Another R155 Bullseye

THE FAR. & SHIP. L. TOB. WH. CO.

JUL

29

1898

CINCINNATI.O.

Dave Thompson sent in this cancel this morning that he found hiding behind another stamp in a recent Ebay lot he acquired.  I've been trying to figure out the meaning of this cancel, as I am certain he has been doing too, but with no luck so far. 

Can anybody help identify this company?

Editors note 6:00 PM Nairobi time:  Tim Kohler ID'd the L. TOB. WH. CO. portion as Leaf Tobacco Warehouse Company.  A quick search yielded Farmers and Shippers Leaf Tobacco Warehouse Company. 

Cancel for February 12: American Express

AM.  EX.  CO.

FEB

12

1901

E.  LIPPMAN.

In 1984, American Express merged with Lehman Brothers.  By 1994 AMEX had spun off Lehman.  And by 2008, Lehman went bankrupt in the face of the sub-prime market crisis. 

While on the beach in early January I read a great book by Michael Lewis, a fellow alum of Newman School, which is located in New Orleans.  If you want to know more about how bogus Wall Street can be, please read his book The Big Short.

The Big Short discusses the involvement of some of Wall Street biggest firms in sub-prime mortgages, including Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.  These firms all began in the 19th century, and were major users of 1898 revenue stamps:

J. P. Morgan

Goldman Sachs

Two Battleship Covers

Most of us who collect revenues of the Spanish-American War Tax era have a few covers mailed using the tax stamps of that period. I do, and only two of them are worth showing to anyone else.

The first is a first day use of a two-cent battleship on a patriotic envelope mailed from Minneapolis. It does tell us something useful: battleship revenues were available in the twin Cities area on July 1, 1898.

I tend to believe that most of the larger population centers were sent IR overprinted postage, while battleships were distributed to somewhat smaller areas. The first day usages of battleships on checks and certificates of deposit that I own or have owned are from Nevada, Arkansas, Montana, South Dakota, Kentucky and outstate Missouri, while my first day uses from Philadelphia, Hartford, Saint Louis and Boston are all overprinted postage.

My second favorite use of a battleship revenue for postage is this one, sent from the Pan American Exposition grounds in Buffalo, NY to the US Civil Service Commission in Washington. It apparently went through the mails without a hitch.

Cancel for February 10: Ricker National Bank

RICKER NAT'L BANK

FEB

10

1900

From Representative Men and Women of Quincy, Illinois, 1899:

So long as Quincy stands the name of Mr. H. P. J. Ricker will be honored in this community.  Mr. Ricker occupies a position peculiarly his own. His long and active life has been devoted largely to improving the city of his choice.  While he has accumulated property, probably more largely than any other citizen, he has improved it, dotting waste places with substantial homes, business blocks and factories.  He has bought property which had no attractions for a less far-seeing man and has created desirable residence localities. But for him the progress of improvements would have been very much slower, and not for many years to come would Quincy be as attractive as it is to-day.

While he has done this, Mr. Ricker has founded and built up one of the greatest banking institutions in the west, an institution with resources of over $3,000,000, and has made for himself a name among the leading financiers of the country. All of this he has accomplished from a very humble beginning. Mr. Ricker was born in Germany in 1822 and emigrated to America with his parents in 1839, landing first at New Orleans. Then he came up the river to St. Louis, and on March 4, 1840, located in Quincy. His first employment was with the late Gov. Wood as an ordinary laborer, thus assisting his father in paying for two lots purchased from his employer. He was afterwards employed as a clerk for S. & W. B. Thayer, Charles Holmes and Albert Daneke, and in 1849 associated himself in the mercantile business with Leopold Arntzen. For seven years this business was very successful and was afterwards supplemented with the produce business. In 1858 Mr. Ricker was elected police magistrate and was re-elected in 1862. It was at this time that he laid the foundation for his present extensive bank. Commanding the confidence of the community to the highest degree, he began the banking and exchange business in a small way, but it prospered steadily, and in 1865 he bought out the banking house of John Wood & Co., on Fifth and Maine streets. Soon after, Mr. Bernard H. F. Hoene became a partner in the business and the bank was located on Hampshire street, between Fifth and Sixth.

