Postage-Stamps
Connected with stamps, whether used as a currency or for the increase of revenue, there are many curious and interesting circumstances. The idea of producing a revenue by the sale of stamps and stamped paper in America was promulgated almost forty years before its final development in legislative enactment in 1765. Sir William Keith advised the policy as early as 1728. In 1739 the London merchants advised the ministry to adopt the measure, and public writers from time to time suggested various schemes predicated upon the same idea. In 1770, Douglas, in his work on “British America,” recommended the levying of a stamp duty upon all legal writings and instruments. Dr. Franklin regarded the plan favorably, and Governor Sharpe, of Maryland, was confident in 1754 that Parliament would speedily make a statute for raising money by means of stamp duties. Lieutenant-Governor Delancey spoke in favor of it in the New York Assembly in 1755, and the following year Governor Shirley, of Massachusetts, urged Parliament to adopt a stamp tax. The British press urged the measure in 1757, and it was confidently stated that at least three hundred thousand dollars annually might thus be drawn from the colonies without the tax being sensibly felt. The tax bill became a law in 1765 and was repealed in 1766. Had not ministers been deceived by the representations of the stupid and selfish governors in America, it probably would never have been enacted. Those men were frequently too indolent or indifferent to make themselves acquainted with the real temper of the people. Regarding the mass as equally servile as their flatterers, they readily commended that fatal measure which proved the spark that lighted the flame of the Revolution and severed forever the political connection between Great Britain and the thirteen American colonies. The stamp so carefully and so artistically prepared, bearing upon its imposing front the crown and its motto, “Honi soit qui mal y pense,” and intended to enhance the power and might of kingly rule, sealed the doom of monarchy in the colonies forever!
The use of stamps, however, apart from tax purposes, is not of modern invention, but for postal purposes they bear date quite recent. Stamps of one penny and twopence each were first introduced in England on the 6th of May, 1840.
When Victoria succeeded to the British crown—midsummer, 1837—there were eleven thousand parishes in England and Wales, and only three thousand post-offices. A fourth of the population were entirely destitute of postal accommodation. Four hundred of the registration districts, the average extent of which was nearly twenty square miles, were without a post-office. In 1839 the number of chargeable letters was in the proportion of four a year to each person of the population of England and Wales, three in Scotland, and one in Ireland. In 1864 the proportion of letters is twenty-four a year to each of the population of England and Wales, nineteen in Scotland, and nine to Ireland. The increase from 76,000,000 letters in 1849 to 600,000,000 in 1864 is really an increase of nearly seven hundred per cent. A stamped envelope was used at first (consisting of a very absurd allegorical group, said to have been improved by Mulready, the eminent painter, from a drawing by Queen Victoria herself!); but this was superseded, in a few months, by a stamp called ‘penny blac’ compulsory prepayment, which was begun in England, has become the rule in the many countries which have adopted Hill’s postal reform. This reform, which went into operation in England on January 10, 1840, was not adopted in the United States until July 1, 1845.
Perhaps no country in the world has ever yet produced such a number of stamps as the United States of America. Foreign nations limit their postal stamps; we issue them in quantity and variety to meet the demands of the public without stint or hindrance. The denominations of postal stamps in the United States are 1 cent, 2 cent, 3 cent, 5 cent, 10 cent, 12 cent, 24 cent, 30 cent, and 90 cent.
| The amount of stamps and stamp-envelopes issued during the year 1860, ending June 30, was | $6,870,316 19 |
| Total amount for 1861 | 6,690,233 70 |
| ″ ″ ″ 1862 | 7,078,188 00 |
| ″ ″ ″ 1863 | 9,683,384 00 |
| ″ ″ ″ 1864 | 10,974,329 50 |
The postage-stamp system has been adopted in all parts of the world, by over ninety different kingdoms, states, provinces, colonies, islands, and free cities,—in fifty different parts of Europe, in over a dozen parts of Asia, including China, in some twenty parts of the New World, in every province of British North America, in seven parts of Africa, and even in St. Helena on one side and the Sandwich Islands on the other. There are postage-stamps used in Ceylon; but the Japanese have not as yet arrived at that period in perfection which would lead them towards its attainment.
