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- Herausgeber: Science & Technology Publishing
- Kategorie: Lebensstil
- Sprache: Englisch
Peeps at Postage Stamps is a charming and informative book that offers readers an engaging introduction to the fascinating world of philately—the collection and study of postage stamps. Written by Stanley Currie Johnson, this volume is part of the popular Peeps at series, designed to provide accessible and enjoyable insights into various subjects for young readers and beginners. The book traces the history and development of postage stamps from their inception in the early nineteenth century, beginning with the famous Penny Black, the world’s first adhesive postage stamp issued in Great Britain in 1840. Johnson’s narrative is both educational and entertaining, guiding readers through the evolution of stamp design, printing methods, and the significance of stamps as miniature works of art and historical documents. The book explores the stories behind some of the world’s most famous and rare stamps, highlighting their cultural and historical importance. It also delves into the practical aspects of stamp collecting, offering advice on how to start a collection, how to care for and organize stamps, and the thrill of discovering new and unusual specimens. Illustrated with numerous black-and-white images, Peeps at Postage Stamps brings to life the colorful and diverse world of stamps from across the globe, showcasing examples from Europe, America, Asia, and beyond. The book also touches on the role of stamps in commemorating important events, people, and places, making it a window into world history and geography. Written in a lively and accessible style, Peeps at Postage Stamps is perfect for young readers, budding collectors, and anyone curious about the stories hidden behind these small but significant pieces of paper. It remains a delightful and nostalgic introduction to a hobby that has captivated generations.
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PEEPS AT
POSTAGE STAMPS
BY
STANLEY C. JOHNSON
M.A., D.Sc., F.R.E.S.
WITH SIXTEEN FULL-PAGE PLATES CONTAINING 163 SPECIMEN STAMPS IN BLACK AND WHITE
A. & C. BLACK, LTD.
4, 5 & 6 SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W.
1915
OTHER VOLUMES IN THE PEEPS SERIES
PEEPS AT MANY LANDS AND CITIES 57 Vols. PEEPS AT NATURE 12 Vols. PEEPS AT HISTORY 9 Vols. PEEPS AT GREAT RAILWAYS 5 Vols. PEEPS AT MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS 14 Vols. Heraldry; The Heavens; British Army; Royal Navy, etc.Published by A. & C. Black, Ltd. 4, 5 & 6 Soho Square, London, W. AGENTS AMERICA THE MACMILLAN COMPANY64 & 66 Fifth Avenue, NEW YORK AUSTRALASIA OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS205 Flinders Lane, MELBOURNE CANADA THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF CANADA, LTD.St. Martin's House, 70 Bond Street, TORONTO INDIA MACMILLAN & COMPANY, LTD.Macmillan Building, BOMBAY309 Bow Bazaar Street, CALCUTTA
CONTENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
[Note.—The other volumes in the "Peeps" Series, with few exceptions, contain coloured illustrations; but, in order to conform with the regulations of the Inland Revenue authorities, the pictures in the present volume are necessarily printed in black.]
POSTAGE STAMPS
INTRODUCTION
Every boy and girl—and, we might add, man and woman—should collect stamps. Our reasons for making this statement are many.
First, stamp-collecting is a highly fascinating pursuit, which helps to while away countless pleasant hours. On this score alone it is worth following.
Secondly, it encourages methodical habits. We examine our stamps carefully, we discriminate between the good and the bad specimens, we keep a watch for minor varieties, we marshal our treasures in correct order, and so on.
Thirdly, a vast amount of geography is learnt by collecting. The stamps bring all sorts of out-of-the-way countries to our notice, whilst the postmarks make us conversant with various towns.
Fourthly, we get to know of hundreds of interesting facts concerning the currency and language used in every corner of the globe. The inscriptions on the specimens teach us these matters.
Fifthly, stamp-collecting assists us to gain a real knowledge of history. Ask any collector when Columbus discovered America? Who was Prince Henry the Navigator? Over what country did King Amadeus reign? What form of government is possessed by Paraguay? His answers will be far more intelligent than those given by a non-collector.
But the foregoing are not the only matters which our stamps teach us. What is the difference between an engraving and a lithograph, between cream-laid paper and wove paper, between magenta and cerise? These and a thousand other questions the stamp collector can answer correctly and without hesitation.
Surely a pastime which can help us to gain so much valuable knowledge is worth the attention of every boy and girl, as well as man and woman.
