Fourth Quarter, 1986 Vol . 43 , No . 4 Whole No . 1 72

ISSN-0014-0848

The

Essay-Proof Journal

Devoted to the Historical and Artistic Background of Stamps and Paper Money

A primitive, youthful effort by Lorenzo J. Hatch, renowned bank note/stamp artist whose work is featured in this issue.

Official Journal of The Essay-Proof Society

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The

Joemal

Vol. 43, No. 4 FOURTH QUARTER 1986 Whole No. 172

Published Quarterly by The Essay-Proof Society

Editor

Barbara R. Mueller, 225 S. Fischer Ave., Jefferson, Wis. 53549

Subscription Rate $20.00 per year in advance Back numbers are available from the Secretary. Price on application.

A sample copy will be sent to prospective members whose address is sent to the Secretary.

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Contents

Lorenzo J. Hatch, Bank Note/Stamp Artist, From Vermont to Peking, by Dr.

Glenn E. Jackson 140

Modes of Mail Transport on Slania-Engraved Danish Stamps 149

The Trans-Mississippi Issue — Engraver’s Vignette Progress Die Proofs, by Jack Rosenthal 151

Pictures, Not Proofs, of U.S. Envelope Stamps 157

Essays & Proofs at AMERIPEX ’86 Auctions 158

Bradbury, Wilkinson Archives Dispersal, by Barbara R. Mueller 163

U.S. Proofs and Essays (concluded), by John K. Tiffany 167

The Bradbury, Wilkinson Sample Stamps of Mexico, Lowe 171

Royal Stationery by Waterlow, by Robson Lowe 173

A Tribute to Robson Lowe 174

The Essay-Proof Society, Inc.

EPS Annual Meeting Brings Personnel Changes and Division of Secretarial Duties 139

EPS Old-Timers 175

Forty-third Annual Meeting of The Essay-Proof Society, 1986 176

138

The Essay Proof Journal No. 172

The Essay-Proof Society

DIRECTORS

M. Draisner ’87, M. Essner ’87, L. Robbins ’87, E. Wilkens ’87 D. Bagby ’88, F. Finkelburg ’88, G.E. Jackson ’88, Lynn S. Warm ’88 G. Brett ’89, G. Hessler ’89, D. McGuire ’89, R. Pratt ’89, R. Wunderlich ’89

OFFICERS, 1986-87

President Glenn E. Jackson, P.O. Box 308, Watertown, Conn. 06795

1st Vice Pres Robert H. Pratt, 7912 N. Beach Dr., Milwaukee, Wis. 53217

2nd Vice Pres Louis K. Robbins, 2112 Broadway, #412, New York, N.Y. 10023

Secretary-Treasurer David E. McGuire, R.D. #4, Colonial Dr., Katonah, N.Y. 10536

APPOINTEES, 1986-87

Editor Barbara R. Mueller, 225 S. Fischer Ave., Jefferson, Wis. 53549

Photographer Adrien Boutrelle, 1 Montgomery Place, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11215

Promotional Secretary/Information Director Barbara R. Mueller, address as above

STANDING COMMITTEES, 1986-87

Catalog: Robert H. Pratt, Chairman, 7912 N. Beach Dr., Milwaukee, Wis. 53217;

Falk Finkelburg, Vincent G. Greene, Rudolph Wunderlich.

Exhibitions: Falk Finkelburg.

Journal: Barbara R. Mueller, Chairman, 225 S. Fischer Ave., Jefferson, Wis. 53549;

Glenn E. Jackson, Lynne S. Warm, Ernest Wilkens.

Publicity & Recruiting: Barbara R. Mueller, Chairman, 225 S. Fischer Ave., Jefferson, Wis. 53549; John J. Ford, Vincent G. Greene, Herman Herst, Jr., Jack E. Molesworth, John Wilson.

The ESSAY-PROOF Society meets the second Thursday of April, May, June, Septem- ber, October, and November at the Collectors Club, 22 East Thirty-fifth Street, New York, at 8 P.M. Visitors are cordially invited to attend these meetings, at which there are always interesting exhibits and discussions.

The Essay Proof Journal No. 172

139

Essay-Proof Society Annual Meeting Brings Personnel Changes and Division of Secretarial Duties

Please Note!