The stamps of the secessionists command a high price in foreign markets,—probably as much for their having the head of “Jeff Davis” on them than for any artistic skill or beauty attached to them. When the rebellion broke out, of course a line was drawn between the two sections of our country, leaving the South in possession of slavery and its fruits, and the North, with its vast amount of wealth, intellect, and artistic power, to contend against the world. Of course the South, heretofore dependent on the North for every thing genius, art, and skill produced, found they could not have a stamp cut that would even do credit to their bogus government. The first ones produced presented a most counterfeit-like appearance of something once belonging to art: even Jeff Davis became ashamed of them, and he applied to his good friend and secret ally, Napoleon of France, for assistance. Something better was produced by a French artist; and thus the stamps came over with a variety of other things to strengthen the Southern Confederacy and assist her in maintaining something of the appearance of a people who could claim some consideration among other advanced nations of the world.
Connected with the issue of postal stamps is that strange mania which seizes upon a certain class to collect and treasure up every thing that is termed unique or new in art or science. These stamps in time will become relics, and possess an interest for the antiquarian equal to that of old coins.
To such an extent is this passion carried, that in Europe cabinets are formed and albums invented wherein these stamps are fancifully arranged. In many instances men make such collections a matter of business, and these receptacles for stamps bring very high prices,—in fact, like old coins, many of them command fabulous prices. The collection of these miniature paper currency circulating mediums is decidedly a British institution. Periodicals devoted to the interest of dealers are established in various parts of the kingdom, and agents employed, not only to furnish information upon the subject of new issues, but to procure various stamps for orders. The demand in England for American stamps is great, and they command—more particularly those of the Southern Confederacy—very high prices.
We have no objection to this, although a strange fancy on the part of those who are seized with the mania, because it opens a new trade for the enterprising speculator on the infirmity of human nature. A house in New York advertises for “correspondents all over the world,” for furnishing and supplying it with stamp news. Another in Montreal advertises “stamps cheaper than ever:” these consist of foreign, British colonial, and European stamps of all kinds. The number of North American is enumerated at fifty varieties.
Connected, however, with the various stamps now in use in this country is the necessity of teaching to our youth their use and application to banks, custom-houses, railroads, post-offices, pawnbrokers, and, in fact, as stamp tax to every trade, business, and department of government.
In several of our commercial colleges an actual stamp department is invented, and mock-banks, custom-houses, steamboat-offices, post-offices, &c., are fitted up for the purpose of familiarizing youth with their use in the various mercantile and governmental departments of the country. This is what we term the best and most useful knowledge that the stamps can impart to those who are so anxious to treasure them up in albums and cabinets.55
We annex the following article from Appleton’s “United States Postal Guide”[1864]:—
“By the Sonora, a few days since, says a Californian correspondent, some two hundred of Uncle Sam’s orphans arrived, and were distributed around. Some were sent to Fort Alcastra, some to the barracks at the Presidio, and the remainder were quartered at Benicia barracks, preparatory to being assigned to the different companies of the regiments in this department. They will soon be scattered from Oregon to that most delightful post, Fort Yuma, in Arizona,—a place where they have to put rocks on the roofs to keep the ends of the boards from curling over like little dogs’ tails. It is a wretched place to live at, and to be ordered there is enough to make any officer resign, unless a Catholic, who acknowledges the justice of being sent to purgatory. They have a little fun even in that awful place sometimes, and an officer was telling me the other day of how he lost his postage-stamps. He had sent up here for some twenty dollars’ worth, and had left them on his table. Now, the habits, manners, and customs thereabouts are considerably on the free-and-easy style, and the Indians are allowed to roam around the garrison ad libitum, if they behave themselves and do not steal. On this occasion a young squaw, who had the run of the quarters, and was very much at home anywhere and everywhere, happened to stray into my friend’s room, and, seeing the postage-stamps, began to examine them with great curiosity. She discovered they would stick if wet, and forthwith a happy idea struck her. Now, the fashionable dress of the ladies of her class in that warm climate is of the briefest description. She was ambitious to dress up and excite the envy of the other Pocahontases. So she went in on the postal currency, and, much to the astonishment of the garrison, made her appearance presently on the parade-ground entirely covered over with postage-stamps. She was stuck all over with Benjamin Franklin, and the Father of his Country was plastered all over her ladyship’s glossy skin indiscriminately, regardless of dignity and decency. The ‘roar’ that greeted her, from the commanding officer down to the drummer-boys, was loud enough to be heard nearly at head-quarters in San Francisco; but, Indian-like, she preserved her equanimity, and did not seem at all disconcerted, but sailed off with the air and step of a genuine princess, while my friend rushed into his quarters to discover himself minus his twenty dollars’ worth of postage-stamps, and that what was intended for the mail had been appropriated to the female. She might have been put in the overland coach and gone through: she certainly could not have been stopped for want of being prepaid.”