E. E. Hamilton Possibilities

This post has been updated during the day on March 16 to take into account a late contribution by Malcolm Goldstein.

Readers have come up with two possibilities for the identity of E. E. Hamilton.  

David Thompson found Mr. Edward Elwood Hamilton, of the Baltimore, Ohio and Southeastern Railroad.  There is a write up on him in the Baltimore and Ohio employees magazine upon his promotion to head up analysis and statistics for the railroad.  It is possible, but it seems a bit strange that his position would have him canceling many 2 cent stamps, so I'm not sure.  However, we do have this picture, with the appropriate initials and name:

Meanwhile, Malcolm Goldstein found that an E. E. Hamilton was the Secretary and Treasurer of the New Castle [PA] Traction Co.  I can't find much more on this lead, but it would seem that this E. E. Hamilton (and maybe they are the same person) would have used more 2 cent documentaries.  A little more digging is at hand.

And Malcolm kindly did so, and came to this conclusion:

A further Google search makes me think that Dave Thompson and I have found the same person.  In 1898, Hamilton was in New Castle PA, north of Pittsburgh, connected with a traction company.  As you are undoubtedly aware, a traction company was a streetcar, or possibly an interurban railway, company. The new search, coupling Hamilton's name directly with the B&O Railroad, shows he resigned that position in 1902, and in 1903, an EE Hamilton is an incorporator of a small railroad in Castle Shannon, PA, which is a small town south of Pittsburgh. That small railroad was, in turn, a feeder line to the B & O Railroad, and by 1904 an E E Hamilton was a "freight inspector" for the Wheeling W VA division of the B&O Railroad. He seems to have moved up through the ranks at the B&O at least until 1919, and then, in a 1934 Report to Congress from the Chairman of the Interstate Commerce Commission, his name reemerges as the "executive assistant" to the President of the M[Missouri]-K[Kansas]-T[exas] RR, who served on some federal advisory panel to prepare a technical questionnaire to collect shipping data needed to assess the need for further federal regulation of railroads.  Sounds to me like the same guy all the way through.

Thanks to Malcolm and Dave.  My guess is that we are almost certain to have a set of 2 cent documentaries on checks issued by his urban railway employer.  It would be great if somewhere there were some of those checks still in existence.

Ebay Sales: An R173 with an R190 Inverted Surcharge

The dealer buystamps currently has for sale on Ebay what appears to be a copy of an R190 with an inverted surcharge:

Listed for sale at $299.99, its a pricey rarity unlisted by Scott.  It is, very likely, quite rare.  The question is whether it should be so pricey.  A quick look at the face of the stamp provides a few cues to what we might be looking at.  First, the surcharge is a sloppy one with ink smeared across the stamp at the upper right of the surcharge, something I have not seen with Bureau surcharging.  Second, the stamp's color is not the color of an R190, but that of an R173.  Third, the stamp is rouletted,  but all R190s were hyphen perforated.

Buy Stamps tells us the following in the Ebay listing:

Now we're getting somewhere.   Mr. Henry Stolow was an infamous stamp dealer with a history of fakes, forgeries and made up stamps.  An examination of the back reveals the extensive thinning.  But we can also see the J&H Stolow brand at the bottom right:

If this is in fact a real Stolow piece of fakery, the stamp would be an interesting curiosity to have in an 1898 revenues collection.  Just don't put it into an album spot marked R190a! Also, don't pay $299.99 for it.  Maybe $5.00?

Thanks to David Thompson for calling my attention to this item.

 

Who was E. E. Hamilton?

Happy daylight savings time!  To celebrate, today we have a Sunday puzzle.  I first posted these stamps on this site all the way back in 2009, and I received no help!  Maybe, 11 years later, someone can tell me who or what was E. E. Hamilton?

 

Railroad Printed Cancels: A Milwaukee Road Receipt Book

 

Long gone but once common on the sides of box cars, locomotives and other railroad equipment, The Milwaukee Road logo was the brand of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway.  Today is highlighted a receipt book from the C. M. & St. P. Ry. station in Monona, Iowa.  

