Show History as T Told ld h s st xa- xa yx t rw 6 t o-t S k rR e sv 4 k A a On v 4 f re ells I II I tuii m I I a r f f I f fr fr r r I J J c portage amp 1 By ELMO SCOTT WATSON HE recent announcement from I London that the t world s first postage stamp had been placed on sole sale In that city at unusual alten 1 lion not only v from f stamp collectors butI but butu m I u from the public In gen general eral because It emphasized em cm the fact tact that this present day common com millions of ot which are used every day everyday ay Is of ot comparatively recent lion For this stamp an English n one bearIng the likeness of ot Queen l Victoria tolla is still attached to the em envelope elope on which It was as ft as used and bears the post postmark postmark postmark mark Bath May Hay 2 1840 This Timis means that the postage stamp damp In Its present form Is less than a hundred years old Zhe he first postage stamps In the United States were sere ere put on sale In InQ New Q ew York on July 1 I 1847 Previous to that time postage stamps were ts Is Issued sued by private companies doing a general express or local del delivery h ery sere service servIce ice of ot letters On January 1 1842 the City Dispatch Post otherwise known as Greig Greigs s Post was In New York city and It Is said that this Post Issued the first ad stamp used In this country But the use of ot these those private stamps proved such an as anno annoyance ance to the gov government government that It Et was as suppressed 8 and andIa andIn nd in Ia Its place the United States City Post was established In the early dais s da s of or the United States p postal tal system the receiver er of a aletter aletter letter Jetter paid for Its delivery ery according to the number of sheets of Paper which the letter contained In 1815 thIs system was discarded and the weight system was adopted with n a JoVo loser er rate About the time same time came the envelope to give secrecy to letters Jetters Prepayment of po potage postage ta e and the tho use of ot gummed stamps were put into use In Ib IS- IS During the first filst us bs cal eal year of ot their U use e postmasters were supplied with postage stamps to be sold to the public Now Non 83 years Sears later the lie Post Office department is supplying some 14 11 stamps every ery year to the post postmasters postmasters postmasters masters In the United States State Since the first t gummed stamps were issued In 1847 7 there ha have e been n a dozen ozen distinct series of ot re regular post postage age oge stamps with additions to each after their l I ue Only IG 16 of ot our Tres Pres PresIdents have ha been honored by haying theIr portraits appear ir on our stamps while I 10 19 other persons pel sons prominent In American history have been thus re remembered remembered Washington and Franklin have hae been honored In every ery re regular ular series of tamps stamps from the Ole beginning and Jet son fez and Lincoln have hae seldom been omItted the lime other Presidents plc pic tuned on various arlous Issues are M Madison 1 dl on Monroe Jackson Taylor Grant Dayes Garfield Cleveland Harrison Roosevelt Harding and Memorial also ha have e been Issued for Lincoln on his one hundredth birthday anniversary ersary In 1000 for tor Harding shortly after atter his death eath and for John Ericsson the In inventor Inventor on the occasion slon of the unveil ng ng of n statue to him In WashIngton In Ia 1920 1916 The other men whose portraits ha hay hav e been selected for tor stamp Issues are besides I Henry Clay Daniel Webster Winfield Scott Alexander Hamilton 0 H Perry Edwin M Stan Stanton Stanton Stanton ton William T Sherman John Mar Marshall Marshall shall David Dald G Farragut Robert B BI Br r I R hingston ingston W William Illiam H li Seward Na Nathan Nathan Nathan than Hale Capt John Smith Christo Christopher pher Columbus and Vasco Balboa Only three women have e had that distinction Martha Washington was the first as was as befitting the First Lady of ot the time Land and the other two are Queen Isabella of It Spain and Poca Pocahontas Pocahontas hontas the Indian princess Most Interesting of all the stamps issued by the go government perhaps are the special series Ferles Issued from time to time known as Uve stamps The first of these the e ap appeared appeared pea red In 1893 1803 to commemorate Col Columbus umbus s discovery of America here were sixteen of the these e stamps ranging In denomination from one cent to 5 ich each elch one telling a little of ot the time story Columbus In SI Sight ht of Land the Land LandIng LandIng lag Ing of Columbus the Flagship of Columbus the time I leet of Columbus Columbus Soliciting the Aid of Isa Isabella Isabella Isabella bella Columbus Welcomed at Barce Barce- Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona lona Columbus Restored to Favor Columbus Presenting Natives 1 Colum Columbus Columbus Columbus bus Announcing His Disco Discovery ery Colum Columbus Columbus Columbus bus at La Recall of Columbus Isabella Pledging Her Jewels Colum Columbus Columbus Columbus bus In Chains Columbus Describing ls His Third Voyage Isabella and Colum Columbus Columbus Columbus bus and Columbus alone After Atter five the years another commemorative commemorative series followed known as asTi Ti Omalia stamps Is Issued issued Issued sued during the tile Tran and International exposition The nIne denominations ranging from one cent to 2 were titled tilled Marquette on the Mississippi Farming In the West In Indian Indian dlan dian Hunting Buffalo Fremont on Rocky Mountains Troops Guarding Train Hardships of ot Emigration West Western Western est estern ern Mining Prospector Western Cat Cattie Cattie tie In Storm StOl m and Mississippi Hh River er Bridge The Pan American exposition at Buffalo In 1901 1001 was marked by another nn an another other series depicting means of ot trans transportation transportation A lake lahe steamer ste was shown on the one-cent one stamp a railway train on the time two tao t 0 cent a steel arch bridle on the fi five e cent ship canal lock on the eight cent and an ocean steamship on the ten cent stamp The next special series celebrated the purchase ce of ot Louisiana from I Prance Time The stamps bore se severally time the portraits of ot the