Updating the Joyce/Chappell List: The Chattanooga Medicine Company

The Chattanooga Medicine Company, like Mumm Champagne, is still in business in 2010.  The company is today known as Chattem, but remains Chattanooga based and has a stable of products recognized by millions of Americans.  Kaopectate, Selsun, Flexall, Aspercreme, Gold Bond, and many other products are manufactured by Chattem.  As a kid in the south growing up in the 1970s, I recall many of these products advertised on AM radio, especially Gold Bond. 

Chattanooga Medicine's printed cancels are special because their design included a bit of flair.  All the company's printed cancels include the company name in an arc surrounding a prominent star designed to bullseye the battleship on the stamp.  All of Chattanooga Medicine's known printed cancels follow the design below as originally hand illustrated in the Joyce lists:

Alternatively, the image below comes directly from a cancelled stamp:

In the Joyce lists, black and white illustrations of fancy cancels are included.  In all instances these drawings were made by hand.  The above example comes directly from a stamp.  I am just starting to learn to use the "Magic Wand" in Photoshop, and so far the I've learned how to "rip" cancels like the one above, creating an  image of the cancel clear of its underlying stamp. 

To the real business of this post and the process of updating the Joyce/Chappell list for these cancels.  Below is the Chattanooga Medicine listing from the Joyce volume, a discrete and simple single column.   

Not very legible by looking at the image in this post, but you can click the image and view a readable version. 

Like Mumm, the Chattanooga cancel listing is fairly simple.  The company cancelled two values of the proprietary series, the five eighths cent and two and a half cent stamps.  Few printing varieties exist.  Within the next two weeks I will post a link to an Excel file of this list for public comment and contributions.

On a personal note:  I spent four summers as a kid at Alpine Camp near Fort Payne, Alabama.  Chattanooga was the big city nearby.  

Chattem/Chattanooga Medicine Company's 21st century product lines

Cancel for May 25: Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis Railway

N. C. & St. L. Ry.

MAY

25

1900

The Nashville, Chattanooga, & St. Louis Railway operated in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia and was the first railroad to operate in Tennessee.  The Louisville and Nashville, one of the greatest southern railroads, took over the NC & StL in 1880.  The NC&StL operated independently for years before ultimately merging with the L&N in 1957.  The railroad never reached its namesake city of St. Louis. 

1898 Route Map

Cancel for May 24: Chicago, Kalamazoo, and Saginaw Railway

C.  K.  &   S.

MAY

24

1899

RY CO.

Derisively referred to as the "Cuss, Kick and Swear," the CK&S operated mostly in Kalamazoo County Michigan and would never reach its namesake cities of Chicago or Saginaw.  The railway would eventually become a part of the Michigan Central and the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, both controlled by the New York Central.

C, K & S Railway Map from the 1916 New York Central

Annual Report

Cancel for May 23: Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad

F.  C.  &  P.  R.  R.  Co.

MAY

23

1899

Within a year of this cancel the Florida Central and Peninsular would become part of the Seaboard Air Line Railway.

G. H. Mumm Printed Cancels: Cancel Variety

G. H. M. & Co

FRANCE

1/ 12 1901 

Another image contributed by Frank Sente.  This time a December 1901 Mumm printed cancel with a stark printing variety.  Notice the "ghost" image of cancel at end of "FRANCE" and 1901.  Frank believes this may have been caused by a foreign substance on the sheet which later came off, leaving nothing but a ghost image.  This explanation would mean this variety is a "one-off" and not a repeated variety.

G. H. Mumm Printed Cancels: Bottle Neck Band

Mumm Champagne bottle neck band with

1/2/1902 printed cancel on RB24

This image is courtesy of Frank Sente

Seal from neck band

Usage examples of proprietary stamps are rare.  Frank Sente includes this example in a page of cancels from companies that produced sparkling wines. 

Cancel for May 20: D. L. Weeks

R167 5 Cent Documentary

D. L. WEEKS

MAY

20

1899

SCHROON LAKE, N.Y.

Update:  Dave Thompson helps out again - a Darwin L. Weeks was a town supervisor for Schroon in 1885.  The document of the History of Essex County, New York is little help with the business of Mr Weeks, however. 

