Cancel for March 12: The Lancaster Bank

The Lancaster

MARCH  12  1899

BANK.

March 12 in 1899 was a Sunday.  Years of searching might not yield a bank cancel on a Sunday on these issues.  Perhaps the date stamp was set wrong?

In history there have been many Lancaster Banks, including in the UK, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania.  I assume this stamp was cancelled by the Pennsylvania version.  The most famous of all the Lancaster Banks in the US was an early to mid 19th century Pennsylania version that collapsed in the 1850s.  I would like to see a full check or draft from this bank with this cancel on the stamp.

Cancel for March 12: S. C. L. & Company

Scott R184 1 Dollar Documentary

S.  C.  L.  & CO.

MAR  12  1902

CHICAGO.

Not sure what these initials stand for.  This site has many images of railroad cancels, and among those SCL would stand for the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, which ran along the Atlantic coast.  SCL & Company must have been a brokerage firm.

Cancel for March 11: Floyd - Jones & Robison

R185 $2 Documentary

FLOYD - JONES & ROBISON.

MAR

11

1901

NEW YORK.

New York Bankers and Brokers.

Cancel for March 10: Kansas City, Fort Scott, and Memphis Railroad

K. C. F. S. & M. R. R.  CO.

MAR

10

1899

The Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis Railroad was an amalgamation of several Missouri-based railroads.  Roughly two years after this cancel was applied it would be absorbed by The Frisco, aka the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad. 

The brief history:  the Kansas City Fort Scott & Gulf consolidated with most of its subsidiaries January 4, 1888 to form the Kansas City, Fort Scott & Springfield Railroad Company. On April 18, 1888 this company consolidated withn the Kansas City, Springfield & Memphis Railroad to form the Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis Railroad.

In early 1901 the St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad made an offer to buy all the stock of the Kansas City Fort Scott & Memphis Railroad and by May, 1901 the transaction was essentially complete. The Fort Scott was leased to the St. Louis & San Francisco RR in 1901 and thereby became a part of the much enlarged Frisco system.

Screw Head in Margin of RB24 One Cent Proprietary

RB24 One Cent Green Proprietary pair with

prominent screw head impression in upper right.

Close up of screw head. 

This image was sent to me yesterday by David Thompson of Nevada, a collector of battleship revenues and a fan of this site.  David traded a couple of old Roman coins for this piece when he was in England many years ago.

The impression of the screw head is an image of the screw used to hold the plate to the bed of the press.  I have seen many of these types of margin screws but this is the clearest yet.  Thanks Dave!

Cancel for March 8: Chicago, Peoria, and St. Louis Railroad

C. P. & ST. L., Treas.

MAR

8

1900

Chicago, Peoria and St. Louis Railroad Treasurer's office cancel on R164 2 cent documentary. 

Sight draft for the CP&StL showing use of R164 with cancel similar to stamp above.  This item was for sale by the dealer Brass Dragon and is not in my collection.

Cancel for March 7: Union Pacific Coal Company - Carbon Store

THE UNION PACIFIC

COAL  COMPANY

MAR    7    XXXX

CARBON  STORE

Payment voucher from the Union Pacific's Carbon, Wyoming

Store for a "copying press"

The Union Pacific Coal Company operated in the town of Carbon, Wyoming, where it maintained a company store.  By 1902 the town of Carbon is reported to have been abandoned after a fire a decade earlier and the rerouting of the railroad. 

The Union Pacific Coal Company was founded in 1874 as the "Coal Department" of the Union Pacific Railway.  Up to 1874, the Wyoming Coal and Mining Company had been selling overpriced coal to the UP.  Although the UP owned the mineral rights along its right of way, it did not mine its own coal and was dependent on the private and independent firm of Wyoming coal. 

Today the Union Pacific is the largest railroad system in the United States.

Photo of Carbon, Wyoming, unknown date

Cancel for March 7: Bank of New York

BANK OF NEW YORK,

MAR

7

1902

N.B.A.