men most re pon sible for accomplishing It Robert It Robert It H RI minister to France nt ot the time Thomas J Jefferson PI and James Monroe special ambassador ambassador dur dor to France The Jamestown town series serfs of 1907 1007 fol followed followed followed lowed depicting depleting the landing of the colonists OO years before and bearing the likenesses of ot Capt John Smith and Pocahontas The first firt fir t single e stump that stump that Is to say ay ayone one that belonged to no was serfs series that of or 1909 HY to mark the de development of the Alaska 1 lukon ukon Pacific territory having for tor Its design the portrait of William IL H Seward who as secretary ot of state negotiated the purchase ot of Alaska from nu Russia In the same sume year a two cent stamp sho showing Ing Henry Hudsons Hudson's Half Moon sailing past the Palisades nn and Robert Hobert Fulton s Clermont under full steam commemorated not only the disco discovery ery of the Hudson on river but also the centennial of Its first navigation by steam The 13 series marked the opening of the Panama canal and the discovery of the tha Pacific ocean In 1019 1919 a special three cent stamp Will was wn Issued to commemorate the successful I outcome of the tb World war It de depicted depicted a 8 figure of ot Liberty victorious a against a back background round of ot the flags of the United States England trance and Belgium el lum lumIn In 1920 1020 the Pilgrim Tercentenary was celebrated with three stamps it 11 lu d li by lithe the Ma Mav flower the land landIng landing landIng Ing of time the Pilgrims and the time sl signing of the Mayflower Ma er Compact aboard aboud that hIstorIc ship The coming of the SS Walloons to America was celebrated ted In tn a tercentenary series aeries In 1924 1029 and the time arrival of 01 the first im immigrants migrants to the United States from or 1 1 ay In 1695 1635 was also alo time the tion for tor another series b known own as the Norse American lean series During the past five years time tile one onehundred hundred and fiftieth anniversary ot of many of the stirring deeds of the Rev Rev- Revolutionary war ar has lias given the im impetus petus to a n large number of patriotic I issues ues The first of these came out In 1025 1925 with the Issue of or the three Lexington Concord stamps Then came time the Sesquicentennial stamps with time the Bell of Liberty In 1926 1920 closely tol fol followed followed lowed bv by b the White Plains PlaiDs Battle stamp In the same year the Green Mountain Boy Boys of Vermont and the Burgoyne Surrender In 1127 1027 1 27 Wash WashIngton Washington WashIngton Ington at Valley alley Forge and Molly Pitcher In 1928 1028 and the George Rog Rogers Rogers ers Clark and the General Sullivan an stamps In 1929 1320 19 During 1030 1930 other c events of the uti on pi probably will III be commemorated commemorated commemorated orated and a movement has already been started for a n special series to celebrate the time tercentenary of the Massachusetts Bay colony founding T Two 0 special stamps honoring great ha have e appeared In the last three years ears In 1927 1037 Lindbergh's epic fight across the Atlantic yeas was hon honored honored ored In a special air mall mail stamp and during the past pact year Thomas Edison FAison was as honored with a stamp commemorating commemorating commemorating orating the fiftieth anniversary annh ersary of the Invention of the Incandescent cent lamp In connection with the latter two many persons wondered Vo why shy hy portraits of r I and Edison did not appear on the stamps which bore the mes message message sage of their fame The Time reason was that the law of the land prohibits the use of the portrait of ot a Ih using living Ing Amer Amer- American American ican lean on the time postage stamps of our country And for a similar reason this article Is not Illustrated with re- re reproductions reproductions re reproductions productions of any American stamp It Is agin the law to illustrate United States stamps the same as United States currency or coins I So the LIndbergh stamp showed his fa famous SoI I plane time the Spirit of St Louis and the Edison Light Golden Jubilee stamp showed shoved ed a n picture of the first I incandescent lIght Another Interesting fact about the Lindbergh stamp Is that 15 of this I Issue were printed VIrtually all of them diem ha have e been bought up giving giving ing Uncle Sam a n net profit of 1000 1000 pot post po t office officials estimate Since only a n few of ot the stamps tamps have been used the estimate that at least of them will bp bt re tamed as souvenirs sou The fact tact that these stamps contain an error will male make them more mOle valuable In later years It Is predicted l he error Is that Ne Newfoundland Is shown shorn n as sex sev sove-al sove e nl I Islands lands Instead of a large piece or of land fringed Indentations About 10 po postage lage stamps are printed for our Post d de- de de department each e year by b bv the time bureau ot of 1 Ing and printing at Washing Washington Washington ton DI flits DIs s are made and stamps are printed In sheets of ot each elch After being printed and dried the sheets are taken to the gumming machines Lich machine Is surmounted by a tank from which a carefully re regulated stream of special gum Is fed ted Into a apin apan pin at one end of or which It comes Into contact with an adjustable re revolving voh In roller After Arter being gummed the sheets puss pass Into a n tunnel where here the temperature Is kept at de- de degrees degrees de degrees grees 1 1 his tunnel Is 72 feet teet long and the stamps stumps tale take n a minute and a halt half to traverse tra It Although the postage stamp Is a comparatively recent Innovation Inno In by mankind the Idea of or a postal ser sen ke Ite conducted by time the govern government ment for tor the carr carrying Ing and distributing ot of time the written messages bet between een Its peo I pIe goes back to ancient times timeR The first postal systems were la 10 Baby Baby- Babylonia Baby lonia I lonia Egypt and ond China but they were ere I little more than mere courier services sen Ices I Ito to keep keel the kings and emperors and government officials In communication andI I with their subordinates |