CHAPTER I
PHILATELIC TERMS EXPLAINED
Adhesive.—A stamp which is kept in position by moistening the gummed under-surface. Most stamps are adhesives. Postcards, envelopes, and wrappers which have the stamp printed on them, are not adhesives.
Block.—A number of stamps not torn apart. A strip of stamps and a number of stamps forming an odd shape are, however, not considered as blocks.
Chalk-Surface.—A surface given to stamps by means of a preparation of chalk, in order that obliterations may not be cleaned out.
Commemorative Stamps.—Stamps issued to remind people of bygone events.
Control Letters.—Letters on the margin paper of sheets of stamps, for official purposes of control.
Entire.—A postcard, wrapper, or envelope complete as it has passed or would pass through the post—i.e., not the stamp cut from it.
Error.—A stamp which contains some faulty workmanship, of whatever kind.
Facsimile.—See Forgery.
Forgery.—An unofficial stamp, one made in order to cheat. In cases where a real stamp is given an unauthorized overprint (which see), the stamp constitutes a forgery.
Hinges.—The papers gummed on one surface used for fixing stamps to the album.
Imperforate.—Stamps that are not provided with perforated margins to facilitate separation.
Label.—Another name for a stamp.
Local Stamps.—Stamps which are available for use in some town or special area. There are none in England at the present time. Russia and Morocco are probably the only areas where they still exist, though Switzerland, Turkey, Germany, China, and the United States recognized them until within recent years.
Mint.—A term applied to an unused stamp in perfect condition, including the gum on the back.
Mounts.—See Hinges.
Obliteration.—Marks placed on a stamp by the authorities to denote that it has gone through the post.
Obsolete.—A stamp that is no longer issued by the postal authorities.
Official Stamps.—Those printed for use in Government offices—i.e., the obsolete Inland Revenue officials of Great Britain.
Overprint.—An inscription printed on the face of a stamp to alter in some way its original use.
Perforated.—A frame of small holes around a stamp made in order to facilitate separation from its neighbour.
Perforation, Compound.—Exists when the holes are not of the same size and distance apart around the four sides of a stamp.
Perforation Gauge.—An instrument for measuring the perforations of a stamp. Usual cost about 6d.
Philatelist.—Not merely a stamp collector, but one who "loves" (φιλος=a lover) his stamps.
Plate Numbers.—Usually spoken of in connection with the line-engraved stamps of Great Britain. They serve to indicate the plate from which any particular stamp was printed.
Provisionals.—Stamps which are intended for temporary use whilst a permanent issue is being prepared.
Remainders.—Genuine stamps left over after the particular issue has become obsolete. There is no objection to remainders as there is to reprints.
Reprints.—Stamps printed from dies after they have become obsolete. Many countries sell their obsolete dies, with the result that more or less inaccurate reprints are made from them. Reprints, for philatelic purposes, should be classed with forgeries.
Rouletted.—The presence of a frame of small slits around a stamp in order to facilitate separation from its neighbour.
Speculative Stamps.—Postage stamps issued by an unscrupulous Government for philatelic, rather than postal, purposes.
Strip of Stamps.—A row of stamps joined together (compare Block).
Surcharge.—An overprint placed on a stamp to alter its face value.
Variety.—A term to describe a stamp that differs from another in some slight way.
Watermark.—A thinning of the paper on which a stamp is printed so as to create a distinctive design.
CHAPTER II
HOW TO FORM A STAMP COLLECTION
Most philatelists drift into stamp-collecting—that is to say, the start is made unconsciously, and without any definite planning. Probably the first specimens are obtained through the generosity of a friend who possesses a few duplicates, or may be the letters coming regularly from a relative living in some remote part of the world supply the earliest treasures. But however the beginning is made, progress will be slow unless friends are very generous or a little money is spent on buying sufficient specimens to make a fair start. In the ordinary course, the collector will be wise if he spends a few shillings on buying a packet of the commoner stamps which form the basis of all collections.
The packet should cost as much as the beginner can reasonably afford, and be composed of different stamps—that is to say, without containing any duplicates. If four or five shillings are to be invested, as many as four hundred varieties may be expected, whilst a thousand varieties will usually cost about half a guinea.
Armed with such a nucleus as this, the fascinations of the pastime begin to make themselves evident. Duplicates will quickly accumulate, and serve to form the basis of exchanges amongst friends. Approval sheets will invariably come to hand from dealers, and permit of additional specimens being secured at a very cheap rate; whilst attractive bargains will be obtained, from time to time, through the medium of advertisements in newspapers and magazines.