From the book "The English Manual Of Banking", by Arthur Crump:

"This was the first organized bank in New York. Its business was commenced as an association without charter on 9th of June, 1784, under the name of ' The President, Directors and Company of the Bank of New York,' in the Walton House, Franklin Square, then known as 159, Queen Street.

"The first president was General Alexander McDougall. The bank removed to Hanover Square and continued business as an association until 1791, when on the 21st of March of that year a charter was granted by the Legislature of New York for a period of twenty years, with a capital of $900,000, divided into 1800 shares of $500 each, with the addition of a subscription on the part of the State of 100 shares of the same amount-total, $950,000. Business under the charter began May 2nd, 1791.


"On the 18th of May, 1752, the Bank of New York was reorganized as an association under the general banking law of the State of New York, with the name and title of 'The Bank of New York,' and the capital increased to $2,000,000. On the 17th of April, 1857, the capital was increased to $3,000,000, and on July 6th, 1865, it was organized under the National Bank act under the name of 'Bank of New York National Banking Association.' "

Cancel for March 5: Lorain Steel Company

THE LORAIN STEEL COMPANY

MAR

5

1901

From the January 27, 1904 edition of the New York Times:

ANOTHER STEEL MERGER

________

National Tube and Lorain Companies

Said to be on Point of Combining

   LORAIN, Ohio, Jan. 26-President W. B. Schiller, Treasurer

John D. Culbertson, and other officials of the National Tube

Company have been here in consultation with President Daniel

F. Coolidge and General Manager Supper of the Lorain Steel

Company in reference to the merger of those two corporations.

   It is understood the two companies are to become one, with

general offices in Pittsburgh.  The Lorain Steel Company operates

plants in Johnstown, Penn., and Lorain, while the National Tube

Company operates seventeen different plants in various parts of

the country.

Cancel for March 4: Cleveland, Lorain, and Wheeling Railway

C. L. & W. RY. CO.

MAR     4      1899

In 1909 the CL&W would be absorbed by the B&O, yesterday's cancel of the day.  In 1870 the Lake Shore and Tuscarawa Valley Railroad was formed to build a line between Lorain and Wheeling, West Virginia.  The Railroad was forced into receivership in 1875, and was reorganized as the Cleveland, Tuscarawa Valley and Wheeling Railroad.  It went bankrupt again and emerged in March 1883 as the Cleveland, Lorain and Wheeling Railroad, which would in turn be operated by the B&O by 1909.

Cancel for March 3: Baltimore & Ohio Railroad

B. &  0. R  R.

MAR  3    1899

ACC'T DEPT.

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the longest lived railroads in the United States   Like many of its contemporaries, the great railroad no longer exists.  It was conceived when leaders in the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which would have connected Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.   From that beginning it was built into one of the greatest railroad in the United States, and one that would occupy a place on the Monopoly game board.

The original B&O is now part of the CSX Transportation network.  Part of the B&O Railroad's immortality has come from being one of the four featured railroads on the U.S. version of the board game Monopoly, but it is the only railroad on the board which did not serve Atlantic City, New Jersey, directly.

The B&O Warehouse at the Camden Yards rail junction in Baltimore now dominates the view over the right-field wall at the Baltimore Orioles' current home, Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

 

 

The B&O's Thomas Viaduct. The bridge was built between 1833 and 1835, and is the first multi-span masonry railroad bridge in the United States and the first to be built on a curve.  The Thomas Viaduct was the largest bridge in the nation in its day and today it remains the world's largest bridge of its kind as well as the world's oldest multiple arched stone railroad bridge.  Until after the American Civil War, the B&O was the only railroad into Washington, thus the Thomas Viaduct was essential for supply trains to reach the Union's capital during that conflict. To prevent sabotage, the bridge was heavily guarded by Union troops stationed along its length. The Thomas Viaduct is now owned and operated by CSX Transportation and still in use today making it one of the oldest railroad bridges still in service.

Cancel for March 2: Heeman, Kranz & Company

Heeman, Kranz & Co.

MAR

2

1901

Toledo, O.

A real estate, loans, and insurance firm in Toledo, Ohio.

Cancel for March 2: Manhattan Trust Company

MANHATTAN

MAR

2

1899

TRUST CO.

