values, 5, 10, 15, and 20 c., on that day were, by this device, issued in the appointed colours blue, green, yellow, and rose. Eight days is said to have been the period of circulation of this issue, the individuals comprising it will therefore, doubtless, be always rare.

CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.-A correspondent at Port Elizabeth informs us that the fourpenny blue of the present issue is 'extinct.' We have, however, received no confirmation of this statement from any other quarter,

and are inclined to think he has been misinformed.

6

LONDON.-The Edinburgh and Leith Circular Delivery Company having, we presume, been found a successful speculation, its promoters have extended the field of their operations to London, their aim being to economise the labour and expense, besides securing the regular delivery of open circulars, pamphlets, &c., now so frequent and effective a medium of "door-to-door" advertising.' The prospectus of the London Circular and Pamphlet Delivery Company states that the Company will have an efficient staff of deliverers, supervised by inspectors.' In addition, and for the purpose we suppose of still further economising labour, the Company has issued two stamps, value respectively a farthing and a halfpenny. The colour of the former is blue, of the latter mauve, and the design is the same in each-namely, a shield bearing the arms of the city of London, with scroll above and below, the upper inscribed LONDON, the lower CIRCULAR DELIVERY CO., and the value in an oblong label beneath, the whole on a lined and ornamented ground in a rectangular frame. They are printed on white paper, and perforated. As we understand that one of these stamps will be presented with the present number, our readers will have an opportunity from ocular inspection of judging what these stamps are like. For the information of our juvenile subscribers, we may add that the dagger in the left-hand upper corner of the shield commemorates the loyalty of Walworth, Lord Mayor of London, in Richard II.'s time, in striking down Wat Tyler when he threatened the king.

MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN.-A stamp, identical in design with the 3 and 5 schg., value 2 schg., and colour lilac, has just been issued for this duchy. It is said that it will supersede in a great measure the well-known 4-4ths. An envelope of the new value, similar in design to those previously issued, has also been emitted, and of the same shade as its adhesive companion.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA. The obsolete ninepenny of this colony has just been provisionally re-issued, printed orange-red of a shade nearly approaching that of the current St. Lucia shilling, and with the original value cancelled by the word TENPENCE printed in roman capitals in deep-blue ink. The type employed for the impression of the new value is worn and battered, and the curve in which the letters are placed following the oval border is uneven, giving the inscription at little distance the appearance of having been printed with a pen. The specimen before us is postmarked July 28, '66, and printed on white paper without perforation or watermark.

a

CANADIAN ENVELOPES ON BUFF PAPER.

WE have received two interesting letters bearing on the question of the genuineness of the above envelopes. The first is from the Deputy Postmaster-General of Canada, and was forwarded to us by Mr. J. M. Chute, of Boston, U. S.; the second is addressed to us by another American correspondent, L. H. B.,' of West Springfield, Massachusetts. They are as follows:

Post-Office Department, Ottawa, 4th April, 1866. Sir,-In reply to your note of the 29th ult., I beg to say that no alteration in the issue of Canadian postage stamps is at present under consideration. Canadian postage envelopes have never been manufactured on buff paper.

I am, Sir, yours respectfully,

W. H. GRIFFIN, Deputy Postmaster-General.

James M. Chute, Esq., 24, Blacktown Street, Boston, Mass.

West Springfield, Mass., U. S..
August 23, 1866.

To the Editor of 'THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.' DEAR SIR,-In reply to an inquiry from myself I lately received a letter from Mr. George F. Nesbitt, of the firm of Nesbitt & Co., envelope manufacturers,

Pearl Street, New York, in which he states-'I have made every envelope ever issued by the United States government. I made the Canada stamped envelopes through another house; they are made of white paper only. The cost of manufacture has varied from one dollar per thousand to four times that sum.'

This assertion of an authority upon the matter would seem to settle the question of the genuineness of the buff Canada envelopes.

The three-cent envelope stamp of 1861 on blue paper, which Mount Brown classes as a 'variety,' had as distinct an individuality as either the white or buff. It was known as the stamped letter-sheet,' being folded so as to form its own wrapper, as it were, and hence to retain the stamp and postmark in connection with the written letter. But few were issued, and it soon went out of use, which accounts for its present rarity. I neglected to state in a former communication that the head of Washington upon the three-cent adhesive is from the original 'Houdon' portrait.