T THE October 1986 meeting of directors of The Essay-Proof Society, several steps were taken to promote the growth and vigor of the organization. As shown on the

officers’ page to the left, added to the Class of 1989 Directors was Gene Hessler,

one of America’s most influential researchers in the syngraphics field, author of standard paper money catalogs, and currently curator of the Money Museum of the Mercantile Bank of St. Louis. Gene, through his association with the Society, has also joined the ranks of philately and is now a member of the American Philatelic Society.

Falk Finkelburg has relinquished his post as second vice-president and Louis K. Robbins, well-known New York philatelic auctioneer and philatelic literature expert, has agreed to take his place. The publicity and recruiting committees have been combined and added to the roster is John Wilson of Milwaukee, a most enthusiastic paper money collector, who intends to carry the EPS banner to the numismatic community at its many conventions.

Because of the press of family and business responsibilities, David McGuire has asked for assistance with his secretarial duties. He will remain as corporate secretary-treasurer, caring for the important business and financial affairs of the Society and maintaining the stock of back issues of the Journal. We thank him for his faithful stewardship which has made the survival of the Society possible during a difficult transition period.

Editor Barbara R. Mueller has agreed to assume the promotional/informational duties of the secretary. She will coordinate all public relations, recruiting and informational efforts. All inquiries about membership in the Society and about its work should be directed to her. This means that most of the routine correspondence, aside from dues collection, will be handled by the editor as “promotional secretary/information director.’’ Members are asked to keep this change in mind and relieve Dave McGuire of unnecessary, time-consuming cor- respondence. Barbara will also route requests for back issues to Dave, who continues to maintain the stock.

Finally, come the summer of 1987, we confidently expect to make yet another an- nouncement, one which will show our desire to forge closer links with the mainstream of philately, links which should stimulate our Society’s growth and extend its influence, as well as generate new articles and studies for the Journal.

A new membership brochure and application blank will be prepared for publication at the time of this announcement. Until then, members wishing to recruit new members are asked to contact Barbara Mueller for a supply of the old forms.

Remember : All correspondence normally sent to the secretary/treasurer except for cor- porate business and financial matters should now be sent to Promotional Secretary/Informa- tion Director Barbara R. Mueller, 225 S. Fischer Ave., Jefferson, WI 53549.

140

The Essay Proof Journal No. 172

Lorenzo J. Hatch

Lorenzo J. Hatch, Bank Note/Stamp Artist

From Vermont to Peking

by DR. GLENN E. JACKSON

(The following is based on the lecture given by Dr. Jackson at the 1986 American Numismatic As- sociation convention in Milwaukee and notes that accompanied his Blanchard Award-winning exhibit there.)

HROUGHOUT the past four decades, the lives and works of many prominent bank note/security paper designers and engravers have been chronicled in The Essay-Proof

Journal. One who thus far has escaped such in-depth treatment is Lorenzo J. Hatch,'

despite his employment both with private firms and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and his final work for the Imperial Chinese court. The reason for this situation may be the fact that, in the words of one biographer, “Mr. Hatch is a most elusive person.”

This biographer, Ellen D. Dickie, finally succeeded in writing a modest article for The China Clipper of The China Stamp Society in the 1960s after working with the late T.F. Morris, Jr., The Huntington Library in California, and this writer. Our joint efforts pro- duced the following facts :

The Essay Proof Journal No. 172

141

Proof of the Washington engraving done by the youthful Hatch while apprenticed to a jeweler.

Lorenzo J. Hatch was born in 1856 in New England, the son of a designer of marble monuments who died at an early age. His family thereupon moved to Dorset, Vermont. Lorenzo, the eldest of three children, was apprenticed at the age of 14 to a jeweler in Salem, New York so that his obvious artistic talents could be utilized to help his family. Evidently the jeweler had connections with Dorset through his wife and thus learned about the young man.

While at Salem, at age 16, Lorenzo made a copper plate engraving of the head of George Washington. During the summer of 1874 this engraving came to the attention of George B. McCartee, Chief of the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, who was vaca- tioning in the area.^ Within a few months, at the age of 18, the youth found himself at a desk in the Bureau, the youngest apprentice there. Surviving today is a proof of his first stu- dent effort, an excellent delineation of a fish.

