The morning call., 1890-12-14
THE PASSION
FOR STAMPS.
French Collections That Are
Worth Thousands of Dollars.
Quite Trade in the Exchange and Purchase
OF Rare Specimens onnoisseurs Whose
Judgment Is Held High

eFIYP\S 1sAs l duA Iuutl SbbtcS LII his cudpI6I
HI on collections of stamps, the mania
~ Is not limited to school boys, who
MD their albums in their desks together with
nsh hooks, paints, brushes, perhaps dozen
OF so OF cocoOns and few yellow-backed
novels. but 1t is possessed by numberless
young and old intelligent men, some of whom
nave spent fortunes for the pleasure of hav-
ing number of rare little colored squares
pasted on blank page. the value Of which
lies In the Imagination and which is
certainly the most fictitious of all
collections. Besides the delight of possession
there can be no pleasure and certainly no
use In collection of stamps for men, but it
becomes useful in direct and indirect way
Tor boys and girls. In the first place, it can
be the means of keeping boy out Of mis-
chief for little while. Time spent in that
occupation is not spent in tormentiug par
ents with fish hooks, in climbing or walking
on dangerous fences, in pugilistic exercises
ana In making himself sick trying to smoke.
1t teaches him geography, for he will take
more interest in knowing where a stamp
comes from and where the country lies than
In keeping in mind geography lesson
taken from his wel-thumbed and dog-eared
school books. Stamps also aid him in
learning history. the continuity of reigns in
empires and their overthrow when the little
squares are adorned with a Liberty cap.
Statues are rare in America, but immortals
are perpetuated in stamps, and the striking
likehesseS OF Washington, Lincoln and Gar
heid excite the boys to know what men made
the country. They will lend an ear to what
tnese men did when looking at the stamp,
when they will not pour over histories.
II you happen to walk on Sunday, in the
afternoon, in the Champs Elysees, you can
see on tne thu
groups OF men, women and children holding
mysterious communications with each other
and you wonder what under The sun they
are doing. You draw near and see every
man, woman and child with small box,
AN ALBUM
Or envelope showing their contents to every
one who draws near. 1t is the stamp ex-
change, which takes place every week in
the open air, and curious sight it is. A
younester still in knee-breeches will trem-
bllngly approach an expert whose hair has
grown gray with the fever Of the stamp
mania and will ask his advice as to the
purchase OF certain stamp which another
boy wants to sell him. A little further you
Will see maid with white apron and cap
trying to dispose of a lot her mistress has
allowed her to tear from the envelopes.
Here are two priests in deep conversation,
with albums before them, meditating an
exchange; there group of boys and girls
discussing the advisabilty of one of their
comrades paying 20 cents fol- q box of
stamps which have no fancy value. A lit
tie further on you will listen to the parley of
group of earnest-looking men in search of
a pearl among stamps They look carefully
over albums TO find rare one whose posses
s0r Is ignorant of its value, and which may
like picture. bring hundreds of francs.
You can approach hardly any of these
active members OF the exchange without
being solicited to buy or being asked if you
have any stamps to sell. The greatest ex-
perts do not dlSdain to put in an appearance
in this open-air market, and when one like
III. Pierre Maye Is present he is surrounded
with inqairers and eagerly consulted as to
the value and rarity Of not widely known
stamps. This exchange has not the noisy
hustle of the bourse; no one ia ks above the
noise of conversation, and the policeman
standing near never has occasion to call anv
one TO order.
While strolling about there one day rec
ognized NJ. Pierre Maye. the greatest expert
in France, and he had the kindness to give
me some items in business in which he
years. There is probably no kind of stamp,
past or present. which he has not handled
and studied. He told me that France pos
sessed half of
THE IMPORTANT COLLECTIONS
Of the world, and that there was perhaps
only one which was really complete. 1t is
that of NJ. de Ferrari, and it is valued at
100000. There are several others valued
at S2c, coo, $4,000 and $4,000 The rarest
stamps are those of the Reunion, Maurice
postoffice, the issues OF Natal, Hawaii, Mol
davIa and the half peso rose and yellow
OF Peru. Dealers in stamps are innumer-
able in Paris. Many have an in
genious sign of stamps set in mosaic
above the door. In entering any one of
them, you can see number of young
women busily sorting, pruning aud gum
ming hundreds Of stamps. or standing by an
amateur while he is looking over the
albums. M. Maye has about i've millions
OF stamps which are on exhibition in
albums easy for customers to manage. But
II you happen in when the merchant him.
self Is out, and you ask for the rarest of
stamps, the young women pointedly refuse
to show them. They are locked no in safes
like precious jewels and exhibited only to
one who is known as o possible purchaser.
A stamp Is easily stolen and hidden, aud a
stamp is sometimes worth hundreds of
francs. From five to six millions of old
stamps are sold year in Paris.
Like all Institutions fostered by civliZa-
ton the postoffice was slow in reaching its
present perfection. We knew of no means
Bible tells us that the first letter was
brought to Noah in the form of an olive
branch, the first carrier being a dove. Nj.
Paul Eudel states that England has the
honor OF the invention Of postage-stamps,
and he relates the following anecdote: In
1887 traveller stopped at an inn and while
he was resting the letter-carrier brought the
barmaid letter which she looked at at
tentively and then asked the carrier what
was the price of the carriage. Two shill-
ings." said the man. "Oh." replied the bar
maid, ut is too dear, l can't pay so much"
:" Very well, I'll take the letter back" The
barmaid was
FINE. GOOD LOOKING GIRL,
And the traveller, wishing to do her kind
ness. offered to pay the shillings, but the
woman refused to accept. When the car
maid upon her refusal, and after some hest
tation she confessed that the letter was
from her brother. They were too poor to
pay the tax, and they correspondent by signs
traced on the envelope: The traveller was
Sir Rowland Hill, member of the House OF
Commons, and he left the inn very much
preoccupied with the matter of the letter.
After long struggle the Commons passed a
law authorizing the issue Of penny stamps,
and Sir Rowland Hill, who prerared the bill,
Other countries followed the example. In
1849 stamps were first introduced in France.
Turkey was the last country in Europe
which issued stamps; that was in 1863 The
separation Of stamps was not then practical,
and in 1851 Sir Archer Invented puncturing
for rapid separation, and now every nation
has adopted the system.
Mr.. Arthur de ROthsehild is q great ANA
tenr stamp gatherer, ana his collection is
said to be worth some 5000. lie takes
much pride in showing them to his friends.
He has written a valuable book upon post
offices, and has made researches in the color.
cut and dimensions Of stamps. He often
has twelve specimens of the same issue.
He has also formed q club where con-
nosseurs and amateurs meet and discuss the
chronology and geography OF the stamp.
The society meets every first Thursday Of
the month, and is presided over by the
founder. All discussion foreign to the sub
ject is interdicted, but no stamp trapsac-
tions are allowed during the meeting. There
are amateurs there who admire stamps as
much as another man will the rarest objects
of art They will compare them in color,
in size, and wrangle over the advisability
of having all the stamps triangular in shape,
like those of the Cape of Good Hope, or
oval like those of Brazil