The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1889-05-02

As . contribution TO the history Of hui
man folly, the prices which parcel Of
cld postage stamps has Just realized at a
London auction are not unworthy Of mo-
dee. The collection consists Of $50 ''lots, /"
The most valuable being . set Of rare
British Gulana labels, and for these the
bids ran % figures which must seem to
any one not bitten by the mania little les
than monslrous. A"blue iourcentH Of
1855 excited eager competition, and was
finally knocked down to . dealer for esq.
This specimen, however, had been used,
90 that when astamp ''much finer" and
without TIE deiaCing marks Of the sorter
on its surface, was put up there was
nothing left but for the buyer Of the esq
specimen 10 acquire II at els advance.
AflsF this q strip Of four one-cent Magen-
be-, issued In 1851, on the original en-
yelope, from the same colony, at Ell four
Of the one-cent 1858 issue at 81 each, and
. pair Of iour-cent magentas, thiFty-three
years old, at E12, are barely worth notice,
though thar prices are 80 much In adj
vance Of what the. first owner paid for
them over the postOfiice counter in
GEORGETOWN. Yet . book Of 1000 old Is
suesof English stamps-postaee, revenue,
law, bin, railway and receipt, brought
Len than eight guineas, and q thousand
Mexicai ones only 90 s., while cOllec-
ton q SO Russian local stamps seem, to
the uninitiaied, TO be simply given away
At 80 ihlllinEs. We may, however, take
Il thai this collection, large as II is, did
MOI, even 4 Ronaine, contain any Of the
rarer ones. For, as the student Of d.
KoprOabki's volume must be aware, some
Russian, stamps are 80 scarce a. to cause
the most ayd1nt collector many q heart
ache in his futile endeavors to obtain .
specimen which win pass the narrow
scrutiny Of the expert. These and al
other hieh-priced stamps are forged BY
the Wholesale. and with such ingenuity
that onlv the experienced connoiseur can
detect the knaveries. The presence Of
such impostors In the company Of honest
specimens Is the reason Why the amateur
atsales, finds 10 bis anazement, awretched
square inch Of paper going for . thou
sand times its weight In gold, while he
can secure an album containing Il, and q
host Of similar rarities. almost at his own
terms.
The collection Of N. Philippe de Fer
rari L said 10 contain quarter Of q mil
lion specimens, and 10 be worth almost q
many pounds. Mr.. Philbrick Is under
stood to have sold this wealthy PArisian
ViEtuoso one collection for el0. 1000, while
Sir Daniel Cooper. an Australian col
lectoS, wisely Transferred "a the same
esnfleman the fruits Of sixteen years
boarding for 5000. Mr.. Burnett's al
hums are currently reported to have
brought something like ca. 900, and Il l.
nothing uncommon to dispose q re-
spectacle, but By no means remarkable,
~ Of stamps for $500, zoo or $1,000.
Ths collection made b. The late Duchess
De GaIliera b affirmed 10 have cost, up 70
the year lsss, In acquisition and arrange
ment, e57y 900 !; the value Of I, 900 volumes
In which Il was contained has since that
date been put at els,OO0 more. Yet 1t ID
believed that bothin England andon The
continent there are public and private