I enclose a letter which fully explains the fact that the two New York Bank-Note Companies' are entirely distinct corporations.* I remain, Sir, yours respectfully,

. L. H. B. From the above two letters no doubt can any longer remain that the Canadian envelopes have never existed on buff paper. The maker asserts they are made of white paper only;' and the colonial Deputy Postmaster-General states that envelopes on buff paper 'have never been manufactured.' We should ourselves draw the same conclusion from the fact that no postmarked copy of the buff envelope has ever been noticed. But notwithstanding the decisive authority of the communications we quote, we still remain of opinion that the impressions of these envelopes on buff paper are genuine impressions from the original dies, and see no reason to alter the statements in our article on Canadian envelopes, vol. iii. It is to be remarked that our conclusion is by no means at variance with what we must now consider the accepted facts; and the whole solution of the apparent difficulty rests in the explanation that the impressions on buff paper are trial impressions or proofs of the dies.

Messrs. Nesbitt & Co. have produced several such, e. g., a yellow proof of the three-cent envelope, small oval of 1860, proofs in lilac and burnt sienna of the two-cent envelope, head of Jackson, of 1863. We possess a copy of the Cana

* For the letter referred to, see correspondence.

dian envelope on buff paper, entire, struck on the paper, watermarked P. O. D. U. S. (the same as used for all the United States envelopes). This is conclusive as to the genuine nature of the specimen. And we have also an impression of the five cents, struck on a sheet of blue laid paper, folding with a flap, so as to combine paper and envelope all in one. Both of these are marked SAMPLE, and are evidently essays or trials.

The information our correspondent, ‘L. H. B.,' gives as to the three-cent envelope of the United States, on blue laid paper, will be new to many of our readers. To those who collect envelopes in their entire state the fact has long been known, and many careful observers have also arrived at the same conclusion from the lines of the watermark in the paper being horizontal, while all envelopes on laid paper are cut on the cross, as the ladies say-a phrase which exactly expresses our meaning.

We

This strikes us as a great and hithertounanswered argument in favour of collecting envelopes whole. With continental amateurs this is the invariable rule. hope before long to present our readers with some ideas of our own on collecting, and also on mounting and arranging a collection.

REVIEWS OF POSTAL PUBLICATIONS. The Stamp Courier and Curiosity Advertiser. Dewsbury: Abbs & Fryer.

We

ON the principle perhaps that courtesy as well as charity begins at home, the editors of the Stamp Courier, in their opening article, 'beg to congratulate themselves upon having supplied a long-felt want by the advertising philatelic and curiosity community in general.' gain no further information concerning the mysterious 'curiosity community,' but the long-felt want,' we are told, is 'a circular issued in the middle of the month, which would not only cause the stamp and curiosity market to revive (for it is a well-known fact that it does decrease towards the middle and end of the month),

but one which would have for its sole aim the extending of stamp and curiosity collecting.' We presume from the congratulations which the publishers beg to offer to themselves that the Stamp Courier has already accomplished the object for which it was started, and in that case it is surprising how little literary effort was necessary for its attainment. A leader, setting forth the advantages which the new publication offers to advertisers, a half column of description of newlyissued stamps, and another of chit-chat, with a page of prose and poetical selections not bearing at all on stamps, constitute (with the exception of the advertisements) the entire attractions of the paper, which is, or is to be, the reviver of trade and the extender of the fashion of collecting. We wish well to this latest aspirant to public favour, but, though it may command success, it will not deserve it, unless the pretensions with which it is started, are better supported in future numbers than in the one before us. The Round Table. New York.

WE have before us a copy of this excellent journal, containing an opening article on 'philately' from the pen of one of the best-informed American collectors. The rise of the trade and the prevalence of forgeries and essays are the principal topics treated on in this introductory paper. The account given of the progress of stamp collecting will doubtless interest the readers of the American 'Ishmael,' though by no means new to philatelists themselves, and will pave the way for further details concerning our 'coloured favourites.'

POSTAL CHIT-CHAT.

MEMOIRS OF A STAMP MERCHANT.-Mons. Maury, the editor and proprietor of Le Collectionneur des Timbres-Poste, of Paris, has commenced the publication of his autobiography in this journal, under the title, Mémoires d'un marchand des timbres-poste.

FRENCH LETTER-CARRIERS.-It has been stated in the French Legislative Assembly that the rural lettercarriers walk daily, on an average, sixteen miles, and sometimes as much as twenty or twenty-five, and yet receive, some as little as £12 a year. Some of the country postmistresses receive only £20 to £25 per annum, out of which they have to pay rent.

