The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-01-28

1t cost the sender a dime. Letters for
"aLueo from one address to another had
10 pe restamped at extra cost. Thus some
Iet'ers cost 20 cents in postage before they
n eoelieu ,helr destination, owing to the
movement of the troops.
MI Deats divides Confederate stamps
INTO Tour groups. He says this classifica-
tloh Is somewhate arbitrary. but that no
stamp Iails TO come under one or another
OF these heads. In the first class are the
stamps issued by postmasiers on their
own responsibility before the government
issued any. These fall into three subdi-
Nlslohs-lmprovised hand stamps. hand-set
stamps ana those produced by the COM
paratlVely primitive lithography OF that
Tune The second subdivision is the most
interesting, the composition of some of the
specimens being very crude, those now
owned by Mr.. beats showing four different
spdclhgs as many distinct fonts of tVDe
ana numerous irregular impressions in the
border caused by misplaced fragments of
brass rules. one at least shows bad proof
reading, McConnell-the name of the post
Ihaster-appearing with three successive
c's. The hand stamps were made with
wooden or metal dies, rubber Stamps not
yet having come into use A few of these
stamps show that the postmaster changed
MS mlnd about their value or decided TO
nave a bargain sale, as second denomna-
uons are stamped over the first figures.
This subdivision is so extensive that Mr..
beats is inclined to treat it as a class by
Itself, although technically it belongs to
the hrst class Regarding it as the sec
ond class, the third consists of the adhe>
sive stamps issued by the Confederate
government, and broadly known as Con
federate stamps" The unstamped envel-
opes used by the Confederate postoffice
department. corresponding to the penalty
envelopes in use by the federal govern
ment nowadays, constitute the fourth
class. II is noteworthy that the postof-
flee department was the only department
of the Confederate government that did
not have to use stamps.
The beats collection includes an enVel-
ope showing four Confederate provisional
stamps, the only four together in exist
ence. Four other envelopes epitomize the
history of the Civil War. The date of
the first and that of the last are less
than a year apart. The first, dated April
1861, bears a provisional stamp, showing
the Southern flag; the second, under date
of June of the same year the postmasters
hand stamp; the next, date of August the
postmaster's engraved stamp, with the
Confederate governments stamp pasted
over it; the last, only few months later
the government stamp alone. The collec-
ton contains a Macon stamp bearing no
mark except its denomination, the unusual
one of cents. The collector paid $500
for it. He knows 1t is a Macon stamp
because there is one other in existence
exactly like il, except for the additional
data of time and place, The only Beau
mont stamp known to exist he bought
for $1,000 He has a pair of Spartanburgs
with quaint records. A Pennington book
seller, and neighbor of his, was a steward
in the Northern army, and in Arkansas
during the war was one of a party that
captured and rified a Confederate mail
bag. Few persons saved stamps in those
troublesome times but these two Spar
tanburgs impressed him as curiosities
and one he sent 90 his mother, the other
to his sister. Afterward Mr.. beats bought
one for s., and the present catalogue price
of its companion is 800.
A couple of New Orleans scent stamps
Mr. beats regards as his most precious
treasures One is red on white, the other
red on blue. The first is the only one of
its kind there is, so far as known; there
fore it would bring at least $500; but it is
not for sale Beyond price" is its own
er's own phrase about it. There is SIN
Gle duplicate of the red on blue. More
ornate and beautiful than either of these
is a Livingstone (Ala) stamp, a blue
shield on a white ground, with Cupids IN
the corners, interviewer with delicate ira
Gerry. 1t looks like a state seal. 1t cost
SIPS. Two very scarce stamps in the col
lection are the 6-cent and the Decent Con-
federate greens, as they are called
Then there are some interesting Baton
Rouge counterfeits, made in Philadelphia
after the war. They are four milimeters
across. while the genuine are only three
That is all there is to brand them as base.
but that is enough
The beats and the Institute collections
are by no means the only great ones in
this country H. J. Duveen of London
and New York has a magnificent collec-
ton. his specialties being United States
stamps. British and French coloniels, and
old Europeans, altogether valued at about
800 600. The collection has been in this
country at various times, but Is now in
England. Ex-MayOr Oney of Providence,
r. /. has a general collection catalogued
al 5000 900 Dr. w. c. Bowers of Bridge
port. Conn has the finest collection In
the world of early issues of New south
Wales. And II. II. Croker of San Fran
cisco has an Incompatible collection OF
the very rare Hawaiians.