Page:St. Nicholas (serial) (IA stnicholasserial321dodg).pdf/132



HE patriotic feeling which exists in Japan is shown by the efforts which young people are making to aid in the care of widows and orphans of soldiers who have lost their lives in the war with Russia. The commissioner of the District of Columbia recently received a letter from a Japanese schoolboy, addressed to “His Majesty The Lord Mayor of Washington.” There were inclosed in the letter a few hundred common stamps of Japan, which the writer stated had been collected by school children there, who were striving to do all that they could to help care for the families of soldiers killed in the war. The commissioner was asked to sell the stamps and send the money to Japan to be used for this purpose. He replied that while he could do nothing officially he would be glad to do this in the interest of humanity.

NE of the simplest, and at the same time the most pleasing, designs that have ever appeared upon a postage-stamp is that of the issue of 1866 for British Columbia. Only one die was prepared, that of the threepence. The V, standing for Victoria, the queen, with the crown above it, makes an odd yet attractive combination. The native flowers of the country serve to embellish the design. The currency of the country was changed soon after this issue was made, and in 1868 stamps of various denominations were made by surcharging this stamp printed in different colors for each denomination. The values indicated by the overprint varied from two cents to one dollar. These stamps, in fine condition, have become rare, and are seldom seen in collections,

T is said that a new issue of stamps for the island of Crete will appear shortly. This little island, since the war between Turkey and Greece, has put forth a number of issues of pleasing character. Some of the varieties of surcharge are becoming quite scarce, and since most of them may still be obtained, it is well for collectors to complete the issues of the older stamps before the new series appears.

OUNG collectors should recognize the differences in the quality of specimens of stamps which they obtain. It is not enough that a stamp should be of a particular denomination and color; it should also be clean, the design not cut by the perforations, and free from tears or damage of any sort. One cannot be too particular in regard to the specimens mounted in one’s album, for it is only by great care in this respect that collection becomes, in the course of time, valuable, and also retains an attractive appearance.

It is not necessary, in order to make a good collection of stamps, that one should buy those which are high-priced. There are very many cheap, and yet scarce, stamps. The issues for Finland contain a number of such varieties. The early issues are distinguished from the later by distinctly different means used for perforating, The separations between the stamps in the first issues were made by means of a machine which cut the paper so that a projecting piece on one stamp corresponded with an indentation of the stamp next to it. The long projections are very easily torn off, and early issues of Finland, in perfect condition, are therefore becoming quite scarce, The Russianizing of the country has also reduced the use of postage-stamps to the smallest possible number.

HERE are no countries whose stamps are held in higher esteem than the colonies of Great Britain and France. This has not always been so. Twenty years ago colonial postmasters, finding that collectors would purchase large numbers of their stamps if there were varieties enough among them, proceeded to produce such varieties by the process of surcharging. Prominent examples of the effect of this are seen in the stamps of Ceylon and French Guiana. The home governments, however, in both countries, soon put a stop to their postmasters’ speculations, and therefore many of the varieties have become very rare. The scarcity of some specimens was helped also by the fact that collectors soon tired of buying these stamps when they found that they were produced in great quantity and variety. Thus, few specimens being bought and preserved in collections, they have become very scarce.

HE first stamps issued were (he one-penny black, of Great Britain, and the Mulready envelop, both of which were prepared and placed on sale within a few days of each other. Envelop stamps have been dropped from the standard catalogue because they form a distinct division in collecting, and the demand for them has ceased to be large. The increase in the number of stamps issued will cause the dropping of different issues which are of minor interest. It is expected that the revenues, used for postal purposes, will be left out of the next issue of the catalogue, The principal difference in the early issues for Greece is seen in the lines of shading upon the face. In the Paris print these lines are broken up into fine dots. In the earliest Athens prints the lines are continuous and fine, clearly separated one from another. In the later Athens prints the lines are coarse and the ink frequently runs together.

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