The next thirteen years were fruitful ones for Hatch, in terms of his government work and also of his personal artistic growth. At nights in Washington he studied drawing. “He associated with the best artists of the city, attending drawing classes in the winter and sketched in water color whenever time and weather permitted. He won recognition as a colorist and the results of this broader artistic life were reflected in his engraving.”^

One notable engraving done during this period at the Bureau was of its “first building” shown as number two on the plate of engravings bound into the Bureau’s own centennial history. (See End Notes to this article.) Bank note engravings done during the period 1882-1896 were: (catalog numbers from Gene Hessler’s The Comprehensive Catalog of U.S. Paper Money, 1974)

• James Garfield on the $5 1882 Second Charter First Issue National Bank Note #287-315.

• Back of $1 Silver Certificate 1886 #36-42.

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The Essay Proof Journal No. 172

First student effort of L.J. Hatch at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, marked “engraved August 1874.”

^ / ' *>■

• Gen. U.S. Grant on the $5 1886 Silver Certificate #349-355; also the back, known as the coin note for its design,

• Daniel Manning on the $20 1886 Silver Certificate #818-827.

• Gen. George Thomas on the $5 Treasury or coin note 1890-91 #373-379.

• Gen. Philip Sheridan on $10 Treasury or coin note 1890-91, #612-617.

• Generals Sheridan and Grant on the back of $5 1896 Silver Certificate #358-360.

• Stephen Decatur on the $20 Silver Certificate 1878-80 #808-817.*

• Robert Fulton & Samuel F. B. Morse on back of $2 1896 Silver Certificate #185-186.*

• According to Hessler.

In 1887, Hatch decided to leave government service for a career with private security printers. First he spent two years in Chicago at the Western Bank Note and Engraving Company, which, according to Brazer, was organized in 1864. Its offices and plant were located at Dearborn and Van Buren Streets. Also employed there as a pictorial engraver was Walter Shirlaw, well known to syngraphists as the designer of the face of the $5 education-

al series.

The best known piece of work done by Hatch at Western was the famous profile of an Indian chief developed as a corporate symbol. This design and his engraving of it will live on in the current American Bank Note Co. “archive series” limited edition prints of intaglio en- gravings used in “the fine art of finance.” ^

In 1889, Hatch went to New York to join the International Bank Note Cornpany. In the same year he had an exhibition of his water colors there, and a critic at the time wrote, “If he improves as he grows older he will make one of our best artists, if he is not that

already.” . , . .

Hatch’s great talent for designing and engraving mythical dragon and maritime motits

showed up in the vignettes and borders he did for security paper at International. As he studied under Robert Henri, he turned his attention to oil portraits and landscapes. Return- ing to Dorset, Vermont for vacations, he formed a sort of art colony in the summers there, which included Shirlaw. In 1894, he married Grace Harrison, great-granddaughter of Presi- dent Harrison. They had one son.

The Essay Proof Journal No. 172

143

~'DB

Die proof of the famous Hatch Indian chief done for Western Bank Note.

Photocopy of sample note or advertising piece of Western Bank Note dated 1864/1907 with center vig- nette space blank. The same design dated 1864/1906 has the Hatch Indian chief in that space.

144

The Essay Proof Journal No. 172

Indians

The Hatch Indian chief on the current American Bank Note Co. “archive series” limited edition prints of famous intaglio vignettes from that concern s stock of dies.

The Essay Proof Journal No. 172

145

Photocopy of a very small version of the In- dian Chief in a delicate oval border.

Photocopy of die proof of design by Hatch for Western incor- porating the Indian chief, dated Jan. 1906 and identified as “side piece for new letter head.”

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Another Hatch railroad vignette for a stock certificate for the Jalapa Railroad and Power Co. It is likely that the allegorical figure at the right was engraved from a Walter Shirlaw drawing or painting. Shirlaw, a friend of Hatch, was noted for such figures with upraised arms.

146

The Essay Proof Journal No. 172

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B & O Railroad Co. First Mortgage Fifty Year Four Per Cent Gold Bond designed and en- graved by Hatch for IBNCo. Note intricate borders as well as the locomotive, one of many such done by Hatch.

The Essay Proof Journal No. 172

147

Proof of the Hatch ship vignette used on the taxpaid revenue essay (Turner A-54-A).

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Photocopy of essay of U.S. tax paid revenue stamp (exportation distilled bottled spirits in bond) with a maritime motif by Hatch. Listed in G.T. Turner’s Essays and Proofs of United States Internal Revenue Stamps.

