Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-09-10
POSTAGE STAMP FAD.
TT BEGAN AS A HARMLESS kMusE-
 mENT AND BECAME 4 MANIA.

Millions of Dollars Are Locked Up Tn BIIs
 of the Rare Specimens For Which Fabn-
 lons Prices Are Asked and Given
 the most curious of human faiS. re- marks a New York writer. 4 collection of coins is at tho most worth the weight of the metal Not so n collection of stamps Tho fashion may 20 out as it came in, and then the stamps will be only so much waste paper
 The fad broke out in 1861 in the form of few sporadic cases among school boys and maiden ladies It was not only harmless fad. but in the case of the schoolboys it was even an eduCative one It proved the easiest, the pleasant est and the most efficacious way of driving knowledge of geography into the adolescent mind
 But now that these first few sporadic attacks have developed into something alarmingly like an epidemic one begins to speculate whether the craze of the philatelist is not distinct bar tO hu- man progress. inasmuch as it consumes 2 large amount of brain force and vital energy that might better be turned into other and more useful channels of ac- tivity.
 In the United States alone there is an organization called the American Phila- telic association, which numbers 1000 members But this represents only small fraction of the philatelists actual ly in the country.
 The greatest and most famous of liv- ing philatelists - considered merely from the philatelist point of vicw-is NJ. Philippe de Ferrari, a dignified, courteous and white haired old gentle man who lives in Paris. He is a son of the late Duchess de Galliera. who was also n passionate lover of stamps
 His collection Is valued at $500, O00 He has been known to pay $500 for an album which contained only a single stamp that Ire coveted For more valu- able collections he has never limited his expenditures
 Next to the Fcrrari collection comes that of Baron Arthur de Rothschild, which is so valuable that its owner, with the true jealousy of the collector. re- serves the pages containing his rarest treasures for the delectation only of himself and his most intimate friends.
 Now, what constitutes the enormous value of these collections: It is not the number of the specimens. There are more than 6,OOO different varieties of stamps now actually ill existence. 4 certain number can be obtained at com paratively light expense.
 But the rarer ones command large prices. Never mind whether the rarity was created by age or accident The MacNfahOu stamp in France is the blue rose. the unattainablc ideal of the collector. When the marshal was president of France. his wife was anx- ious to sce his image set in stamps Designs were accordingly prepared, but the postal commissioner rejected them and adopted another design. Ncv- ertheless there is q legend that some of these MacMahon stamps got into circu- lation. If single specimen ever turns up. it will bc priceless
 Another lost pleiad is q postage stamp issued by the government of British Guiana in 1856. It has disappeared from the market, and specimens held in the hands of private collectors arc valued at $250.
 A set of four 1850 stamps also issued ill British Guiana bring anywhere from S4OO to $500, and set of four 1852 Hawaiian stamps are valued at $l, 500 The I5 and 30 cent reunion stamps i bring $500. The New Brunswick , cent stamp, with the head of O'Conncll. is rarely parted with under Sl50. Rare is also the black Canadian l2 penny stamp, valued at SIPS. But the collector does not stop at lc- gitimate issues of stamps. He gives fancy prices for varieties of shades, for perforationS, errors and watvrmarkS. At a recent stamp exhibition in Nivn- ma an enthusiastic collector named; Gi- welb displayed with pride the ''crr"r'' | of Francc-a stamp of 25 ccntimcs printed in blue instead of black. the "error' of Afghanistan and a stamp with missing ornament in n corner.
 Dr. Mallmann of Vienna had even more wondrous delights to unfold, for he was the proud possCssnr of the two rare ''errorS'' of the Cape of Good Hope. stamps of penny and l pence respectively. which are blue instead of red and rcd instead of blue. Such ''crrors'' fetch very high price, kept down only by the uneaSincSs of creating new values" by wanting misprinting.
 No article on philatcly could bo com plete without some notice of the l. .00O. = GOO postage stamps myth. This still survives ill vague and uncertain forms in the rural districts, where it is bclicv- ed that some vast benefit, financial CT other, will accrue to any Cne who col lects 1000, GOO stamps and forwards them to the proper address But the proper address Is never known