History of the Postage Stamps of the United States of America Part 23

30 " "

50 " "

The number of these stamps issued from May, 1879, to June 30th, 1885, was:

1 cent, 25,328,525 2 cents, 30,534,425 3 " 31,146,230 5 " 5,029,435 10 " 6,105,175 30 " 169,078 50 " 93,490

OBSERVATIONS.

There are two quite distinct shades of the red-brown in which these stamps are printed, the earlier issues being of a brown that shows hardly a trace of red, while those printed under the 1885 contract are of the shade of the current two cent postage stamp.

XXV.

SPECIAL DELIVERY STAMP.

The history of the introduction and usage of these stamps is contained in the following extracts from two circulars, both dated at Post Office Department, Office of the Postmaster General, Washington, D. C., August 11th, 1885, and signed by William F. Vilas, Postmaster General. The first directed to postmasters reads as follows:

"SIR:--On the first of October, 1885, you are directed to establish at your office, a system for special delivery of letters, in accordance with sections 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the Act making appropriation for the postal service for the current fiscal year (XLVIII Congress, Session II, Chapter 342, approved March 3d, 1885,) which are as follows:

SECTION 3. That a special stamp of the face valuation of 10 cents may be provided and issued, whenever deemed advisable or expedient, in such form and bearing such device as may meet the approval of the Postmaster General, which when attached to a letter, in addition to the lawful postage thereon, the delivery of which is to be at a free delivery office, or at any city, town or village containing a population of 4,000 or over, according to the Federal census, shall be regarded as ent.i.tling such letter to immediate delivery within the carrier limit of any free delivery office which may be designated by the Postmaster General as a special delivery office, or within one mile of the post office at any other office coming within, the provisions of this section which may in like manner be designated as a special delivery office."

SECTION 4 provides for immediate delivery between the hours of 7 A. M. and midnight.

SECTION 5 provides for the employment of special messengers and,

SECTION 6 the mode of paying them. The rest of this circular gives the details of the service which it is not necessary to repeat here."

The second circular after reciting the provisions of Section 3, of the Act of March 3d, 1885, and that it has been decided to introduce the system on the first day of October, at all the post offices permitted by the law; contains a description of the stamp prepared to carry out the law, which with some additions is as follows:

SPECIAL DELIVERY STAMP.

ISSUE OF OCTOBER 1ST, 1885.

A line engraving on steel, oblong in form; dimensions 13/16 by 1-7/16 inches, color dark blue. Design: on the left in an arched panel, 10 by 15 mm., a mail messenger boy on a run, faced to the right on a hatched back-ground, and surrounded above by the words "_United States_," in curved line of colorless capitals. On the right an oblong tablet, ornamented with a wreath of oak on the left, and laurel on the right, surrounding the words, "_Secures--Immediate--Delivery--At a special--Delivery--Office_," in six lines of white capitals on a solid ground. The ground of the tablet above is composed of light vertical lines with colorless border. Across the top of the tablet, but above it, is the legend, "_Special--Postal delivery_," and at the bottom the words, "_Ten Cents_," separated by a shield bearing the numeral "10."

The entire ground of the stamp is composed of fine vertical lines except the edges, which are so contrived as to appear bevelled.

Plate impression, 21 by 27 mm., in color, on white paper, perforated 12.

10 cents, dark blue.

"They are to be sold by Postmasters to any required amount, and to any person who may apply for them, but they can be used only for the purpose of securing the immediate delivery of letters."

About a year ago, after the system was inaugurated at carrier offices there was a further change in the law, and the system was further extended as is shown by the following extracts from three circulars, all dated August 10th, 1886, from the office of the Postmaster General, Washington, D. C., signed by William F. Vilas, Postmaster General. The first is addressed to Postmasters at carrier offices, the second to all other postmasters, and the third to the public. The following from the first circular:

"By the Act of August 4th, 1886, Congress has authorized the extention of the special delivery system to all post offices and to all mailable matter. The Act is as follows, namely:

'That every article of mailable matter upon which the special stamp, provided for by Section 3 of the act ent.i.tled: an Act, etc., shall be duly affixed, shall be ent.i.tled to immediate delivery according to said act, within the carrier limit of any free delivery office, and within one mile of any other post office which the Postmaster General shall at any time designate as a special delivery office.'"

From the second circular only this is of interest:

"No change will be made in the general style of the special delivery stamp now in use. The following is its description: (same as in the original circular). The words 'Secures immediate delivery at a special delivery office,' will however, be changed to read: 'Secures immediate delivery at any post office.' But as stamps with the former words are now in the hands of the postmasters and the public, their use will continue until the present supply shall be exhausted."