Later the Ricker National Bank was organized, of which Mr. Ricker is the president and the leading stockholder, and the present substantial banking house was built. Mr. Ricker was one of the organizers of the German Insurance and Savings Institution, one of the promoters and leading stockholders of the Quincy, Missouri & Pacific Railway, a director in the Gas and Electric Light companies, and is now treasurer of the Menke & Grimm Planing Mill Company. He has never sought public position, but in 1884 was the unanimous choice of his party for state treasurer, a compliment which came to him entirely unsolicited. A resident of Quincy for nearly sixty years, Mr. Ricker's life has been a very active one. He is still in active life, giving his attention to his extensive banking and other interests, an honored and universally respected citizen.

Mr. Ricker seated at front right with Ricker National Bank employees

Maybe a Good One?

I've had a battleship bisect used on a check for some time before I found this one, but I'm virtually certain that it was a philatelic creation since the check was to a Savings Bank and made out to "Self." If I can locate it I'll post it, but I'd say it's hardly worth finding.

The one below, however, looks pretty good to me. The two-cent check tax appears to have been paid by a bisect of a four-cent stamp. The check is from a regular bank, was made out to a second party, and was cashed. The cancel ties the stamp to the check. I cannot see where a different stamp was placed and then removed. It looks "good" to me.

Any opinions to the contrary will be thoughtfully entertained.

Used Half Cent Orange Documentary Battleships

Where do I start?  Bob Patetta just sent a truckload of R161, half cent orange battleship stamp scans, all used.  Bob has an impressive collection of these stamps.  I've included a few highlights, but over the next few weeks I will work on unpacking the scans in a little more depth.

The used orange documentary has a Scott italicized value.  Ostensibly, there is little to establish a solid valuation for the stamp, due to scarcity or otherwise.  Clearly, Bob has managed to accumulate a hefty collection of these, and I am glad he is willing to share them with us here.  Frank Sente has posted several of these stamps used on documents, but his census of these items amounts to a handful.  In Bob's collection we get a chance to see a few more of the used items, though off document.

For those of you that like to assist in identifying unknown initials, this will be your time. 

Cancel for February 6: H. B. & Co. of San Francisco

H.  B.  & CO.

FEB   6   1899

S.   F.

I'm looking for some help with these initials.  Anybody have any ideas?

A Wells Fargo Wire Transfer

I picked up this wire transfer recently on eBay, thinking that it might be a good subject for a blog post, as well as an interesting addition to my collection. Now that I have it, I'm puzzled by two things.

The document is a receipt for transfer of money by telegraph, with a two-cent battleship paying the tax on an "...order for the payment of any sum of money..." The person sending the money was George L. Davidson (Davidsen?), perhaps of Benson, Arizona Territory - Mr. Roemer (?) has atrocious handwriting, but who am I to talk? The recipient is A.G. Davidson, of Company D, Second Regiment of the Oregon Volunteer Infantry. But the location is, to me, unreadable.

In August of 1898, the Second Regiment of the Oregon Volunteer Infantry was engaged in the surrender of Guam and the invasion of Manila. That does not help me decipher the location where Wells Fargo was to deliver the money. Can anyone make an educated guess?

The second thing that puzzles me is the tax rate. If the transaction was treated as domestic, even if the recipient of the money was in the Philippines, which could have been the case since he was there as a result of serving in the National Guard, two cents would have been the appropriate tax. If it was treated as a transfer abroad, the rate would have been four cents unless the document was issued in duplicate or more, in which case we would be back at two cents for an amount under a hundred dollars. However, the receipt itself states "War Tax .03." How could the rate not be in an even amount of cents? Was Wells Fargo adding a penny for supplying the stamp? They used a two-cent stamp, in any event.

Any help and/or ideas concerning this document would be appreciated.

The Second Regiment of Oregon Volunteers remained in the Philippines for several years as a result of the insurrection that followed the Spanish surrender.

Cancel for February 3: Alaska Packers Association

ALASKA PACKERS ASSO.

FEB

3

1899

SAN FRANCISCO

The Alaska Packers Assocation was a San Francisco based canner of Alaskan salmon that operated from 1891 to 1982.