The item is a complete receipt book that first saw use in 1901, The first receipt in the book is dated March 5, 1901, and the last receipt is dated March 26, 1903.  The first 67 receipts, dated from March 5, 1901 to June 26, 1902, all have one cent documentary stamps with C. M. & St. P. Ry. printed cancels.  There are completed receipts from July 3, 1902 to March 24, 1903 without stamps.

Above is a typical receipt from the book for a consignment of 12 cases of eggs going to Chicago.  Many of the receipts are for eggs, from the same consignor to the same receiver, but there are several other agricultural and food related shipments that I can identify.  There is a receipt for 26 empty oil barrels from the usual egg consignor, being sent to Standard Oil in Dubuque.  And there are multiple receipts for empty cracker cans going to Chicago.  Every receipt except for one is for freight headed east.  That receipt is for a consignment to an indecipherable town in South Dakota.

Here is a quick look at the book:

The station periodically acquired stamps over the lifetime of the book and did not rely on a single sheet of stamps for the tax.  The location of the imprint of the printed cancels changes over time; in the middle months there is a series of cancels that are blurry and appear to be from well worn plates.

I'll study the book a bit more intensely in the coming weeks and I'll see if there is more to post.

Lastly, Monona, Iowa is due west of Milwaukee, but the railroad had no bridge over the Mississippi for a direct link:

New York Stock Brokers: Stephen V. White

 

S. V.  WHITE

OCT  4  1898

NEW YORK.

Thompson scan

Yet another participant in the volume The Stock Exchange in Caricature is featured today:  Stephen V. White.  Stephen White was born in North Carolina to a Quaker family.  Quakers were anti-slavery, and after the Nat Turner rebellion the family moved to Illinois.  He studied law in St. Louis, but eventually moved to New York to become a banker, organizing his firm S. V. White & Co is 1882.  He lost everything in a failure of his firm in 1891 but managed to pay a million dollars back to creditors and rebuild his fortune in a short period of time.  He was elected to congress from New York for one term and was a serious astronomer.

The quatrain from The Stock Exchange in Caricature summarizes White's business acumen and passion for astronomy:

And the caricaturist does the same:

Stephen V. White from King's Views of the New York Stock Exchange

Margin Curiosities: What is a number like you doing on a plate like this?

Courtesy of Bob Mustacich, via the prompting of Dave Thompson, is presented to you a series of margin curiosities collected and hand annotated by Anthony Giacomelli.  The battleship series is known for denomination/series margin inscriptions, eg the 1/8 CP, 3/8 CP and similar markings, that enabled the printers to better identify the values they were working with, since battleship series stamps were all of similar design and size.

The markings in questions are numbers, mostly in reverse, independent of the values of the stamps on the plates. What appear to be fours are not reversed.  Giacomelli located numbers 1-4 on various values.  

I've looked over some of my collection, and over items posted to this site, and have found markings/numbers similar to those below.  In Frank Sente's American Philatelist article you can find what appears to be a 4 on a 3/8c proprietary pair.

Below are four examples, with Giacomelli's notes.  I'm interested in any explanation that might exist for these markings/numbers.  If you have one, please comment below or write to 1898revenues@gmail.com.

"NUMERAL 1 REVERSED AS USUAL"

"A #2 IS ALSO FOUND ON 1c DOC. IN THE SAME GENERAL AREA"

"NO SCREW HEAD"

"LAZY #2"

"FIGURE "3" EXIST ON THE 1c DOC SHEET IN THE SAME SIZE FONT AND LOCATION"

"NUMBER UP LEFT.  WHY?"

New York Stock Brokers: William L. Stow

William L. Stow first appeared here at 1898 Revenues in 2012.  Here today is a Stow memo from the Eames and Moore pile I wrote about a few days ago for the sale of shares in what appears to be the Texas Pacific Railroad.

W. L. STOW & CO.

AUG  9  1901

NEW YORK

Mr. Stow appeared in the caricature book I also wrote about in a post a few days ago:

William L. Stow from The Stock Exchange in Caricature, 1904

The memo for 100 shares of Texas Pacific @ 38.50.