The final, “Chinese,” phase of his career began nineteen years after he had settled in New York. In 1908, representatives of the Chinese government visited him upon the recom- mendation of the U.S. Treasury Department with a proposal for the establishment of a Chinese “Bureau of Engraving and Printing” at Peking. At first unresponsive to the plan, he finally accepted an offer to serve for six years with no restrictions; even the building was to be constructed under his supervision. Before he and his family sailed for China in Novem- ber, he ordered all the equipment for the plant.

By the time they reached Honolulu, they learned of an upheaval in the political situa- tion at Peking, with both the Empress Dowager and the Emperor dying and a three-year-old appointed as successor to the throne. But despite the ensuing political upheavals which eventually resulted in the creation of the Chinese republic. Hatch was able to fulfill his mis- sion with great success. In fact, before he died March 9, 1914, he was working on private commissions that included a portrait of Yuan Shih K’ai, first president of China.

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The Essay Proof Journal No. 172

Three Chinese stamp designs known to be from the Hatch burin. See text for details.

Photograph of Mr. and Mrs. Hatch and a Chinese servant mounted in the center of an engraving done by Hatch for International Bank Note Co. and adapted to a Baltimore & Ohio Railroad gold bond heading.

At Peking, he confined most of his efforts to organizing and managing the plant as well as training native apprentices. He did, however, work on at least three stamps, according to the Stanley Gibbons’ stamp catalogues. They indicate that Hatch engraved and Waterlow & Sons of London printed the Temple of Heaven issue of 1909, Scott type A20, for the first year of the reign of Emperor Hsuan T’ung. Scott types A21 and A22, picturing Dr. Sun Yat Sen and President Yuan Shih K’ai respectively, issued in 1912, were engraved by Hatch and W.A. Grant and printed at the Chinese BEP, Peking.’

The Essay Proof Journal No. 172

149

Many more were done by this associate, William A. Grant. Information about him can be found in H.D.S. Haverbeck’s article in Essay-Proof Journal no. 86, Spring 1965, re- printed from the January 1964 issue of The China Clipper. Grant was employed by American Bank Note in 1908 as chief of the engraving room when he left to accompany Hatch on the China adventure. He was known as an expert in lettering, script, and geometric lathework. After the death of Hatch, Grant continued to serve the Chinese government until his retirement in 1928. Essays and proofs of his postage and revenue stamp designs were given to the Smithsonian Institution by his daughter Mrs. Robert O.D. Hopkins, who, inci- dentially, was named “Delnoce” after his teacher, noted engraver Lewis Delnoce. Grant died in 1954.

According to Yankee magazine, Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins purchased Lorenzo Hatch’s ar- resting oil portrait of his mother from Mrs. Hatch and presented it to the Southern Vermont Art Center in Manchester, along with proofs of his etchings, as a memorial to this “elusive” artist. *

Notes and References

1. So far as is known, there was no relationship between Lorenzo J. Hatch and the George Hatch of Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson.

2. According to the History of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing 1862-1962, Treasury Dept., Washington, D.C., p. 17, McCartee succeeded Spencer M. Clark on March 11, 1869, becoming the second “Chief” of the fledgling BEP.

Clarence W. Brazer, in the Collectors Club Philatelist, Vol. XXVII, No. 2, April 1948, p. 80, stated that McCartee’s term of office was March 18, 1869-Feb. 20, 1876.

3. The China Clipper, Vol. XXX, No. 6, The China Stamp Society.

4. W.H. Griffiths, The Story of the American Bank Note Company (New York, 1959), p. 56. In 1901, Western was acquired by American Bank Note Co. but continued to operate under the original name until June 17, 1911 when it assumed the name of American Bank Note Co. Chicago branch or Western Division. In 1902, International was purchased by American Bank Note Co. and its plant in upper Manhattan operated until 1911.

5. “The Collection of Essays and Proofs of William A. Grant,” H.D.S. Haverbeck, The Essay-Proof Journal no. 86, pp. 51-57.

6. “Lorenzo of Dorset” in Yankee magazine, Nov. 1967.

