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donia, and the earliest issues of Spain, Portugal, the Italian Duchies, Moldavia, Van Diemen's Land, Cuba, and British Guiana, are by far the most difficult to be met with, are daily becoming rarer, and will soon, some of them, be virtually unattainable.

Essays, or trial stamps, are much sought after, though not strictly admissible in a postal catalogue, not having been adopted by the respective governments for which they were designed. Such are the New Brunswick, alluded to above, the curious stamps intended for the kingdom of Paraguay (a specimen of which we engrave), some for Peru, Denmark, and the French Republic, of different colours, and our own threehalfpenny, which ought to have come into circulation,

PARAG

the present rate of postage to Russia and California requiring something of the kind, as we are not permitted to adopt the clumsy contrivance of cutting a penny stamp diagonally to serve for the odd halfpenny, as was the practice in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Other essays are simply black impressions of the pattern approved, as those of Greece, Lubeck, British Guiana, Sardinia, South Australia, Victoria, &c.

Some specimens are exceedingly rare in consequence of their paucity, arising from having been in circulation but a limited period, as those of the revolted provinces of Schleswig-Holstein and Romagna, and the provisional governments of Naples, Parma, and Modena. Another cause of rarity arises from a temporary issue, as those of the Cape of Good Hope; the low values of which having been exhausted, and the supply from England failing, some native artists tried their hands, and successfully too, at a wood impression of the current stamps. Of these the red fourpenny and blue penny are excessively rare, the latter almost unprocurable.

These latter, issued by hosts of private companies, exhibit vast ingenuity of design and diversity of pattern, are very much sought after at present; and, notwithstanding their very low commercial value-seldom exceeding two cents-fetch high prices. The novel issues of the various Confederate States are

Local stamps, i.e., those employed for transmission of letters or newspapers in the same limited circuit, seldom exceed unity; but the free town of Hamburg has used something like three dozen, and the city of New York perhaps a hundred and fifty.

also eagerly collected by amateurs. But we must not weary our readers with more of these desultory remarks, as we propose in future numbers-taking Brown's Manual as a text-book-to glance at anything noteworthy in postal relation to the various countries, in the same order as therein enumerated; touching upon the essays, fictitious stamps, and chief rarities (of the more remarkable of which we purpose subjoining engravings), supplying omissions, and noting newly-issued individuals.

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THE ARRANGEMENT OF POSTAGE

STAMPS.

BY DR. J. E. GRAY, F.R.S., F.L.S., F.Z.S., ETC., OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM.

THE collection of Postage Stamps is recommended as inducing the study of history and geography, and there can be no doubt that it does so, if properly pursued. But many collections and several catalogues have been arranged and published in alphabetical order, or, in other words, by the initial letter of the countries which issue them; this, I think, must appear, to every one who considers the subject, a method of arranging the stamps which can never conduce to the object desired; an arrangement in which the Granada Confederation, for example, is made to precede Great Britain, and Greece to follow, seems as odd a jumble of confusion as can need enter a person's head. I know that it is said that the plan is followed because it is more easy to refer to the name of the country when so arranged, than when placed in geographical groups. This may be so to some, if the collector pays no attention, and takes no interest in geography or history. But, to a person who is interested, and has made some advance in the study of these two most important branches of science, then the arrangement of the countries which are related to each other in position, govern

ment, and language, will certainly be the most easy of reference. We use a dictionary to find out a word we do not understand, and a scientific treatise when we want to learn any subject we think worthy of study. Collectors who arrange their stamps in alphabetical order, and even authors who print catalogues of them according to that plan, seem to feel that it is not a good one. I do not know a single collector or catalogue compiler who completely carries out the system. They generally place the colonies of France, Spain, Denmark, &c., under the head of France, &c., consequently under F, S, and D; thus these catalogues perform their proposed purpose so imperfectly, that they think it necessary to have a large number of cross references, or have an alphabetical index to help their arrangement; and it is to be further observed, if they are so arranged, why are not the colonies and dependencies of Great Britain to be placed under the head of the mother country? It is no use saying that it is because the colonies of France, Spain, and Denmark are few and, like those of the mother country, bear the head of the king or emperor of the country, for that is equally applicable to most of the English colonies. I do not, therefore, see any reason why Cuba, in the alphabetical catalogues, should not be placed under C instead of S, if Antigua is under A.