Stow was wealthy enough to build an enormous Long Island mansion, called Stowe's mansion in his time, but which would be renamed Spring Hill by Henry Carnegie Phipps after he purchased the property in 1906.  The architect John Russell Pope designed the house and completed it in 1903 for Mr. Stowe.  I'm not sure what happened that Stowe could only hang on to it for three years.

The Stock Exchange in Caricature

It has been a few years since I've searched the web for stock exchange history from the 1898-1902 period.  A few days ago, prompted by the new pile of Eames & Moore memos, I discovered, through Google, a volume called The Stock Exchange in Caricature, published in 1904.  Like King's Views of The New York Stock Exchange, the volume features brokers, bankers, and players of the New York financial scene.  But unlike King's, there are no photos.  Instead, we have drawings in caricature, accompanied by what the publisher refers to as "quatrains", but which in many instances are examples of doggerel.  Whatever the case, the volume is a rather quaint monument to the egos of those caricatured.  I invite you to follow the link and check out the "private collection of caricatures, cartoons, and character sketches of members of the New York Stock Exchange."

Apparently on 177 copies were printed.  The linked online version is copy #3.

Rudolph Keppler was President of the NYSE in 1903 when the book was under production.  Appropriately, he appears as the first to be caricatured in the book, accompanied by the following quatrain:

Rudolph Keppler in caricature

Rudolph Keppler & Co. Cancel

Featured initially on this site in January, 2012,  Rudolph Keppler was head of his own firm and the President of NYSE from 1898 to 1903.  Ransom Thomas was President in 1904 but did not appear as a caricature in the volume, perhaps he wasn't as caught up with himself to appear in the book, like Chauncey McKeever.  Romantic Records of N.Y. Aristocracy?   Locust Valley lockjaw time...

I'm searching for a Chauncey McKeever cancel.  His first initial was I, for Isaac, and he is the author of Romantic Records, among other books, above.  Meanwhile, the real I. C. M. from King's:

Isaac Chauncey McKeever, member NYSE, and son of General Chauncey McKeever.  

General McKeever was a hero of Civil War in the service of the Union Army

An Eames and Moore "Hoard"

A few days ago, a package arrived at the front door from David Thompson in Texas with a cache of broker memos.  To most this would not be very exciting.  But I'm pumped!  Dave has retained what must be the pick of pile, but what's left provides a great cross-section of the NYSE in 1900.  

Virtually all of the memos are from sales to the brokerage house of Eames and Moore, mostly with $1 and $2 values attached and the occasional $5.  Thanks David!  Please continue to come to this site to see more in the coming weeks and months.  

The United Order of Foresters

 United Order of Foresters,

 FEB

28

1901

Milwaukee

David Thompson scan

The Foresters were and are a mutual aid society that originally began in England in the 14th century.  Much of their modern manifestation is through the insurance business.  The United Order of Foresters seems to have been particularly strong in Wisconsin and the upper midwest at the turn of the century. It is likely that this stamp was used on a check.

The Battleship Desk Reference 2

Readers that know this website well know the tendencies of my 1898 collecting interests.  Those interests have not, so far, included proprietary handstamp cancels.  The proprietary printed cancels are another matter, and there are many examples of those on this site, and in the future, likely to be many more.  

Bob Mustacich's Battleship Revenue Stamps site

After being away from the hobby and the site for several years it is exciting to see some of the new work that is going on in the 1898 world, particularly regarding the handstamped proprietaries.  Bob Mustacich's Battleship Desk Reference (BDR) has been a go to guide for identifying cancels on the proprietary stamps over the years.  But a new project called BDR2 is now underway, led by Bob and a host of contributors including Malcolm Goldstein, Timothy Kohler, Paul Reese, Frank Sente, and Duane Skeen.  The new BDR, currently under development and available online, includes images and historical information, providing for a richer experience when viewing and using the database.  The historical emphasis of the 1898 Revenues blog, and the work of Malcolm Goldstein that started online here, can now be found in a more rigorous database.  Thanks to all of you working on this.

Navigation to the site is not immediately evident for now when going to Bob's site.  The best way to find it is to click on the U.S. Revenue Stamps tab at the top of the page.  You will get a drop down that includes the above directory if you click on Proprietary, then Battleships, then BDR2.  A shortcut is here.

