The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1890-08-10


increasing all the time," said Mr.. G. F. Roth
fuchs, a well-known Washington dealer in for
eign and domestic stamps. Mr.. Rothfuchs has
a neat little store on the Avenue, few doors
below Four-and-a-half street, and is the only
dealer in this class of goods in the city.
care there many collectors of stamps in the
city,"
II suppose in all there are over four hun
dred They range IN age from six years old
up to over eighty. One of my customers, quite
an ardent collector is lady who lives on q
street, and is eighty-six years old. A number
of clerks in the Departments collect them, and
of course the usual number of school-boys and
girls, always ready to take up a novelty of any
kind and drop it in few weeks. Women
collect them to as great an extent as men and
boys. Some of my best customers are ladies.
One lady in the city has collection which l
should judge to be worth s., 900. High officials
catch the craze, and some of them have very
valuable collections. The best collection in the
city is owned by gentleman of wealth and
leisure who wouldn't care to have his name
known. 1t has cost him over fifteen thousand
dollars. A well-known general in the Army
residing here has collection worth about half
that much. Assistant Secretary of State Adee
has collection of great value The clerks in
make a rush for the foreign mail as soon as it
comes in, and great many of them have quite
valuable collections There is large number
of collections in town valued at from one hun
dred to one thousand dollars each, and few
from two thousand to five thousand dollars.
The highest, as l said, is worth $4,000. There
was formerly in existence a society of stamp
collectors in this city, but for some reason it
failed to prove success and gradually ceased
to exist.
stStamp collectors who make the collection of
them matter of more than passing interest are
called philatelists and the collection of stamps,
called by some science, is known as philately.
In the United States there are over four hundred
thousand stamp collectors. We have forty
papers devoted to the subject and they range
in size from the four-page pamphlet to the forty
page maya zine. There are one thousand Dealers
wholesale and retail, in this country, and their
stocks are worth from 500 to 100000. My
business during the winter is very good, but
during the summer, as in every other business,
there is little to do. Last year | sold to the
people of Washington stamps to the value of
$4,000"
''Where do the dealers get their stamps?"
ave buy great many collections from per-
sons who have grown tired of the amusement, or
who want ready money. Then there are great
many clerks and others who have access to for
eign mails. These furnish us with stock of
current issues. We also send to the postmasters
in the countries themselves when we want un-
used specimens of current issues. Dealers in
various countries also have an exchange by
means of which intelligence and free exchange
of stamps is kept up between this country and
the others. By all these means we manage to
get about as many stamps as we have use for.
| just bought collection for which paid S400,
and am frequently receiving consignments of
stamps from foreign countries"
'sWhat is the value of the best collection in
the world?'
'sThe best collection in the world is owned by
French nobleman Philip Won FeTary, and
has cost him between three and four hundred
thousand dollars. Il. X. Tapling, member of
the English Parliament has a collection worth
100000. The most valuable collection in this
country is owned by st. Louis lawyer. John
X Tiffany, who is president of the National
Philatelic Society. 1t is worth S50000 The
second collection is that owned by Boston at
torney, w. 4. Van Derlip, and is worth some
thing less than the above sum. There are a
great many collections worth on the thousands,
but / name these the most valuable. The
total number of varieties of postage stamps is
$4,000, Counting envelopes, postal cards, and
wrappers this number is increased to $4,000.
A person having 5000 varieties is considered to
have very good collection of stamps, and few
reach over that number"
"Does this enthusiasm for stamp collecting
exist to the same extent in Europe and other
countries Y'
'rThere are collectors all over the civilized
world, great many more in England, proper
tionately, than in America All classes OF
people there as here indulge in the pastime, and
at Jl6 lOluOu EAulDlGlOn uClu III tlltt
city last May the Duke of Edinburgh presided
at the opening. The value of the stamps in this
exhibition was something enormous, the insur-
surance being set at 9100,000 They have
various philatelic societies and journals there as
we have here, Germany, France, and England
furnishing the largest quota to the ranks OF
philately.o
could you give me the values of some of the
rarest stamps?"
''The most valuable stamp in the world,
suppose, is the first issue of the Reunion Islands
1t has sold at auction for $500, and that may bt
set as its real value. The Mauritius, Sd. pro
Visional, is worth $500. The Canada, 12d. black
is worth 500. At an auction held in New Yorl
short time since some very high prices wer,
brought. The British Guiana, 4-cent blue issu,
of 1856, brought $3.50; the 4d. red, Cape O
Good Hope, brought $120; the Id. blue 800
the scent blue, 1851 issue of the Hawaiian
Islands, was sold for SlS6; the 13-cent blue
same issue, S109 the 27 paras of Roumania
1858, brought $50, the 81 paras SIC, and tn,
1OS paras $57. Then there are Others wortl
from $25 to $50, which | need not name Th,
highest face value of any postage stamp eve
issued was that of the Victoria f10 stamp.
have one here. They were used on heavy liner
envelopes containing a second envelope of golt
dust and mailed from Victoria to Paris"
"Among the United States stamps there arr
many rarities. Among these | might mention
the Buchanan, 1916, issued at Baltimore ant
bearing the autograph of James NJ, Buchanan