Evening star., 1936-12-27

ters' PROFESSIONALS. private carriers,
match and medicine stamps, postal
meters and Farley reprints in position
blocks.
It Is understood that Mr.. Fox will
continue collecting foreign issues.
France may bring out stamp TO
the Battle of the Marine.
II so, the design will include O portrait
Of Gen. Joffre.
Belgiun's charity stamps for 1895
show a portrait Of Prince Baudouin,
son Of King Leopold III and the late
Queen Astrid. The values are: 10c
plus SC, Csc plus4 SC, 35c plus SC, soc
plus SC, 75c plus SC, fr. plus Csc,
It's fr plus 25c and 2.45 fr plus ass fr.
The Swedish post office has issued
an official list OF post cards. letter
cards and stamped envelopes for the
golden jubilee of the Swedish Phila-
telic Society.
Charlotte Hughes. writing in the
New York Times, declares: Collect
ing postmarks. in addition to being
fascinating in itself. is the poor mans
delight
The 1887 convention Of the Pre-
cancel Stamp Society will be held at
Minneapolis. August 20 to %.
Frank P. McKibben. Cumberland
Valley, Pa. stamp collector we'll
known in Washington, died November
27. aged IS. He was a man Of many
talents and great gifts-bridge builder,
authority on electric welding, for l3
years q teacher at Massachusetts, In
stitute Of Technology, later professor
at Lehigh University and at Union
College. then city engineer OF Sche-
nectady and consulting engineer OF
the General Electric Co. His most
recent work was with p. w. A. at
Harrisburg. Within a few days of
the end of his life. he still was en-
gagged in perfecting the albums in
which he had entered his philatelic
treasures.
Robert D. Byrnes, stamp editor Of
the Hartford Courant, says: "Au-
thority to reproduce United States
stamps not only would aid greatly
in their study by collectors, but would
clear the way for the import into
this country of foreign catalogues, some
Of which are of great value to spe-
cialists, now barred because United
States stamps are illustrated and
foreign stamps are not defaced."
DR.. H. Scudder Mekeel, son Of the
late Charles H. Mekeel of Mekeels
Weekly Stamp News, is anthropolo-
gist Of the United States Indian Serv-
ice. He does not practice the phila-
telic art, but still is interested in the
hobby to which his father contributed
so much time and effort in days
gone by.
Italy has brought out a new series
Of four values for conquered Ethiopia
.l0c. light brown; zoe. purple; 75c,
orange brown. and l25L, slate blue.
The designs show a stern and un-
happy portrait of King Victor EN-
manuel.
Trans-Pacific arimail rates are des-
tined to be reduced. II current rumors
are to be trusted.
The Post Once Department ofn-
cials frowned on Christmas stamp
for 1886, but may be more friendly to
the suggestion in 1897.
Concerning a book recently pub
lished in England. the following pas
sages are quoted from the London OBJ
server.
Count Lavallette was postmaster
general to Emperor Napoleon. and
his position was so essentially a key
position that he was in close contact
for over 20 years with the Emperor.
Every student Of the imperial organ
ization, 50 vast, so complex, and so
heavily overcentralized, realizes at
once how much Napoleon depended on
his dispatches. Whenever he halted
at any place. however small and re-
mote. on campaign the first thing
he did was to demand his letters, and
1t was Lavallette's business to see that
he got them. His memoirs, therefore,
are full Of intimate personal touches,
and are an important historical docu-
ment of the period. This first vol
ume, translated and edited by the late
Aldersey White. who died as the book
was going through the press, begins
with the counts recollections of the
of the Revolution and takes
the story down to 1905.
The young man. who was 20 years
Did. marched with the National Guard
TO Versailles. was in the Tuileries when
The Swiss were massacred, and helped
,wo ladies to escape from La Force
before the murders began. Luckily
for him, his youthful mind was dis
tracted from the sight of such horrors
oy the menace to France in the north
East, and he hurried off to join the
Army of the Rhine. Those were the
days of the Revolutionary generals,
0umouriez. Custine. Hoche, and Piche-
yru, but as the wars went on Napo-
comic names began to appear. Thus
.avallette brilliantly describes Desa!x,
whom everyone adored, and the cold,
Intellectual Gouvion St. Cyr, and then
le comes TO Bonaparte himself. post
ng the artillery which fired the whiff
If grape-shot. But his high moment
lid not come until the campaign of
italy and his appointment to the
staff of the great man. Now the pag-
,ant OF figures begins in real earnest
-Marmont, the gunner: Dutoc, who
vas killed in 1913; Junot, beaten by
Wellesley at Vimeiro; cunning Mas
'ena, swashbuckling Augereau. and
he rest of the galaxy. Lavallette
Knew them all intimately. He records
his conversation with Brueyx on the
T.