From the third circular only this is to be noticed:

"The attention of the public is invited to the fact that under a recent Act of Congress the special delivery system heretofore in effect in cities and towns having a population of 4,000 and upwards, has been extended to all post offices in the United States, to take effect on and after October 1st, 1886. The privileges of this system have also been extended to all cla.s.ses of mail matter."

The remainder of these circulars are devoted to directions to postmasters at the two cla.s.ses of offices, and to the public.

These stamps are printed in sheets of 100, and distributed in half sheets of 50, the center of the sheets being marked as usual by an arrow head. There are consequently 10 stamps in a row, and 10 rows in the whole sheet. The makers imprint appears four times on the sheet, above and below the center row of each half sheet, and the plate number is also four times repeated on the sheet.

3,699,560 special delivery stamps were issued up to June 30th, 1886.

XXVI.

NEWSPAPER AND PERIODICAL STAMPS.

ISSUE OF 1865.

The newspaper stamps issued by the United States Post Office Department do not correspond in their usage very nearly to the stamps denominated newspaper stamps in other countries. The series under review had a very limited and peculiar use. While the dissemination of learning and information had always been fostered in every way by the Acts of Congress, and the distribution of newspapers and periodicals had always been undertaken by the post office at rates that did not pay for the expense of the service, in the intention of encouraging these publications, the Department always found a great rival in the express companies, which, having conformed their rules to the exigencies of business, were enabled to deliver newspapers and periodicals from the trains to the agents and dealers always hours, sometimes days before those sent by the mails reached their destination, as these were sent to the post office and there a.s.sorted, some to be delivered locally and others to be made up again into the new mail for further transportation, while those sent by the express companies being transferred at the depot, often finished their journey before the mails could be made up and started.

This service a.s.sisted the express companies in those violations of the postal laws which each year the Postmaster General called to the attention of Congress, and Congress endeavored to reach by new laws. The government got the expensive service, the express companies the paying business partly because of their more liberal rates, but particularly because of their more expeditious service.

The attempt was therefore made to so frame the law that the post office might successfully compete for the carriage of newspapers. The Act of the x.x.xVII Congress, III Session, Chapter 71, Section 38, approved the 3rd of March, 1863, reads:

"And be it further enacted that the Postmaster General may, from time to time, provide by order the rates and terms upon which route agents may receive and deliver, at the mail car or steamer, packages of newspapers and periodicals, delivered to them for that purpose by the publishers or any news agent in charge thereof, and not received from or designed for delivery at any post office."

Under this act for some time payment was made in money, but the report of the Postmaster General dated November 15th, 1865, states:

"New stamps have been adopted of the denominations of 5, 10, and 25 cents for prepaying postage on packages of newspapers forwarded by publishers or news dealers under the authority of law, whereby a revenue will be secured, hitherto lost to the Department."

In the report of the Postmaster General for 1878, the date of this issue is stated to have been April 1st, 1865. In the accounts of the number of stamps issued in each quarter it appears, however, that the first issue was in the quarter between June 30th and September 30th, 1865.

The stamps were of very large dimensions, and the figures conspicuous. A package adorned with the requisite number was mailed on the train and it could easily be seen that it was duly stamped. The stamps were ordinarily if not always, cancelled by smearing them with ink, with a brush, and not with hand stamps, and the packages were thrown out of the cars to the agents waiting at each station to receive them, and were often torn open by the agent at the depot and distributed to his customers there. Thus the delay that sending them to the post office for distribution would have caused, was avoided.

ISSUE OF APRIL 1ST, 1865.

FIVE CENTS. Large bust of Washington in profile, faced to the right, indicated by colorless curved lines, on a round medallion of straight horizontal lines, 28 mm. in diameter, surrounded by a circular band of curved interlaced colorless lines, all on a colored ground, a smaller circular disk, 11 mm. in diameter, interrupting this band on each side displays a large "V," in color on a horizontally lined ground. Above on a solid ground of color, but ornamented by interlaced colorless lines in colorless letters, "_U. S._" and "_Postage_," in a second curved line; below the head on a solid curved label covering a portion of the circular band in large colorless capitals, "_Five Cents_"; below this again, the ground is ornamented by several colorless lines upon which appear in colored capitals, "_Newspapers_," a colored label with "_and_"; in colorless capitals "_Periodicals_"; below this again, in two lines of colorless capitals on the colored ground, "_Sec. 18, Act of Congress approved--March 3d, 1863_." In each upper corner is a large colorless numeral "5." About all is a frame of 3 colorless lines, ornamented at the corners. The words "_National Bank Note Company, New York_," in small colorless capitals appear between the lower colorless lines. The colored ground extends between the stamps which were perforated.

Plate impression, 55 by 98 mm., in color, on white paper, perforated 12.