The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-08
STAMP PLATES MELTED UP.
TEE ACCUMULATION OF HILE a
CENTURT D~ESTRoTED.

-. ---r- .-.-..~.
WAshiNeIoN' AUG .-ihe Ass OF Ao'ooO
pounds OF plates irom Nuicn years gone oy
the y etAse Amus ." oni0ou eeA.es were
pr nted were oestroJen et uhe Navy lara on
THURSDAY ror man century .nese plates n@d
been Hecumuletins uh'u the time came when
the Post oWSs Dopertu'ehta desired TO got no OF
them all AZ ooce' 80 tOo'1naseerSsneral gary
appointed = eommlssion 70 superintena the
operauon' ana tne plates were melted up In \
furnace ana cast INTO pls1Ion-
1t would make INC neArt OF q thorongh
phhateiist SICK SAID mayor in. reeves, chief
OF the stamp DIVISION ana one OF the committee
In charge OK tho aesSruction' 70 sun reporter,
" TO sec all these plates TO 10 waste.
Yea saio Nathan =. smith; III . stamp
collector could take out one impression from
each one OF these plates IL would make him In
dependentiy wealthy. /
"Ho" much DO you tnink one sheet OF each
Issue OF stamps would be worth y asked the re-
porter.
Various estimates were made. the popular
-a,t h.vs he.n salab,s a, . hi.h rr,.. "a
Nouu NV . ~ uisn ptlee' s"a
% see that none went astray. The plates ver,
~ oack.d a, ,b. p,,, Osgc, n.,ar.r.,, 4.
wooden boxes holding from eighteen to forty
i've plates, and bound by iron bands. Each
-,.. ,ho,T tr-,lv. hv .t,ht,.n kh..-l |
plate was ABOUT WE'VE oy eighteen inches and
weighed seven or eight pounds. They were
md Men eonntsd schednisd and pi...a
hau oeen eouhteu' scneuuieu- ana placed
IN nc rsnorsd - tho tn,p.sa dens .aes
.,,S, - Va u.r. $50, NJ, - !
~ Say no : tufnaeo
was in readiness. The boxes were dumped on q
platform. chopped open. and the plates removed.
a. earb box was openes the mates wsrs conn,sd
AS e"Sn 0oA was ope"ee piHtos "eEe counteo
and then dropped into the furnace. Coal, coke,
and pigi-on we're thrown in and the blower
turned on. As the stun gradually melted moro
plates. coal. and coke were put in. until all the
pas ,oe.a $500 ~ pas. emo VI
hall a century 5 history OF the Fost onice De
p%artuent-
while these mates have beep des,rn1ed "
- ~ o'SN'
the Government can reproduce them II it
snoula ever DC necessary 10 40 So Al the
from dies. and all these dies are in the possess
sion OF the Bureau of Printing and Engraving.
The die is cut IN SOFT Steel and then hardened
hart @prds and roil @a over IN q : sheet he. " OF soft , asI
until the plate is made. This is in turn hard
ened and used to print the stamps.
Fsi rsi A.ststsnt Genera 20 bach bach TO
the introduction OF a e. neral postage stamp BY
the arst adhesive stamps By the Government Of
the SnITeo SLaLeS- lnlS pIhCc aero was the urHJ
ever used. 1t was made in lsI7."
The plate referred to was one from which tho
f TonsScr rt" three-sa allss I RS,ee ON an 0S ov sHn dis z.
cnat FrankIin was selected because he was The
father of the United States postal system.
Around the portrait was a faint wreath OF
leaves. and in the upper corners were two let
ters. .U. g." while in the lower corners were
Five Cents" were also engraved on the pate
From this the first hye-cent adhesive stamps
b SsiaI IN q f iisb tb bro%n s'a'es were printed the color
You know" continued MI. Fowler. " In those
days 5 cents was the lowest postage rate; The
ten-cent stamps OF lsI7 were printed. 1t repre-
sented washington. after Stuart's painting.
The next plate examined was one of the one
cent issue, with Franklin's familiar face This
cancelled by the stamping OF fne iines across
al the sections.
long the postal service WAS established before
the discovery Of the adhesive stamp. which
seems simple to us. The history OF the post in
stamps did not come in for almost 500 years
"a early q a. SI 1853. and se sse@ ped ~ postal aie PAPER ia rS Was
issued by the Government Of the Sandman
E w.r. th IN lsls; s IN rPSnao ne~Ss P TF. "csahp a2iss
Whiting in 1880"
Was there not some eonsFoysssy" asked the
the adhesive stamp r.
There was" was the reply. and the honor
apPuEGELIy CAOlNo " W. III " NUN nj
yocated tie use of such a stamp while the other
had already produced it but had not made IL
generally known. The adhesive stamp was
made experimentally by james Chalmers at
Dundee in August, 1884. Mr.. Chalmers. had
been long Interested in postal matters and had
made strenuous ana successful efforts TO accel-
crate the mails from London TO Scotland in 1872.
He kept in touch with the Post ONCE acquaint-
Snces thus made. and in 1884 produced postage
stamps printed from ordinary type and made
Stamps 70 q fSrien ~aa'tb but ~ ms adn no erort to have 1e he
Post Once OF England adopt them until after
their use had been by the author
ct \ pamphlet entitled Post Office Reform The
matter came TO the attention OF Rowland Hill,
who comnende the use OF the stamps TO the
commissioners OF Post Office Inquiry on Feb.
Is, 1897. The Canton OF Zurich was the first
Government after England 10 adopt these
stamps, and the Government OF Brazil followed
In the same year, ls+3. The United States did
not take up the matter until ls+7, although
stamps were issued at New York and st. Louis
in 1s45 and in Rhode Island in. 1s+6, Several
other issues were made at odd times. but none
OF them by the Government"
In another lot of plates were those from which