The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1893-06-21
THE POSTAGE STAMP.
Some Facts of Interest to the Curious
Among Our Young People.

y
age stamps, the new Columbian stamps
for instance, are really miniature steel
engravings? The average person who
sticks one of these works of art on the
corner of an envelope does not think of
this; but if You will look closely at the
two-ccnt stamp you will see that it has
all the delicacy and detail of steel
portrait. If You prefer the blue variety
you can purchase a genuine steel en-
craving without frame) for cent
And if you chance to have money in
your purse you can secure the entire
historical series at a moderate cost.
The Columbian stamps, as stamps,
are a great improvement over their
predecessors. They are gems of art,
and the fact that they are to be issued
only during 1898 will make them valu-
able as curiosities. Historically the
kind critic will overlook such liCtle in
accuracies as the representation of Co
lumbus as a beardless youth when
sighting land and as wearing a
full beard when landing the next
day. Evidently the skill of the en-
graver did not extend to the tonsorial
art; or else boards grew fast in those
days. But, fortunately, trifes like this
will not prevent the government from
making profit of a quarter of million
dollars or more from stamp collectors.
The centennial of 1876 also was com
memorated by the post Office depart
ment, but in a different manner. A
souvenir envelope was issued, with a
shield-shaped stamp in the corner. 1t
represented mail-carrier of the olden
time, riding on horseback at full speed.
| Below was a modern railway train.
The stamp was of the denomination of
three cents. At the top were the fig
ures ''177G," and at the bottom "1S76."
AS work of art it was inferior to the
new Columbian issue. 1t was the only
special issue of United States stamps
up to that time, except a tifteen-cent
stamp representing the landing of Co.
lumbus which was issued in 1869.
Do not suppose that stamp making is
an easy nor even a rapid process. Every
part of the work is performed by hand.
The designs are first engraved on steel
and two hundred stamps are engraved
on a single plate. The work OF mixing
these plates is done by two men, and
they then go to man ard girl who
print them on large hand press. Three
sets of these workers are kept con-
stantly employed in this manner. AS
fast as the stamps are printed they are
dried and then gummed with a starch
paste made from potatoes The paste
is dried by placing the sheets of stamps
in a steam tanning machine, and then
the stamps are put into hydraulic
presses and subjected to pressure
of two thousand tons. A girl
with a large pair of shears next cuts
the sheets in two each sheet when cut
containing one hundred Stamps. The
paper between the stamps Is then per-
forated, and after again being sub
jected to hydraulic pressure they are
filed away ready to be SEPT out when
ordered. If "A single stamp is injured
in any way the entire sheet is burned.
The sheets are counted eleven times
during the process of manufacture to
prevent pilfering by employees,
The history of postage stamps in this
country is so inseparably connected
with the history OF the postal system;
that it is necessary to review the latter
in order to understand how stamps first
came to be used. 1t is almost incredi.
bic that less than fifty years ago the
United States really had no postal sys.
TEN as we understand it. Previous tc
1871 the mails were carried, largely by
private firms, and rates of postage
varied according to the distance trav.
erSed. To send letter across the con.
tinent cost nearly as much as a, tele
graph message at the present day
!: And, though costly, the service was by
, no means satisfactory. Much of the
mail matter was of necessity entrusted
, to carriers on foot or horseback, and
/; their progress was of course very slow
Prior to the introduction of the ad
, hesivc stamp, letters were sent either
: paid or collect, at the option
! of the sender, Under this sys
tenn stamps We're in little demand
1t was the custom to mark prepaid
letters with paid mark" and eacl
office was allowed to adopt a design OF
: its own. The usual device was the
word paid" with the amount and tn,
{ addition of one or more stars, the
, whole surrounded by circle. During
the first years of the late civil war thi
old system was revived by the confed
crate states, which were withou
stamps, In some instances the or
binary date mark was altered, ant
. thus tie name of the town appeared
= with the word paid" and the amour
| Eve or ten cents as the case nigh
be. This system was in vogue in tn
confederate states until about Januar'
/. 1862. at which time they issued thei
own stamps.
. The Inconvenience of this local
system as it was called, were so man
that. before the new issue of adhesiv
stamps came out, plan was devised t
I, furnish marked envelopes. The chic
objection to the paid" stamp was tina
, all mail had t, be brought to the pos
J Office to be marked. This was obviate
b. the envelope system the govern
; ment marking the envelopes in advanc
and selling them to consumers.
Returning to our narrative, we fin
Q that N 1878 many of the post offices ha
Issued paid stamps of their own. Thes
were called provisional issues" an