The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1891-02-26
STAMP COLLECTORS.
Enthusiasts Who Are Devoted to
Their Hobby.
A Brief Outline of the History of Postage
Stamp Collecting In This Country
An Extensive and Lucrative
Business.

money spent annually IN the purchase
of the little colored bits of paper will
cause surprise when one remembers
that stamps for postage first came into
use in 1s4O, says the New York Times.
It seems impossible that the demand for
rare stamps has become so great that
men arm themselves like explorers and
visit countries infested by highwaymen
tosecure specimens of the stamp-maker's
art. To-day there are millions of dol
lars invested in the business, which ex-
tends all over civilized countries, and is
kept informed by about forty journals
devoted to the interests OF stamp col
lectors.
That rare postage stamps are literally
hunted for with guns was verified by q
collector of st. Louis Mo-, who recently
returned from Mexico, whittier he went
for the purpose of obtaining specimens
of the postage stamps in use in that
country previous to 1872. Before that
date envelopes were unknown in Mex
leo, and the postage stamps were pasted
on the outside of the letter itself, which
was made to answer the double purpose
OF letter and envelope. In order to Sc
cure these stamps it is necessary to
get hold of old letter-ilcs, and, as
only letters of business nature
can be secured, the files of old
merchant-houses offer almost the only
means to the collector and dealer
OF getting at the coveted treasure.
Family letters are never sold, and, In
deed, it is seldom that owners of busi-
ness letters will part with them, SO the
task of the collector in search Of stamps
In Mexico is not an easy one.
Through business connections the
collector obtained access to the letter
files Of old firms in the City of Mexico,
and some of these he was able to pur.
chase. Hearing of an old house at
Cuernavaca that would probably dis
pose of its files he decided to go there
with his secretary, Castilian. The
town is about sixty miles southwest of
the City of Mexico, and the road lies
through region infested by highway
men.
When departing from tho City of
Mexico the stamp hunters were ad-
vised to leave all their valuables behind
and arm themselves well, and they took
the advice. They travelled part of the
way by stage and part on horseb ack.
They were not molested, for the road
was at the time patrolled by mounted
police for the entire distance.
Stamp collecting" the collector
says, "began almost as soon as
the use of stamps become gener-
al, or about 1s47. Great Britain
used the first postage stamps in 1910.
Brazil followed in 1S45, and the United
States in 1S47. Before that postage was
prepaid, as it is on express packages to-
day. About 1868 the first journal de-
voted to the literature of postage
stamps appeared in Belgium. It was a
monthly publication, LIE Timbre Poste.
The first stamp paper started here was
the Philatelic Journal of America in
1885. There are at present thirty to
forty papers published in the interest
OF collectors, and six or seven OF these
are first-rate journals. There are now
three incorporated companies in this
country which deal in stamps. Two Of
these are capitalized at $4,000 each.
New York has two companies and st.
Louis one.
"The value of stamps, like every thing
else in trade, is regulated by the simple
law OF demand and supply. Ha wealthy
collector is withouta a certain specimen
that specimen has an increased value,
whether it be rare or not. Rare stamps
are therefore frequently not as valuable
as more common ones wanted by rich
collectors. But generally speaking,
stamps which have been in use only q
short time are the most difficult to get
and the most expensive. There Is no
danger Of stamps Of recent date becom-
ing as rare as those Of former issues.
Before Great Britain sent stamps to
Mauritius they were printed there In
plates, twenty impressions at time.
The result was that each OF the twenty
was different from the others in some
minor detail A rich collector is not
with one Mauritius, but wants
one OF every variety, and this, of course,
makes them valuable.
1.-THE highest price ever paid for a
single stamp at public auction In New
York City was 1926 for a stamp issued by
the postmaster at Brattleboro, Vt, before |
The Government issued stamps. A stamp |
issued at the New Haven post-office sold |
in st. Louis three years ago for s19s.
Much higher prices than these have
been paid at private sale for early issues
If stamps of British Guiana and Mauri-
,ius. Colonial governments often run
>ut OF stamps of certain value, and,
oeing unable to get them at once from
;he mother country, they stamp the de-
'ired value on other stamps. For in
'tance, French colony may run out of
'tamps valued at so centimes, and will
,rint on their 25-centime stamps '50,'
,hus making a new issue. This will
,reate demand for this new variety
when the supply Of regular 5o-centime
stamps arrives.
'SThe government officers can there
ore print any number OF these 'emer-
'ency' stamps, hold them until they be-
'ome rare, and then dispose Of them to
collectors. These are called 'surcharged'
tamps, and the postmasters in the
French provinces have made them so