Modes of Mail Transport on Slania-Engraved

Danish Stamps

To publicize and benefit the Hafnia 87 World Philatelic Exhibition in Copenhagen, Denmark issued on Feb. 20, 1986 a miniature sheet with four se-tenant stamps engraved by master engraver Czeslaw Slania. The designs are described as follows:

DKK 1.00 — Holstein Carriage c. 1840

In 1777, the Danish Post Office took over the mail-carrying coaches and got a number of new carriages on that occasion, the so-called Holstein carriages. This type of carriage was to become the most widely used in the conveyance service. The carriages which carried both mail and passengers were not very comfortable at the beginning, but gradually they were improved. Thus, people who were sensitive to wind and weather could rent a hood for their protection.

DKK 2.50— Iceboat c. 1880

In 1778, conveyance of mail as well as passengers by iceboat across the Great Belt was intro- duced. The mail had to be delivered, and passengers had to be conveyed even during the severe winters, and iceboats were the only means of transportation across the frozen Belt. Only on

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rare occasions was it possible for the travellers to stay in the boat ; they had to get out on the ice and help with pushing or pulling the ice boat.

DKK 2.80— The First Danish Mail Van 1908

Around 1906-07, other countries had begun to use motor-cars in the postal service with suc- cess, and in 1908 the Danish Post Office rented a motor-car, as an experiment, for the conveyance of mail in Copenhagen, The experiment went very well, so in 1909 the Post Office bought the car and got three more cars the same year. From 1919 the number of mail vans increased markedly, and finally they completely replaced what had become known as the Danish mail horse.

DKK 3.80— The First Danish Air Mail Service

The establishment of the world’s first air mail service took place in Denmark in 1808 by means of hot-air balloons, but more than a hundred years went by before an organized Danish air mail service was to become a reality. The first official air mail service was estab- lished July 1, 1919 between Copenhagen and Stege. The Post Office and the Navy jointly carried out a number of flights to prove that transport of mail by air was feasible, and Sep- tember 15, 1920, the first international air mail service from Denmark was opened between Copenhagen and Warnemunde in Germany.

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151

The Trans-Mississippi Issue — Engraver’s Vignette Progress Die Proofs

by JACK ROSENTHAL Photography by the Author

HE design process for the Trans-Mississippi Issue of 1898 was interrupted by the out- break of the Spanish-American War in April of that year. The pressures brought

about by wartime printing demands upon the Bureau of Engraving and Printing

made it necessary to convert the planned nine-stamp, bi-color issue to monochrome.

Surviving are the sought-after progress die proofs that were pulled at various stages for the benefit of the engravers, enabling them to see a positive printed image on the course leading toward the completion of the vignette dies for the proposed bi-colors. Line engraving is done in a reverse image when looking directly at the die. Some of the die sunk rarities have found their way into the hands of collectors as a result of the liquidation and dispersal of the personal privilege copies of the engravers.

The most comprehensive listing of these vignettes according to sequential state of the die was accomplished by Clarence W. Brazer in his 48-page effort, self-published in 1939, entitled A Historical Catalog of U.S. Stamp Essays and Proofs — The Omaha, Trans-Missis- sippi Issue 1898. Brazer acknowledged that the listing necessarily was incomplete and that he had relied upon others for information on items he had not seen. He solicited submissions by owners of material which had not been included in the listing. Only eight of the nearly forty known vignette progress die proof states were pictured, Stanley B. Ashbrook having pro- vided the photos.

Nearly half a century after Brazer’s publication appeared, little has been done to build upon his monumental cataloging effort. The absence of a comprehensive group of vignette photographs coupled with difficult to follow or erroneous word descriptions of the sequence of listed die states has caused identification problems for dealers and collectors alike. More often than not, the scarce vignettes are incorrectly identified in auction.

Heeding Brazer’s suggestion that his work be used to build upon, the author has en- deavored to photograph as many of the vignettes as have been available to him so as to pro- vide a more graphic basis for comparison and identification. Shown here and in subsequent issues of the Journal will be 36 of the 39 vignette states that are known to the author. Those five states of dies that were listed by Brazer as unknown to him and that have not been seen since then have been eliminated from the listing. Since they were pulled in very small quan- tity, some likely were lost or destroyed between 1898, when they were printed, and 1939, when Brazer’s book was published. When, as, and if they surface, the listing may be amended.

