The Fullerton List: Railroad 25: The Chicago, Fort Madison & Des Moines Railroad

This post is part of a continuing series  on Richard Fullerton's 1952 Catalog of Railroad Company, Street Railway, & Express Company Printed Cancellations on the 1898 U. S. Revenues:

RR025:  The Chicago, Fort Madison & Des Moines Railroad

Fullerton lists only one type of cancel on only one value for this railroad.

Type 1:  One line of serifed caps 2.5mm high and 25mm long without punctuation.  Undated.

1c Pale Blue     a.   normal   (2)  HH

Example of the rare CFM&DMRR cancel.  This scan was sent in by Richard Friedberg of a stamp that was in the collection of Morton Dean Joyce.  Richard believes this stamp may be unique.

The CFM&DMRR started as the Fort Madison & North Western Narrow Gauge Railroad in 1879.  The Iowa railroad was placed into receivership in 1885.  It stayed in receivership until 1890, when it was sold under foreclosure and reorganized as the Chicago, Fort Madison & Des Moines Railway.  This company also defaulted and the railway was reborn in January, 1899 with Railroad appended to the end of its name instead of Railway.  The line was formally leased to the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy on July 22, 1900, and merged into the CB&Q on January 1, 1901. 

The CFM&DMRR was thus shortlived, especially as an independent railroad controlled by the CB&Q.  It is likely that the CFM&DMRR only would have used the printed cancel between July 22, 1900, and January 1, 1901, helping to explain the rarity of this printed cancel.   The CB&Q made heavy use of printed cancels and it is likely that the CFM&DMRR would have used these cancels once under control of the CB&Q. 

Another Bank Check With Postage Use Corrected

A fiscal history mentor once told me to buy items I didn't completely understand or couldn't explain as they likely sheltered interesting stories. I've benefitted from that advise on many occasions.

At a quick glance the check illustrated below is just another example of a check bearing a 2-cent postage stamp in payment of the check tax that was not honored until a corrective 2-cent revenue stamp was added.

The postage as revenue usage was nice, but it was the payee that drew my attention and piqued my interest. Not 2nd Lt. Lanning Parsons personally, but rather the reference to the 9th Calvary. The 9th Cavalry, I knew, was a Buffalo Soldier unit that saw action in the Spanish American War. I wondered where this check might have been written? Denver, the location of the bank upon which it was drafted didn't make sense, nor did Los Angeles where it was cashed.

I started with Wallace Sabin, the payor and Lanning Parsons, the payee. Sabin spent a 40 year career as a contract surgeon with the Army. Lt. Parsons graduated from West Point in 1896 and retired on disability. He later taught military science and tactics at various institutions. From his career notes I learned that in 1899 when this check was written he was stationed at Ft. Apache, Arizona Territory. The 9th Calvary it turns out was stationed there in 1899 in between stints fighting in Cuba and the Philippines.

First National Bank of Denver check

March 23, 1899

Could the check possiby have been written there? I became very interested in what the pen-cancel hidden under the revenue stamp might show. Because of the red ink bank cancel I was reluctant to remove the stamps and my quest remained dormant.....for a while.

check detail showing 2-cent Bureau Issue postage stamp

beneath added 2-cent battleship documentary

I asked my former collegue at APS, Mercer Bristow, for assistance. Using a crimescope and working from the back side of the check, he was able to highlight the text of the pencancel. He then reverse-printed the result and, voila, the check indeed was written at desolate Ft. Apache where Contract Surgeon Sabin did his best to pay the tax by using a postage stamp.

reverse-printed backlit image of

Ft. Apache/Arizona/March 23/99/W.E.S. pencancel

What remained was to determine how the check ended up at the First National Bank of Los Angeles. As shown on the back of the check, Lt. Parsons made the check payable to a third party, J. V. Vickers, who cashed it in Los Angeles.

note transfer endorsement to

J.V. Vickers at top

Vickers was an entrepreneurial rancher and businessman. With two partners he operated a successful ranching operation in Arizona, the Empire Land and Cattle Company, from headquarters in Los Angeles. The disposition of the check finally made sense.

Because of a collapse the Kansas City beef market in 1898 Vickers began scaling back his Arizona operations. Perhaps he was trying to sell beef to the Army at Ft. Apache in 1899.

