stamp collecting

At 11am today, at El Pueblo De Los Angeles, the United States Postal Service will release this year’s contribution to the Lunar New Year postage stamp series, The Year of the Tiger.   The stamp was designed by USPS art director Ethel Kessler, with a painting by illustrator Kam Mak.  This year’s stamp displays several narcissus flowers, a plant associated with the Chinese New Year.   In the style of the other recent Chinese New Year stamps, the illustration includes a paper cutout sillhouette of a tiger by artist Clarence Lee, and the Chinese character for ‘tiger’ in by calligrapher Lau Bun.

Kam Mak was also the artist behind previous two stamps in the current series, and will continue through the rest of the series, to be completed in 2019.   The current 12-year lunar year cycle started  in 2008 with the Year of the Rat, and the USPS started off the series with an image of Chinese paper lanterns.  Last year, the Year of the Ox, was honored with a stamp depicting the head of a Chinese lion costume, both traditional fixtures of the Chinese New Year celebration.

Clarence Lee and Lau Bun, however, both already have a history with Lunar New Year postage stamps.  The first set of Chinese New Year stamps from the USPS was started in 1992, showcasing Lee’s paper-cut artwork and including calligraphy by Bun.   The first series of the twelve zodiac animals wrapped up in 2005, with a definitive reissue in 2006.  Comparing the detail in the current stamp and the artwork from the 1990s stamp set, it appears that the new designs recycle the previous artwork.   The 1990s series also started out of order:  the first stamp is the series was the 10th symbol in the lunar calendar, the Year of the Rooster, and continued through the Year of the Monkey, hence the three-year gap between the original series and the new series.   The 1990s Chinese New Year stamp is quite common, and assembling a complete set — all the original issues, the 2005 single-sheet commemorative release, plus the 2006 single-sheet re-issue — will not be a difficult prospect.  As for the new series, you’ll have to wait, a year at a time, but today is the day to get moving  if you’d like the Year of the Tiger with the First Day of Issue postmark.

It’s the time of year for Christmas Seals, those little pieces of paper resembling postage stamps but used as a fundraiser for the American Lung Association.  The use of charity stamps has been around almost as long as postage itself, giving a charity the opportunity to raise funds while offering supporters a way to show off their dedication with every letter they send.  In history, however, charitable giving hasn’t been the only reason to add non-postage stamps to letters; there’s a strong history of using labels in protest.

Between 1902 and 1905, Arthur Griffith founded Sinn Fein, a group protesting England’s control over Ireland and desiring a parallel dual monarchy between the two countries.   The failure of the United Irishman newspaper in 1906 left a void which Griffith filled, titling his paper Sinn Fein, initially publishing as a weekly but with the intention to grow into a daily paper.  In January 1908, Griffith announced his plan for financing the daily Sinn Fein:  for a penny, supporters could buy a block of four “Celtic Cross” labels or an allegory of Eire.   Griffith asked his supporters to add the Sinn Fein stamps to the front of letters, in addition to the regular British postage, as a sign of their political views.  Although Griffith suggested the Celtic Cross stamp be placed opposite the regular postage’s position, his supporters sometimes placed them alongside the regular postage, and the practice grew to such a degree that the Post Office had to step in.  The Postmaster General released a statement that only official postage may appear on the front of an envelope; any mail with non-postage stamps on the front would be returned to sender.  Stamps on the back, however, would continue to be handled by the post office, so Griffith’s protest stamps continued to make it through the mail.   The Sinn Fein even did become a daily newspaper for a short while, but the Celtic Cross stamps were discontinued after about a year.   After the Easter Uprising in 1916, however, an unknown party printed up a number of the Celtic Cross stamps and distributed them among the now more millitant Sinn Fein, and these protest stamps appeared on postage again for a short time.

The Sinn Fein Celtic Cross wasn’t the first protest stamp.   These so-called “cinderella stamps”, or non-postage stamplike labels, existed in small numbers before the Sinn Fein’s successful stamp was released.   One particularly notable protest stamp came about in opposition to Queen Victoria’s reign.   The Jacobite movement declared that the Habsburg lineage was the true line to the British throne, which had been – by their reckoning -  usurped by William and Mary in 1688.  Uprisings and rebellions occurred throughout the 18th century, but into the 19th century the Jacobite movement had lost steam and their banner was raised as a matter of pride moreso than outright rebellion.  In April 1893, unknown Jacobite supporters in England released their own postage stamp in support of she whom they believed to be the true sovereign of the country, Marie Therese von Habsburg, otherwise known as “Mary IV and III.”  Jacobite supporters were to place the Mary IV and III stamp in the place of the regular postage; the proper postage stamp, depicting Queen Victoria, was to be placed below the Jacobite stamp and affixed upside-down to show her ‘rightful’ position.   The stamps were sold a hundred at a time for 3s., a hefty amount of money at the time, and while they had gained a degree of notariety during the final years of the 19th century, they were not widespread, and are exceedingly rare today.

