamental circle, and in ornamented bands above, and below are June 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 89 CORREOS del, and Salvador, respectively ; at each end the value in like bands, in words at length. The ground is formed of minute repetitions of the name of the numeral — • dos in the stamp before us. The oblitera- tion is an oval mark, composed of diamond- shaped dots, much like that in former use in Tuscany. Italy. — We were mis-informed as to the date when the new 20 c. would come into circulation. It has been in active employ- ment since the 1st ult. Switzerland. — The new envelope is out, and those who may have hoped for great things, judging from the adhesives, will be disappointed. The colour, carmine, is good, but the entire stamp is too small and insignificant. It looks too much like a seal. The twenty-two stars are intended to indi- cate the twenty-two cantons forming the confederation, the dove with letter is our old acquaintance on the Basle stamp. A correspondent at Zurich informs us that a decree has been issned appointing the 1st of July for its emission. The large and uncommon-looking stamp here represented franks the corre- spondence of the Genevese council of state. It is printed in black on the centre of the upper part of the envelopes, and bears, as will be seen, the arms of the canton. At the lower left-hand corner is the word official. We are informed that any one who, having the right to use these envelopes, gives them to unofficial friends, is gravely compromised. Venezuela. — The series of the annexed type has been lately completed by the emission of a half cen- tavo yellowish-green, and one centavo blue-green. . Spain. — A third con- gressional stamp has lately come to light, which is, we believe, the earliest of the three. According to a correspondent in a foreign journal, prior to the 1st July, 1855, the prepayment of letters by means of stamps was optional. Subsequently an oblong stamp, bearing the letters s y d (senators and deputies), was printed in black or blue upon the letters of the members of the Spanish parliament. The sittings of the senate were suspended for a time, but on their meeting again in 1857, the stamp above described was issued. India (Scinde). — Nearly two years and a half ago a corre- spondent described in a letter published in vol. iii., p. 15, a stamp once used in the province of Scinde. Since then he has kindly endeavoured to obtain a perfect spe- cimen from which an engraving might be made, but having been unsuccessful, he has favoured us with his own copy, which is represented above. The stamp is a simple embossed uncoloured impression. In the specimen we describe from, the upper seg- ment of the heart in the centre is absent, and the ornament above is also imperfect. Our correspondent states that the stamp was issued during Sir Bar tie Frere's administra- tion of the province, and imagines that the central device had some reference to his arms. It was in circulation in 1853-4, but probably only a few were issued, and the emission ceased altogether when the stamp for the entire Indian empire came out. The paper on which the Scinde stamp is im- pressed is, or rather was, white: age or some external agency has considerably dis- coloured it. We should be glad if any of our readers could give us further details concerning this rare and interesting stamp. Germany. — It is reported that a uniform type of stamp has been adopted for all the entire North German confederation, includ- ing Prussia. Chill — We hear of a new issue for this country as likely soon to appear, and are told the design is much like the present stamp, but of finer detail and execution. 90 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZIXE. [Jra 1, 1867. Geeat Britain. — We have officail infor- mation that stamps, value respectively lud., 2s.. and 5s.. will be shortly issned. TVe hope the opportunity of this new emission has been taken to produce a design which shall really be worthy of this country. The stamps themselves will be a great con- venience. The tenpenny in particular, pre- pavinsr the single Marseilles rate, will be found very useful. The higher values are also much needed, as there is so much cor- respondence between this country and out- of-the-way places, to which the postage is very high. Our colonies have set the mother post-office an example in this as in other matters. Several already possess lOd., 2s.. and os. stamps, and others are every now and then being added to the list. Constantinople. — We regret to find that the reports of the stoppage of the local post of this city is well founded. On the 31st of March the letter-boxes were closed, and the service was suspended until further notice. The cause of this suspension is the want of support on the part of the public, and of the srovernment. Its stamps, which were all bond-nde employed in the prepayment of postage, and post-marked, will probably become rare should the service not be re- opened. Virgin Islands. — VTe have just been fa- voured with information by the postmaster of Tortola that shilling and fourpenny stamps for these islands are now being prepared, and are expected to be ready by the end of July. The virgin will be represented with her head encircled with stars, but without a lamp in her hand, and the border of lamps will also be omitted. The shilling stamp will bear the virgin black on a red ground, the fourpenny red on white. Moresnet. — The designer of the stamps for this commune, described in our last number, turns out to be no less a personage than M. Moens. Our readers, we are sure, on reference to the engraving, will commend his taste, and regret with us that, as we now learn, the stamps are not to be issued. There are, it appears, considerable difficulties in the way of emitting" stamps specially for the free commune of Moresnet. In the first place, the commune has no post-office ; in the second place, it has no postmaster. The arrangements for the receipt and de- livery of letters within the district are. at present, rather primitive, but sufficient for the requirements of the inhabitants. Two boxes are the receptacles for the Moresnet correspondence, and two postmen form the administrative staff, but even they have to come from the neighbouring countries to collect and distribute the letters. The two boxes belong respectively to Prussia and to Belgium, and are cleared by their respective postmen, who come, the one from Montzen on the Belgian side, the other from Herbes- thal, the nearest Prussian town. Xeither of these postmen has taken upon himself the emission of stamps. The idea is solely due to M. Moens, and the philatelic world in general, ourselves in particular, must be grateful for the details he gave last month, under the pseudonym of J. S. Xeom. con- cerning them. In plain English, we have been hoaxed, in good company it is true, for Le Timbrophile no more saw the joke thau we did, so well was the letter concocted, and so fine — so very difficult to perceive, we might say were we disposed to be captious — • the point. There are, we admit, reading by a new light, some very suspicious items in the information, and we ought to have seen them at first, but. in fact, as we never knew M. Moens to make a joke on so serious a subject as the issue of stamps, we did not dream of his perpetrating one in the present instance, and trusted him, ' not wisely, but too well.' However, errwre hum ami and after all, out of evil comes good, for our own and our readers' store of knowledge is increased by the information, which is true, relative to the position, state, and adminis- tration of one of the most out-of-the-way corners in the world. Brazil. — The shades of colours in the specimens vary much, particularly in the 80 reis, two copies of which are now before as : the one a dark-purple, the other, so much lighter and fainter in tint as to be almost mauve. Montevideo. — Our readers will, no doubt, have noticed that the current stanr. this state, with the exception of the 1 c, are inscribed CENTECIM08. The substitution of June 1,1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 91 the c for 5 at the end of the second syllable was a mistake of the engravers, which we learn has now been corrected in the enve- lopes. When a new supply of the adhesives is worked off, the like correction will, we suppose, be made in them, if it is possible to change the c to s in each of those minute repetitions of the word centesimos. Victoria. — What we have just said of the 80 reis of Brazil, is applicable to some speci- mens of the last-emitted threepence of this colony ; there are two very distinct hues — light and dark — among the sheets of the rosy-purple threepences which have been sent to England by the last mails. The watermark remains a single-lined figure 8. We have also met with a copy of the two- pence laureated head in circle, now in use, watermarked with a single-lined figure 4; this makes another variety for those curious in such matters, the specimen we saw was evidently recently printed. Hamburg. — We noticed in our April number the emission of watermarked en- velopes for this city. We now give an engraving of the mark, the same size as the original, and from which it has been carefully copied. To the \ schg. and 4 schg. with this watermark must now be added the 2 schg. red, and in course of time we shall no doubt see it upon all. Natal. — One shilling, a new value has just been issued. It is a deep- green in colour, and very like the threepence Ceylon in design. We will give details next month. THE AUSTRIAN SPREAD-EAGLE. The Cornhill Magazine for last month contains an erudite article entitled ' The eagle of the German empire,' from which we venture to extract some details which, we believe, will prove interesting to our readers. Our business is with the present insignia of Austria — the double-headed eagle — but to trace its connection with the empire, it is necessary to go back to the time when the imperial bird was blessed with only one head. The first appearance of the eagle in Germany was with Charlemagne, who, after being crowned emperor, in Rome, on the 25th December, 800, adopted the old Roman eagle for his cognizance, and placed a figure of the bird on his palace at Aix la Chapelle, writh its head turned towards Germany, which position it continued in until the invasion of Lothaire of France and the capture of that town in 978, when the victorious monarch, it is said, turned the eagle's head towards France. The imperial bird continued to be the symbol of the Roman-German empire from the days of Charlemagne downwards, and still keeping its original form as a natural bird, so far as the grotesque drawing of the heraldic artist would admit; that is, a single-headed eagle without crown, scep- tre, sword, monde, or aureola. It is first met with on the imperial insignia in the middle of the eleventh century ; and is afterwards found on thrones, state seals, sceptres, and coins. It also figures on the state banners ; and we note, en passant, that the purple dalmatics of the Emperor, of which a list is given as early as 1350, were described as bearing many small yellow shields charged with a single-headed black eagle. Subsequently, a serpent was added to the arms, suspended beneath the imperial eagle, no doubt, in commemoration of the annexation of the principality of Milan to the empire, by Otto III., in 996, when he 92 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [June 1, 1867. took the town, and proclaimed himself King ofLombardie.* ' The double-eagle displayed,' as it is technically called, appears, according to some writers, for the first time in the early part of the fifteenth century, when it was adopted by the emperor Sigismond, as a particular distinction of the Roman im- perial dignity in opposition to that of the German, which had been, since the days of Charlemagne especially distinguished by the simple * eagle displayed,' that is, the natural bird with its wings spread. The ' double eagle displayed,' it is asserted, became from this time the distinction of the German emperors, without, however, excluding the original ' single eagle,' which we find in the arms of Frankfort, and on many public buildings of the empire in the fifteenth century shields carved in stone are found, charged with the imperial ' double eagle dis- played ' holding in its talons another shield charged with the old single eagle. The real origin of the ' double eagle ' is wrapped in obscurity, though many attempts have been made to explain it without any reliable authority. Its adoption in Germany was, no doubt, in ' imitation of the emperors of the Western empire upon the decline of that of the East, especially by Sigismond, who, it is said, joined the two eagles together, with their heads looking contrary ways, to show the sovereignties of the two empires joined in his person.' f But that it was carried by the emperors of Germany long before Sigismond, there is evidence, as it was found on a coin struck in Holland under the emperor Louis of Bavaria, in the early part of the fourteenth century, as that sovereign was born in 1286 and died 1347. It is also found on the reverse of the seal of Wenceslaus * Turning to the Austrian and Venetian pages of our album, we notice that the 10 kr. and 10 soldi of 1858 have on the right of the circle containing the portrait a shield bearing minute figures of single-headed eagles, and another shield, the lowest on the left side, containing the figure of a serpent. f We saw, in the Pall Mall Gazette, a different account of the origin of the symbol of the double-headed eagle. It was there stated that some German tribes defeated a Roman general in the year 871 (we quote from memory), captured two eagles, and, in token of then- triumph, carved or moulded small figures of the two eagles placed back to back, and sent them through the country. VII., emperor of Germany and king of Bohemia, born 1359. That the 'double eagle ' was carried by the emperors of the East long before it was imitated by those of the west of Europe, there can be no doubt ; and that it continued to be their symbol down to the overthrow of that empire is also certain, as Iwan, or Ivan III. (Vassilievitch) of Russia, assumed for his arms the ' double eagle displayed,' in right of his wife Zoe, or Sophie, granddaughter of Michel Paleologus, that he might establish a claim to the im- perial throne of the East, which had just then been overthrown. A POSTAGE STAMP. Dear Reader,*what is a postage stamp ? A postage stamp ! why, of course every- body knows what that is. A postage stamp is a printed piece of paper for franking letters or papers, &c, by the post, and is j designed to save time and trouble in prepay- | ing of postage. Dear reader, like the travellers in the famous chameleon story, you are right and wrong. A postage stamp is a guarantee issued by certain firms, and generally by those firms called governments, that a cer- tain amount of work shall be done by them in accordance with the value of the said guarantee, and, like all other guarantees, has become an interchangeable article, and thus is often used as representing the amount of money named on its face ; and its likeness to commercial guarantees has become more fully marked by the fact that our govern- mental firm has enabled it to be negociated with their agent, the post-office, at a certain discount. A postage stamp is also a sign of progress in the civilization of a country, though it is a remarkable fact, that the most highly-civilized countries have not all the most beautifully-designed or executed stamps, as will easily be seen by comparing those con- tained even in an ordinary-sized collection. Take, for instance, the later ones of the Sand- wich Islands, those of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Turkey, &c, &c, and compare them with the current ones of Germany, the older Italian, some of the English, &c, and the superior skill displayed in the design and. June 1,1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 93 engraving of the stamps of the semi-civilized countries will be apparent. Again, a postage stamp is an historical 4 landmark ' of the changes which occur, or have occurred, in the political and social life of a country, showing, by an alteration in its design, the succession of monarchs and I revolutions, the influences of dominant coun- j tries over the one from which it emanates, the transfer of mere nominal into actual power, and changes in monetary values. I These are shown by an examination of the I stamps of Prussia, Saxony, Roumania, &c, for the first ; those of France, Modena, Tus- cany, and other Italian States, Schleswig- Holstein, &c, for the second ; the last issues of Saxony, Oldenburg, Lubeck, &c, for the third ; those of Servia, for the fourth ; and those of Finland (new issue), Canada, Nova Scotia, &c, for the last. A postage stamp is also an incentive to the increase of corres- pondence, and so becomes a friend to the human race, as it consequently increases the revenue returns, and thus tends to decrease taxation. The postmaster- general's returns for the year ending March 31st, 1867, show that a gross revenue of £1,470,000 accrued to the government from the postal service for that year. Looking at the - hero' — shall we say ? — of this article in another light, we shall find that it illustrates heraldic art by the nume- rous ' shields of arms ' so well known ; legendary art by the ' eagle, serpent, and cactus,' found on the first stamps of the Mexican empire, of which the legend will be found in Prescottfs Conquest of Mexico, and in vol iii., page 28, of this magazine ; religious prejudices by those of Egypt and Turkey, as the Mahometan religion vetoes the re- presentation of figures of men or animals ; the productions of countries, by the codfish and seal on the stamps of Newfoundland ; and, lastly, it enables us to form a very good portrait gallery, by giving us the portraits of many sovereigns and eminent men. It is often, also, an assistant to the teacher in leading scholars to study with greater zeal, insomuch as it acts as a kind of aide memoire to the remembrance of certain particulars concerning countries to which their exercises refer, more especially if the countries happen to be those which issue postage stamps. We wonder how many English people (before the ' science ' of philately commenced) knew where Corrientes or Bergedorf, or many other places, of which the names are now as familiar as ' household words,' are situate ; or even the difference between a gute-groschen and a neu-groschen, or a schilling and a shilling. Its study also tends to induce a habit of observation of minutiae and order, the many differences of detail requiring to be carefully noted, and a systematic arrangement being necessary in order to exhibit the beauties and the uses of stamps. After thus showing many different lights in which a postage stamp may be viewed, we think, dear reader, that you will scarcely acknowledge your answer to be the only one which our question involves ; and may perhaps help you to answer that oft-repeated question of non-philatelists, 'What is the use of them ? ' [The above is a concise summary of the oft-asserted advantages accruing from the study of stamps, which our readers may use to confute the arguments of un- believers.— Ed.] REVIEWS of POSTAL PUBLICATIONS. Oppen's Postage-Stamp Album and Catalogue of British and Foreign Postage Stamps. Ninth edition. London : W. Stevens. We have already had occasion to review the present edition of this excellent album,* and now revert to it only to notice its re-issue in a more elegant binding. For the old in- scription on the side, an ornamental in- scribed ring, enclosing a representation of an English postage stamp, impressed in gold, is substituted, and this stamp also appears on the back. There is no special reason why a sixpenny or shilling stamp should be placed on the cover of a four or six-shilling book ; its duty must consist simply in being orna- mental, and that it unquestionably is. The publisher has also issued gilt-edged copies of the album and catalogue, very handsomely bound, at a price but little above that of the others. To a young collector, any one * The Stamp- Collector's Magazine, vol. iv., p. 189. 94 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [June 1, 1867. of these albums ^vould form a very accept- able present. Katalog tiler alle sell 1840 bis ende April, 18G7, atisgegeben Brief marken oiler Lan- der mil beigedrnckten Verkaufsprt Leipzig : Zschiesche &: Koder. Messrs. Zschiesche & Kodeb have found it necessary to is.vne another edition of their price list, which we doubt not our German friends find very useful. It has been brought up to the time of publication, and is clearly and carefully arranged. The system of nu- meration adopted is also of great assistance in ordering. The publishers have wisely omitted the English preface, which in a former edition caused so much amusement. M - - ' '« and Stamp-Collector's Magazine. Philadelphia : Mason & Co. "We have received two numbers of this magazine, which is well printed and interest- ing. The precedence given to coins in the title is carried out in the contents, which consist principally of paragraphs treating of 'numismatology.' It would seem that hitherto coin collecting has been a rather neglected pursuit in the United States, and the magazine before us is an attempt to awaken a more general interest in it. The philatelic portion of the paper consists simply of a list of stamps (to be continued monthly), the information contained in which is not remarkably novel. "We wish our contemporary every success, and owe him no grudge for appropriating our title as a portion of his own. POSTAL CHIT-CHAT. Nicaragua. — From a private and authentic source we learn that, owing: to revolutionary movements, no Xiear- aguan stamps have been printed for upwards of a year. A History or Penny Postage. — Our readers will be glad to learn, on the authority of Mr. Pearson Hill, Sir Rowland Hill is now "engaged in writing a ■f penny postage, in which the introduction of stamps, and the reason fnr selecting the particular device ultimately adopted, will be treated upon. When Po>ts were First Established in Spain. — In Lady Callcott's History of Spain we read that about Ml. in the reign of Abdulrahman II., regular couriers for conveying intelligence throughout the king- dom were established, and a postmaster appointed, under whose charge were placed the necessary messengers and nd t" whom it belonged to fix their stations and ive their reports. The French Central Post-ottice at present occu- pies a number of shabby buildings in the Rue Jean Jacques Rousseau : but more handsome and suitable quarters will shortly be provided for it on the same site, the approaches to which will also be improved. Rousseau lived in the fourth story of Xo. 10 in the street which bears his name. The number of letters annuallv trans- mitted through the post-office is about 300,000,000 and the annual receipts £2.300,000. :?s for Hexgart. — It would seem — and that the Hungarians should do so does not at all surprise me— to be iutended to have a separate national air for the land beyond the Lietha. The melody of Haydn to the hymn of 'God save the Fmperor' is to be set aside and re- placed by another. Even the postage stamps in use at present are to make way for those of the kingdom of Hungary. Nothing is omitted which can mark in the most stensible manner possible the separation of the land from Austria. — Standard. Bavarian PvETURXED-LETTERSTA^rps — These stamps, though all of one pattern, are all lithographed from different stones and vary more or less in detail. The one used in Munich is much inferior to the rest ; the lines are coarse and the paper yellowish and porous. There is another stamp inscribed mvnchen. however, which is better done, and may be readily distinguished from the first named, by the" unusual thickness of the oval line enclosing the arms. This stamp, a correspondent of ours was informed by the Bavarian posmaster, is used only at Regensberg (or Rarisbon). "Why inscribed muxchex, unlt-ss by accident, we cannot understand. \Ve are acquainted with five of these returned- letter stamps in all. viz. : Miinohen, Regensberg. Augsberg, Xurnberg, and Bamberg. They are placed on letters returned from these towns and are never postmarked. They are printed in sheets of 84, and gummed, but not perforated. The paper used for all, except the Milne-hen proper, is pure white and unwatermarked. Kaetir Postmen. — vou may send a Kiffir for sixty or seventy miles with a letter, and he will prepare for the start as quietly as if he had only a journey of some three or four miles to perform. First, he cuts a stick some three feet in length, splits the end. and fixes the letter in the cleft, so that he may carry the missive without damaging it by the grease with which his whole person is liberally anointed. He then looks to his supply of snuff, and, should he happen to run short of that needful luxury, it will add wings to his feet if a little tobacco be . 1 to him which he can make into snuff at his first hnlt. It is not so easy to address a letter in Africa as in England, and it is equally difficult to give directions for finding any particular house or village. If a chief should be on a visit, and ask his host to return the call, he simply tells him to go so many days in such a direction and then turn for half a day in another direction, and so on. However, the Kaffir is quite satisfied with such in- dications, and is sure to attain his point. \Yht-n the messenger has delivered his letter, he will squat down on the ground, take snuff or smoke — probably both — and wait patiently for the answer. As a matter of course, refreshments will be supplied to him, and when the answer is handed to him. he will return at the same pace. Europeans are always surprised when they first see a young Kaffir undertake the delivery of a letter at so great a distance, and still more at the wonderfully-short time in which he will perform the journey. Xor are they less surprised when they find that he thinks himself very well paid for his trouble with a shilling. — Iioulledge s Natural History oj Man. June 1,1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOK'S MAGAZINE. 95 The London Circular Delivery Company.— We extract from the Printer's Register of the 6th ult., the following interesting remarks concerning this company, and on the collateral question of the issue of cheap stamps bv the post-office for the pre-payment of circulars sent through the post. We need only* add, that we have our- selves often advocated this much-required innovation : — ' We have in a previous number pointed out the superior accommodation afforded by the post-office establishment of Fiance, by the issuing of stamps of the small value of 1 centime (one-tenth of a penny) for the distribution of circulars ; and at the same time suggest that our own government should adopt a plan so useful to the mercan- tile community. It might be well in order to avoid adding a charge upon the revenue of the country, to con- fine the use of the stamps to the town in which the cir- culars are posted, and those of a slightly higher value- say ^d., might be employed where the delivery is re- quired in other towns or districts. We hold it to be the duty of the government to give the public all the accommodation possible in such a matter. As, however, our statesmen are apt to regard such questions as beneath their attention, and we may have to wait many years before such a reform will be carried out, we think that private enterprise might in the meantime, to a large extent, supply this deficiency in our postal system. In connection with this subject we desire to bring before the public notice a company (in which we have no per- sonal interest), formed especially to economise the labour and expense, besides securing the regular delivery cf circulars, pamphlets, &c, which are so effective a medium of advertising. This is the "London and Metropolitan Circular Delivery Companv," which has its chief office at 317, High Holborn, W.C. Although this is only just established in .London, it has been in active operation in Edinburgh, under the management of Mr. Brydone, during the last three years, where it is an acknowledged and established success. As the directors observe in one of their prospectuses : " To insurance companies, com- mercial and professional firms, and all who advertise by means of circulars, these companies will be of the greatest service. The company's stamp is affixed to each circular, which will secure its" proper delivery to the party to Avhom it is addressed." They also claim to " have an efficient staff of deliverers, who are under the immediate supervision of competent inspectors, thus securing the delivery, instead of the destruction, now so commonly practised, of the circulars sent out ; " and " should any circular be misdirected, or the party to whom it is ad- dressed, having removed, not be found, it is returned with memorandum of particulars endorsed thereon." ' CORRESPONDENCE. CHEAP PACKETS OF FORGERIES. To the Editor o/"'The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Dear Sir, — I have been reading your excellent article in the magazine for May, entitled 'A word to the wise,' and think that it must refer to a dealer from whom I obtained a packet about two mouths ago. There were, as you mention, the United States letter express in five values, viz.,— 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 cents. Also three speci- mens of the Gaucho stamps, in value all 6 reals, and printed in blue, green, and black. They agree in detail with your engraving accompanying the article on the \ Gaucho stamps,' the only difference is that they are rather more blotchy, from this I suppose they must be printed from the cast mentioned in the above article. There was also an unused set of Sicily and a Naples cross. The 'many other rare stamps' were most of them ! forgeries, and it would take by far too much of your time to read if I were to write a description of them. I need j only add, that on adding up the value by your price i catalogue, I found the value to be about £5 ! Yours truly, Hastings. " T. A. S. [The specimen of the ' Gaucho ' referred to, is, unquestionably, an im- pression from our own engraving. — Ed.] WATERMARKED NEWFOUNDLAND, Sec. I To the Editor of ' The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Dear Str, — My correspondent informs me that the French stamp, sent you in my last, is used by the custom - j house officials only. There is also another stamp used by I the same, of which find specimens enclosed. This is also , printed in dark- violet. Denmark. — The envelopes inscribed 4, have now re- I placed those to which the abbreviation s is added. The following is the description of a set of essays for this ! kingdom, three in number. Head of king in oval fancy ! frame, small circles at lower angles, that on the left being blank, the right has the letter s. Colours are black and rose, with profile in lilac, and vice versa. Printed on common uugummed paper; unperf. In addition to the private Denmark already described, there is one printed on yellow paper, inscribed KJOBENHAYN sporyei © [Progressive Nos.] 4 SKILLTNG In Dr. Magnus' article in your magazine, it is stated (as other collectors also believe) that the Newfoundland stamps are devoid of watermark. I have three twopennies of the lake issue on which are evidently parts of paper- maker's name, and a date as a filigraue. My stamps are side by side, the watermark going across the sheet in a perpendicular manner. Ou mine are a large w and the figures 58. Can these be reprints? I send them for your inspection. Trusting some part at least of this letter may be of use to your magazine, I remain, yours truly, London. DUDLEY. [Our correspondent kindly sends us specimens of all he describes. The French customs stamp is a large rectangular stamp, value 20 cen- times. Device, the eagle, grounded on the imperial mantle and sceptre ; inscribed timbre Imperial, DIMENSION. The Danish essays are well known to us as exceedingly doubtful . to speak moderately of their preten- sions ; they seem to us to be essays on the unwary. The 4 shilling stamp is a packet label, and not used in the post at all. Of the Newfoundland our correspondent sends three unsevered specimens, which are not reprints, as a moment's inspection of the peculiar state of the adhesive matter on the back decides to those familiar with the subject. The letters and figures are of the maker and d ite of the paper, and are not, in the sense philatelists use the term, watermarks ; that is. they are not watermarks of the stamps or issue, but merely accidentally present in the paper used. They formed no part of the design or plan on which the st;;mps were made for emission. A similar and well-known case is in the T. H. Saunders, found on some sheets of the British Guiana stamps, and the fleur-de-lis in some of the Russian envelopes ; both marks of the manufacture of the paper and not of the stamp. These are fully ex- plained bv D;-. Magnus, and our correspondent's instance deserves to be added to the list.— Ed.] A PERMANENT STAMP ALBUM. To the Editor of 'The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Sir,— The album question is, perhaps, that of all others which collectors feel to be of most vital importance ; varieties of perforation, collection of locals, railway stamps, commercial stamps, on all these points most philatelists hold opinions more-" or less strong, but the question of albums takes precedence of all. A book is wanted which shall give room for new issues as they come out, as well as afford spaces for stamps already in existence. All the albums now extant are deficient in 96 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [June 1, 186; this particular. Lallier's, Moens', Oppen's, and Stafford Smith's are, each and all, excellent iu their way, and an ordinary collector cannot do better at present than choose one or other. But there is no reason why we should for ever stick to these albums without a thought of improving on them. The worst of them is that they afford spaces only for a certain number of stamps. Take Moens or Laflier, for instance. In each of these you get nicely- arranged spaces in designs for the stamps of each country, accompauied by descriptions. So far so good, but until you get all the stamps for which squares are allotted, your pages have an incomplete look. The vacancies are mournfully apparent, and if the missing stamps are very rare vou may know that your chance of procuring them is vefT slight. On the other hand, should you become pemcoacd of varieties of stamps for which no place has been allotted, you must either lis them outside the design, or, should vou have an unoccupied space intended for another stamp, place your acquisition upon it, and so destroy the arrangement. Neither of these alternatives is pleasant. With all the excellences of existing stamp albums there is this defect, that they bind you down to the collection of the particular stamps named in the edition vou happen to possess. Tour freedom of selection is abridged. However admirable newly-issued stamps or rare varieties may be, you must refrain from obtaining them because there is no place in your book, to till up which becomes your first object. Now, the leading philatelists, we know, collect in blank albums, according to their own method, or, as on the con- tinent, on detached sheets. I would not propose that the bulk of collectors should exactly follow their example. . The many who collect, as Fentonia would style it, in a horticultural manner, who have perhaps not time, perhaps not inclination, for a very deep study of stamps, cannot be their own guides, but they need not be so slavishly bound to their albums as they are now. My own idea is, that if an album were prepared of the shape of Lallier, with descriptions such as he now gives, on the left-hand pages, and the right-hand pages having nothing but an ornamental border round them, thus leaving the space within blank for the arrangement of the stamps according to a collector's possessions and tastes, it would meet with general acceptance. It would leave the col- lector at liberty to place more or fewer stamps than are described in his album, and in neither case would he spoil a design by so doing. Of course, the omission of the . lithographed spaces would much reduce the expense, and it would thus be possible to allow to each country a space much in excess of its actual requirements at present. By this means an album as permanent as it is possible to make one would be secured. Xo doubt there may come . a time when the biggest book will be filled by a constant accumulation of stamps, and, unless it can then be made to expand of itself, a new one will be required ; but such a book as I propose would be a sufficient receptacle for the probable emissions of the next ten years I may just add one further suggestion, and that isjthat the album of the future, whatever its plan, be printed on toned or coloured paper. I have frequently seen stamps mounted on a neutral green, and never without admiring them more than any I have seen on white, and I think coloured paper preferable in its effects to coloured ink. The thick un glazed paper used for scrap books would be the best quality. It would make the book a thick one, but, if well bound, a thick book looks better than a thin one, and with plenty of guards, it need never get podgy. Trusting that these suggestions may be of some use, I am, dear sir, yours truly, OYEliY TAYLOR. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. F. B., Wirksworth. — Your Vaud stamp is, as the in- scription declares, a timbre de commerce, and, as such, would have no value to a postage-stamip collector. A Collector of Local?. — The English Circular De- livery Company's stamps are bona fide affairs ; that is to say, they are really put on the circulars delivered by the company, and represent their charge for delivery. We are not aware that they are obliterated in any manner. H. K. T. wishes to know whether the 18 c. Hong Kong has been withdrawn or not, quoting the proof given in a contemporary to the effect that it is still in circu- lation. Our own opinion is that, though not officially withdrawn, no more are or will be printed, the postal rate for which it was intended bring superseded. Finis Coronat Opus favours us with the information, that he has met with a copy of the current New South Wales sixpence, watermarked with a 5 instead of a 6. Our correspondent seems to have arrived at the finis which crowns his opus without having noticed all that, which as 'constant reader,' he has had under his eyes. The point is noticed no further back than in our February number, page 26, of this volume. Capt. R., Aberdeen. — We can only explain the termi- nation pare on the Servian stamps by adopting the suggestion made in a contemporary, that in the Servian, as in the Greek language, there are three numbers — singular, dual, and plural — and that if so the nominative dual would end in e, and the nominative singular and plural, in this declension only, perhaps in a. The Mol- davian stamps, we may add, have the denomination written paras; the Moldo- Wallachian, parole, which is sometimes contracted to para. Leonard. —The 1 and 2 para Servian with head are now in use. We believe the first supply printed was soon exhausted, and that during the prep:iration of another lot the 1 and 2 para with arms were emitted. The circulation of these latter did not, we should think, exceed a month. The arms stamps bore every mark of being an improvised issue. The design was rough, indistinct, and badl}r printed. The stamps were unperforated and but slightly gummed. The sheets, also, only contained 12 impres- sions, printed in three rows of four". The current Servians are in sheets of one hundred. The two lowest values vary considerably in shade. We presume they are only used to prepay printed matter. J. P. L., Merton, sends us a stamp quite new to us : it is rectangular in shape, the design being a large shaded figure 2, crossed by the word pence printed over it, just like the Hamburg Van Diemens. The ground- work is filled up with a small pattern and a little fleur- de-lis ornament at each corner. Printed in lithography, in blue, on stout plain paper ; perforated. Our corres- pondent inquires if it is not the private stamp of some London firm ; we are unable to answer him, but the appearance of the stamp is not that of one issued to the public. Perhaps some of our many readers can supply the desired information. J. B. B., Norwich. — We are obliged by this corres- pondent's bringing to our notice the one penny Victoria, watermarked 8, single-lined figure. This variety was new to us. As to the 15 c. Italian, the original die as completed by Messrs. De la Hue, had no dots, an accident happening bo it when abroad, the four dots were added to conceal the defect, and then it was again altered by increasing the number of dots. We believe all this was done before the stamp had to do duty as a provisional 20 cents. July 1,1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 97 NOTES ON THE STAMPS OF CENTRAL AMERICA. BY OVERT TAYLOR. Until within the last five years Mexico stood alone as a stamp-employing country among the states of Central America. The most unsettled government of all was the earliest to adopt a system, which generally requires civilisation and order for its maintenance. The rest, however, have at intervals followed suit, and now all are provided. It is true the emission for Guatemala is not yet un fait accompli, but it is unquestionable that its stamps are now being prepared some- where, and it is not likely the issue will be long delayed. The present is therefore an opportune season for passing in review the various series which, have come to us from the connecting strip of land between the two great continents. Taking first the five independent states, which formerly composed the republic of Guatemala, we find that Nicaragua preceded the rest in the emission of stamps. Its pair of beauties are now too well known to need description, but on their first appear- ance they were so difficult to be obtained, that, to quote an expression used by the editor of this magazine in one of its earliest numbers, the price 'depended upon the conscience of the dealer' offering them for sale, and proofs of the cut by Why m per, which appeared in these pages, were sold at a shilling each. Now the actual stamps can be obtained for about that sum, and any person preferring to have fac-similes, can be certain of obtaining them if he purchases one or other of the marvellously cheap packets advertised by dishonest dealers. Of the excellence of the engraving it is un- necessary to speak. The later-printed sheets show no deterioration in the dies, from which, if only to supply collectors, a large number of impressions must have been taken. The date given in Moens' valuable Illustrations (a work which every collector should possess) for the emission of these stamps is September 9th, 1862. But we learn from a letter in an early number of his magazine, that this date was that of the decree authorising them. The stamps w^ere not actually emitted until the 2nd December following. The two values are remarkably low for Central American stamps. The 2 centavos, we should imagine, is a newspaper stamp, and the 5 cs. prepays the single rate of letters. The former bears the word porte on both sides, the latter correos on one, and porte on the other. Can this difference arise from the difference in their use, and if so, can any of our readers explain how ? Both values are unquestionably for home corre- spondence only, and probably there is very little occasion for higher ones ; the country, as stated in 'chit-chat ' last month, being in so disturbed a state, that communications with the neighbouring states must be few and far between. All the used specimens we have ever seen have been cancelled with a penmark, and generally so slightly as not to injure their appearance much. Proofs of the 2 c. wTere taken in black, and of the 5 c. in blue. Both are scarce and genuine proofs. The forgeries in vogue are all coarse, some lithographs, some woodblocks, and bearing only a general resemblance to the originals. Of the latter we lately saw several sheets received direct from the capital, which had the backs co- vered with paper, it being found impossible, without some such precaution, to prevent the sheets in that damp climate from stick- ing together. Drawing a ' moral ' from this, we should say that collectors must not hastily decide that ungummed specimens which may come under their notice are counterfeits, as it is necessary of course to damp the sheets in order to separate them. Costa Rica comes next in order, the \ real blue, and 2 reales scarlet having been emitted in April, 1863. The first few sheets issued were unperforated, and specimens from them are of considerable rarity. The perforated sheets followed in the following month. The \ real of the latter are of a somewhat lighter shade of blue. In the early part of 1864 came out the 4 reales green, and 1 peso orange, completing the set. All the values are comparatively common in this country. Proofs exist in orange and other colours, struck off by the American company, which are rather scarce now, though probably, had THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [July 1, 1867. the demand for proofs and essays coDtinued here, they would have become plentiful and cheap. The design is eminently beautiful and appropriate, and sufficient in itself to impress on the mind of a juvenile collector the geographical features of Central America. The five stars above have been generally understood to represent the five independent states, but we think this must be a mistake, as the states are not confederated together, and it is hardly likely that on the Costa Rican stamps the other four foreign powers would be referred to. Not only is there no bond between them, but so recently as 1863 Guatemala and Nicaragua were at war with Honduras and San Salvador. More probably the five stars indicate five internal divisions of the state of Costa Rica. The half-real, though we suppose from the same die as its brethren, differs slightly from them, the ground behind the flags being shaded. The two highest values also have an outer line added to the frame. We must not forget to state that the stamps, value 2 and 5 centavos, bearing the arms of Costa Rica, surmounted by an eagle, and referred to in Moens' work, are shams. They came out about the same time as the genuine stamps, and were probably concocted as soon as a report arrived of the intended issue, and upon the assumption that the yalues would be the same as those of the then newly-issued Nicaraguan stamps. Honduras. — There seems to us to be a con- siderable mystery about the stamps stated to have been issued for this country. They were known and sold here and on the continent in March, 1865, but the decree authorising the emission of stamps was not signed until the 18th of October following, and that decree directs that the single rate of postage shall be L2| cents or one real, whilst the stamps known as Honduras stamps bear the facial value of 2 reales. Moreover, we question very much if any used specimens of these stamps have ever been seen, and this is rather strange, considering that they must have been current upwards of a year and a half The decree itself is given in Le Timbre-Post'} (No. 41) and is worth studying. The preamble states that the president had recognised the necessity of modifying the postal tariff, and of adopting a new system. The 1st article then prohibits the reception of letters not bearing the necessary stamp ; the 2nd prcviles for the establishment, subor- dinately to the Treasury, of a depot for the sale of stamps, and for the vending of the same at the rate of 12 J cs. each ; the 3rd gives to all persons the right to buy and use the stamps, directs that the latter shall only be used once, and, to prevent their being em- ployed a second time, provides for their ob- literation in the post-office ; the 4th fixes the scale of weight, viz : \, \, f and 1 oz. ; and the 5th declares the rates of postage, viz : 1, 2, 3 and 4 rls. for home letters of above weights respectively ; heavy letters, it is directed, are to be charged according to this scale, and the registration fee is fixed at 4 rls. to the pound. No letters are to exceed lOlbs. in order that the march of the courier may not be impeded. • Article 6th fixes the charge on letters for the other Central American republics at double that made for internal postage, and to all other countries at triple the charge. Printed matter is to be carried at the rate of 1 real per pound. The articles thence up to 14 are of no especial interest. No. 14 suppresses a convention made on the 22nd of the previous August, establishing couriers in the districts, and another con- vention, establishing a postal tariff; and No. 15 declares that a certain convention of the 1st August, 1856, shall remain in vigour, in so far as it does not clash with the present decree, which decree is stated to be given at Comayagua (the capital), at the government palace, the 18th October, 1865. This document accompanied a letter from a correspondent in Honduras to M. Moens, in which it is stated that the green and rose stamps are the only ones employed in that country, and are of the value of 12 \ c. each. Why their facial should be double their actual value we cannot conjecture — unless the gentleman who designed the stamps was misinformed as to the price at which they were intended to be issued. We cannot help thinking, taking into account the non-arrival of obliterated specimens, that these stamps, if they ever were used, must have been with- drawn on account of the error in denomi- nation, after a very short currency. The July I, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 99 stamps hitherto sold to collectors have come from the firm which in the first instance gave notice of their existence, and was fortunate enough to obtain a supply before their emission. We should like to know from them if they have since received any direct from Honduras, or if they are in possession of any further information concerning them. We make these inquiries, not because we for a moment doubt the integrity of the firm in question, or the genuine character of the stamps. Their statement is sufficient to prove that the stamps were actually designed and engraved for the purpose of being used to prepay postage of letters in Honduras. The statement of M. Moens' correspondent is also evidence of their reception there, but we have very little to show that they were actually used there, and nothing to prove that they are in use now. The firm to whom we refer may, from their connection with the Honduras officrals in this country, be able to supply some interesting and trustworthy information concerning them. San Salvador. — The volcano which figures on the newly-emitted stamps of this country is peculiarly appropriate, indicating as it does one of the chief geographical character- istics of the region. ' The northern frontier of San Salvador (we quote from Chambers's Eucyclopcedia) is formed by a portion of the great Cordillera chain, and parallel to this range, and between it and the Pacific sea- board, runs another range of mountains along the whole length of the country, break- ing it up into an inland valley and a long low rich belt along the coast. This central range is highly volcanic in character, and has sixteen volcanic peaks, ranging in height from 7386 to 4000 feet.' We have searched in vain for the meaning of the eleven stars which form an arch above the volcano, but presume that, as in most cases, they typify the number of provinces or departments forming the state. The stamps, though just as finely engraved as others from the same hands, are hardly so tasteful. The central oval is smaller than it should be, the space between it and the border being occupied by a repetition of the word expressing the value, a style of ornamentation now for the first time used by the American company. The pair of pretenders, which preceded the genuine emission by a few months, were extremely simple in design, being indeed, it would seem, copied from the original Hawaiians, and printed on cream-laid note paper. Collectors should be on their guard against being duped by these worthless fabrications. Guatemala. — Whether the design, of which an engraving appeared in the last number of this magazine, be really the one adopted for this republic or not remains to be seen. M. Make asserts, on official authority, that the real Guatemala stamps are being fabricated in the Hotel cles Monnaies at Paris, and that the device which has been noticed is of no value. We do not accept this statement as final, but its effect certainly is to throw great doubt on the gennineness of the design already known. The evidence in its favour rests almost entirely on the presumption that it is the work of the American Bank-note Company — a company not likely to go to the trouble of preparing a design without orders, and as a mere speculation. And, indeed, it seems, at first sight, probable that in pre- ference to sending to Paris for their stamps the government of Guatemala would order them of the company which has produced such chefs-d'-ceuvre for the neighbouring republics. The arms of Guatemala are a pyramid bearing a sun with rays, above a chain of snow-capped peaks ; the whole rest- ing on the sea. These find no place in the design to which we refer, but this, assuming that it is the work of the New York company, is but slight evidence against its authen- ticity, as in their design for the Costa Rican, Nicaraguan, Newfoundland, and other stamps, they do not adhere to the armorial bearings, but seek, on the contrary, to indicate, by the device chosen, some important fact in the history, geography, or commerce of the country. Should it indeed turn out, as we fear it may, that these exquisitely beautiful impressions are but essays, it will be in- teresting to learn the history of their birth. If they prove to be shams, they will, at any rate, be the handsomest of the genus, and worthy to be real stamps. Concluding now our notice of the stamps of the five central states, we need but to 100 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [July 1, 1867. refer to" those of British Honduras en 'passant. Coming from such a secluded corner of the world, they are interesting in them- selves, bat present no salient points for observation. They are neat, effective, and well-designed stamps of the De-la- Rue style. Arrived at length at the issues for Mexico we find much to perplex, and little to guide us. Our knowledge concerning the emissions of this disorganised country is vague and imperfect. To commence : the date of issue is by no means settled. Moens and Maury give 1857, but looking through the magazine of the former we find no infor- mation substantiating the correctness of this date The course of events in the country, at that time, was certainly not favourable to the establishment of a new postal system. In 1857 Coinonfort was in power, but his hold of it was very insecure, and he was forced to resign in 1858, when a General Zulvago took the reins, but was immediately deposed by a General Robles, and he, again, by Juarez. It would seem more probable then that stamps were emitted either be- fore or after Comonfort's presidency — possibly during that of Santa Anna, who was in power from 1853 to 1855, and who had more genius for administration than his successors. This date of emission is a question of fact, which one or other of our American readers could easily set at rest by application to Santa Anna himself, who is, if we recollect rightly, still in the States, or to one of the many Mexican agents working there on behalf of the contesting parties. There is another point also which can hardly be regarded as definitely decided — Who is intended to be represented by the portrait on the stamps of the republic ? A writer in The Philatelist, last month, doubts its being Hidalgo on account of the dress, inquiring, ' Is it likely that a gentleman or a priest, who died fifty-six years ago, would be represented, or misrepresented rather, with a modern shirt-front with two or three studs, and an open waistcoat ? ' This argu- ment is worth attention, but is not in itself decisive. The chief ground for believing the portrait to be that of Hidalgo is the state- ment made by Mr. Glennie, the British Consul in America, that such is the case. This statement was published by Dr. Gray in a letter to The Stamp-Collector' 's Magazine, which appeared in the April number of the second volume. Mr. Glennie has been for several years and still is in Mexico, his op- portunity, therefore, of knowing the truth would be exceptionally good, and his state- ment should not lightly be called in question. The dress of the man represented on the stamps does not settle much. It was sug- gested by Bellars and Davie that the figure might be intended for Comonfort, Alvarez, or Carrera, but the costume is hardly more that of a modern general, statesman, or bri- gand, than of a quiet country cure. Take away the perplexing studs, with which the whim of the engraver may have decorated the shirt front, and there is not much re- maining at variance with the idea that the portrait is that of a priest. The head is bald, and the face wears a placid, benevolent expression, which, though it belies Hidalgo's disposition, would be that most likely to be worn by a priest ; probably the engraver drew upon his imagination both for the face and the garment. Our United States friends can however, we fancy, settle this point as easily as the other. The American Bank-note Company, which engraved the Juarist stamps of 1864, bearing the same portrait as the older issues, wrould surely know for whom that portrait is intended, and would not object to supply the in- formation. The first issue of Mexican stamps con- sisted of the | real blue. 1 „ yellow. 2 „ green. 4 „ red. 8 ,, lilac. All printed in colour on white. The French catalogues mention two series, one without the names of the issuing state on the side, and the other with. Of the former they name the following : — \ rl. blue and deep blue, 1 rl. orange and yellow, 2 rls. green and yellow-green, 4 rls. red, and 8 rls. violet ; of the latter : \ rl. pale and dark blue, 1 rl. yellow and pale yellow, 2 rls, green, yellow-green, and blue-green, 4 rls. red, and 8 rls. violet. The lower values, it July 1, 18(57.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 101 will be seen, vary most in colour, a larger number having been printed. The distinc- tion of having or wanting the name on the side seems hardly enough in itself to consti- tute two series, and the colours named above can be found indifferently in either kind. The second republican series possesses varieties with and without the name, but the colours do not vary. This second series was according to all the catalogues issued in 1 861 , and consisted of the following values: — real chamois. „ green. „ rose. „ yellow. 