A PHOTOGRAPH of an entire sheet of New Caledonian stamps is now being sold by Parisian dealers

It is an excellent copy, and collectors who are unable to procure the valuable originals (or rather the original reprints), to fill the space allotted for them in Lallier's album, will do well to occupy it with the photograph. On the other hand, we must warn our readers against being deceived into purchasing the photograph as the genuine article. The gloss on the paper will enable even a tyro to detect the imitation.

on

THE MINUTIE OF STAMPS.-When you know where to find them, nothing is easier to observe than the words ONE FLORIN on the two-shilling stamps of Victoria, but without some previous knowledge of their whereabouts our readers would find the search a trying matter. And it would be hardly less difficult for them to discover the minute word SIXPENCE the sixpenny stamps of the same device as the twoshilling. To save them however a troublesome scrutiny, we beg them to direct their glance to the scrolls on each side below the word VICTORIA on both the stamps. In each they will find the hidden words. MAIL FACILITIES in the Sandwich Islands are still of a somewhat primitive order. Every Wednesday afternoon, it is said, a travel-worn postman enters the village of Kawaihae with his rubber-covered bag strapped securely to his back. This he has brought from Hilo, since Monday morning, and as the shades of evening cool the rocky hill-sides, he starts on his return, reaching the bay on Saturday night, an arrival which, in steamer times, is no less welcome than regular. This journey which, measured on the many curved roads up and down the sides of ravines and including a detour into Waipio, must be not less than 160 miles in length, is performed in alternate weeks by two men who show great power of endurance. Sometimes, though rarely, a horse is brought into requisition.-Stamp-Collector's Monthly Gazette.

THE BOOK POST was at first unquestionably a very bold adventure. The newspaper post, which long preceded it, is the result of rather a complicated struggle connected with what have been called taxes on knowledge.' In reference to it, we shall simply say that there are now about 70,000,000 newspapers sent annually through the post; but as concerns the book post, the postmastergeneral says:-'The book post has entailed a very large increase of expense on the post office; and it has made the primary duty of the department-the duty of distributing letters-more difficult of performance than it might otherwise have been. By the establishment of the book post, the gross weight of the mails and the weight to be carried by each letter-carrier have been increased, and by it the operations of sorting have been much complicated.' In truth, were it not for the profit realised on letters, the book post could hardly be expected to pay itself: seeing that it includes such a phenomenon as carrying a quarter of a pound of paper to any part of the United Kingdom, and delivering it at a person's house, for one penny. Nevertheless, the authorities of St. Martin's-le-Grand, in this as in many other ways, set an example which foreign nations are one by one following; and the educational result of the system must necessarily be important, however little it may be detected at first. At the rate of a penny for four ounces, or fourpence per pound, it is found that the packets sent by the inland book post average about five ounces each, and pay about twopence each postage. The average postage of all the letters that pass through the post is a trifle over one penny.-Once a Week.

THE COLLECTION OF IMPERFECT WORKS OF ART.The prices obtained for engravings is even more re

markable than those of pictures, inasmuch as they depend on so many circumstances extraneous to the excellence of the work-as their rarity, width of margin, brilliancy and earliness of impression, and in some of the most striking cases on what is really an imperfection. Thus, an impression of Raphael Morghen's Last Supper,' with a plate on the table left white, will sell for more than double the finest impression taken after the engraver had discovered and rectified his oversight. At a sale at Christie's, a copy of this engraving, 'a most splendid proof before the letters, and with the white plate-a print of the greatest rarity,' only five others being known-sold for £316. Strange's 'Henrietta and her Children' before the jewels on the table, sells for some pounds more than when the jewels, a decided improvement, are added. So is it with Rembrandt's Burgomaster Six,' and several other of his etchings, some of the etchings of Callcott, and many other prints. This may seem, and in many cases is, a mere puerility, or the vanity of a collector desirous to possess what is almost unique; but it is partly justified by the fact that the condition is a warranty of the print being taken from an unworn plate! Thus discourseth the historian of Art in the Auction Room,' in London Society. Who, after reading his remarks, can consider excessive, the expenditure of three or four guineas by a philatelist in the purchase of some rare imperfection amongst stamps,,-some unique impression from a native' die, or in an unusual colour, as valuable to him as scarce engravings are to the collector of such things.