It appears to me that whatever plan is adopted for arranging stamps, to be useful, it ought to be uniform, and carried out completely and to the letter, or it is more apt to mislead than to instruct.

If I had a considerable number of stamps, I think it would be more easy and natural to divide them into British, Continental, and American, than according to the letters of the alphabet by which their names happened to commence, especially as many of them do not bear the name of the country that issues them.

The stamps of England and her dependencies all have the inscription on them in the English language, and most of them are embellished with the portrait of our Queen. The dependencies of the British Crown naturally group themselves into Indian, Mediterranean, African, Australian, North

American, and West Indian possessions. The continental stamps naturally divide into groups, each marked by the language of the country they represent, and the portrait, arms, or other emblems they are illustrated with. Those belonging to countries such as France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, &c., all use a language which is a modification of the Latin tongue. Then those marked with a Grecian inscription. The countries of the German races easily divide themselves into those issued by South Germany, as Austria and Bavaria, and use the kreuzer; and those for Northern Germany, as Prussia, Brunswick, Saxony, &c., which use the groschen; those issued by the Hanseatic towns of Lubeck, Hamburg, and Bremen; and then follow the Scandinavian kingdoms of Denmark and Sweden, and the Sclavonic empire, that use the kopec; and the Eastern Principalities, that use the para. It is to be observed that in this list I have taken the countries as they lay from west to east.

The stamps of the American Government as naturally and as easily separate themselves into three groups, ranging from the north towards the south of the continentfirst, the Northern States, that bear English inscriptions, and use the cent; then the Brazilian, marked with the Portuguese reis; and, lastly, those governments that use the Spanish language. I am inclined to think, when I see a collection arranged geographically and historically, it is one that the possessor has made for study and instruction; whereas that arranged alphabetically is likely to become useless, and set aside as soon as the fancy passes away.

SOMETHING ABOUT THURN AND TAXIS.

BY MOUNT BROWN.

PEOPLE are as much, if not more, puzzled about Thurn and Taxis than the Zollverein; and one may search through gazetteers and geographies without obtaining any solution. of the inquiry, so often propounded, 'What is meant by Thurn and Taxis, and where is it ?' Thinking that some little explanation may be interesting, I have availed myself of

information obtained direct from Germany, and which will, doubtless, not only throw some little light on the obscurity that envelopes the term, but show that even a single postage stamp, when thoroughly studied, may impart much information.

Thurn and Taxis (in French, de la Tour et Taxis; Italian, della Torre e Tassis) was formerly an independent house in Germany, originally from the Milanese territory. The oldest authentic historic ancestor of the family is considered to be Martin I della Torre, Lord of Valsassina, who accompanied the Emperor Conrad I. in his crusade, and died a prisoner of the Saracens in 1147. Since 1259, eight della Torres were, one after the other, lords of Milan, until Guido the Rich perished in a feud with the Visconti family. Martino della Torre was one of the popular leaders, and appointed anziano or elder of the people of Milan. Such was his power that he sequestrated the property of the see, and forbade the archbishop elect to appear at Milan; for which he was excommunicated by the Pope. His successors continued to enjoy the popular favour for some time, until one of them was suspected of aspiring to sovereign power, and Ottoni Visconti, the archbishop, seized this opportunity for striking a decisive blow. A combat ensued in which the Torriani were defeated, and Visconti entered Milan a perpetual lord. So much for Thurn or Torre. One of the sons of Guido the Rich, Lamoral L, settled in the territory of Bergamo, and took from the mountain Tasso (one of his possessions there) the name del Tasso, and afterwards de Tassis. His great grandson inherited the possessions of his predecessors, united their titles, and was known as Roger I., of Thurn and Taxis. This personage was knighted by the emperor Friederich III., in 1450, and founded the fame of his house by the establishment of a post in Tyrol. The emperor Leopold I. granted to Count Engen Franz von Thurn und Taxis the dignity of Prince of the Empire. The grandson of the latter obtained the office of ImperialGeneral Hereditary Post Master, held in fee from the empire. In 1785 the prince Karl Anselm bought the independent lordships, Friedberg, Scheer, Bassen, &c., which were

raised, in 1786, to a princely countship of the empire. As restitution for the loss of the post in the Austrian Netherlands and on the left bank of the Rhine, the Thurn and Taxis family received, in 1803, other lordships. In 1819 it received from Prussia three domains in the province of Posen, which, with the family possessions in Wurtemberg, Bavaria, Bohemia, &c., &c., comprised more than thirty-four and a half square miles, with about one hundred thousand inhabitants, and a revenue of eight hundred thousand florins.

The first trace of a German post is in the latter half of the fifteenth century, when Roger I., Count of Thurn and Taxis, established the Tyrol post. At the request of Maximilian I., in 1516, Roger's son formed a post from Brussels to Vienna. In 1522, on account of the war with the Turks, an imperial post was established from Nuremberg to Vienna, which ceased on the return of peace. On this, Charles V. ordered Leonhard, Count of Thurn and Taxis, to establish a permanent post, which went from the Netherlands through Treves, Spires, &c., to Wurtemberg, Augsburg, and Tyrol, to Italy. In 1543 he created the Count Oberpostmeister of the German empire. About the end of the sixteenth century the Thurn and Taxis post, shaken by disturbances in the Netherlands, and oppressed by debt, fell into disuse, but rose again under the favour of Emperor Rudolf II. But the Palatinate, Wurtemberg, Saxony, Brandenberg, Mecklenburg, and other states of the empire, formerly included under Thurn and Taxis, had in the meantime established posts in their own states, and refused to recognise the validity of the office. Upon this, Lamoral, Count of Thurn and Taxis, was raised to the rank of Baron of the Empire, and received the imperial post in fee for himself and male heirs, which was subsequently extended to his female descen dants. Various states have at times shaken off or purchased the monopoly: thus Austria, Prussia, Bavaria, Hanover, Saxony, Baden, Oldenburg, Luxemburg, &c., have now their own postal arrangements. But the Thurn and Taxis family still possesses, as a fief of the empire, the posts in Nassau, Saxe

Weimar, Schwarzburg, Rudolstadt, &c., &c. In the free cities of Hamburg, Lubeck, and Bremen, they possess some of the posts; but the general direction of the Thurn and Taxis office has had its seat, since 1811, at Frankfort-on-the-Maine, where the Thurn and Taxis posts are exclusively used.

It is hoped that this long detail will at least enable every collector of postage stamps to give a satisfactory answer to any query about Thurn and Taxis.

A CHAPTER ON THE PENNY
POSTAGE STAMP.

WE Confess to harbouring something like a tender affection for those little parallelogrammic portraits of Her Majesty in red, which, costing us only a penny each, yet frank our letters to any part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. A packet of them in the corner of one's porte-monnaie, even though that handy receptacle should contain little else, always has a welcome look, not so much for the trifling pecuniary value they represent, as from the really marvellous power they consign to their possessor. A single one of them guarantees you the des-patch of a missive for a distance of five hundred miles, if you like, with the speed of the carrier pigeon and the punctuality of clockwork; and will thus perform for its owner a feat which would cost him twenty pounds or so to execute in person, and which, had he existed a century ago, he could not have accomplished with a mine of wealth.

Personally, our regard for the penny postage stamp owes something to certain memories of the times when no such things were to be had-when a letter from home cost tenpence on delivery by the postman-and correspondence, which is the dearest solace of absence and separation, had to be restricted by considerations of economy. In those days we remember that while Parliament was sitting, and tenpences were rather scarce with us, because employment was difficult to obtain, we used to haunt the lobby of the old House of Commons, and intercept the members as they came up the stairs, in order to solicit the favour of a frank. The first of them whom we found courage to address

was a tall, round, ruddy-faced man, with an eye that used to laugh and sparkle, and a mouth that smiled habitually, with a touch of sarcasm about it, and who wore a light buff-coloured suit and a white hat. 'Come along,' said he, 'I'll give you a frank, and two if you like.' He led the way into that little closet that used to stand open at the left of the door-keeper's, and wrote, in a firm legible hand, the name of William Cobbett.

We got a little enlightenment on the subject of franks before long. People who had a good share of assurance, it seemed, rarely paid postage for anything, but got everything franked. They did not wait till their letters were written, but bought blank half-sheets, which they folded as envelopes, and got them endorsed by the members, dozens at a time. We used to wonder at their consciences, especially as some of them, to save themselves trouble, would leave a packet of envelopes with some seedy lounger of the lobby, and give him a small gratuity for getting the whole of them franked. To be sure, what a number of autographs some of the good-natured old gentlemen would make before the claimants would allow them to pass on to their places in the senate. We cannot remember a single instance of refusal, certainly never encountered one ourselves; the reason may have been that all the claimants were supposed to be constituents, whom it would not have been policy to refuse a favour which cost but a stroke of the pen. Rumour said that most of the franks were made use of by the ladies: how that may have been we do not know; but certainly one met with far more ladies in the lobby then, than it is customary to see there now.

The Penny Post, and the appearance of the miniature Queen's head, put an end to the begging of franks from members of Parliament. Even Government servants now use the red stamps on their letters, with the exception (though perhaps that is not the sole exception) of the members of the Cabinet, who have a round red stamp of their own, bearing the word 'Paid,' and no Queen's head.

When the Penny Postage system was first resolved on, the authorities issued a prospectus, offering a reward of £500 for the

The

best design and plan for a stamp. conditions, which were widely circulated, stated that the chief desiderata were simplicity and facility in working, combined with such precautions as should prove effectual against forgery. It is said that upwards of a thousand different designs and plans were sent in; but it does not appear that any one of the competitors tendered anything so simple as the stamp which was eventually chosen. It is likely that the precautions recommended against forgery-and which it was not foreseen would be unnecessary-led to a complexity in the plans, which was found, on consideration, incompatible with their adoption. About the same time, a prize was offered for the best design for an envelope, which was gained by Mr. Mulready, R.A., and was tolerably familiar to the public, by whom it was, however, far from being generally used.

Let us now look at a sheet of penny postage stamps, and, in default of any professional or official knowledge, of which we cannot boast, see if we may not extract from it its own tale. The Queen's head, delicately engraved, is relieved by a dark back-ground formed of finest lines, resembling, on a very minute scale, those traced by the engineturner on the back of a gold watch. On either side of the head rises a narrow slip of carved trellis-work. In the two upper corners are a couple of square studs, with the word 'Postage' between them; and at the two lower corners are two white hollow squares, each containing a letter of the alphabet. But in a sheet of 240 stamps there are no two of them found which have the same letters, but the whole sheet contains such changes as may be made by the use of two alphabets-the changes being regularly made thus: BA, BB, BC, etc.; DA, DB, DC, and so on to the last letter. This change of the letters it is which is supposed to constitute the check to the forger; but there has never been, and probably never will be, an instance of the forgery of postage stamps. The reason, it cannot be doubted, is that there is not sufficient inducement to the crime; or, in other words, it would not pay. Stamps cannot be passed like notes; and though they do often circulate as representa

tives of coin, it is generally in small amounts, and for the most part among persons known to each other. Moreover, the forger would have not only to engrave his punch or die, and cast his blocks, but to make his own paper; for, on looking at the back of the sheet, you will see that every one of the Queen's heads falls on a regal crown, impressed in the water-mark of the paper in process of manufacture. And, lastly, he would have to compound his own ink-the ink with which postage stamps are printed differing from all other printer's ink, not only in its hue, which is nearer rose-coloured than vermillion, but in being soluble in water, which is not the case with ordinary printer's ink.

Looking closely at the Queen's heads, you will see, on comparing them severally with each other, that all are evidently struck from a single die, and each block is therefore a fac-simile of every one of the others. This is evident from the situation of the diminutive white specks which are scattered over the whole surface, and appear between the carved crossings of the trellis-work at the sides. If separate punches had been engraved and used, there must have been some small deviations in the position of these infinitesimal dots, but there are none. What is remarkable about the printing, is the sharpness and clearness of the head and back-ground, looking to the fineness of the lines and the diminutive spaces between them. We gather from this fact, that not only is the material of the blocks of the highest quality, but that the blocks themselves are subjected only to a limited number of impressions, and, when that number is worked, are replaced by new ones.

After the printing comes the process of gelatinizing the back or unprinted side of the sheet, to render the stamps adhesive.

Very different is the next and finishing process. This consists in puncturing the interstices between the several stamps on the sheet with innumerable small holes, in order that, without being at the trouble of using knife or scissors, the user may tear the stamps asunder in a moment. Four thousand pounds was paid to the inventor of this drilling ceremony-a very large reward for

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