8 ,, brown. At the end of the same year, the two higher values were re-issued, the 4 rls. printed in red on yellow, the 8 rls. green on brown. Both these are rather rare. In 1864 the Juarist stamps appeared, which are referred to by L. H. B. in a recent letter in this magazine. That they are, or have been, actually in use, we do not question, for we ourselves re- member to have seen a postmarked perforated specimen of the blue 2 rls. in a German col- lection which came under our notice a couple of years since. They may have become temporarily obsolete, bnt no doubt will soon come into use again. The last three issues are very interesting, as the emissions of the short-lived Mexican empire ; the first also as bearing the arms of the state, and the other two as presenting the portrait of its ill-fated ruler. The effect of the comparative order and prosperity, which the country at first enjoyed under Maximilian was curio usly evident in the quickness with which the eagle series became common. Apparently the obliterated speci- mens must have arrived in shoals, and the higher values were soon as cheap as the lower. The latest series is not so easily obtainable, and probably its currency has entirely ceased by this time. Both it and its lithographed predecessors will become of considerable rarity. Already the tres centavos, the last issued of the eagle series, which was but a short time in circulation, is rare ; and as, according to a foreign journal, the plates from which it was printed are destroyed, no chance of a reprint exists, and its rarity must therefore increase. Of the stamps bearing the emperor's head, the 7 and 13 c. are the scarcest, the 25 c, equivalent we suppose to the 2 reales of preceding series, and the 50 c. (or 4 reales) are comparatively common. We presume if this series had been issued in better times it would have been completed by the addition of a one dollar (or 8 reales) stamp. As it is, the one peso of the Juarist set will occupy its place. The portrait of the Emperor is a tolerably good one, and superior to that on the Milanese essays which appeared some years since. The style in which his hair is thrown back makes him look older than he is, and his luxuriant beard is curled in a manner which somehow reminds one of the old Assyrian figures. Yet withal his face is one showing firmness and resolution, and as the face of a man who has achieved greatness in suffering, it will always be one of the most, if not the most, interesting to be found within a stamp album. THE POSTAGE STAMPS OF BRITISH GUIANA. (supplementary paper.) In our volume for 1865, page 99, a paper on the stamps of this colony appeared. Considerable care was taken at the time to embody the best and most recent infor- mation then attainable, for the benefit of our readers, and we believe that, regard being had to the means at command, and the then researches of philatelists, the article in question wTas one which fairly satisfied all reasonable requirements. The lapse of time has brought to light many facts connected with the stamps, then unnoticed and unknown, and the paper re- ferred to no longer adequately represents the state of the knowledge of the day ; we purpose therefore to correct some former errors, and to add such further information as lies within our reach ; protesting against any doctrine of finality, and assuming no title to infallibility. first series. 1850. These, the round stamps, were struck from a die, formed of ordinary printer's type, set up in a small frame, bordered by an irregular 102 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [July 1, 1867. circular line. Each of the three values was set up separately. The 4 cents is found on a light lemon, and on a deep yellow coloured paper, the texture of the latter being rather thick and spongy. We have a copy of this, postmarked August, 1851. The 12 cents also is met with on a clear light blue paper, as well as on the deep blue mentioned in our former paper. The green 8 cents appears to be less frequently met with than the other two. We have taken several of these stamps from the letters which they prepaid, and ! invariably they were cut round, to the shape of the outer ring of the stamp, before being affixed ; a copy not thus clipped is hardly ever seen. In the summer of 1866 some tolerably well executed forgeries of the blue appeared, which were easy to be detected, for on comparing the paper it was thicker than in the genuine issue, and on examining the details of the printing many variances Avere found. SECOND SERIES. 1850, 1851. On these, the famous patimus error, we have little to add to our former remarks, except that there appear to be minutely different dies on the plate ; e. g., the main (central) mast of the ship in most copies is the highest, and projects above the others, while in some it is on a level with them. Some little discrepancies exist in the embrasures of the fort, and slight varieties in the lettering. We may express our individual opinion that these are not sufficient to make an appreciable distinction, nor should we ourselves care to collect these varieties, any more than to take every possible combination of lettering which the English penny presents. The paper of the reprinted copies is much thicker than that originally used, and the colouring matter apt to rub off. The red of the 1 c. is more vermilion and less carmine than in the original. Some one in these columns (Fentonia) once hazarded a specu- lation that these stamps were originally printed as receipt stamps, and used for postage afterwards. This is entirely er- roneous, as no receipt stamp duty of these values is, or ever was, chargeable in the colony. THIRD SERIES. 1853. We have here to correct our most serious error. In the preceding paper the oblong issue occupied this place, and the upright rectangular set, with the date in the four corners, was ranked fourth. The excessive rarity of the oblong stamps, and the consequent impossibility of acquiring a know- ledge of the date of emission, by comparison of a sufficient number, in part misled us : and an equivocal phrase in a letter from George Town completed the misconception. By both further and more precise information from our correspondent, and an accurate annota- tion of the dates appearing on all the post- marks we have been able to inspect, we have conclusive evidence that the true date of the oblong series is 1856. We assigned no date to this in our other papers, but placed it before that, which it must now follow, viz : the issue of 1853, dated, ship to the left. Of this issue there are two varieties in the 4 c.: in the one, the figures 1 8 in the small square above, on the right and left, are en- graved on a diaper, or diamond pattern ground work, without border ; while in the other, these same figures are contained in a small square frame, on a block ground, a plain white line bordering them. The last mentioned is the later kind, and is printed in light blue, the reprints are from the former die, on thinner paper than the original series, and printed in the same lighter blue (bleu du del). Of the 1 c. red there only exists the former kind. The complete issue therefore stands thus : 1853. First dies. 1 cent, vermilion. 1 „ reddish brown. 4 „ blue (deeper blue). Proofs of each of these dies, in black on yellowish toned paper, exist. Second die. 4 cents, blue (lighter shade). A proof of this, in black on yellow toned paper, is to be met with. 1863. Reprints of the first dies. 1 cent, in orange. 4 „ in light-blue. These reprints are perforated, and are easily distinguished from the originals by July 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 103 their fresher appearance, and peculiar, shades of colour. FOURTH SERIES. 1856. After collating and noting some dozen or more specimens of this issue, and finding them uniformly bearing an obliterating mark, dated 1856, we were induced to inquire in Demerara, and on testing the accuracy of our former ideas, we learnt that the date borne by the specimens we had seen was the true one. The issue was temporary, to meet a sudden run out of the stock in the post office at Demerara, and was struck off and issued about April, 1856. Each copy was authenticated by the initials of the post- master, or his deputy, and none were issued to the public, but the postage being paid in money, these stamps were affixed and can- celled in the office; when the new supply came to hand, all remaining copies of this set were at once destroyed. We believe, but are not sure, that the only place where this temporary issue took place was Demerara, as every copy Ave have seen bears demerara on the postmark, and our informant in the colony tells us they were used for one mail only he thinks, or at most, two ; this will, with the facts above mentioned, serve to account for their excessive rarity. We have also to correct a second error into which we fell : the former paper described these Sbswood engraved, they are not so, being type printed ; the device is evidently the little stock ship, kept in printer's offices to head shipping circulars and advertisements, sur- rounded by four lines, and the legend and value printed in common type. Thus the printer's resources were sufficient for the exigency of the occasion. FIFTH SERIES. Any division of these stamps, or any of them into those with, and without dots in the sails, is entirely fallacious. We have taken the pains to ascertain, and but one die for each value was ever engraved, and if anyone is sceptical, on comparing a so-called undotted copy with a dotted one, it will be found the former shows traces of wearing in the die, or is imperfectly printed. We have little to add to our former information. Dr. Magnus, in his essay on watermarks, speaks of the name, T. H. Saunders, being found by Mr. Baillieu in the watermarks of a sheet of 1 c. black. This name will readily be recognized as that of a well-known English paper manufacturer, who, no doubt, supplied Messrs. Waterlow with paper for printing off these stamps. This is not a watermark, properly so called, but an accidental variance in the fabric of the paper. The perforations of these stamps vary. We have, in our collection, very finely printed and unperforated copies of the fol- lowing : — 1 c. red-brown; the same, black; 2 c. orange ; 8 c. rose ; 12 c. lilac ; and 24 c. green ; these appear to be from the earlier sheets which were not all perforated. In addition, we have duplicates of all the above, with full margins, unperforated, with the word cancelled printed across them in large red ink letters, with two lines above and below the word ; these seem to show that some of the very first sheets were not per- forated, but we rather suppose that none were put into circulation till perforation was adopted. The earlier perforations were 12 by 15, but in 1866, the 1 c. black, 2 c. orange, and 12 c. lilac appeared 12 by 13, the holes being much smaller, and considerably further apart. Attention should be called to the fact how the colours are kept to the corresponding values of the Great Britain stamps ; thus, a cent being a half-penny, we have : Four cents = 2d. blue. Eight cents = 4d. rose. Twelve cenfs = 6d. lilac. Twenty-four cents = Is. green. The newly issued Is. green Natal is an example of this fact, and shows that uni- formity is still sought for up to the present day. PROVISIONAL SERIES OF 1862. On these, the well-known newspaper stamps, we can by experience confirm all we have hitherto said. We have no positively new variety to add to the list before given, but have discovered a few accidental mis- prints, which we will enumerate. In type II. (sprigs or grapes) the ordinary copies have the bunch with three circles at 104 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [July 1, 186' the left lower corner, pointing outwards towards the left, as do all those above it on the left side of the stamp ; in the variety we speak of, namely, 1 c. pink, this is turned, and points downwards to the right, in com- mon with the rest of the lower line, and next to it is slipped in, by mistake, one piece of type, of the pattern No. Y., dotted ovals, found only in 4 c. stamps. In type III. (crossed ovals), we have 1 c. pink, with one piece of No. YI. slipped in, by error, on the right side of the bordering, and the small end of the oval on that side pointing upwards, in lieu of its general position, downwards. Another variety of the 1 c. shows the last mentioned peculiarity in the second oval from the top, on the left side, while a third variety, of the same value, has the piece of No. YI. on the left side of the bordering about the centre. In the 2 c. yellow, vre find the same variety in the second oval from the top, on the left side, as above described. In type Y., in some copies, the bottom right hand corner has the circle of the corner ornament turned to the bottom of the stamp ; in others, to the side. In type YI. sometimes the bottom line of ornament runs so that the heart shapes ap- pear to point uppermost, but in very rare instances these run sideways, in other words, the type was set turned in the printer's form. SIXTH SERIES. There can certainly be fairly made two sets of this issue : the former on white paper, the latter ou much thinner and yellower paper. Of the former we find : 6 cents, light blue, dark blue. 24 „ green. 48 ,, carmine, of a red tinge. Of the latter : 6 cents, dull blue. 24 „ yellowish green. 48 „ duller carmine. These differences probably proceed from the paper. We should, in conclusion, notice proofs on card in delicate sea-green of the 24 cents ; and on paper in most exquisite carmine of the 48 cents ; these are in addition to the black proofs mentioned in our former pajDer. NEWLY-ISSUED OR INEDITED STAMPS. We this month commence our chronicle by introducing — more especially to our foreign readers — the trio of British stamps, which will begin their round of duty contem- poraneously with the issue of this number. Having been favoured with specimen im- pressions of each value, w7e are able to present illustrations of all, and thus to render our task of description easy. The ten- pence, it will be seen, fol- lows the established type in its general features. The same die has been used for the head in this and the other two new- values, as appears on the other higher- priced stamps, and on the tenpenny no attempt is made at ornament. Both the design and the colour are sober ; the former consisting merely of a circle, containing the Queen's head, with inscription in dark letters on a plain arched label above, check-letters in the corners, and small circle in the lower span- drels for a number ; the latter is a plain un- pretending brown. The two shilling is characterised by a more florid style. The pointed oval bearing the inscrip- tion is novel and pleasing, and the flowers in the bor- der, though they detract somewhat from the clear- ness of the design, are not unwelcome ornaments. The colour of this stamp is a bright blue. The five shilling is distinguished from the rest by its large dimen- sions, as well as by its greater beauty. The general effect of this stamp is good, the outlines being free and bold, in- deed it reminds us considerably of the commercial labels of this country, which have always borne away the palm from the postage ------------------- ------, July 1,1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 105 ii-i^-fauijw stamps. Its colour is a rich rose, and it is watermarked with a small Maltese cross. The other two values bear as watermark a rose with stem. All three, it will be seen, have the figure 1 in the small border circles. Finland. — From this province we have received a new stamp, of which the annexed is a copy. The value has no equivalent in any previous emission, and we are pleased to see that a new design, which is a con- J^y siderable advance on its predecessors, has been pro- duced for it. Ths paper on which this new emission is printed is pure white, unwater- marked, and perforated en serjjentin — a spe- ciality which our cut fails to represent. The colour is marone. Turk's Islands. — For a long while we have been anticipating the emission of stamps for the island of St. Kitts, but no one has hitherto suggested the possibility of these islands presenting us with a series. They are members of the Bahamas group, and until within the last few years have been governed from Nassau, but their notoriety has not been much increased by their pos- session of a separate administration. The set of stamps we have before us has been issued, we should imagine, rather as being among the proper accessories to indepen- dence, than because of any great need for them by the inhabitants, and are likely to be much more common unused than used. The head on these stamps is an exact copy of, if not from the same die as that on the Saint Lucia series. The design altogether is as plain as it well could be ; the plainness, how- ever, it is only just to say, being conspicuous in the lettering, and the execution is good. The interest appertaining to this set will much exceed its beauty. A design such as has been chosen, to make it tolerable, required the support of bright colours ; but the penny alone is printed in a hue at all approach- ing to brilliancy. It is in fact of precisely the same shade as the Antigua penny. The sixpence is dull black. Le Tlmbre-Poste christens it greenish-grey, but if that be indeed its true colour, then must the present penny St. Lucia be greenish-grey also. The shilling is an indigo blue. These three stamps are printed on woven unwatermarked perforated paper. Natal. — We had only time, or rather space, last month to inform our readers of the appearance of a new value for this colony. We are now able to give a representation of this latest arrival from the land of Colenso, and, to complete our information respecting it, have only to add that it is printed in green ink on white perforated paper, bearing the C C and crown watermark. Mecklenburg Schwerin. — The 1| schg. green envelope for this state is now with- drawn, its place being occupied by the lately emitted 2 schg. Hamburg. — The postal authorities of this city have substituted, for the 2f schg. green issued in 1864, a stamp identical in design with the older series, as will be seen by our engraving. Our supposition that the embossed 1^ schg. adhe- sive would prove the first of a new series has not been verified by facts. On the contrary, it would seem to be intended that all the values should be of the original type, else on what ground can the superces- sion of the 2§ schg. green hitherto in use be explained ? The colour of the usurper is a bluish-green ; the paper on which it is printed, white, with the usual serpentine watermark. Austria. — The occasion, apparently, of the Emperor's coronation as king of Hun- gary has been chosen for the emission of a new series, not for Hungary specially, as was expected, but for the entire empire. It will be welcome to all who have tired of the formal troop of ' arms ' impressions. The design of the new arrivals somewhat resem- j-T_rw-Tj'U"u u 106 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [July 1, 1867. bles that of the 1858 series, consisting as it does of the emperor's head to right in circle, enclosed in an arabesque border. The whole design is, as Dr. Gray would term it, ' flat- printed,' that is, no portion is embossed. The head is a good likeness, clearly drawn, and therefore superior to the indistinct queer profiles on the obsolete series. The value appears in the centre of the lower margin, and the stamps bear no other in- scription. The design for the envelopes is identical in all points with that of the adhe- sives, hence possibly some confusion to col- lectors may arise, and it becomes more than ever necessary in a case like this to collect the envelopes entire. Two sets of stamps are issued, one with the value in kreuzers, the other in soldi. The colours and values are the same as those of the preceding issue, viz. : — 2 kr. (or soldi) yellow. 3 n 10 „ 55 55 green, rose, bright- blue. 15 „ 55 bistre. The envelopes are of the same values, com- mencing with the 3 kr. green, and with the addition of one of 25 kr. or soldi violet. The newspaper stamp bears the head of Mercury in a circle, which is enclosed in a square frame with a kind of Greek border. There is no inscription of any kind on this stamp, which is in shape an upright rectangle, and in colour pale lilac. The new series was placed in currency in Hungary and Transylvania on the 1st June, the Austrian ' arms ' being thus withdrawn from circulation at the moment when Aus- trian rule ceased in the land of the Magyars, and stamps bearing the head of him who is at once emperor and king, but by different titles, substituted throughout the extent of his dominion — a happy device for evading the necessity for a separate series for Hun- gary with the arms of that kingdom. The new stamps were not placed in use in the emnire proper until the 25th ult. British Locals. — Collectors of the circu- lar delivery stamps in use in this country. will find a complete list of all those issued up to the present date, in a separate article in this number. The list comprises several new emissions, namely, those of the London and District, the National, Liverpool, Dundee, and Aberdeen companies. "Wcrtemburg. — A set of hybrid envelopes has been lately issued for this state, and is already, we understand, obsolete. They were intended to pay the cost of a money order, and to frank the letter containing it. The design is the same as that of the ordinary envelopes, but the paper used is buff, and contains also lengthy inscriptions in green ink on the flap, and on the front ruled spaces for the post-office date stamp, and the form of order. The value and colours are 4 kr. orange, 6 kr. blue, 7 kr. green, and 9 kr. brown. Brazil. — The handsome series of adhesives now in use will shortly be supplemented by a pair of envelopes of, it is to be hoped, equal beauty. The values are to be 100 and 200 reis ; the design will comprise the emperor's head in relief. The emission of these stamps was authorised by the 20th article of the decree of April the 12th. 1869, and the supply was expected to be ready by March last, but we learn fromXe Timbre-Poste that the proof of the 100 reis envelope has only just been submitted to the administra- tion at Rio. This proof is impressed in rose, and bears the emperor's head in a large oval, brazil above, cem reis below, and the nu- meral of value on each side. The American Bank-note Company is credited by the Belgian journal with the preparation of these envelopes, but the correctness of this statement is called in question by the Stamp- Colh-.ctors- Record, and as the company has never done any relief work, either on stamps or bank notes, it seems probable that they do not undertake that branch of engraving. Our American contemporary suggests that Messrs. Xesbitt & Co. are the manufacturers, in which case our expectations are con- siderably diminished. France. — The 20 centimes blue, of the new series, is now in circulation. The colour is identical in shade with that of its prede- cessor. Spain. — Another set for Spain ! Xo doubt our readers will be surprised, and perhaps more surprised than pleased, at this announce- ment. But for once there is some appreciable July 1,1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 107 reason for a new emission. The decimal system this time, and not the forgers, is responsible. Its adoption is to be followed, according to a Spanish correspondent of Le Timbre-Poste, by a modification of the postal tariff, which in its turn will necessitate the issue of new values. The denominations will be expressed in ' milesimas (or thou- sandths) de cscudoj of which forty go to our penny. The correspondent referred to gives the following details respecting the new rates. District letters are delivered for 25 mil., journals for 10 mil., letters from one town to another, for 50 mil., if under 10 grammes in weight (about the third of an ounce), and at the rate of 50 mil. for each additional 10 grammes, or fractions. Un- bound works, and printed or lithographed works are charged 10 mil., books in boards 20 mil., and bound books 30 mil. for every 20 grammes weight, and trade samples 25 mil. per 10 grammes. The single rate for letters to Cuba is to be 100 mil., and for the Philippines 200 mil. The new tariff comes into operation on the 1st of this month, and contemporaneously, it is stated, the new series of stamps is to be emitted. The values are 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 100, 200, 400, and 800 milesimas de escudo. Colour and device we have no information of at present. Norway. — We have lately seen a "2 skilling stamp which differs from the well-known present series in several respects. It is of a much redder colour than its predecessor, and is from an altogether different die. At each of the lower angles the figure 2 is formed much larger than in the more common type, while the lettering, freimarke, on each side is of a very distinct size. The lion on the scutcheon also varies, as do almost all the details of the engraving. Whether this is one of a new series we cannot tell, but we are not aware that the attention of collectors has hitherto been drawn to this variety. The specimen we have seen is postmarked, and bears date May 20, 1867. Egypt. — The existing series will shortly be withdrawn to make room for a more interest- ing set. The rule against the representation of created things is, it would appear, to be relaxed in favour of postage stamps, and the new emission will accordingly be graced with a view of the Pyramids, Cleopatra's Needle, and Pompey's Column. To give space for these antiquities, the size of the new stamps will be a considerable increase on that of their predecessors. The design, if well executed, will have a pretty appearance, but if the various parts are inartistically jumbled to- gether, the effect can hardly be other than ridiculous. The manufacture of the stamps has been intrusted to an Italian firm, pro- bably to the manufacturers of the current issue. We have not yet learnt what are the values, or what special reasons exist for changing the device — possibly the increased dignity of the Egyptian monarch gives occa- sion for the alteration. Sandwich Isles. — The current 2 c, bearing the head of Kamehameha IV., and issued posthumously, will shortly be superseded in favour of a stamp of similar design, bearing the head of the reigning king. United States. — A 20 c. adhesive and envelope are said to be in course of prepara- tion ; certain new arrangements respecting registration rendering the emission of this value necessary. Chili. — The new issue for this country bears the same design as the preceding, with the exception of the reversal of position of the words colon and chile. The execution is, however, much superior. We believe the new stamps are actually in use, but have not yet been favoured with a sight of them. India. — The new value, 6 annas 8 pies (equal to 10d.), is now doing duty. We hope to give an engraving of it next month. Meanwhile, we may state that it is the same size as its congeners, bears the Queen's head in an octagon, inscribed east india postage six annas and eight pies, and is printed on white, watermarked, and perforated paper. The stamps now in circulation in this coun- try are found with the word service imprinted in ordinary roman type, in black ink, across the face ; such imprint indicating that the stamps are used by members of the civil service for, we presume, the official corre- spondence of the department. There is also a mutilated bill stamp similar to the 6 annas, bearing the same inscription, and the value two annas, but whether it does postal duty or not we have no means of knowing. 108 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [July 1, 1867. LARGE-FIGURED ARGENTINE STAMPS. A correspondent, under the name of Nisus, writes to the editor of The Philatelist a letter, which the latter inserts, protesting against being held personally responsible for the coarseness of the language employed. We have onr own views about the duty of an editor with respect to such communications, but we do not the least complain of our con- temporary permitting Nisus to exhibit him- self in his own full, chosen proportions : we are abundantly content to leave this small bird of prey on the view he thus gives of himself, and have no intention of imitating him in a similar exhibition. We are concerned, however, to deny two direct misstatements. The object of attack is the large figured 10 and 15 cents men- tioned in our numbers for December and April. It is alleged that the denial of Senor Arenales is cited by us as conclusive testi- mony that two sorts of 10 and 15 cent stamps existed. We say nothing to this, but that it is so perverting what we stated, that it is difficult to believe the misconstruction is otherwise than wilful. Next, that we stated that 156,000 odd specimens of the large-figure Argentine 10 and 15 c. had been ' sold and used to defray postage/ This is the reverse of our state- ment, which was, that sheets containing 192 (large-figure) stamps were delivered out and put in circulation contemporaneously with those containing 216 (small-figure) stamps, and were returned to the office with the latter as part of the authorised stock. It is therefore only reasonable to suppose that some of the stamps used — how many we have no means of knowing — were taken from the large-figured sheets. Again, as to the number of stamps per sheet, which we stated to be 96, in 8 rows of 1*2. The Hibernian correspondent of The Philatelist can hardly be supposed to see that the sheets of 192 stamps each, referred to in the official documents, were formed (as in fact they were) by boo of the long narrow sets of 96 stamps each, printed on the same sheet of paper. Having had them in our hands, we aver the fact, and challenge denial, and maintain that it is correct to speak of these stamps as i*6 per sheet, although the government returns are equally accurate in describing them as containing so many- stamps on each sheet of paper We speak of the single sheet, or, as we may say, page of stamps, the officials, of the sheet of tico pages containing in all 192 impressions. With respect to the residue of the com- munication, we treat it as it deserves, and say — nothing. THE BRITISH CIRCULAR DELIVERY STAMPS. BY JOHN GORDON. It is not more than a year and a half since Mr. Brydone first started a Circular Delivery Company in Edinburgh and Leith, and already he has extended its operations to the metropolis and to four provincial towns. The success which has attended its establishment is a proof that it meets a prominent require- ment of this advertising age. In other countries, as pointed out by the Printer's Register, the government, by forwarding printed circulars through the post at a much lower rate than letters, receives all the profit which accrues from their carriage, but here the same charge is niade for the delivery of a circular within the district in which it is posted, as for the delivery of a letter a hundred miles away, and this eventually has a tendency to prevent or limit advertising by post. Happily the postal laws do not forbid the carrying of printed matter by private per- sons, and accordingly Mr. Brydone, having first taken the opinion of one of the first lawyers in Scotland, established the company above referred to. Our purpose, however, is not to trace its gradual extension, but as its stamps are becoming more numerous, to give a detailed list of those already emitted. First comes the original Edinburgh and Leiih, bearing two shields with the arms of the two towns, and in- scription in scrolls above and below. Large rect., rouletted. One farthing, green, mauve. At the close of last year fresh stamps were July 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 109 issued of the same device, but smaller; the first stamps being found too large to be conveniently affixed to the circulars. The new stamps are : One farthing mauve. One halfpenny green. We now proceed to notice the others in the order of issue. London. — Armorial shield of the city; inscription in scrolls. Large rect., perf. One farthing blue. / One halfpenny mauve.' Metropolitan. — Same device as the ' Lon- don,' but inscription, metropolitan circular delivery company. Large rect., perf. One farthing rose. One halfpenny orange. The ' London ' and the ' Metropolitan ' stamps are all now obsolete, having been withdrawn in favour of smaller stamps in- scribed simply London and District, and bearing, like their predecessors, the shield of the city. Rect., perf. One farthing green. One halfpenny rose. National. — Shield bearing the arms of Great Britain, with supporters; inscription in scrolls. Rect., perf. One farthing deep-green. Halfpenny deep-blue. Three farthings orange. One penny rose-pink. These stamps are just issued (as also are those which follow) and are used for circulars left at the London office of the company for delivery in the towns in which it has branches. These stamps, if clearly printed, would be very handsome. Aberdeen. — Arms of the city (three castles) on shield; inscription in scrolls. Rect., perf. One farthing light-brown. Halfpenny blue. Dundee. — Arms of the city (vase bearing- three flowers) in shield ; inscription in scrolls. Rect. One farthing dull-pink. Halfpenny red. Liverpool. — Arms of the city (ostrich) on shield, inscribed scrolls above and below, entwined round spears. Large rect., perf. One farthing brown. One halfpenny mauve. All the above are lithographed on white paper. We leave it to our readers to decide whether to collect these or not, merely ob- serving that they are better worth a place in their albums than Hamburg locals, and as well worth as American. They are actually used, not got up for sale merely, being fixed on all circulars delivered, and indicating the charge made for delivery. The above may be relied on as a complete list of all the British Circular stamps which are, or have been, in use. REVIEWS of POSTAL PUBLICATIONS. Essai sur les Filigranes et les papiers employes a la fabrication des Timor es-Postes. Par le Dr. Magnus. Mahe. Paris, 1867: Pierre We have here, reprinted in a permanent and convenient form, the famous series of papers contributed to the pages of M. Mahe's journal, Le Timbrophile, which made an European reputation, both for the writer and the journal in which they appeared. Nothing in the whole history of the science of philately is -more instructive than to trace the development of the study of the papers and peculiar watermarks used in different emissions ; the method of engraving and printing adopted naturally follow ; and the last minutiae are those of dentilation. Dr. Magnus has, in the May number of Le Timbrophile, commenced a series of papers on reprints, a very cognate subject to the one before as ; and in M. Moens' journal, Le Timbre-Poste, he has appeared as the author of a valuable essay on perforation. If these could all be united in one volume, they would form a complete guide to the collector. Of the accuracy and patient care of Dr. Magnus it is unnecessary to speak ; those most intimately acquainted with his writings, can best witness in his favour ; no one, who pretends to more than the most superficial acquaintance with stamps, can dispense with this, the only really good treatise upon water- marks and paper. And now, having said thus much honestly in warm commendation, 110 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [July 1, 186J we will point out some faults of omission. We do this with the less scruple as M. Mahe advertizes an amended edition, principally, we suppose, because he (as is explained in the May number of the Timbrojphile) unwisely inserted the Moresnet stamps, having been made a complete April victim by the hoax which deceived all the philatelic world. Next time we advise him to adhere entirely to the author's MSS., and not to insert any ad- ditions or emendations of his own. Greece. — In the figures at the back of the 5 lepta green we have found two per- fectly distinct varieties, one considerably larger than the other. This should be noticed by our author. Bavaria. — The 1 kr. black, with the red thread in the paper, and as to which, whether stamp or essay, opinions differ, deserves mention : this thread certainly does not fall in the later impressions of the "first series, which Dr. Magnus speaks of as printed on the paper prepared for the second. The thread runs perpendicularly down the stamp. An explanation is asked as to the water- marked figures on the blue and red Ionian stamps, and why the yellow is unwater- niarked : we cannot give any reason, but can confirm the accuracy of the observation that these watermarks are persistent. Tuscany. — We are not satisfied that the watermark (page 32) of intersecting lines only occurs on the white paper of the 2nd printing in 1856, as we have well defined ex- amples of it on the blue paper originally used. This would show that two watermarks were used during the currency of the blue paper series. Cape of Good Hope. — All the triangular stamps have the anchor in watermark, though at times it is difficult to trace. The so-called lithographed stamps are not litho- graphed at all, they are woodcuts, printed from engraved woodblocks, and we have never seen a fourpence on plain paper. All the paper used is verge. New South Wales. — In the series with laureated heads, the one penny brown-red, on laid paper, should find mention ; and the statement that none of these were on other than plain paper is erroneous. Queensland. — The watermark found on a specimen of the 2d. blue is not part of the arms of the colony, but a mere ornament, forming part of the border of the sheet on which the stamps are printed. The whole inscription runs, Queensland postage stamps, and this ornament occurs twice in the line. Western Australia. — The present rose- carmine fourpence bears a watermarked CC and crown, and is perforated a la machine. The rose essay, of which Dr. Magnus speaks, is on fine tough bank paper and univuter- marlel: it does not bear the swan, as is sup- posed. The exceeding rarity of this essay will excuse the error made : it is not perfo- rated, and bat a few were struck as specimens. Trinidad. — The one-penny red, without value on the face, has appeared on paper watermarked C C and crown. Newfoundland. — The bouquet of heraldic flowers spoken of is probably a portion of a mark of manufacture of the paper. We call attention to our reply to a correspondent in our June number, who has found a name in the paper of the twopence carmine impression. In conclusion, we can only say that the pains and care bestowed by Dr. Magnus have veritably been a labour of love; and while it seems easy to suggest additions, yet to originate such an essay as his, demanded qualities for observation of the highest order : a demand abundantly fulfilled by the result. POSTAL CHIT-CHAT. The Newspaper Stamps of Venezuela (£, h, and 1 centavo) were prepared in conformity with the stipu- lations of a postal treaty between that country and Great Britain, signed on the 1st May, 1861. The first series, printed in brown ink, was emitted on the 7th of the following August. Ducks and Drakes. — The 'ladies window' clerk at one of our post offices, hearing the usual ' rap rap ' which announced the presence of an applicant for a letter, on going to the window, found there a Mr. Drake. ' Next window, if you please, Mr. Drake, — this department is exclusively for Ducks.' — Stamp- Collector's Monthly Gazette. Saint Domingo. — The narrow obsolete rectangles, bearing the arms and motto, are printed in an unusual manner. The arms and frame are impressed from a die as usual, but the inscription above and below is set up separately, and printed afterwards; and as little care was taken in adding these inscriptions, they are frequently found, either overlapping the design, or partly beyond the outer margin. July 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. Ill How A mistake arose.— On the margin of the sheets of the old. issue for Lubeck, the shield of the city was printed enclosed in a circle, inscribed stadt post amt lubeck. One of these impressions came under Dr. Gray's notice, in the early days of stamp-collecting, and was mistaken by him for an envelope, and, as such, included in his catalogue, where it still figures. It had, in fact, no value, being simply an official mark. Bergedorf Reprints. — The extremely rare | schg. and 3 schg. stamps have been reprinted at last. The value of the originals is not, however, in the least di- minished by the existence of these re-impressions, which are easily distinguishable by the difference in the colour of the paper. The worth of the reprints themselves must be very slight, as, not being exact reproductions of the originals in all points, they are hardly more than imita- tion?.— Caveat emptor. The Stamp -Collector's Monthly Gazette.— The May number of this journal contains the following notice, which will be read with regret by all who take an interest in philatelic literature. ' With this number the Stamp- Collector's Monthly Gazette closes its career. For two years it has gone forth regularly, freighted with tim- brophilic information for the benefit of its numerous readers ; but it will do so no more. Its race is run. To many this will cause surprise and disappointment, but it is inevitable : new enterprises require all our spare time, and to continue the Gazette would be unjust to ourselves and to our patrons.' A Sheet of Forgeries. — A young correspondent of ours has sent us the ' last new thing ' in forgeries. Upon a large sheet of green paper, five rows of stamps are ranged, between ruled squares. The stamps are of all kinds and countries, some used and some unused, but all are counterfeits. Among the number are large New Granada, Pacific Steam Navigation Company, Sydney views, Costa Eioa, old Turkish and Spanish, Sicilian, &c, and so on ; whilst thrown in with these are imitations of commoner stamps, such as the |, 1,2, 4, and 9 schg. Hamburg, J schg. Bergedorf, Lubeck, ,&c. With few exceptions these forgeries are coarse and incorrect, but may nevertheless deceive young and inexperienced collectors, whom we desire to warn. To complete the descriptions of the sheet we have only to add, that at the foot, in printed characters, is the inscription, 'All at one penny each ; ' an inscription in itself almost suffi- cient to open the eyes of the unwary. CORRESPONDENCE. A PERMANENT STAMP ALBUM. To the Editor of 'The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Sir,— I agree with your last month's correspondent that' the paper for the proposed album should be of different colours, but the various hues chosen ought to be such as are most effectual and do not readily fade, or become soon soiled. I do not, for instance, think mauve or any similar colour would be suitable. Brown and grten (light and dark) are such as would well throw out the shades of the stamps. A most important matter in connection with the album is that of pursuing the old system of compart- ments, or having the work to consist merely of blank unruled paper. I am in favour of the conservative and well-tried mode of arrangements, which has succeeded very satisfactorily for many years. 1 have never been unable to place any stamp in my album on account of its size. Only let the compartments be a trifle larger than those in Oppen, and I do not think any incon- venience will be experienced from want of space. As I said in my former letter on the same topic, there should be no catalogue, merely date of issue and the values and colours marked over and in the compartments. All printing and ruling should be in black ink. Geographical arrangement should take the place of alphabetical. Spaces should be apportioned to Mulready envelopes. Half the compartments (if any) devoted to American locals should be formed of smaller divisions than the remainder. But I am no favourer of locals. The shape of Oppen's album, in my opinion, is pre- ferable to that of the larger and more expensive ones, though an increase in the length and breadth might be desirable to correspond with the augmented thickness. I am, Sir, Yours obedientlv, London. E. F. WILME. To the Editor of 'The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Sir, — I quite agree with the remarks of your corres- pondent on stamp albums — their crippled and confined character — but I would go a step beyond him. Stamp albums, as at present devised have either the character of an illustrated catalogue, as Lanier's, or of a manu- facturer's pattern book, such as those whose pages are divided into a trellis work of squares, or rectangles ; and there is no opportunity for tasteful arrangement, either of design, or of colour. An album with information such as we have in Lallier's, and a sufficiency of blank pages, with a few faint diagonal and cross lines to guide the collector in arranging his stamps symmetrically, and according to his own taste, is yet a thing wanted. The stamps might then be arranged in a variety of taste- ful designs — cruciform, quincuncial, and others — due regard being had to combination of coloux-s, and the effect would be pleasing, instead of being horribly formal and tasteless. If a stamp album were a bare pattern book, or catalogue, it would be very well to have all of one issue brought together in rank and file, but I presume that is not the object of stamp collectors generally. The necessary gaps, too, in albums as now arranged must ever be a source of discomfort. Many are ambitious, no doubt, to have every stamp that has ever appeared, but many also would wish simply to form a sort of specimen album of the different varieties of stamps. More taste, too, might be displayed in getting up a stamp album. In these days of cheap illuminating processes, why should not an illuminated album be pro- duced, with tasteful and appropriate border designs round the pages of the different countries ? Such an album need be not very expensive, for 1 have no doubt it would com- mand a very great sale, and bring an abundant return at a small profit. These hints, if made generally known through the medium of your magazine, might be pro- ductive of something better, at least, than what has hitherto been produced in this way. I am yours, &c, F. H. B. P.S. — You do good service by exposing the vendors of false stamps ; some of the' tempters to such base purchases seem now to be going a step beyond this, and to be swindling the unwary out of their money without any return, not even of base coin. A friend of mine seut to an advertiser of the name of Warriner for a tempting shilling's-worth of stamps, and a day or two after for another, enclosing the prescribed cost of the packets each time ; after waiting some days he wrote again, but up to this time has neither received any packets, nor had any notice taken of his communications. 112 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [July 1, 1867. ANOTHER STAMP ALBUM ! AND WHY NOT REQUIRED. To the Editor o/'The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Sir. — What with Lallier's, Moens', Stafford Smith's, Oppen's, all Alfred Smith's ruled albums, ranging in price from sixpence to six shillings, and so on, ad infinitum, one would think collectors had enough and to spare of stamp albums. But no ; Mr. Overy Taylor (whose last letter, by the way, is quite unworthy of him) proposes yet another — a permanent one. In furtherance of this proposition, Mr. Taylor makes some rather bold assertions about existing postage-stamp albums, some of which he does not attempt to prove. He says among other things, ' A book is wanted which shall give room for new issues as they come out ; as well as afford spaces for stamps already in existence. All the albums now extant are deficient in this particular' {these particulars would have been better). Take Lallier, the best of those mentioned in his letter — the last edition of course, — most certainly that album ' affords spaces for stamps already in existence ' {i.e. all those issued previous to 1866, when the 4th edition was published). Mr. Taylor then proceeds to observe with reference to Lallier, ' until you get all the stamps for which spaces are allotted, your pages have an incomplete look.' Doubtless, so would any album which was not filled ; and the larger, and consequently more permanent the book, the more ' mournfully apparent ' would your vacancies be. If Mr. Taylor had taken the trouble to look at M. Lallier's introduction to the present edition of the album, before 'damning Avith faint praise' our albums in general and Lallier's in particular, he would have perceived that M. Lallier intended to publish, as occasion might require, supplements in. the same form as the album itself, including of course, rare varieties as well as new issues of stamps. In fact, the present edition of Lallier's album is just what Mr. Taylor requires, viz., a per- manent stamp album. It is preposterous to assert that collectors must refrain from obtaining rare varieties and newly-issued stamps, simply because there are no printed spaces for them. The former I have always been rather chary of, knowing as I do, how many of them are shams. For the latter there is plenty of room on either side of the spaces ; nor do I quite see how placing them outside can be unpleasant, as Mr. Taylor would infer. He then, proceeds to observe, ' the leading philatelists, we know, collect in blank albums,' and in another part of his letter ' an ordinary collector cannot do better than collect in a Lallier or Moens.' At the risk then of being thought only an ordinary collector, and not a leading philatelist, by Mr. 0. Taylor, I must tell him, that not only do I collect in a Lallier, but I think it out and out the best album we have, and immeasurably superior to all blank ones. I know several timbrophilists with large collections Avho think with me in this respect. With reference to the word 'podgy' in the last part of his letter, I have been unable to find it in any other dictionary but the Slang Dictionary, in which it is defined to be :— 1. Drunk! 2. Slightly excited!! 3. Fat ! ! ! Now how a postage-stamp album can be ' Drunk,' 'Slightly excited,' or even 'Fat,' is utterly beyond my comprehension. Perhaps Mr. Taylor will explain in the next number. Trusting he will take all my remarks in good part, I am, Sir, Your obedient Servant, J. M. STOURTON. South Kensington. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. Moonraker. — Of the two specimens of ninepenny Natal forwarded for our inspection, the one which is mounted is a reprint from the true die, the other is a mere imitation. W. S., Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.— The wood-block Capes differ from the ordinary engraved ones in having no interlaced lines to form the ground, and in being | generally coarser in details. — We have not a copy of the j third edition of Lallier at hand, so cannot inform you why ! two pages are left blank before those for the United ! States. There are no such blank pages in the present edition. W. C. N., Glasgow. — There are such things as French newspaper stamps, of which the impression you de- scribe must have been one. Bankrupt Philatelist. — You had better offer your collection to a respectable dealer, or advertise it for sale. J. D., Newcastle-under-Lyne. — Your penny stamp is unquestionably one of the 1864 issue. No English penny stamps with letters in the four corners were issued before that date. Moreover, as even perforation was not adopted until 1852, you will see how impossible it is that your stamp could have been issued in 1846 ; how it got on a letter of that date we cannot understand ; but in this case, its discovery there cannot be held to prove, in the face of decidedly opposite and contradictory facts, that it was used at the date you name. — The red stamp is a Bremen declaration stamp, the other three are mem- bers of the new Belgian issue. T. 0. — Your Romagna, Finland, Luxembourg, and Naples specimens are all forgeries. John T. T., Richmond, Yorks. — Mons. Moens has not issued a supplement to his album. — Receipt stamps cannot be used to prepay postage. Mrs. E., Liverpool. — We are obliged by your forward- ing us a specimen of the new Indian Stamp, which you will find described elsewhere, and also the Wurtemburg money-order envelopes. — Your copy of the small Geneva ' port local ' 5 cents, black on green, is one of the oldest forgeries of that stamp. The colour of these forgeries is so different from the pure yellow-greeu of the true stamp, that no one who has ever seen the latter can mistake it ; and the coarse lettering and careless details are sure criteria to all who know the real stamp. It is very singu- lar how little the collecting world seems at home on the subject of these Swiss stamps. We almost feel tempted to present a paper on them. C. D., Blackheath, informs us that the postage stamps of Chili sometimes do duty as bill stamps. He has seen two of the values, the 1 and 5 c, on a bill of exchange, dated Valparaiso, 30th March, 1867.— We should hardly take this to be conclusive evidence of the constant em- ployment of the postage stamps in the manner indicated. T. A. S., Hastings. — The impressions of the current penny New South Wales stamp on newspaper wrappers have long been known to, and accepted by, collectors. They are decidedly admissible as a distinct variety. Your specimen — uncancelled, but bearing the imprint of the paper, which is franked, across the face — is an unusual one; perhaps this imprint is considered a sufficient obliteration. P. E. W., Henley-on-Thames. — The circular stamp you sent for our inspection is no stranger to us. It comes, as you state, from Cashmere, and is a genuine label, not a postmark. It is generally found obliterated with a coarse red mark. There are impressions in red and in blue, as well as in black, but we are not aware whether the different colours indicate different values. Aug. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 113 DETAILS CONCERNING THE STAMPS OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES. We have received the following interesting account of the Confederate stamps from our respected correspondent, L. H. B., to whom our thanks are due for the trouble he has taken. We insert the correspondence verba- tim as received. To the Editor of The Stamp- Collector's Magazine. Dear Sir,- — Deeming it a matter of im- portance to the science of philately that all doubts in regard to the stamps of the late Confederate States should be cleared away, I addressed a letter to Mr. John H. Reagan, ex- postmaster general of the late Confederacy, making inquiries in regard to them, and, in accordance with his reply, addressed Mr. H. St. George Offutt, of New York city, sending at the same time a copy of the latest edition of Dr. Gray's Catalogue for reference. It is this work to which he alludes in the course of his letters. I enclose exact copies of these three communications, addressed to myself, feeling sure that their importance warrants your publishing them in full. For his kind- ness, in giving so extended an account of the Confederate States postal affairs, Mr. Offutt deserves the thanks of philatelists the world over; and for his additional favours Ho my- self, I cannot help here expressing my per- sonal obligations. I remain, Sir, respectfully, L. H. B. West Springfield, Mass., U.S. Fort Houston, near Palestine, Texas, March 14th, 1867. Sir, — In answer to your letter of Feb- ruary 5th, making inquiries as to the description, &c, of Confederate postage stamps, I have to say that, having no speci- mens of these stamps, I am unable from memory to furnish the information you re- quest. I think, at different times, and on one or another of the postage stamps, we used the likenesses of Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Jackson, Mr. Davis, and possibly Calhoun, but as to this last I am not sure. I do not think the likeness of Mr. Stephens, or General Beauregard, was ever used on our stamps. We never issued or used a blockade stamp of the denomination of one dollar, or any other. It may be possible, if you wish to prosecute your inquiries, that H. St. George Offutt, Esq., of New York city, might give you some information. Very respectfully, John H. Ruagan. Office of Offutt, McAnerney, & Co., Hardware and General Commission Merchants, 39, Beekman Street, New York, April 4th, 1867. Sir, — Your favour of the 2nd inst., with the Illustrated Catalogue of Postage Stamps, was received last night, and I regret that the pressure of business engagements at the present time will preclude the possibility of furnishing you with a detailed history of the postage stamps used during the existence of the Confederate post-office department. As an officer of that department, it was my duty to procure postage stamps, and if I were to furnish a statement of the difficulties that presented themselves in obtaining en- gravers, tools, machinery, ink, gum, &c, &c, it would tire the patience of even the most enthusiastic collector of postage stamps. Suffice it to say, the first postage stamps ob- tained by me were lithographed on stone, by Hoyer & Ludwig, in Richmond, Virginia, in the month of October, 1861, and are indicated as 1 , on page 83* ; the style 2 was engraved and lithographed by the same partiesf ; as was also 3 £, of which I attach, in the cata- logue, a proof impression. The portrait of 1 is that of Jefferson Davis, 2 is that of General Andrew Jackson, and 3 was de- signed for James Madison, but the artist made a caricature of it. Numbers 4 and 5 || were electrotyped and printed for me by * (No. 1). Head of Davis to right in oval ; inscription above, confederate states of America. Large rect., o cents, green, blue. f (No. 2). Head of Andrew Jackson to left in oval ; inscription above, c. s. a. postage. Large rect., 2 cents, green. % (No. 3). Head to right in broad oval; inscription like No. 1. 