In 1901 he and Walter Vail bought property on Santa Rosa Island and started a ranching enterprise under the name of Vail and Vickers that continues today. In 1986 the company sold the island to the US government and it became part of the Channel Islands National Park. The firm retained the right to operate private hunting excursions on the island that are due to expire next year.

J.V. Vickers @1898

Hyphen Hole 14 Variety

Following the previous post on roulette varieties, JW Palmer sent in examples of the major hyphen-hole variety, the so-called roulette 14.  Scott refers to this hyphen hole variety as an "apparent roulette 14 caused by the slippage of a hyphen-hole 7 roulette wheel."

Below, from JW's collection, is a presentation of how this variety came to exist.  Exactly how this is a "slippage" issue according to Scott I am not sure.  The R163 sheet below shows how there can be a transition from proper HH perfs to HH14s within the same sheet.

R163 sheet with normal hyphen hole perfs and examples of HH14. 

1 Cent Documentary Roulette Varieties

Three days ago Sean Roberts sent in an interesting 1ct documentary block of 4, apparently nonrouletted vertically.  In turn, Frank Sente sent in some rouletting anomalies, prompting this post on rouletting varieties on R163. 

No Roulette:

This pair appeared in a post more than one year ago.  ex-Joyce and ex-Tolman, this is one of the few known no-roulette examples of the 1c documentary.  The pair is Scott listed but the value is in italics.

"Imperf Horizontally:"

Also Scott listed, this example no-rouletting horizontally is fairly common.  Scott lists the variety as imperf horizontally, though technically the block is imperf vertically too.  Roulette cuts are generally not considered perforations.  This block is part of Frank Sente's collection.

No Rouletting Vertically Between?:

This is the block sent in by Sean Roberts.  There are no obvious roulette cuts running down the center of this block, either from the front or reverse of the block.  Sean reports a vertical crease where the roulettes should be.  An issue is whether such a crease would be considered blind roulettes or no roulettes.  There are clear vertical roulettes on either side of the block, showing that the sheet this block came from went through the rouletting machine.  The wheel responsible for the rouletting running down the middle of the block clearly had a problem.  Does that make this block important?

Shifted Roulette:

Another Frank Sente contribution is this dramatically shifted horizontal roulette.

Realigned Roulette:

Lastly, a roulette that realigned itself part-way during the rouletting of the sheet.  See the left side of the bottom stamp of the pair.  Interesting Pacific and US Express handstamp.

Bank Checks - Postage Not Accepted for Tax

In my last blog about the tax on bank checks we illustrated examples of postage stamps used in lieu of revenue stamps. Because of problems distributing the new tax stamps, the practice of using postage stamps to pay the two cent tax indeed often was tolerated. However using postage stamps wasn't legal and just as often banks would not process checks until a proper tax stamp was added. Processing documents not properly taxed was a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $200 upon conviction.

When the Citizens National Bank check illustrated below was presented to the C.C.S. Bk. (Capital City State Bank) of Des Moines, that bank required a proper tax stamp before cashing it.

The use of a 2-cent Trans Mississippi postage stamp seems particularly odd in this instance. Although dated July 14, 1898, just two weeks into the taxation period, one would have expected C. F. Fox, manager of the Postal Telegraph-Cable Company to know that use of a postage stamp to pay the check tax was improper. His company certainly must have had tax stamps available by this time to pay the taxes on telegraphic dispatches and money wires. Anyway, J. Gibron, the payee, likely paid the two cents for the correct revenue stamp to be added before collecting his $10.

Citizens National Bank Check, Des Moines, Iowa

July 14, 1898

detail of stamps on Citizens National Bank check
postage stamp is pen-cancelled 7-14-1898, the same date as the check

The following Kinsman (Ohio) Banking Company check is dated December 13, 1899, nearly 18 months into the tax period. Given the late date, it's not surprising that the use of a postage stamp was rejected. However, that someone would attempt to use a postage stamp 18 months into the tax period also suggests the use of postage stamps still was often tolerated.

Kinsman Banking Co. Check December 13, 1899

In this instance however the payee, M. C. Beckwith, probably didn't pay the tax. Instead the check likely was held until the payor, M. F. Cridelle, paid for the corrective 2-cent revenue stamp. Looking carefully at the detail of the stamps below, one notes that the added revenue stamp bears the initials of the payor, M.F.C., although not in the hand of either Cridelle or Beckwith, whose signature appears on the back of the check.

