Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1891-10-28
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eDate 1853 Value Sis

envelopes after deducting the face value
of the postage. The use of stamped en-
velopes obviates the danger of the
stamps falling off in the mills, and it
lessons the number of letters which
come to the dead letter office. The pa
per of which they are made has a water
mark which effectually prevents coun-
terfeiting, and there is no danger of
anyone trying to wash the ink off of
stamped envelope and thereby use it
second time for postage. The first
stamped envelopes were issued in 1852
of the two denominations of three and
six cents, and it was not until two years
later that the ten-cent envelope was
added. In 1850 there was a new series,
including one and four cent stamp,
and as soon as the war broke out
new set of designs had to be gotten
out and new envelopes made. In
June, 1868 we put out a two-cent
stamped envelope, and the next year
we had stamped envelopes of the de-
nominations of 1, 2, 8, 6, 9, 10, 10, IS, 20,
"a, 80 and 40 cents. The envelopes con-
tanning a printed request for return on
their outsides unless delivered within a
certain number of days, were first is
sued in 1865, and they were very popular.
In 1870 there was a new series which
left out the. forty-cent stamp and in
cluded ninety-cent stamp. These en-
velopes are now in use with the excep-
ton of the twelve and twenty-four-cent
stamped envelopes, which have been
discontinued. The government now is
sues seven different sized envelopes and
of three different qualities of paper.
The stamped newspaper wrapper was
first adopted in 1851, and the depart
ment sold one million of these during
the first three months following their
issue. They were first made bearing a
two-cent stamp and in October, 1870, the
one-cent stamp was added. The in
crease Of newspaper wrappers and
stamped envelopes has been steady
since their reduction, and last year 451,-
100000 of the two were issued. Of
these 220,0O0,000 of the envelopes bore a
request for return to the writer in case
they were not called for.
There is not the same scope for the
engraver in the making of the stamped
envelopes as there is in the postage
stamps. There is an art in postage
stamps and the United States has stood
A4Sh o1AOhS OhO hNC4o VI Ullc WOIlu
for years as to the beauty and finish of
it's stamps. The stamp collectors of the
world now number hundreds of thou
sands and every stamp is scrutinized in
its minutest details. Our stamps are
sent abroad in large mum bers, and many
people know America as much by its
postage stamps as by anything else. In
engraving a stamp the work is largely
! done in accordance with the colors in
which the stamp is to be printed. The
green three-cent stamp was a work of
fine art, and if you will take the cd
green three and compare it with the
late green two you will see what l
mean by engraving in accordance with
color. In the three-cent stamp the
background of the oval is heavily
shaded and the head stands out in strong
relief. In the two-cent stamp the back
ground is lighter and this gives the
stamp a lack of strong contrast and
makes 1t look fiat and tame. The en-
craving upon a stamp is necessarily the
work of the best artists, and to look at
the stamps you would not imagine the
amount of time and thought which is
| spent upon them. The new stamps are
smaller than the old ones. They are
in better proportion, and l doubt not
they will be verv popular with the peo-
pie. A. ID. HAZEN