P In The New York Rotary Club By W. R. McCoy ROBABLY the last place one would look for a stamp club would be in the ranks of an organization composed entirely of prominent business men. But such does exist. The remark: "I understand you are a stamp collector-so am I," passed across the table at a recent luncheon of the New York Rotary Club, was the cause of a canvass of the club for other collectors. They got together at a dinner and formed an organization, without officers or rules, for the development of their collections. In the discussions at the first meeting the question was asked: "Why does a busy man enjoy stamp collecting?" The These men have entered into their play with all the enthusiasm that has made them succeed in the business world. They have quickly established connections with Rotarians in other countries as well as in this, and many pleasant friendships are being developed through the ranks of those who believe that in play as well as work, "he profits most who serves best." NOTE: Any Rotarian who reads this and desires to get in touch with the New York boys can do so through the Secretary of the New York Rotary Club. GERMAN SOUTH WEST AFRICA No. pertinent fact developed was that stamp German Colonies on Cover collecting is mental play. Problems in philately are so different from the problems of business, that while complete mental relaxation is obtained, still they require keen mental activity. The field is so wide and varied that one always has material available for one minute or ten hours' work at the time when most needed, and it can be indulged in alone. Therefore, philately furnishes mental diversion at the time when most needed. Meetings are held weekly at the homes of the different members, or visits made to view noted collections. Some of the best known specialists have attended the meetings and have given freely of their knowledge of stamps. Among these was Dr. Carroll Chase, the pioneer specialist on early United States stamps, who exhibited his unique collection of fiftyone three-cent reds. Had this club been an incorporated institution of learning the Doctor would have certainly received the degree of Ph.D. cum laude (Doctor of Philately). He clearly demonstrated that to him philately was a science and that of it he was a master. 8, 9, 10, 12....1899....5, 10, 20, 50 pf. 4 values. .$1.50 GERMAN CHINA 324 to 332.... 333 to 335, 336, 1900.....1, 2, 3, 5, M. 4 values. OFFICES IN MOROCCO .3.00 .10.25 Questions and Answers By John N. Luff Note. A glance through our Questions and Answers department should enable you to comprehend the sort of questions which are constantly being received by Scott's. From the many which have been asked us in recent months, four are answered herewith which have replies that are of popular interest. C. T.-How can I distinguish France 20c. and 25c. of 1849-50 from the re-issues of 1862 and the France Colonies stamps of the same values issued in 1871-72 ? It is difficult to give satisfactory answers to your questions. The stamps were all of the same design and the different groups were probably printed from the same clichés. They were all printed in blue and are distinguished, to a large extent, by their shades. Shades are not easy to describe and in naming them collectors are not in accord. And there are no marked differences in the paper. We will describe the various stamps as well as we can from the copies in our reference collection. France, 1849-50, 20c.: Very clear early impression. Color, slate blue (a dark, dull blue with considerable black in it). Grayish paper, semi-transparent. Thin, smooth, yellowish white gum. 25c. Early impressions with all lines strong and clear. Color, dull blue, full blue, deep blue and dark blue. Grayish, opaque paper, sometimes quite yellowish. Gum, yellowish white and slightly rough. Re-issue, 1862: The impressions are clear and the stamps have a fresh appearance. Both the 20c. and 25c. are printed in a full, bright blue, varying slightly in depth of color. The paper is bluish and the gum white and much crackled. French Colonies, 1871-72, 20c. and 25c. Both values are printed in light blue on grayish white paper, with white. gum. Owing to wearing of the clichés the color in the spandrels is lighter than in other parts of the stamps. This is the distinctive feature of the Colonial stamps. Reprints, 1887: Both values are found in light, medium and deep blue. They are on thin, bluish paper, quite transparent, and with thin, smooth, white gum. The spandrels are worn and light, like the originals, but they do not contrast as sharply with the rest of the design because the stamps are more clearly printed. B. J.-Does the Finland 211⁄2 pennia of 1917-18 exist? You catalogue it as No. 82, but I have not been able to find a copy and am told it was never issued. This stamp has been dropped from our 1920 catalogue and the reason for so doing explained in a note after No. 93. The 22 p. exists, but not as an issued stamp. Copies were distributed, with other values of the issue, through the Universal Postal Union, but the stamp was never placed on sale to the public. As sent out from Berne a single copy of the stamp was printed on a sheet of paper which was subsequently perforated to form thirty-five rectangles, arranged in five rows of seven. The 22 p. stamp occupied the middle, or eighteenth, rectangle and all the others were blank. The impression was doubtless made from the original die and can only be regarded as a finished die proof. It is understood that no plate was ever made for this denomination. Mr. J. B. Leavy informs us that the Postal Union copies received at Washington were in the shape just described. They were received from Berne with a circular letter, dated April 25, 1918. A subsequent circular, dated January 24, 1919, stated: "Finland. The stamp of 22 pennia, distributed by circular of April 25, 1918, has not been placed in circulation, owing to a change in tariff." C. M. H.