10 cents, rose, blue. || (No. 4). Head of Calhoun in circle; inscription, confederate states, in margin above. Rect., 1 cent, yellow, red-brown. (No. 5). Same device, head of Davis, o cents, blue. 114 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Arc. 1,1867. Thomas De-la-Rue & Co., London, England, and the electrotyped plates were subse- quently brought to the department at Rich- mond, and used there by Messrs. Archer & Daly. No. 4 was designed for the portrait of John C. Calhoun, but was so imperfectly printed, that they were never issued or used, and in a short time after their reception from England the rate of postage was changed, so that that denomination became obsolete. The 5 is correctly described in the catalogue. The 6 §, though bearing the imprint, Kea- tinge & Ball, &c, was engraved by a Mr. Halpin, an Englishman, employed by Archer & Daly, in Richmond, and he also engraved the numbers 7 and 8 3[. The 6 is correctly described in the catalogue as b. The one mentioned as a was engraved by Mr. Archer, and had the denomination expressed in letters, thus, tex cents. The portrait was not satisfactory, and the plates were only used until the others, marked b, could be prepared. The engravers, Messrs. Archer & Daly, failed to comply with the terms of their contract, and a new one was entered in- to with Messrs. Keatinge & Ball, of Columbia, South Carolina, and the plates were delivered to them in 1864. They were requested to place their imprint upon them, for the pur- pose of enabling the department to fix re- sponsibility of issue. Keatinge & Ball never engraved postage stamps for the department. I am unable to give the precise dates of issue, as all my records are in the possession of the United States government, and, I presume, are fi^lS in the 'rebel archives.' The stamps were engraved in the order in which they are represented in the catalogue. As I have in my possession counterfeits of each denomination, I have attached genuine issues in their proper places, in order that you may have the means of testing such as may be submitted to you by vendors of stamps. The counterfeits I have, some fifteen different § (No. 6). Head of Davis to right in oral; inscrip- tion, postage above ; confederate states of America on sides. Rect., a, Tin cents (value in words), blue; b, 10 centy, light-blue, dark-blue. < U (No. 7). Head of Andrew Jackson in oval ; inscrip- tion, tostage, and c. s. in lower corners. Rect., 2 cents, lake-red. (No. 8). Head of Washington in oval; in- scription, CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA. llect., 20 cents, green. kinds, were sent to me from Canada during the war, and were said to have been rjriuted in this city. In regard to the colours of the genuine, it is proper to state, that a difference in depth was frequently occasioned by the inability of obtaining, through the blockade, the neces- sary inks or chemicals from which to prepare them. The local stamps, figured on page 127, were not recognized by the department, and were merely used by postmasters for con- venience in prepaying postage during the period which intervened between the 1st of July, 1861, and the date when the depart- ment was enabled to supply the several post offices. They were never issued, or used, at the Richmond post-office, and their issue elsewhere did not meet the approval of the department, and but few of them were printed. I believe that I have answered all the doubtful points presented by you, except as to the precise dates of issue, which is not material. The first five were issued (with the exception of 4, which was never issued) in the latter part of the year 1861. lumbers 6, a and b, and 7, were issued in 1863, and 8 in 1864. If any other matters for inquiry in this connection suggest themselves to your mind, you need not hesitate to write to me, as it will always give me pleasure to furnish such information as may be in my possession. Respectfully, H. St. George Offctt. Office of Offutt, McAneraey, & Co., Hardware and General Commission Merchants, 39, Beeknian Street, New York, April 12th, 1867. Dear Sir, — I have been obliged to defer until now acknowledging the receipt of your letter of the 8th inst. I am repaid for my attention to your first communication by your expressions of p'easure, derived from my condensed and hastily prepared sketch of Confederate States postage stamps. You express surprise at the seeming scarcity of the 2 c. stamp of first issue, but, to me it is surprising that any of them can be found, Aug. 1,1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 115 for, in the first in stance, there was never at any time a sufficient supply printed to meet the wants of the people in mailing papers ; and, in the second, but few wrappers of papers with stamps affixed were pre- served ; and but few papers, or letters, sent out of the country paid any inland postage in stamps, as they were generally intrusted to some private conveyance for placing them on blockade running vessels. I cannot give you any statistics as to the number of stamps issued by the department, for the reason, that the official reports are not in my pos- session. The 1 c. stamps, that were never issued or used by the Confederate States Government, were carried, with the other effects and archives of the department, as far as Chester, South Carolina, during the evacu- ation of Richmond, and, together with a small amount of other denominations, were placed by me in the custody of the United States Government at the time of my parole, subse- quently to the surrender of all the Confederate States forces. The 1 c. stamp was printed by De-la-Rue & Co., London, and they re- tained in their keeping the original dies from which the ' electrotype plates ' were pre- pared. I think that at least three plates, and about the nominal value of 400,000 dols. of printed stamps, ready for use (among which were some of the 1 c.) were shipped by De-la-Rue & Co. on a vessel that was captured by the United States off the port of Wilmington, North Carolina, and the agent of the department threw the plates over- board ; the stamps were captured, but what disposition was made of them I never knew. These plates were never recovered, but subsequently one plate, denomination 5 c, and one plate, denomination 1 a, were successfully shipped to Richmond, and were, with some other matters (the printing press from the same London house being among them), sent southward, prior to the evacua- tion of Richmond, in charge of a special agent, with a view to their safety in the event of that city being captured ; but what became of them I do not know. All of the dies, rolls, and plates, of the second issue, engraved and prepared in Richmond, were burned in the great conflagration which destroyed Columbia, South Carolina, and as that occurred some weeks prior to the evacuation of Richmond, it followed that the small stock that the department and its offices had on hand at the time of the fire, was nearly exhausted when the final collapse of the Confederacy took place. I do not understand how European dealers can supply genuine impressions of any stamps, in con- siderable numbers of any, save those issued in London, which, I presume, they obtain from the original publishers, who have the means of supplying them. I am quite cer- tain that none of the stamps of the first issue remained in the States unused at the date of the suri-ender, and the lithographic stones from which they had been printed were des- troyed as rapidly as the steel plates were prepared to take their places. I believe that I stated to you that there were sent to me from Canada, during the war, counterfeit impressions of each denomination of stamps used by the Confederate States, and I think it very probable that some designing parties are supplying collectors with them, as but few persons have the opportunity of com- paring them with the genuine, and the illustrations in the catalogues that I have seen do not resemble either the bogus or the genuine. Respectfully, &c, H. St. George Offutt. AN IRISH POST-OFFICE.* Our post-office, in common with many other peaceful institutions, has been grievously disturbed and thrown off its equilibrium by the war. Ours is an Irish sea-side village, and every man and boy of the operative classes dwelling therein, between the ages of twelve and sixty, Avas seized with an uncontrollable longing to join the fleet and fight the Roosians. The consequence is, that the culture of our pretty little gardens is left in the hands of an aged sea-monster, a sort of superannuated Caliban, who, having turned his oar into a spade, has suddenly started up as a professor of horticulture. His ideas, however, savouring much more of * [We reprint this amusing sketch, from CJiambera's Journal, where it appeared in 1856 under the title ' Curiosities of Our Post-office.' — Ed.] 116 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Aug. 1, 1867. his former than of his present profession, he calls violets pilots, and digs away at our luckless parterres as if he were literally ploughing the deep. To return to our post-office. One day lately, a sailor, belonging to a man-of-war lying in the harbour, stepped in, and ad- dressing our postmaster, asked : ' Do you know Bill Jenkins A.B. of the Racer ? ' < Not I. Why do you ask ? ' ' Because I wanted to give you a letter to him,' rejoined the sailor, producing an oddly folded epistle. 'Very well,' said our functionary; 'the letter will be sent to him ; but you must put a stamp on it.' ' How the ,' responded the astonished seaman, ' can you send a letter to Bill Jen- kins unless you know him ? ' ' Oh, no matter ; I can send the letter ; but it will cost you a penny for a stamp. ' Stamp ! ' cried the sailor — ' show me one.' A stamp was accordingly shown to him. The honest tar turned it round contemp- tuously between his finger and thumb, shook his head, and exclaimed : ' No ! Shiver me if I put Bill Jenkins off with a penny, for he has often spent a crown upon me. Havn't you got anything hand- somer than this ? ' A twopenny stamp was shown him. ' Well, this looks decenter ; but havn't you got anything better ? ' The postmaster produced a shilling stamp, which Jack inspected with an expression of approval, saying : ' All right. Put five of them on the letter. I'll never send Bill Jenkins less than five shillings' worth ! ' So saying, he threw down two half-crowns on the counter, took up the five shilling stamps, and stuck them on the letter, which he then threw into the box, with expressions of satisfaction at having spent a crown's worth on his old mate, Bill Jenkins. Owing to the before-mentioned scarcity of boys, the present Mercury who distributes our correspondence is a bright-eyed ragged urchin of ten, wholly innocent of the art of reading. Although carrying an official- looking bag, this receptacle is merely meant to give grace and dignity to his office ; for if the letters were once consigned to its depths in a mingled heap, the process of abstracting any individual one required would be a very chance-medley affair indeed, considering that the majority of our servants, as well as our postboy, might have been pre- Cadmu sites for anything they know of the alphabetic mysteries. By an ingenious species of memoria techuca, therefore, our postmistress puts the letters for our terrace into the dirty chubby right hand of her juvenile attache, and those for another in his left ; while my letters belonging to a third division, come in his mouth. Many is the editorial epistle I have myself extricated from this canine species of conveyance, and, blessing the invention of envelopes, read the unscathed sheet of note-paper, while its cover bore the marks of Master Jerry Linchan's strong, white, young incisors. As to the mistakes in the delivery of the letters, they are really past counting. In fact, getting our neighbours' letters every morning has come to be regarded as quite the normal state of things in our village, and receiving our own rather an exceptional occurrence, for which we are bound to be thankful, but which we are not by any means entitled to expect. A nervous gentleman amongst us was certainly rather startled one day, by receiving a demand for funeral expenses from an eminent undertaker ; and an aristocratic one, by inadvertently opening an epistle designed for a government con- tractor, beginning 'My dear Henry [his own name], pigs are looking up,' &c. As order, however, out of chaos sprang, so good sometimes comes of all this con- fusion. There lives in our village, in a handsome detached house, a rich childless widow named Effingham. She was always a civil neighbour, kind to the poor, and liberal in her expenditure, yet somehow she was not very popular amongst us. People complained that they never got to know her any better than they did the first day they paid a visit in her nicely furnished drawing- room. She lived alone ; and, although perfectly polite, she never seemed to mani- fest any interest in what was going on around. I believe the most intellectual, pious, or high-minded individual that ever Aug. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 117 breathed, if resident in a small village, can scarcely avoid having a tendency to small- talk about her neighbour's affairs, to curiosity about their sayings and doings — in short, to occasional indulgence in harmless gossip. Mrs. Effingham was therefore looked on amongst us as a sort of phenomenon, when it was found that she took no interest what- ever in the incipient flirtation between our Crimean hero — of whom we are very proud, although he did obtain leave of absence on ' urgent private affairs ' — and Miss Ellard, our acknowledged belle. Once, indeed, when a runaway match — which, however, did not take place — was spoken of, as likely to be the denouement of an engagement between two penniless lovers, Mrs. Effing- ham was heard to sigh deeply and remark : ' They are bad things ; the happiness of many a family has been wrecked by a run- away match ; ' and then another sigh and a faint flush on the still handsome cheek, followed by a chill paleness. This rare evidence of emotion could not have been caused by any personal experience ; for Mrs. Effingham, we all knew, was the childless widow of a rich and highly respectable merchant, whom she had married with the full approbation of every one concerned. By degrees, however, the truth came out, ■ — an old story ! Her only sister had made a most imprudent clandestine marriage with a young ensign ; and Mrs. Effingham, in her first access of indignation, had made a vow never to see her sister or inquire about her again. Time rolled on, and the newspapers brought Mrs. Effingham, whether she would or not, intelligence of the delinquent. First appeared among the births in the army in India, the arrival of a niece. The next mail brought an account of the mother's death; and a few months after came a like announcement respecting the young husband. He died of jungle- fever, when on the eve of promotion. Often, in spite of herself, did Mrs. Effingham's heart turn to the little orphan, left desolate in a foreign land and now the only sur- j viving member of her near kindred. Yet it I was only by chance she learned that a kind stranger, the childless wife of a captain in its father's regiment, had taken the little creature to her home and heart, and was bringing it up as her own. Years passed on. The girl, if alive, must be nearly twenty ; and often in the silence of night, or in the cheerful sunshine, when we were commenting on Mrs. Effingham's cold, absent, indifferent manner, was the sore self-stricken heart of the grey-haired woman yearning for the sound of a kindred voice, for the touch of a kindred hand. She made diligent inquiries, but they were fruitless ; Captain Ellis and his wife were both dead, and what had become of their adopted daughter no one could tell. It happened one morning that our post- mistress was sorely puzzled by the arrival of a letter legibly directed to ' Miss Greenham.' ' Where on the face of the earth can she be stopping ? ' was Mrs. Callaghan's de- spairing inquiry. I'm sure I know the name of every one living or visiting in the whole place, and the never a Greenham. nor anything like it, is there in it. Here Jerry,' she continued—' take this letter, and ax everywhere for somebody to own it. You're learning to read very fast, I'll say that for you ; and here's the name Greenham plain enough. I'll put it in the bottom of the bag, and you will be sure to find it.' Away trudged Jerry on his mission, and delivered our correspondence after his usual fashion, not failing to ask at every house : 'Was there one Miss Greenham stopping there? ' The reply wras always in the ne- gative, and Jerry was almost at his wits' end, when a bright thought suddenly struck him. Mrs. Effingham received very few letters, and consequently seldom came into contact with our young postman. As he was now, however, passing her door, he turned into the pleasant violet-scented little garden, and, his hands being at liberty, he gave a very tolerable imitation of an official knock at the hall door. The grave neat parlour-maid appeared. 'Ax the rnisthress could I see her for a minnit,' quoth Master Jerry. ' What do you want ? I can give her any message.' ' Oh, 'tis herself I must sse, about some- thing very particklar,' was the rejoinder of our pertinacious postboy. 118 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZIXE. [Aug. 1, 1867. And the damsel at length consented to snmnion her mistress, who came, in a state of considerable wonder, to learn what Master Linchan's ' particklar business ' conld be. ' Would your honour be after seeing if this letter is for von ? ' said Jerry, with his best bow. handing the unfortunate epistle to the lady. ' No, my boy : certainly it is not. My name is Mrs. Effingham, and this letter is qnite plainly directed to Miss Greenharu.' 'Oh. but, ma'am, good luck to yon, and open it and try if "tis for you. for my heart's broken carrying it about everywhere, and no one will take it from me; 'But I can't open it, it is not for me.' And the lady, turning away decidedly, was entering the parlour, when Jerry exclaimed : 1 Ah, thin, ma'am, who else would it be for. if it is'nt for you ! Sure it ends in li. a. m. ham — all as one as your own name. Efnng- liam. Greenham — 'tis mighty little differ there's between "em, I'm thinking." * Master Linchan's system of orthograph- ical mutation certainly rivalled in bold originality that of any modern philologist. His rhetoric, it would seem, was not without effect ; for Mrs. Effingliam (she afterwards said she could not account for the impulse which led her to do so) at length consented to open the letter. A strange effect the reading of the first few lines produced on her, her face grew deadly pale, her lip quivered, and hastily desiring the boy to wait, she went into the parlour and shut the door. Iu about a quarter of an hour, she came out, her features wearing a softened expression, and the trace of many tears. Bidding the boy tell his mistress that ; it was all right about the letter." she gave him a bright coin, and sent him away, the happiest of postboys. That evening the village mail-bag went out freighted with a letter directed to "Miss Aylmer, care of Miss Greenham," etc. By one of these accidents which are called improbable in novels, but which do occur in real life, Mrs. Effingham's niece was living in a village in the North of Ireland, which, * This dialogue, with a slight change in the initial syllables of one of the proper names, is given verbatim. bearing the same name as that of our south- ern one, frequently has its correspondence exchanged for ours. The girl, on the death of the friends who had adopted her, but who had nothing to bequeath, came over from India, and knowing no relative, save a poor and distant cousin of her father's, a Miss Greenham, residing in our northern namesake village, she naturally, in the first instance, took up her abode with her. The letter was one produced by an advertisement which the young lady had inserted in a Dublin newspaper, offering her services as a governess. A correspondence, always directed under cover to Miss Greenham, ensued be- tween the young Anglo-Indian and a lady of high respectability who wished to engage her. This letter, the third of the series, contained sufficient to identify Miss Aylmer as the relative for whose presence Mrs. Effingham had long pined. Xo governessing now — no going forth into the wide bleak world. In a few days Miss Aylmer, accompanied by her friend, made her appearance in our village. A lively, gentle girl she was, so agreeable, that very few people ever thought of asking whether she was pretty. Under her auspices, her aunt's sometime melancholy mansion became filled with gaiety, and the number of con- sequent tea-parties and picnics was quite wonderful for our quiet village. 'Ye see," said Jerry, when telling me the story confidentially for at least the tenth time — ' ye see, ma'am, the good of the laming : for only that I knew that li. a, m, spells ham, that letther would still have been going a shaughraun* and that purty young lady wouldn't be to the fore, and I'd be without the fine new cloth-jacket and corderoys that the ould misthress promised me agen next Sunday.' THE HAND OX THE OLD TURKISH STAMPS. (From Le Tiailn-T. r To some of our readers' the above title will probably seem an enigma. They may search, perhaps in vain, for the hand of which we speak. Yet it is there, though different in * Anglice, • wandering about.' Aug. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 119 appearance from those we know. It is, in fact, the curious design occupying the centre of each of these stamps — its name ' Thougra.' The ' Thougra ' is the signature of his majesty the Sultan, ordinarily written in black, sometimes in red, and frequently in letters of gold, and is found upon coins, passports, &c, as well as upon the stamps. The first sultans used to make rough impressions, with the five fingers of one hand, at the foot of their decrees, and Mahomet IT. placed his fingers, wet with blood, on the columns of Saint Sophia, at the capture of Constantinople in 1453. Of these early finger seals, and of the impressions of the conqueror's fingers on the mosques, the arabesque pattern in the centre of the stamp is representative. The hand has to Mussulmen three mystic significations : it denotes providence ; it is the expression of law ; and, thirdly, of power ; it restores the courage of the faithful, and strikes terror into the hearts of their enemies. As an emblem of law, the Mussulman thus explains the meaning of the hand. It has five fingers, each, with the exception of the thumb, having three joints. All the fingers are subordinate to the unity of the hand, their common foundation. The five funda- mental precepts of the law are : 1st. — Belief in God and in his prophet. 2nd. — Prayer. 3rd. — Giving alms. 4th. — Fasting during the sacred months, and at the appointed times. 5th. — Visiting the temples of Mecca and Medina. Each of these precepts ad- mits of three divisions, except the first, sym- bolised by the thumb, which has only two, heart and work. These dogmas and their modifications have for their source the cen- tral doctrine of the unity of God ; and all the creed of Mahometanism is contained in the hand, — the five fingers, and their forty joints. As to its magical influence, it not only preserves the Mussulman from the witch- craft practised by his enemies, but also works enchantments and prodigies. Above the inscription, placed at the prin- cipal entrance to the Alharabra at Grenada, may be seen the key joint of the hand. The key joint is to the Mahometan, what the cross is to the Christian. Catholics ascribe to the keys of St. Peter the faculty of binding and loosing, and of opening and shutting the doors of heaven ; and the Koran also says that God gave not to his deputy upon earth the power over heaven which is above, or of the fire which is below ; and he grants not the title, or the power, of porter at the gates of heaven, reserving that work for those who have been chosen. The hand placed above the gates of the Alhambra, upon the sultan's seal, and upon the stamps, symbolises the spiritual and tem- poral power which protects the good and the faithful, and punishes their adversaries. The symbolism of the hand, modified in divers manners, is not unknown to Christian people. The hand stands as the emblem of the government of society. The fingers, to- gether with the thumb, bear the signification of power, knowledge, will, courage, and duty ; or, force, intelligence, authority, love, and obedience. In like manner, the superstitious idea of the mysterious power of the hand has been in part adopted by Christians. The necklaces made of rows of hands, in silver, wood, ivory, &c, which the careful [Belgian ?] mother places on the neck of her infant to guard him against the machinations of evil spirits, are of Mahometan origin. NEWLY-ISSUED OR INEDITED STAMPS. We have this month comparatively few new emissions to announce, but are able to give engravings of most of those which have been recently described. We commence with — Austria. — These stamps were announced in the last number, and full details given respect- ing them. By the an- nexed cuts it will be seen that the 'kreuzer' and ' soldi ' impressions are alike, save in one trifling particular. To make room for the abbreviation of the word 'soldi' it w^as necessary to lop off the curves which complete the ornament at the 120 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Aug. 1, 1867. lower corners. The ' kreuzer ' stamps alone liave hitherto been issued, and those only, as we are given to understand, in Hungary. Their currency in the empire will be de- layed until the 1st Janua- ry, 1868, to give time for the exhaustion of the stock of the ' arms ' series. The ' soldi ' stamps are intended for the pre- payment of letters transmitted by the Aus- trian post offices in Constantinople, Smyrna, Bucharest, Jassy, Alexandria, and other fo- reign cities. When they will appear we cannot say. The design for the newspaper stamp is, it will be seen, a very plain one, and is very roughly executed, our cut being clearer than the ac- tual stamp. The winged cap is a very heavy affair, and the portrait a poor re- presentation of the smart and active Mercury. Spain. — We gave last month a brief sum- mary of the new postal tariff, and a list of the anticipated new stamps. Of these, three only have as yet appeared, viz., the 10, 25, and 50 mil. The former, intended for news- papers only, is here repre- sented. It is the first Spanish stamp to bear as the central device the fi- gure of value. The im- pressions already received are not of a uniform shade, the brown varying from light to dark. The 25 and 50 mil. are of the subjoined pattern, which will probably serve also for the higher values. It is an improve- ment on that of the series issued at the commence- ment of the year. The inscriptions are now in colour on white, and the border pattern is neat and graceful. The 25 milesi- has a pretty effect. Lru-vf .-■ mas Has a the disk being printed rose and the frame blue. The 50 mil. loses much bv its dull. faded hue — a pale bistre. These two stamps supersede the 2 and 4 cs. previously in use. The other values remain current; there are therefore, as Le Timbre-Poste points out, at one and the same time, cuartos, centesimos, and milesimas in circulation as postal deno- minations. All three of the new stamps are printed on white unwatermarked paper. Besides these, another variety of the Con- gress stamps, of which there are now quite a lit- tle family, has been re- cently discovered. It re- sembles in its main fea- tures the one figured and described at page 57 of our last year's volume. On reference, however, it will be seen that the frame of the new comer is wider, the wTord CORREO in different type, the crown larger, and the shield oval. We believe these hybrid frank stamps are now being reprinted. The above is impressed in black ink on white. Virgin Islands. — The additional values have by this time com- menced work. The sup- ply left this country by the mail of the 1 7th June, and the next homeward mail will probably bring letters prepaid with them. The new stamps are unique in design, bat we cannot say we much ad- mire them. The fourpenny has a rough un- finished look. The central figure, which, by the way, has an almost grotesque appearance, does not nearly fill the circle in which it is placed, and no attempt is made to ornament the frame. Nor is the shil- ling stamp more success- ful ; the figure on this is printed black on a. rose mural-patterned ground, something incongruous, and the whole device is suggestive to our minds of a nun about to be walled up. The new figure is not so sig- nificant as that on the first-issued pair. The ^ PHI Hi ONESH LL1N A black virgin is Aug. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 121 lamps are absent, and also the lily, and tlms it is deprived of effect. The form of the figure on the seal from which the engraver had to copy, was that of justice, bandaged, holding, as usual, a sword in her right, and scales in her left hand, and standing erect upon an arch, intended perhaps to represent the globe. This figure is reproduced on the stamps minus the judicial symbols, and with- out any fresh emblems to supply their place. The globe or arch is retained, but apparently without reason, as it has no special connec- tion with innocence or purity, and cannot be a convenient place for devotional purposes. Altogether we fear the designer has been hampered by the economical views of the local authorities, and should not be surprised if these stamps enjoy but a short currency. The paper on which the stamps are printed is of a strong white quality, unwatermarked and perforated. The colour of the fourpence is red-brown, and there are proofs in the same colour on white and on deep rose paper, and in red on white. The postmaster of Tortola, in a letter to our publishers, dated 27th June, gives the following information : ' By the post-office ordinance, 1860, the governor is authorized to order and procure such number of postage stamps, of such colour and pattern as he shall deem fit, &c. Accordingly, at the end of last year, the governor directed sixpenny and penny stamps to be prepared and issued. The Virgin Isles were dis- covered by Columbus on the Virgin's day, he accordingly named them after the Vir- gin ; the twelve lamps represent the twelve primitive Christian charities.' The twelve lamps are made up by including the one in the Virgin's hand with the eleven in the border. By the above statement all doubt is set at rest as to their significance. Great Britain. — Annexed are the water- marks of the new ]0d. and 2s., and of the 5s. respectively. It is to be regretted that such an un- necessary precaution as the insertion of watermarks in our stamps is still con- sidered necessary. What- ever may be thought of the designs of the series, the CV.'iJ'y^ -' yJ~^ ^ sJ~U~\Sl "> t \ / . c b K. r*i r\ r* -I ""^ fineness of the lines and general delicacy of ex- ecution are in them- selves a sufficient pre- ventive of successful forgery, even were it worth the while of any one to try the danger- s ous experiment ; and S printed, as all the pro- ductions of De-la-Rue are, upon a rather thin glazed paper, the watermark often de- tracts from their beauty. The five- shilling, for instance, shows the dark outline of the cross in the very centre of the stamp, and this spoils the portrait. India. — We here append a tation of the new Indian stamp fully described last fb. month. The Queen, it ' [ will be observed, bears a diadem of a different pat- tern from that which gene- rally adorns the portraits by De-la-Rue. The stamp represen- LTL_ru~L-rLj is watermarked, like the 1865 issue, with an elephant's head. Norway. — The 2 skilling stamp alluded to in our last turns out to be a new emission. On re- ference to the engraving, it will be seen that the details vary considerably from that of the preceding series. The numeral appears on each side of the abbreviation skill; the ground is formed of verticalin- stead of diagonally-crossed lines ; the position and size of the lion are different, and so on. The colour is a kind of nankin- yellow. Mexico. — In the number for May last we gave a lengthened account of a so-called provisional stamp for this country, said to have been issued by the Juarist authorities, in Gua- dalajara. The annexed engraving is a represen- tation of this questionable emission, and in the details of execution is superior to the original. No intelligence 122 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Aug. 1, 186^ tending to prove its genuine character has been received either here or on the Continent, and until receipt of such intelligence we must continue to regard it with suspicion, for the reasons stated when we first noticed it. In addition to those named by us, Le Timbre- Poste chronicles the following : — \ real white. 4 reales rose. Prussia. — This wonderful design has been adopted for a new series of stamps, not, as we un- derstand (though bearing I the inscription preussen), for nse in Prussia, but for employment in the South- ern Stales of Germany, where they will take the "^ place of the obsolete Thurn and Taxis ' kreuzer ' stamps. The Berlin printing office, where the stamps are pre- pared, has one stereotyped style from which it never wanders far, and it has in the main points adhered to it in the present instance. There is a correct and precise mediocrity visible in all its productions, and in none more so than in the stamps before us. We had hoped the new postal era would have been inaugurated with something better than these. The colours and values of the series are as follows : — 1 kreuzer green, orano-e. uuuuuLiuuuuuirj'juuuan 2 ** 55 3 ,; rose. 6 „ bright-blue. 9 ,, bistre. There are also envelopes of the same values, bearing the same device impressed on the right upper corner, but, after the fashion of the existing Prussian envelopes, defaced by a transverse inscription in black ink. The adhesives are printed on pierced white paper. The eagle and the figure are j in relief. The currency of these stamps commenced on the 1st ult., and it is stated i that three higher values — 12, 18, and 35 kr. — will shortly be added. Bresi.au. — Frequent issues of stamps are the chief characteristic of private postal companies ; hence we are not surprised to find that, after a currency of three or four months, the set described in our May num- ber has been replaced by the annexed design. This is certainly very chaste and graceful, and an ad- i vance on its predecessors. | The company which emits | it undertakes to deliver I letters and packets in the suburbs, we presume it is not only willing but able to Details concerning | Breslau and and ^-jyjuuiiaiiiiiflr.f. on n n r. n n n or do what it undertakes, the establishment of the company or insti- tute, the method in which its business is done, the authorisation (if any) received from government, &c, are necessary before anything like a decisive judgment can be come to respecting these stamps, which, meanwhile, should be received with circum- spection. Our engraving is taken from a proof in black on enamelled card. The values are six, all black impressions on coloured paper, which are as follows : — 1 2 s. gr. yellow. 1 55 rose. 1* 2 55 55 green, pale-blue. 2i 5 55 orange, lilac. Ceylon". — Our Belgian contemporary says that the twopence of this island has just been received, printed dark ochre-yellow. Egypt. — Our publishers, in reply to an in- quiry by them as to the date of issue and design of the expected new series for this country, have received the following reply from the postmaster-general. Alexandria, 14th. June, 1867. Messrs. Alfred Smith & Co., Bath. Gentlemen, — I am hi receipt of your esteemed favour of 31st May last, and beg to inform you that the new issue of stamps will probably take place hi August next, or before, if possible. The colour, form, and value of the new stamps are almost the same as those of the last issue. The design only has been changed, with a view to im- provement— the sphinx and the pyramid having been adopted as the central figures. Of "the former, only the stamp of ten piastres has been abolished, as perfectly use- less. I remain. Gentlemen, Your obedient servant, The Postmaster-General, (Signed) Muszi Bey. By this it will be seen that Cleopatra's needle is not to be included in the device. Argentine Republic. — We have informa- tion from Buenos Ayres that a new series of Aug. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 123 stamps for this republic is being prepared by the American Bank-Note Company, and is expected to be issued shortly. The rumour of the intended new stamps probably gave occasion for the concoction of the ficti- tious essays which we noticed a few months back. We have received specimens of a new design for the republic, gummed arid perfo- rated ; but cannot speak as to their character. Switzerland. — The 10 c. envelope became current on the 1st ult. The colour varies from pale rose to bright carmine. The en- velope is watermarked with a dove carrying a letter. New Granada. — Le Timbrojphih mentions a report received by it from a good source, to the effect that the triangular 2\ c. will soon be suppressed. San Salvador. — A correspondent at San Francisco states that the fictitious stamps which preceded the genuine emission were engraved in that city for a person whose name he gives, and sent by him all over the eastern States and Europe. This statement renders further warning unnecessary. United States. — The same correspondent forwards us a postmarked specimen of a new Californian envelope. It bears the government 3 c. stamp on the right, and on the left the inscription in curved lines, the HOLLADAY OVERLAND MAIL AND EXPRESS COMPANY, across the word paid, which is printed in large shaded ornamental letters. The can- celling-mark consists of a large oval, inscribed WELLS, FARGO, & C°- SALT LAKE 0"M U.T. (Utah Territory). The new express runs from Idaho and Montana Territories to the Great Salt Lake, and connects with Wells, Fargo, & Co. The genuine character of this stamp is be- yond question. Our San Franciscan correspondent further informs us, that the stamp of the annexed design (of which he forwards a speci- men) is the sole kind which is or ever has been in use for newspapers by Wells, Fargo, & Co. We can only say that the variety de- 58 of our present scribed at page volume was a very finely- engraved well- executed stamp, which is prima facie evidence in its favour. We would recommend our correspondent to make further inquiries on this subject. ARRANGEMENT OF A COLLECTION OF POSTAGE STAMPS. (FROM M. BERGER-LEVRATJLT's NEW FRENCH CATALOGUE). It is hardly possible to lay down any precise rules for the organisation of a collection of postage stamps. Those amateurs who have the fortune to possess collections of the first order, generally find it necessary to go over the arrangement again and again, and the experience which they thus naturally ac- quire, leads them at length to adopt a prac- tical system, suited to the speciality of their collection. There has been no lack of counsel on the subject, but we trust that the less-advanced amateurs will willingly receive some general indications, the results of experience. Some years since it was customary to make collec- tions upon sheets ruled in advance with regular squares. We trust that this most impracticable plan has been completely aban- doned. On the other hand, we believe that the different albums published more recently are not without utility to beginners : thanks, above all, to the details which they generally contain. But we find that most of these have a very grave defect, namely, the placing, from an economic motive, of which we cannot approve, of the stamps of several countries on the same sheet. To our view, an entire sheet should always be absolutely re- served for each country, as it is impossible to foresee what states will change their stamps, and, consequently, upon what sheets places should be reserved for new emissions. If this be not done, the necessity arises, upon those sheets which contain several countries, for putting the new stamps amongst those of another state. It is this defect which renders impossible the methodical classing and strict order, which are indispensable to a good collection ; whilst with our system [i. e., of having an entire sheet for each state] the publication of the necessary supplementary pages from time 124 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Aug. 1, 1867. to time would, for a long while, meet every requirement ; but even then the sheets could not be detached from the album at a given moment for the purpose of classification and re-arrangement in a unique series. There- fore, in order to give full scope for collecting, we are obliged to abandon the album system. That system, in fact, is not possible for im- portant collections which all contain, fol- lowing the inclination of their possessor, a greater or less, but always variable, number of stamps presenting certain particularities, varieties, &c. At the present time loose or movable sheets alone should be used, set off, if required, by a certain ornamentation, — co- loured frames, heraldic arms, &c, according to taste. Following the system already in vogue in albums, the stamps of each state should be classed in the chronological order of emission, the stamps of each series being kept together, and care being taken to avoid any confusion of one with another. The space should be allotted according to the number of stamps, and so as to admit of all the stamps of a series being placed on one and the same row, an arrangement which is possible in most cases. It would seem natural to com- mence with the stamps of the lowest price, the others following from left to right in the order of value. We take leave to recommend young col- lectors not to detach their stamps, especially rare ones, immediately upon acquisition, from the paper to which they may be stuck. We have found that one very great danger to collections consists in the too frequent re- moval of stamps. Some care is always necessary in taking off stamps to reduce the risk of damaging them, and that risk is natu- rally augmented with each new operation. Our recommendation is more especially necessary for stamps impressed in relief (such as those of Sardinia, Portugal, Olden- burg, &c), because after having been moved two or three times they entirely lose their relief. The day will come when the amateur will find it necessary to arrange his collection anew, and then is the time to replace the more or less defective specimens, with which he was at first content, with better copies. The experience he has acquired will then enable him to use the requisite degree of precaution in the manipulation of each stamp. The best method of taking off a stamp is, we think, to place the back upon a piece of flannel well wetted (but not to place the flannel upon the stamp). In this manner, watching closely the progress of detachment, a number of stamps may be taken off at a time, and the paper removed from their backs, care being taken that they do not be- come too wet. But it is only for rare stamps that it is necessary to employ this process ; ordinary stamps, printed on strong paper, may be dipped in water, and will then come off easily. As to envelopes, the great majority of amateurs take, and with reason, either one copy complete and intact, or else two copies, one cut square and mounted in the album, the other kept entire and perfect. As for those who only collect cut envelopes we suppose they hardly need to be recom- mended to cut the stamp in the form of a square (leaving about 6 millimetres of border, or more). The barbarous method used in the earliest collections, which consisted in cutting closely round the impression, is now but little followed. This recommendation is justified 1st. — Because, in acting otherwise, many of the^ envelopes are deprived of the signs which enable them to be most easily dis- tinguished from the corresponding adhesives : such is the result, for example, with the en- velopes and stamps of Austria, Prussia, Saxony, and Lubeck, when any of them are cut round. 2nd. — Because it deprives the envelopes of their inscription (the two lines in small char- acters printed across most of the German se- ries, for instance), and that inscription forms a most interesting characteristic, as almost all the German states have adopted a different colour for it. In fact, it is the sole distinctive mark between the 1st and the 2nd series of envelopes of Thurn and Taxis, the Saxon envelopes, &c. We do not pretend by these observations to have exhausted the subject, they are merely general indications which perhaps will be acceptable to some of our readers. O. B.-L. Aug. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 125 THE SCINDE STAMP. A correspondent at Halifax, Yorkshire, for- warded us, in June last, some particulars respecting the device of the above stamp. He stated that it had no reference to Sir Bartle Frere's heraldic bearings, but was in fact the trade mark of the East India Com- pany. He suggested that the entire stamp might be no more than a trade-mark itself, affixed to goods sent over the company's routes, or at most a tax or luggage label. In support of his statement he forwarded us a perfect copy of the device and. copies of similar devices adopted by East Indian mer- chants, which he has prepared for them and places on goods supplied to them. We for- warded this correspondent's letter to the gentleman who had sent us the sole specimen known of the Scinde stamp, and append his reply. To the Editor of 'The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Sir, — Your letter has been forwarded to me here. I can only say, if it turns out to be as your correspondent suggests, I have been as much deceived as any one. I had the stamp from a lady, who obtained it direct from Sir Bartle Frere's family, and this was conclusive to me. The mark, No. 1 (in the letter returned) is exceedingly like what the stamp would be if perfect, but as your corre- spondent says it was issued by the company, why should they not have had the same device on an early attempt at a postage stamp brought out in a remote province, under an energetic commissioner ? ' Dauk ' signifies tran- sit. There is a postage dauk, or you may travel by dauk ; but I doubt the company's having prepaid labels for goods before they had postage. These things came on by slow degrees, and we have not arrived at prepaid luggage labels, even in England, yet. The word ' dauk ' does away with his idea of a tax label ; and the stamp, if a trade label, would not have a price put to it. However, I will make inquiries on the subject, and let you know the result. Yours truly, J. P. Since receipt of this letter we have re- ceived confirmation of the fact, that the device in question was the trade-mark of the company, from another correspondent (G. B., London), who writes as follows : ' Your engraving, as you know, was imperfect. It should have been thus : the heart divided saltire wise, the letters v. e. i. c. in the top, left, right, and bottom divisions respectively. Your ornament at the top is incorrect also. It should be a figure 4. The cross-bar is generally very long. The meaning of this figure I do not know. The letters stand for United East India Company, and the whole design is merely then trade mark. It occurs very frequently on their coins.' Next month we hope to be in possession of further information concerning this pe- culiar stamp. REVIEWS of POSTAL PUBLICATIONS. Les Timbres-poste. Catalogue Me.thodique et descriptif de tous les timhres-poste connus. Premiere jpartie; t'unbres-poste propre- ment dits. Paris and Strasburg : VE- Berger-Levrault & FlLS. It is now three years since M. Oscar Berger-Levrault published his Catalogue of Postage Stamps, written in German. It was a very comprehensive and accurate com- pilation, and met with much success on the continent, but in this country the language in which it was printed precluded any but the most limited circulation. The author has now brought out a French edition of his catalogue, which will be hailed by all phi- latelists as a valuable addition to their stock of stamp literature. We speak of the work as a new edition, but, in fact, it has been en- tirely re-written, and the information com- pleted up to the present time. Its size is more than double that of its predecessor. The same plan of arrangement is adopted as in the last, the description being assisted by small diagrams. Indeed, so full and detailed is the information given respecting each stamp, that, but for the system of abbre- viations and diagrams employed, the book would have swelled to an inordinate size. As an instance of this system, let us taket at random, the description of the South Aus- tralian Id. stamp, and its congeners. 1 1 Janvier, 1855. Norn (South Australia), tete de lareine Victoria a g„ en [circle] — C. — PVB. (Fil : Stoile).—TD.— [square].' This occupies two lines in the book. Now let us translate this into ordinary language, by the aid of the explanation given at the commencement. — '1st January, 1855. Name (South Australia), head of Queen Victoria to left in circle, printed in colour on white laid paper, watermarked with a star. Taille- douce (that is, engraved in intaglio on copper or steel) : rectangular.' In the original de- scription, diagrams appear in place of the words we have put between brackets. We might give others still more lengthy, but this will suffice to show the manner in which the work is done. Great care has been taken to verify every detail of paper, watermark, and perforation. 126 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Arc. 1, 1867. Referring again to the table of abbreviations (of which there are forty-seven), we gain some idea of the patient care necessary to the compilation of such a work as this. Fourteen different kinds of paper are dis- tinguished, and eleven kinds of perforation, besides other particulars relative to the style of enofravincr. &c. The catalogue itself includes descriptions of reprints and tirages defantaisie, which will prove of great assistance. Amongst the latter, the 2, 3, and 15 soldi, Venetia, 1861, are comprised, doubtless for good reason. Proofs, essays, et hoc genus ornne, are to be treated of in a separate work, which we doubt not will be as valuable in its way as the one before us. The countries are arranged in chrono- logical order, as in the last edition, and local stamps are included, but not the emissions of railway companies, as M. Levrault considers that,being never employed to prepay letters, but only to frank parcels of newspapers, they are not entitled to be con- sidered postage stamps. He also omits the circular delivery stamps of this country, and the German field-post envelope stamps. The latter, he opines, are not, properly sjDeaking. marks of prepayment. The en- velopes were printed solely as a means of furnishing the postal administrations with in- dispensable details, and the hand stamps merely gave a guarantee of the origin of the letter. These particulars are furnished, with others, in an interesting preface ; beside which the author devotes a couple of pages to some useful hints to young collectors, on the arrangement of their collections, which we have translated for the benefit of our readers in another part of the present num- ber. "With respect to the general accuracy of the work, it is only necessary to say that the proofs have been carefully revised by the most studious of French philatelists, Dr. Magnus, and by the best-informed of English amateurs, to whose collection we haveoftenre- ferred, and whose researches have frequently enriched these pages. "We can therefore earnestly recommend this work to our readers, as the best and latest fruit of the scientific study of stamps. POSTAL CHIT-CHAT. A foxd eatheh wishes to know whether his son, by obtaining the command of a mail boat, has become a post captain. — Fun. The • Magazex tub Briefmaskex-Sammlee.' — This well-conducted German magazine, after an existence of four years, has ceased to be published. Hanover. — According to Le Tiinire-Posfe, the Prus- sians have delivered to the flames the remainder of the old Hanoverian stamps and envelopes. Cheap Gavcho Stamps. — A correspondent at Buenos Ayres writes as follows .—'As to Gauch: sts : fa.] -. 1 must tell you that I know a young man who has offered to me about 100 sets or more, if I sli .uld wish, at 6d. each stamp. He plainly stated that they were fac-similes, and showed me also the plates he had made here.' These are the ' native ' forgeries to which we recently referred. The New ■ Domexiox.' — By the Queen's proclamation, lately issued, the Act of Parliament for the confederation of the provinces of Canada. Nova Scotia, and New Bruns- wick takes effect, the confederation commencing on the first ult. "We understand it is intended to issue new stamps for the entire dominion, as soon as the central post office is in working order and the stamps can be got ready, — probably during the ensuing autumn. A* chemical* variety. — The other day an English merchant offered us a very great rarity, a dark-brown penny New Zealand. The shide was identical with that : - : me of the sixpences, and he attempted to make us believe it was an erreur d' impression ; for this he de- manded the trifling sum of twenty-live shillings. A chemist, a friend of oars, informed us, however, that the current penny can be changed to that shade by plunging the stamp for a second into hydro-sulphate of ammonia. As a proof of what he stated, he forwarded us a copy changed by that method to a good firm brown. — Notice to collectors of varieties ! — Le Timbre-Paste. The Basle Stamp — Reprints appear to be the order of the day. No sooner is the Bergedorf out than the Basle follows ; but this last reprint differs widely from its original, not, of course, in design, but in colour. The ground is green instead of blue, and the frame-work a bright orange-red instead of carmine; comparison with the genuine stamp will therefore not be required to detect these impostors. The failure to reproduce the true colours necessitated the suppression, on the part of the vendors, of the fact that the stamps they offered were reprints, and accordingly specimens were sent to at least one of our correspondents in this country, by a French dealer, with the* statement that they were a very raie variety actually in use for a few days before the well- known carmine and blue stamp became current. This is entirely untrue. These iueorrect reprints are now being sold in Paris as reprints, in sheets of forty, at £4 the sheet, or separately at five francs a-piece. CORRESPONDENCE. THE 'PERMANENT ALBUM' QUESTION. To the Editor o/'The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Dear Sik, — In furtherance of the idea which I broached a few months since, allow me to add a few remarks suggested by the subsequent correspondence on the subject. First : Mr. Stonrton says that the present edition of Lallier is just what we want. "With his per- mission I will take the liberty of putting a few questions to prove he is mistaken. Where do you place your Servian stamp? ? San Salvador r the new issue French ? the English issued last month? kc, kc. Is it not necessary Aug. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 127 for the accommodation of these to have another album ? Again : he says, M. Lallier is going to bring out pages to stick in the book. Where are these to go ? Take Bel- gium : another issue has come out since the album was published, and this additional sheet must be stuck in between the reading and description, and the page con- taining the stamps they describe. In about two or three years another issue may appear, and — worse muddle — another supplementary page will be required. If, on the other hand, these pages are not to be stuck in, but bound up separately, till a sufficient number are published, they •will get dirty or lost. And again, what is more annoy- ing to a collector than to have two volumes for stamps ? The new album should have ruled spaces according to the old style, because such an arrangement helps to indi- cate a collector's wants, and if the spaces be made nicely, so that the stamps fit exactly, what looks better than a double margin round every stamp ? The new album I think should be printed in black ink on faintly coloured paper, viz., very light blue, yellow, green, aud lilac, and should contain 'descriptions of the country, and useful information, coinage, arms, &c, with photographs. All the descriptions of stamps should be placed in the squares, and an engraving in the first square of every row. I remain, sir, yours very truly, Worthing. IOTA SUBSCRIPT. To the Editor of ''The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Sir, — Having particularly noticed the correspondence about a permanent stamp album in the fast two numbers of The Stamp-Collector'' s Magazine, I beg to be allowed to say a few words on the subject: — Instead of entering into the argument about the respective merits of Lallier's, Moens', Oppen's, or Stafford Smith's albums, I would sug- gest that the compiler or reviser of each of these ought to issue a supplementary volume uniform in size, binding, &c, with those already published. The new volume should contain nothing but the names of all countries using stamps at the present time. I would exclude all countries whose stamps are obsolete, such as llomagna, Hanover, &c, as there are spaces allowed for them in the albums already issued. There should be no catalogue or list, but a certain number of pages devoted entirely to the new issues after the first album was full. Such a supple- mentary volume as this would serve stamp collectors a number of years, and the only inconvenience about the thing would be the having two volumes of stamps instead of one. My reasons for advocating this are simply these : — A collector, possessing any of the albums already published, dislikes the idea of dismounting the stamps, and discard- ing the book he has for a newer edition, or a new allium, which, after a few months, he finds little better than the one thrown away. Besides, it is no trifling matter to change, perhaps, fifteen or eighteen hundred stamps from an old album to a new one. Such a work as I advocate would, I believe, meet the wishes of a great number of collectors, and if you give publicity to this in your maga- zine, it may perhaps induce some abler writers than I am to give us their ideas on the subject. I wioteyouin November last about a supplement to Oppen's album, and though in danger of repetition I have ventured to address you again. I do not see how any satisfactory permanent album can be formed in one volume. ,Some countries now issuing stamps may cease to do so in a few years, and a number of pages' devoted to them would be useless. Countries which issue no stamps now may do so shortly, and there would be no place for them in the permanent album. Changes in the political world may occur, for which the compiler of a permanent stamp album has made no provision, and, in fact, if such a thing is attempted I do not hesitate to say that in a few years it will be quite inadequate to meet the wants of collectors. I see no way, except to publish supplementary volumes when required, and allow all collectors to arrange the new issues in them as they think best. I am, sir, yours truly, AYILLIAM ATPOND. Nether Hearth Mine, Cumberland. THE UNITED STATES STAMTS. To the Editor of 'The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Dear Sir,- — A couple of points in the article regarding the United States stamps, in the April magazine, are perhaps worth correcting. The principal use of the one cent, and afterwards of the two cent stamp, was to pre- pay the postage on newspapers, rather than on drop letters, though they were in turn considerably used for this latter purpose. The article in question would give the impression that they were exclusively so used, which was not the case. The eight adhesives were superseded in 1861 by the corresponding values now in use, to pre- vent the stamps in the hands of the rebel postmasters being of any value to them. Public notice was given before hand, however, that after a certain date the current stamps would become obsolete, but that before that time the old stamps would be exchanged for the new on appli- cation to any postmaster. AYe do not think that the 1860 envelopes were thus outlawed, though they of course soon gave place to the new issue of 1861, but upon this point we are not certain. We know that the one cent envelope and wrapper was never thus treated, however, but when the lowest rate of postage (newspapers and drop letters) was raised from 1 c. to 2 c. in 1863, the stock on hand was sold to applicants for two-cent wrappers or envelopes; the value being completed by the addition of a 1 c. adhe- sive to each 1 c. wrapper or envelope. When this stock of the old series was thus got rid of, the new 2 c. value was supplied. No more of the 1 c. envelopes were printed, but they have always been, and to-day are, recog- nized at their face value whenever offered. In like man- ner the 1 c. stamp was never outlawed, and though, from 1863 up to a recent period, the lowest postage rate was two cents, yet the 1 c. stamp, when the proper numbers were affixed, was always recognized, and in many post offices has always been kept in stock for the making out of par- ticular rates of postage, in connection with other stamps, which no single stamp of the existing series would ex- actly cover. Within the past year, however, the postage on drop letters, in towns where there is no free delivery, has been reduced from 2 c. to 1 c, thus necessitating the employment of the 1 c. stamp, which are consequently kept in stock by the post offices almost as generally a3 before their nominal suppression in 1863 ; though, as the newspaper rate is still 2 c, as well as that for drop letters in ' free delivery ' towns, comparatively few are employed. By examining the postmaster-general's annual account of stamps sold, which has been published in the magazine for the past few years, you will notice that the number of 1 c. stamps is given with the rest. With the exception of the 1851-60 issue of adhesives, and possibly of the three higher values of the 1860 enve- lopes, therefore, none of the United States stamps have ever been outlawed, but may be lawfully used to-day in prepayment of postage, provided that they can first be pro- cured. With the above exception, it always seems to have been the policy of the department, when making a new issue, to dispose of "the old stock on hand as well. As another in- stance, in addition to those already given, I may mention 128 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Aug. 1, 1867. the 5 c. and 10 o. of 18V7, in use as late as 1S56, when the stock on hand was apparently exhausted, andprobably current to-day if offered. By Act of Congress, which came into effect June 1st, the registration fees of 5 c. and 20 c. are henceforth to be paid in postage stamps affixed to the letter, in addition to the regular postage dues, instead of in cash as before. As we have no stamp of the latter value, it is probable that one will soon be issued, of which you may very likely have information before this is put in type. ' I mention it to warn you against the mistake of terming it a 'regis- tration ' stamp, as you would perhaps be likely to do. Though it is primarily designed to prepay the registration fee on valuable letters, it is not to be exclusively so used, but may be employed for any other purpose for which a 20 c. postage stamp may be 'convenient, just as, on the other hand, any of the current stamps or envelopes, proper amounts, may in the future, as now, be used for pre- paving the said fee. In a word, no restriction whatever is placed upon the adhesives and envelopes now current (except, of course, the large newspaper labels), and any rate of postage may be made up indiscriminately from any or all of them. * I may prepay my Hong Kong letter with two 30's or thirty 2's, with six 10's or twelve 5's, with sixty l's or four 15' s, and so on, for all possible com- binations' of the twenty stamps now issued by govern- ment. There is no ' drop-letter stamp,' no 'registration stamp.' no 'inland postage stamp,' with us; for though particular values which exactly prepay those rates are naturally used almost entirely for those purposes, they ntay be employed for any other possible use to which our postage stamps can be put, and the calling them by special names can only tend to mislead. An extract from a letter going the rounds of the press over the signature of Alex. W. Eandall, postmaster-gen- eral, explains the reason why our stamped envelopes were first introduced : — ' By Act of Congress of August 31, 1852 (sec. 300, postal laws and note) stamped envelopes were authorized, it having been found that this was the best, if not the only, way of preventing frauds, which resulted in the very con- siderable reduction of the revenue of the department. The same act authorized the postmaster-general to allow mail- able matter placed in stamped envelopes to be carried out of the mail. This was intended for the convenience of merchants and traders, who often desire to send letters by special messengers and other persons over regular mail routes.' By public circular, issued at the beginning of the year, the "current envelopes were announced to be of the de- nominations of 2, 3, 6, 9, 10, 12, 18, 24, 30, and 40 cents; the 1 and 20 being only procurable from offices which might accidentally have "an old supply of them in stock. In view of the fact that the 1 c. rate for drop letters is re- vived, it is possible that a new 1 c. envelope may be put forth, or the 1860 design re-issued. It is perhaps more likely, either that the 20 c. envelope of 1861 will be re- issued, or appear with the modified design of the envelopes put forth at the close of 1865, for the purpose of pre-pay- ing the registration fee before referred to. Though the 15 c. adhesive has been in use for more than a year, no corresponding envelope has yet appeared, and in regard to the probability of such an issue, we are unable to learn anything more definite than has been already supplied by the ' analogical reasoning ' of various editors and corre- spondents. Begging your indulgence for this somewhat lengthy communication. I remain, vours truly, L.H. B. West Springfield^ Mass . U. S. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. E. Lease:, London. — Your stamp is the first issued British, audits present value is not more than a penny. C. II. W., London.— Tou will find the new Prussian stamp described in another part of the number. — Your Cape of Good Hope is an obsolete receipt stamp. F. W. B., "Witham. — We are not surprised at your having discovered fresh varieties of newspaper stamps. Probably a vast number would reward the patient ex- aminer, but the space at our disposal will not permit us to insert your list, more especially as we have no proof that those you name are other than duty stamps. L. X., Peterborough. — There has never been any doubt as to the genuineness of the large-figure 5 c. Argentine Confederation, which has been known to collectors for years, and of which postmarked copies are comparatively com- mon. In the face of this fact Col. Espejo's assertion, that there was never the slightest difference in the size of the figures or borders of the stamps of the first issue, loses all its weight. Quf.ry, Bristol.— The oblong \ s gr. Brunswick, green, is not obsolete ; when the present stock is exhausted an oval green one will perhaps be emitted. — A Buenos Ayres peso is worth 2|d. ; 4 reales is the half of such peso. — There are two sets of Liberian stamps, one issued in 1860, the other in 1864 ; the colours of each are the same, but the first emitted series is printed off in a brighter shade, the second series can be easily distinguished by its having an external single-line frame. A. B. C, Brighton. — Your stamp is the newly-issued Hamburg. Kf.publica, Leeds, sends us a copy of the current Montevideo 5 c. blue, with the final 's' omitted from the word 'centecimos' inscribed on the curve of the figure. It is undoubtedly a variety worth preserving. — Only the 5 centavos of the new Peruvian issue has appeared. We cannot say whether the old embossed stamps are still current or not C. W. L., San Francisco. — Thanks for your communi- cation, of which, you will see, we have made use in the present number. Mrs. G., Liverpool. — Your correction is just. In the paragraph headed India, in last month's ' Xewly-issued or Inedited stamps,' we intended to say, not that the 6 annas 8 pies stamps 'now in circulation' are only to be found with the imprint service on them, but, that speci- mens of all the values of the series ' now in circulation ' are found bearing such imprint. AY. &: A. Straess, St. Louis, Mo. — The stamp you send is a Spanish one, issued about August last year, and described at page 138 of our fourth volume. Arther Worsop, London. — Thanks for your two communications and accompanying Austrian envelopes. "We were informed that the new Austrian would not be issued until 1868, vour receipt of postmarked impressions from Yienna would seem to prove the contrary. F. D., London, forwards for our inspection a hand stamp used in Bermuda. It consists of a circle, containing the date and the words, Bermuda st. g., paid. V\e think our correspondent is in error in stating that the stamp is for inland postage. The date on the specimen sent is the 6th of June last, when the penny and two- penny stamps must have been in use for that purpose. This impression, whatever it may have been before the introduction of adhesives, cannot, we think, be more than a postmark now. — Our correspondent, on reference to the paragraph on India last month, will see that we stated that "the stamps were for the official correspondence of the department. Sept 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 129 POSTAGE-STAMP MONEY. BY OVERY TAYLOR. Among the collateral advantages accruing from the study of stamps, none is more es- timable than the knowledge which is acquired of the monetary denominations of the various countries of the globe. Catalogue makers, commencing with Moens, have come to the assistance of collectors with money tables of more or less value, and now M. Berger- Levrault presents us with one far exceeding its predecessors in accuracy. Though not entirely devoid of error (as who could expect it woald.be?), it will prove an excellent guide to collectors on all questions touching the comparative values of the denominations of foreign money. We purpose now, without presuming to any special knowledge of the subject, to lay before our readers some few facts and speculations in reference principally to those monetary denominations which are used to express the values of postage stamps, taking as the basis of our remarks the money table before us. Yery few of the coins of the present day show, even in their names, any trace of Roman or Greek origin. The influence of the ancient ' mother of nations,' so marked in many other directions, is unnoticeable to any extent here. The monetary systems of the present day are not founded upon hers, and the names by which current coins are known are nearly all of comparatively recent and accidental derivation. From the wreck of the old civilisation a new commercial life gradually and fortuitously arose, and the ' circulating medium ' slowly acquired its existing shapes, values, and names, almost by chance. The deterioration in value of the Roman denarius, of which 240 went to the pound silver (12 ounces), led to the adoption of a new standard. The Cologne pound of silver consisted, in the year 1042, of thirty-two ounces; the half of this weight was taken, and, under the name of a mark, became the fundamental standard of reference in German coinage. The Prussian mark now equals 14 thalers. No postage stamp of this high value is used, but the new Finland bears the name. The actual worth of the Finnish stamp is about one franc (ninepence-half- penny), but (perhaps by a typographical error, such as is rare in his book) Berger- Levrault puts it at four francs. This is cer- tainly a mistake. The mark of Lubeck and Hamburg, containing sixteen schilling, is worth "one shilling and twopence-halfpenny. Here again the name survives, whilst the value is changed, as was also the case with the old Scotch mark, which was worth only thirteenpence-halfpenny, at a time, too, when the English mark was equal to as many shillings. The German thaler dates back no farther than the fifteenth century. It had its origin thus : the Counts of Schlick coined the sil- ver extracted from their mines at Joachim's thai (Joachim's valley) into ounce pieces, which received the name of Joachim's -thalers. These coins gained, such a reputation that they became a kind of pattern, and others of the same kind, though made in other places, took the name, only dropping the first part of the word for shortness. Dollar is a cor- ruption of the word ' thaler ' or ' daler,' but we are not able to trace the cause of its adoption on the other side of the water. The German thaler is named only on the old Hanoverian stamps, which, for some reason, have the value stated in two modes ; at the sides the number of silber groschen, in the centre the fraction of a thaler ; but the 30 s. gr. Prussian stamp is, in fact, equal to a thaler, or three shillings. The American dollar is taken from the old Spanish piastre, which is also represented by the peso. The original piastre coins were, we may suggest, so called in consequence of their all bearing the inscription ' Pius.' They were divided, like the current pesos, into eight silver reales. The value of the peso in most of the South American States is very nearly that of the old piastre — four shillings and fourpence. In Xew Granada, however, it is only four shillings ; this we have on the authority of the English Consul General there. M. Berger-Levrault erroneously classes the peso of this latter country with the others. The Buenos Ayres paper money, in which the stamps are reckoned, shows a curious appropriation of the names of coins 130 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Sept. 1, 1867. without a similar adoption of their values. The peso referred to on the stamps is divided into eight reales, but is worth only twopence or twopence-halfpenny. Berger-Levrault gives the lower value, but on the authority of correspondents in this magazine, we should prefer to fix it at the higher, more especially as we have then just the equivalents of the cnrrent Spanish real and its component eight cuartos. The editor of the Philatelist, in the course of a review of the new catalogue, observes : ' We are not yet satisfied upon the subject [the value of the peso] with regard to the Buenos Ayres " liberty " set, not understand- ing why there should be a green eight reales, and a blue one peso current at the same time, if the former value be equivalent to the latter.' This is an oversight, the green stamp alluded to is worth only four reales, or one half of a peso. The only eight reales Buenos Ayres stamp is the purple gaucho of that value, but we incline to the belief that the gauchos are really essays, and this in part from their values, which include six and ten reales — odd prices not authorised by any known decree. We may add, en passant, that the actual equi- valent of the dollar or peso is called, in Buenos Ayres, a patacon, and is worth just four shillings and twopence. The Corrientes peso mentioned by M. Berger-Levrault is new to us. He gives the value at 82 centimes, and divides it into 8 reales. In vol. ii, page 86 of The Stamp-Col- lector's Magazine* the value of a Corrientes three-reales stamp is stated to be 1 fr. 30 c. (one shilling and a halfpenny). This would give about fourpence to the real, and two shil- lings and ninepence to the peso. Which is right — M. Moens, to whose article we refer, or M. Berger-Levrault ? In another part of tbe money table the value of the Corrientes centavo is thus stated : 100 centavos = 1 peso = 3 fcs. 90 cs. (three shillings and two- pence). How came it that there were two kinds of pesos in use at the same time in the city, one worth eightpence, and the other three shillings and twopence? If the latter be taken as correct, and divided into eight, the number of reales in a peso, it would give * 'The Reception of the Corrientes stamps in Paris.' fourpence- three-farthings to the real, or rather more than M. Moens stated the value to be. The mystery of the Montevidean centesi- mos is at length explained in the money table before us. Up to the year 1864, 100 such centesimos went to a real, worth about fivepence-halfpenny — a currency peculiar to the Oriental republic, and which was re- placed in the above-named year by the general method of reckoning — 100 centesi- mos to the peso, value four shillings and four- pence. The present centesimos are worth therefore about a halfpenny : of the obsolete, about twenty went to our penny, as stated in an editorial note at page 15 of the current volume of this magazine. The old Peruvian peso was divided into five pesetas, or ten dineros, which latter were worth about fivepence. In New- Granada also the peso is divided into ten parts, but the divisions are, as in the other states, termed 'reales.' The word peseta is evi- dently a diminutive of ' peso ' ; dinero may perhaps be traced to the mediaeval ' denier,' and so up to the Roman 'denarius.' The new currency, consisting of centavos, has for its unit the sol, which is just equal to our crown. In the possession of this value Peru stands alone. The word sol brings back our thoughts to Europe. We venture to suggest that it is derived, equally with the Venetian and Tuscan soldo, from the Roman solklas, a gold coin equal in value to our guinea. The solidus was adopted by the Franks under the Merovingians, but afterwards the name was given to a silver coin, and became in time abbreviated into sol, and finally, in France, into sou. In Italy it appears as the soldo, and has now, we think, been resusci- tated in far distant Peru. The soldo proper was that used in Tuscany, and of which, twenty went to the Tuscan lira ; the Venetian soldo is, in fact, the exact equivalent of the Austrian kreuzer. The decimal system, introduced into Fiance in the year 1795, has spread widely through Europe, paving the way for the international currency which it is to be hoped will soon become an accomplished fact. Up to the year 1795 the livre Tournois was cur- Sept. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-OOLLECTOK'S MAGAZINE. 131 rent in France, it was then superseded by the franc, 80 of which equalled 81 livres. The Italian lira is now identical in value with the franc, but the Tuscan lira was worth only eightpence-halfpenny. Upon the expulsion of the Grand Duke and the occu- pation of the territory by the Italians, the currency was changed, the decimal system in vogue in Sardinia being introduced, hence the 3 lire stamp is inscribed 3 lire it. (Italiana). Thus even the monetary inscrip- tion bears witness to the altered state of things in Italy. In Switzerland, we learn from the money table, the franc up to the year ] 852 was worth fifteenpence ; at that date it was assimilated to the French. The unit of the modern Greek currency is the drachma, which is worth eightpence- halfpenny. The old Attic drachma was about equal to a French franc. The name was revived in 1833, when Greece became independent; prior to that, we presume, the Turkish piastre was current. The obolus, the denomination of the Ionian stamps, we do not find named in the money table. It was equal to a halfpenny. The piastre is still the basis of the Turkish monetary system. It is not an imitation of the Spanish coin of the same name, but is an independent national silver coin, worth in 1753 as much as three shillings and sixpence sterling, but now only a little over twopence. Its value is given by M. Berger-Levrault as 25 centimes for the whole of the Turkish empire, the principalities, and Servia, This is partially incorrect : 109 Turkish and 97f Egyptian piastres equal the pound, sterling ; the Turkish piastre is therefore worth rather less than twopence-farthing, and the Egyptian twopence-halfpenny. Of the Ser- vian piastre, we believe 125 go to the pound ; of the Roumanian, only 66. In M. Levrault's money table we find the differences between the various German schilling clearly stated. In Lubeck, Ham- burg, and Bergedorf, 16 schilling go to the mark, which equals one shilling and two- pence-halfpenny ; in Schleswig and Hoi stein the mark contains the same number of schil- ling, but is only just worth one English shilling. In the Mecklenburgs again, 16 schilling make one shilling English, but there the reckoning is not by marks but by thalers, they therefore count 48 schilling to the thaler. The kreuzer (so called be- cause of the cross (Jtreuz) which the coins formerly bore) also differs in value. In South Germany sixty go to the florin, equalling twenty pence, and in Austria also, we learn, up till 1858 sixty was the com- ponent number of a florin worth two shillings and a penny ; now 100 make a florin worth two shillings. Roughly stated, we may cal- culate the Austrian kreuzer at four, and the South German at three to the penny. Glancing finally over the list we find only three omissions — the obolus, before men- tioned ; the ' sell war,' a coin named on the Oldenburg J s. gr. green, first issue, for information respecting which see vol. iii., p. 112, of The Stamp-Collector's Magazine; and the tael-cent of Shanghai, which equals the candareen. These omissions, coupled with our own corrections, are very far from seriously detracting from the value of the money table before us. A POST-OFFICE IN MID-OCEAK A post-office far away at sea ? Far distant, too, from any of the abodes of civilization ! Very few persons, I presume, are aware of the existence of such a post-office,* and yet it is a fact — a somewhat romantic fact, but an actual fact, nevertheless. And, moreover, very few navigators pass by it "without calling to deposit their own letters, and to receive any letters they may find left for delivery ; for be it known that every shipmaster is expected to enact the part of postmaster pro tern., and letter-carrier in the bargain, for this post-office at sea. Between the north, and still unsettled, and almost wholly unexplored coast of Australia, and the Island of Borneo, lies a pass, perilous to navigators, known as Torres Strait. Vessels bound from South Australia or Van Dieman's Land, to any port in the East Indies, save hundreds of miles of distance by venturing through this perilous pass, which is by consequence much frequented by navigators of the eastern seas. * On making inquiry at the London General Post-office, no one seemed to have any knowledge of its existence. 132 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Sept, 1, 1867. The strait, which, though called narrow, is some three hundred miles in length, is not only studded with innumerable small and beautiful islets — some of them inhabited, others lone and desolate — but is also choked up and rendered intricate by numerous sand- banks, almost level with the water, amidst which it is utterly impossible for any vessel to pass in safety unless in broad daylight ; moreover, the inhabitants of the islands are wandering tribes of savage Malays and Papuan negroes, who, miserable as they are, are pirates, in some instances cannibals, and, in fact, addicted to every savage vice and crime. Woe to the unfortunate sailor whose vessel has stranded alone upon any of the sandbanks, or has gone ashore on any of the islets of the strait. Cowardly at other times, as are all treacherous savages, the natives, on these occasions, swarm on board, and massacre every living soul, plunder the ship of everything that is valuable in their estimation, and then set fire to her, and burn her to the water's edge. Beyond the strait, fifty miles distant from any other land, lies a small sandy island almost destitute of vegetation, on which, at some period long gone by, some thoughtful navigator established a post-office, his object being to make it known to the captains of any other vessels who chanced to pass the island (which lies in the direct course to India) that he had come safely through the strait. He left a letter for his owners or consignees stating this fact, that they might know, should subsequent accident happen to his vessel, that he had not met with the accident in the dangerous strait ; and another for the captain of the first passing vessel, in which he expressed his hope that the captain would forward the letter to his owners or consignees, by the first opportunity that occurred to him. From that time forward it has been a regular custom for navigators, who have passed through the strait, to forward to their destination such letters as they may find on Post-office Island, and to leave letters of their own for the perusal of those who may next visit the island. Since that day the post-office has been put to other uses; passengers, as well as navigators,* have left letters for, and found letters from, their friends, and many a strange event has been brought about through letters found in the post-office of Torres Strait, As I have said, the island is fifty miles from any other land ; a distance too great to permit of its being visited by the natives of the islands of the strait in their canoes, and consequently the post-office is secure from their depredations ; while, of course, the contents of the letter-box are held sacred by all Europeans who visit the island, and are invariably forwarded to their destination, if directed to that effect, or, otherwise, are left in safety until those to whom they may be directed shall call for them. As a ship sails past the island, a flag may be descried floating in the air, in close proximity to the only grove of trees that is to be seen. In the heart of this grove, at the distance of about a furlong from the shore, stands a small hut, covered and rendered waterproof with stout tarpauling ; beneath the roof of this hut stands a sailor's chest, divided into several compartments. This chest is the letter-box; the hut, the post-office far away at sea, near the entrance to Torres Strait. — Leisure Hour. [On refer- ence to page 70 of our third volume, the reader will find an interesting account of an ocean post-office of a similar character to this one, established on a rock in the Straits of Magelhaens, and served by the captains of vessels passing through. — Ed.] * The last time I visited the spot was, I think, in '47 or '48. Ships of war do not carry regular passengers : but I the two daughters of the Governor of Singapore had been ! on a visit to Sydney, with then governess and Lady ! companion, and our captain (Vincent King) ottered the 1 ladies a passage on board the sloop-of-war, which offer was gladly accepted. When the ship arrived off Post- ' office Island, the ladies asked, and were permitted, to go on shore in the cutter. On that occasion, in the chest under the tarpauling, among numerous other documents, was one to this effect, a letter being with it: — 'The " Gilbert Henderson," Pirie, master, through Torres Strait (date mentioned). Passed P. 0. Island, all well, bound to Calcutta. Whosoever may see this document will please report at first port. If' bound to Singapore, will please convey accompanying letter.' These were the words, as nearly a< I can recollect. We left a notice of our visit, and carried the letter to its destination, also reported the safety of the ship. The ladies were so pleased that they insisted upon leaving a paper with their names, Sec. in the chest. Sept. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 133 THE AUSTRIAN" STAMPS. BY PHILATELIST. The issue of a new series of stamps for the empire of Austria affords a favourable oppor- tunity for a retrospect of its previous emis- sions, of which we take advantage on the present occasion, and trust that the few remarks we have to make will be acceptable to our readers. The first series was issued on the 1st June, 1850, and consisted of five values — 1, 2, 3, 6, and 9 kr. The design was a commendable one, and was well executed. The colours varied considerably. The 1 kr. appeared in orange as well as in yellow, but this we think must have been an accidental though well-established variation. Of the 9 kr. also there is, as appears by Levrault's new cata- logue, another shade besides the well-known blue, viz., blue-violet. This series was printed on thick white laid paper, and was reprinted in 1866 on thick machine-made paper, easily distinguishable from that of the originals, as also are the tints from their greater bril- liancy. The second series was emitted on the 1st November, 1858, and bore the Emperor's head in a differently-patterned frame for each value. The issue originally consisted of the following: — 2 kr. yellow, 3 kr/ black, 5 kr. red, 10 kr. brown, 15 kr. blue. In March, 1859, the 3 kr. green was emitted, and in 1860 the 2 kr. yellow-orange. The shade of the latter is by no means decided. We have examined many copies, and found great variety of depth of colour. These stamps were pierced with fifteen dents. Last year this series also was reprinted and the same paper was used, but the reprints can quickly be recognized, from the fact that they have only twelve dents. The well-known complementary stamps belong to these first two issues. Those with the cross on a white ground to the first issue, those on coloured ground to the second, in which also are comprised those with a white border. The issue of the 15th January, 1861, con- sisted of the 2 kr. yellow, 3 kr. green, 5 kr. red, 10 kr. brown, 1 5 kr. blue. The design of these stamps was simple but effective, and they have a pleasing appearance together. The arms series, which has gone or is shortly going out of use, consisted of the same values and colours, but those who recognize difference of perforation will divide the series into two sets, one perforated with fourteen, the other with nine-and-a-half dents. The first series of envelopes was issued with the adhesives of identical design, on the 15th January, 1861, and consisted of the 3 kr. green, 5 kr. reel, 10 kr. red- brown, 15 kr. blue, 20 kr. orange, 25 kr. dark- brown, 30 kr. lilac, 35 kr. light-brown. These two latter values, being found unne- cessary, were not repeated in the otherwise identical issue of 1863. The journal stamps with head of Mercury were issued on the 1st January, 1851, in pursuance of an order of the minister of commerce, dated the 12th September, 1850. There were three colours — blue, yellow, and rose. The blue paid the charge on one jour- nal, the yellow on ten, the rose on fifty. The blue was not superseded until 1858. The yellow was suppressed in 1856, and on the 21st March of that year a red impression of the Mercury was issued in its place. The original rose was only in use up to the 9th October, 1852, when it was withdrawn, pro- bably because it was found to be of little use. The rose is therefore the rarest of all four, but the yellow and red are extremely scarce. The latter and the rose were reprinted in 1866, but not on the proper paper. Very fine forgeries are produced of these, and not long since two of these were offered to the writer in company with a genuine reprint of the rose. As has been often stated, the only true test of doubtful specimens is comparison with one of the common blue ones. The lines in the blue are frequently rather coarser, but this filling up of the finer portions of the dies is only what might be expected from the constant wear to which they were subjected, and making allowance for this, the copies of the rare colours should agree with the blue in every particular. On the 14th October, 1858, the only cur- rent Mercuries — the blue and the red — became obsolete upon the emission of the blue rectangular stamp with head of emperor 134 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Sept. 1, 1867. to left. Of this stamp there are two shades. It was in use until the 12th March, 1860, when its place was taken by the lilac impres- sion of the same design. The value of each was one kreuzer. On the 15th December, 1860, this was in turn suppressed, and a month after, the lilac stamp with head to right came out, which remained in use until the loth May, 1863. On that date the ugly octagonal design was issued, but its prede- cessor is still legal tender for postage. The square stamps with the arms of Aus- tria in ceVitro are not really postage stamps. They pass through the post, but they in fact indicate a dutv or tax charged on foreign papers. They were in use contemporane- ously with the orthodox stamps, the first — the 2 kr. green — having been issued on the 1st October, 1850. The brown impression of the same value appeared at the end of 1858, and the red, used only in Lombardo- Venetia, in the same year. In 1858 also the 1 kr. blue and black were emitted : the blue doing duty in Austria proper, the black in the Italian provinces. The latter has lately become comparatively common in conse- quence of the discovery last year of a large number of unobliterated specimens. The 4 kr. brown was only in use from the 28th March to the 23rd November, 1858, and its currency was confined to the empire exclu- sive of Lombardy. For that portion the 4 kr. red was used during the same period. Both are rare. The 2 kr. and 4 kr. brown, and the 1 kr. blue and black, have a circle as a corner ornament : the 2 kr. green, a flower. These stamps are not affixed to the news- papers by the public, but by the postal officals, and afterwards obliterated. Unused copies of the rarer kinds are from this cause difficult to obtain, and none of the series are quite so common as the bulk of the Austrian stamps. They have been for so long a period received as postage stamps proper, and as such admitted into collectors' albums, that it is now almost too late to question the propriety of their reception. At any rate, only beginners will be much troubled on this point, but it is worthy of remark that these Austrian stamps are of just the same class, and have no greater value than the French and Italian newspaper stamps, and hardly so much as the English which prepay postage alone, yet very few amateurs admit these into their collections. Prescriptive right will however be claimed for our Austrian acquaintances, and their superiority of design over that of other news- paper stamps may also be urged in their favour. POSTAGE STAMPS IN THE PARIS EXHIBITION. Collectors who have visited the Paris exhi- bition cannot have failed to remark the display of postage designs made in various departments. Our coloured friends are, though not fully, by no means inefficiently represented in the world's fair of 1867 ; and to philatelists the stamps on view are full of interest. All the specimens shown are in first-class condition. Without doubt great care has been used in working them, and they consequently manifest most completely the beauties of device or colour for which they are conspicuous. Dr. Magnus has rendered an acceptable service in publishing in Le Timbrophtle a full and interesting description of this exhibition of postage stamps. His account, which is not yet finished, has occupied a large portion of the last two numbers of the Parisian journal, and is a worthy memorial of the exhibition from a philatelic point of view. Though entitled Les Timbres-Paste a V Expo- sition universdle de 1867, it treats also of the commercial labels shown by various en- gravers, the inclusion of which was perhaps necessary to give the narrative complete- ness. The editor of Le Timbrophtle has kindly accorded permission to foreign journals to translate Dr. Magnus' articles, and we avail ourselves of the permission so far as to extract from them the principal details given respecting postage stamps, our space not permitting us to reproduce the entire ac- count. The stamps shown are not all in one place. They are found scattered in several groups and in a certain number of classes ; appear- ing, for instance, in the first group, class 5, Sept. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 135 among the engravings and medals ; in the second group, class 6, among the specimens of printing, and so on. Through this sepa- ration no doubt many of the stamps were unobserved by visitors. We ourselves were surprised, on reading the narrative from which we quote, to find what a number had • escaped our own notice. Very courteously Dr. Magnus commences his review of the stamps with those exhi- bited in the English section, among which De-la-Rue & Co.'s occupy the most pro- minent place, though, strangely enough, the name of that firm is omitted from the official catalogue. The stamps are shown in a place very convenient for examination. They are contained in five black frames which are hinged round a column, and may be turned over like the leaves of a book. The first of these frames contains perforated specimens of the Bermuda series, the 5 and 10 c. of Vancouver Island, the lately-emitted 3d. Ceylon, the new Is. Natal, and the -|d. Malta, all printed on thin paper, glazed and perforated. The second frame contains small sheets of card, each bearing fifteen proof impressions of current Belgian stanrps, in unusual colours, viz. : — 10 centimes blue. 20 „ carmine. 30 „ lilac. 40 „ green, and six sheets of fifty stamps, of 1 franc, in light marone. These proofs, though not in the adopted colours, are very interesting. The third frame is devoted to commercial stamps ; the fourth contains to the left a group of twenty-five stamps, printed in the official colours upon card with the greatest care. These twenty-five comprise the set of British Honduras ; the 1 c. Confederate with head of Colquhoun ; the eight Italian stamps issued in 1863 ; the set of Jamaica, except Id. ; and the British Columbian 3d. pale-blue. On the left is a group of equal number, prin- cipally bill stamps, but amongst them are the once-puzzling Irish petty sessions labels and the series of British postage stamps exclusive of the Id. and 2d., but inclusive of the three new labels, 10d., 2s., and 5s. All the stamps of the series are however devoid of check numbers in the angles. Proofs are also shown of the lOd. in bright- blue, orange, car- mine, and bistre, and of the 2s. in marone, green, and blue. Near this second group are the sixpence and shilling rectangular Cape stamps in their own ordinary colours, and a number of Indian bill stamps, all showing, as Dr. Magnus remarks, that air of family resemblance so noticeable in De-la-Rue's work. The fifth frame comprises the complete series of Hong,-Kon2T, all the current Indian adhesives (except the I anna), and also a series of telegraph stamps, ranging in value from 4 annas to 50 rupees. The latter bear the effigy of the Queen twice repeated, and the inscription government of india, tele- graph department. Dr. Magnus's judg- ment on these stamps, which may one day become as much desired as their postal brethren now are, is, that though pretty they are not works of art. Nevertheless, I he introduces us at once, and with some pride, to the author of the designs, M. Joubert, of London, who exhibits a small frame in the first gallery, containing speci- mens of stamps engraved by him, printed in black, and so disposed that only the centre of the device is shown, the borders of the stamp being hidden by the surrounding paper. His frame comprises the 12 c. Hong-Kong, Id. Jamaica, the latest-issued 4 annas East India, and the 2|d. British Columbia. These, wre presume, he wras commissioned to execute by the manufacturers, De-la-Rue & Co. M. Joubert also shows the portrait of Maximilian without frame, and it would seem from that i that the last series was engraved by him. Dr. Magnus concludes his notice of the works of De-la-Rue and Joubert with the inquiry — ' Is it not flattering to our national amour ijropre to think that Great Britain and the majority of the English possessions are indebted to two Frenchmen for most of their current postage stamps ? ' Before quitting the English section, our author notices the exhibition of the 5 and 10 c. current Montevideo, printed in black, by the makers, Messrs. M'Clure & Macdonald, of Glasgow ; £md the absence of Messrs. Nissen & Parker's timbro-postal produc- tions. 136 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Sept. 1, 1867. NEWLY-ISSUED OR INEDITED STAMPS. ' Coming events cast their shadows before ' — and so do postage stamps. It is unusual now for new emissions to make an entirely unexpected entrance into the world. The fashion of collecting being so wide spread, and the position of many collectors so favourable for the acquirement of special information, it is not. surprising that, from one source or another, tidings are received of the preparation of new stamps, and even details of their designs, some considerable time before they make their appearance. It is three months since intelligence was received of the intention to issue a new S3ries for Egypt. The postmaster-general's letter in our last number, announced ap- proximately the time when it would appear, and now it is actually before us. Egypt. — The new series, in its design, is significant of the decay of old traditions. The _^ unmeaning arabesque aw ^eiices' b{ wIicl1' in deterence to the pre- cepts of the Koran, last year's issue was distin- guished, are replaced by well-drawn repre- sentations of the most interesting relics of ancient Egypt. The teaching power of stamps is well exemplified in this design. Our young readers may pro- fiiabry busy themselves in gaining a knowledge of the circumstances connected with the erec- tion of the famous monuments portrayed, and their subsequent history. The stamps please us very much, though unquestionably there is room for im- provement in the execution. We are much pleased to find the sphynx represented as it is, battered and sadly deficient in nose, and only the bust showing above ground. It is far more interesting than a perfect sphinx, indefinitely symbolic of anything you please, would have been. The following extract from a circular notice issued on the 11th July, signed by the post- master-general, '—r-n—o-^n-r Muzzi Bey, written in English, and directed to be affixed at the entrance of all the Egyptian post-offices, to- gether with a fac-simile of the new labels, announces the date of emission : — H. H. tlie Viceroy has been graciously pleased to sanction the issue of new descriptions of postage labels. The respective value of the new labels will be 5, 10, and 20 paras, aud 1,2, and 5 piasters. These labels will be put in circulation on the 1st of August next, and will be exclusively adopted from the 1st of September following. Their promiscuous use with the present ones will be freely admitted up to this latter date, after which, the old postage stamps, ceasing to be of any value whatever, can be exchanged for those of the new issue at the post-offices of the realm, during the whole of September and October next. The new stamps are printed in colour on white paper, bearing a sunken impression of the crescent and star on the reverse. The foreign journals term this crescent and star a watermark, but we believe it to have been not made in, but impressed on the paper. The colours are : — 5 paras yellow. 10 „ violet. 20 „ green 1 piaster vermilion. 2 „ blue. 5 „ light- brown In the last number of Le Gollectionneur an engraving is given of a type said to have been that which had been finally adopted, in preference to the design since actually emitted. It consists of two sphinxes, back to back, supporting between them a crescent moon, upon which an eagle is perched, whose outstretched wings extend from side to side, their upper line being quite straight, and forming, as it were, the inside edge of the margin. Above the eagle's head is a star with rays, and in the centre of the lower margin a blank circle ; there are no inscrip- tions. This type, M. Maury's correspondent stated, had been submitted to the Viceroy, and approved by him. Besides the design which we now know to have been selected, and the one above described, a third was offered, resembling that chosen in having the pillar and needle at the sides, but having in the centre two pyramids and a lion. Chili. — We are now in possession of specimens of one of the new values for this Seit. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 137 country. The design follows, in its leading features, that of the pre- ceding series, but the position of the words, colon and chile, is re- versed, and greater pro- minence given to the latter. The border em- bellishments are in the usual style of the Ameri- can Bank-Note Company. The tout ensemble is not striking. The bust of the portrait is too short for the head, the outside in- scriptions are in petty characters, and there is a stiffness about the entire device. For these defects, however, the engravers are not blameable ; their orders were to pre- pare the new type on the model of the old, and this task they have performed, in- troducing only some minor inprovements. The value above engraved is printed black on white paper. A 20 centavos of identical design is shown by the company at the Paris exhibition, and doubtless that denomination, together with the 5 c. and 10 c, are now current. Very probably the 2 c. will super- sede the 1 c, w\hich, we were informed some time since, was to be withdrawn. The series, it is reported, when complete, will comprise stamps value 50 centavos, and 1 piastre (or dollar). Brazil. — The anticipated envelopes were emitted on the 3rd July. Two values only exist — 100 reis green, 200 reis black. Both are of one type, but differ a little in size, the lower value being smal- ler, and having also the lettering in more extended characters. The design is simple and, on the whole, pleasing; the execution is but mediocre, and raises a strong presumption in favour of Messrs. Nesbitt & Co. being the makers. The envelopes are also watermarked, after the style of the United States series, with the words correio brasileieo running diagonally across the paper. The high ad- ditional charge made by the post-office for the envelopes will, in the opinion of a corre- spondent of ours at Rio, prevent them from being much used. The profile head of the Emperor resembles the) portrait on the 200 reis adhesive, which, it can no longer be doubted, is also that of the present ruler of Brazil. Switzerland. — A short time since we gave an engraving of a frank stamp of Ge- £\ neva. Since then two others of similar character and device have been discover- ed, one appertaining to the department of Public Instruction and the other to the Consistory of the National Protestant Church of Geneva. The first is printed in black on blue, the second in ^^ -n u,.^^ black on white paper. y^xS^J^L^ The legend, affaire officielle, appears on the left of the envelope in each. The first was in use in 1861, and a modi- fication of the type is now employed. The second was cur- rent in 1862. The armorial bearings are those of the canton. Possibly in all the cantons similar frank stamps are used by the different departments. Norway.— A 4 skg. blue of the new type (figure at both the lower angles, and ground of diagonal lines) has appeared. Queensland.— The cur- rent penny and twopence are printed on paper water- marked with the words QUEENSLAND POSTAGE STAMPS. The centre word is divided from the rest by the orna- ment here represented. Holland. — Our Belgian contemporary notices the existence in the Paris exhibition of a set of stamps for this country. The de- sign consists of the head of king to left in a circle enclosed in a square Greek-bordered frame, inscribed simply nederland, and the value. The series consists of six denomina- tions, viz., 5 c. blue, 10 c. red, 15 c. brown, 138 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Sept. 1, 1867. 20 c. green, 25 c. violet, and 50 c. bistre. The absence of the word postzl-gel, and the fact that the set does not comprise a 2 c. stamp, militate strongly a gainst the supposi- tion that it is for postal employment. Argentine Republic. — Since the publica- tion of our last number we have learnt that the three new stamps will be ready by the end of this month and will bear three sepa- rate portraits. The 5 c. red will contain that of President Rivadavia, the 10 c. green and 15 c. blue those of Generals Belgrano and San Martino respectively. The two latter are, in the words of our correspond- ent, ' two of the great heroes of the " Inde- pencia Argentina," who deserve to have their names passed to posterity.' The same correspondent (who desires to be known as ' Porteno ') obligingly forwards for our inspection a brown impression of the current 5 c. Argentine, respecting which he says, ' A sheet of these stamps was sent up to Corrientes by mistake and used for post- age there, without any notice being taken of the difference in colour. Only three stamps are known to exist : one, the enclosed ; another in the possession of a friend at the post-office ; and a third, sold by that friend to a German, who sent it to the fatherland.' The specimen sent is of a uniform and strong shade of brown, and is cancelled with pen- drawn lines; it is also properly watermarked and dentilated. Porteno also sends a set of the ridiculous essays described at page 57 of this year's magazine, and informs us that, as we had supposed, the}' were never submitted to the post-office. The essays to which we referred last month turn out to have been actually offered to the authorities in 18G2, when the emission of a new series was first resolved on. The designs are respectable. They all bear in the centre the cap of liberty supported by clasped hands, in a wreathed oval, having the sun at the top ; above, the inscription, repub- LICA ARGENTINA, value below. In the 5 and 15 c. this inscription is contained in a broad oval frame ; in the 10 c. the name forms an arch, the value appears in a marginal label, and the numeral is given in circles at the upper angles. All the stamps are rectangu- lar, printed in colour on white, and per- forated. The engraver's stock has ap- i pareutly just come to light, a large number of sets having been sent over here for ; sale. Mexico. — We have information from San \ Francisco, that the circular provisional : stamps, inscribed Guadalajara, are genuine ; ■ that they were first received perforated : square ; and that in the latest arrivals the ■ perforations follow the line of the circle, as ' if struck by a punch. United States. — An American contem- ; porary reports the probable emission of a ■ 28 c. stamp for ' package postage ' (?). We have received from San Francisco • copies of the well-known Wells, Fargo, & ' Co. newspaper stamps, with roulette den- j tilations, and also the stamp of another ■ Califbrnian company, placed upon one of the . old 3 c. rose U. S. envelopes. The impression : is black, and consists of an oblong disk con- taining the inscription, paid, TRUMAN & CO.'S express, in ornamental letters. Beneath the : disk is the company's address, merchant's exchange buildings, battery street, opposite ; the post-office, in small roman type. Great Britain. — We have to note a change : in the watermark of the shilling stamp ; the | small corner flowers are superseded by the : new rose watermark found in the tenpence ' and two shilling. Peru. — A correspondent at Arequipa in- I forms us that the anticipated higher values of the new type have not yet been issued. They are much wanted, but through the dis- turbed state of the country their emission is i postponed. Bolivia. — The current number of Le '■ Timbre-Poste contains a brief statement of ; the emission of a 5 centavos green for this ! country. East India.— We received by the last Indian mail specimens of the half-anna en- , velope stamp, impressed on the back of a sheet of thin note paper. This sheet has an adhesive flap on one edge, and the paper can be easily so folded as to be secured by the flap, the stamp then showing at the back, on the right-hand upper corner, leaving sufficient space for the address. We do not know how long these sheets have been in Sept. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 139 use ; we had not ourselves seen any mention of them prior to their arrival. German Cities and States.— We close our chronicle this month with the unwelcome information, that the issues of the free cities —Hamburg, Lubeck,Bergedorf,and Bremen, and those of Oldenburg, Brunswick, and Mecklenburg- Schwerin — are doomed to ex- tinction at the end of the present year, when Prussian stamps will take their place. The source whence our intelligence was received leaves no doubt as to its correctness. REVIEWS of POSTAL PUBLICATIONS. Les Timbres-Poste. Catalogue Methodiqve et descrvptif de tous les timbres-poste connus. Premiere partie, Umbres-poste propre- ment dits. Paris and Strasburg : VE* Berger-Levrault & Fils. [second notice.*] At length the long-promised catalogue of M. Oscar Berger-Levrault has made its appearance, and we have before us the first portion of his work, comprising Postage Stamps, strictly so called. We are promised shortly the second and concluding part, I which will treat of essays and proposed j stamps, and give some account of forgeries. We scarcely think that even to the British collector the language of this work is any objection; for French is the language of exact definition and accuracy — the common tongue of the philatelist all over Europe. In it all the more interesting facts relating to his favourite pursuit are chronicled : and, in these days of education, we are tempted to hail any work which tends to place the British on a par with his continental fellow- worker, and to establish a common medium for interchange of ideas and knowledge among the stamp-loving community, irre- spective of the boundaries of empires and kingdoms, and limited only by the followers of the science itself. Be that as it may, but one opinion can be * [We have (been favoured by an eminent English collector with the following critical analysis of Berger- Levrault' s new catalogue, which we have pleasure in • inserting, as, though it goes a second time over some points of which we ourselves treated last month, it, on the other hand, supplies many particulars which we were unable to include in our own review of the work. — Ed.] formed of this work. Those who knew the German catalogue compiled by M. Berger- Levrault, know also the patient care and assiduity which he brings to bear on the subject ; but even they will be astonished to find, on examination of the work now under review, what research and exactness, what perfection of minute detail, and what clear- ness of description, have been bestowed by our author on its production. Not only is M. Berger-Levrault eminent as a writer and compiler, but as a collector himself of great discrimination, and pos- sessing a fine and valuable collection (joined to the advantages which his position as printer and publisher give in enabling him to judge of the style and mode of printing adopted in each particular case), he has facilities for ample exactitude such as few can boast ; and we notice from his preface that he has availed himself of all possible access to the great continental collections. The proof-sheets, moreover, have been revised in France by Dr. Magnus, and in this country by a gentleman whose experience and collection are both of long standing', and to whom our readers have been indebted for some articles, which, on the subjects they treat, are the recognized authorities, both here and abroad. Fully justified, therefore, was the author's modestly- worded hope that his work will be favourably received. It is indeed the stan- dard, the only catalogue ; and all who desire to see in what position the science now is, and' how far the best and most recent researches have gone, can alone obtain that information from our author's pages. It is time, however, we gave some ac- count of the work itself. In arrangement, the geographical method is adopted — Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceanica, and America (North and South). The countries in each division of the globe are placed, not as in M. Moens' work, alphabetically, but locally, as far as can be ; and so as to bring stamps of cognate origin as much as possible together. In last month's Stamp- Collector 's Magazine a translation is given of a short preliminary paper, explaining our author's views of the method of arranging a collection, of mounting 140 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Sept. 1, 1867. stamps, and giving various hints as the result of his experience. We are strongly inclined to go further than he, and to say that it is a sine quel non that each stamp should be accessible on both sides, so that watermark, paper, gum, and dentelation may be seen ; and that this can only be accomplished by bringing the stamp to its mount with thin tissue paper. Next, that each stamp when mounted must be moveable on the page without destroying the latter. And lastly, and chiefly, that the pages be so bound or fastened in the volume as to admit of being taken out, replaced, and changed in position, or interpolations made, without damage. A moveable binding bv crotchets is the best plan with which we are acquainted ; and this method is adopted in all large collections. The first, and most important page of the work is the list of abbreviations employed. These are of necessity numerous, but are plain, and not open to objection on the score of confusion. The various modes of denfcelure are well defined by engraved specimens of each kind ; among which we, however, object to the perce serpentln of the first type ; the engraving whereof should, we take it, re- present the style of separation used for the Tammerfors and new Finland stamps ; but by some error a more elaborate dentelure is indicated. The distinctions as to shape, colour, mode of printing, and paper used, are exceedingly neatly done. We will now see in what manner they are used in the work. First of all, the stamps of the country in general use are taken in the order of emission, the dates being given with great care, and when possible checked by official documents ; where doubtful, a mark of interrogation is put after that suggested ; and where altogether unknown, a simple query. Then, in italics, is a short description of the issue — sufficient to identify it only, and not elaborated, like those pain- fully-confusing descriptions of the English essays in Mount Brown. We concur in thinking these a mistake. The object of a catalogue is, as its name implies, to present a list, and not a scientific analysis, de- scribing every point. It is enough if every variety appears, and is so mentioned as to identify it. After the description of the device, comes the colour ; whether on white or coloured paper ; in relief or not. Then the sort of paper used — plain or laid, &c. ; the method of printing adopted — whether type-printed, wood-engraved, &c. ; the shape of the stamp ; the dentelure ; and finally, if the latter be perforation, the number of per- forations in a standard unit of measurement. After all this, on a separate line, comes the series as issued, beo-inning at the lowest value, and progressing upwards. Then, in small type, notes of any matter specially worthy of remark ; these, we may add, are numerous throughout the book ; and many are most valuable and interesting. This disposes of the stamps. Then, if any local stamps are used by government authority, they next find place, and are dealt with in the same manner. Envelopes suc- ceed similarly in their turn — general and local. And finally, where private under- takings by state authority exist, these com- plete the whole. As an example of the latter, we may mention the Russian Levant Trading and Navigation Company, the stamps of which terminate Russia, and precede those of Finland. Re-issues, reprints (where made by the authorities), and all accredited varieties, are separately noticed under each' appropriate sub- division ; and the French equivalent for the monetary value is given in a final foot-note. As a proof of the wonderful pains be- stowed, we may mention that we happen to know that the proof-sheets were revised and all but complete to be worked off, when, it appearing desirable to specify the varieties and kinds of dentelure, a fresh set of con- tractions was used, every stamp gone over again, the result noted, and added to the existing descriptions : the amount of labour thus entailed was something almost passing belief. In some few cases, notably Switzerland, counterfeits are noticed. This was really necessary here, to show the differences be- tween the true and the false stamps. No one, who has this book to refer to, need be deceived on this very deceptive subject ; for, by the aid of a small engraving, or clear descriptions, the most inexperienced can, by Sept. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 141 a little attention, form an almost infallibly correct opinion concerning any specimen on referring to this book. The necessary limits of our space preclude us from saying much more. We ought to call attention to the Local American stamps, where an attempt has been made to classify them according to localities, and to point out those which are undoubtedly authentic from the doubtful and the known bogus varieties. Here, we suspect, lies much room for emendation ; for in this, the first time the experiment has been tried, errors must naturally creep in, and, besides, our information of these stamps is but meagre at best. We commend the note on them (page 100), as well worthy attentive perusal. M. Berger-Levrault has, we think, been too liberal in accrediting some of these stamps. Probably, time will help us to better know- ledge of this almost unexplored region. We remember to have once revised a large parcel of them with M. Herpin, and very curious discoveries resulted, the fruits of which, we regret, he never gave to the world. M. Mahe, in a short notice, points out several slight omissions in the catalogue, e. g., the pair of 'post-office' Mauritius and some others. These are matters . really of no moment : absolute perfection cannot be expected, least of all in a catalogue; and this is as nearly perfect as can be reasonably expected. Still, for notice of any errors detected or omissions discovered, our author will be thankful. The list is brought down to June, 1867 ; and includes the recent issue of Heligoland. In conclusion, we must say a word for the typography and paper, both of which are peculiarly excellent. POSTAL CHIT-CHAT. Buenos Ayrks.— The last series of stamps for this state (head of Liberty) began to circulate before the law authorising their emission was passed, the supply of the first series being exhausted. Private Cancellation of Stamps.