But the reader may argue that stamp-collecting is a costly pastime if every specimen must be bought. In practice it is anything but an expensive hobby. If the writer were to sell his collection, he would obtain about three or four times the amount he spent on forming it. The reason for this lies in the fact that stamps seldom lose their value, but frequently rise in price.
When a hundred or more varieties have accumulated, an album should be procured. These may be obtained at all prices and in a bewildering variety of patterns. Too often the young philatelist provides himself with a voluminous album in which his tiny but growing collection appears as a drop of water in the ocean. It is far better to buy a small, cheap album which may serve as a temporary home until the treasures have grown sufficiently numerous to warrant a more expensive one.
Many collectors prefer to house their stamps in a scrap-book containing a number of fairly stout, smooth, blank leaves. In such a book as this we are free to arrange the stamps just as fancy dictates; we can place them close together or far apart, and we can reserve as many or as few pages as seems desirable for each individual country. The writer's collection is contained in two books of this description. Great Britain fills the first fifteen pages, and the Colonies follow in alphabetical order in the first volume. In the second volume the foreign countries are set out in the order in which their Governments first issued stamps—i.e., Brazil comes first, then the United States, then France, Belgium, Bavaria, Spain, etc. This is, of course, a somewhat unusual plan to follow, but it certainly has advantages.
Whilst speaking of albums, it will be well to point out that stamps should never be fixed to more than one side of a page. If both faces are used, the stamps will rub against each other and also catch one with another.
Before the specimens are placed in the album, each should be carefully examined, and cleaned, if necessary. When paper is adhering to the backs, it should be removed. This unsticking process is easily performed when the specimen is immersed in a bowl of hot water, but, unfortunately, many stamps will be utterly ruined if even a trace of moisture is allowed to come in contact with their colours. No rule can be given as to which stamps spoil and which do not when treated with a hot bath, but it is safe to say that valuable specimens suffer considerably, whilst common varieties emerge from the ordeal unscathed. Perhaps this is just a matter of natural contrariness.
To be on the safe side, however, no stamp should be plunged into hot water. Cheap varieties may well be floated on the surface of warm water, but the rarer kinds must not be subjected to even this treatment; they should be placed face upwards on a sheet of wet blotting-paper, and left until the adhering paper can be peeled off without an effort. After the under-surface of a stamp has been cleaned, it should be pressed between two sheets of dry blotting-paper and carefully dried. If it seems liable to cockle or is creased in any way, it is a good plan to flatten it out by means of a warm, though not hot, iron, the stamp being protected by three or four thicknesses of white blotting-paper.
Fixing the stamps to the album is the next operation. On no account should the under-surface be gummed all over and the whole stamp stuck down to the page of the hook. The collection will need constant rearranging, certain specimens will have to make way for more perfect copies, and so on; this will be quite impossible unless hinges are used. These contrivances are thin but tough pieces of paper, approximately one by three-quarters of an inch in size, and gummed on one surface. They cost about sixpence per thousand.
When a stamp is to be fixed to the album, a gummed strip is taken and folded so that the adhesive side is turned outwards; one flap is then moistened and stuck to the stamp and the other is moistened and stuck to the page. The specimen is thus hinged to the album in such a way that its underside can be inspected easily—a necessary matter when the watermark or the quality of the paper requires examination. The hinge should be fastened as high up on the back of the stamp as possible, but not so high that it touches the perforated edge.
One little point needs mention. On no account should cheap hinges be used or hinges made at home and fixed with ordinary gum. Unless the adhesive is entirely free from acid—and ordinary or cheap gum is not—the stamps will become discoloured and entirely ruined. The writer laments to this day a fine set of old Queenslands which he fixed, many years ago, by means of some cheap and nasty hinges. The stamps grow more and more discoloured as time wears on, but the exasperating thing is that good copies of these Australian treasures are now worth almost as many pounds as they were pence in the days when the offending gum was applied to their under-surface.
Some method must be adopted for the arrangement of the stamps in the album. Beginners are apt to fix the specimens in no particular order, merely one after the other as they come into their possession; but this is clearly a wrong plan to follow. Either of the following methods is worth adopting:
1. Sort out the stamps of each country according to the prices printed on them, and then stick all the specimens of one value together, but in order of age.
2. Sort out the stamps of each country according to their issues; then arrange each set in the album, in ascending order of the values.