Change in Terminology

Unlike Brazer, we apply the term “state of the die’’ only to those proofs which repre- sent a change in the engraving of their corresponding metal die. In five other instances, Brazer gave consecutive full number status to proofs pulled from the previous state of the die when their only change was in the form of pencil modelling. While these pencil changes usually reappeared as additional engraving in subsequent states, we continue to list the proofs containing pencil modelling, but feel it is more accurate to consider them as a variety of the previous state. Often, those with modelling bear pencil notations in the recognizable handwriting of the engraver.

SUMMARY OF THE STATES OF THE VIGNETTE DIES INTENDED FOR THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI BI-COLORS

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NUMBER DEPICTED HEREWITH		36
TOTAL INCL. PENCILLED VARIETIES	i/^Tjvo Tt~.rn 'Ovi in	39
ADJUSTED NO. ENGRA VED STA TES ONE Y	5 4 5 4 !• 3 6«» 4 4	36
DISCOVERED SUBSEQUENT TO BRAZER	- 1 1 1 - - 1 1 1
BRAZER LISTED PENCIL MODEL STA TES	1 1 1 „ 1 ^ „
STA TES LISTED /4S “UNKNOWN” BY BRAZER	□ □ □ 1 - 1 1 - ?4 1 ^ 1
BRAZER LISTED STATES OF DIE	Tj-invOTf
DATE OE START ENGRA VER	3/7/98 G. SMILLIE 3/28/98 M. BALDWIN 2/7/98 G. SMILLIE 3/24/98 M. BALDWIN ?□ R. PONICKAU 3/7/98 M. BALDWIN 3/25/98 G. SMILLIE 3/2/98 M. BALDWIN 2/15/98 M. BALDWIN
DENOMINA TION DIE NUMBER	1 CENT NO. 261 2 CENT (bridge) NO. 272 4 CENT NO. 259 5 CENT NO. 270 8 CENT NO. 258 10 CENT NO. 262 50 CENT NO. 271 1 DOLLAR NO. 260 2 DOLLAR (farming) NO. 257

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As recently as 1985, the Philatelic Foundation adhered to the Brazer terminology “progress die essays.’’ At the urging of the author and others, recent Expert Committee cer- tificates have been issued adopting the phrase “engraver’s progress die proofs,’’ recognizing that the term proof is more applicable than is essay. They may be incomplete, but all of their elements find their way into the eventual stamp design. The Foundation’s terminology con- forms now with that used by engravers and printers worldwide.

Presented here in tabular form is a breakdown of the known states of the die as listed in Brazer’s 1939 work, along with the adjustments necessitated by subsequent discoveries and the clarification of the “state of the die’’ definition. As was the case with Brazer, this compilation, too, should be viewed as a building block. Additional listings and any other augmenting information is solicited by the author and by the Journal.

The next phase in the vignette engraving process took place after the decision was made to produce the issue in monochrome. It was necessary to tailor the vignettes to the exact size of the frame openings. Progress die proofs that were pulled during the time that the vignettes were being married with the frames on common dies are in existence and available to the author. They will be the subject of a future story in the Journal, dovetailing with this series.

NOTE: Numbered identifications on each illustration are not on the originals; they have been added to the photographs to facilitate correct page layout and to aid the student. Word descriptions and illustrations are intended as identification guides. What may not be appar- ent in reproduction will become apparent when the actual specimens are examined.

Dates of engraving are derived from notations on the vignette impressions or are im- puted from the engravers’ diaries.

The bridge vignette as eventually used on the two dollar stamp is listed after the one cent, as it was originally intended for the two cent and is so listed by Brazer.

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157

ONE CENT

Fig. 1. March 7, 1898.

□ Initial state of the die.

Fig. 2. March 8, 1898.

□ Lines in sky and water added.

□ Leggings in foreground more completely engraved.

□ Broken lines added to squaw’s head blanket.

□ Marquette’s robes darkened.

□ Head of chief and front-facing oarsman darkened.

Fig. 3. March 9, 1898.

□ Background lines added between tree trunk and chief’s back.

Fig. 4. March 10, 1898.

□ Indian at right darker, with robe etched.

□ Marquette’s hair on left side of head darkened and reshaped.

Fig. 5. March 10, 1898, P.M.

□ Unknown to Brazer.

□ Diagonal lines and shading added to rock under Marquette’s outstretched arm.

□ Waterline engraving of same rock darkened and extended.