SHIPPING THE OVERLAND MAIL.-I had long wished to see the Overland Mail. I never had a notion what the Overland Mail could be like;-whether it was a coach painted red with a blazing royal arms, attended by a goldlaced guard; or a portable post-office, to be conveyed by rail and ship from the Waterloo station to India and China. But now, the entire broadside of an immense horse-box being let down, the Overland Mail bursts upon me like a trick in a pantomine. The huge van is suddenly transformed into a prodigious exaggeration of the sign of the Chequers on Portsmouth Hard, or the side wall of Harlequin's private residence; for it is a series of squares in blazing colours, filling up the horse-box from floor to roof. It is received with all befitting ceremony. Two gentlemen-attired in cocked hats (made, I think, of black court plaster, edged with faded lace), and surtout coats, hitched up at the hips, like window curtains, by the pommels of their swords; attended by the Southampton postmaster, and a second ubiquitous officer of the Bentinck, solemnly draw forth pencils and printed forms, and order the gaudy squares to be separated. I find them to consist of wooden boxes, about two feet long by one foot deep, each distinguished by a separate colour: that its destination may at once be seen. Down a slide into the little steamer tumbles a red box. A porter shouts •Hong Kong! Then comes a blue box-Calcutta!' Buff Madras!' No paint-'Aden!' White-'Bombay!' Black (like coffins for dead letters)- Ceylon!' At each of the one hundred and ninety announcements thus made, the cocked hats nod gracefully; not so much out of respect to Her Majesty's mail-boxes, as to enable the gentlemen under them to record each colour in its proper column on the printed form. The mails are, in fact, given into their charge. They are called 'admiralty agents.'-Household Words.

THE SHORTCOMINGS OF THE POST-OFFICE.-The reporter of the Town Talk' in Fun makes the following remarks on the postal service:-"The post-office is getting into hot water-and not without reason. The efficiency of the department is greatly overrated. Considering

what a paying speculation it is, it should do much more for the public, and would too if it were a private adventure. The non-delivery of letters on Sunday, in deference to bigotry and fanaticism, is a serious evil, and the insufficiency of postal arrangements in the suburbs is a grave inconvenience. Few Londoners live in London proper now they have villas within half-an-hour's rail of town, and the posts at about that radius round the metropolis are not half so frequent, or so convenient, as those at places hundreds of miles from London. No wonder that men of business, who cannot always keep their business within the hours they spend in the city, complain! And the remedy would be easy. Let the post-office come to an agreement with the railway companies, by which the latter will be empowered to issue-say a twopenny stamp even, which should ensure the carriage of any letter bearing it up to town by the latest train, to be posted by the guard in a London pillar-box, by which means its delivery in the metropolitan districts the first thing in the morning would be attained. The book post, which was supposed to be designed for the special benefit of literary men, in the habit of sending messages, is utterly useless, owing to the almost invariable [?] custom of local postmasters to avail themselves of the twenty-four hours delay allowed by regulation. Then, again, the combination of moneyorder offices and savings' banks, with ordinary shops, is most inconvenient in a busy place like the city. The postmaster is engaged in weighing out a pound of tea, or making up a prescription, and the customers who want to do business with the post-office, have to give way to those who are concerned in the more lucrative commerce of the shop. Even when this is not the case, Mr. Hyson, Mr. Bolus, or the members of his family (generally females), who look after the government department, are very slow and inexperienced. Little bureaux should be established, solely for the carrying on of postal business, and they would supply berths for old servants, who can no longer undertake the active duties of delivering letters, and who, under the present system, are cut adrift altogether. All this is between you and me, at the post.' [The insinuation as to the inexperience and slowness of lady-assistants, is surely unworthy of a 'Saunterer in Society,' and the general complaint seems an exaggerated We have heard no grumbling of late; but perhaps the epistolary epidemic with which we are afflicted each autumn may this year be developed by imagined postal grievances.]

one.

CORRESPONDENCE.

THE BREMEN OFFICIAL STAMP.

To the Editor of 'THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.' DEAR SIR,-In the July number of your magazine I observe an engraving of a Bremen stamp, which you state is used for franking official correspondence from that country. I think this must be a mistake, as a large number of these stamps pass through my hands every month, and the only official documents I find them on are Bremen letter bills,' and even then they are not upon the covers, but upon the 'bills' themselves. What their use is I cannot say; but on the Spanish, Portuguese, and some other continental letter bills' a large official seal with the national arms occupies the same position as the stamp in question on the Bremen documents. Hoping this may be useful to your subscribers, I remain, your obedient servant, QUILL DRIVER.

London.

To the Editor of THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.' Sir, I desire to call the attention of your readers to the numerous old Italian stamps offered for sale unused and remarkably cheap. They are evidently from the original dies, but I should very much doubt whether they are 'genuine original impressions,' as various dealers warrant them to be. They have an over-fresh look about them, and I have little doubt but that they are reprints. As those I allude to were mostly on unwatermarked paper (such as Modena, Parnia, Sardinia, fourth issue, and Sicily), I can think of no means of detecting them, but probably some of your many readers will be able to, and therefore I attract their attention to it. The colours are (all that I have seen) pretty correct, and except for their bright and fresh look there is no proof of their being reprints. I can only add that if any one could find out some sure way of detecting them they would confer a great benefit on the philatelic world. Hoping some one may find out a way,

I subscribe myself,

A GENUINE ORIGINAL IMPRESSION. [Notwithstanding the fresh appearance of the obsolete Italian stamps now sold we are inclined to believe that they are originals. However, we hope shortly to be able to lay before our readers an exhaustive article on the Italian stamps by a well-informed collector of Turin who will we understand be in a position to throw light on the question of 'originality.'—ED.]

