Evening star., 1938-10-09

18c, Grant, November 10, 19c, Hayes;
November 10, zoe, Garfield; November
II, SIS. Coolidge; November %, 2lc,
Arthur; November %, 22c, Cleveland.
William K Schrage designed the
lac, Pierce; Ice, Lincoln, and tic,
johnson, stamps; Robert L. Miller, jr.,
the 15c, Buchanan.
Leo C. Kaufman was the engraver
of the Pierce and johnson portraits, +,
Charles A. Brooks, the Buchanan; Carl
T. Arlt, the Lincoln.
James T. Vail engraved the letter
ing in each OF the four compositions.
The Pierce portrait was taken from
q presidential medal furnished by the
United States Mint; the Buchanan
from a bust by Henry Dexter in the
Smithsonian Institution; the Lincoln
from bust by Sarah Fisher Ames in
the Senate gallery at the Capitol, and
the johnson from a bust by William
C. McCauslen, also in the Senate gal
lery.
Russia's mourning stamp for the
dictator, Lenin, placed on sale on the
day of his funeral, January ~, 1924,
was the first issue OF its special classi-
fication ever printed by any European
government. The inspiration is sup
posed to have been the President
Harding memorial stamp of the United
States, produced during the previous
year.
The National Federation of Stamp
Clubs will sponsor the second national
stamp exhibition of the New York
Museum of Science and Industry,
Rockefeller Center, New York, Novem-
ber 5 to 13.
Nicholas Frederick Seebeck con-
tributed his name to the international
language of philately, yet the story OF
his career is only sketchily known to
the generality Of stamp collectors
Fred J. Melville, writing in the Stamp
Review, London. says of him that he
got together a grand collection" at
the expense of the philatelic public.
4 Dull III SCl OAl CbAd dNA 40
1857, Seebeck emigrated to New York
in his youth, established q stationery
shop and, at first as a side line, de-
veloped a considerable retail and
wholesale stamp business before he was
% years of age. Later he became
successfully. representative, secretary
| and president of the Hamilton Bank
Note Co. In 1879 he manufactured
the first stamps of the Dominican Re-
public; at about the same time he was
supplying stamps to the State of
Bolivar, Columbian Republic. He
journeyed to Central America in 1884
and again in 1889 to negotiate print
ing contracts with different govern
ments, including Salvador, Honduras,
Nicaragua and, eventually, Ecuador.
supply stamps free of charge, with the
understanding that at the close of each
year a new series would be released
and all remaining stocks then avail
able delivered to him for sale to COL
lectors. A skeleton list of his produc-
tions runs as follows:
Honduras, new sets for 1890, 1891
1892, 1893, 1895; Nicaragua, sets fol
1890, 1891, 1892, 1893, 1894, 1895, 1896
| 1898, 1899; Salvador, sets for 1890
1891, 1892, 1893, 1894, 1895, 1896. 1897,
1898, 1899;. Ecuador. sets for 1892, 1894
1895 and 1896.
Mr.. Melville declares: Never before
nor since has the philatelic press and
public expressed its disgust more EN-.
phatically at what constituted gross
abuse of the pursuit of stamp COL
lecting. The prospect of many Ameri-
can countries turning out full new
issues every year Cor even twice year
in the case of Nicaragua was alarm
ing enough, but the subsequent un-
controlled production of reprints pro-
duced in the same factory as the
originals was a far graver menace"
Seebeck, of course, kept the plates
and used them as often as he liked
He arranged with a number Of whole
sale dealers to distribute editions a.
widely and rapidly as possible. But
as late as 1894 he still claimed to be
"a loyal and ardent philatelist" and