— It is customary in India for correspondents to write the word ' stamped,' or to draw lines across unused postage stamps, after affixing them to the letters, in order to prevent the native servants from removing them whilst carrying the letters to the post. In the Queen's speech of the 2lst ult. the following passage occurs : — 'I have concluded a postal convention with the United States of America, whereby the rate of postage between the two countries will be diminished by onehalf, and further arrangements are in progress for in- creasing the intercourse between this country and the con- tinent of North America.' The Suspicious Langton & Co. Stamps. — These stamps, purporting to prepay postage from San Francisco to Mexico, turn out to be, as has been conjectured, nothing but fabrications. A trustworthy correspondent in the above city states that ' Langton & Co. never carried a letter south of Marysville, a town about 175 miles north of San Francisco.' Hard Lines for the Postman. — Travellers by steamer up the River Ottawa (says the Quebec Chronicle) will have observed on the north shore of the Lake of Two Mountains a small village, situate on a clitf, showing a face to the lake of bright yellow sand, and they have been told that they see an Indian village. The community here resident have just petitioned for the establish- ment among them of a post-office. The memorial has the signatures of Irroquois and Algonquin chiefs — Saoatis-kurai-iarakoen-kanegatake, Jakomisakie, L. Sa- texasenoten, Sosekatsien, Haienton, 13. Kekatewaje, and others. It is proposed to give the village the name of Oka. The United States Returned- Letter Envelopes. — The United States post office has lately undertaken to return undelivered letters, free of cost, to the writers, and for this purpose has had envelopes prepared, inscribed on the right, post-office department, return-letter office, free. On the left, the following ' Notice to the Postmaster' is printed across the envelope: — ' The enclosed letter is sent to the writer free of postage, under an Act of Congress, approved June 12, 1866. The date of receipt at the post-office must be marked on the letter. If not delivered within one month, the reason for non-delivery must be endorsed on it, and it must be returned to the dead-letter office, postmarked on the sealed side. It should not be advertised.' The American Post Office. — During the last ses- sion of the thirty-ninth Congress an act was adopted de- priving the President of the power of final removal from office without the consent of the Senate. Some time since the postmaster at Greenburg, Indiana, was detected in the work of defrauding the Government. The President removed the thievish official, and, when the Senate as- sembled this month, sent in a nomination to the vacant place. The Senate refused to confirm the nomination. The effect is to reinstate the old postmaster. The Post- master-General has therefore written to this person, saying, ' You are respectfully requested, as a favour to this department, to use as little of the mone}T of the Government, and make as few false entries as possible.' — Standard. A Dog's Fidelity.— A gentleman belonging to the staff at the lloyal Victoria hospital, at Netley, took a long walk in the neighbourhood of Southampton last week, accompanied by his dog, a fine Newfoundlander. In the evening he missed some letters from his coat pocket, and his dog. The absence of the dog did not sur- prise him, as it often wandered from him in his walks. The next day the gentleman felt annoyed and puzzled at the loss of his letters, and he thought it possible he might have drawn them out of his pocket with his handkerchief during his previous clay's walk. He resolved, therefore, to repeat the walk, for he might have dropped the letters in an unfrequented path, where they might still remain. About four miles from the hospital he came suddenly upon his dog, lying on the ground, with the letters close 142 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Sept. 1, 186; by. The dog must have lain by the side of the letter? for sixteen hours, including the whole night. The animal has been re -christened 'Postmaster-general.' An artist has sketched the postmaster-general guarding the letters. Bird's Ness in a Letter-box. — In the avenue leading to Bumfoot House, near Eeclefechan (the summer residence of John Irving, Esq , of Bumfoot), is placed a box. in which the postman as he passes deposits letters for the h"use. In this box two birds of the black-headed thistle rinch or siskin, better known in Lower Annandale as ' tummy-tie,' have built their nest, and brought up ten strong healthy young birds, all nearly able to fly. The old hen is so tame as to allow Gilbert Cowan, who takes the letters out of the box every morning, to handle and stroke her with his hand; she allows him to gather all the young ones into his cap, and will not fly out of the box. but if a stranger goes near she sets up her feathers and flies away, making an angry noise. Ihis is the fourth season that the same birds have built their nest in the letter-box. The first season they brought up five young ones, the second seven, the third nine, and the fourth (this season) ten— making in all thirty-one biids in four seasons. — Annan Observer. Ladies' Letters. — If a little mere care were taken by men and women in writing letters, does not everybody think a great improvement would take place ? Not to mention the fact, that many thousands of letters are posted every year without any directions at all, is it not apparent that, if a little more necessary thought were given, half the letters written would not miscarry in their effect, or be obscure in their meaning : Some one has been ungallant enough to give utterance to the pro- verb, that the chief sense of a lady's letter lies in the postscript. Allowing this to be the case, the reason is easily found if English people call to mind that many of our lady friends never think what they should say'till thev sit" down to write, and not even then, till the act of composition and of saying soft nothings stimulates the brain to take a little gentle thought. "When this un- wonted process has taken place, the writer finds that it is time to close the letter, or that she has written enough. She therefore signs her name carelessly or elegantly, as the case may be ; but the whole gist of the letter rests perforce with the postscript. — The Gentle Life. The Post Magazine. — In the year 1841 a peculiar periodical was started, bearing this title. It contained eight pages, five of which were devoted to printed matter of more or less interest, including advertisements, two were left blank for the purchaser to write a letter on, and the remaining page had an ornamental border in the centre for the address. From the prospectus of the maga- zine, which was printed on either side of the border, we learn that it was sold, with an unused penny stamp ready stuck in the proper place, for three-halfpence, or to the trade for l^d. Among the advantages offered by this publication are the following (we quote from the pro- spectus) :—' The space frequently left blank in letter sheets is here occupied by useful business notices, or in- structive information. To the trade and to advei'tisers the price of the magazine (including the post label) is only l^d., or Is. 3d. per dozen, being simply the price of a post-office envelope ; although, in addition to a postage cover, the purchaser obtains an interesting publication, aud a sheet of letter paper. To the public generally, the price is less than that of plain writing paper of equal size and quality. Advertisements frequently escape observa- tion in ordinary publications, but in the- 1'ost Magazine, as forming a portion of epistolary correspondence (for the print, as Veil as the manuscript, is dc facto part and parcel of the matter communicated), they cannot fail to command attention.' How long the Tost Magazine lasted we do not know, probably only as long as a pro- fitable number of advertisements was received. CORRESPONDENCE. THE LAUREATED NEW SOUTH WALES STAMPS. | To the Editor of ' The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Sir, — In addition to the information contained in the article on the laureated stamps of New South Wales, in ; your magazine for March, the following items may prove interesting. I have reason to believe that the design of those stamps was from a drawing by a gentleman named Levinge, who : was, at the time of their issue, employed in the General Post-office, Sydney. I have a specimen of the twopenny blue, which has the following fragment of an inscription on the bottom margin, steel, by john carm. This evidently means, engraved on steel by John Carmichael. Tours, 6cc., J. C. EISHEE. Sydney, Xeic South Wales. THE ALBUM QUESTION. To the Editor of ' The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Dfar Sir. — Could you oblige me by letting me know whether the ' Permanent Stamp Album ' is likely soon to come into use ; for I find Stafford Smith's very imperfect, though to a large extent it is better than Latlier's. For instance, there is no place allotted to Servia, Java, Heligoland, nor Virgin Islands, besides many others that I presume were out before the 1867 edition." I am an old collector, having been so now for at least four years, and greatly feel the want of something on the ' Permanent' style. Promising to "lend a feeble hand to the author, by purchasing a copy of the best edition that is issued, and urging all collectors to consider the point well, and give him their full support, I remain, dear Sir, faithfullv yours, FORTUNA ilea campo bello. Queenwood College, Hants. To the Editor of 'The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Sir, — The questions which ' Iota Subscript ' puts re- lating to Lallier's album are very easily answered. 1. — Servia is a state contiguous to Wallachia ; the proper place therefore for the Servian stamps is on the VYal- lachian page. 2. — St. Salvador* being one of the Bahama Islands, its stamps belong to the page in the album devoted to the Bahamas. Iota Subscript's third and fourth questions — relating to the recently-issued English and French stamps— do not even require an- swering, there being an abundance of room for each on their respective pages in the album. With regard to his fifth question. I leave it to the common sense of your readers to determine whether it needs answering. Suppose the supplementary pages are not intended to be stuck in, but bound up separately, as ' Iota Subscript ' surmises, is thai any reason why they should get dirty or lost ? This is a maxim deduced from a gradation of false suppositions. 'Iota Subscript' asks, 'What is more an- noying to a collector than to have two volumes for * Curiously enough, this island, thotijrli among th THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Oct. 1, 1867. employed by Sir James Graham, in 1844, for political purposes, a great disturbance was made. Even to assist the officers of justice in pursuit of an accused person, it is not permitted to postmasters to open sealed letters. The following story, capitally re- ported by Dickens in Household Words some years ago, will show what assistance may and what may not be given by the post- office to the police-office, and will, at the same time, possess much interest as exem- plifying the difficulties a detective has some- times to overcome in the exercise of his profession. 11 ' Tally-ho Thompson,' says Sergeant Witchein, after merely wetting his lips with his brandy-and-water, " Tally-ho Thompson was a famous horse-stealer, couper, and magsman. Thompson, in conjunction with a pal that occasionally worked with, him, gammoned a countryman out of a good round sum of money, under pretence of getting him a situation — the regular old dodge — and was afterwards in the Hue and Cry for a horse — a horse that he stole down in Hertfordshire. I had to look after Thompson, and I applied myself, of course, in the first instance, to dis- covering where he was. Now, Thompson's wife lived, along with a little daughter, at Chelsea. Knowing that Thompson was somewhere in the country, I watched the bouse — especially at post-time in the morn- ing— -thinking that Thompson was pretty likely to write to her. Sure enough, one morning the postman comes up, and delivers a letter at Mrs. Thompson's door. Little girl opens the door, and takes it in. We're not always sure of postmen, thougb the people at the post-offices are always very obliging. A postman may help us, or he may not, — just as it happens. However, I go across the road, and I say to the postman, after he has left the letter, ' Good morning ! how are you? ' ' How are you ? ' says he. 'You've just delivered a letter for Mrs. Thompson.' 'Yes, I have.' 'You didn't happen to remark what the postmark was, perhaps ?' 'No,' says he, ' I didn't.' ' Come,' says I, ' I'll be plain with you. I am in a small way of business, and I have given Thompson credit, and I can't afford to lose what he owes me. I know he's got money, and I know he's in the country, and if you could tell me what the postmark was, I should be very much obliged to you, and you'd do a service to a tradesman in a small way of business that can't afford a loss.' ' Well,' he said, 'I do assure you that I did not observe what the postmark was ; all I know is, that there was money in the letter — I should say a sovereign.' This was enough for me, because of course I knew that Thomp- son, having sent his wife money, it was probable she'd write to Thompson by return of post to acknowledge the receipt. So I said ' Thankee ' to the postman, and I kept on the watch. In the afternoon I saw the little girl come out. Of course- I followed her. She went into a stationer's shop, and I needn't say to you that I looked in at the window. She bought some writing-paper and envelopes, and a pen. I think to myself, ' That'll do ! ' — watch her home again, and don't go away, you may be sure, knowing that Mrs. Thompson was writing her letter to ' Tally-ho,' and that the letter would be posted presently. In about an hour or so, out came the little girl again, with the letter in her hand. I went up, and said something to the child, whatever it might have been ; but I couldn't see the direction of the letter, because she held it witn the seal upwards. However, I observed that on the back of the letter there was what we call a kiss — a drop of wax by the side of the seal — and again, you understand, that was enough for me.' I saw her post the letter, waited till she was gone, then went into the shop, and asked to see the master. When he came out, I told him, 'Now, I'm an officer in the Detective Force ; there's a letter with a kiss been posted here just now, for a man that I'm in search of; and what I have to ask of you is, that you will let me look at the direction of that letter.' He was very civil — took a lot of letters from the box in the window — shook 'em out on the counter with the faces down- wards— and there among 'em was the iden- tical letter with the kiss. It was directed, ' Mr. Thomas Pigeon, Post-office, B , to be left till called for.' Down I went to B (a hundred and twenty miles or so) that night. Early next morning I went to the post-office ; saw the gentleman in charge Oct, 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 147 of that department ; told him who I was ; and that my object was to see and track the party that should come for the letter for Mr. Thomas Pigeon. He was very polite, and said, ' You shall have every assistance we can give you ; you can wait inside the office ; and we'll take care to let you know when anybody comes for the letter.' Well, I waited there three days, and began to think that nobody ever would come. At last the clerk whispered to me, ' Here ! Detective ! Somebody's come for the letter ! ' ' Keep him a minute,' said I, and I ran round to the out- side of the office. There I saw a young chap with the appearance of an ostler holding a horse by the bridle, stretching the bridle across the pavement while he waited at the post-office window for the letter. I began to pat the horse, and that; and I said to the boy, ' Why, this is Mr. Jones's mare ! ' ' ISTo it an't.' 'Ko?' said I : ' she's very like Mr. Jones's mare ! ' She an't Mr. Jones's mare, anyhow,' says he : ' its Mr. So-and-So's, of the Warwick Arms.' And up he jumped, and off he went — letter and all. I got a cab, followed on the box, and was so quick after him, that I came into the stable-yard of the Warwick Arms by one gate just as he came in by another. I went to the bar, where there was a young woman serving, and called for a glass of brandy-and-water. He came in directly, and handed her the letter. She casually looked at it without saying anything, and stuck it up behind the glass over the chimney-piece. What was to be done next ? " I turned it over in jny mind while I drank my brandy-and-water (looking pretty sharp at the letter the while), but I couldn't see my way out of it at all. I tried to get lodgings in the house, but there had been a horse-fair, or something of that sort, and it was full. I was obliged to put up some- where else, but I came backwards and forwards to the bar for a couple of days, and there was the letter, always behind the glass. At last I thought I'd write a letter to Mr. Pigeon myself, and see what that would do. So I wrote one, and posted it; but I pur- posely addressed it Mr. John Pigeon, instead of Mr. Thomas Pigeon, to see what that would do. In the morning (a very wet morning it was) I watched the postman down the street, and cut into the bar, just before he reached the Warwick Arms. In he came presently with my letter. ' Is there a Mr. John Pigeon staying here ? ' 'No ! — stop a bit though,' says the barmaid ; and she took down the letter behind the glass. ' No,' says she, ' it's Thomas, and he is not staying here. Would you do me a favour, and post this for me, as it is so wet ? ' The postman said ' Yes : ' she folded it in another envelope, directed it, and gave it him. He put it in his hat, and away he went. " I had no difficulty in finding out the direction of that letter. It was addressed, 'Mr. Thomas Pigeon, Post-office, R , Northamptonshire, to be left till called for.' Off I started directly for R . I said the same at the post-office there as I had said at B ; and again I waited three days be- fore anybody came. At last another chap on horseback came. ' Any letters for Mr. Thomas Pigeon?' 'Where do you come from ? ' ' New Inn, near R .' He got the letter, and away he went at a canter. "I made my inquiries about the New Inn, near R , and hearing it was a soli- tary sort of house, a little in the horse line, about a couple of miles from the station, I thought I'd go and have a look at it. I found it what it had been described, and sauntered in to look about me. The land- lady was in the bar, and I was trying to get into conversation with her ; asked how her business was, and spoke about the wenther, and so on ; w7hen I saw, through an open door, three men sitting by the fire in a sort of parlour or kitchen, and one of those men, according to the description I had of him, was Tally-ho Thompson ! " I went and sat down among 'em, and tried to make things agreeable ; but they were very shy — wouldn't talk at all — looked at me and at one another in a way quite the reverse of sociable. I reckoned 'em up, and finding that they were all three bigger men than me, and considering that their looks were ugly — that it was a lonely place — rail- road station two miles off — and night coming on — thought I couldn't do better than have a drop of brandy-and-water to keep my courage up. So I called for my brandy- and-water ; and as I was sitting drinking it 148 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Oct. 1, 1867. by the fire, Tally-ho Thompson got up and went out. "Now, the difficulty of it was that I wasn't sure it was Thompson, because I had never set eyes on him before ; and what I had wanted was to be quite certain of him. However, there was nothing for it now but to follow, and put a bold face upon it. I found him talking outside in the yard with the landlady. It turned out afterwards that he was wanted by a Northampton officer for something else, and that, knowing that officer to be pock-marked (as I am myself), he mistook me for him. As I have observed, I foand him talking to the landlady outside. I put my hand upon his shoulder — this way — and said, 'Tally-ho Thompson, it's no use. I know you. I'm an officer from London, and I take you into custody for felony ! ' ' That be d — d ! ' said Tally-ho Thompson. " We went back into the house, and the two friends began to cut up rough, and their looks didn't please me at all, I assure you. ' Let the man go. What are you going to do with him ? ' ' I'll tell you what I am going to do with him. I'm going to take him to London to-night, as sure as I'm alive. I'm not alone here, whatever you may think. You mind your own business, and keep yourselves to yourselves. It'll be better for you, for I know you both very well.' I'd never seen nor heard of 'em in all my life, but my bouncing cowed 'em a bit, and they kept off, while Thompson was making ready to go. I thought to myself, however, that they might be coming after me on the dark road to rescue Thompson ; so I said to the landlady, 'What men have you got in the house, missis ? ' ' We haven't got no men here,' she says, sulkily. ' You have got an ostler, I suppose ? ' ' Yes, we've got an ostler.' ' Let me see him.' Presently he came, and a shaggy-headed youug fellow he was. ' Now, attend to me, young man,' says I ; ' I'm a detective officer from London. This man's name is Thompson. I have taken him into custody for felony. I'm going to take him to the railroad station. I call upon you, in the Queen's name to assist me; and mind you, my friend, you'll get yourself into more trouble than you know of, if you don't! ' You never taw a person open his eyes so wide. ' Now, Thompson, come along ! ' says I. But when I took out the handcuffs, Thompson cries, ' No ! None of that ! I won't stand them! I'll go along with you quiet, but I won't bear none of that ! ' ' Tally-ho Thompson,' I said, ' I'm willing to behave as a man to you, if you are willing to behave as a man to me. Give me your word that you will come peaceably along, and I don't want to handcuff you.' ' I will,' says Thompson, ' but I'll have a glass of brandy first.' 'I don't care if I've another,' said I. ' We'll have two more, missis,' said the friends ; ' and confound you, constable, you'll give your man a drop, won't you ? ' I was agreeable to that ; so we had it all round ; and then my man and I took Tally-ho Thompson safe to the railroad, and I carried him to London that night. He w^as after- wards acquitted on account of a defect in the evidence; and I understand he always praises me up to the skies, and says I'm one of the best of men." ON VARIETIES, AND WHY THEY SHOULD BE COLLECTED. BY A PHILATELIST. The collection of varieties has formed a sub- ject of discussion amongst philatelists for a considerable period, shades, perforations, paper, &c, having been in turn attacked and defended with considerable skill. The utility of this discussion has been contested, on the ground that, after all, the question is one which every collector decides according to his individual taste, or, rather, predilec- tion. But, to our view, this objection does not count for much, except against attempts to ' lay down the law ' upon the subject in an authoritative manner. It is well for phi- lately that there are certain subjects on which a difference of opinion exists, for the controversy respecting the points involved infuses a spirit and interest into stamp col- lecting which it might otherwise lack ; nor can the discussion, conducted as it has been by earnest advocates, have been without its effect upon many observers. The principles of the science are not yet so firmly settled that argument concerning them should be deprecated ; indeed argument furnishes the Oct. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 149 only means of arriving at a settlement, and is, therefore, to be desired rather than checked. For our own part, upon the general question of the collection of varieties (by which we mean all stamps deviating from the original type in design, colour, paper, watermark, or style of denticulation, or by the addition of the two latter character- istics), the title affixed to these remarks will indicate to our readers the view we propose to advocate ; and, without presuming to utter an absolute dictum upon any point, we shall hope to place before them some valid reasons in support of our opinion. We have endeavoured above to define varieties gene- rally as deviations from the original type; but it is necessary, before going farther into the subject, to consider their specialities more in detail. And, first, all varieties, whatever may be the deviation through which they acquire the title, belong to one of two divisions: — I. Authorised, and intentional; II. Unauthorised and accidental. Varieties may be further classified into the five fol- lowing kinds, as they occur in connection with one or the other : — a. design. b. colour. c. watermark. d. perforation. e. paper. Of the first kind, variations from the ori- ginal design, there are comparatively few specimens in either class, but nearly all that are known belong to the second. Amongst the first we can only specify the addition of the dots to the Italian 15 c. of the series by De-la-Rue, which was sanctioned on account of an injury to the plate, the addition of the white horizontal lines in the British 2d. (we presume as an improvement to the device), and the alteration of the misspelt word on the Montevidean envelopes ; and with these may, perhaps, be included the addition of the outer line to the Liberian stamps. Of course substantial alterations in design, which change the appearance of the stamps, whilst yet retaining many of the principal features, as, for instance, the erasure of the lined ground from the Baden arms series, do not come under the head of varieties. Unauthorised and accidental changes in the design arise either from oversight on the part of the engraver, as in the ' post-office ' Mauritius ; from the engraving of two or more plates, as with the Sydneys, Luzon, and New Caledonia; or from the plates getting worn by continued use, as with the current Argentine stamps and the second Belgian series. The misprints in the inscription of value of the Modenese stamps almost deserve to be separately classified, as they are pro- perly chargeable to the printers, and not to the engravers. Berger-Levrault enumerates no less than nineteen such typographical errors, but it seems questionable whether some of these do not occur in reprints only. We come now to variations in the colour of stamps. Such variations, falling under division I., when carried through a series, constitute a new emission, as in the case of the Western Australian ; but it more often happens that only one or two values are changed, and then the motive is usually the prevention of confusion between the altered stamp, and another of a similar value; though, probably, the reason must some- times be looked for in the difficulty ex- perienced by the manufacturers in keeping to the standard shade of the colour first chosen. The latter may be the cause of the change of the Ceylon twopence from green to yellow, whilst to the former the emission of the New Zealand fourpence in yellow, instead of rose, is certainly due. Such thorough alterations in colour as these, and others which we might mention, are evidently the result of official action, but it is difficult to say which of the numerous minor varia- tions that occur in so many series were ordered, and which only sanctioned by the authorities. We cannot separate the varieties accurately into the two divisions, but, un- questionably, the larger number come under the head of unauthorised and accidental. The accidental causes comprise the com- pounding the printing ink of the wrong shade, and the rolling on of too thick a layer of the proper shade ; the former error is most frequently noticeable in rose, pink, lilac, mauve, and purple stamps ; the latter, arising from want of expertness, may be found in connection with all colours. Marked change in colour is frequently observable as 150 THE STAMP-COLLECTOB'S MAGAZINE. [Oct. 1, 1867. occurring contemporaneously with the addi- tion, or omission of watermark or perforation, but the stamps in which such changes take place, are principally our own colonials, which notably vary very frequently from the original hues; the variation, therefore, it seems to us, rarely in itself warrants the in- ference that it is the result of official inter- ference. Some varieties are clearly due, like the Modenese errors, to carelessness on the part of the printers in placing a cliche of the wrong value in the form. From this cause we get a 2 s. gr. Prussia (18G3) in brown, a Turkish 1 piastre (1865) in green, a Spanish 2rls. (1855) in blue, and a Lubeck 2§ schg. (1859) in brown.* Varieties of watermark occur almost ex- clusively among the stamps of this country and our colonies, and all true watermarks fall within the division ' authorised and in- tentional.' The accidental marks are found only on some of the old Newfoundland and British Guiana, the first pair of Virgin Islands, and the 1 c. Montevideo. The sheets used to receive the impressions of these stamps bear the maker's name, or initials, or the name of the mill, as a watermark ; but such marks were only permitted by the au- thorities, and not adopted as safeguards from forgery. This third class, however, includes stamps negatively distinguished by the absence of the watermark borne by the original type. As the discontinuance of the mark is, no doubt, in all cases decreed by the post-office, varieties which do not bear it come decidedly under the head of ' authorised.' Perforation, which constitutes our fourth class, is always added in the first place at the instance of the authorities, but very probably most of the alterations afterwards made in the number of dents, or in the kind of dcn- ticulation, are the work of the manufactu- rers, with whom we should imagine the management of such minor details is gene- rally left. Still, it should be borne in mind that any difficulty in separating stamps arising from the mode of perforation, would * For further particulars respecting varieties of colour ■we would beg to refer the reader to the article on ' The Colours of Postage Stamps' at page 186 of The Stamp Col- lector's Magazine, vol. iv. probably be noticed and complained of by the post-office clerks, and that the higher au- thorities might interfere in such case to cause a change. In this, as in the preceding class, nega- tive varieties occur, as the greater number of postage stamps were first issued in an unperforated state. Very few, however, after having once been issued perforated, have been re-issued imperforate ; the Belgian 1 c. (I860) is the only example which at present occurs to us. In connection, then, with this particular we get — 1. Non-denticulated stamps ; 2. Ori^ ginal denticulated series of stamps-; 3. Stamps subsequently issued, showing varieties of denticulation, which are probably unauthor- ized and accidental. How the changes which occur in the number of dents arise, we, being without any knowledge of the way in which perforating machines are made or worked, cannot understand. Perhaps it may be that the rows of teeth get blunted with use, and j new rows are then substituted containing a different number, but this is mere conjecture. Varieties of paper (our fifth class) are very difficult to distinguish with certainty into the two divisions of authorised and unauthorised. As a new kind of paper is frequently found with a new series, it may be assumed that the paper is, with other things, the subject of official consideration ; but more frequently the fabricators of the stamps must decide upon the class of paper to be used, and may have to change it from time to time, because, at the particular period when a fresh stock of stamps is wanted, paper of the original quality, or kind, is not obtainable. Having now completed our summary of the several classes of varieties, let us con- sider the grounds on wThich their collection can be justified. There are among collectors of the present day very few who discard every sort of variety, and admit only the original stamp of each type into their albums. Most per- sons feel a partiality for one or more of tbe kinds referred to above, and the majority, whilst defending their own particular favour- ites, decry the collection of any other as absurd, ' going too far,' and so on. How much better arc you (say the philatelists who have Oct. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 151 not advanced beyond the collection of shades and single specimens of perforated stamps), when yon have acquired the knowledge that certain stamps are printed on woven as well as on laid paper, or that others are per- forated 12 as well as 15 ? Now this objection seems to ns to proceed from a wrong idea of the nature and purpose of stamp collecting. If only one series of each type be collected, then the collection is valu- able for illustrative purposes, but for no other. So far as it goes, it indicates, as has been often stated, the progress of engraving, and gives some clue, perhaps, as to the govern- ment of the countries which are represented; but in such a book the stamps are merely a means to an end. In opposition to this we think stamps should be collected for their own worth ; that, as works of art, they are as well worthy to be classified, and their minu- test varieties noted as are shells, butterflies, and plants — the works of nature. The actual value of an accurate knowledge of the minor differences between various classes of plants, or shells, may be contested. Such know- ledge is of an ornamental, not of a practical kind, but the same may be said of the know- ledge obtainable in various other sciences. Moreover, if once you go beyond collecting stamps illustratively, there is really, upon principle, no stand-point between that and the annotation of the most minute differences. The design of a stamp is not affected by the paper on which it is impressed being water- marked or perforated ; if, therefore, varieties showing such particulars are collected, it must be for their own sake, or, in other words, because it is considered desirable to possess the stamp in all its known phases. Advance to the collection of watermark, or perforation, and you admit that the stamps themselves, apart from their illustrative value, have sufficient interest to justify the study of their specialities ; that the history of every design is worth tracing through the various mutations of shade, paper, watermark, and perforation. And why should they not be ? If they are worthy of any beyond the most superficial examination, they are worthy of being accurately and carefully annotated upon. In the study, as in the collection of stamps, it is useless to stop half way. The despised difference in paper or perforation may point to some more important fact con- cerning the stamp in which it appears, which would otherwise remainhidden. Know- ledge is power, and, indeed, unknown power. The value of a fact cannot always be esti- mated at the time of its discovery, but once carefully noted it remains available for future use. Researches are nothing if not accurate and thorough ; vague and superficial obser- vations mislead instead of guiding, and are, therefore, worse than useless. And again, a collector wrho resolves to enter upon the study of stamps with genuine earnestness, can scarcely be satisfied with merely knowing that such and such varieties do exist. Varieties are neither so difficult to obtain, nor so expensive, that a little care is not well and profitably used towards their acquisition. We do not say that it is neces- sary that collectors should aim at possessing every variety. In respect of shades, for in- stance, difference of opinion will always exist as to what are sufficiently marked to be worth inserting in an album, and what are not. Some will retain only those which show a very perceptible variation, whilst others will collect every stamp wrhich in the least degree deviates from the standard, and obtain at last a collection, showing the gradual advance from one tint to another. We ourselves should use caution in admitting any unknown variety, and should hardly do so without its existence as a distinct shade were evidenced by at least a dozen specimens. Collectors who have not had opportunities of inspecting entire sheets of stamps, can hardly imagine what difference in colour is some- times seen between the rows at one, and the rows at the other end of a sheet. When the inked roller is first put on the plate, it must contain more ink than when it is taken off, and, if care be not exercised by the workman, the outer rows will be of a somewhat darker shade in consequence, and the finer lines of the stamps forming those rows may also be filled in from the same cause. Many collectors would, perhaps, only col- lect authorised and intentional varieties, but, without reference to the difficulty, such collectors would experience in deciding in many instances which do, and which do not 152 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Oct. 1, 1867. come within that category, it does not appear to us logical to stop at the collection of that class. They should, at any rate, go on to include stamps which uniformly show a variation in some point, even though the authority for the same be not clear. Varia- tion of colour, as we have said, is, to a cer- tain extent, a point for individual opinion, but perforation and paper are distinct va- rieties respecting which there can be no question ; and these, we think, should, upon principle, be admitted, for it should be re- membered that a stamp consists not only of the design, but of the paper on which it is printed. Whilst, however, accepting certain general principles for guidance, philatelists will find there is still sufficient room in making a collection for the exercise of individual taste and discretion. Between the books of half- a-dozen amateurs of the ' French ' school as much difference would, doubtless, be found in detail, style of stamps, and arrangement, as would be observable between the books of half-a-dozen boys. NEWLY-ISSUED OR INEDITED STAMPS. Bolivia. — We have at length the pleasure of welcoming a stamp which unquestion- ably does postal duty in this inaccessible country. Though we are not in possession of the government order for its emission, the fact that the stamp has been received upon letters from Bolivia, sufficiently establishes its character. We are indebted for our own specimen to a correspondent, who came into possession of it from private sources. We give an engraving of this last acquisition, whereby our readers will see that Bolivia has still to equal the issues of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The design is simple, and its execution rough, just such as might be expected from such a country, and showing withal a rude, but not un pleasing individuality. In size the stamp is rather above the average ; in colour, a deep sap-green. The paper is white, but slightly tinged with the hue of the impression, and having thence an old and worn look. To judge by our specimen (which we may remark, en passant, bears the post- mark paz), the stamps are widely spaced upon the sheets. The inscription on the right (contratos), signifying ' contracts,' we take to mean that the stamp may be affixed to contracts as well as letters. Switzerland. — We have this month to add another to the re- cently - discovered frank stamps of this yv. country. The an- /<£?/' % ; nexed is issued, as / r / fS^f ft'i the inscription irri- ■ ' • ' ^ -■ ? ports, by the autho- rities of the com- mune of Bardonnex, v ^ ^-_i^^"< "" in the republic and ^vlp^MTOH ^> canton of Geneva, ^ *^ and is found impressed in blue on the upper right corner of envelopes used to cover the official correspondence of the commune. Opposite the stamp are the abbreviations, off. off., signifying affaire officlelle. Though chronicling the appearance, or resuscitation of these stamps, we are far from recom- mending their collection, as they do not represent any charge for postage, but, on the contrary, indicate exemption from charge. They have just the same value as the im- print, ' On Her Majesty's Service,' which appears on all the envelopes used for govern- ment letters in this country. Holland. — The design described by us last month, turns out, after all, to be that of the intended new series. The colours, we are informed by a correspondent, will be the same as those of the specimens exhibited at Paris, with one exception, — the 50 c. will be in gold, instead of bistre. The three highest values, 20 c. green, 25 c. violet, and 50 c. gold, are to be issued to-day; the lower values, upon the exhaustion of the stock of the pre- sent type. A one-cent stamp, which M. Moens describes as engraved on wood, and bearing the national arms, is also to be emitted. Mexico. — It is stated that the first type, bearing the effigy of the cure Hidalgo, has been provisionally placed in circulation again. Our authority, he Timbre-Poste, mentions the Oct. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 153 receipt of a 4 reales rose upon thin blue paper, and of a 2 reales printed in black on green (exactly as the same value in the second issue), each imperforate and un water- marked. Great Britain. — The current 3d. and 6d. are now issued printed on paper bearing the new rose watermark. Virgin Islands. — Our publishers have re- ceived a letter from the postmaster of Tor- tola, enclosing, by direction of the governor of the islands, Sir Arthur Humboldt, Bart., specimens of the shilling stamp, with a dif- ferent border. The rectangle, containing the design, is now enclosed in a broad frame, the narrow line, which at first surrounded it, having been extended to the edges, covering even the perforations on all four sides. The colour is likewise deepened into carmine. The effect of the wide external frame is to make the stamp appear considerably larger than the original, though it is, in fact, exactly the same size. Under its new aspect, the stamp is decidedly a showy one ; but opinion will differ as to the taste manifested in the addition. Portugal. — The 25 reis stamp was issued on the 9th inst. perforated. The other values will no doubt follow suit. Austria. — The new kreuzer and soldi series now number two additional values, viz. : — 25 kr. and soldi, violet. 50 „ ,, salmon. The first are of the type emitted in June ; of the second we annex engravings. It will be seen that the design of the latter is of an ornate type, in which the va- rious parts are well pro- portioned, and compose a harmonious whole. The head is the same as that used for the lower values, and is, it will be seen, sur- mounted by an imperial crown. The colour of the highest value is a peculiarly delicate tint, which we describe as salmon, in default of a better term, and contrasts strongly with the brilliant hues of the lower values. The paper is the same as that employed for the other members of the series — woven, and the perforations are considerably finer than appears from our engraving. The new stamps were issued on the 1st ultimo, and are, unquestionably, much required. Hitherto the highest value of the adhesives has been only 15 kr., equalling about 4d. (which does not prepay the single rate to this country), and thus the use of several stamps on most letters to foreign parts was necessitated. The new labels are worth respectively sixpence and a shilling, and will to a great extent do away with this inconvenience, which the existence of 25 kr. envelopes did little to mitigate. We are without information at present as to the issue of 50 kr. and soldi envelopes ; but the experiment of issuing 30 and 35 kr. envelopes in 1861 not having been found to answer, may possibly prevent their emission. Italy. — Our Parisian contemporary, Le Timbrophile, gives currency to a report that it is in contemplation to issue a new series of stamps for this country, bearing the head of Victor Emmanuel encircled with the famous Iron Crown. Two new values will be the first to exhibit this type — a 50 c. stamp for registered letters, and a 1 franc stamp. The same journal announces that a 4 centimes will be emitted, with crowned portrait, and an oval surmounted by the ' star of Italy.' New South Wales. — A Sydney stamp, twopence blue (horizontal groundwork), without the motto, Sic fortis etruria crevit, has, according to Le Timbrophile, been discovered. Ceylon. — The fivepence is now printed green, of a dull yellowish tint. Great Britain. — The decision of Sir Thomas Henry upon the Circular Delivery Office case will, in all probability, lead to the entire suppression of all the circular stamps in use in England, if not of those in Scotland also. Nrw Granada. — We have received, what to us is an entire novelty, viz. : several copies of the 10 centavos, second issue of the Con- federation, printed in bright green, instead of 154 THE STAMP-COLLECTORS MAGAZINE. [Oct. 1, 1867. the ordinary reddish brown. This colour for the ten cents does not appear in any of the catalogues, nor in the various dealers' lists, with which we are acquainted ; and though this issue is most fertile in shades of colour, so much so as to cause M. Levrault to re- mark in his French edition, that he is led by their quantity to suppose some to be due to reprints, yet the only value which has affected a green hue has been the 2\ cents. The green now before us is very clear and bright, quite dissimilar from that of the t\ cents. ; the printing is fresh, and the paper un- gummed. We are, therefore, inclined to think this certainly is a reprint, and, if one, no doubt, should collectors create a demand, a hundred fresh colours may be manufactured for them, and their credulity and the length of their purses alike tested by a fresh set of concocted proofs. Akgentine Republic. — By this mail we have received sheets of a temporary issue of the 5 centavos, head of Rivadavia, type that which is now in use. The current issue of 1866 of these stamps being exhausted, those now under notice appear to have been struck off; they are of a rose carmine, printed on thinnish paper without any watermark, and are uu perforated. We may take this opportunity to say we do not accredit the brown variety of this value as any other than an accidental change. Trinidad. — We have seen during the past month private stamps, stated to be issued by a company (firm) in that island, and to have been obtained by its possessor from ' a re- lation of the owner of the company.' The supposed use was ' for the same purpose ' as the Pacific Steam Navigation Company's stamps. Of course the above, which is all the information we received, carries its own reputation with it. If genuine, the stamp is at best the mark of a private firm, and never had, and never could have had any currency in Trinidad, a British colony, whose postal arrangements are under the sole control of the government, and where it is unlawful to establish any rivalry to the state monopoly. And again, the. Pacific Company's stamps referred to had government sanction, and were used as official stamps in Peru for some time ; we should like to know what govern- ment ever sanctioned such use as is alleged for the specimen now under notice. The stamp itself is an upright rectangle, about the size of a threepence view of Sydney, a small engraved lined border surrounds the margin : in the upper part is a steam vessel at sea, under sail and steam ; to the right, and beneath, the initials, L. Mc L., in large text capitals ; the devices are in white, and the background of the stamp is formed of a shading of fine perpendicular lines. It is printed in deep blue on thickish yellow paper without watermark. The L. Mc L. is explained to be Peter Me Loyd Sf Co., and the possessor asked the modest sum of five guineas for this copy, which, if genuine, half-a- crown ought to more than buy. Peru. — New stamps of the value of 10 c. and 20 c. have just arrived, the description and engravings whereof we must defer until next month. POSTAGE STAMPS IN THE PARIS EXHIBITION. {Continued from page 135). Among the exhibitions of the English colonies, Dr. Magnus finds very little of interest con- nected with postage stamps, and accounts for this absence, very justly, by the fact that most of their stamps are made in this country. Victoria displays her current series, and also a table of postal statistics, showing the great increase in the corres- pondence of the colony ; and in the Canadian department, M. Boissonnault, of Quebec, shows an indicator box for the post-office — • whatever that may be. It is not until the learned doctor arrives at the United States that he finds aught worthy of attention. Here he meets with the case of the American Bank-Note Company — a four-sided pyramid, upon which are shown some of the principal stamps engraved by them. On one side are rows of the new vermilion one-real of Salvador, and of the one-real red Mexican, with e&igy of the cure Hidalgo; on the second side a row of the green 100 reis Brazil, and specimens of the new Chilian 20 c. green ; and on the third a number of proofs, in green, of the 10 c. Oct. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 155 Nova Scotia. These are all the stamps shown ; the fourth side of the case is taken up with uninteresting objects, and the other three contain, together with the postage, a number of commercial stamps and bank notes. This is hardly the show of stamps we should have expected from the Company ; the Costa Ri- can, Nicaraguan, Peruvian, Canadian, and other of their excellent works of art, are absent, and the specimens exhibited are very few of them first-rate samples of their work. The National Bank-Note Company pre- sent an album of stamps and bank-notes. The stamps are upon sheets of card, in five rows of ten stamps, and comprise all the current United States adhesives in their official colours, and also the three-cent marked ' specimen.' These stamps, Dr. Magnus says, are certainly admirable in their execution, but they are more works of trade than works of art, as is proved by the mathematical regularity of the machine-made ground pat- terns, and owe nothing to the inspiration of the artist. We would at any time prefer the stamps of the English colonies, even though prim and of meagre design. From America our author passes to the Sandwich Isles, and notices in the Hawaiian hall a collection of sheets of the current postage stamps exhibited by M. Crosnier de Varigny, minister of foreign affairs at Ho- nolulu. These sheets comprise the 1 and 2 cents (large figure) in black and in blue on white, and the 5 cents of the same type, and also the 2 and 5 cents, with portraits of Kamehameha IV. and V. respectively. The absence of the 13 c. (figure) is noted, and is considered by Dr. Magnus as confirming pre-existing doubts respecting its authen- ticity.. For our part we may state we have received them, with the other values, direct through a private source, from -the Sand- wich Islands; but should still,before accepting them as unquestionably genuine, like to know for what reason this value is restored, the old 13 c. having been suppressed, because an alteration in the rate of postage between the Islands and the United States had ren- dered it useless. The Exhibition catalogue is not, in all respects, a trustworthy guide, as Dr. Mag- nus's researches prove. It indicates, to some extent, what should have been, as well as what is in the building. Under Egypt it mentions (as class 12) a collection of postage stamps and passports, which, upon the most attentive examination were not discoverable. Under Italy, also, the catalogue announced the exhibition by M. Quaglia (cl. 8, 27) of gummed stamps and postage stamps : for these the search was vain, as also for the case of Pellas freres (class 2, 49). In the Russian department none of the stamps of the empire proper are exhibited, but a lithographer, bearing the euphonious name of Tryckeri Bolags, of Helsingfors, shows the local stamp of that city, but printed blue, with a marone bar ; and also a stamp, value one mark, which was new to Dr. Magnus, but which we now know to be the Finnish postage label of that value. The specimen exhibited was printed green, the actual stamp is pale brick. Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Greece, Por- tugal, Spain, Switzerland, Austria and the South German States do not exhibit any stamps. The case of the Prussian royal printing office confirms what had previously been supposed; viz., that a great part of the German envelopes were prepared at Berlin. In the case are shown the envelopes of Thurn and Taxis (North andSouth), of Brunswick (large and small stamps), of Oldenburg, Baden (old and new), Mecklenburg Schwerin, Hamburg, and Saxony, and also the current series of Prussian stamps printed on strong paper, or card, and not pierced. The series includes the 10 and 30 s. gr. stamps. The exhibition is completed by the display of two steel 'cylinders, writh which the 4pf. and ls.gr. stamps are printed, and by another cylinder bearing the two lines of inscription which we observe on all the German envelopes. In the Dutch exhibition Messrs. Enschede & Son show the three current stamps of Holland in their ordinary colours; and in the Belgian, M. Smets, of Antwerp, the person charged with the printing of the Belgian stamps, shows a sheet of the one centime, con- taining nine rows, of five stamps. In the latter department is also shown the patent perforating machine of Messrs. Gouweloos, of Brussels. 156 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Oct. 1, 1867. THE POST-OFFICE AND THE CIRCU- LAR DELIVERY COMPANIES. Edward Smith, the messenger lately charged with delivering letters contrary to the privi- lege of the Postmaster-General, appeared yesterday (August 30), at Bow street, before Sir Thomas Henry, to answer the adjourned summons. Mr. Peacock, on behalf of the post-office authorities, conducted the prosecution, and Mr. Templeman appeared for the messenger, having been retained by Mr. Eyre, the man- ager of the London Circular Delivery com- pany, and the real defendant in the case. Some further evidence was given as to the delivery of the circulars produced, in the course of which Mr. Templeman objected to the witnesses using the word letter, as that was the very point in dispute. Upon the conclusion of the case for the prosecution, Mr. Templeman addressed the Court at some length, contending that these were not letters at all, but circulars such as were daily sent out by thousands, and tens of thousands, in London. The post-office authorities called everything a letter that was enclosed in an envelope and sent by post ; and no doubt any of their servants would be liable for neglecting to deliver anything so enclosed as if it were a letter. But that did not make it a letter in the common acceptation of the term, and though the authorities might use the word letter in a peculiar sense within their own establishment, that was not bind- ing upon this Court. Sir Thomas Henry pointed out that under the interpretation clause of the 1st Vic, c. 36, the word letter included packet, and packet included letter. And with regard even to excepted letters there was a condition in 1st Vic, c. 33, sec. 2, that ' nothing herein con- tained shall authorise any person to make a collection of such excepted letters for the purpose of sending them in the manner hereby authorised.' So that even if these letters had been such as might be legally Sent by hand, the collection of a number would be illegal. Then, again, it was as well to call Mr. Templeman's attention to the fact that, under the 36th Act, the onus rested on the person prosecuted to show that he had actod in conformity with the law. Mr. Templeman again urged that these circulars were not letters at all, but merely advertisements. There was no definition in the Act of what constituted a letter. Sir Thomas Henry said that, in 1st Vic, c 33, the second clause, taken with the ex- ceptions, showed clearly enough what was meant by a letter, and he had no doubt that these documents were of that nature. Mr. Manual Eyre, the virtual defendant, here came forward, and stated that he was now the sole proprietor of the business carried on under the style or firm of the London and Metropolitan Circular and Pam- phlet Delivery Companies. He was described in the circulars as manager. Mr. Brydone, described as secretary, was, until last week, his partner in the concern, but had now left. The dissolution of partnership was not actu- ally completed, but was being negociated. He read the circular which offered the public great advantages in the cheap and punctual delivery of circulars : at the same time de- claring that 'no letters' would be taken on any pretence whatever.' The same system, he observed, had been carried on in Glasgow, where the company was employed by the Board of Iuland Revenue to deliver their tax papers, which he was sure the Board would not do if they believed the proceedings to be illegal. He had taken the opinion of the Lord Advocate upon the question. Sir Thomas Henry said, if the opinion were before him, with the case on which it was given, he might be better able to judge of it. But the mere verbal statement of that opinion could have no weight with him. He did not even know that the law was the same in Scotland as in England. In answer to questions, and after the usual caution that he was not bound to criminate himself, Mr. Eyre stated that the lowest rate charged for delivering circulars was one far- thing each, but the rates varied according to circumstances. Halfpenny and farthing stamps were issued, and they were affixed to the envelopes in the same manner as the postage labels were affixed to letters. He considered that while the Queen's head showed the document to which it was affixed to be a letter, his stamp showed it to be a circular. In some cases the stamps were Oct. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTORS MAGAZINE. 157 objected to on that very ground, and then they were forwarded without any stamp, though the same rates were charged. In fact, the stamp was a trade-mark, chiefly intended to advertise the companies. It bore the inscription, ' Circular Delivery Com- panies,' and the amount Jd. or |d. He had never intended any infringement of the law. He had sent a copy of the circular to the post-office in the first instance, believing honestly that he was not infringing the law. Mr. Peacock said the only object of these proceedings was to protect the revenue, and they were instituted under the direction of the Attorney and Solicitor-General. The penalty of £5 was incurred by the person delivering these letters, and those who em- ployed him were liable to a penalty of £5 for every letter, and when the practice was habitual to £100 for every week during which it was continued. He Avas bound to say that if it was continued, it would be con- sidered the duty of the post-office to enforce the penalties in every case. Sir Thomas Henry said he was quite satisfied that these circulars were letters within the meaning of the Act, and came within the privilege of the Postmaster-Ge- neral. He had given the matter his most careful consideration, and he must declare it to be one of the clearest cases he had ever been called upon to decide. The defendant was liable to a penalty of £5 for delivering the letters, and Mr. Eyre, who employed him, would be liable if proceedings had been taken against him. Defendant must pay the fine of £5. Mr. Templeman : For delivering a letter ? — Sir Thomas Henry : Yes. Mr. Templeman : Then pray, sir, how do you define a circular ? — Sir Thomas Henry said that was not a part of the question he was called upon to decide. Mr. Templeman said the practice of de- livering circulars was carried on by several other companies, such as the corps of com- missionaires, and the post-office had never interfered with them. Sir Thomas Henry said he considered they Were all liable to the same penalties if they did the same thing. Mr. Templeman hoped the penalty would be reduced in consideration of the defend- ant's poverty. Sir Thomas Henry had no donbt he would be protected by Mr. Eyre. However, he might petition the Postmaster-General for a mitigation. Mr. Peacock had no doubt that, if defend- ant sent in a petition, stating that he was merely a hired messenger, it would be taken into consideration. Mr. Templeman believed there was an appeal. Sir Thomas Henry replied that there was, or that a case might be stated under the Criminal Justice Act. It would, however, be important for Mr. Eyre to consider that, if either of these courses were taken, nothing could be done until November. It would then be a most serious thing for him, if, the decision being confirmed, he found himself liable to penalties of £100 a week for every week during which he had carried on the business in the interim. Mr. Eyre said he should not carry on the business in opposition to the magistrate's decision, but would take care to forward no circulars but what are sent to him open. Sir Thomas Henry : Now take care. This is a most stringent Act, passed on purpose to protect the privilege of the post-office, and it cannot be evaded in that way. You have been keeping a sort of little post-office, and I have no hesitation in saying that you have not the right to do it, and that no one has the right to do it. This terminated the proceedings. REVIEWS of POSTAL PUBLICATIONS. The Illustrated Postage- Stamp Album and Catalogue. By G. Bauschke. Trans- lated into English from the German fourteenth edition. Leipzig : Literary Museum. The flourishing state of philately in this country is proved by the fact, that a German publishing house thinks it worth its while to enter into competition with the existing English albums by the production of the one now under notice, which, it will be seen, claims to be a translation from the fourteenth German edition of the same work. This is 158 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Oct. i, 1867. in itself a considerable recommendation, and as a careful examination of the book has convinced us that there is much that is meritorious in it, it is to be regretted that a title has been chosen so nearly identical with that of Mr. Stafford Smith's album as to constitute an infringement upon his copy- right. 