The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-05-31
Philately Cherished Hobby of Clerk
Who Handles Stamps in Postoffice
Carrier Who Takes Long
StroIIs Has Counterpart
in Joe Xix.
BY WILLIAM HI. MGAUGHEY
Times staff Writer

The mail carrier who spends his
vacation by taking long walks has
his counterpart in Joe Xix, a postal
clerk who handles stamps all day
long in the main poStoffice, and then
devotes his evenings to collecting
stamps as hobby.
Although thousands of stamps
pass through Joe's hands every day,
he admits to staying up late at night
going over his private collection.
Because of Joe's enthusiasm for
his hobby, postal officials have be-
slowed upon him the duty of &C
commodating stamp collectors who
write to the postmaster.
For instance, about two hundred
persons have written in requesting
Postmaster Adolph Seidensticker to
send their letters out when the Chi
cago-acksonville, Fla, air line is
re-establiSheG.
Joe files these requests away,
along with the letters that the COL
lectors have addressed for the first
north to south flight, and when the
first plane passes through Indian
apolis Joe will see to it that the
letters are aboard.
First Stamps Valuable
Joe himself will have several let
tiers on that plane, which he will
address to the postmaster in Jack
sonville. These letters will be re-
turned to Joe on the first flight
back and he will have several prize
stamps for his collection.
One of the aims of avid stamp
collectors, Joe explains, is to obtain
a first" stamp, that is, one that
is sent out of a certain postoffice
for some special event.
When the first air mail flight
from New York to Los Angeles was
made on Oct. 25, 1890, the local
poStoffice received more than 10000
requests from collectors to have
their letters go out on that flight.
A Sample of Service
The first night flight from coast
to coast on July %, 1881, brought in
more than 1000 requests and the
first Chicago to Cincinnati flight
via indianapolis, in 1927, gave Joe
more than 5000 letters to mail,
Besides handling stamps for spe-
cial air mail flights, Joe takes care
of several hundred letters yearly,
sent by collectors who wish mail
postmarked from indianapolis as a
state capital They send a pack
age here with several add1 essed
letters inside, which Joe mails back
to them with a local postmark.
On the anniversary of the death
of persons, relatives often send let
ters here to be postmarked here on
the date of the anniversary. Birth
days often find collectors desiring
letters mailed from Indianapolis.
Have Special Department
To accommodate stamp collectors
C1AC SONCI AlIAlCllO Il1ISS S1SNS1 Cl6IkS
in Washington who do nothing but
fill their requests. A profit OF more
than $1,0O0,O 900 yearly is realized by
the government from stamp collect
orS.
When a new issue of a stamp
comes off the press, thousands of
requests are received in Washing
ton from collectors who desire
stamps from that first issue.
To commemorate the Washington
bicentennial celebration in 1882, the
government sold nearly 100000
l and 2-cent stamps, alone, to COL
lectorS.
In a collection at 241 South
Arsenal avenue, which Joe owns
jointly with a bank clerk, Floyd
Shockley, the men have every first"
stamp issued by the government for
all special occasions from the Pan
American Exposition in 1901, to the
Mothers day stamp Of this year.
One Stamp Worth SIG
The two men have more than
100000 stamps filed away in filing
cabinets, note books, and cigar boxes