The Association (APA) was formed to consolidate a salmon canning industry that was in over-production.  The APA successfully managed supply and marketed their products to increase demand.  The company was famous for maintaining a fleet of tall, masted sailing ships well into the 20th century before finally succumbing to steam power.

In the early 20th century, canned salmon represented over 80% of the Alaska territory's revenues. 

Tetlow Manufacturing Company

Tetlow Manufacturing Company check

signed by Danel Tetlow

Following Bob Hohertz' post from yesterday on the Henry Tetlow Company, Frank Sente sent in the scan of this check from the the Tetlow Manufacturing Company, signed by Henry's younger brother Daniel.  Turns out that Daniel, a former partner in the Henry Tetlow firm, never liked his second fiddle position in the Henry Tetlow Company and decided to leave and form his own firm.  For years there would be two Tetlow firms, manufacturing similar articles. 

For a great summary of this story, go to Collecting Vintage Compacts:

"So, for the forty years or so between the mid 1880s and early 1920’s the company was plagued by the emergence of a second Philadelphia-based face powder manufacturer also named Tetlow. On the one hand there was Henry Tetlow with offices on the corner of 10th & Cherry Streets, Philadelphia as head of the now renamed Tetlow Toilet Powders & Perfumery Company. On the other hand there was Daniel Tetlow operating from 59 North Mascher Street, Philadelphia."

Check inset.  By 1898 Daniel Tetlow was located at 5 Chancery Lane.

R155 cancelled on September 6, 1898

A Battleship Revenue on a Package of Face Powder

The Henry Tetlow Company was "founded" in Philadelphia in 1849 to manufacture and market toiletries. One source (see link at end of article) says that Henry was eleven years old at the time, and that he did not emigrate from England until 1851, but the company existed in some form then, and he began to run it while in his twenties. By 1866 the firm started using zinc oxide in their face powders in place of powdered lead, but did not choose to patent the idea.

The firm introduced Gossamer face powder circa 1888, and was still marketing it into the Spanish-American War tax period.

The battleship revenue on this face powder package was not applied by Tetlow. The initials are A.E.T. and the location is Portland, Maine. The stamp was probably applied by the local distributor.

A Tetlow trade card, probably from the late 1800's.

The Tetlow firm lost most of its competitive advantage during the early part of the twentieth century, disappearing from view around 1940. The revenue on the bottom of this package of Swan Down rouge was issued in 1919 and would have been used until November 23, 1921.

And while we are showing revenue stamps having nothing to do with the 1898-1902 period, here is a copy of the private die proprietary stamp that the company used from 1881 to mid-1883.

For more information on Tetlow, see www.collectingvintagecompacts.blogspot.com/

AEtna Insurance

AETNA

On January 21 I posted a dated Aetna cancel.  I found an additional Aetna cancel in my collection yesterday. 

From the Aetna website:

1899:  Aetna enters the field of health insurance. It wasn't until the turn of the century when larger insurance companies, with the statistical bases to set adequate pricing levels and the sales forces capable of spreading risk, enter the field, and health insurance becomes a part of the industry. In 1899 Aetna becomes one of the first stock insurance companies to enter the health insurance business. The new product was offered only to people holding or purchasing an Aetna life or accident policy, and was not intended to be anything more than a spur to the sales of the other two lines.

Aetna is a major lobbying force regarding the current health care debate. 

Another Florida East Coast Steamship Company Ocean Passage Ticket

This is a continuation of a series of posts about Ocean Passage tickets.

Florida East Coast Steamship Company

Ocean Passage Ticket

Jacksonville, Florida to Nassau, Bahamas

December 30, 1899

A fourth Florida East Coast Steamship Company Ocean Passage ticket has surfaced. All four tickets are from the same party, purchased December 22,1899 in New York and presumably all used December 30, 1899. At least the $1 stamps on all four tickets were cancelled on that date.

I'm not sure about the last name of the traveler listed on this ticket, but William's known companions via the steamer Lincoln were Miss Lizzie Johnston, Thomas Charleston, and Miss Agnes Munroe whose tickets previously have been reported. Were there others on this same New Year's holiday trip to the Bahamas? How did these four tickets reach the philatelic market? We may never know the answers, but our thanks goes to Bob Mustacich for adding to the census of known ocean passage tickets by reporting this one.

