Evening star., 1942-07-12
AMONG THE STAMP COLLECTORS
News of the Phaec World Its Interests and Peope-Revew of
the Stamp Press-List of Local Meetings
Bv James Waldo Fawcen.

RauQA BtdNlp Will pC ASouco o'
August II and will be intended to
mark the first anniversary OF the
Atlantic Charter.
The 25-cent Trans-Pacific and
the Scent Victor Herbert stamps
have been removed from the
Philatelic Agency sales list as OF
June 80.
James c. Heartwell is the editor
of Air Stamp Records Of 1912, a
publication listing airport adhesives
Of every sort.
The Scent "Win the War" propa-
eanda issue is being referred to as
"the Wrong Way Corrigan stamp"
because the arrows are aimed one
way and the eagle faces another.
Oficial propaganda bureaus look
with disfavor upon gags about
postage stamps.
First-day figures for the 3-cent
"Win the War" stamp, July 4. have
been announced as follows: 19l, ,l68
covers Cancelled, 576,456 copies sold,
S17,293.68.
Protests from philatelic writer's
finally have brought from the Treas
ury Department the withdrawal OF
its ruling that War savings stamps
should not be catalogued as COL
lectable material. No concession as
vet has been announced with regard
to the use of War savings stamps Tor
postage, but as long as there Is lie
there is hope.
The ONCE of Facts and Figures
has commissioned Paul F. Berdanier
of New York and his cooperating
artists to design a war propaganoa
stamp. It is stipulated that the
composition must represent the VII
lage Of Lidice, the Czechoslovakian
community allegedly destroyed by
the Germans early last month. The
drawing is to include the slogan
1--WE Won't Forget" and the phrase
"United States Postage 3 Gents"
A special memorandum issued by
Mr.. Berdanier under date OF July 7
saws: II have already asked T. M.
Cleland, w. A. Dwiggins, Rockwell
Kent, Hugo Steiner-Prag. Rudolph
Ruzicka and Edward A. Wilson to
make UP the basic working com
mittee, and am also trying to get
Paul Manship to agree to be a men,
Der Of this group"
One of the difficulties Of the as
signment is that Of obtaining pho
tographs of Lidice from which to
work. A picture in Time Magazine
for June a. has been alleged
to show the village as 1t was before
the start Of the war, but there Is
some question about both its &C
curacy and its suitability for stamp
use.
District of Columbia stamp col
lectors will be expected to pay taxes
on what they honestly believe their
philatelic and numismatic posses
sions actually are worth. They have
been asked to report the true value"
of their holdings. A space Is pro-
vided for their answers in the per
sonal property tax forms now be-
ing distributed. The rate, 1t Is indi-
Gated, will be SITS per 500.
Assessor Edward A. Dent Is re-
sponsible for the decision to inter
pret the existing tax law to include
stamps and coins as taxable prop
erty. The statute never has ex-
empted philatelic and numismatic
material, and it therefore is entirely
legal to demand tax payments from
the owners of such collections. 1t
is understood that the death OF a
wealthy philatelist brought to the
attention of the District govern
ment the fact that some rare stamps
and coins are notably valuable.
Logically 1t follows that all or
nearly all similar items may be
judged capable of producing reve-
nue..
But the problem Of how to ap-
praise philatelic and numismatic
property remains as yet unsolved.
Mr.. Dent wishes 1t be known that
he does not expect collectors to
report total catalogue values,
which In truth are only asking
prices" Neither does he want esti-
mates based on theories Of forced
sales" Instead he prefers to leave
1t to the conscience of the owners
to decide the amounts to be report
ed. He believes collectors will be
fair to the District government as
well as to themselves.
Secretary Of the interior Harold L.
1ckes is one Of four or five collectors
who have obtained specimens of the
rare $40 documentary revenue i'm
perforate, overprinted Series OF
1s40," recently catalogued as No
R305A.
This became known yesterday
when the New York Sun published
tha1 fact that "at least 100" OF the
hand-cut tax stamps exist and that
approximately 90 Of them have been
sold. Purchasers include Philip H
Ward, jr. of Philadelphia; Morton
Dean Joyce of New York and per-
haps two other persons.
Mr.. Ward Is understood to have
acquired three blocks Of four and six
pairs, q total of "a stamps, while Mr.
Joyce is reported to have come into
possession of q plate number blocl
of eight and six singles, total of IA
The rarities allegedly were foune
by clerk in the Internal Revenue
Bureau last March.
American recognition of the Dt
Gaulle Free French" movement a.
q military enterprise does not al
feet the doubtful status Of postag'
stamps issued under De Gauuis
auspices. Collectors again arr
warned against paying fancy price,
for philatelic material placed upol
the market by representatives o
the anti-Vichy group operating IL
New York. The Free French
stamps are suspect If only becaus
Of the extravagant pricing of them
1t Is unlikely that catalogue recog
STAMPS AND COINS.