Because the revenue stamp also bears a December 15, 1899 S.N.B. oval cancellation from the Second National Bank of Warren, Ohio where Beckwith presented it for payment, a bank clerk probably added the revenue stamp after receiving word that Cridelle paid the 2-cents. Interestingly the added revenue stamp was also pencancelled December 13 although it likely wasn't added until December 15, the date of the S.N.B. handstamp.

The bank's cost to collect the the tax likely exceeded 2-cents. Trying to avoid such processing costs, rather than ignorance of the tax laws, might in part explain why some banks allowed checks bearing postage stamps to clear unquestioned.

detail of Kinsman Banking Company check

reverse of Kinsman Check showing signature of M. C. Beckwith

and bank endorsements

Cancel for September 17 or 20?: International Paper Company

INTERNATIONAL PAPER CO.

SEP

17

1898

NEW YORK

doubled cancel with September 20 over the 17th

This stamp was cancelled the year of International Paper's creation.  In 1898 the firm was incorporated after the merger of 18 pulp and paper mills in the northeastern United States.  At its formation the company produced 60 percent of all the newsprint in the United States. 

Hugh Chisholm

Force behind the creation of International Paper and the company's first president

Cancel for September 16: Becker Brewing and Malting Company

From the Becker Brewing and Malting Company records of the Utah State University Libraries:

The Becker Brewing and Malting Company (BBMC) was founded in 1890 in Ogden, Utah, by the Becker family and was located on the southwest corner of 19th Street and Lincoln Avenue. Gustave L. Becker was president and treasurer, and his father, John S. Becker was secretary. Albert E. Becker, Gustave’s younger brother, became vice president in 1893.


The company manufactured and sold various kinds of beer, over time expanding its manufactures to include near beer, soft drinks, including “Zest,” ice, and related products. The company sold to a regional market, including the states of Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, Colorado, Arizona, and California. A few sales were made as far away as Illinois and Pennsylvania. In 1906, BBMC became agents for the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association.

By the mid-1910s BBMC’s operations began to be challenged by local and state laws restricting the sale of alcohol. As Utah began passing Prohibition laws forbidding the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages, the Becker family examined alternatives. In 1917, BBMC began the production of “Becco,” a very low alcohol (0.3% by volume) near bear. That same year BBMC split its operations. The Ogden operation was renamed the Becker Products Company, and the Becker Brewing Company, which took over beer production, was established in nearby Evanston, Wyoming, which was still a “wet” state. When national Prohibition laws took effect in 1920, however, the Becker companies ceased all beer production. These two businesses operated independently for some years, and apparently remained separate entities even after national Prohibition ended in 1933. By 1968, both Becker companies had ceased operations.

Cancel for September 16: P. F. Harper & Company

P. F. HARPER & CO.

SEP

16

1898

NEW YORK.

P. F. Harper & Company had its own telegraph code back in 1894.  So far that is all I've been able to trace on this firm. 

Cancel for September 15: Des Moines Insurance Company

decipede cancel

Des Moines

SEP

15

1898

Ins. Co.

The Fullerton LIst: Railroad 20, The C, B. & Q. R. R., or the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad

This post is part of a continuing series on Richard Fullerton's 1952 Catalog of Railroad Company, Street Railway, & Express Company Printed Cancellations on the 1898 U.S. Revenues:

RR020:  The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad

Fullerton lists three types of this cancel, with multiple varieties, especially of type one.

Type 1 includes cancels on both R163, the one cent documentary battleship, and R164, the two cent:
One line of plain type caps and lower case letters 20.5mm long, caps 4mm high.  Normally with elongated upright periods.  Undated.

1ct Pale Blue    a.  Normal  (1)  Roulette
                                           (2) HH
                        aw.  Double cancel  (2)  HH

                        as.  Varieties:   (1)  Low period after Co, roulette
                                               (2)  Low period after Co, HH
                                                (3) High period after Co, roulette
                                                (4) High period after Co, HH
                                                (5) Smeared period after Co, HH
                                                (6) Without period after Co, HH

RR020 Type 1, 1ct a.(1)

Normal, roulette

RR020 Type 1, 1ct as.(2)

Low Period, Hyphen Hole

RR020 Type 1, 1ct as.(6)?

