The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-08-19
COLLECTION OF
RARE STAMPS
More Than Million Dollars Worth
Shown at Convention Of
American PhiIateIlc
Society.

ST. LOUIS, Aug. 19.-The thirty
fourth annual convention OF the
American Philatelic society opened a
four days session at the Planters
hotel yesterday with about seventy
five stamp collectors ana stamp
d callers in attendance from all parts
of the country.
Postmaster Colin M. Selph will ad-
dress the convention this morning
and tomorrow night Henry A. Dia-
mant of ST. Louis will give an Illus
trated lecture on "The Charm Of
Stamp Collecting" and What Phila-
tely Teaches"
More than a million dollars worth
of stamps are on exhibition in the
various collections, about one-fourtn
of which are owned by st. Louis col
|lectors. Henry A. Diamant has on
display his collection of Mexican
stamps, which, it is said, cannot be
duplicated In the United States. DR..
w, I. Mitchell of Wichita, Kan, who
has Just returned from overseas duty,
lis showing his specialized collection
of match, medicine and revenue
stamps that has an estimated value
of $4,000, and J. ". Pullen Of
Houma, La, has on display one or
the best collections OF Grecian
stamps in existence, besides gen.
eral collection containing $4,000
varieties.
Some of the most Interesting
stamps on exhibition are those of the
provisional issue of the st. LOUIS
postmaster in 1841, before the fed
eral government began issuing post
age stamps. They are IN three, de-
nominations, five, ten and twenty
cents. The 20-cent denomination, of
which there are less than hundred
in existence, are valued at about
$4,000 apiece, and the lower denomi-
nations range in value from $500 to
$1,000.
One of the important business
features to be taken up by the con-
vention Is the drafting Of resolu-
ton to congress asking 1t to rescind
the law which has been in effect
since 1869 prohibiting the ilIustra-
ton of United States stamps. Since
the war the government also pro-
hibited illustration Of stamps OF the
allies which the American Philatelic
society considers undue discrimina-
ton, since foreign countries print
of both their own stamps
and those of the United States.
P NJ. Wolsieffer, Philadelphia
stamp dealer, is the only member IN
attendance who was present at the
third annual meeting OF the conven'
ton which met in st. Louis in 1886.
He was an amateur stamp collector
at that time, but later TOOK UP col
lecting as profession. IN talking to
a reporter he told now ne
IN oh
and one day put some duplicate
play window.
.'That first day sold more
stamps than music, and have been a
stamp dealer ever since" he said.
STAMPS are a good speculation" he
explained. can interesting example
is furnished by an issue of aeroplaIe
stamps in the spring of 1918. A
dealer bought a sheet OF 100 24-cent
aeroplane stamps and noticed that
the aeroplane was upside down on
account of mistake in printing the
sheet. The mistake had been made
only on that sheet, so the dealer had
cornered the market. He sold the
s24 worth Of stamps to Philadel
phia syndicate for s15,6uo, which i'm
mediately resold the sheet TO the son
of Hetty Green for 100000. The
highest price within my knowledge
paid for a single stamp was $4,000
for a Mauritius stamp, paid by King
George Of England, who is an en-
thusiastic philatelist"
Stamp collecting as means OF
recreation and relaxation for bust
ness men cannot be ovoremphasized,
according to Wolsieffer. He says
that the educational feature or stamp
collecting has not been recognized
sufficiently by educators and par