Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1875-09-30
Postage Stamps.
How They are Madeand Dis
tributed.

1
New York Letter, Buffalo Express.1 sr.2a
Every United States Postage
stamp in use is made here. II
| New York. The contract wa:
held by the American Bank
| Note Company, from July i,
1861, until the same day in 1873.
That was for three terms of
four years each. The Cont
mental Bank Note Company at
the same time offering to do it
for one-half the amount required
by the other company, the con-
tract was awarded to them. :
The Office of the Continental is
at the corner of Greenwich and
Liberty streets, but as it was de-
sirable to have the postage
stamps made in perfectly fire
proof building, the fifth story
of the Equitable Life Insurance
Building,in the corner of Broad
way and Cedar street, was rem
ted by the Company for that
purpose.
The office here is for the use
of Mr.. Daniel NJ. Boyd, the
Government Agent, and Mr..
Charles f. Steel, the agent and
superintendent appointed by the
company The facts given in
regard to the making of stamps
were obtained by your cores
pondent from Mr.. Henry Bow
en-, Mr.. Boyd's assistant. Two
passenger elevators run to the
top of the building, and upon
leaving them, the only entrance
to the postage rooms is by means
of a door which is constantly
locked and guarded by a jani-
tor, who always sits inside to
answer the bell, which is just
outside. On the right hand
are the Office and printing-room,
and way to the LETT, at the front
Of the building are the other
rooms used in making the
stamps. -..f. ~
In printing, steel plates are
used, on which 200 stamps are
engraved. Two men- are kept
hard at work covering themwith
colored ink and passing them to
a man and girl, who are equally
busy printing them off with
large rolling hand-presses. -
Three of these little squads are
all the time, although
ten presses can be put into use
in a case of necessity. After
the small sheets of paper, upon
which the 200 stamps are en-
have dried sufficiently
they are sent into another room
and gummed. The gum used
for the purpose is a peculiareom-
position, made of the powders of
dried potatoes and other vegeta-
bles, mixed with water, which is
better than other kinds; for. iu-
gum arabic, which cracks
the paper badly -..;.s.I
The paper is also of q pecur
liar texture, somewhat similar
to that used for bank notes. =
After having been dried this
time on little racks, which are
famed by steam power for a.
bont. an hour, they are put be- !
tween sheets Of pasteboard and
pressed in hydraulic presses, Ca {
Dable Of applying a weight of !
5wo hundred tons. The next
hing is to cut the sheets in half;
each Sheet of course, when cut, !
a hundred stamps. - 4;
This is done by a girl with Il
arge pair of shears; cutting by !
land is preferred to that Of ma
,hinerg, which method would E
destroy too many stamps. They .
ire then passed to two other
squads, who in as many opera
ions perforate the sheets be- ,
,ween the stamps. !
Next they are pressed once S
more, and then packed and Ia {
Oelcd, and slowed away in an
other preparatory to being put
IN mail-bags for dispatching to 5
fulfill orders. If a asingle stamp
IS torn, OF in any way mutilated, 4,
he whole sheet Of one hundred
is burned. About 100000 are
burned every week from this
cause. For the past twenty
years not a single sheet has
been lost, such care is taken
in counting them. During the
process Of manufacturing the
sheets are counted eleven times.
There are $4,000 post offices
throughout the country, and
they use through the course of
one year 700,000,000 postage
stamps. A week or two since
64,000,000 finished and 81, 7,00O,-
900 unfinished stamps were put
into the safes. The New York