The process has continued into modern times, and isn’t restricted to nations in civil turmoil.   In early 1990s, the US Postal Service issued a series of stamps each year commemorating the 50th anniversary of various WWII events, from Pearl Harbor stamps in 1991, until 1995 when they planned to release stamps commemorating the end of the war.  In that final set of stamps, the USPS had included a stamp with a bright red mushroom cloud, commemorating the US’ development of nuclear weapons.   Citizens in both the US and Japan felt the stamp was in poor taste, given the civilian toll of the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and that nuclear disarmament was an ongoing debate.   The USPS relented and replaced the A-Bomb stamp with one depicting Truman announcing the end of the war.   Others, largely WWII veterans and others unwilling to take the apologist role, felt the replacement was unwarranted, and printed up their own stamps depicting an atomic mushroom cloud.   Several variations were released and were sold to supporters of the original stamp to put on their letters in addition to the regular postage.

As exonumia is to coin collecting, the field of cinderella stamps is broad and uncharted.  Although it might feel like you’re limited to cute depictions of Santa in various situations, be aware that there’s much more to be found in non-postage labels, from Irish independence to wronged kings to how history is interpreted through a modern lens, a range nearly as political and historical as postage stamps themselves.

I don’t usually cross paths with philately while browsing the thrift shops, but last weekend I was luckier than usual.  We were visiting relatives over Thanksgiving weekend – an excellent time to hit far-off shops in hopes of seeing something new – and I found a couple books on stamps, the first two editions of United States Stamps and Stories.

First published in 1973, Stamps & Stories was a small paperback put out by the United States Postal Service and edited by stamp collecting giant Scott Publishing.   It is largely a catalog and price guide, its data compiled from the Scott Catalogues of the time, but the ’stories’ part includes various tales and trivia regarding the subjects of the stamps  through history.  The most remarkable thing about these books is that they are in full color throughout, printed on heavy, glossy paper, which these a step up in quality from  most stamp catalogs.  In these older editions, unfortunately, the glue has dried out quite a bit, which means for careful page-turning to avoid cracking the binding and losing pages.   Through the 1970s and 1980s, the USPS advertised these books as an easy-to-read encyclopedia of stamp collecting, and they were quite right.  Although the books aren’t quite as thorough as the Scott’s catalog from which they are derived, they provide a significant eye-catching and engaging reference for casual or new philatelists, and includes practical information from prices to basic collecting terminology and identifying features of rarer stamps.

In 1982, Stamps & Stories changed its name to The Postal Service Guide to U.S. Stamps, and continued its full-color catalog of stamps and philatelic tips.   Modern editions of the Guide have grown in size from those early mass-market paperback sized books, now measuring about 8½” x 11″ and spiral- or comb-bound to lay flat.  Now in its 36th year, the newest edition of The Postal Service Guide to U.S. Stamps is available for purchase from the USPS and other major booksellers, along with the newest stamp yearbook.  The yearbook might be the Cadillac of collecting, with twice the pricetag to boot, but the Guide to U.S. Stamps stands as an expansive reference for all postage stamps through this year.

The first new postage stamp for the 2010 year was recently revealed.   To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America, the USPS will issue the Celebrate Scouting stamp at the centennial Boy Scouts Jamboree, to be held next July at Fort AP Hill, Virginia.   The stamp was designed by Mill Valley, CA artist Craig Frazier, depicting a modern scout standing on a rocky summit, silhouetted against the shadow of a classic Scout peering through binoculars.

The Boy Scouts of America were founded by publisher William Boyce in 1910, based on the British version established by Boer war veteran General Robert Baden-Powell a few years earlier.   BSA quickly became the go-to outdoors club for boys and young men, teaching them — as defined by the Scout Law — to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.  The Scouts weren’t content to just teach camping skills, but to also generate fine, upstanding young gentlemen, and in that pursuit they even devoted one entire merit badge to the pursuit of stamp collecting.

This is far from the first time the U.S. Postal Service has  dedicated a stamp to the Boy Scouts of America – I’m certain they’ve even appeared on more stamps than most presidents have.  The first was issued in 1950, in honor of the 2nd National Boy Scout Jamboree (which corresponded with the 40th anniversary of the Scouts), and depicts three saluting Scouts in front of the Statue of Liberty.   The second was issued in 1960, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the BSA, and depicting a single saluting scout, as painted by Norman Rockwell.   In 1985, the Scouts were depicted hiking through the wilderness in a block of four stamps commemorating the UN’s “International Youth Year.”  Most recently, in 1998 a stamp was issued honoring both the Boy and Girl Scouts as part of the thirty-stamp “Celebrate the Century” series.   This doesn’t include the numerous Scouting stamps issued by countries around the world: most countries that have a Scouts of their own have released postage stamps depicting them.   As a topical stamp collection, Scouting would easily fill pages and pages of a folder, covering just the past century, and starting with next year’s Celebrate Scouting stamp, it will continue into Scouting’s next century.