A J.P. Morgan controlled company

Cancel for March 1: Samuel D. Luckenbach

Sam'l D. Luckenbach,

MAR   1   1899

So. Bethlehem, Pn.

The Luckenbachs are easy to trace in Bethlehem PA more than 100 years before this stamp was cancelled.  But what business Samuel D. Luckenbach was in by 1899 I cannot yet determine.

Cancel for February 28: Edward Quackenbush

QUACKENBUSH

FEB 28 1899

PORTLAND, ORE.

E. QUACKENBUSH

FEB 28 1899

PORTLAND, ORE.

The handstamps on the 10 and 4 cent stamps differ.  See the last letters in the name Quackenbush.  These stamps were likely used on equity transactions of some kind.

Edward Quackenbush

Edward Quackenbush would become a successful financier and community leader in Portland, but in his youth he lived an exciting and varied life.  He was a pitcher at 27 for the Portland Pioneer Baseball Club.  Before then he arrived in Portland as a well-educated New Yorker, who studied political history, composition, philosophy, English, and advanced math before dropping out of school at 15. He moved to Iowa and campaigned for Lincoln, tried to enlist in the Union army at 21 but was denied due to a heart condition, then settled out west, working at various times as a cowboy, cashier, and bookkeeper. He arrived in Portland in 1865, got a job as a bookkeeper, worked in the hardwood lumber business, became president of the Y.M.C.A., and helped establish Portland’s first telephone company, the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company.

 

Cancel for February 27: International and Great Northern Railroad

Printed Cancel:

I  &  G  N  R  R

Handstamp Cancel:

I.  &  G.  N.  R.  R.  CO.

FEB

27

1900

Many railroads used printed cancels on the 1 cent battleship documentary for their use on waybills.  Far fewer used them on the 2 cent documentary.  The International & Great Northern Railroad was a railroad that primarily operated in the U.S. state of Texas.  The I&GN, like other railroads of its time, had many financial troubles and went into receivership on several occasions. Jay Gould acquired control of the I&GN in December, 1880, but was forced to sell it in the early 1920s. Finally, on March 1, 1956, the I&GN was bought by the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company and became a major part of its network.

 

I&GNRR Map

Cancel for February 23: United States Mortgage and Trust

United States

FEB 23 1900

Mortgate & Trust Co.

From the book "The Story of the Trust Companies, by Edward Ten Broeck Perine:

The United States Mortgage Company, established in 1871, first undertook a trust and deposit business in January 1893.  Among the names of the incorporators are found those of J. Pierpoint Morgan, Abiel A. Low, Charles G. Landon, David Dows, and other men who were large factors in the financial and business life of the city, state, and nation.  In common with the Guaranty Trust Company, its expansion was promoted by Mutual Life interests.  After two years of operations under the old title its name was altered in 1895 to United States Mortgage and Trust Company.  The "Mortgage Company" as it has been familiarly known, has continued to carry a large line of conservative real-estate loans, place mostly in the larger cities of the West and South.

Cancel for February 16: R. P. Fish

R.  P.  FISH

FEB 16 1899

CHICAGO

R. P. Fish was once the Treasurer of the Chicago Baptist Social Union.  Don't know anything else about this guy or this cancel.

Cancel for February 15: Raritan Woolen Mills

RARITAN WOOLEN MILLS,

FEB

15

1899

RARITAN, N.J.

The old Raritan Woolen Mill that no longer exists. The mill, at one time in Raritan, Somerset County New Jersey...

The Spanish American War: February 15, 1898 - Battleship Maine Explodes and Sinks in Havana Harbour

The 1898 series of US revenue stamps entered use on July 1, 1898 after passage of the tax act a few weeks earlier.  But a major cause of the war, the destruction of the Battleship Maine, happened months earlier on February 15, setting in motion a growing war cry across the United States.

