The Republican., 1899-01-26
PORTRAITS ON STAMPS.
New Foreign Issues That Have the
Faces of Child MOnarchs
Upon Them.

Among the new postage stamps which
are destined to be very popular
from their commercial value-is one
of the princess of Wales, the first time
thefeatures of this royal lady have been
designed in this way. The compliment
is paid her by one of the royal English
colonies, Newfoundland, and the United
States has a finger in the pie, as the
beautifully engraved pink stamp was
made by the Banknote Engraving COM
pany of New York. An earlier issue
includes the prince of Wales, in the
same pleasing color, and his portrait
and that of the princess form compan-
ion stamps of the requisite value TO
carry letter to any part of Europe or
America, his being a two-cent stamp,
while that of her royal highness, his
wife, is three-cent stamp, the combi-
nation making the necessary five-cent
postage.
But there are others, and among
these is the new stamp portrait of the
queen of England, as she looks now,
in her dignified age, and in her widows S
cap: one-cent green stamp, also is
sued by Newfoundland, and with it an
other and younger scion of the royal
family makes his bow to an admiring
public from the face of a lavender
stamp, the little son of the duke of
York, and the heir apparent to the
British throne. Before me as l write
is letter from the general post office,
Newfoundland, registered. and post
paid, with one-cent green Victoria
stamp, two 1h-cent stamps of her
little greatgrandson, the small duke
of York, and pink three-cent
stamp of her gracious majesty daugh-
ter-inlaw. the princess of Wales. Quite
a family gathering for the conveyance
of one letter, and a unique feature
of postage portraiture, not surpassed
IN any age or country.
Children's faces are not unknown on
stamps, the little queen of Holland, as
her Dutch majesty has been called un-
til recently, being a familiar sight to
her subjects on the postage stamps of
the Netherlands. But the little queen
has shot up into womanhood, and her
childish pictures, representing little
girl with flowing hair and straight
bangs, are not representative of a
crowned queen, so she will have a new
postage stamp made-indeed, has al
ready done so, but withdrew it from
circulation because she did not like
either the expression or the pose. Any
one who has received one of these for
hidden stamps can sell ii for three
dollars. In few years it will be price
less.
Little Wilhelmina was not the only
royal child on a postage stamp-there
is the boy king of Spain, Alfonso MIL.
and there was stamp bearing the i'm
age of the young king OF Siam. | do
not recall any other postage likenesses
of little kings and queens, but may
have overlooked some. In these in
stances the portraiture was not re-
stricted to postage stamps, but ap-
peraed also on the coin of the realm.
Perhaps good reason why no image of
the child Victoria of England is found
on postage stamps of the past is the
fact that stamps were not in use until
1910, when that gracious lady was a
crowned sovereign. Her youthful
features taken then have remained the
same until this present issue of her
face in later years. Time stood still
with the bonny young queen of the
postage stamp.
The literature of the postage stamp
should interest many others besides he
stamp collector and the amateur crank
who makes himself obnoxious to his
friends by begging their foreign STAMPS
before they have read their let:srs.
The fad is spasmodic, like measles or
Group, and is gone and over with sud
denly. During the war just ended the
Cuban stamps and those of the Philip
pine islands were treasured, and it
was decided that no more issues would
be made, and, as one enthusiast said:
"In a hundred years they would be
worth money" Four denominations
come from the Philippines. When the
on the street corners were tormented
for stamps, and be it said to their cred
1t they responded generously, the Greek
stamp during that uncertain period of
King Georges reign being placed Sc
curely on the central flap of the en-
velope, much to the disgust of the mail
ing clerks, who had to make special
movements to stamp the canceling.
Greek kings do not count on their post
age, but ancient wrestlers, throwing
the discus, philosophers and solons,
with classic characters, serve for por-
traiture.-Chicago Times-Herald.
PompOus Answer of an Artist.
An amusing instance of the extent to
which a realistic artist may satisfy
hialsPlf is OiYen in little story told