TWO CENT (BRIDGE)

Fig. 1. March 7, 1898.

□ Initial state of the die.

□ Very lightly engraved.

Fig. 2. April 7, 1898.

□ Foreground more heavily engraved.

□ Bridge sides more detailed.

□ Church steeple on left horizon made less distinct.

□ Deck of bridge, trolley cars and wagons more distinctly engraved.

□ Buildings at left waterfront and far right and steamboats more completely engraved.

(To be continued)

Pictures, Not Proofs, of U.S. Envelope Stamps

(The following was noted in U.S. Envelope World, Vol. 2, No. 7, January 1951, the house

organ of the late Prescott Holden Thorp, noted postal stationery dealer.)

Things seem to run in cycles. Currently the cycle brings forth an abnormal number of in- quiries concerning “proofs” of U.S. envelopes of the 1907 to 16 period. Such so-called “proofs” are lithographed reproductions of the one and two cent oval die stamps of the period printed on what appears to be various colored paper. These are not proofs in any sense of the word. Instead, they are pictures of our envelope stamps printed in color. They originate from the schedules that were prepared by the Mercantile Corporation, who held the contract for making government envelopes in 1907. These schedules were an effort to provide the Post Offices with a more attractive method of listing the various envelopes that were available. They were printed in color, each envelope being shown in full size with the stamps in actual size printed in the actual color of the issued stamp. They were faithful reproduc- tions and a stamp cut from one of the schedules provided a reasonable counterfeit of the original. For this latter reason, and because the laws forbade the reproduction of U.S. post- age stamps at that period, these rather handsome schedules were withdrawn. Some enterpris- ing collectors must have cut up a number of the schedules for a surprising number of “cut squares” from them seem to be in the hands of collectors. I suspect that many may have found their way to this source by unscrupulous packet dealers who found these reproductions an inexpensive way of creating additional varieties for their cheaper packets.

Complete schedules are collectors’ items. They come folded twice, apparently for easy mailing to Post Offices, and when unfolded measure approximately 18 by 21 inches. This of- fice has a few entire copies which are available at $10.00 each. Condition is only fair, but, when framed they make an interesting addition to adorn your hobby room.

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Essays & Proofs at AMERIPEX ’86 Auctions

The following report wraps up the listing of prices realized at the special sales held at AMERIPEX in Chicago which had significant essay/proof lots. All descriptions are from the auctioneers’ catalogs.

Steve Ivy/ AMERIPEX ’86 Auction May 26, 1986

1869 PICTORIAL ISSUE

227 P #1 12P1-122P1, lc-90c 1869 Pictorials cplt. for all ten denominations as

hybrid large die proofs, each proof is affixed to a full-size gilt-edge card signifying that the set was prepared for use in an official presentation book, the 15c, 24c and 90c bi-color proofs exist only in this hybrid proof format, the 90c card has a bend at top left, a very fine and rare set, the Scott catalog value for large die proofs is: 13,000.00 1,900.00

228 P ^1 12P1-122P1, lc-90c 1869 Pictorials cplt., hybrid large die proofs, pro-

fessionally rebound in a black presentation album preserving the original front cover with its gold stamped lettering, the cards measure 7/^" x 87*" and are gilt edged as are the end papers and the interleaving sheets, the cards show the typical mostly minor soiling usually seen on these, the 15c,

24c and 90c values exist only as hybrids, a rare offering for the 1869 or

proof specialist. Cataloged as large dies at 13,000.00 1,600.00

229 P ^112P4-122P4, lc-90c Pictorials cplt., plate proofs on card, a select set

for both margins and color, accompanied with the original post office en- velope, extremely fine. 1,610.00 525.00

1870 NATIONAL BANK NOTE COMPANY

Without Grills

288 P #145P2, 157P2-66P2, lc-90c BANK NOTES, Roosevelt Small Die Proofs

complete, the Ic being the National Bank Note Company design, the rest from the Continental Bank Note dies as issued, mounted on original gray cards, a lovely fresh set with bright colors, extremely fine. 2,980.00 750.00

AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY

321 P #214P2a, 3c Vermilion, Panama-Pacific small die proof, extremely scarce

with only 3-5 examples known, choice condition for this, very fine; 1979 Philatelic Foundation Certificate. 800.00 700.00

1893 COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION

A Specialized