No period(?), hyphen hole

Type 1 continued:
2ct Carmine Rose   a) Normal   (1) Roulette
                                                (2) HH
                             as) Varieties  (2) Low period after Co, HH

RR020 Type 1, 2ct a.(1)

Normal, hyphen hole

Two examples, above and below of:

low period, roulette - unlisted in Fullerton, necessitating a new number-

RR020 Type 1, 2ct as.(1)

Is the cancel below another unlisted cancel?  It appears to be a 2 cent roulette high period.  Or are my eyes fooling me.

Wow - a major color difference from the previous scans, which might have something to do with Frank Sente's scanner relative to mine.  This stamp comes from the following check, sent in by Frank:

Type 2:  One line of plain type caps 2mm high and 23.5mm long.  Undated.  Initials read R. R. CO.

1ct Pale Blue   a.  Normal   (2) HH
                       as. Varieties:           (2)  Two periods after 1st C, HH
                                                      (4)  Comma after 1st R of R.R., HH
                                                      (6)  Comma after O of CO, HH

RR020 Type 2, 1ct a. (2)

normal, hyphen hole

Example of CBQRR Handstamp:

Burlington

Route

C. B. & Q. R. R.

September 14, 1901: President William McKinley Dead; Theodore Roosevelt Sworn In

William McKinley, January 29, 1843 - September 14, 1901

25th President of The United States, 1897 - 1901

Shot on September 6, 1901, died 109 Years Ago Today

Theodore Roosevelt, a hero of the Spanish American War and McKinley's second-term Vice President, succeeded McKinley in office

Many of the stamp taxes imposed to pay for the Spanish American War would expire the 1901, many of the rest would expire in 1902

Theodore Roosevelt

Sworn in as President of the United States, September 14, 1901

The Fullerton List: Railroads 05 to 15

On Saturday, September 11, 2010, this site introduced Richard Fullerton's list of printed cancels on 1898 series documentary revenue stamps.  Fullerton numbered the companies that used these cancels by fives, with the first company in the list, the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad in Nebraska, numbered RR5. The subsequent two companies, the Chicago, Burlington & Kansas City Railway and Chicago, Burlington & Northern Railroad are numbered as RR10 and RR15, respectively.   

All the railroads in this post were a part of the Burlington railroad family.  The Burlingtons used printed cancels for many of their railroads.

This post begins an effort to breakown the list by railroad.

RR005:  The Burlington & Missouri River Railroad in Nebraska

From the historical information at the back of Fullerton's catalog:  Chartered 12 May 1869.  Operated from Pacific Junctions west to Kearney, Nebraska in 1870.  Purchased the Omaha & Southeastern RR August 1, 1871.  856 miles of rail consolidated into the CB&QRR (RR020) in 1880.

Fullerton lists a single type:  Two lines of plain block type, all caps 2.x mm high; RR initials 24mm long; line of 19 dots 26mm long; "IN NEB" 14.5mm long.  Lines of type 10.5mm apart.  RR initials and dots 7.5mm apart.  Periods normally square. 

1c Pale Blue   a) Normal   (1) Roulette
                                         (2) HH
                    av) Invert       (3) HH invert

Example of RR05 1c a(2)

2ct Carmine Rose  a)  Normal  (1) Roulette
                                                (2) HH

Example of RR05 2ct a(1)

Unlike the choice made by Chappell to list the handstamps of those companies that used printed cancels on the proprietary stamps, Fullerton did not include handstamps in his documentary printed cancels list.  Just for fun and a matter of record, here is a B&MRRin Nebraska handstamp:

RR010:  Chicago, Burlington & Kansas City Railway

From the historical information at the back of Fullerton's catalog:  Used CB&QRR tracks from Viola to Burlington (25miles) and Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific tracks from Moulton to Bloomfield.  Taken over by the CB&QRR (RR020) when it consisted of 228 miles of rail. 

One type only:  one line of plain type in caps and lower case letters 21.5mm long, caps 2mm high. Undated.

Type 1:  1 cent Pale Blue

                  a.  Normal     (1)  Roulette
                                       (2)  HH

Scan courtesy of Richard Friedberg

RR015: Chicago, Burlington & Northern Railroad

From the historical information at the back of Fullerton's catalog:  Chartered August 1 1885.  Road opened November 1, 1886.  550 miles covering Oregon, Ill. to St. Paul, MN, and Fulton to Savannah, IL.  Consolidated sometime after 1875 into the CB&QRR.