Here is an early 19th century Thomas Cole paining of Schroon Lake:

Cancel for May 19: Gold Run Placer Mining Company

GOLD  RUN  PLACER  MINING  CO.

MAY

19

1902

Google Gold Run Placer Mining and you will get an avalanche of businesses offering the company's old stock certificates for sale.  Sites alternately refer to the company as based in Washington State, Colorado, or several other places.  This one needs research.  Great cancel and name though.  Some of the stock certs for sale show battleship documentary stamps attached.  This stamp was cancelled right at the end of the tax period for the 1898 revenue series.

Cancel for May 18: Robert O'Gorman, Newark, New Jersey

ROBERT O'GORMAN,

MAY

18

1900

NEWARK, N. J.

football shaped cancel on R164p documentary

Robert O'Gorman was a prominent businessman at the turn of the century in Newark and seemed to have many interests, from insurance to banking.  O'Gorman and Young were insurance agents in Newark.  Robert O'Gorman was a named partner in the firm.  The Bankers Magazine of 1911 tells us Mr. O'Gorman was a director of the new Broad and Market National Bank of Newark.  So this handstamp cancel could have served many purposes, though I am guessing the stamp payed the tax on a bank check.

Cancel for May 17: I. R. Co. Ltd.

I. R. CO. LTD.

MAY

17

1901

Unknown company

Momen Ebay Store Listing of American Railways Cancel

THE AMERICAN RAILWAYS

APR

10

1901

COMPANY

Ebay item #190396158455 of a R175 $5 documentary

with CDS.  "Buy It Now" price of $95

Spectacular CDS by The American Railways Company

Currently available as an Ebay store item by Momen Stamps.  Great cancel from a company that I think was an east coast firm that controlled several urban railroads.  The stamps is great, though reasonably cheap without this cancel.  Most of the $95 is for the cancel.  Which is amazing.  I wonder if anybody will pay this price.  I could retire if most of my collection was priced similarly.

Cancel for May 14: J. P. Morgan & Company

Approximately 3 years ago a series of lots were offered on Ebay by a seller in the United Kingdom.  The lots consisted of 1898 series revenues on document fragments.  All seemed to be from firms engaging in equity transactions.  Below is a prime example of one of those fragments, cancelled by J. P. Morgan and Company. 

Cancels on document fragment by J. P. Morgan and Company

Hyphen-hole versions of:

R166 4 cent documentary

R172 80 cent documentary

R185 2 dollar documentary

Reverse side of fragment with corporate branding for

Drexel & Company in Philadelphia

and

Morgan, Haries & Company in Paris

Drexel and Company:  Founded in 1838 by Francis Martin Drexel.  The company experienced early success from opportunities created by gold discoveries in California.  A. J. Drexel, the son of Francis Martin Drexel,  became the head of Drexel & Company when his father died in 1863. A.J.  partnered with J.P. Morgan and created one of the largest banking companies in the world, Drexel, Morgan & Co., which might explain the formal association with Morgan, Haries on the transaction fragment posted above.

Cancel for May 14: Atlantic Coast Line Railroad

ATLANTIC COAST LINE XXXXXX

1901

14

MAY

A bit blurry, but still clear this is an ACL cancel. 

Cancel for May 13: Sheafer & Lowrey

SHEAFER & LOWREY,

MAY

13

1901

POTTSVILLE, PA.

From a volume on the history of Schuylkill County:

WALTER SCOTT SHEAFER, late of Pottsville, civil and mining engineer, and later engaged in the real estate and insurance business, was born April 5, 1837, at Wiconisco, Dauphin Co., Pa., son of Henry and Mary (\\'enrich) Sheafer. His father was a prominent pioneer of Dauphin county, president of the Lykens Valley Railroad Company, developed and superintended the Lykens Valley coal mines at Wiconisco, and in 1834 introduced anthracite coal into the Susquehanna markets. After graduation from the Scientific department of Yale College, in 1860, Walter S. Sheafer entered the offices of his brother, P. W. Sheafer, with whom he was associated until the death of the latter, in 1891. After that he acted as one of the executors of the Sheafer Estate and was actively engaged in the management of the same. He was especially interested in the development of the Mahanoy and Shenandoah coal fields. For many years he was the engineer for the Gilbert Estate, owners of property in these several regions.

