Evening star., 1948-12-26

Abraham Lincoln was a STAMP
and cover collector, and proof Of hi.
interest in stamps and covers is tc
be found in the collection of l8.00C
documents which his son, Robert
Todd Lincoln, gave to the Library
of Congress. Recent examination OF
the deposit, preserved in 1914 volumes
in the Manuscript Division Of the
Library, disclosed that the martyred
President saved the envelop Of prac-
tically every letter received by him
These covers, some stampleSS and
some stamped, have been laminateo
to insure durability. That means
that they have been "enameled'
onto the pages Of the books in which
the collection has been arranged
Each cover is displayed in associa-
ton with the communication 1t car
ried. They all are addressed to Lin
coin, and scores of them bear in
scriptions in his own hand referring
to the writers.
What the intrinsic value of the
treasure trove may be has not yet
been determined. A check. Of the
contents of the whole series of 1874
binders Is being made for the library
by Gerard Ten Eyck Beeckman
we'll known in national philatelic
circles as an adviser and counselor
on stamp matters to President
Franklin D. Roosevelt, former Sec
retary of the Interior Harold L
Ickes and other eminent collectors
He will report to DR.. Percy Powell
of the library administrative staff
who had charge of mounting the
Lincoln material, and David c.
Mearns, who has edited and pub
lished selected items from the col
lection.
The two volumes of the 1949 Scott
Postage Stamp Catalogue now are
available in a single binding. 1t Is
a collectors item in itself-a cul-
tural encyclopedia such as no other
hobby in the world ever has pro
duced. History, all the arts and all
the sciences are represented in its
1850 pages.
Personnel shifts in the Post Office
will be announced
A successor to the late
Samuel r. Young, executive assist
ant to the Postmaster General, who
died December II, will be appointed.
The nomination OF Deputy Third
Assistant Postmaster General Roy
M. North to be city postmaster OF
Washington will be confirmed by
the new Congress and his place will
have to be filed.
Highway post ONCE service will
be inaugurated between Fort Wayne
and Indianapolis, Ind; Lancaster,
Pa, and Washington, and Lancaster
and Harrisburg, Pa, during the
period of January IS to Is. Special
irst-trip cachets will be provided for
the cities named; also for Portland
and Corvallis, Greg, when privately
owned and operated highway postal
service will be inaugurated connect
ing those towns, January 10.
To stimulate interest in the cause
Of canonization of Father Damien.
the apostle of the lepers, the fathers
Of the sacred hearts is selling a
series of 10 engraved poster labels
Of great beauty and historic sigpifi-
canoe. One of the set portrays the
sanity missionary at SO, another
shows him IS he was near the end
Of his life, himself O. leper. Views
Of his statue, his birthplace, his
tomb and the scene of his labors on
the island of Molokai appear on still
other adhesives. President Roosevelt
and King Leopold III Of Belgium
are represented on the last Of the
series. The entire sequence, ar
ranged In Q printed folder, may be
obtained for SOC. Address Father
Francis Larkin, IS. &C., director of
Father Damien's Cause, Fathers OF
he Sacred Hearts, Brookland, Wash
Ington II, D. c.
Crawford Smith, 4423 Underwood,
Park. Md, has been ap-
pointed Washington representative
Of Symphony Magazine. devoted to
the work of orchestras and their
members. He also is music critic
Of the Hatchet, George Washington
newspaper, and an asso-
caite editor Of Weekly Philatelic
Gossip. published at Holton, Kans.
Cuba has brought out eight
stamps for the centenary Of the
birth of Gen. Antonio Maceo, revo-
Iutionary leader Of f895-l896. The
set, however. is three years late,
since the patriot-hero actually was
born in 1845.
The first official United States
postal card was placed on sale May
l3, 1873.
Mr.. and Mrs. Milton H. Cullen, 405
Tenth street NV, report that
collectors are buying
of the silver wedding
stamps of the British common
wealth of nations. Thousands Of
dollars" they say, ''have been in
vested in these novelties by mem
bers Of the local philatelic commu-
the end is not yeti"
A famous old clock on the face OF
the Town Hall in Prague, shown in
SCOTS No. ISL and 167 of Czecho-
was destroyed by fire May
2, 1945, when the Germans were re-
treating from the capital. This
was the creation of Mas
ter Hanus, and dated from 1890.
of the earth, moon and
sun were shown on one of the dials.
DR.. F.. M. Swisher, chairman OF
the Philatelic Committee for the
bicentennial celebration,
has announced that a slogan cancel
Ing die reading Alexandria, Va, BIZ
1949" will be placed in
service at the Alexandria post office,
January l. Collectors desiring covers
marked with the new device on that
day should send them, self-ad-
stamped and ready to 60, in
care: Postmaster, Alexandria, Va,