-How may the Gautemala lithographed stamps of 1886 be distinguished from the engraved stamps of 1887-94 ? You will find an answer on page 475 of our 1920 catalogue. We will, how(Concluded on page 19) A Small Lot of Very Rare and Interesting Items Priced According to Condition DENMARK *No. 36 and 39. 1882-85 10ö carmine, pair showing both large and small numerals, in fine condition with full gum. *No. 47b. Price... RUSSIA 1890-92 2k green, imperforate pair in fine condition $25.00 with full gum. Price.. $15.00 *No. 50a. 1890-92 7k dark blue, imperforate block of four in $25.00 *No. 70b. 1902-04 7r black and yellow, horizontal pair, imperf. .$35.00 WENDEN (Livonia) *No. 310a. 1878-80 2k black, green and red, imperforate block $20.00 OFFICES IN THE TURKISH EMPIRE *No. 617b. 1876 8k on 10k carmine and green (Inverted *No. 33a. Price.... SWEDEN $25.00 $225.00 1877-79 20ö vermilion, "Tretio" a superb, o. g. copy Price... SWITZERLAND 212r black, crimson and blue. A superb Price. 1848-50 4c black and red, repaired and cut close, but looks good. Net Price.. $250.00 $75.00 ever, try to amplify the statement given there. A lithographed stamp is always perfectly smooth, almost greasy to the touch, while an engraved stamp is very slightly rough. If your touch is sensitive you may detect this difference by rubbing a finger across the lower part of the Guatemala stamps. The impression of an engraved stamp is usually sharp and clear, that of a lithographed stamp is softer and often slightly blurred in parts where the ink is heavy. The simplest test for the Guatemala stamps is, however, found in the horizontal background lines at the extreme top of the stamps. On the engraved stamps the first four lines at the left and the first six at the right side have been cut deeper and heavier than the lines below them. On the lithographed stamps the background lines are all of the same thick ness. T.B.-Kindly tell me something about Clipperton Island and its stamps. I was disappointed in not finding any mention of the stamps in Scott's stamp catalogue. Clipperton Island is a small island in the Pacific ocean, off the coast of California. It formerly had guano deposits which were worked by the Oceanic Phosphate Company, but we believe these are now exhausted. About 1895 a set of labels, bearing the name of the island, was issued. These were a private enterprise on the part of a member of the Company. We doubt that any of them were even stuck on letters sent by the vesssels of the Company to the mainland. Certainly they could not pay postage, for the island belongs to the United States and, if letters could be mailed there they would have to bear United States stamps. There are ten stamps (?) in the set, ranging in value from 1 cent to $1. Each is inscribed "Clipperton Island Postage" and the value in figures. There are five designs in the series, each of which shows the island in outline and the date "1895". Sea birds, lobsters and The Ferrary Collection SPLENDID publicity for stamps and stamp collecting is appearing in newspapers and magazines from the pen —or is it the typewriter?-of George M. Emery, of Philadelphia. In the Philadelphia Public Ledger of April 18, and the Boston Evening Transcript of April 17, Mr. Emery published full-page articles about the $3,000,000 "greatest collection of postage stamps in the world"-that was assembled by Count Philip la Renotiere von Ferrary, the European recluse who was an ardent philatelist and who upon his death two years ago bequeathed his albums and their contents to the Berlin Postal Museum. We are informed that Mr. Emery has other articles in preparation, these to appear in weekly or monthly publications. Count Ferrary's collection has 120,000 specimens. As explained by Mr. Emery, these adhesives were in France at the time of their owner's passing, and the French Government refused to allow them to pass into the possession of Germany, then an enemy nation. The French authorities, according to the writer, have rejected an offer of $1,875,000 by an American collector, whose identity is not disclosed. Now, Mr. Emery announces, the collection is shortly "to be broken up and sold to the highest bidders," in Paris. This auction, we read, "will attract stamp buyers and specialists from all nations east and west, and, in addition to ranking as the most extraordinary event in the history of stamp collecting, will serve to focus world-wide attention upon philately, that exact science which now has thousands of devotees from schoolboys to millionaires. Furthermore, the Ferrary sale not only will be the means of opening up to the public many of the secrets concerning great postage stamp rarities and valuable specimens eagerly sought by the initiated few, but also will uncover the romance of the discovery and the race for the possession of scores and scores of the little squares of paper which now are worth fortunes. One by one, such oddities are found in old correspondence files, in ancient trunks and bundles, and among other dusty and mould-covered relics of a forgotten generation stored away in attics and cellars, and, one by one, the finders are reaping the rewards of from $50 to $10,000 because they realize that philately is something more than a youthful fad." Mr. Emery goes on to tell about some of the many rarities in the Ferrary albums-British Guiana, Cape of Good Hope, early United States, Confederate issues, Austria, Bermuda, India, Moldavia, Naples and other stamp-issuing governments. SCOTT'S Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue 1920 EDITION Second printing ready about May 15 |