A synopsis of the project is available and a link to the database called "Directory".  Once you click on Directory you can find material like that below.

I'm just getting familiar with this new site and project.  More later as I begin to link it to some of the work I expect to do here at 1898 Revenues.

New York Stock Brokers: Day & Heaton

 

DAY & HEATON

MAY 9 1891

N. Y.

David Thompson scan

David Thompson adds another firm to the New York Stock brokers list.  Originally sent in 2012, I'm not quite sure why I didn't post the firm then.  Any guess as to what firm was sold for $115/share?

If you haven't checked out the list of all the brokers published on this website, you can do so conveniently by clicking on the "stock brokers" summary tab at the top of the web page.  

R173 with Margin Inscription

 

R173r

David Thompson scan

A most reliable contributor, even after many years, David Thompson, sent in this scan of an R173 with a special margin inscription that includes a denomination notation (with $ sign!) and what are likely to be siderographer's initials.  

Cancel notes:  The year date is obviously wrong and should be 1899.  And we could be looking at a Northwestern Mutual Life cancel, though the N is oddly shaped.  I've been away from these cancels too long.  Any other possibilities/certainties?  Could it be HMLI?

1898 Revenues: The 2021 Edition

Greetings all.  This author is back in the US after 12 years abroad.  I've begun collecting my philatelic material in one place after so many years (I have my collection scattered across 3 states and the District of Columbia), and I'm beginning to think about the best way to reactivate this website.  

I'm looking forward to reconnecting with loyal readers and contributors.  

New Find: R155 with St. Louis, Keokuk, and Northwestern Railroad Printed Cancel

Mike Morrissey has sent a scan of a Fullerton unlisted railroad item: an R155 with a St. Louis, Keokuk & Northwestern Railroad cancel. 

ST. L., K. & N. W.

R. R.

St. L., K. & N. W. R. R. cancels have only previously been known on R163s, both roulette and H. H.  Frank Sente figures the stamps were used on checks.  I would guess this likely, but if so, where are other examples, either on or off document?

If you know or possess an example of this cancel on an R155, please report it or send a scan of the stamp to:  1898revenues@gmail.com.  Thanks!

Arthur A. Housman & Company Stock Memorandum of Sale

David Thompson sends this scan of an AA Housman memorandum of sale.  According to the memorandum, the firm sold to brokers Ames & Miller 400 shares of a firm that I can't identify.  With the "y" at the end of the name, I can guess we have the sale of railway shares.   I'm just not sure which one.

Mr. Housman was J.P. Morgan's primary broker.  The memorandum was likely prepared in January 1990, not 1899 as indicated by the date.  By 1/3/99, the hyphen hole perforations on these stamps were not in use.

Wells Fargo & Company Express Shipper's Forwarding Receipt Book

David Thompson sent scans of a 1900 Wells Fargo shipper's receipt book.  Six years ago a page from a similar receipt book was posted on this site.  But in this example, David sent scans of a complete book that he has in his possession.  Of greatest interest is the instruction page, which include guidance on where to place the revenue stamps.

R163s are found in the book in addition to a few 1cent postage stamps, presumably used when the IR stamps were unavailable. 

 

A Degraded Battleship

Several years ago I wrote several posts about the curse of grading on the hobby of stamp collecting.  Those posts can be found here. 

 

 R163 "E Graded Superb 100"

Currently Buy It Now on Ebay for $100

"eGraded" as Superb 100 by eGrade, certificate 370.  Go out and buy this one right away.  And make sure you pay double because the price is so dang low -- hit "Make Offer" and enter 200 bucks you schmuck.

Geez.  I figured we wouldn't see much grading with revenue stamps, especially with a stamp that is worth about a tenth of a cent, like an R163 roulette.  At least this humble stamp has all sorts of cool incarnations and can be very collectible, given a range of cancels and uses on piece.  But this stamp is a prime example of taking that one in a couple of hundred stamps out of a pile of R163s and assigning to it a ridiculous description and price.  Like I wrote years ago, this stamp has its high value because of the grade and certificate, not because of its inherent worth as a well centered stamp.  The cert is rare.  Not the stamp.  This is clearly a case of a dealer fishing for suckers.  Are you one?