Eight tickets now have been reported. Seven bear the $1 Commerce Issue appropriate for tickets costing $30 or less. A single ticket bearing a $5 Commerce stamp, appropriate for a ticket costing more than $60, will be featured in an upcoming blog. We're still looking for a usage of the $3 Commerce stamp, appropriate for tickets costing more than $30 to $60.

Anyone having knowledge of other taxed Ocean Passage tickets is invited to report same, with scans if possible, to 1898revenues@gmail.com.

R155 Bullseyes

I spent a little time yesterday grouping these "bullseye" cancelled R155s, and I liked the look of them together so much that I thought I would share them.  If you have any attractive R155 bullseyes, I would appreciate you sending a high resolution scan and I will add it to this group of five. 

Dave Thompson answered the call today, just a few hours after the five above were posted.  Below are two of the R155 bullseyes in his collection (the Central of Georgia cancel has already appeared on this site):

Frank Sente sent in the scan of this July 1, 1898 manuscript cancel below.  Not a CDS, though it is complete on the stamp:

A Solo R161 On-Document Usage

United States Casualty Company Limited Travel Accident Policy

Dayton, Ohio August 16,1898

We previously mentioned the existance of this document when conducting a census of on-document usages of R161, the 1/2-cent orange documentary issue. Now, courtesy of Bob Mustacich,we're pleased to show it. Actually it is just one of two reported solo usages of R161. The other five reported on-document usages all are in combination with other stamps.

The need for a 1/2-cent documentary issue resulted from the one-half cent tax per dollar of premium paid on accident, fidelity,and guarantee insurance policies. R161 usages are rare because it was in use for only a short period of time. Because its color so closely matched that of the 3/8-cent proprietary stamp, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing discontinued printings of the 1/2-cent orange after just two days(the exact total printed is unknown) and changed its color to gray. Proper usages of the subsequent gray 1/2-cent issue, R162, aren't exactly common either; but they are not nearly as scarce as the orange variety.

Unlike many travel accident policies that were good for just one-day, or were trip specific, this one covered Chas R. Boes (who also cancelled the stamp)of Dayton, Ohio for a full year; although the death benefit was only $750, much less than the $5,000 that was typical for most single day policies.

Reverse Side of Policy

The census of on-document usages of R161, the 1/2-cent orange documentary, stands at seven reported documents. If you can add an additional usage please contact us, with scans if possible, at 1898revenues@gmail.com.

NOTE: Bob Mustacich , along with Tony Giacomelli, authored The Battleship Desk Reference: A Study Of Proprietary Battleship Revenue Stamps And Their Cancellations. It's an invaluable guide for anyone interested in the proprietary issues. For more information visit Bob's website.

2 Cent Documentary Calendar: Third Year of Use

This is the third of three posts on the 2 cent documentary battleship calendar in which all 36 months of the calendar are posted. This post involves the third year of primary use of these stamps, from July 1900 to June 1901.


As I wrote in a previous post, I do not know who was the orginal compiler of this calendar.  It is extremely disappointing that I will likely never know and certainly will never speak with its original builder.  The source of the stamps, the time spent, the identification of certain cancels are all questions I would like to have answered. 

One aspect of a website like this is the ability to share the knowledge of collectors, not just with regard to philatelic knowledge but the history and legacies of the hobby.  Yes, we all see in auction catalogs and sales of one kind or another the comments ex-Joyce, ex-Lilly, etc., but the ongoing thoughts of collectors  are not contained in these "ex-s".  There is so much that has been lost.  But with use of the web, those so inspired can help address this hemorraghing of information. 

Further, there are many cancels in this calendar, initials in particular, for which I cannot trace any origin.  Sometimes serendipity occurs, and someone like Bob Hohertz posts a Venice Transport Company check with the initials HVG.  And then I know the source of the HVG, Treasurer cancels in this calendar.  I encourage collectors to look through these calendar pages and help decipher certain initial cancels.  For example, while I am fairly certain that the C.P. cancels from Cleveland in this calendar are those of the Canadian Pacific, what company is represented by the C.P. cancels from Omaha, Nebraska?

July 1900 to June 1901 calendar: