Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1920-10-21

'ioi "'S pIOfnDlcO nv desire to accom-
! modate their customers and to Increase
the receipts Of their Offices by Offering
| facilities In competition with the private
posts.
| THE AMBITIOUS NEW YORK OFFICE
| Wifh ono exception--that OF a few Of the
' stamps of tho New York postmaster.
J which were sent experimentally to other
! cities-these stamps had no currency
outside the city in which they were is
sued They were recognized by the post.
master who issued them. as marks of
postage prepaid. when placed on letters
mailed at his Office. but no other post
master would accept them as such If
| placed on letters deposited IN his office
! Tho stamps. to another office than that
OF issue. merely took the place of the
word paid" this word, in fact, usually
being impressed on the letters CIR used
as n cancellation for the adhesive stamps
TIC stamps would carry letters from tho
office OF Issue to any other office. but
, they would not carry reply since earh
postmaster would only recognize the la
bel or mark for which postage had been
paid to him.
!: is interesting TO note, on r1any Of the
postmaster's stamps, survival Of the
carly custom of vouching for the prepay
inent Of postage by means Of the post
masters signatut.. The New York post
master or his deputies placed their mi
tials On the stamps CT that city. q. A
| Mitchell of New Haven wrote his name
| on each stamp: Daniel Bryan, the post
master of Alexandria, numbered his
stamps: the stemps of Brattlcboro bear
Il facsimile OF the postmaster's initials
and on those from Baltimore the signs
ture is reproduced in full.
The New York postmaster stamps were
issued during the postmastersh!p OF Rob
err H. Norris. which extended from
May 81. 1915, until 1919. They were print ..
ed In black on various sh.des OF blush
, white paper and show an exeslleutly en-.
grsved head of Washington In a. circle
with ths words New York Post once"
| al .hs tap and Five Cents" at the bot
tom. Mr. Morris undertook to Initial
ea,t of .Ae stamps, but after siguing two
sheets he delegated the work to Alon.o
&c. Monsor. his brother-in-law, with the
result tre- tine great majority of the
| New Sctk postmaster stamps now in
existonc. taar tn, initials "A. C. NJ"
Ar interesting letter written by Ir
Morris to the postmas,crs in Boston.
Philadelphia. Albany and Washington on
July IL 1915. adds much to the history
Of this first Of provisional stamp issues
by postmasters. Mr.. Morris says.
MY Dear SIR have adopted stamp
which sell at cents each The accom-
panying is one. I prefer losing the cost
of mak!ng them to having 1t insinuated
that ! am specializing out of the public.
Your office. Of course. will not officially
notice my stamp. but will be governed
only by the post Office stamp of prepay
| ment. Should there by any accident be
| deposited in your Office a letter dire cted
to the City of New York with one of my
stamps upon II. XDu will mark the letter
unpaid the same as though stamp
was upon 1t, though when It reaches my
office I shall deliver 1t as a paid letter.
In this manner the accounts of the Of
fees will be kept as now. there can be
no confusion. and as each office is the
judge of its own stamps there will be no
danger from counterfeits
| Robt. H. Morris. P. NJ
THE RARE ALEXANDRIA STAMP
Among the very rarest and most val
liable of all postage stamps are the post
masters provisional stamps of Alexan-
dria Va. This stamp, with the words
Alexandria Post OfIice--Paid 81 inside
an ornamental circle, was issued by Dan
lei Bryan, the postmaster. about 1916, and
only three copies were known to exist
and sold in Philadelphia for 5000, then
a record price.
The first known copy was found by the
famous philateist, John X. Tiffany, in
his family correspondence, the letter be-
ing dated July 10. lS47 A second copy
later was found. and then third. The
fourth copy was attached to a letter
written and dated November y, 1si7, by
j. Wallace Huff, of Alexandria, Va, to
Miss Janett II. Brown of Richmond, Va.
Mr.. Huff at that time was a young man
who had just attained his majority and
the young lady whose letter bore the
stamp which afterward was sold for
what would have been considered a COM
Portable fortune in the early days SUBJ
lsequently became Mrs. Huff.
Instantly the news of the discovery of
this fourth copy of the Alexandria prov-
sional was circulated there was mad
scramble among collectors for possession.
The fourth specimen was of especial value
because IT was printed on blush gray pa.
per, all the other three specimens being
printed on buff paper. After spirited bid
ding the prize finally went to the Worth
lington collection in Cleveland. the great
eat collection in the United States.
| Again, among the greatest philatellc
rarities are the postmas ter provisional
| stamps Issued by James Madison Buchan-
an, postn:a..rr of Baltimore. from lS45
to 1249. The existence and use Of these
stamps. which merely show the signature
o. James NJ. Buchanan with either 20
cents' or 10 cents" in an oblong frame.
first came to ths knowledge of philatel-
lists IN 1874 when was discovered
among soule old pApers In s. vault of one
Of tae oldest Baltimore banking houses
| A variety of Ire Baltimore provisional.
only one copy II which 10 known to ex-
ist, oons!s1 merely of the postmaster 5
Autograph written In bIsck inh on a small
rectA!7Sle of white pa2e-. This copy was
aNlNea to a ietts- apparently before the
sheet was fo'dctD y, that II passed dag
onally across the lower left corner of the
addrea. side aud folded over upon the
back flaps. Tho iot\r was cancelled
Baltimore, May H." nd had the wo:d
paid" and the figure go in an oval
which were in regular use at that Of
lice.
Considerable romance is attached to the
history of this remarkable specimen. 1t
seems that IN 1876 the crew OF a ship
wrecked French vessel was taken into
Baltimore At that date thsre was no
French coNlsul In that city. but ths func-
lions of the consul Mt Philadelphia OK
tended 10 Baltimore. The consul. Mon
sieVr d'fIaate-ive, was informed that
these sailors were destituts and wish ID
to Baltimore to make proper investisa =