'A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,' and the Leipzig album, were it re-christened, would lose none of its value. Meanwhile, we deem it right to caution our readers against confusing it with the original Illustrated Album, published by the well- known Brighton firm. The internal arrangement of the album combines the specialities of three different plans. The spaces are numbered as in Stafford Smith's album, but the squares, instead of being ruled of uniform size, and occupying the entire page, are, as in Lallier's and Moens' books, ranged in sets and adapted to the size of the stamps they are to contain. The system of numbering, and of giving a catalogue in accordance, can hardly be said to form a further imitation of the Illustrated Album, as, though first employed in this country in the preparation of that work, it, in fact, originated in Germany. Moreover, in the German album the stamps are to be placed on one side of the page only ; the other being occupied with the descriptive catalogue, and with a statement of a few leading facts respecting each country in succession, its government, rulers, population, arc. The album is brought up nearly to the present time, spaces beiug given for the Prussian official stamps, the new Bavarian, new Swiss, Heligoland, and others of equally recent date, but there is only slight provision for future issues. Indeed, such space as is given, is only what accidentally remains un- occupied. This is a defect, but one which all existing albums share to a greater or less extent, and will hardly render the book any the less acceptable to beginners and young collectors, for whom it is, after all, more especially fitted. The paper is good, the type clear, the title page is ornamented, and a page portrait of Sir Rowland Hill is given. There are three bindings, viz. : in coloured boards, in plain cloth, and in fancy cloth with gilt edges. The copies bound in coloured boards are extremely cheap; the same amount of printing could not be given in this country for the money, except in the case of books which sell by the hundred thousand. For more advanced collectors desirous of pro- viding a temporary receptacle for their stamps, until such time as may be conve- nient for arranging them permanently, this book would be very useful, as well as for our juvenile friends. POSTAL CHIT-CHAT. Dutch Indies. — The 10 cent, carmine stamp in circu- lation in the Dutch East Indies was made and printed at Utrecht, and specimens were sold to collectors several mouths before the emission of the stamps in the colonies, which took place on the 1st of April, 1864. British Honduras Stamps.— The postmaster of Belize, W. J. McKinney, Esq., informs us that the order, authorising the issue of the British Honduras stamps, is dated 3rd July, 1865, and that the stamps were received in the colon)- on the 28th November of the same year. Unperforated Leberian Stamps. — In cons'equence of an accident to the machine, all the values had to be issued for a time unperforated. There are also specimen* in existence having imperfect perforations, which show traces of the accident. The Confederate 20 c. Stamp. — This stamp, ac- cording to a correspondent, was prepared at the time of the raid on Baltimore, and when it was believed that Washington city had been captured by the Confederates, for which reason Washington's portrait was placed thereon. Defaced Postage Stamps.— A coi respondent of the Weekly Register, by name John Good, writes to that paper, in answer to an inquiry as to the use to which defaced postage stamps can be put, to say that a good man once told him that for every single defaced postage stamp collected, and sent to China, a Chinese child is brought to baptism ! A Caution to Postmasters.— A fellow down in Mis- sissippi, who does not confide in the honesty of post- masters, wrote the following warning on the back of one of his letters, directed to a post-office in Kentucky : *No\v, look here, all you postmasters ! I want you to be Tery particular with this document ; it is a cash letter. Now, look here! I see you! Don't break the seal!' — Fost- \ man's Knock. Heavy Impressions. — In the July number we gave a description of a new stamp in use by the ladies. "We find, by the following item, that this stamp is also used by the ' colored folks,' which gives us an extra colour and size : — ' An old negro woman, on Tuesday last, gave a letter to the mail agent on the Carolina train, at the station near Branchville, S. C, and asked him to send it for her. The agent said the letter must be stamped. The old woman became indignant, said the darkies were free, and -> Whar war de use of freeing de cullud pussons ef you didn't free de letters too:" and finally yelled out, ''How many stamps he want, eh ■ " The mail agent said, '' Three." Down went the letter, and down went the old woman's heel, "Dar! dar ! dar ! dar's three stamps ! dat enuff, eh ? " She was in angry earnest, and the bystanders were amused accordingly. The ageut saw the jqke, volunteered to pay the money, and thus, doubly stamped, the letter was sent to its destination.' — Mason's Magazine, Philadtlphia, U.S. Oct. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 159 CORRESPONDENCE. PHILATELIC FACTS. To the Editor of ' The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Dear Sir, — For the benefit of the philatelic science I have taken the trouble to obtain some ' official ' infor- mation in regard to several hitherto disputed points, "which I suppose are thus finally settled. The Secretary of the American Bank-Note Company, Mr. C. L. Van Zandt, informs me that ' the head on the Mexican stamps engraved by this company is tbat of Hidalgo, and that onthe new stamps of Cbili is Columbus, called in Spanish, " Colon," the name on the stamps. The postage stamps of Salvador were engraved by this company; those of Guatemala, we believe, were made in France. The stamped envelopes for Brazil were also furnished by this company. The stamps for the Argen- tine Republic have ahead)- been furnished to lhat govern- ment. The 5 c. stamp contains a portrait of Senor Rivadavia; the 10 c. that of General Belgrano; and the 15 c. that of General San Martin.' Parenthetically it may be worth remarking that the name of the Secretary is wrongly printed, 'C. S. Vanzmidt,' in vol. iv., page 109, of the magazine. In reply to an inquiry of mine as to the truth of the current report regarding the forthcoming issue of 20 c. and 28 c. adhesives, and 15 c. and 20 c. envelopes, by our own government, the third Assistant Postmaster-general Mr. A. N. Zevely, stages that ' the department does not contemplate issuing any other denomination of postage stamp or stamped envelope than those now furnished. One-cent envelopes are now being furnished to post- masters. They are not, however, of the same design as those issued in 1S60. I enclose a specimen.' I hardly understand the last remark, for the specimen sent me seems to be identical with the similar stamp of 1860. Perhaps your editorial eyes may be able to detect the difference, I therefore in turn enclose it for your inspection. Respectfully, West SpHfigJleld, Mass., U.S. L. *H. B. [The on]y difference we can observe between the 1 c. envelope of 1860 and that now sent round to postmasters is, that the effigy through the deterioration of the dies, is rather less distinct on the latter than on the former, and that the paper used is of a much lighter shade of buff. — Ed. J THE ALBUM QUESTION. To thc\Editor o/'The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Sir, — A very important point, and one not as yet touched upon, is the get-up of the proposed volume. The fact of the album desired being a permanent work makes it doubly to be hoped that both binding and paper will be strong,' and the printing and ruling good. I can think of no special arrangement to suit the case of the envelope stamps except haying sheets of cardboard instead of paper, and round or oval pieces cut. out, the stamps being fastened at the back of sheet, and the em- bossed part being sheltered by the sides of the cardboard. Small windows cut in paper, and capable of opening and shutting, would be useful to exhibit watermarks, paper, &c. I am, sir, yours obediently, London. R. F. TVILME. I am induced to tell the plan I have adopted, as one that seems to me simple and easy. I began collecting in Oppen's album, and soon finding the want of additional pages and maps, I had my book bound plainly in russia, with red edges (for which I paid ten shillings), and interleaved with Philips's school maps (which fit exactly), at one halfpenny each, and ad- ditional ruled pages wherever they were likely to be necessary, with half-a-dozen more at the end of Europe, Asia, Africa, America, the "West Indies, and Australasia, which I can either use where theyare as fresh countries issue stamps, or slip out with a penknife and remount (on the guards which occur throughout the book) whei-ever I require them. I have now 1500 stamps, and room for certainly half as many more; and when this volume is full I shall have it dated at the back, and a new one bound exactly the same, and ruled without headings, dated at the back the year the first volume ceases. I have left blanks in their proper places for any stamps I do not possess, and have also some pages at the end of the catalogue ruled for writing, upon which I continue Dr. Viner's catalogue as new issues come out. Most of my new blank pages are only ruled round the margin, so that I can add headings for an}- fresh countries, and rule the rest of the page in sepia for the stamps required. Believe me, truly yours, A LADY- COLLECTOR. To the Editor o/'The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' ; Sir,— So much of your paper is now taken up with suggestions for a ' permanent stamp album,' that although it appears to me a very easy matter for anyone who takes an interest in stamp collecting to arrange one for himself, To the Editor of 'The Stamp- Collector's Magazine.' Dear Sir, — I have at the present time a collection of between 1,300 and 1,400 postage stamps, arranged, as far as is practicable, hi one of Lallier's albums, of the edition of June, 1863, and, as you can doubtless easily imagine, in consequence of the numerous new issues which have come out since then, I have already filled up all the blank pages allotted to Europe, and have got a pocket-book full of loose stamps for which I have no room. I have there- fore for some months past carefully studied the letters in The Stamp- Collector' s Magazine on the subject of the formation of a 'peimianent album,' in hopes that some plan might be suggested by which that very desirable result might really be accomplished. Not having been able to find a suggestion which appeared sufficiently promising to tempt me to break up my collection and re- arrange it, I have tried to invent a system of my own, and have at last hit upon one which has at least, T think, the merit of originality, and I believe it to be the only plan at present suggested by which the desired object, a really ' permanent album,' can be attained ; its adoption will, however, necessitate the entire re-arrangement of a collection, which is a serious thing with a large one, and that on what I believe to be an entirely new principle, and one quite different to that which I believe to be now, under various forms, almost universally followed. My idea is, that in order to form a ' permanent album,' instead of placing all the issues of the same country to- gether, one should place all the stamps that were issued in the same year together ; these might either be arranged still further chronologically, in the order in which they came out during the year, or, as it will perhaps be difficult with some of the earlier issues to find this out with sufficient accuracy, either geographically or alphabeti- cally, according to the taste and fancy of the collector. Weshould thus begin with the first English stamps in 1810, and proceed to arrange all the subsequent issues of all nations in the order in which they appeared, so that e;i ch collection would in itself form a history of postage stamps, to assist which notes might be written on the opposite page, descriptive of the stamps, giving the reasons for their issue, if known, &c, &c. There would 160 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Oct. 1, 1867. be no occasion for blank pages in the middle of the book for new issues, as all these would come in their proper order at the end ; and the stamps already issued being known, spaces could be allotted to them with accuracy, and without any necessity for looking forwaid to any future issues. I shall be very much obliged if you can find space for this among the ' correspondence' next month, as I should be glad to hear your opinion and those of some of your contributors upon it. 1 am aware that it would produce a great change in the order of the stamps in the book, but if the new order is better than the old one, that should not be considered a serious disadvantage, especially as the result will, I think, be the formation of a really ' per- manent album.' I enclose my card, And remain, yours very trulv, Norwich. OHETH. THE POST MAGAZINE. To the Editor of 'The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Sir,— I have in my collection a copy of the Post Magazine described in your postal chit-chat. From in- formation contained in it, I am able to state that the first number appeared Saturday, July 18th, 1840 (not 1811 as your notice supposes). My copy passed through the post-office November 21st, 1840, but as, unfortunately, the first printed page is wanting, 1 am unable to determine the date of its publication. The Pout Magazine was published every Saturday, and a circulation of 5000 copies was guaranteed. The prospectus states that of the first number 7000 copies were sold, and proceeds to detail the design of the magazine in a style of puff, so worthy of Barnum himself, that, in addition to the few extracts you have already given, I cannot resist quoting the following, which may not perhaps occur in your copjT : — ' The strong approval expressed by all to whom the plan of the maga- zine has been explained is a guarantee of its success ; its novelty will excite immediate attention, — its utility cannot fail to ensure permanent support. An original poem will appear in every number, — now and then an original article in prose ; and should advertisers not be too eager to run away with his columns, the editor (if so high sounding a title may be assumed) will offer his opinions on the usual subjects which occupy a place in periodical publications He will endeavour that the value of his selections shall leave little to be complained of.' The sheet containing the 'original poem' is un- fortunately wanting in my copy, but if one may estimate the ' value ' of the articles selected from the specimen before me, ' The natural history of the Crocodile,' 1 should place it at a very low figure indeed. Whether the Post Magazine lacked 4 permanent support ' because the public failed to estimate its 'utility,' or whether it sank under the pressure of competition, I cannot say, but I rather fancy it had but au ephemeral existence. That it was subject to competition is certain, as I have a Mulready cover iii my collection, the whole of which is filled with printed advertisements of the Society for the extinction of the Slave Trade. Amongst these notices is an allusion to a meeting which had recently taken place on the 1st June, 1840, from whence I inter that these advertising Mulreadys must have been contemporary with the Post Magazine. Perhaps in the forthcoming History of the Penny Postage, by Sirllowland Hill, we may learn under what circumstances, and up to what date, advertisements were allowed to be printed on government paper. At the end of the advertisements in my copy it is stated that Mulready covers, containing notices of the society, might be purchased at the offices of the society, 15, Parliament- street, at Is. and 2s. per dozen respectively. And here permit me to say that 1 think you are in error in supposing that the price of post-office envelopes was, in 1841, is. 3d. per dozen. To the best of my recollection (but I was very young at the time and then seldom wrote a letter), I never paid more than Is. per dozen for the penny Mul- ready envelopes. 1 believe it is only since the embossed stamps have been introduced that the paper forming the envelope has been charged for. Yours truly, Clifton. ' FENTONIA. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. T. T., Liverpool. — The Queensland 5s. is of the same type as its congeners, and coloured pink. Inquisitive. — The penny orange-yellow Natal has not been reprinted. — The 4 c. United States envelope was printed on both white and j'ellow laid paper. Subscriber. — The rate of subscription to our own magazine for foreign countries is regulated by the charge for postage of registered publications to those countries. West Indian, Plymouth. — Levrault names five kinds of Grenada stamps, viz. : the Id. green and 6d. carmine, without and with star watermark, and the red-orange variety of the latter value, issued this year. H. H. C— The prices and colours of the new Egyptian stamps are given in the last number of the magazine; we should, however, observe in correction that the one piastre is in fact lake-red, not vermilion. Water>l\.uk, Hungerford.— The 1/9 Ceylon has not been issued either perforated or watermarked.— Your New Zealand 2d. blue on thick white unwatermarked paper is the earliest issue on white. — There are two varieties of the East India half-anna envelopes — one on white, the other on yellowish laid paper. — The home stamps are used in the Portuguese colonies. B. S., Exeter.— Your red Turkish is the 5 piastres of the obsolete ' unpaid ' series. The usual shade of thig stamp is brown, but red specimens are by no means un- common.— The alteration of date on the Cuban stamps, especially coupled as it is with the addition of perforation, decidedly constitutes a new series. Novice, Chepstow. — Our magazine commenced its existence on the 1st February, 1863, Le Timbre- Poste appeared on the 15th of the same month. It was then a single folio sheet without illustrations, and the publisher's price list occupied a great portion of the space. T. F., Blairgowrie, N.B. — Of the stamps you send, two of them have the name of the colony whence they come — New South Wales — inscribed on them. — The rose stamp with flower in centre is a Swiss local, issued by au hotel keeper on the lligi mountain. — The green stamp is an Italian of the 1856 series, and the remaining stamp, a rose one, inscribed espana correos, is a 2 reales Spanish of 1865. — Thanks for your good wishes for the magazine. T. C. G. Newiiam.— M. Moeus is a dealer in stamps, resident in Brussels, aud is also publisher of Le Timbre- lobte. M. Lallier is a Parisian savnn, member of more than one scientific association, and compiler of the album bearing his name. Mr. Oppen is, we believe, a classical teacher resident in this country. The album called by bis name long since passed from his care. The earlier editions were compiled by Mr. H. Whymper, and the later ones have been issued under the able super- vision of Dr. Viner. — The letters and numbers which ap- pear on the English stamps constitute a check upon the numbers printed, &c. Nov. 1, 1867] THE STAMP-COLLECTOB'S MAGAZINE. 161 POSTAL ENVELOPES IN 1818. BY OVERT TAYLOR. The antiquity of everything under the sun has long since been asserted, and, for the matter of that, proved also. It is not then to be expected that the invention of postage stamps should turn out to be a novelty. Though in its present shape the postal sys- tem with its necessary auxiliaries — adhesive labels — is beyond question the work of Sir Rowland Hill, still, more than one nation can produce proof that at some earlier period schemes for cheap prepaid postage were started by its citizens, and received with more or less favour. In 1653 Velayer de- livered billetdoux in Paris ; Treffenberg, the Swede, in 1823 proposed a method of prepayment to his countrymen ; Murray managed his penny post in London in 1688, and probably, Avere the matter investigated, it would be found that many nations have indistinct traditions of semi-postal institu- tions in former times. We have now to bring before the notice of our readers a series of envelopes in use in Italy from 1819 to 1836. Their postal character has been contested, but in our opinion is not open to question. They were first noticed by M. Moens in the twenty- seventh number of his journal, from which we abridge the following particulars : ' A royal decree of the 12th August, 1818, declared that the right of carrying letters was exclusively reserved to the postal adminis- tration, but admitted, nevertheless, of excep- tions. Those who would avail themselves of the provisions of art. 41 [which M. Moens does not quote] in sending letters otherwise than through the post, were bound first to send them to the local post-office and pay the state charge.* The official noted the letters in the presence of the bearer on a register, and impressed a stamp, at one of the angles of the address, containing the same check-number as was placed against the letter in the re- gister. * [As the government had reserved to itself the monopoly of carrying letters, but permitted private individuals to carry them, provided the tax to the state were duly paid, we suppose that to be the tax or charge referred to in the above regulation. — Ed.] The formalities above described were found tedious to the senders of letters and burdensome to the officials, and in conse- quence the postal administration adopted a new plan more economical of time and money. On the 7th of November, 1818, the emis- sion of stamped postal paper — Carta postufo bollata — was announced, and the conditions on which it might be used were stated. This paper, made by direction of the postmaster- general under the immediate inspection of the superintendent-general, was sold at the post-offices throughout the country and- by the vendors of tobacco, who received a com- mission upon their sales. There were three values: 15 centesimi for distances of 15 miles, 25 c. for distances of from 15 to 35 miles, and 50 c. for all further distances. The letters written on this paper might be sent by any conveyance at the discretion of the sender, provided that a single sheet only were used, that it were folded to show the stamp, and that, the address were in the same handwriting as the letter : a breach of any of these conditions was punishable by law. The first decree was followed by an ordi- nance of the 3rd December, 181^, announc- ing the provisional emission of unwater- marked postal sheets of ordinary letter size, and bearing a coloured stamp varying in form for each value, and they were accord- ingly delivered to the public on the 1st January, 1819. This paper remained current for a twelve- month. On the 13th November, 1819, a royal ordinance appeared, suppressing the provisional issue from and after the follow- ing 1st of January, but permitting any of the values to be exchanged against those of the new watermarked series wbich was to be emitted in their place for a month after- wards ; and giving other particulars of no special interest. From details furnished from official sources it would appear that the sheets were little used, and that they were finally withdrawn by the 73rd article of a royal decree of the 30th March, 1836, in consequence of a modification being made in the postal regu- lations by the 72nd article of the same law. 162 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Nov. 1, 1867. We have lately had an opportunity of in- specting both series of these interesting envelopes. The first, issued in 1819, is unwatermarked, and bears the stamp, for each value, low down in the centre of the part folded to receive the address. Each value is of a different shape — the 15 c. being circular, the 25 c. trans- verse oval, and the 50 c. octagonal — but all bear the same device — a boy on horseback blowing a trumpet (the horse galloping towards the left), and the value beneath. We give annexed an engraving of the highest value by which a clearer idea will be gained of their appear- ance. The design, it will be seen, is very primitive and antique in its details. The paper looks decidedly ancient, and is of the rough quality generally used at that date. The second series is elaborately water- marked. A Greek border goes round the edge of the entire sheet, and contains the following inscription : corrispoxdenza auto- RIZZATA IN CORSO PARTICULAR E PER PEDONI ED altre OCCASiONi, which signifies ' Correspond- ence by private carrier, by foot passengers, and other means.' In the centre of the sheet is the scutcheon of Savoy, and disposed above, below, and at the sides, the words, DIREZION'E GEXERALE DELL.E REGIE POSTE (di- rection-general of the royal post). Thus far the watermark, which is the most interest- ing part of the device of the second series, the stamps being impressed in plain relief, and therefore hardly noticeable. They show the same designs as their predecessors, dif- fering only in having a pearled instead of a plain border, and are placed in the same position on the paper. The paper of this series is of a yellowish tint from age. M. Moens, iu introducing these envelopes to the notice of collectors, expressed an .opinion that they would be valuable addi- tions to a postage-stamp collection, but M. Mahe, in a letter published in the thirtieth number of Le Timhre-Poste, denies that any postal value attaches to them, his argument being that theymerelypaid a revenue tax, and that a letter written on this stamped paper, and thrown into the post-office box would have been treated as entirely unpaid, the charge which the envelopes represented being not for the carriage of letters through the post, but for their carriage by extra- official means and under particular con- ditions. M. Mahe is very probably correct in stating that the postal paper would not carry letters written on it free by post, but the Sardinian government permitted an in- fringement upon the exclusive right of its post-office, only when correspondence carried by private persons was written upon the stamped paper, and thus conferred the right of carrying such letters upon any person who might undertake to do so. As far as the post-office was concerned the sum which the stamp represented was charged by it for the transmission and delivery of the letters written upon the stamped sheets. Upon these letters it accepted the fee, but not the responsibility. For the sake of increased speed, or perhaps because no government mail passed over particular routes, the for- warding of communications by private sources was permitted, the government nevertheless making a charge upon them, and the sender taking the chance of safe delivery and paying any extra charge which might be made by the carrier. These envelopes appear to us very like those used by Wells, Fargo, & Co. The United States permits that firm to carry and deliver letters, but they must be enclosed in government stamped envelopes, and pur- chasers of these, when the}- pay the price of the stamps, satisfy the claims of the post- office, and have then to pay such further rate as Wells, Fargo, & Co. may charge. THE BRITISH POSTAL GUIDE. Many of our readers probably never see ! the British Postal Guide, or, if at all, only • upon the counters of our post-offices. Yet it is by no means an uninteresting publica- tion. It contains in a small compass a vast fund of information of great value, and well j repays a little study. We refer more espe- cially to the table of colonial and foreign i postage, in which the postal rates to every Nov. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 163 country with which our own is in communi- cation are quoted, and to the calendar of arrivals and departures of mails. In the latter we have evidence of the high degree of accuracy and regularity which cha- racterises the working of our post-office. Just as astronomers foretell, long in ad- vance, the occurrence of phenomena in the upper world, so our postal authorities give the proximate date of arrival of mails, day j after day, from every part of the world, ! months beforehand. Not one, it may be, of the scores of packet-boats which fetch and carry the correspondence of this country has got up steam for its voyage when the Postal Guide issues from the press, with full particulars of all the arrivals and departures for the next three months. And it is rarely that the published calculations are much in fault — when they are, it is frequently on the right side; the mails come to hand a day or two before they are due. Such a mishap as the delay of a mail- boat in starting from here has scarcely ever happened. A perusal of the table of rates will, in some measure, exemplify the civil and political condition of many of the countries named. High charges for the transmission of letters from England evidence the fact that there is little correspondence between this country and the places named ; this again shows that their commercial relations with us are very slight, and thence we may argue, that such places are too poor and too primitive to require our assistance. Com- pulsory prepayment may also be taken to indicate incompleteness in the postal rela- tions. Many countries are unsettled, and were it left to the native governments to collect the charges upon letters from here, very probably our post-office would not receive half what it is entitled to. In the largest sea-port of such countries we have a packet agent, who has the collection, despatch, receipt and delivery of the mails under his special care, and there is neces- sarily a British post-office for the same purpose, where also our stamps are sold. The registration of letters to such countries is complete only up to the port of landing, as our authorities cannot guarantee that any special care will be taken of registered letters after they are once handed over to the native officials. Intolerance, or narrow commercial views, in some states still prevents the institution of a book post between them and us. This is notably the case with Spain, whither no bound books, nor prints, music, maps or drawings, unless forming part of publica- tions, can be sent. Spain, probably, has no internal book post, her repressive policy not favouring such an instrument of enlighten- ment ; but the United States, whilst possess- ing an internal book post, with a view to protect their publishers and booksellers from competition with the English trade, refused until very recently to permit the establish- ment of a book post between them and this country. A more liberal view is now, how- ever, adopted, and, by virtue of the recent postal treaty between Great Britain and the States, books and all other printed matter can be freely sent across the water at a reasonable rate. Many of the countries not possessing a book post are too poor to institute one. As book packets weigh heavy, they can only be carried in conjunction with a large letter correspondence, the postage whereon keej)S the service in a prosperous, or, at any rate, solvent condition. Thinly-populated and half- civilised countries cannot, from their very nature, be expected to have so large an internal correspondence as characterises older and more highly cultivated states, with better means of communication ; and where the correspondence is small, there is no chance of the addition of a book post, and the high letter rates of postage can hardly keep the post-office balance on the right side. But, though we may not trouble to send books to all the out-of-the-way places of the world, we are able, at least, to send letters. The columns of names of states, cities, and districts in the table of rates is rough reading, and more than one place is men- tioned respecting which it is not easy to glean particulars. Such names as Botus- chany, Goree, Mostur, Samanud, Tultscha, and others specially referred to in the guide, fall very uniamiliarly on the ear, but with 164 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Nov. 1, 1867. these and others almost equally as strange, | our post-office is in regular communication. The great lines to India, Australia, and the United States are now so regular in their working that they have quite accus- toined us to the receipt of letters at stated intervals from these distant places. As a large railway has its branches extending into the remoter districts near which it passes, . so our chief lines of communication have rami- fications into and connections with the most secluded spots. Thus, upon the Indian line, the letters for Aden, Alexandria, Borneo, Japan, Java, Labuan, Madagascar, Penang, Reunion, &c, are carried ; and by our West Indian and Pacific mails we send to such places as San Juan de Nicaragua, Belize, Guatemala, Bolivia, and other very un- settled parts, besides corresponding across the isthmus of Panama with our New Zea- land friends. By the influence of such an accurate srstern the world gets smaller every day. Australia is now but a little distance away, and Japan in a few years will be quite close to us. All the parts of the earth are knit together by a community of interest and feeling which will do more in time to pro- mote peace than any number of big guns or international peace congresses. NOTES AND QUERIES. BT AN' AMATEUR. Belgium. — Of the series with head of Leopold in oval frame, unperforated,and watermarked LL interlaced, there were two emissions, which are easily to be distinguished by the difference in the paper. The earlier are found on thick paper, almost cartonne, while the latter are printed on a thin paper, both sets bearing the same watermark. Of the earlier printing, 200 stamps made up the full sheet, but when the thinner paper was adopted 300 stamps were printed on each sheet. The issue was first commenced by the 40 centimes on thick paper, in October, ]849, and the thinner paper was adopted about 1855-6. The foregoing difference does not appear to be noticed in Berger-Levrault's catalogue, but is recognized by most col- lectors. It is right to call attention to the fact. Holland. — Besides the recent issue, of which some six or seven values are it is reported to constitute the series, stamps designed for newspaper postage are in course of preparation. On dit, that they will bear the arms of Holland. A very striking difference exists in the (till October last) current series of stamps of Holland, head to right in oval : 5 c. blue, 10 c. carmine, 15 c. orange. Some little time previous to the date mentioned the govern- ment ceased to print these stamps, and the dies were handed over to printers who con- tracted with the government. On comparing a set of the three stamps printed by the con- tractors with those printed by the government, a very marked difference is found to exist in ink, colour, and style of printing, perceptible in an instant to any one used to discrimi- nate between issues of stamps, but difficult to describe in words. Those collectors who are careful to note such matters will do well at once to secure the later-printed set, as the contractors only printed for about two months from these dies, and then com- menced with the new issue now current. VTcetemburg. — The new return stamp, dentele a la roulette, is printed on very much thinner paper than its predecessor, and is from a very distinct die, as can be seen by comparing the armorial bearings. Bavaria. — Of the return stamp of Munich two distinct lithographic series exist, the one which is probably the earlier has the line of the oval thicker and more curved than in the later issue, and the crown is differently designed. The difference be- tween the two is very apparent on collating specimens of each.* The present issue ap- pears to the eye to present no differences between the stamps on the same sheet for Munich, Bamberg, Augsburg, or Wurzburg, but in the Niirnberg stamps there are two designs placed side by side on the stone. On closely examining these stamps, and ob- serving where the right-hand lower jewel or chain is placed relatively to the G of Niirn- berg in the two specimens, the variety will readily be found. Other marks of difference * [The return stamp with thicker oval, is said to be for Regensburg, though bearing the inscription mvxich. This fact is noted at p. 94 of the present vohune.— Ed.] JSTov. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. exist. This is a case almost identical with the stamps of the Danubian Principalities, head of Prince Couza, 1865, 20 paras, of which value two varieties exist on the same plate. America. — Local stamps of the United States. — On examining- a largo collection of these the other day, comprising the authentic old postmarked stamps, as well as reprints from the original die, and various forgeries, the following are examples of the facts for collectors which it seemed proper to note, being such as cannot be ascertained except upon an examination of a collection of this character. Messenkope's Union-square Post-office. — De- vice, a lamp : the exterior oval in the true stamp is formed by one line ; the forgery has two lines surrounding it, one thicker than the other. Essex Letter Express. — Vessel. In the true stamp the flag bears the letters sx, in the forgery these are found beneath the vessel. Mclntire's City Express Post. — Mercury ; piuk. This stamp has been reprinted ; the reprint can be readily distinguished, by the absence of the little round ornament at the extreme upper left-hand corner ; otherwise the die is perfect. Steinmeyer's City Post. — The genuine stamp has no little third ornament in the centre of the stamp where the two black lines are divided ; the false has a small central device placed there, thus forming three or- naments between the ends of the two sets of lines. [The distinguishing marks of many other stamps were similarly noted, of which Amateur has promised us a list. "We shall be exceedingly obliged if any of our readers and correspondents who have genuine postmarked copies of local American stamps will send us a description of them ; or, better still, forward us the specimens for a few days' examination preparatory to a paper on this sub- ject, which we contemplate publishing. We will return the specimens without delay after having duly noted them. — Ed.] POSTAGE STAMPS EST THE PARIS EXHIBITION". (Continued from 2^0e 155). In the gallery of English machinery, near the pyramid of Australian gold, is all the material constituting an English post-office. Here 1 are shown the tables where journals are \ sorted, and that whereon letters are stamped, with the stamping machine, letter weights, ; &c. Farther along is the post-office counter, on one side of which stands a pillar-box, and on the other a second box fixed in the wall. Here also is a model of Messrs. Turner & Co.'s , machine for lifting the clerks and the mails ; at the London post-office, and on a table \ are shown sample letter-bags, with the vignettes for marking them, and the Argand lamp used in the travelling post-office. We are next introduced to the vehicles I by which the packets are transmitted. But ! first we see a miniature model of the old I royal mail coach which plied between London ! and Liverpool, and then railway carriages ! rolling along a small line. This sight attracts I general attraction. It is a representation of I the travelling post-office, and includes all I the appurtenances. Together with this are a large number, of i English postage stamps and envelopes, com- prising the twoMulreadys ; the Id. black and : amaranth adhesives, with ornaments in ! angles, 2d. blue with letters, small-lettered ! 3d., 4d., 6d., 9d., and Is., and the large- I lettered varieties of all these values except , the 3d. ; besides these there are all the em- ; bossed stamps and the l|d. essay. This interesting collection of our post-office material has been made under the superin- | tendence of Mr. Pearson Hill, and with the (we may almost say) affectionate solicitude which might be expected from the son of the ; founder of the English postal system. Returning to the French portion of the ! exhibition, we come upon the cylinder which I M. Bordes, jun., of Paris, has invented for j printing postage stamps. It has twenty I impressions in a row, and the rows are ' placed alternately, so that the ends of the stamps in one row come above the centres of those in the next. A large roll of paper is exhibited covered with stamps to the number, j we should say, of 6400, and bearing the Emperor's head in black, blue, and carmiue. Of the engraving we say nothing, it being j intended principally to show the mode of printing, which is unquestionably much ; cheaper. Another cylinder is shown by M. . Chezaud, by which, it is said, a million of 166 THE STAMP-COLLECTOE'S MAGAZINE. [Nov, 1, 1867. stamps an hour can be printed, and specimens are shown produced by his method. In the machine gallery also M. Duloz exposes specimens of engraving on metal, and of impressions made by his process. His invention is a marvellous combination of science applied to the art of engraving, reproducing, as it does, the artist's design either in cameo or in intaglio. This corner of the gallery is his workshop, where the plates are engraved, and the stamps printed, and all round are shown his productions, which include the Moldo-Wallachian stamps with head of Prince Couza (engraved by M. Stern, printed by M. Duloz), four in blue, two in orange, two in carmine, and two in violet ; the Turkish stamps, and some French revenue labels. M. Stern a^o shows the Mcldc-Wallachian stamps in his frame. They form a series of essays ordered by Prince Couza's govern- ment, which were never used, the revolution nipping their currency in the bud. The design is simple, but by no means ineffective. That the portrait should resemble a well- favoured gendarme is not the designer's fault, as fs evident on reference to the photograph (which is exhibited) from which he had to copy. Besides the Moldo-Wallachian, M. Stern shows a design for a stamp of the Haitian republic, which its citizens would do well to apply for when they wish to sport a set of postal adhesives. The engravings of stamps which illustrated M. Rondot's. articles in the Mag as in Piltoresque are shown in a large tableau. M. Riester shows his essays for Egypt and Bolivia, and M. Gaste exhibits the same engraver's essays for San Marino. The Ottoman empire stamps appear again in the case of M. Poitevin, their engraver, who exposes entire sheets of the lower values, and a quarter sheet of the 5 piastres. In another of his cases are two rows, each of eight impressions, of all the values, including the 2-5 piastres red, and the same in brown. The rest of M. Poitevin's exhibition consists of specimens of French ti mires de dimen- sion. We now arrive at what in "Dr. Mngnus' opinion constitutes the principal portion of the French exhibition, so far as concerns postage stamps, viz. : the works of MM. Barre and Hulot. The case of the former Dr. Magnus was, much to his regret, unable to discover, but M. Hulot's frame containing, as it does, specimens of M. Barre's French stamps, in some measure supplied the omission. As is well known, M. Hulot is the author of the electrotyping system now generally used for the production of the dies and plates of stamps. By means of this system he, with remarkable celerity, made the plates, printed the first French postage stamps from them, and supplied the central post-office, and all the provincial offices, a fortnight be- fore the law which authorised their emission came in force. M. Hulot exhibits a sheet of 25 c. black, Republic, 1848, and portions of sheets of the 25 c. of the Empire printed in green, orange- yellow, carmine, bistre, light-blue, deep-blue, and rose-violet, as specimens of his pro- ductions. He has studied the composition of printing inks, and his case contains samples of printing in fixed and fugitive colours. He also shows sheets of the six French colonial stamps, of the 4 c. empire in brown and in olive-green, the 30 c. in deep-blue and chestnut, also fragments of sheet3 of the latter in light-brown, carmine, orange, and light-violet, and the copper plates from which the 20 and 25 c. empire, the 25 c. and 10 c. republic, and the 10 c. | colonial, were printed. Dr. Magnus here enters into a criticism on I the French stamps, in which our space will not allow us to follow him. His conclusions are that the exhibition proves to all the world their superiority, and that M. Hulot's services in connection with their manufacture deserve recognition at his country's hands, these stamps being the most difficult of any to counterfeit, or clean for use a second time. The latter portion of Dr. Magnus' article is occupied with a description of the bill stamps of various countries, which it does not come within our scope to notice, and by a review of M. de Saulcy's collection, which is exhibited by a stamp merchant, in I class 89 (materials and methods for employ- ! ment of children !). This also we leave, ! but his concluding remarks are well worth Nov. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 16; quoting as the views of one of our highest authorities upon an interesting point. ' That which distinguishes a collection is not solely the presence of unique specimens, or a fabulous value. Which of us has not had the good fortune to lay his hand upon one of these curiosities ? But that which indicates, to our idea, the merit of a collection is the classification, because it is the actual work of its owner. Judicious and methodical classing — an arrangement favourable to study — the inclusion of all known varieties by copies either unused, or in the cleanest possible condition — the preparation of the best album for the purposes of study, and for the preservation of the stamps : in these lie the true battle-ground, where victory is not for the largest battalions, nor for the richest costumes, but for those collections which furnish proof of patient study and continued labour on the part of their proprietor. But we assert that the theatre for such a contest is badly placed in the Champ de Mars. Our timbrophilic riches are there exposed to the gaze of the vulgar and the intemperate, and many amateurs are deterred from studying them. Their true Champ de Mars is in the meeting-room of a society, and it is now that we have occasion to regret the dispersion of the Societe Philatelique. The riches hidden in foreign albums, the valuable information, the interesting details, the dates vainly sought for, would all be manifest upon an inspection of these albums in a society of amateurs. What a quantity of work necessarily left undone ! On the other hand, what ma- terial for study remains neglected ! More- over, many ideas spring from mutual in- tercourse, and is it not probable that the method which distinguishes French collec- tions might be improved upon the examina- tion and discussion of the systems in vogue in foreign collections ? We therefore more than ever regret the absence of a central re-union of amateurs.' Without absolutely committing ourselves to the idea, we might suggest the advisability of forming a Philatelic Society in London, -with branches throughout the country. The establishment of such a society would pro- mote research, produce accuracy, and place stamp-collecting on a more permanent basis. NEWLY-ISSUED OR INEDITED STAMPS. We are fortunate this month in having to describe five stamps executed by the Ameri- can Bank-Note Company. We commence with the new series for the Argentine Republic. — We have already placed our readers in possession of some details respecting the anticipated emission. They are acquainted with the fact that each stamp is to bear a different portrait, that the values are to be the same as those of the 1864 series, and the colours similar. We are now in receipt of a complete set of the debutants, obtained by favour from the Buenos Ay res post-offico, as the higher Values are kept back until the exhaustion of the present stock, and may not be issued for some months to come. The 5 centavos bears the portrait of Rivadavia in a circle, containing the words, republica Argentina, and the figure 5. This circle is placed upon a shaded scutcheon, occupying seven-eighths of the stamp, and bearing a large figure 5 in the upper angles. Below the shield is a scroll inscribed with the value, cinco centavos, aud some orna- mental foliage. The portrait is not very like that on the preceding series; it shows greater determination of Character in the projecting compressed lips, and, generally, more animation. In colour the stamp is a fine vermilion. Altogether, this novel de- sign, judged by the high standard we are accustomed to apply to the company's pro- ductions, hardly comes up to our expectations. The 10 centavos is by far the handsomest of the series. No eccentricity of design is allowed to mar the beauty of the portrait, which stands out, the most prominent feature (if we may use the expression) of the stamp. It is the portrait of General Belgrano, but no one would guess from the fine, dreamy, thoughtful countenance that its possessor was a military man. It bears a certain re- semblance to the first Napoleon, but the stern expression of the French emperor is not reproduced in the face of the Argentine celebrity. We are not acquainted with the history of the republic, and cannot, at the moment, lay our hands on any biography of 168 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Nov. 1^1867. Belgrano, but, without anysuch special know- ledge, we should judge him, from his stamp portrait, to have been the philosophic spirit of the Independencia. Rivadavia may have contributed diplomatic skill ; San Martin, military genius ; but we should fancy that the work of laying the legislative founda- tion of the young Republic was per- formed by Belgrano. Thus much for the face. Its frame- work consists of an oval, having on each side a small shield, bearing the national arms as they appear on the stamps of the Confederation, and the in- scription in white letters,REPUBLiCA Argentina, diez centavos. The rectangle is completed by the addition of ornamental corner pieces bearing the figure 10. The stamp is printed a line deep green. The remaining stamp of the series also bears a characteristic portrait — that of General San Martin, or San Martino. Though not in uniform, he looks every inch a soldier, with head erect, keen eyes, and resolute expression. His effigy was worthy of a more tasteful frame : the secondary portions of the design have been allowed, as in the 5 c, to encroach too much upon the space required for the proper display of the portrait. A lozenge-shape border constitutes the enclo- sure, and is inscribed republica Argentina, quince centavos ; the angles are occupied with a large circle, containing the figure 15 and some minor ornaments. In colour this stamp is a deep-blue, exactly like that of the 24 c. Newfoundland. All the stamps are printed on white, unwatermarked paper, per- forated. Peru. — Following quickly upon our report of the postponement of the emission of the higher values of postage stamps, come the higher values themselves to con- tradict it. We are pleased by such ocular demon- stration to find we were misinformed, and now place before our readers engravings of the long- desired but little-expec- ted arrivals. The type of the 5 centavos has in the principal point been adhered to: thellamas again figure upon a rocky ledge surrounded cl/-\_n.o./\_rv j-^h-j~^^j by mountains. Their position, however, has been altered, both being now represented erect and unburdened, and the ' awkwardness ' of the rock on which they are standing is made more apparent. The frame- work of both these stamps is pleasing. We should our- selves give the preference L| to the lower value, as the more chastened ornament agrees better with the sterile scene which it encloses, — but this is a matter of taste. Further description is unnecessary, but we may observe that the corner pieces of the 20 care exactly like those of the new 15 c. Argentine. These stamps are printed on white unwatermarked paper, the 10 c. is coloured vermilion, and the 20 c. brown. Roman States. — A new series has been for some time anticipated for the Papal States, the Roman government having been a party to the monetary conven- tion concluded last year, in which Spain also joined. This series has now been issued, and our readers will be disappointed to learn that the opportunity has not been taken to dis- card the cotton-label type hitherto in use. It re-appears on glazed paper, with only the denominations altered. The new stamps have a ' bogus ' look, which might tempt collectors; ignorant of the new emission, to consider them forgeries, and which reminds us of the spurious local Americans. The series consists of the following values : 2 centesimi green (type of the 2 baj). 5 „ light-blue „ 3 „ 10 „ vermilion ,, 8 „ 20 „ dark-lake „ 4 „ 40 „ yellow „ 6 „ 80 „ deep-rose „ 1 „ The \ baj was also turned into a Ira centesimi stamp, and its emission as such 1 fe a Cental Nov. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 169 authorised by the decree, but it was sub- sequently found that this value would be useless, and consequently it will not be put in circulation. Its colour is light-grey. Holland. — Annexed is a representation of the type of the new series described in our last num- ber. The colours of the three stamps already issued are 20 c. dark-green, 25 c. dark- violet, and 50 c. gold. The latter has a very rich appearance. The one cent stamp is not yet out. Turkey. — The subjoined stamp is said to have been emitted by a private Turkish company, but at present its origin and history are decidedly indistinct. M. Maury, after announcing that the Constantinople local post has been re-established, to the great satisfaction of the public, proceeds to state that a series of stamps, similar in type to the three previously emitted for the local post, is now in circulation. From this statement it would appear \ [vjizoparas f^i that the stamps were for A-^^*v~«~~>~. — nse in the metropolis, but on a glance at our engraving it will be seen that the left side bears the inscription kustendje & czernawoda, and M. Maury himself informs us that the specimen from which he described was obliterated with the words KUSTENDJE loyd agenzie. That the stamp cannot be for Constantinople is evident, nor is the manner of its employment at all clear from the inscription. Czernawoda, or Tchernavoda, is on the Danube, Kustendjie in Candia ; and the sum of 20 paras for the conveyance of a letter from one place to the other is remarkably small. The name, LOCAL- POST, though applicable to a special under- taking, is not used in the same sense as upon the Constantinople stamps, where it signifies simply a district post. As spelt upon the stamps also the words are neither good French nor good English, for in the latter language no hyphen is required. Respecting the letters on the right, dbsr, we have no information from M. Maury. M. Moens gives the native name of Czerna- woda as Boghaz-Keui (canal village), and states that the town in question is situate on the Danube and the canal (Doghaz), and hence would infer that the two first letters had reference to the town. We cannot see much ground for this inference. Again, it is to be noted that the only Turkish characters upon the stamp are the corner figures, and it seems, at first sight, rather improbable that a Turkish postage stamp should be destitute of any inscription comprehensible by the natives. The design also is a queer combination of objects. A railway train, a steam packet, small boats, mountains, a crescent and star are all included in the central device, with little regard for perspective. This unaccredited individual appears print- ed in black on green paper, and perforated. At present we can but regard it with suspicion. Should further information come to hand respecting it, we shall not delay to give our readers the benefit thereof. Brazil. — Another envelope has been issued for this empire, bearing the value, 300 reis. The design is that of its predecessor, or, to be particular, that of the 200 reis, as the lettering is of the thinner, closer type used for the latter denomination. The watermark is also the same — correio brasileiro. The colour is vermilion. This value has no equivalent in the new adhesive series, but we should think the omission would soon be supplied. Whilst upon this subject, it may be as well to notice the reiteration in the Stamp-Collector'' s Record of the statement that the Brazilian envelopes are made by Messrs. NeBbitt & Co., of New York, and 'not,' to quote the words of our 'facetious ' contemporary, ' by the American Bank-Note Company, that prolific source, from which the barbarians of the Eastern hemisphere imagine all the American stamps are de- rived.' Mexico. — The same contemporary asserts that the provisional Guadalajara stamps are only postmarks. If this be the case, they are the first postmarks to bear denomina- tions of value and to be perforated ! Le Timbre-Poste corrects the statement which we quoted last month relative to the re- 170 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Nov. 1, 1867. ception, ' on this side,' of 2 rl. stamps of the first type, printed in black on green,— stating that, in fact, this value is printed black on lilac. The Belgian journal also notices a 2 rls. green on blue paper. Austria. — A letter appears in Le Timbre- Poste, calling attention to the emission of five new stamps by the Express Company of Leitmeritz (Bohemia). They are intended to prepay the correspondence between five neighbouring towns. The values are 5, 10, 16, 25, and 50 kr., and they are printed on different colours for each town ; four bear in the centre the figure of value, the fifth a carrier-dove, with the inscription brief geld POST-PACKET BEFORDERUNG DER LEIIMER1TZER express compagnie. The 5, 10, and 15 kr. are rectangular, the 25 kr. triangular, and the 50 kr. octagonal. We hope to give en- gravings of each type and further details next month, if these turn out to be genuine; but we suspect in October poissons d'Avril are again in season. Prussia. — On clif, that the Prussian stamps will shortly be issued perforated, the present pereage en ligne being found very incon- venient in separating the stamps. Should this prove true, all the other German stamps, manufactured at Berlin, and not doomed to extinction, will probably show a similar and welcome improvement. Wurtemburg. — A new returned-letter stamp has been issued, similar in design to the previous one, and perforated. Straits Settlements. — We are informed that stamps have been prepared for, and despatched to this newly-formed colony. Pending their arrival, it Avould appear that a provisional series has been placed in use, consisting of the current series of British India, with the imperial crown printed in the upper part above the Queen's head, and the value in cents printed in a straight line over the original value of the stamp in the lower part. This printing is in colour, and the values and colours which we have seen are as follows: Three cents, printed in blue, on one anna brown. Six cents, in purple, on two annas orange. Eight cents, in green, on two annas orange ; and 24 cents in blue, on eight annas rose. The obliterating mark appears to be the old octagonal concentric lined one, so often seen on Indian stamps. We hope to bo shortly in pos- session of further information as to this provisional issue. Orange Free State. — -We also learn that stamps have been made in London for this state, and are now on their way out. We have at present no details respecting their colour or value. North Germany. — At the moment of going to press we have received intelligence that a series of adhesive stamps and envelopes for the new North-German Confederation will shortly be emitted. REVIEWS of POSTAL PUBLICATIONS. The Stamp Journal. Middleton, Connecticut, IT. S. : A. Fo unt ain. We have received the first two numbers of this journal — a free monthly publication issued by an American dealer — and find it very amusing reading. Among other new and interesting items of information we find the following : Fixl.vxd. — This iceborg, inhabited by white bears, has emitted another equivalent in value to abDut a third of a rouble. " But now occupies a prominent place under a glass case at the exposition. The composition of this sentence being peculiar, and the punctuation rather defec- tive, we are left in doubt, after reading it, whether the iceberg has emitted another iceberg or another white bear. It would appear, however, that after this marvellous emission had taken place, the original iceberg, commonly known as Finland, was put under a glass case at the Paris Exhibition. Not having seen any mention of its appearance there, we presume it did not long survive removal to a warmer climate. The new aspirant to philatelic favour is well printed, but has been imperfectly revised. From this latter cause we fin§l the new Norwe- gian 2 skg. stamp described as of a ' rankin ' yellow, and reference is made to M. ' Morns,' of Brussels, and Le Timbre-Paste. Perhaps as there are now two editors, ' the duties of the chair having become too arduous for one pair of shoulders,' such mistakes will be avoided in future. JSTov. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 171 Opperfs Postage- Stamp Album, and. Catalogue of British and Foreign Postage Staynps. Tenth edition. London: William Stetens. Vox populi, vox Dei; and by the sovereign voice of the philatelic people the value of Oppen's album is established. With such convincing evidence of general appreciation before us as the issue of a tenth edition affords, it is unnecessary for us to insist on the value of this excellent album. To juven- ile collectors, both in this country and in the colonies, it has proved itself worthy of support. So completely was the work revised for the ninth edition, that only a few minor alterations were necessary. The pages are apportioned with care to each country, and such economy has been used in the dispo- sition, that whilst there is sufficient space for each country's stamps, there is no waste. Taking a few of the more prominent states, we find that Great Britain and France have each six pages, Hamburg and Italy five, Portugal three, Spain seven, Switzerland six, and so on. As each page, except that which bears the heading, contains twenty squares, it will be seen that the space allotted is con- siderably in excess of existing requirements. The catalogue is a useful compilation, in which the various emissions are clearly specified, though we note, as a defect which may be remedied in future editions, that f>he shape is not always given. In this particular no general rule appears to have been followed, some stamps being described as 'rectangular' for instance, whilst others, equally entitled to the description, do not possess it. Secondary varieties are not noticed, but to the class of collectors for whom this album is specially intended this omission will not detract from its value, and so far as it goes the catalogue is an accurate and concise list. Both album and catalogue are brought up to within two months of the present time. We cannot conclude without adverting to the bindings, which are very tasteful, the best being specially worthy of note for its richness. For the convenience of those who 'do not require the catalogue the album alone is sold in the best binding, at a price which renders it attainable by collectors of the most limited resources. POSTAL CHIT-CHAT. Theee can be no question that the letter -earners are an ill-used body, for they are continually bcingdriven from pillar to post. A royal ordinance transfers the administration of posts and telegraphic lines from the Ministry of Commerce to the President of the State Ministry. — Berlin, Oct. 14. Among the advertised letters at the Fall River is one to the ' Proprietor of the best hotel in the city,' and the postmaster is boarding round a week with each to decide to whom it belongs. — Postman's Knock. Ex-Postmaster General Connell- The Hon Chas. Conn ell was lately elected without opposition to represent the county of Carle ton in the House of Commons of the dominion of Canada, at Ottawa. The provinces of Salvador. — The eleven stars which are represented above the volcano on the stamps of the republic of Salvador, typify the eleven departments com- prising the state, viz. : San Salvador, La Libertad, Son- sonate, Santa Anna, Cascathan, Usulutan, San Vicente, San Miguel, La Paz, La Union, and Chalatenangs. — Le Timbre Poste. A New Stamp Exchange.— A London correspondent writes as follows : — ' Perhaps you are not aware that there is still a latent desire to have a second edition of Birehin Lane in 1861-2. Several collectors (whom the municipal authorities have driven from the quarters they had taken up in Cullum Street, E.C.) meet every day in the Royal Exchange, and I have great pleasure in stating that up to the present time they have been but little interfered with.' Post-office Sunday Work. — The Fifeshire Journal says: — 'The man in charge of Her Majesty's mails be- tween Edinburgh and Perth, via Gran toil and Lady bank, has not been off duty a angle Sunday for sixteen years ; the church bells all that time have been ringing in vain for him, this branch of the civil service being apparently too hard up to afford him the relief of a gin-horse. Three other cases equally discreditable have been mentioned to us ; one runner goes between Inverness and Perth, while the other two serve their country by taking charge of its letters between Perth and Aberdeen.' Ceylon.— In looking over an old stock of envelopes of Ceylon, we noticed there were two varieties of device used for the seal : the one, which is the earlier, beiug a sort of engraved chequered pattern, the later more like the rosaces at the back of so many Continental envelopes. The differ- ence is very easily se:.'n on comparison, and in addition to this, thtj older set has the name, De-la-Rue & Co., London, embossed just inside the envelope, in the place where stationers usually put their address. Similar differences in the seal device can be found in the 6d. (small size) and 9d. of Mauritius, productions of the *same makers. A Martyr to Philately. — It is with feelings of deep regret that we are called upon to announce the de- cease, after a short illness, of Mr. Frederick II. King (better known as C. M. Seltz), which occurred on the evening of Sunday, the 13th August, after an illness of eight days' duration. The causes which resulted in his untimely end are, unfortunately, too clear. For a month or two past Mr. King has been assiduously engaged in the pre- paration of his Hnndbook, the which he not only edited, but 'set up' the typographic forms with his own hand, so that the book was in every respect particularly his own product- ion. Naturally of a delicate constitution, his overtasked energies at last succumbed, inflammation of the brain supervened, and, after a brief illness, his labours, his 172 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Nov. 1, 1867. hopes, and his cares were for ever at an end. — Stamp- Col lector' s Record The Lately- current Argentine 5 c. Stamp. — From the report of the Director-General of the Argentine post-office, published a few months since, we glean the following facts:— In January, 1866, a supply of 600,000 oc. stamps was printed, and when this lot had been worked off the two plates were found to be worn, and required renovation. They were accordingly sent for that purpose to Mr. Goodal, of Xew York (who represented the Ame- rican-Bank Xote Company in a contract entered into with the Director-General for the repairing of the plates), and two new plates were ordered for use in the interim. These plates were sent from England by Senor Marco de Pont, by order of Senor Balcarce, the Argentine minister in Paris, having, we suppose, been made in the latter place. The pair cost £16. 3s. (403 francs 70 centimes). They arrived in July, and were used by the adminis- tration for the impression of a fresh and equally large supplv of the 5 c. stamp, which was ready bv the 12th of October, 1866. Ah Historical Pillar-box. — A pillar-box for the reception of letters has just been placed opposite the patients' entrance to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, near Duke street, Smithfield, and it is a singular fact that the site of its erection is without doubt that where the stake was placed at the time the martyrs suffered, as the spot accords exactly with the one designated in old engravings of the period, so that its identity may be clearly defined. Two of these may be found in Chester's life of John Rogers, Vicar of St. Sepulchre, who was the first martyr to the Christian faith in Smithfield, and the author, in writing of the spot where Rogers suffered, says, 'The identical spot where the fatal stake was usually placed in Smithfield has been sufficiently identified. For a long time a square piece of pavement, composed of stones of a dark colour, a few paces in front of the entrance gate of the church of Bartholomew the Great, traditionally marked the locality. In the year 1849, during the progress of certain excavations, the pavement was removed, and be- neath it, at the distance of about three feet, were found a number of rough stones and a quantity of ashes, in the midst of which were discovered a few charred and partially destroyed bones.' This is precisely the place where the pillar-box has now been placed by order of the Postmaster- General. "With a 'Funny Friend' at the Post-office. — I have to get some postage stamps. He comes in with me, and before I've got my letters out of my pocket he is intro- ducing me to the post-office clerk. ' Mr. Julius Fitz- gibbon ' — a name he invents for the official — 'my friend,' alluding to me, 'the archbishop of Mesopotamia.' The clerk, a quiet business-like man, doesn't know what to say, not realising himself as Fitzgibbon. I pooh-pooh un- funny friend, and say what I've come for. This, say's Grigg, reminds him that he wants something. He first inquires 'if he's got some nice fine fresh stamps in this morning ? ' and on the clerk not being ready with a reply, he ' supposes that they're not in season, and won't trouble him.' He is just going, but returns to ask 'if a letter sent to "Wishy- washy- warshy-shire (or words equally un- intelligible) will get there to-morrow by ten o'clock:' The clerk, flunking he hasn't caught the name of the place exactly, inquires ' "Where, sir ?' and gives him his whole attention. He repeats his gibberish, and pretends to be annoyed, when the clerk suggests ' "Worcestershire ? ' I won't wait for him any Longer, and as he leaves, he threatens t> complain to the post-office authorities for placing a man there who doesn't know where Wishy- washv-warshv- shire is. I tell him that I will uot come out with him again, whereupon he takes my arm, and says, 'It's all right; no more humbug now.' — Punch. Stamp Collecting in America. — Great additions to collectorial ranks are being constantly made in America, and did none fall out again, timbrophilists would b? a respectably large array ; but from the number of applica- tions we receive from persons wishing to dispose of their collections, we perceive that'the increasing ratio is not so great as one would at first imagine. The deserters are mostly persons who commence with a grand rush, and obtain all the cheap stamps, such as Austria, Prussia, Saxony, &c, very easily. These being acquired, the real tug of war comes — rare postals are not picked up so easily — and when they come to look, and see the great de- ficiency they will have to fill before obtaining anything like a perfect assortment, and the great difficulty they will experience in procuring them, they give up the attempt, and retire disgusted. "We are always sorry to lose even one star from the collectorial firmament, still it cannot be helped, and our great comfort is that the vacant places are filled as soon as they occur, while there is also surplus enough to create a steady increase. "Were it not so, we would get disgusted ourselves, and throw stamps ' to the dogs ;' but we have every reason to be hopeful for the future of philately in America, from the fact that collectors are beginning to make stamps more of a study than heretofore — that is to say, study them as a branch of art, rather than gather them to make a show by their various gradations of colour, or their freedom from can- celling marks. — Postman's Knock. Stamped Postage Paper. — The Illustrated London News of the 10th March, 1814, gives the following par- ticulars in reference to the emission of stamped half- sheets of note paper: — Government having determined to issue writing paper stamped for the purpose of passing free through the post-office, we have been enabled from our own peculiar resources to obtain a proof stamp, a correct representation of which is annexed. The paper will be in half sheets, each of which will bear a beautifully embossed medallion portrait of her majesty Queen Victoria, under whose auspices the penny post was originally introduced. If the half-sheet be intended for a small note or letter, when the paper is folded the stamp will fall on the right-hand corner of the space usually allotted for the superscription. The paper thus made free of postage, may also be used as an envelope, in which case the stamp will fold into the centre of the space so appropriated. To this arrangement the authorities of the post-office have given their sanction. To prevent forgery, two silken lines of different hues have been in- troduced. This is the invention of Mr. Dickenson. A variety of opinions have been expressed with reference to the" utility of the proposed postage paper. It will be enough for us to say, that the plan has been announced by the Chancellor "of the Exchequer as merely experi- mental ; that it will, at least, add another facility for posting, which hitherto has not existed ; so far the propo- sition may be well received. The half-sheets will be furnished to the public at the prices at which the envelopes are at present vended. Some little delay will take place before the sheets can be generally sold. The causes of this are the following: — The necessity of in- creasing the preseut stock of envelopes at Somerset House, so that the demand for them may not exceed the supplv. The time which will necessarily be required to issue instructions to several postmasters throughout the Uuited Kingdom, for legalizing and regulating the sale; besides other minor matters of a character purely official. The issue of the paper however, it i> calculated, will take place in the course of the ensuing week. Nov. 1/1867.] THE STAMP- COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE, 173 CORRESPONDENCE. THE HONDURAS STAMPS. To the Editor of 'The Stamp -Collector' s Magazine.' Dear Sir, — In partial confirmation of the doubts which I expressed respecting these stamps, at page 98 of this year's volume of the magazine, permit me to call your attention to the subjoined paragraph from the American Stamp- Collector's Record : — ■ ' Honduras. — We annex an engraving of a pretended stamp for Honduras, which has been accepted as such for some two years past, but which, we learn from a most indisputable source, is unJcnoivn in Honduras.' This paragraph is accompanied by an engraving similar to that at p. 138, Stamp Collector's Magazine, vol. iii. I am, dear Sir, Yours truly, OVEKt TAYLOR. HOW AEE ENVELOPES TO BE MOUNTED ? To the Editor of 'The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Sir, — I am very much puzzled what to do with my envelopes. I am, at least in a philatelic sense, young in years, and anxious to acquaint myself with the latest improvements in the style of collecting. Accordingly I have read your magazine, both for the present and for last year, with care, and find the collection of entire envelopes strenuously insisted on, because of the ad- vantage in possessing the inscriptions, &c, which adorn (or otherwise) the paper, as well as the impressed stamp, but I find no practical suggestions respecting the manner in which entire envelopes are to be placed in collections. At present I put my stamps in a Lallier, but feel half persuaded to try the blank-book system, recommended by more than one of your correspondents. But they, how- ever, do not throw any light upon the point, respecting which I am in doubt. In Lallier, square spaces are given for the envelope stamps alone, with one or two exceptions, and it would spoil the book entirely to mount the envelopes uncut in the opposite pages, besides leaving the appointed places blank. The proposers of a new album do not give any particulars as to how the uncut specimens are to be included, so that I am without any guide. It seems to me to be by no means easy to put the entire envelopes in one album. . They would add greatly to the thickness, even if laid flat, with a space between each, and still more if laid one over the other, so as to show only the upper halves. They would also, in either case, occupy considerable space ; each of the more important series, three or four pages. In the translation of M. Berger-Levrault's paper on the arrangement of a collection, appears a statement, that continental philatelists collect two copies of every envelope, one cut square and mounted in the album, the other kept entire and perfect. But this plan is a very expensive one, and cannot be well followed out with ever}' envelope. Two copies of the 12 and 18 kr. Baden, of the rare Polish, the Geneva, and others, would be attain- able, if at all, only at a heavy and disproportionate cost. Besides, though it is very well for the leading philatelic students to possess entire, as well as cut copies, for pur- poses of reference, such students being charged with the duty of keeping the well of philatelic truth undefiled, and of increasing its volume on occasion, to the ordinary collector duplicates are superfluous. Either a cut or an uncut copy is sufficient — and if one copy — which ? If the uncut copy, the collector must be content not to dis- play it with his other treasures, and he cannot have the emissions of a country complete in one place. If the cut copy, he gives up the secondary advantage of having the inscription complete, or of having the little flap ornament, as well as the stamp. I think unless one of your corres- pondents can clearly show how entire envelopes can con- veniently be included with the adhesives, I shall choose the cut copies. I am, dear Sir, yours respectfully, Water ford. DOUBTFUL. MR. STOURTOX AND MR. OVERY TAYLOR. To the Editor of 'The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Dear Sir, — Will you kindly allow me space to reply to Mr. Overy Taylor's letter, at page 143 of your magazine ? He thoroughly misinterprets the purport of my letter (page 1 12) . It was not written, as he supposes, in defence of existing postage-stamp albums, but as a protest against the publication of another album in addition to those already issued, which are numerous enough in all con- science. Mr. Taylor says I collect in a ' higgledy-piggledy ' manner. I quite understand Mr. Taylor's colloquialism — to use a mild term — but question his right to make use of such expressions about me, a perfect stranger to him. He then attacks my mode of collecting in the coolest manner possible ; and to partly prove his assumptions, he quotes, or rather wmquotes a sentence of mine (p. 112), in which he inserts some words of his own and leaves out some of mine, thereby altering the sense of what I wrote. Such dovetailing may be ingenious, but it cer- tainly is not straightforward. Mr. Taylor calls the printed spaces for the reception of stamps in' albums designs ; if he alludes, as I presume he does, to those in Lallier or Moens, all I can say is they are remarkably plain designs. Mr. Taylor complains of my being hypercritical with regard to a slight grammatical mistake I believed he had made. After Mr. Taylor's courteous explanation, I will even go so far as to allow I ivas hypercritical ; but if I acknowledge to Mr. Taylor I was hypercritical with re- ference to his sentences, surely he ought to plead guilty to being hypercritical in the defects he finds in the present edition of Lallier. He says that its completeness is trouble- some. It ought to be just the reverse. Mr. Taylor devotes a whole paragraph to an onslaught (I can call it by no other name) on the above-mentioned album. If the work is really so faulty as Mr Taylor would endeavour to make out, it is somewhat strange 'that the album should have obtained so large a sale, not only in England but on the continent as well. The fact of our fourth English edition being translated from the fifth French edition is perhaps the best refutation that can be made to Mr. Taylor's asser- tion that the French timbrophilists all collect in blank albums or on blank moveable sheets. I must here, on behalf of my countrymen generally, take leave to deny in toto Mr. Taylor's unpatriotic assertion that French collectors have gone more into the study of stamps than we have. He then transfers to the pages of your maga- zine a translation out of M. Berger-Levrault's French catalogue, to the effect that the ' album system ' is to be abandoned by possessors of important collections ! This is a translation from a translation. Mr. Taylor ought to be acquainted with Sydney Smith's witty aphorism, that 'everything loses by translation, except a bishop.' This is particularly applicable in the present case. I will not further trespass on your space ; I have encroached thus fai partly on personal, partly on public grounds. I remain, your obedient servant, London. J. M. STOURTON. 174 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Nov. 1, 1867. THE LAEGE-FIGUEED ARGENTINE. To the Editor of 'The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Dear Sir. — I wish to call your attention to the follow- ing facts relative to the large and small-figured Argentine : Some one has said, I think in your pages, that it would be unnatural to supplant the more finely- engraved large figures with the coarsely-executed small ones. The objec- tion seems very just. Eut where have we any authority- fur placing the large before the small ? "We have only that of an ' official in the finance department who re- collects ' that two blocks were made, the later one to print more stamps and thus economise paper. I think this official — who, by the way, says the later block printed 212 per sheet, in the face of the' government statement that 216 was the number — may be passed over as very small authority in the matter when we can prove him wrong by the government reports, as follows : — " By the first two accounts we find that the number of stamps used between Dec, 1857 and Dec., 1858, was, of 5 c, 179,280 in 830 sheets. Now the number of stamps composing 830 sheets of 216 stamps per sheet is exactly 179,280. This clearly proves that the stamps used between these dates were 216 per sheet, otherwise small figures. Similarly we find that the 10 c. and 15 c. stamps used between" 1857 and 1858 were all small figures. Xow, taking together the accounts of Dec, 1858, and Feb. 22nd, 1860, we find that all the 10 c. stamps used between these dates were smaU figures. Ey this it is clearly shown that the 10 c large figures were never used at all. The accounts of Feb., 1860, of the 5 c and 15 c. are certainly not correct ; for, in the case of the 15 c we find 3,504 stamps in 22 sheets were issued between 1858 and 1860. Eut 22 sheets of 192 each would make 1,221 stamps, which is greater than the number given in the account, and 216 per sheet will be still worse. In the case of the 5c, taking the sheets at 192 each, the result is too small, at 216 it is too large, and the requisite number cannot be made by adding sheets of 192 and 216— no matter how. Consequently, supposing the figures given in The Stamp Collector's Magazine for May to be correct, there must have been portions of sheets of stamps added to make the number there given. Colonel Espejo' s denial of the existence of the large figures is simply further proof that they were not made during his period of authority, which ended 5th Feb., 1858, but does not shake the character of these stamps as a later issue. The only obstacle to placing the smaU figures before the large is the interesting ' official who recoEects,' and as his memory is at fault touching the number of stamps per sheet, mayhap he is totaEy in error ; at any rate, Col. Espejo should know better than he. So I think collectors may safely place the smaE figures before the large, and thus account for the more rude execution of the former, and the absence of used copies of 10 c and 15 c of the latter ; for, very probably the small figure 15 c first printed may have been sufficient to hinder the necessity of touching the larger ones. The 10 c we know- was not used, and the 5 c we know was, perhaps only a sheet of this. Yours truly, G. B. London. [What does O. D. say to the fact, that all the postmarked copies of the 5 cents larj.'e figures known bear the earliest obliterating mark, and that the small figurea 6, 10 and 15 rarely bear this, but often carry a different mark? Reasoning c. large ligures I— Ed.J To the Editor of 'The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Dear Sir, — I notice in the July number of your magazine that you chaEenge denial" and maintain "you are correct, both in your way of speaking of the sheets of the stamps of the'new old Argentine, and in apply- ing the statistics furnished you by Senor Arenales to the proof of the genuineness of" the same. As this matter is one of some moment, I am sorry I was not able to accept your challenge before, but in the statistics given, there is such a maze of figures and such a mass of contradictions, that I have had neither time, nor courage, to attempt to balance the one, or analyse the other. The only collector who has ever called public attention to this confusion has had his communication treated with contempt, and had insult thrown upon himself ; I therefore feel the greater pleasure in accepting your challenge, believing I maybe able to show you what the unfortunate 'Niseis' did not. In your first notice of these stamps you speak of them as in ' entire sheets ' of 96 specimens, "in which quantity ' the three values precisely tally.' In the Official In- telligence, published in May, you start by ignoring your former statement completely, stating that they were issued in sheets of 192 specimens, and since you give us no ex- planation there that a sheet of 192 meant two sheets of 96, I call this way of speaking somewhat loose, and your strictures on Nisus for noting the great discrepancy be- tween 96 and 192 quite uncalled for. Any one might have solved the problem of twice 96, but when you dis - tinctly stated in December that a sheet containing 96 was an entire sheet, you should not be surprised that a correspondent of Milesian extraction should fail to see that you meant a half-sheet. Since you made the second statement without giving any explanation of the first. I maintain that you were in the wrong. At best it was but a loose way of giving information of such importance as that. It is on page 65 of the present volume that we find the second statement, that ' the sheets of large figures all contain 192 stamps, and those with small figures, 216.' This being a contradiction of the first statement, it is not surprising to find a contradiction of it in the same paper in which it is enunciated. You say there, ' all large figures are 192 ; small, 216 to the sheet.' In the con- cluding paragraph (p. 67), we are told how Senor Arenales, taxing bis friend's recollection, says they were printed 192, and then, for economy's sake, 212 to the sheet. We thus have three distinct statements, viz. : (1). Large figures, 96 to the entire sheet. (2). „ „ 192 to the entire sheet. (3). ,, ,, _ 192 and 212 to the entire sheet. The first statement is confirmed by your saying ' the entire sheet;' the second statement, by your saying ' all large figures;' whilst the third relies on Messrs. Alfred Smith, who were told by Senor Arenales, who was told by a friend, that he recollected the circumstance given in statement the third. I have, no doubt, created a sense of confusion in the minds of your readers, which I hope they will endeavour to overcome, for I must now proceed to investigate the letters of (1) Col. Espejo, and (2) Don Juan Auto Supere. From the first letter by Col. Espejo we find the amount of stamps put into circulation between Dec, 1857 and Feb., 1858, was 1,395,312, of the values 5, 10, and 15 c, of which he says, 'All I can affirm is, that they were all of a like type, without any difference in the size of the numerals, or any, the least, discrepancy in the form ' On turning to the -Litter of Senor Supere, we find another record of the same 1,395,312 stamps, but they Nov. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 175 aro here stated as printed in sheets of 192 and 216 each; so that we have two more statements to add to the three above, viz. : (4). Col. Espejo's affirmation that 1,395,312 were •issued, all of one type, without any discrepancies in design. (5), Senor Supere's statistics respecting the same stamps spoken of by Col. Espejo, stating that they were in sheets of 192 and 216. The fourth statement is vouched for by a certificate from Don Pedro Pondal (the Accountant-General to the i Confederation), of the complete accuracy of Col. Espejo's j communication. The fifth statement professes to be I copied from the accounts of the Confederation. Since Senor Supere states that they are in sheets of 192 and 216, it follows that if your statement No. 2 (which Senor Arenales' recollections would nullify in statement 3), is correct, then they must be of two types, large and small figures, and Col. Espejo must be in error (despite the certificate) in saying they were of one. If they should be, after all, of one type, as you say they are, then Senor Supere's statistics are worthless. That they were all of the large type we have no proof but the Colonel's recollection after a lapse often years; and here, I think, is your error, in applying all this In- telligence to the large-figured series, on the recollection of Col. Espejo, who, after the lapse of ten years, can hardly be expected to remember the differences between the two issues, for, although he speaks positively as to their being of the large-figured type, still, when he him- self acknowledges he knows nothing of any such differ- ences existing as between large and small figures, how, I ask, can he, not knowing such differences, and not being a collector, from memory alone state that the 1,395,312 printed in 1857-58 were all of the large-figured type ? If your statement as to number of stamps to the sheet is correct, then Senor Supere's statement of the two-sized sheets disproves Col. Espejo's assertion ; but, if Senor Arenales is right in his recollections as to number of stamps on the sheets, then you are in error, Senor Supere is wrong, and Col. Espejo may be right. Ihis is be- coming bewildering, so I will give you my own opinion on the matter. Both Col. Espejo and Senor Supere agree as to the number of stamps issued, viz., 1,395,312, and as the sta- tistics of Senor Supere, which embrace this 1,300,000 are continued (according to Senor Pondal) till the Confedera- tion was declared in recess, it is clear that the Con- federation issued no other stamps after this 1,300.000. Now, if Col. Espejo is correct, that they were all of one type, it is not possible that that type was the large- figured one, because we find, taking Senor Supere's sta- tistics to be correct, that the accounts of their sale, extending over two years and two months, gives a result of nearly three-quarters of a million specimens sold, could this immense quantity have been of the large- figured type, and yet no single specimen have found its way to England or France on a letter, and letters coming by every mail? Supposing the 1,300,000 Avere of two types (there is only your statement, nullified by Senor Arenales, to put such an idea into owr heads), the large- figured could not have been systematically kept back, some must have been used. For the last two or three years the small -figured stamps have been common enough unused; if the large and small figures formed part of the same stock, why were none of the large ever exported unused for the consumption of collectors ? It is an oversight too persistent ever to have existed, had this 1,300,000 consisted of both types.. If Ave take the sale of this 1,300,000 as extending over tAvo years and two months, Ave arrive at two conclusions : 1. The impossibility that they were all of the large type. 2. The improbability that they embraced both types. From which it Avill be readily inferred that it is my belief that the Avhole of the Official Intelligencehaa relation to the small -figured stamps. By applying it to the large- figured stamps, you get into endless confusion ; no two statements Avill tally, and Ave are asked to believe simple absurdities ; but by applying it to the small-figured type the contradictions are explained, especially that between the statement of Col. Espejo and Senor Supere, which a corrected reading of Senor Arenales' recollections (on p. 67) will explain, \'iz., that tAvo blocks were used to produce these stamps, the first Avith 192, the second to print 212 (sic. 216? ) By applying the Official Intelli- gence to the tAVo issues indiscriminately, I do not see that the matter is simplified, as, in that case, to which issue does Senor Arenales' remark apply ? If, as I read it, all the letters relate to the small-figured stamps, it is probable that the sheets of the authenticated 5 c. large figure contained 192 impressions, the first sheets of small figure the same, and afterwards 216. By asserting that these official letters relate to the large-figured stamps, alone, you leave no time for the issue of the small figures, for the statistics carry us up to the recess of the Confederation, on the 12th Sept., 1861 (according to Senor Pondale), after which date, or concurrent with the founding of the Argentine Bepub- lic, Avould appear the stamps for the republic, and then Avhere do you place the small-figured Confed- eration ? I consider these letters to relate solely to the small-figured stamps; I do not even think "the large figure 5 c. is included ; I consider it must have been an issue quite separate and distinct from the other, the statistics of which, if any were kept, Avould be quite separate from those relating to a series of stamps, value 5, 10, 15 c. I do not consider the tests I have put on the resuscitated 10 and 15 c. large type, to have been stood by any part of the Official Intelligence, and I should re- quire an account free from contradiction, before I considered the claims of these two stamps to authenticity to be firmly established. My opinion since their resusci- tation has been often giA-en publicly, and is Avell known ; and that opinion I now repeat; I consider the unused large-figured 5, 10, and 15 c. Argentine Confederation, now in the hands of every dealer, to be reprints, and I should require better proof than any you have shown philatelists in general, to convince me otherwise. Yours trul v, Birmingham. EDWARD L. PEMBEBTON. [A\re purpose replying at length to the above in our next number.— Ed.] THE ALBUM QUESTION. As Ave are unable to afford space for all the letters which are addressed to us containing suggestions respecting the preparation of a 'permanent' album, we give under the aboA-e heading, and shall continue each month to give, the substance of the communications received. Our cor- respondents may be satisfied that their views will not be misstated for the sake of brevity. J. H. Greexstreet, London, proposes that the new album be compiled upon the chronological system, the several issues of each year succeeding 1840 being placed together, and arranged according to their respective countries in alphabetical order — spaces as in Lallier to be engraved for all known emissions, on one side of the page. — Size of the book to be that of Oppen's, and care 17(3 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Nov. 1, 1867 to be taken that it opens/iW. — An index of countries re- quired.— The album to be complete to the end of the year 1S66, if accurate information exists respecting all stamps to that date, if not, to an earlier date ; stamps from such date to be accumulated in a temporary book until there is a sufficient number to necessitate the publication of a second volume of the album. — J. H. G. considers the true connoisseur should study stamps solely for beauty or simplicity of design, and therefore would have varieties of watermark, perforation, ire. omitted from the album. — A separate catalogue of the stamps comprised in album to be published. — All private local stamps, including those of La Guaira and the Pacific Steam Navigation Co., to be excluded, and a separate album to contain them published. — J. JE. G. cannot see why collectors who object to difference of watermark. Are., being allowed should be obliged to have spaces allotted for them in their albums ; varieties, if collected, may be affixed to the blank sides of the pages. — Xames of colours in Lallier being printed in the centre of the spaces, often show through. It would be better if they were printed below the spaces and the value above. J. B. B., Norwich, has had a plain book made, 11 by 7f, with slightly glazed thin paper, which shows the watermarks of the' stamps through when held to the light. He mounts the stamps on one side of page only, and uses lines, similar to those used in tetter-writing, "to arrange the stamps in their places. The issues are ar- ranged in different patterns, hardly two pages being alike ; and care is taken in placing the stamps to prevent the colours from ' killing ' each other. Most countries have a page to themselves, some more, some less, according to requirement. The advantages of J. B. B.'s book are, that all kinds of varieties may be collected, that however poor a collection, its poverty is not so apparent as in ruled or arranged albums, and that the pages are hardly ever so full but that there is room to place a new series without its seeming an intruder. J. B. B. sends us his address in case 'Cheth,' if he has not already decided upon a plan for arranging his collection, may wish to see his book. Poloski, London, agrees with our last month's corres- pondent, ' Cheth,' in thinking the chronological the best plan. He would like to know what reason there can be for arranging stamps otherwise than in the order of emis- sion. P. suireests a neat strongly-bound book, with little ornament, and composed wholly of guards and short leaves of parchment, or so that pages containing useful informa- tion respecting the stamps of various countries, and their government. A:c might be inserted to the end of the book and continued in another volume. P. considers one page would be best for each country's issue, commencing at 1S40 with Great Britain, or according to fancy ; each issue of a different date to have a separate page. [We have done our best to put this correspondent's i ns intelligibly, but as Poloski (whom we judge from his signature to be a foreigner) has not acquired an accurate knowledge of the English language, this was not an easy task.] ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. C. W., Sheffield. — Tour black Victorian penny is a 'Colombo.' The original green is clearly visible. C. R., Cheltenham, sends specimens of the black Monte- j ■video 180 and 240 c. Both are forgeries of the commoner I class. A Juvenile Itali.vx Collector.— The 5 c. Argentine Republic stamp, with head of Kivadavia, was issued in 1804, and is now, or was until lately, current in the republic. J. B. B., Norwich. — "We give the substance of your letter in our correspondence column, under the head of 'The Album Question.' — Tour 2 c. U. S. newspaper wrapper is an ordinary one. Subscriber. — Used British penny postage stamps are of no value, unless, indeed, they may be niad? instrumen- tal towards the baptism of Chinese children, as stated in our Chit-Chat column last month. P. AV. C— Tour Saxon 5 s. gr. is of the ordinary colour. — The New South Wales stamps have had their outer border cut off. — Tour circular black stamp is one of the Spanish revenue series. W. J. X., Cheltenham, sends for our opinion two stamps, on? a Buenos Ayres Bteaaiahip, brown, which is genuine, the other a Swiss, which is not. The latter is lithographed, the design being an imitation of the Xeuf- chatel stamp, but bearing in the upper label, tessixo, in the lower. 5 rxppex. and purports to be obliterated by the well-known red post-mark. In the specimen before us this mark is considerably wider than that used in the post-office, and this would of itself pretty well declare the character of the stamp to which it was applied. — There was another forgery in circulation a year or two ago, — inscription, c tictxo : the device being a shield of arms Hanked by palm branches on either side. "We took some pains at the time (specimens being found in the De Tolpi collection) to trace the fact of any separate issue for the Canton Tessin, but were unable "to verify any such, and are fully satisfied none ever took place. G. Mi C, Cheltenham, sends for inspection and exposure seven impudent fabrications, professing to be for the isle of Reunion, which our correspondent received, together with a forgery of the penny laureated Xew South "Wales, from Paris. "By way of caution to our readers we describe these unwelcome intruders. The centre contains a florid ornament on a blank ground, in a circle, which is enclosed in a square with dark ornamented spandrels. An outer square frame bears, at the top of the inscription, reuxiox jsle, at the bottom the value, and scroll work at the sides. The values are 1 cent greenish grey, 5 centimes green, 10 c. buff, 15 c. black on grey, 20 c. black on grey. 40 c. orange, 80 c. rose. Three of the set before us bear the 1 gridiron ' postmark. — The Xew South "Wales is printed brick red on a thin, yellow, gummed paper, and bears an indistinct oval postmark. A Subscriber, Londonderry, asks if we can give him any information respecting a British Guiana stamp '(I860), 12 'cents, with a large figure 5 printed in red on it. — We have met with more than one copy of the stamp our corre- spondent refers to, all of the 12 cents (6d.) value ; the Jed ink figure 5 he describes is a large italic figure, and is coarsely applied to the stamp, evidently after it was com- plete. * Two suggestions have been made in explanation, the one, that this figure was put by the printers, Messrs. "Waterlow i: Co.. to deface the * stamp, as the word Cancelled was applied by them in red ink to certain specimen copies, mention of which will be found in our later paper on the stamps of British Guiana : this is founded on the similarity of colour of ink, but it is difficult to see why two descriptions of specimen-marks should be used by the same printers ; the other, and to our minds more plausible theory, is that the mark was applied in the colonv, whether to indicate a specimen stamp, or in the course of post, we are unable to state ; of one thing we are certain, that it has no philatelic significance, it is a mere curiositv. Avhich those who collect for postmarks may like to possess. There never has been any question of altering the colour or denomination of the stamp in question. We may take this opportunity of saying that we entirely discredit the alleged 8 cents lilac, stated by M. Moens to have been recently issued. Rose and lilac are kept to the 8 and 12 cents" respectively, as the English equivalents for the -id. and 6d. stamps. Dec. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 177 THE LARGE-FIGURED ARGENTINE. The intelligence which we published twelve- months since respecting these stamps has given rise to much controversy, culminating in the letter by Mr. Pemberton, which appeared in our November number. Having taken up a position in their defence, we feel bound to notice this letter, and to re- examine and re-state our reasons for believ- ing in their genuineness. With regard to ' Nisus,' to whose commu- nication to our contemporary, The Philatelist, Mr. Pemberton refers, we see no reason to alter the opinion we expressed in July last. Admitting for the moment that there was sufficient ambiguity to cause mistake, in our statement as to the number of stamps form- ing a sheet, this want of exactness gave no excuse for the coarse and vulgar attack which Nisus founded upon it. Mr. Pemberton himself hardly shows that courtesy which we should expect from him in stating his objections to our views. But we presume that such minor considera- tions were disregarded by him in the desire to be ' plain spoken ' on the subject under discussion, and we can make some allowance for the earnestness of his investigation, which bore fruit in the letter we have now before us — a letter which at any rate evi- dences his devotion to philately, for which much may be excused. We have already explained our statement as to the number of stamps composing a sheet, but repeat it now for the sake of clear- ness. Both large and small-figure Argen- tine are printed on double sheets; each sheet or leaf of the former contains 96 impressions in twelve rows of eight ; each sheet or leaf of the latter, 108 impressions in nine rows of twelve. The two leaves which form the double sheet contain, of large figure, 192 stamps ; of small figure, 216. The state- ment of a brother official to Senor Arenales we gave for what it was worth. Though incorrect as to the number of stamps upon the small-figure sheets, his recollections were valuable as corroborating the fact that there had been sheets with different numbers of stamps printed, and as affording a reason for the second working — a reason, moreover, of a very practical description, and one which every one who has seen the large and small-figure sheets side by side is able to appreciate. We now come to investigate the official statements ; and first we have Col. Espejo's letter. He affirms that the following stamps were printed for the Confederation : — 975,912 5 cents, red 279,600 10 „ green 139,800 15 „ blue Total, 1,395,312 stamps. And he denies that there was any differ- ence of type, his words being : ' With regard to the difference observed in the stamps Nos. 4, 5, and 6 small figures, compared with Nos. 1, 2, and 3 large figures, I can say nothing to you touching the origin thereof; for all that I can affirm is, that the total amount of 1,395,312 stamps, of the three colours above referred to, lithographed. on that occasion, were all of them of a like type, withont any difference in the size of the numbers, nor any the least discrepancy in the form, as shown under Numbers 1, 2, and 3.' We may remark, en passant, that Mr. Pemberton appears to consider that the words we have put in italics prove that Col. Espejo believed all the stamps printed were of the large-figured type. We should read it, though such a construction is adverse to our views, that he could not account for the discrepancy in size, &c, which the large- figured showed, and that he recognised the small figure as the orthodox. Upon Col. Espejo's communication we have to observe, 1st. That tnough he cannot account for the origin of the difference between large and small figure, he does not venture to deny their genuineness. 2nd. That his denial of the impression of two types is nullified, first, by the existence of the 5 cents large figure, as well as 5 cents small figure. Secondly, inferentially, by Don Supere's statement, that sheets of 192 and 216 stamps, respectively, were printed ; and thirdly, by Col. Espejo's own figures, as we shall hereafter prove. 3rd. That Col. Espejo's letter contains no denial of the fact stated by Don Supere, 178 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Dec. 1, 1867. that sheets of two sizes were printed, but, so far as it goes, confirms the latter's statis- tics by an exact agreement as to the num- ber of stamps printed. We come now to Don Supere's own state- ment, that sheets of 192 and 216 were printed in the following numbers : — - 4,571 sheets of 5 c. 1,306 „ 10 c. 653 „ 15 c. We call particular attention to the fact that sheets were printed, as it is thereby evident that the number originally impressed was not made up of portions of sheets. As then, unquestionably, the first supply was composed only of entire sheets of either 192 or 216 impressions, it follows that, if, as Col. Espejo alleges, all were of one type, the number of stamps of each value, when divided either by 192 or by 216, the number of impressions on a sheet of large or small figure respectively, should give a quotient without any remainder over. Let us now analize the figures on this plan. Divide 975,912 five-cent, stamps by 216, and there is a quotient of 4,518 sheets and 24 stamps over. Divide the same figures by 192, and there is a quotient of 5,082 sheets and 168 stamps over. Divide 279,600 ten-cent, stamps by 216, and there is a quotient of 1,294 sheets and 96 stamps over. Divide the same figures by 192, and there is a quotient of 1,456 sheets and 48 stamps over. Divide 139,800 fifteen-cent, stamps by 216, and there is a quotient of 647 sheets and 48 stamps over. Divide the same figures by. 192, and there is a quotient of 728 sheets and 24 stamps over. Thus by one dividend we get a greater, and by the other a lesser number of sheets than are stated to have been printed, and by either we get a remainder over of a few odd stamps upon each value. Don Supere's statement that sheets were impressed con- taining different numbers of stamps is thus demonstrated to be correct, for (considering the extreme improbability of there having been fractions of sheets printed) it is only by accepting it as true that the whole num- ber of each value as quoted by Espejo and Supere, or the number of sheets as quoted by Supere alone, can be accounted for. Our readers will, we trust, excuse our verbosity on this point, as it is almost im- possible to make arithmetical calculations plain in a few words, and in the present instance a great deal hinges upon them. It is true that proof of the impression of different numbers is not in itself proof that the sheets of 192 consisted of the large- figured variety. Mr. Pemberton, indeed, starts the conjecture that the first sheets of small figure five cents, consisted of 192 im- pressions, and the later ones of 216. But this hypothesis rests on no solid grounds. As we have shown that the figures for each of the values will not divide so as to give a quotient of entire sheets, his view must be carried further, and we must also suppose that the first sheets of the 10 and 15 cents, in like manner consisted of 192 stamps. Against this we place the existence of large- figure sheets of all three values, and the non-existence of s??zaZZ-figure sheets of any of the values having 192 stamps — things which every one has heard of, against things which no one has heard of; and in this case our readers will agree with us that the balance of probabilities is decidedly in favour of the sheets of 192 impressions consisting of large-figure stamps. Our conclusion, then, is, that the 10 and 15 cent, large-figured stamps are, as we at first asserted them to be, genuine original impressions, and not reprints, as Mr. Pem- berton supposes them to be ; and we are further strengthened in our conviction by the knowledge, derived in confidence, as to the source whence the sheets which we have seen were obtained. We can, however, state, without breaking any trust, that all the large- figure sheets remained in the custody of the Argentine government until a short time before they were forwarded to Europe, and being so kept, remained clean and un- damaged. There still remains the question as to the circulation of these stamps. Upon this point we wrote in our first notice of them : — 'These 10 and 15 centavos stamps were Dec. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 179 prepared, but before being actually issued, indeed before more than a few sheets were printed off, the change to a smaller size stamp was resolved on, and the second issue prepared and issued in its entirety.' By the official statistics it is evident that the sheets of 192 were printed and issued for circulation ; bnt it is also evident that only the 5 cent, were actually used. Upon dividing the number of stamps returned into stock, as we have divided those of the stamps issued, it will also appear that sheets of both kinds must have been included in the stock in hand when the accounts of the Con- federation were closed. We conclude thence, that the large-figure stamps had a nominal circulation. They were handed over, to use Supere's words, ' from the office of the finance minister to be put in circulation throughout the whole of the Confederation ; ' but the postal authorities, we assume, never did actually re-issue them to the provincial post-offices : they remained in hand at the head office, ready for use, had the small-figure series been exhausted, and were returned with the balance of the latter in 1861. Finally, though not perhaps entitled to so much consideration as stamps which are proved to have been used for the pre-pay- ment of letters, they are still, in our mind, well authenticated rarities, deserving a place in every collection. NOTES ON THE LATER STAMP FORGERIES. BY DR. BOLEY. In this and following papers I propose to describe briefly such modern forgeries as have come under my own immediate notice, omitting all mention of those already de- scribed by Messrs. Pemberton, Stourton, and others, whose books, it may be presumed, are within reach of every collector, and confining my remarks exclusively to such as have not, as far as I am aware, hitherto re- ceived the exposure due to their demerits. That it is necessary to pay some attention to this class of intruders is proved by the persistence of their appearance ; for scarcely is anew stamp issued than a corresponding forgery, or 'fac-simile' (to use the more polite hut incorrect term), follows in due course ; and as greater skill has been gained by experience, so we find that the later attempts for the most part exhibit a great improvement over those of former years. Still, probably as yet no forgery exists in which one or more deviations have not been made from the original ; sometimes, however, they are so very minute that a good glass will be found of great assistance in their detection. As a general rule, we may observe that forgeries of stamps in actual circulation are generally found postmarked, whilst those of obsolete issues, e. g., Romagna, Modena, &c, are mostly clean. Also, almost without an exception, all forgeries are coarser in their execution than the genuine. Taking the alphabetical form of arrange- ment as the simplest, we commence with Baden. Envelope, 3 kr., blue. The genuine stamp has the engine-turned border very clear and distinct, the centre being formed by a chain, the loops of which can easily be counted. In the forgery this is very indistinct, especially on the right side, and the separate loops cannot be distinguished. The inner white circle which surrounds the medallion is of equal thickness in the genuine ; but thicker in the counterfeit, especially between the letters I and k. Barbados. No value ; red and green on blue paper. These forgeries are coarse lithographs, — the background, which in the genuine is reticulated, being of a uniform colour ; the shading on the sails of the ships in the genuine is formed by fine lines — there is little or none in the forgeries. Bremen. Envelope, on white and blue paper. Genuine. — The wards of the key are large, and nearly touch the top of the shield under the crown; the handle is also large, and almost touches the bottom of the shield. Forged. — Both wards and handle are very small — the former not half the size of the genuine ; the key does not touch the shield by some distance, either at top or bottom. 180 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Dec. 1, 1867. British Guiana. 6, 24, 48 cents. 1863. Genuine.— There are several white clouds seen in the sky above and at the sides of the ship. The waves are very distinct and well formed. Forged. — The sky and background are formed by horizontal lines ; there are no clouds. The only appearance of waves is a thickening of the lines in front of the ship. The ornaments in the spandrels are very thin, and do not fill the spaces. Bahamas. — 4d. rose. Genuine. — The sides of the stamp sur- rounding the medallion are formed by a delicate lace-like pattern running perpen- dicularly. The letter t of postage is just over the perpendicular stroke of the p in penny. Forged. — The whole is very coarse, and scarcely any pattern can be made out at the sides. The letter t lies above and rather before the p in penny. The left side of the Queen's face is very indistinct. Bermuda. — Id. red. Another very coarse forgery, which may be instantly detected by observing that the Queen's ear (which is very clear in the genuine) lias been omitted. Brunswick. 1853-64. J, i, 1, 2, 3 silb. gr. Genuine. — There are one or two small lines of shading on the horse's neck. The mane is distinct, and touches the crown above, which also is clear and well defined. Forged. — Has no shading on the horse's neck. The name can scarcely be distin- guished, and does not touch the crown. The lettering is larger than in the genuine. Buenos Ayres. There is an old forgery of the 3 p. green, 4 p. vermilion, and 5 p. orange (steamer), which is now rarely met with, but being tolerably well executed they are still oc- casionally offered, and at high prices. These, however, may readily be detected by ob- serving that the rays of the sun have been omitted ; the lettering also is smaller than the genuine. The Gaucho series. One forgery of these rare stamps is often met with, viz. : 6 rls. blue (the true colour is green). Thi3 is a reproduction of the en- graving in Dr. Gray's Catalogue and The Stamp-Collector's Magazine, a postmark of thick wide bars being generally added. A forgery of the entire set has also lately made its appearance, imported, it is said, direct from Buenos Ayres. They are offered as genuine, and may be detected by the following marks : Genuine. — The sun's rays are very distinct, seven in number, and shining upwards through a cloud. This, however, with the other marks of distinction, is hardly per- ceptible in the 4 rls., a fault due entirely to its colour, viz. : a light-yellow. The horse's hoof is exactly on a level with the horizon. There is a small patch of darker shading on the ground between the horse's hind legs. The stone to the left is shaded by eight lines. Forged. — The sun's rays are not so distinct as to be accurately counted, and are more than seven. The horse's hoof is below the line of the horizon. There is no distinct patch of shading between the hind legs. The stone is shaded by at least a dozen lines. 