One type only:  One line of heavily serifed lettters all caps 2.75mm high and 20.5mm long, undated:

1c pale blue only,  roulette

Example of CB&NRR printed cancel courtesy of Tim Kohler

Below is an example of a CB&N handstamp:

Cancel for September 12: Muller, Schall

MULLER, SCHALL & CO.

SEP 12

1901

NEW YORK

R170p Hyphen Hole 40 cent documentary

For a reason unknown to me, Muller, Schall, a securities firm, used a large number of R170p and R172p hyphen hole documentary stamps.  These hyphen hole stamps are the scarcest of the documentary set.  An R172p used block of six cancelled by Muller, Schall has appeared twice on this site.

The Fullerton List: A Catalog of Railroad Company , Street Railway Company and Express Company Printed Cancellations on the 1898 U.S. Revenues

In July 1952, Richard Fullerton of Dayton, Ohio, published a list of known printed cancellations on the battleship revenues by railroads and express companies.  By November of that year he had compiled an addendum of additional cancel types.  The cover to Eric Jackson's 1992 reprint of this list is above.  The reprint consists of a mere 13 pages of printed cancel listings, in keeping with the short collecting field of documentary printed cancels. 

Fullerton was aided in his list by some of the notable US revenue collectors of the time, including Morton Dean Joyce, Henry Tolman, and Clarence Chappell, among others. 

The list of proprietary printed cancels is endless in comparison to this list, but the printed cancels on the documentary stamps are at least as interesting and in some cases highly elusive.  In the coming days I will post scans of those cancels available to me from this list.

Fullerton limited his list to railroads, street railways and express companies.  He numbered each of the companies by 5s, leaving lots of room for new companies and their cancels in the case of new discoveries.  Those companies that made his list include:

Railroads (21):

RR 005 Burlington & Missouri River Railroad in Nebraska - 5 collectable types/varieties

RR 010 Chicago, Burlington & Kansas City Railway - 2 collectable types/varieties

RR 015 Chicago, Burlington & Northern - 1 collectable type/variety

RR 020 Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company - 18 collectable types/varieties

RR 025 Chicago, Fort Madison & Des Moines Railroad - 1 collectable type/variety

RR 030 Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway - 6 collectable types/varieties

RR 035 Chicago, North-Western Railway - 14 collectable types/varieties

RR 040 Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway Company - 6 collectable types/varieties

RR 045 Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad - 9 collectable types/varieties

RR 050 Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad - 3 collectable types/varieties

RR 055 International & Great Northern Railroad - 8 collectable types/varieties

RR 060 Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis Railway - 2 collectable types/varieties

RR 065 Kansas City, North Western Railroad Company - 1 collectable type/variety

RR 070 Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs Railroad - 6 collectable types/varieties w/addendum

RR 075 Missouri Pacific Railway Company - 6 collectable types/varieties

RR 080 St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway - 3 collectable types/varieties

RR 085 St. Louis, Keokuk & Northwestern Railroad - 8 collectable types/varieties

RR 090 St. Louis, Southwestern Railway Company - 2 collectable types/varieties

RR 095 St. Louis, Southwestern Railway Company of Texas - 2 collectable types/varieties

RR 100 Sioux City & Pacific Railroad - 2 collectable types/varieties

Street Railways (2):

SR 005 Detroit & Wyandotte  Street Railway Company - 1 collectable type

SR 010 Union Street Railway Company - 1 collectable type

Express Companies (3):

EX 005 Adams Express Company - 4 collectable types/dates

EX 010 American Express Company - multiple types/varities w/addendum

EX 015 National Express Company - 5 collectable types/dates

There are non-railway and express firms that used printed cancels on the documentary stamps, including financial firms.  The companies in Fullerton's list and those using printed cancels that are not listed will be explored in the coming days.


The Fullerton list reprint is available for purchase at Eric Jackson's web site.

American Philatelist, August 1998: Remembering the Maine by Frank Sente

We are very fortunate at 1898 Revenues to have Frank Sente as a guest blogger.  Long before this site was ever created or conceived, Frank wrote a cover story for the American Philatelist magazine on battleship revenues and other 1898 series stamps.  Here we present the full article, Courtesy of  The American Philatelist, monthly magazine of The American Philatelic Society.
Each page is downloadable by clicking on the image of the page.  In coming days a downloadable .pdf file of the article will be added to the column on the right.