During his professional career as mining engineer he made extensive examinations of coal properties in many parts of the United States, and also in Mexico. Mr. Sheafer was interested in the insurance business and was connected with the firm of Sheafer & Lowrey for many years. In 1881 Mr. Sheafer was president of the Board of Trade of Pottsville, and through his especial efiforts the Tilt Silk Mill was located there. He was also connected with the installation of the Steam Heat Company, and was its president for many years, until his death, which occurred April 20, 1908, at his home in Pottsville, No. 207 Mahantongo street, after a year's illness. He was buried in the Charles Baber cemetery. On June 7, 1864, Mr. Sheafer was married to Jane Augusta Camp, a native of New Haven, Conn., born Feb. 2, 1838, and they had two children, Paul and Frances M. (now JMrs. Howell Habberstadt). Mrs. Sheafer survived her husband but a few months, passing away Sept. 22, 1908, at her home in Pottsville. She. too, is interred in the Charles Baber cemetery. Mr. Sheafer was a past master of Pulaski Lodge, No. 216, F. & A. M., of Pottsville; a past high priest of Mountain City Chapter, No. 196, R. A. M. ; a past eminent commander of Constantine Commandery, No. 41, K. T., of Pottsville ; and a Scottish Rite Mason of the thirty-second degree. He assisted in organizing Constantine Commandery and was its first eminent commander. Paul Sheafer, son of Walter Scott Sheafer, is now engaged in the insurance business in Pottsville.

Cancel for May 11: Bank of Niagara

BANK OF

MAY   11  1900

NIAGARA

There were Banks of Niagara in both New York and Wisconsin.  I'm not sure to which state this cancel belongs. 

Cancel for May 10: D. Holzman & Company

D. HOLZMAN & CO.

MAY

10

1901

SPOKANE, WASH.

From an illustrated history of Spokane County by Reverend Jonathan Edwards, 1900:

D. Holzman & Company, wholesale wines, liquors and cigars. — The business was established by Mr. Holzman in June. 1884, the present firm name being adopted in January, 1891, when Mr. J. Reubens became a partner. The premises occupied consist of an entire two-story and basement building 50 x

125 feet in area. In the basement a bottling department, with improved machinery, is fitted up where all kinds of carbonated beverages and beer are bottled. The office and salesroom is on the first floor and the second floor is used for storage. Seven- persons are employed and the business extends throughout Washington. Idaho, Montana and British Columbia. Mr. David Holzman came here from the Black Hills, South Dakota, where he was formerly engaged in the clothing business. Mr. J. A. Reubens hails from the same place and was at one time in the wholesale business there. Both gentlemen represent their bouse on the road, and
the local management is in the hand? of Mr. J. A. Schiller, who also came from the Black Hills, and who has had charge since the inception of the business.

GH Mumm Printed Cancels: 2010 Updated List

Time to tread on the good work of our ancestors in the hobby.  Franklin Smith in the early 20th century, Clarence Chappell in the early to mid 20th century, and Morton Dean Joyce in the mid-20th century all produced lists of the printed cancels on the battleship proprietary stamps.  The last published list was Joyce's update of Chappell's work, and that was completed in the 1950s as an addendum to the American Revenuer.  With the help of modern technology including this blog site and Google docs, I will begin today to post working and updated lists of the proprietary printed cancels based on Joyce's work from the 1950s.

For the past three weeks I have posted the printed cancels of G. H. Mumm on this site, cancels which are referenced in Joyce's list.  But below is a link to an updated list which is stored in Google docs and which is freely available by clicking on the link.  To the original Joyce list I have added provisional numbers, so that each Mumm cancel is assigned its own number with the protocol GHM0xx. 

I have also made changes to the orginal list based on cancels available to me that are not included in the original Joyce list.  And I have also made changes by simple inference.  Where it is likely there should be a cancel with a certain date, I have included a reference to such a cancel and assigned the cancel a provisional number.  On this basis there are 80 provisional numbers for the Mumm cancels running from GMH001 to GHM080.