The Graf Zeppelin was the greatest of the lighter-than-aircraft of the twenties and thirties.   This dirigible first flew in September 1928, and wasted little time in setting records.  One month later, the Graf Zeppelin made the first trans-Atlantic flight to carry paying passengers from Europe to the United States.  The next year, 1929, the Graf Zeppelin set out to circumnavigate the world.   Financed by a variety of backers, including William Randolph Hearst, the airship made an uneventful trip around the world, completing the loop in little more than three weeks.   Later, the Graf Zeppelin would also fly over the North Pole.  In all the airship clocked over a million miles in 590 flights, and only ended its service after a series of dirigible tragedies soured the public’s idea of lighter-than-air flight.   No deaths resulted from the operation of the  Graf Zeppelin,  nor did it ever crash, and only once was it seriously delayed due to damage.

The one issue the Graf Zeppelin struggled with was funding its flights.   The high-profile circumnavigation of the world had the benefit of Hearst’s deep pockets, but less than a month after the successful completion of the around-the-world trip, Black Tuesday hit, the Great Depression began to build up steam, and less newsworthy trips — nobody sends reporters to cover the twelfth trans-Atlantic flight — the huge dirigible needed to find a way to fund its trips.

Hugo Eckener, captain of the Graf Zeppelin, knew how to make ends meet: “How could we finance this flight?” he asked rhetorically, “Not an easy problem to solve. We could carry about 200 kg mail. I put my hope in the philatelists, who had contributed so much to the round-the-world flight…”   Stamp collecting had begun to spread during the 1920s,  and the shrinking of the world via international travel, now thanks moreso to aircraft, made more distant stamps available across the planet.   Rarity was also a better-documented status for postage stamps, making speculation possible; collectors were beginning to buy stamps at the time of issue for the purpose of storing them in mint condition as an investment.

At first, mail traveling by dirigible didn’t receive any special treatment, but the postal service soon realized that there was an interest in identifying mail that had been transported by air.   Custom franking for airship delivery created a unique identifier for collectors to pursue; this so-called “zeppelin mail” didn’t start with the Graf Zeppelin, but by the time the Graf Zeppelin began zipping around the world, they could not ignore the financial benefit of carrying the mail: the postage revenues were adding up to a significant part of a flight’s budget.   Mail which rode on the airship for the ‘around the world’ flight got a custom cancellation to prove its attendance: the stamp for the flight cost $3.55 — equal to over $40 in today’s dollars.

In order to accommodate this high price for airmail delivery, without covering the front of the letter with stamps smaller increments, postal services created special airmail stamps with higher denominations, and even for specific dirigible flights.   The most famous and rare of these U.S. stamps are the Europe Pan-America flight of the Graf Zeppelin.   Issued in three different values – 65¢, $1.30, and $2.60 – the stamps were created specifically to be used for mail going to any stop between the US, South America, and Europe on the Graf Zeppelin.  These stamps were first made available on 19 April 1930 and continued to be sold until June 30th, after the flight had already been made.   After June 30th, without any practical use for the stamps, the Postal Service destroyed all remaining postage.   With the Great Depression becoming more entrenched, the  face value of these stamps was too rich for most collectors.  Combioned with the short purchasing window, very few of these stamps survived in mint condition and are quite valuable today.

The Graf Zeppelin saw one more custom U.S. postage stamp, at the time of the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, although it was nearly nixed.   The proposed stamp would specifically reference the Century of Progress, the World’s Fair’s title, and 42½¢ of the 50¢ postage would fund the Graf Zeppelin’s flight.   The Fair had already been given commemorative 1¢ and 3¢ postage stamps, and President Roosevelt felt the third stamp was unnecessary.   Roosevelt was warned by both his advisors and the German attache that refusal to create the stamp and fund the Graf Zeppelin’s visit could result in an international incident.  Hitler had taken power the year before,  tensions were already high over his unpopularity in the international scene, and a snubbing of the German flagship of modern transportation would not be taken lightly.    The U.S. relented, allowing the Graf Zeppelin stamp to go to press — but without the Nazi swastika on its fins.

During its decade of flight, the Graf Zeppelin produced enough variations to fill a dedicated collection devoted only to dirigible-related postage.   ‘Zeppelin mail’ comes in innumerable forms and is still widely available today, often with franking from each stop the mail made on its route, and each nearly all unique to the flight made.    The U.S. wasn’t the only country to mint special stamps to fund zeppelin postal service, and during the late 1920s and 1930s countries at many points on the airship routes produced commemorative stamps, and not just for the Graf Zeppelin.  In particular the zeppelin mail, collectors have preserved the postage of this lighter-than-air form of mail delivery , recognizing at the time the potential rarity of the mail, and their desire for the unique stamps and franking helped fund the zeppelin’s trips by increasing the volume of mail carried by the airships.    This symbiotic relationship didn’t help the dirigibles survive long after the Hindenburg disaster, but philately has benefited from the unique and special ways that the Graf Zeppelin, and other airships, changed how mail was delivered during the 1920s and 1930s.