Wreck of the Battleship Maine

On February 15, 1898, the key event that set in motion the Spanish American war took place in Havana Harbour.   The sudden explosion of the Maine killed 260 American sailors and officers and sank the battleship.  The destruction of the Maine created an uproar in America, which, influenced by newspaper publicher William Randolph Hearst, immediately held Spain responsible.  Hearst's New York Journal published a story with the headline, "The Warship Maine Was Split In Two By An Enemy's Secret Infernal Machine!''

Cancel for February 13: Albert Loeb & Company

ALBERT LOEB & CO.

FEB

13

1901

N.  Y.

Albert Loeb and Company was a banking firm located in New York.  Albert Loeb died about two years after the cancellation of this stamp at 42 years; the New York Times reported the cause of death as apoplexy. 

Cancel for February 13: The Malone Stone Company

THE MALONE STONE CO.

FEB

13

1899

CLEVELAND, O.

The Malone Stone Company was sandstone company located in Ohio. 

Cancel for February 11: H. J. Bowell

H.J. BOWELL,

FEB

11

1899

MERRILL, WIS.

Cancel for February 10: John F. Brigg & Sons

JOHN F. BRIGG & SONS,

FEB

10

1900

xxx

John F. Brigg & Sons was a dealer in woolen goods and was located at 43 East 19th St. in New York. 

Cancel for February 8: Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad

THE WHEELING AND LAKE ERIE R.R. CO.

FEB

8

1901

Cancel for February 5: Logan and Bryan

LOGAN  &  BRYAN

FEB  -  5  1902

Logan & Bryan was famous as a "private wire" brokerage house.  With major offices in both New York and Chicago, the brokerage maintained its own private telegraph line between the two cities to enable it to conduct its business.  While I am no expert in this era of economic history, I would expect that the information and service advantages from such a line were enormous, permitting at a minimum fast customer service but also creating incredible arbitrage opportunities.

Cancel for February 4: The Lorain Steel Company

THE LORAIN STEEL COMPANY

FEB

4

1901

Cancel for February 3: Cornplanter Refining Company

CORNPLANTER

FEB

3

1900

REFINING CO.

While "Cornplanter" is obscured in this cancel from February 3 1900, it is clearer in the example below:

Cornplanter Refining was a crude oil refining company in competition with Standard Oil among others at the turn of the century.  It was based in Warren, Pennsylvania. 

Tracking 1898 Values: 1/4 Cent Proprietary Battleship

The lowly quarter cent proprietary, common and cheap.  Unused copies sell for no more than a dealer would charge to recover his costs and maybe, just maybe, make a cent or two of profit.  If you are accustomed to collecting postage stamps of the 1898 era and you stumble across the valuations of the common battleships, you are likely to be shocked, as even the most common postage stamps of the era sell for far more than just a few pennies.  But supply and demand works in favor for the collector of battleship revenues.  Lots of stamps, and fewer collectors than for their postage cousins.  So while the plate blocks shown below do command a decent premium, there are plenty of stamps available to the revenue collector among these issues.

And for the quarter cent value of the proprietary series, there is lots to collect.  As you can see from the stamps below, the range of browns on this stamp varies dramatically.  The Scott catalog lists 5 different browns for this stamp: brown, red brown, yellow brown, orange brown, and bister.  In a future post I will try to match these color names to examples.  See if you can find these different varieties among the stamps below.

As with all the proprietary battleships, prices for the used versions of these stamps can vary dramatically based on the cancel applied to the stamp.  Printed, typed, and handstamped cancels from certain firms can command substantial premiums over the common versions of this stamp.  Examples of some of these more valuable cancels will be illustrated in a post in the next couple of days.

RB21 1/4 cent roulette proprietary single unused

2010 Scott Value: 20 cents

RB21p 1/4 cent hyphen hole proprietary single unused

2010 Scott Value:   20 cents

RB21p 1/4 cent roulette block of 4

2010 Scott Value: 50 cents

RB21p 1/4 cent hyphen hole block of 4

2010 Scott Value: 55 cents

RB21 1/4 cent roulette top plate block of six

2010 Scott Value: $110.00

RB21p 1/4 cent hyphen hole left imprint plate block of 6

2010 Scott Value: $125.00

RB21 1/4 cent imprint and value block of 9

Scott Value: None