The beginning of the list looks like the screen capture below:

To retrieve and view the pdf file of this list click on this link:  GH Mumm Printed Cancel List 2010

I encourage and request that anyone having an interest in these cancels who has a change or contribution to this list write me an email or leave a comment at the end of this post.  I will work with you to update this list to enable us to create a more complete checklist of the battleship printed cancels.

This effort will not stop with Mumm Champagne.  This site will work to create a list of most if not all of the printed cancels used on the battleship proprietaries.  Any comments should be sent to 1898revenues@gmail.com.

Cancel for May 8: Burrill and Stitt

BURRILL & STITT

MAY

8

1901

10 BROAD ST.  N. Y.

A New York brokerage firm.  Interesting in part because it is reported to have considered investing in the Klondyke gold rush.  One of its founders, George Stitt, died of a heart attack at 48 years of age on a New York subway train.  The New York Times reported that he was unmarried and lived with his mother at 203 West 113th Street when he died. 

Battleship Cancels by State: Vermont

Windsor County

Clerk's Office

Woodstock, Vt.

J.  R.  Pember

Clerk

             1899

N.  C.  CO.

NOV

1

1899

St. Albans, Vt.

RUTLAND  R.  R.

AUG

8

1899

Rutland,  Vt.

 

NAT. BLACK RIVER BANK,
FEB
19
1901
Proctorsville, Vt.

Cancel for May 5: Walker Brothers

WALKER BROS.

MAY

5

1902

NEW YORK.

R171 50 cent documentary block of 4

cut and handstamp cancels

John Yates Gholson Walker and his brother Norman Stewart Walker organized the Walker Brothers brokerage firm in 1895.  They were the sons of Maj. Norman Stewart Walker of Richmond, Va., the purchasing agent for the Confederate Army in Bermuda, who left the United States to engage in business in England after the Civil War. 

G. H. Mumm Printed Cancels: Joyce Type 3, 2 Cent 1901s and 1902s

The list below is the last tranche of the Joyce/Chappell listings for the Mumm printed cancels, and I have included all the 2cent 1901 and 1902s.  I have no 1902s in my collection nor do I have any images to display, so there are none below.  For 1901, Joyce lists no cancels for April and June.

G. H. M. & Co.

FRANCE

1/3  1901

G. H. M. & Co.

FRANCE

1/7  1901

G. H. M. & Co.

FRANCE

1/9  1901

G. H. M. & Co.

FRANCE

1/10  1901

G. H. M. & Co.

FRANCE

1/12  1901

Cancel for May 3: Ladenburg, Thalmann & Company

LADENBURG, THALMANN & CO.

MAY

3

1901

Ladenburg Thalmann was founded as a Wall Street securities firm in 1876 by American banker Ernst Thalman and German banker Adolph Ladenburg.  The company had a significant Wall Street presence for the first 75 years or so of its existence.  Today the firm continues to operate with headquarters in Miami and offices in more than 10 other US cities. 

G. H. Mumm Printed Cancels: Joyce Type 3, 2 cent 1900s

Here we have Joyce's list of 2 cent proprietary GH Mumm cancels with a 1900 year date.  Note that there are no listings for January, May, July, or October.  However, below are images for the cancels from January and May.  I expect that there may also be July and October cancels in existence based on the cancels on the 1 cent proprietary and the pattern of use by the Mumm firm.

unlisted by Joyce

G. H. M. & Co.
FRANCE

1/1   1900

G. H. M. & Co.

FRANCE

1/3  1900

G. H. M. & Co.
FRANCE

1/4  1900

unlisted by Joyce

G. H. M. & Co.
FRANCE

1/5  1900

G. H. M. & Co.

FRANCE

1/9  1900

 

G. H. M. & Co.

FRANCE

1/11  1900

G. H. M. & Co.

FRANCE

1/12  1900

Revenue as Postage: 2 Cent Documentary with Postal Cancel

R164 2 cent documentary used for postage

Clearly used for postage, this 2 cent documentary stamp was canceled with a common postage stamp canceling device of the period.  This use was illegal as I understand.  This stamp has been removed from its cover unfortunately.  Cover markings would tell us whether or not the letter actually went through or was returned or held for proper postage.  Is there any legal reason why a documentary stamp could have been used on mail during this tax period?  I know there were postal uses for documentary stamps during the World War I tax period, but I am unfamiliar with any uses for the 1898s.