Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-29
POSTAGE STAMP CRAZE
Unique semi-WeekIy Gathering
IA in Paris.
ALL CLASSES affected
Finest Collection Owned BY Baron
Ferrari Of Italy.
HAS THE CosTLHsT SPECIMEN
Paid $12, 900 for a one-Cent Mauri-
thus, Which is the Only
One Known.
" WILLIAM E. CURTIS.

BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence of The Star and the Chicago
Record Herald.
| From to o'clock on every Thursday
| and Sunday afternoons throughout the year
a crowd Of people may be seen among the
| trees on the left side of the Champs Elysee,
Paris, just back behind the grounds of
| Elysee Palace. in which the President of
France resides. This gathering is COM
posed of all sorts and conditions of men and
| a few women and children I watched them
one afternoon last September. There were
| DID, decrepit. hungry-looking creatures who
| looked like misers and witches; there were
| haxen- haired, blue-eyed children ten years
old and upward; there were men in silk hats
| and frock coats who looked like statesmen;
| there were eminent members of the learned
| professions and motley groups of both
| sexes and all ages, both well dressed and
shabby These were postage stamp collect
ors, for that is the regular exchange OF
| Paris, held twice week, rain or shine.
| warm or cold, in the open air, throughout
the year. Several had brought folding ta-
| bles and chairs-I was told that they were
| dealers-and they spread out their treas
ures, so that customers could see them.
under little squares of glass which kept the
|
were always surrounded by eager groups.
Over in one corner an auction sale was 60
| Ing on. A dealer was Offering rare stamps
| to the highest bidder and competition SEEM
| ed to be lively. Paris Is more widely af-
| fected by the postage stamp fad than any
| other city in the world. The value of the
transactions at this. exchange. I was told,
\ will average 5000. while sometimes they
| run up as high as $4,000.
| Dealers in England, Belgium Germany
| and surrounding countries and from the
| various provinces of France frequently at
| tend these sales. Seldom a Thursday or
| Sunday passes without the attendance of
| several foreigners. but the larger number
of those who participate live in Paris,
gagged exclusively in buying and selling
postage stamps, and the collectors are
| numbered by the thousand. They include
| members of the cabinet, bishops, university
| professors, bankers. merchants. manufac-
| turers, lawyers. doctors, as well as school
| boys and girls. and all gather under the
| trees of the Champs Elysee to swap their
treasures.
Growth of the Craze.
| Postage stamps first came into use in
| England in $780, in Brazil and Switzerland
| in 1s43, in Finland in 1874, in the United
States in 1915, In Rance in 1849, and after
| that in other parts of the world. Stamp
| collecting began almost Immediately, but
/ for the first few decades 1t was limited to
| comparatively a. small number OF. people !:
| but the craze has gradually Increased, UNI
| til. now it involves the interest of hun
dreds Of thousands of people, from en-.
perors and kings to the humblest school
children. The German kaiser, the Russian
car, the King Of Italy, the King of Spain
| and numerous members of the royal fam
| lilies Of Europe have been prominent as
collectors for years. The Duke of Edin-
burgh was the first president of the Inter-
national Stamp Collectors Association, and
sixteen years ago in London presided at
the first public exhibition ever held. The
Prince of Wales has the most expensive
| and valuable collection In England. and
probably the second in all the world. He
! inherited large part Of it and some Of his
| best specimens from his father, King Ed
| ward, who for many years was an enthu-
siaStic collector.
Ferrari's Collection Finest.
| The finest collection in the world belongs
| to Baron Ferrari. an Italian son of the
| late Duchess Of Galleria Of Genoa, who
was famous for her philanthropy and in
| her will left a million dollars to the late
Empress Frederick of Germany. Baron
| Ferrari has not only the largest collection
| in existence, but is the proud owner of
| several stamps which no one else has been
able to get. He has also paid higher prices
| for stamps than any other collector.
This fall there has been an exceedingly
interesting exposition Of postage stamps at
| the Royal Horticultural Hall in London,
! where were shown 162 exhibits. valued at
l INK ~.
collection ever brought together. and in
| cluded a sample of every stamp that was
ever issued in any country Of the world
where stamps have been used for postage
| or to pay for kilograms. OF the exhibitors
| fifty-two were foreigners. Henry J. Croker
| of San Francisco made the most important
| display of any American. 1t attracted I'M
| usual attention because of tragic interest
! excited by the fact that 1t was shipped
| from San Francisco to London only two
| days before the earthquake and fire, and
probably would have been destroyed had
| It remained In it's accustomed place in the
| residence of its owner.
Mr.. Crockers collection Is insured for
$45, 600. which gives an idea of its value
and includes a full collection and no less
| than twelve specimens of some issues of all
the postage stamps that were ever issued
| by the government Of the Hawaiian Islands
One of the stamps Is unique-the denomi-
nation of two cents. issued. / believe, in
| 1866. day or two after the entire stock
Of these stamps was received in Honolulu
| were destroyed by fire. Only sheet or SO
Of the two-cent stamps had been sold, and
| that accounts for their scarcity. Mr.
| Croker paid So, 100 in 1897 for the only
| specimen known to exist. This makes his
| collection complete. and he is the only man
| who enjoys that distinction.
| Other Valuable Collections.
The best collection Of United States
stamps was exhibited by the Earl OF Craw-
ford and contained one unique specimen,
the only hve-cent red-stamped envelope
issued by the city Of Annapolis known to
| exist. It Is worth several thousand dol
| lars. Lord Crawford also has a ten-cent
stamp issued by the city of Baltimore In
| 1s46. for which he paid $4,000 in 1893. It
| bears the signature of James n. Buchanan
| postmaster Of Baltimore. Two others Of
these stamps are known to exist one Of
| them being In Count Ferrarfs collection
! and the other in the album Of the Prince Of
| Wales. The highest price ever paid for an
American stamp was Is. 100 by an American
/ collector, whose name could not ascer-
I tain, for q twenty-cent stamp issued by
the city Of st. Louis in 1886.
| The Earl of Crawford. whose collection