THE PORTRAIT ON THE CHILIAN STAMPS. To the Editor of THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.' DEAR SIR, From time to time inquiries have appeared in this magazine as to the original of the portrait upon the Chilian postage stamps. I have it upon good authority that the personage depicted upon them is the lamented Freire, one of the early presidents of the country, and I think no other worthy is so well entitled to the distinction as he; for his name is intimately associated with those events which have freed Chili from the Spanish yoke, and established a flourishing republic. His name is held in reverence and respect by the Chilians, and in as high an estimation as we hold our Washington, or you your Nelson or Wellington. Should any stamp collector visit Santiago, the capital, he will find in the principal square a bronze statue of this worthy person, standing as a lasting memorial of one who signally aided an enterprising people in establishing their liberty. The portrait upon the twenty and two hundred reis Brazil is that of the present emperor, so I am informed by the Secretary of the American Bank-Note Company. I remain, Sir, respectfully yours, JAMES M. CHUTE.

Boston, Mass.

THE PRUSSIAN TWO SILBERGROSCHEN BISTRE ADHESIVE.

To the Editor of 'THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.' SIR,-In your answers to correspondents' you say that you have never seen a bistre 2 s. gr. Prussian eagle oval.' Neither have I. But allow me to remind you that it is nevertheless considered a reality by no less a person than the intelligent M. Regnard. He thus writes in the Timbrophile of December 1864: 'Among the few stamps which have escaped the notice of amateurs there is one which owes its value simply to its abnormal colour, and to the fact of so very few specimens being in existence. We allude to

the 2 s. gr. bistre belonging to the eagle series of October, 1861, of which the ordinary colour is blue. We possess a specimen of this stamp, the authenticity of which no one has ever yet impugned, and it is the only one we have ever heard of. Therefore with regard to rarity it may take its stand by the side of the celebrated half-anna red of India, or the equally unattainable fourpenny red of the Cape of Good Hope. The workman employed to strike off these stamps must, as we suppose, have taken up the 2 s. gr. die instead of the 3 s. gr. by mistake, and thinking he was using the latter die must have printed a few in bistre before he discovered his error. Our own specimen is denticulated, and is postmarked 1862. We advise amateurs to search for the stamp in question : perseverance is sure to be rewarded.' Doubtless it is one of these abnormal rarities about which your correspondent inquires.

Clifton.

I am, Sir, yours truly, FENTONIA.

CANADIAN LOCALS.

To the Editor of 'THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.' DEAR SIR,-On looking over the fourth edition of Dr. Gray's catalogue I was somewhat surprised to see the long list of American and Hamburg locals in it. And much more so at seeing several mentioned under the head of Canada; for there have been no genuine locals (if a local can be considered a genuine postage stamp) issued in Canada.

The penny and threepenny Ker's City Post (two unsightly labels) were printed about three years ago for a dealer then residing in Montreal, who finding that it paid well, issued two others (woodcuts), representing his own head.

Bell's Dispatch, got up by a dealer in Albany, and imitated by another in Montreal, has been extensively sold to collectors as genuine.

The Bancroft's City Express stamp was designed by one of the oldest and most extensive dealers in Montreal, who having obtained from Mr. Bancroft, as a friend, permission to use his name, had a design, which finding unsuitable he rejected. The Albany man, having obtained an impression from the rejected block, immediately got up an imitation of it. The Montreal dealer then had another design engraved on copper, which was transferred to stone, lithographed in sheets of twenty, and perforated. Thus originated one of the greatest of stamp swindles, to the no small profit of the originator, Bancroft having received none of the proceeds of its sale. In fact, it is contrary to the law of Canada for any individual or company to engage in carrying letters for a remuneration in opposition to the post-office.

I would advise collectors to remove all locals from their albums, for there is little pleasure in having five or six pages filled with coarse woodcuts and typeprinted labels, most if not all of which are either fictitious or counterfeit, the best judge seldom being able to detect them, except as it often happens by the superior execution of the counterfeit.

It may interest you to know that a company is being organized in Montreal under the name of the British American Bank-Note Company (limited), which will engrave and print all the stamps for the British American Confederation. These stamps may

be expected about May, 1867.

Yours respectfully,

A COLLECTOR WHO DESPISES LOCALS. Montreal.