Evening star., 1933-06-04
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all semblance to their original appear
ance.
! Again: Among a hundred letters re-
ceived from different post offices examl-
nation shows 38 so careleSsly postmarked
as to be worthless to a collector. Too
much ink was used in most cases, and
other conspicuous examples of careless
ness are manifest.
A package bearing four 50-cent
stamps which normally would have
been a fine block apparently passed
through the hands of a clerk who was
using a broom as a canceling device
Had he upset the ink bottle over the
package he could not have worked
greater havoc.
Certainly, there are two sides to the
subject. The postal employees invariably
are in too great a hurry to be mindful
of neatness. But is that rush impera-
lively necessary? Will not Mr.. Farley
, take the matter under consideration?
Several weeks ago six boys of the
PaSsaic Home and Orphan Asylum won
national celebrity by saving an Erie
Railroad train from being wrecked. Two
Of the lads. 1t now becomes known, are
stamp collectors. Their names are
Douglas Flemming and Jacob Melnizek
At the recent Lancaster Stamp Club
Show % German stamps were exhibited
whose total face value would be So
45e,575,0 900 if the mark at the time OF
their production had been of standard
worth in gold.
The 18th annual convention of the
Precancel Stamp Society will be held
at Indianapolis during August
w. C. Phillips of Hartford, Conn,
veteran stamp collector and dealer,
died on May 16.
The Dominican Republican has had
internal airmail service since February
20. The first flight was made on that
date by Capt. Frank A. Felix Mirander
of the national army: He used Bel
lanca plane, N. c. 252-M, carrying 166
pieces of mail from Santo Domingo City
to Santiago. A sack of 1872 pieces was
dropped en- route at La Vega, and an
other sack of 73 pieces at Moca. No
distinctive stamp was employed and no
extra rate was charged. Daily service
is now being maintained.
Stamps have frequent mention in fic-
ton. In Sinclair Lewis Ann Vickers, -
the following passages occur: "Tenderly,
/
duct visitors into-sometimes he called
it his -den,' sometimes study some
times Office and she was sure he would
have called it his studio If it hadn't
been so small. On the few evenings
when he had no excuse to go out and
could coax no one to come in. he would
retire there in secret, excited, youthful
way, and she would watch him pasting
stamps in his album. He was devoted
collector. He had piles of, to her, ut
! terly mysterious catalogues and notices
about Charkhari pictorials, triangles,
surcharged stamps, imperforate sheets,
airmails. He looked through a magni-
| flying glass and bounded in his chair
and scratched behind his ear and clicked
his tongue against his teeth as he
found treasures in approval sheets. He
showed visitors his stamp book as his
brother Henry, in Syracuse, showed the
kodak album of Junior from the age OF
l to the age of H."
One Of the most interesting stamps
| issued in recent months Is that brought
out by the government of Mexico in
commemoration of the benevolent
| Spanish missionary priest, Bartolome
| de las CaSas.
| Bright blue in color and richly en-
graved, the design represents the good
father praying over the body of an
| Indian slain in the entrance to a
heather temple. The padres arms are
crossed over his breast, his eyes are
uplifted and his whole figure is sym
bolic of noble dignity and tenderness.
! At his feet crouches an Indian woman,
| grief f-stricken, seeking comfort. The
! drawing is faultless, delicate and fine,
and the printing, done by Oficina I'm
presora de Hacienda Mexico, the gov
ernment printing Office of the repub-
lie, is exceptionally good. Presumably,
the stamp reproduces an oil painting.
| A 15-centavos denomination, the
/ issue comes at- a time when great
changes are in process in the religious
/ life of Mexico, ana manifests a con-