1859. Head of Liberty, 4 rls. black. This, we must suppose, is intended to do duty as an essay or proof. It is a well- executed forgery, but may be detected by observing that the ornaments in the spaces surrounding the medallion — -which in the genuine are large, filling the spaces, and very nearly touching the circle, — are small, and do not touch the circle by some distance. Cape op Good Hope. Block, Id. red. There is a very well-executed forgery of this stamp, so good as to bear a somewhat close inspection without immediate detection. Genuine. — The extreme point of the central figure of Hope to the left is very slightly before and above the letter P in cape. There is generally more or less of white shade under the flukes of the anchor. The bottom line — cape of good hope — has the letters most distinct and best formed. Forged. — The extreme point of the figure is just over the perpendicular stroke of the p in cape. There is no white shade about the flukes of the anchor. In the lower lino the letters are rather larger than the genuine, the two e's are badly formed — the last one in hope more resembling an R. Dec. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOK'S MAGAZINE. 181 THE COLLECTION OF ENVELOPE STAMPS. BY A PHILATELIST. The inquiry of a correspondent last month, under the signature 'Doubtful,' as to the best mode of collecting envelope stamps, suggests the necessity for a general examin- ation of the question. The point in doubt is, whether the envelopes on which such stamps are impressed should be inserted entire, as issued by the post-offices, or the stamp alone cut out, with a sufficient margin, and so placed in the album. It is right, we think, that this question should be discussed upon its merits, and without reference to such purely accidental and extraneous considerations as the adapt- ability or non-adaptability of existing albums to either style of collection. This much may be safely concluded, that if the general feeling is shown to be unmistakeably in favour of the insertion of uncut envelopes, there is sufficient enterprise among stamp- publishers to produce a book, or books, which will meet the new requirement ; if not, the current albums will retain their present value. Just now, the general feeling is strongly manifested in favour of cut envelopes. The old English conservative spirit has some- thing to do with this prejudice. The ' horticultural ' school, as Fentonia terms it, is satisfied with the appearance of its cut specimens, and with that school, look is very much, if not everything. These envelopes will da, why then change them ? say our horticultural friends, — why innovate ? This style of argument, or rather prejudice, is powerful in its obstructiveness, though quite destitute of logical strength, and can only be weakened by repeated assaults. Besides this general objection to change, lies the proposition, that entire envelopes take up too much space. Now the space necessary for the display of such envelopes is not so great as their opponents declare it to be. The total number is only about 180, which, with an average of three to a page, would occupy, say, sixty pages. This is not a great addition to the number of pages in an album, and (we are speaking to those who value stamps solely for their appearance) it is well repaid by the addition to the beauty of a collection. Our friends who cut down their envelopes have no idea how well they look entire. There is no particular advan- tage, even where it is possible, in having all the stamps, adhesives, and envelopes of a country on one page. The greater the space given, as a rule, the greater the convenience for examination, and the clearer the dis- tinctions between various emissions. But to our minds the strongest argument in favour of collecting uncut envelopes lies in the fact, that a collector should possess every kind of stamp in its entirety. If he has unperf orated adhesives, they should, if possible, have sufficient margin to place beyond question their unperforated state ; if he has perforated adhesives, the perforations should be clearly visible, for which purpose good specimens should be chosen ; and, in like manner, if he has envelopes, they should be entire, for unless they are entire they lose much of their interest. It is the en- velope altogether which is issued, not merely the stamp. The design is the most important feature, but it is not everything. The paper, the watermark, or inscription, and even the ornament on the nap, all help to compose the envelope, and all deserve to be fully displayed in a collection in which anything like a claim to a scientific and judicious arrange- ment is made. We do not curtail adhesives of their borders ; we have, for instance, long- since ceased to clip close to the impressions of the Austrian and other stamps; why, then, should we lop off the stamp from the en- velope, and consign the residue to the waste- paper basket as of no value ? Want of space is the reason, reply the admirers of cut envelopes, and further urge that it is un- necessary for any but compilers of catalogues, or writers in the journals, to collect them entire. We strongly contest the validity of this proposition. The interest in philately cannot be sustained except the great body of amateurs give time and thought to the study of their favourite science, and they cannot successfully pursue their researches upon the incomplete data afforded by im- perfect stamps, whether adhesive or envelope. For the purpose of further demonstrating the interest which attaches feo the secondary 18: THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Dec. 1, ] ? details of design. &c, of envelopes of each country, we will just name those of a few of the principal series : Russia. — "Watermark, national arms in square, covering the face of the envelope. Finland. — Doubly-stamped envelopes — ■ the 185ti design on the flap, the I860 design on the front. Poland. — Watermark, a check pattern, covering the entire envelope. Denmaek. — Watermark, crown on the flap. Mecklenburg Schweein. — Inscription in large letters, first series : in small letters, second series. Hamburg. — Large watermark, arms of the city on front of the f, 2, and -4 schg. envelopes. Bremen. — Inscription eeanco at foot. Hanover. — Bestellgeld, second issne, vignette ; all the issues, inscriptions on flap. Beenswick. — St. P. Fr. envelopes, stamp in lower left-hand corner. England. — ld.rose, heraldic flowers on flap. Indla. — Flap ornament, elephant and palm tree. United States. — Watermark, p. o. d. u. s. Canada. — Watermark, ca. p. o. d. Montevideo. — Flap ornament, sun rising over the sea. Most of the details named can only be shown by retaining the envelopes entire, and all are of interest. With these observations we beg to re- commend the earnest consideration of the subject to our readers, and to all philatelists.* THE STAMPS OF NEW SOUTH WALES. Since the publication of a paper in our columns on the laureated series of this colony we have, by the kindness of a well- r^^^ known London collector, who devotes his researches almost, if not exclusively, to the continent of Australia and Xew Zealand, received a series of extracts made by him from the Sydney Gazette: the government channel of official notification. We cannot express our thanks too warmly to the gentleman whose patient care has led him to examine the files of the gazettes for so long a period. Any person who has ever * [See ' Notes and Queries ' this month. — Ed.] tried what a task it is to hnnt over old newspapers in search of information on a particular snbj ect, will appreciate the extent of the labour undergone, and consequently the obligation resting upon us. We content ourselves now with simply giving the extracts, merely calling attention to the very great modifications and correc- tions they will cause in the views put forth by the writer of the paper previously alluded to, and in the dates as given by most com- pilers of catalogues. It is seldom such clear and precise data are forthcoming : but when they are, as here, we feel sure our readers will have as great satisfaction in perusing as we have in laying before them the authentic records of the colonial post-office. By sect. 10 of an Act of Council. 13 Vict., No. 38, passed 12th October. 1S49. postage stamps were directed to be prepared and issued for the colony, and to be sold to the public. The period when this was to come into effect was 1st January, lr ; ). By sect. 11. any person forging the stamps to be liable to imprisonment for such time as the Court may direct, not exceeding seven years. Sydney Gdzetie. 25th December, 1849. p. 1927: ZN tification that, at first, stamps will only be issued for the subjoined value; ; One penny, Twopence, and Threepence. The following rates of pDstage were fixed : Xot exceeding in weight § oz. : for the town (Sydney) ... ... Id. J oz. : inland 2d. „ „ I oz.: ship letters 3d. (in addition to any inland postage). All newspapers ... ... ... Id. :te. loth January, 1850, p. 79. • That sums nnder £1 may be remitted in postage stamps. July. 1851: Xotice. that it has been found nee-: to provide new plates, bearing the Queen's head, instead of the present design (view of Sydney). That a new design of the Queen's head, with a laurel wreath, has been already engraved, value 2d., and that this stamp will be immediately issued to the public. Ue. .23rd December, 1 9 Notice, that stamps of the Queen's head, Dec. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 183 with laurel wreath, of the value of Id., will immediately be issued. Gazette. 30th April, 1852, p. G98 : Proclamatiou by the Governor- General, that, in pursuance of the Act, 15th Vict., No. 12, ' An Act to amend the laws for con- veyance of postage mails,' a plate has been provided for stamps of the value of 6d., of the same design as the Id. and 2d. stamps now in use ; Gd. stamps of this design will immediately be issued. Gazette. 7th December, 1852, p. 1775 : A like notice as regards stamps of value of 3d., of the same design as Id., 2d., and 6d. 'now in use,' and that they will be im- mediately issued. Gazette. 28th December, 1852, p. 1871 : That letters from the colony for the United Kingdom may have the sea postage prepaid (the prepayment of the colonial postage alone being previously compulsory) ; at this time Is. was the lowest sea postage, and this, when prepaid, and the colonial postage, was to be prepaid in stamps. Gazette. 16th May, 1853, p. 828 : Same notice as to 8d. stamps of the same design as the preceding, and that these will immediately be issued. Gazette. 25th May, 1853, p. 886: Contains rates of postage to -England overland. Gazette. 4th July, 1853 : That stamps of the undermentioned values can now be procured at the post-offices, viz : Id., 2d., 3d., 6d., and 8d. . That plates for stamps of the values of 5&s and Is. had been ordered from England, and the stamps would be issued shortly after the plates arrived. -Gazette. 31st January, 1854, p. 213 : That the plate for the Is. stamp had been provided, and that stamps of that value Avould be issued on and after 1st February next. That a new plate, with an improved design for the 6d. stamps, had been provided, stamps from which would be ready for issue the 1st February next. That in future all stamps would bear a watermark on each label, of the value in- dicated, with the exception of the 8d., the new paper for which had not arrived from England. NEWLY-ISSUED OR INEDITED STAMPS. We close our budget for the year with a miscellaneous assortment of stamps, com- prising more than one rather questionable character. But first we will conclude our notice of the Argentine Republic, by introducing to our readers' attention engravings of the three new stamps described at length last month. To our remarks on that oc- casion we have nothing to add, further than that |)-j our previsions respecting the character of Belgrano, are scarcely borne out by the facts which have come to our knowledge. To him belongs the honour of win- tp^^^^^L^i ing the decisive battle of fi^^^^^p]^ Salta, on the 20th of Feb- ^f^g^^Ml ruary, 1813, whereby the p independence of the Ar- gentine Republic was as- sured— so much for a >, study of physiognomy. Of jj| the old issues we may observe, that the dies from which the stamps were printed had become very much worn. The early impressions, 5 even of the 5 c, are clear, and show up the fine ground-work. Those of the last year or more are very indistinct and blotchy, and deserve to be collected, if merely for the sake of contrast. The 5 c. saw several gradations of colour, from a dull brick-red, to the rich carmine- rose in which the recently-noticed variety, on unwatermarked paper, was printed. The shades of the other two values were more strictly adhered to. The perforations of many sheets were very incomplete— mere dents in the paper — in fact, of very little use in separating the stamps. Spain. — An addition has been added to the series, with value in milesimas, by the emission of a 5 mil. green, of the annexed 184 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Dec. 1, 1867. device, which is almost =Qj identical with that of the cj 10 milesimas, and, like that ^J stamp, for printed matter cj only. In colour, the new S stamp is a rich deep-green. id The ground of the cir- £iVEMHgH!Vlk' cle is composed of hori- zontai lines, instead or solid colour, as in the 10 milesimas; this is the only difference. The paper employed is woven, and the stamp is perforated. We have no tidings as yet of the emission of the expected higher values. India. — Annexed we give a representation of a stamp of whose use we are doubtful. It will be observed it re- sembles the provisional six annas in design, though not identical with it. It is evidently a bill stamp, from which the ends have been lopped off, and for some reason the word service has been added. As there already exist stamps of the ordinary Indian type, value two annas, with the same imprint across the face, we do not quite comprehend why a commercial label should also be impounded for postal employment by the officials of the civil service. The above stamp is coloured lilac, and the added inscription black ; there is also a similar stamp, value 4 annas green, respecting the postal use of which the same objection lies. We shall be glad if any of our readers can enlighten us upon the point in doubt. Straits Settlements. — Since our notice of the provisional stamps for this new colony, further ad- ^J ditions to the series have ? been noted, and, according jj to present information, it consists of the following : •1 cents, imprint red, on 1 anna, brown 3 33 33 blue 1 33 33 4 5? 33 black 1 33 6 » 33 purple 2 33 orange 8 33 33 green 2 33 33 12 33 33 carmine 4 33 green 24 cents, imprint blue 8 annas, rose 32 „ „ black 2 ,, orange We frequently meet with collectors who object to purchase new issues immediately on their appearance, thinking they can be pro- cured at anytime. They are, however, some- times disappointed to find a stamp, or even a whole series, suddenly withdrawn from circu- lation before they have secured specimens. We should, therefore, advise our readers to use all possible speed in procuring the above, as, the permanent series being on its way out, they cannot be long in use, and will become rare. JSTo doubt the large traffic which takes place between Singapore and Hong Kong, where the currency is in dollars, and possibly the existence of an authorised currency in dol- lars at Singapore, will account for the use of cents, a denomination of value on the pro- visional series. Austria — (Leitmeritz). — We are now in receipt of further information respecting the stamps which we briefly noticed last month, but cannot say that our suspicions respecting them are altogether removed. There is an Express Company at Leitmeritz, with a di- rector in the person of M. Ed. Hofer, and it has issued a set of stamps, but of the fact that these stamps are used for the prepayment of letters we have no very particular evidence. The values of some of these stamps, if for letters circu- lating between neighbouring towns, are very high, and seem to indicate that their use is for parcels, and not for correspondence. Query also, whether the Austrian government would I ■x COMRAGMIl /Sg m ! i m permit an infringement of its postal rights. That it has consented to such an infringement remains to be proved, notwithstanding that the highest value of the Leitmeritz series Dec. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 185 bears the word post- packet. It looks, more- over, very much like a scheme to draw money, that the five stamps comprising the series are printed in no less than eleven different colours, viz. : rose, pale-blue, dark- blue, green, brown, yellow, lilac, orange, iron-grey, light- green, and wood colour. Ac- cording to M. Hofer's statement, the blue stamps serve for fo- reign parts, which we may perhaps understand to mean other provinces of the empire, and tho^orange for Leitmeritz and Lobositz. The other three towns, which were said to be served by the Express Company, are not named, and M. Moens, to whom the director's statement was addressed, can only assume that the remaining nine colours have been employed merely for the purpose of augmenting the company's revenues. From the prominence given to M. Hofer's name on the stamp, we are inclined to believe that he is himself the company and its director in one. Three principal types are apparent in the series : the rectangular, to which the 5, 10, and 1 5 kr. belong, — though the 5 kr. differs from the others in being a longer stamp. Of the three higher values we give represen- tations, making description unnecessary. Mexico. — The two reales green of the Guadalajara series is found on paper, with a watermark of the type subjoined, as also upon woven and upon laid paper. The entire series consists, so far as we have been able to learn, of the following colours and values. We give the values as nearly as pos- sible in the type in which they are printed on the stamps : — Medio (real), — black on white. Un real,— black on white, dark-blue, light- blue, and slate. Un real, — black on bluish violet. 2 reales, — black on white, dark-green, and light-green. 1 1 i — +h ~r i i i i -j- I 1 4 reales, — black on white, and on flesh colour. Of these, the 2 reales is sometimes met with with perforations round the impression. The 2 and 4 reales (Hidalgo) on blue paper bear a watermark of wave lines, similar to that on the penny and twopenny Queensland, and M. Moens says that on many stamps of this type he finds fragments of large letters. Norway — (Bergen). — We have received specimens of the stamps of which we give annexed an engraving, but are without in- formation as to its character. We know that a well-known firm in the North has, for a long time past, included a so- called Bergen stamp in its price list, but has not been able to supply it, nor to give any intelligence respecting it. We notice it now with reserve, and await the arrival of particulars before accrediting it as a genuine stamp. Guatemala. — When in Paris, in October, Mon. de La Plante obligingly showed us a sheet of essays of Guatemala, a description of one of which is as follows : — Upright rect- angle, containing an oval band inscribed : CORREOS DE GUATEMALA, UN CENTAVO ; figure 1 in each of the lower angles, and the rest of the space and the upper corners filled up with an ornamental pattern. In the oval a shield of arms of the country, surmounted by a rising sun in his glory, and supported by branches of palm and oak on either side, printed in light-blue, not perforated, nor adhesive. The sheet we saw contained a hundred stamps, and after a minute examination with a manufacturer of stamps and practical printer it was agreed that they were typo- graphed, and had been printed some time. To suppose them to be an 'esm?/' on credulity we are strongly averse, for no person would, if he meditated such a deception, incur the great cost, not only of engraving the die, but of the manifold reproducing it, so as to print whole sheets like that we saw ; and further, he would scarcely omit the apparent aids of perforation and gum to his design. Besides which, the appearance and evident age of the impression were strongly in its 186 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Dec. 1, 1867. favour as a genuine production. We are without any information as to this essay, and know not whether it was an official design or not, but we are inclined to put it on a very much higher rank as to authenticity than many much more pretentious-looking affairs. North-German Confederation. — An old correspondent, Mr. Max Joseph, of Eydt- kuhnen, forwards us the following particulars concerning the expected new series of stamps for the confederation. It will comprise both adhesives and envelopes, and the design for all will mainly consist of the figures of value within an oak wreath, and at the four angles post-horns and winged wheels ; inscription, norddeutscher post bezirk (North-German Postal District, or Circle). Some minor variations in form and type will distinguish the ~kreuzer from the silber-groschen series. Under the law lately passed by the new German parliament, the postage of letters not exceeding in weight 1 loth is declared to be 1 s. gr., above that weight 2 s. gr. Our correspondent says : ' The highest interior postage in Prussia is. 6 s. gr., that is to say, double the highest [single ?] rate for the longest distance ; it will henceforth be 2 s. gr. This will consequently lead to the abolition of the 3 s. gr. (9 kr.) stamps and envelopes, because the postage for any letter exceeding the weight of 1 loth will be 2 s. gr. only.' If we are to understand from this that how much soever a letter may exceed 1 loth in weight it will be only charged 2 s. gr., then indeed the German Reichsrath has granted a great and unexpected increase of postal facilities. If this is not the case, we con- ceive that stamps of higher values than 2 s. gr. will still be required for home postage, and in any case for prepayment of letters to foreign countries. Perhaps Mr. Joseph will explain this part of his communication, and at the same time inform us what is the English equivalent of the loth. This new series will lead to the suppression, probably on the 1st January, 1868, of all existing postage stamps in the dominions of the confederation, comprising those of Prussia (kr. and s. gr. stamps), the free cities, Hamburg, Lubeck, Bremen, and Bergedorf, and those of the duchies of Olden- burg, the two Mecklenburgs, Brunswick, Schleswig, and Holstein. In this connection we may state that a correspondent at Ham- burg informs us that the Prussian fa\ stamps are only used in Frankfort on Maine, and its environs. New Scotland, South Africa. — We may expect shortly to receive stamps for the Transvaal Republic, or as it is otherwise designated, New Scotland. We believe the designs are not yet decided upon, but as the minister of finance is expected to arrive in England about Christmas, he will probably give instructions concerning them. Dominion of Canada. — A correspondent, usually well informed, writes us, that there is no present intention of issuing new stamps for the dominion, as the parliament does not meet for some months, and its sanction must first be had. Even after it meets,* it is his opinion, the present Canadian stamps will be used. New Zealand. — About a month since the threepence bright-violet came over per- forated 13, with the dents distinct ; copies have also been received, similarly perforated, of a rich mauve- purple. Bolivia. — It is worthy of note that there are as many varieties as stamps upon a sheet of the newly-issued 5 c, evidencing the fact, that each stamp is printed from a dis- tinct die. Switzerland. — The current 5 centimes is printed very light brown, instead of dark- brown as hitherto ; and an envelope of this value, same design as the 10 centimes rose, but printed in light-brown, has been issued. NOTES AND QUERIES. BY AN AMATEUR. Victoria. — On looking over some two- pence Melbourne, Queen on throne, the other day, we found, among some unsevered pairs side by side, two instances which bore the following letters in the lower angles, viz. : t-x, u-y; and u-x, w-z. These clearly help to criticise the table as formed by Dr. Magnus (Timbrophile, No. 15, p. 120, January, 1866) ; for in the second row of that table the end division is blank ; by tho first pair wo notice above it should be * [The Parliament lias met,— Ed.] Dec. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 187 filled up u-Y. This will further alter the first letter on the third line to u-x, in lieu of u-Y, and then the w-z of the second place in the third line will read rightly. This is a some- what curious proof of the general accuracy of the table as supposed to exist by Dr. Magnus ; and if those who take an interest in the subject would note the sequence of letters at the base, in cases where two or more stamps are unsevered, no doubt the whole sheet would be formed without error. At present the researches of philatelists cannot be put as showing a final result : the table as given must be regarded as tentative, and only approximating to the true facts. Local Americans. — boyd's city post, 39, fulton ST., COR. OF pearl. — Envelope : large oval frame, bearing above inscription in red, struck in relief on yellow laid paper, lines of vergure oblique. The genuine old envelope is on paper of a bright yellow, while the reprint is on the creamy yellow now in use in the United States. Carrier letter dispatch. — Oblong, de- vice eye, and four pigeons in the angles. Look at the forgeries, the pigeons there re- presented could by no possibility fly : they are ugly misshapen patches ; but in the real stamp they do resemble the bird. Metropolitan errand and carrier ex- press company. — 2 cents, figure 2 in a shield, red, struck in relief. This stamp, used for an envelope, has been reprinted : the reprints are on thick creamy-laid paper, lines of vergure horizontal. The authentic stamp was on yellower paper, lines oblique. There is a peculiarity to notice in this die — the figure 2 has evidently been altered from a 1, and the traces of the former figure are very clearly to be seen on examining a specimen. So the little s, final of cents, looks like an addition after the die was com- pleted. Has anyone ever met with a 1 cent of this die ? Merchant's union express company. — Large circular garter with buckle bearing the above inscription ; inner device, two hands grasping each other. Wood engraved, printed on envelope, creamy-yellow laid paper, lines of vergure oblique. This is a ' stamp quite new to us ; the copy we describe from is cut square, but in one angle, the lower right side, traces of the original address are found, showing the stamp to have been at the left hand upper angle. The paper is not like that used for U. S. envelopes : the lines are thicker, and the lettering in the watermark is wanting.' Boyd's city dispatch, 39, fulton st., 2 c. — Red on yellow paper, as an envelope litho- graphed, not in relief; printed at right-hand corner; paper, bright yellow laid. The device of this is a small oval band with the above legend, the eagle grasping thunder- bolts in the centre. The whole surrounded by a wavy band, producing scroll-like corners, in each of which are the figures 2 c. We lately saw the entire envelope in the collec- • tion of M. Berger-Levrault.* Russian Envelopes. — A very wide and hitherto almost untrodden field of research lies in the varieties of envelopes. The atten- tion of all writers and investigators has been more directed towards moveable stamps; and the pernicious system of cutting envelopes (the blame of originating which constitutes so heavy a charge against Lallier and the other printed album makers) has greatly impeded the attempts hitherto made to prosecute researches in this direction. The paper used, the watermarks and in- scriptions adopted, the place of the stamp, the form, shape, and size of the envelope, the embossed ornaments on the flap, are all, in the writer's judgment, as worthy of being noted and classified as are mere colours of the die ; and to a patient observer there are many other minutice of detail, both curious in themselves, and valuable as evidencing a different issue, or a re-impression. On the first glance at any selection of Russian envelopes great differences in the paper are apparent : a very thick rough yellow paper, and a very thin tough paper of a blue tint, and almost all gradations of colour and thickness between them were used ; the roughest and thickest papers appear to be the earliest. The large square- framed eagle watermark is unquestionably the most ancient, and subsequently a similar * [Not long since avc received several of the last-named envelopes from an American correspondent, but in default of information as to their value, considered them to bo recently-fabricated impostors.— Ed.] 188 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Dec. 1, 186: design of smaller dimensions in an oval frame was used. The entire envelopes 10 kop. (black) with the earlier watermark are exceedingly scarce, and, so far as have been noticed, were made of the largest size ever used. Those with the other watermark are of all sizes ; some- times examples with the arms struck upside down are met with. In the case of the 20 kop. blue, the shades of the stamp vary from ultramarine to deep- blue, and both kinds of watermark are found ; but in the 30 kop. pink only the earlier watermark has yet been noticed. One would think that this last value must surely exist on the later watermarked paper, and should be found ; perhaps some of the corre- spondents of this magazine can solve the query, by reference to their own collections. M. Moens in a recent foot-noto com- passionates f pauvre Pivol,' as having to answer for the sins of all the fabricators. A pair of old Russian envelopes, cut down, and reduced iri size, and refolded, so as entirely to get rid of the stamp on the flap, was found in the De Volpi collection, and in the upper left corner of the face were struck from the Hamburg forged die, the 10 kop. and 20 kop. Porte Stempel Finland, respectively. This precious pair was named essays for Finland, and apparently highly prized by its possessor. After this, is not the pity of M. Moens well bestowed? • REVIEWS of POSTAL PUBLICATIONS. The Philatelist Vol. I. London : E. Marl- borough & Co. Brighton : Stafford Smith & Co. This volume has come to hand too late for a lengthened notice. To many of our readers the pages of our contemporary are familiar, and need no laudation on our part. During the past year it has rendered good service to the cause of philately, and we hail its re- appearance in a permanent shape with pleasure. The binding of the work is ex- tremely tasteful, and tho colour of the cloth a rich-green. NordisJc FrimcerJctidende. Copenhagen : Boo- TRYKKER CARL LAND. We feel it to be our duty to notice all pub- lications of a philatelic nature which may appear, and therefore draw our readers' at- tention to this new arrival from Scandinavia, whose emission evidences the existence of a collecting fraternity in the north. We plead guilty at once to such ignorance of the Danish language as will prevent our critici- sing the Frimcerktidende, and can only judge of it by its looks. It is an eight-page octavo journal, issued monthly, clearly printed, illustrated with tolerably good engravings, and contains notices of newly-issued stamps. To these attractions, following our example, it adds the presentation of an unused foreign postage stamp with each number. In the three numbers already issued we find, respectively, Drontheim, Swedish, and Greek adhesives. These commendable features, though they do not afford us grounds for promising our contemporary a large circulation here, amply warrant us in wishing it the fullest success. Postage- Stamp Albums. TheMulready Series, Nos. ], 2, and 3. London: E. Marl- borough & Co. Brighton : Stafford Smith & Co. We venture to predict a large sale for these albums, as they combine excellence with extreme cheapness. There are two sizes and three bindings. No. 1 is cloth bound, and of an oblong shape, contains spaces for twelve stamps on a page, and has the names of the countries printed above. An index is given, and a neat title page, with an engrav- ing of the Mulready facing it. The squares are ruled in blue ink, and the paper is of a very good quality. No. 2 is a quarto book, in which the same arrangement is followed as in No. 1. It also is printed in blue ink, and we should note as, in the eyes of many collectors, an additional recommendation, that the arrangement of the countries is alphabetical. No. 3 is of the same size as No. 2, but boasts the still greater attraction of bevelled boards and gilt edges, and con- tains an illustrated catalogue, which will be found a useful guide to young collectors, at the end. The binding of all is neat and un- pretending, and the printing is remarkably well done. Dec. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 139 Album Timbres-Poste. By J. B. Mo ens. Sixth Edition. Paris: P. B. Grumel. Brussels : J. B. Moens. Just as the album controversy is now en- gaging the attention of collectors, a practical solution of the question for most is presented by the new edition of M. Moens' well-known album, revised, enlarged, and corrected down to the most recent date. Whatever be the best method of arranging a collection, or the fittest style of mounting, we always held, and still hold, that for the bulk of collectors, and especially for begin- ners, there is nothing so appropriate or use- ful as an album designed on the plan now so nearly perfected as this edition under review. For more advanced collectors, whose study and classification prevent the use of such assistance, or whose collections pass the necessary limits of a work designed for general use, blank albums, or moveable leaves, or separate sheets, may be desirable ; but when a collection is being originated, and for the purpose of educating the eye of the collector, no help seems so efficient as that of an album constructed as that of M. Moens. For ease, convenience, and facility of re- ference, nothing can surpass these albums. Indeed, the principal objection made is founded on this, that the desiderata are at once apparent, ' painfully conspicuous,' says one, and the lacuna? thus left are unsightly. We are by no means sure this is a disadvan- tage, for it stimulates the collector in his efforts to fill them up ; and as finality can never be attained in any collection, however large, it would be useless to look for it in a small album ; and we cannot regard the im- patience displayed at empty spaces with much favour, or admit that in the construc- tion of an album such a feeling ought to operate. The edition under review is a great im- provement on its predecessors. It is printed in light sepia, and the appearance of the pages is exceedingly elegant. The addition of the armorial bearings will doubtless find favour with most, and for those who desire to keep their albums au courant with the emissions of the day, a series of new leaves to interpolate has been prepared ; thus the unity of the design is preserved. We un- derstand that an English edition will shortly be published, under the editorship of Dr. Viner, and we should imagine a great success will attend this, by far the best of the al- bums hitherto published. POSTAL CHIT-CHAT. Mr. Anthony Trollope has retired from the post- office, in which establishment he had laboured for more than thirty-three years. England has declined to enter into negotiations with Prussia respecting a proposed lowering of colonial postage ; that question, in the opinion of the British government, being a purely internal one. A N ovel Collection.— In this age of albums, perhaps the most unique is one as big as a Family Bible, pos- sessed by Messrs. Bass, containing a collection of the forged trade-marks of their beer, which they have as yet discovered. They have been collected from all parts* of the world, from Britain to Japan. Swiss Postmarks. — A pretty postmark is now in use in Switzerland. It consists of a circle containing a wide transverse bar from edge to edge, upon which the date is placed, thus — 18X67 — 1 ; and below that in a smaller circle is the Swiss cross; the inscription goes round the upper and lower margin, and the space between is shaded. This mark seems to be carefully stamped, and very much resembles a rubbing from brass. Portuguese Returned Letters. — Letters which can- not be delivered to the persons to whom they are addressed remain at the post-office, where they are reserved for three months, fixed upon a list exposed "to the public. They are then returned to the office whence they were sent, or else are catalogued in a special register, and after a year are sent to the central office, and there publicly burned. Foreign letters are only kept in the offices one month, and then returned to the central office, which, in turn, remits them back to the country whence received, and affixes to the envelope a label marked Recambio (returned). — Le Collectioneur. The West-Indian Mails. — On account of numerous representations made to the post-office authorities some time since, the port of arrival of mails from the West Indies has recently been changed from Southampton to Plymouth. Under the former arrangement all letters by these mails were sent to London, and the sorting was accomplished between Southampton and the General Post-Office. When the above change took place mail-officers were appointed to the steamboats for the purpose of sorting the mails, during the voyage, for delivery at Plymouth. Two royages have already taken place under the new arrange- ment, and in both cases the post-office officials haw been completely disabled by yellow fever. The Atrato, indeed, arrived the other day with no mails sorted, and as these letters had to be forwarded to London, one if not two posts were lost.— Fall- Mall Gazette, Oct. 31. The Xew North-Gterman Postal Law. — One of the sharpest debates which lias taken place during the present session of the North- German parliament occurred on the 19th, while the bill relative to the new postal organization was passing through the House. lierren Becker $ Wiggers having proposed an amendment, laying down the principle that the secrecy of private letters is inviolable, and that any exception to this rule should be fixed by a special law ; the government commissioner declared him- 190 THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. [Dec. 1, 186; self against the motion, on the ground that it was impracticable, and added that its acceptance by the House inight cause the government to withdraw the* whole bill. This declaration elicited strong expressions of dissatisfaction from the House, and llerr Lasker indignantly exclaimed, amid much applaus •, that if the g trcrnment continued to threaten thj House iu this way a belief might arise that the House was not free to act as it pleased, and that its most important resolutions were passed under government pressure. To this Herr Schraps added, that the amend- ment was by no means so useless as the government commissioner represented it to be, for the practice of opening letters was notoriously prevalent iu Prussia, and he himself had on several occasions, when he wrote to a Prussian employe at Schwiebus. found that his letters had been opened. After some more discussion, the amendment was put to the vote and passed by a majority of 13-5 to 93. The niinoritv consisted almost entirely of conservatives. — Fall-Mall Gazette, Oct. 23th, 1867. CORRE SPOXDEXCE. OFFSETS ALBUM.— BRITISH GUTAXA, &c To the Editor of 'The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.1 Sill, — "With due acknowledgement of the favourable review of my last edition of Oppen's album in your valuable magazine, allow me to explain, the anomaly to which you allude, viz : the omission of the shape of the stamps in some instances. I think it will be found neglected in some of the rectangular stamps only, for this reason : the original editor appears to have noted the form solely when square, round, octagonal &c, leaving it to be inferred that the specimen was rectangular when not otherwise specified. I interfered with his de- scriptions merely when erroneous ; but in all my own additions uniformly mentioned the shape of the stamp, which accounts for its occasional absence. The 8 cents last issued of British Guiana, to which you aUuded, is certainly not lilac, neither is it the hue of any rose we have ever seen, being of precisely the same colour as the original imperforated 8 c., an indescribable compound of rose, lilac, and red-brown. I am, Sir, yours faithfuUv, THE EDITOR* OF OPPEX'S ALBUM. THE PRICE OE MULREADT ENVELOPES. To the Editor of 'The Stamp -Collector's Magazixe.' Dear Sir.— I see in your impression for October that ' Fentonia ' thinks you are in error in supposing that the price of our post-office envelopes was, in 1841, 1 3 per dosen. I do not know how this may be, but Mulready envelopes without advertisements, i. e.. the real govern- ment issue, were sold at 3d. per dozen above the facial value, and this price is stated on many I have seen. Those with advertisements printed inside, were not issued so by govern- ment, and were, moreover, soon suppressed, for the reason thai the person who first took to this novelty in advertising/ sold them (as in the case of* those mentioned) at three- pence per dozen under post-office price, or. in fact, uuder the actual cost to themselves, the discrepancy being, no doubt, amply made up by an exorbitant charge from advertisements. One person, who bought a great quan- Muireadys as a medium for advertisements, sold the pennies at 9d. per dozen, a very eood speculation one would think, for they were bound to sell when so much under post-office price ; so the authorities seemed to think, for their use as advertisements must have been stopped, as they are far from common. Yours truly, Birmingham. EDWARD L. PEMBERTOX. THE LARGE-FIGURED ARGENTINE. To the Editor of 'The Stamp -Collector's Magazixe.' Dear Sir. — In your November number you a*k what I ' say to the fact, that all the postmarked copies of the _ figure known bear the earliest obliterating mark, and that the small figures, o. 10. and 15, rarely bear this, but often carry a different mark.' If all the used copies of this stamp bear the same cancel- mark, that mark must be the oval one with correo xacioxal above, fraxca in the centre, and, frequently, DEL BO ^ARIO below. I do not know — and do not think — that this was the first obliterating mark ; nor do I see that you have any authority for assigning a date to the postmark more than to the stamp that bears it. I suppose, however, that this is the mark you aUude to as the earliest, for every used 5 c. large figure I have seen was cancelled with it. I iu are mistaken iu saving that it rarely occurs upon the smaU-figured stamps : I have seen a great many t ?d with this mark, and some with more primirive- 1 joking ones. You will find in my former letter — 'the 10 c. (large figure) we know was not used, and the o c. (large figure) we know was.' — I could hardly say this, and doubt the genuineness of the 5 c. large figure. To prove my deductions from the Argentine govern- ment accounts incorrect, I think new official intelligence would be requisite. Perhaps Senor Arenales' friend, of the fine memory, could oblige with some fresh, authentic, official statistics, • which shaU supersede, beyond all doubt, aU those that went before." Yours trulv, G. B. [We have within the last few days ha1! access to a large collection of obliterated South American stamps, and nest month will enter more at large than our present space allows into the question ; meanwhile, the object of our reference has b»en gained, for G. B. admits thegenui cf the 5 cents large tigure. — Ed.] ME. STOUETON AND MR OYERY TAYLOR. To the Editor of 'The Stamp-Collector's Magazixe.' Sir, — Though by no means desirous of having the last word with Mr. Stourton, I cannot aUow his charge of want of straightforwardness on my part to pass unnoticed, an4 therefore beg to encroach on your space with a literal reproduction of the remarks which he accuses me of hav- ing garbled, and foUowing that, with my rendering of those remarks. From Mr. Stourton' s letter in July number : It is preposterous to assort tint collector? "mu-t refrain from obtain- ing rare varieties and newly-issuxl stamps, simply because there are no printed =paces for tham. The former I have always bea rather chary of, knowing, as I do. how many of them are shams. For the latter, there is plenty of room on either tide of the spaces ; nor do I quite set tunc placing them outside can be unpleasant, as Mr. Taylor would infer. From my own letter in September number : KB nothing in hi- [Mr. Stourton's] eyes, that the design in which the stamps are intended to be pi iced is spoilt by the insertion of new issues, aiid that the pa?e nec?ssarily acquires by such means an untidy appearance. " There is plenty of room on either side the spaces,' say- Mr. Stourton, 'and I don't see hoic placing them outside can be un- pUtnant.' Your readers are now in a position to judge whaf amount of ingenuity or lack of straightforwardness I displayed in rendering Mr. Stourton's ideas. To his further justifica- tion of Lallier. I have nothing further to say than that I never denied it to be the best existin? album, and that, such being the case, it is not surprising it Iris met with a large sale in both countries. _- for troubling you on this matter, I am. dear Sir, yours trulv, OVEEY TAYLOR. Dec. 1, 1867.] THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE. 191 To the Editor of 'The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Dear Sir, — I must request permission to make a few remarks on Mr. Stourton's letter in your last number. That gentleman was annoyed, perhaps naturally, by Mr. Overy Taylor's letter ; but what was the use of his having written a letter, the purport of which, he intends to be a protest against the publication of a new stamp album, when he is unable to prove any existing one adequate to meet the requirements of collectors, at the same time asserting that those already issued ' are numerous enough in all conscience.' Mr. Taylor's right to make use of such an expression as 'higgledy-piggledy' with regard to Mr. Stourton's manner of collecting (though the term, very probably, is rightly applied), is of course (as the latter states) questionable ; but there is no reason for Mr. Stourton to be offended at his mode of collection being attacked, which cannot with justice be supported. If Mr. Taylor's onslaught (to use Mr. Stourton's gentle term) on Lallicr's album is deserved (for his objections to it are in- disputable), I do not see why a whole paragraph should not be devoted to it. The large sale of the work in ques- tion does not in any way disprove its faults ; many works very faulty have obtained an extensive circulation. The French, without doubt, have studied stamps more than the English, and I do not consider myself unpatriotic when I say so. It is ridiculous for Mr. Stourton to assert falla- cies for the sake of seeming to be patriotic. I am, Sir, Abingdon. A POSTAGE-STAMP COLLECTOR. THE MOUNTING OF ENVELOPES, &c. To the Editor of 'The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Dear Sir, — Tour last number contains one or two statements, on which, with your permission, I should like to be allowed to make a few remarks. And I would begin my letter by telling ' an amateur ' that whilst he is right as* to the existence of Belgian stamps of the first series on tli in paper, yet he is, I think, wrong as regards the em- ployment of "the latter : they are reprints, authorised, I am well aware, by the official authorities, but none the less reprints. This will account both for their absence from the German catalogue, and for the presence of the water- mark in the paper employed. ' Doubtful.' This correspondent writes you with the question how are envelopes to be mounted ? The plan I adopt is to get some sheets of paper gummed on one side, which I have cut into narrow slips. I then take the 'entire envelope' I wish to mount and put it to the right-hand side of the page ; over this I put the slip of paper, having first wetted it at both ends, thereby fastening it (the slip) to the page, and inserting the envelope between the slip and the page. If their happen to be two or more envelopes in the scries, I place them in order of value, each one just to the left of the stamp on the envelope preceding ; so that although the greater part f f my first envelope is hidden, yet the whole of the last one is visible. Should I have occasion, however, to refer to any of the half-hidden ones, I have only to slip it out of its' strip of paper. Whilst on the subject of this corre- spondent's letter, let me advise him to cany out his already half-formed intention of discarding Lallier and trying the blank book system. No real collection can be made which has to adapt itself to the square places of a published album. "NY ith regard to the vexed question of the stamps of the Argentine Confederation, I will, with your permission, defer any remarks thereupon until after the perusal of your promised answer to Mr. Pemberlon. Yours truly, London. 2'7/xo. TOiir correspondent entirely mistakes Amateur's statements, which are literally correct. The hist B. lj_'ian stumps. Leopold in square frame, are only found on the watermarked paper: but a set of proofs on pupier eartonni. wi'hout watermark, was afterwards officially struck. These latter never had cir- culation in the post. The remarks of Amateur apply to the nest issue, head of Leopold in an ovul frame. These never were reprinted: they were printed first on papier curtonnh watermarked I. L, interlaced, in sheets of 200 each ; after- wards on a thinner paper, with the same watermark, in sheets of 300 each. Then they were issued on plain unwatermarked paper, net per- forated. The German Catalogue (Levrault. p. 35) mentions thi- issue as on watermarki d and on plain paper, but no catalogue men-ions the varieties of the uxitermarked paper used for the two pi intuits of the second issue. If Amateur's notes be carefully read, this is exactly what he states. We have now before us an album in which there is an entire set water- mark d, S' cond issue, head in oval, on thick paper; and another on thin paper, also watermarked; all six stamps are used copies. A similar doublj set Wiis in ML. Pemberton's collection.— Ed. 1 COLLECTING ON THE CHRONOLOGICAL SYSTEM. To the Editor of 'The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.' Sib, — AYith reference to the ' Permanent Album Ques- tion,' I should wish to advance a few ideas of my own on the subject. I think ' Cheth ' and ' J. H. Greenstreet ' mean well enough in their way, but if they could be led to re-consider the matter they would doubtless allow that their pro- positions, if carried into effect in the manner inferred, would prove very disastrous to the philatelic community at large ; and that, moreover, the aforesaid proportions, when they are carefully looked into, will be found to be impossible of achievement. In support of my views with respect to the impossibility of this aiTangement, I must take the unknown dates of the Ce3'lon issues, as one out of many hundred instances Avhich can be brought forward. The first issue of adhesives for that island is universally allowed, from Mount Brown (by the way, a very ques- tionable authority to commence with) downwards, to have taken place in 1857. The original authority for this date, however, is not to my knowledge come-at-able. The fact of the octagonal series and the hd. having appeared contem- poraneously with this issue seems very improbable. At any rate, the two colours of the 9d. (i. e., carmine and brown) cannot reasonably be supposed to belong to one and the same period ; the same may be said of the 6d. carmine- brown, chocolate-brown, and carmine on blue, and the various shades of the 8d., &c. There is evidently in this case alone great request for authentic dates of issue — doubtless many will be prepared to order upon the appearance of this (should you find space for it), but will they bear investigation ? As an instance of the fallacious character of many accepted dates, I cite and enclose a specimen of the second Tasmanian series at the end of this letter. It is a pity that our first philatelic authorities have wasted their time in determining the existence of varieties of watermark, ifcc. (dates for the several issues of which will never be known), and at the same time totally neglecting what is, in my judgment, the most important of philatelic questions : fori think that although the clas- sification of an album by dates is neither profitable nor practicable, still the recognised manual for the collector's reference ought to contain accurate information as to the date of issue (in fact, the birth !) of any and every stamp. Granting, however, that it is proved' possible of appli- cation, we will take as one intance of the disastrous effects such application would have — the Brazilian series. The three large figures of the first set would certainly appear together, in 1813, but the italics would be distributed through three years 1811-6 — the first of this set in value (». e., the 10 reis) being the last to make its appearance. Thus the essential beauty of a collection, that of having all the stamps of one type together, i* eonipL tel y 192 THE STAMP-COLLECTOft'S MAGAZINE. [Dec. I, 1867. overthrown ; without mentioning the great inconvenience amateurs would be put to through not beiug able to per- ceive at a glance the extent of any particular series, or the peculiar characteristics of the individual stamp composing it I propose that the new album be completed to the end of 1867, when concise information concerning all the issues of this year has been acquired. The arrangement to be in accordance with an alphabetical system of classification, similar to that adopted by Mount Brown in his catalogue, the English version of the name of a country being adopted in preference to any other. A geographical classification must at the best be extremely imperfect and constrained, not to say anything of the delay occasioned by it when reference to a particular country is required to be speedily made, whereas the above system would, I am sure, be an invaluable assis- tance in all such cases. J. H. G. ought to be commended, however, by phila- telists in general for the able manner in which he has disposed of the varieties and locals for such as do not allow them, and for having, at the same time, intimated how such as esteem them may preserve them in their albums. His proposition as to the deposit of new issues in a temporary receptacle I also entirely coincide Avith. The second series of Tasmania is stated to have been issued in 1860. In evidence of the incorrectness of this statement I enclose one of about 200 specimens which came into my possession in 1865, consisting of some of the second series ; the obliterations of all were in writing ink ; sometimes with name of town and date ; and in others with vertical lines. The enclosed, as you will observe, bears the date 1859 ; but I believe I had some dated as early as 1857- Apologising for trespassing on your valuable time at such length. I remain, yours truly, London. SIGMA. THE ALBUM QUESTION. Anti-Lallier has hitherto collected in a Lallier album, but now is obliged to change, as he has many stamps for which there are no spaces. He has resolved on collecting in an Oppen, which he thinks the best in size, arrangement, and everything else. To make it all that could be desired, A.-L. recommends that besides the loose blank leaves now published, loose sheets, with the name of country, and description, should be issued for such states as may from time to time emit stamps. A Timbrophilist recommends that the permanent album should be composed of leaves of the same size and quality as suggested by ' J. B. B., Norwich,' in the November number, only that the leaves should be loose instead of being bound up, and attached to strips of card- board, which strips could be fitted into a spring-back cover. The leaves might be faintly ruled, or the black lines used for guidance in writing might be employed in setting the stamps. The leaves might also be set off with a border and the armorial bearings of the different countries. Envelopes and other embossed stamps might be placed on sheets, with a strip of cardboard on the top and bottom edge. R. F. Wilme has altered his mind, and now thinks that a collection in one book, however large, would in course of years become inconvenient and clumsy; he is now therefore ' entirely in favour of a collection mounted in consecutive volumes ; ' — authorised adhesives, envelopes, and local stamps being kept separate. He recommends the proprietors of Oppen and Lallier to issue separate copies of their works for each of the three classes of stamps named, those for envelopes having sunken receptacles. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. S. N. G. — We thank you for the information given in your letter, which we have made use of in another part of the number. 0. P. Q. — Covers are being prepared for the 1867 vol- ume of the Stamp-Collector's Magazine, and may be pro- cured from the publishers. J. H. Greenstreet, London, finds c gum tragacanth ' answer admirably for mounting stamps. We believe this gum is not generally used. Collector. — We" understand another edition of Dr. Gray's catalogue is in course of preparation, but will, pro- bably not be ready for some months. J. H. B. — Tour blue stamp Avith head of Tic tor Emanuel is a rare Italian essay, made by a Paris engraver, and submitted to the government in 1865. Forty such stamps were comprised in the sheet, which contained other designs also. The sheets are printed in rose, blue, and green. Inquirer. — We are not in a position to state positively whether stamps will be issued for the Dominion of Canada or not, having received contradictory advices. It seems most probable that the united provinces will emit a new series as soon as the postal department is in order, until then the stamps of each province remain current. — ■ The collection of railway stamps is a matter for individual decision, they are not authorised by the state, but are issued \>j the Railway Companies, and the newspapers which they frank are considered to be parcels, and have to be delivered to 'consignees.' — The British 3d. and 6d. stamps, with rose watermark, are decidedly admissible as a new emission.— There is both a light and a dark-green 6d. Queensland, the latter was the first issued and is getting : rare ; among some thousands of Queensland stamps which we examined a short time since we did not find half-a- dozen specimens. — Your East Indian stamps probably came on letters from Singapore before that town was in- corporated with the new Straits settlement. E. F. S. sends us for inspection a new curiosity, Aiz. : a soi-disant ten-cent stamp of the Confederate" States. The stamp is a copy of the well-known blue five cents, head of Jefferson Davis in circle, produced by Messrs. De La Rue & Co., altered by placing in the centre a head of Stonewall Jackson (?), whom the artist has depicted with a large beard and moustache, and a lowering coun- tenance of the heavy German type. The value is in words beneath, ten cents. This affair is lithographed on thin plain paper : imperforate and unwatermarked, and is said to have been ' prepared ' by Messrs. Hoffman & Ludwig, of Richmond, C. S. A. We can give no further information about it, but if any of our con-espondents can add any particulars we shall be glad to insert their com- munications. Iota Subscript, Worthing, suggests the rather unne- cessary emissson of an extra Christmas number of The Stamp- Collector's Magazine, containing all the letters re- ceived by us on the album question. He would like also to have If. Lallier' s opinion on this question, and is of opinion that a philatelic society would do much good, and considers that it should take upon itself the duty of thoroughly scourging the country of forged stamps. We fear, however, that this work, however desirable the result, would be rather beyond the power of a society. — ■ I. S. refers to the letter of a Mr. Daymond to the Daily Telegraph, declaiming against the practice of sending stamps to boys on approval. This practice may, like everything else, .be abused, but in itself is not bad, and affords young collectors facilities they would not otherwise possess for obtaining ncwT or rare varieties <7*