The Winton M. Blount Postal History Symposia - Smithsonian ...

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9 6 • s m i t h s o n i a n c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o h i s t o ry a n d t e c h n o l o g yproblems allowed stamps to go into production prior totheir approval by the third assistant postmaster generaland/or the U.S. postage stamp agent (See approval datesin Table 1 and the approval date on the signed proof inFigure 1).Inventory and Demand ProjectionsIn an article by Dickey, 6 a letter from the chief of theBureau of Engraving and Printing, Claude M. Johnson,was quoted in which Johnson provided a forecast by denominationfor the number of postage due stamps neededto be supplied by the BEP for fiscal year 1895 (beginningJuly 1, 1894). This forecast is shown in Column 2of Table 2. For comparison, the actual shipment of postagedue stamps by the ABNCo in fiscal year 1893 (July1, 1892, to June 30, 1893) is given in Column 3 of Table2. 7 This was the last full year’s worth of data available toJohnson when he made his prediction in early 1894. It canbe seen that the forecast by Johnson is essentially the 1893fiscal year data with two notable exceptions, the estimatesfor the thirty- cent and fifty- cent postagedues. These estimateswere approximately six times higher for the thirtycentdues and thirteen times higher for the fifty- cent dues.This was extremely optimistic since the thirty- cent andfifty- cent dues had averaged only about 6,800 and 2,100respectively in the previous six years. 8Table 2 also contains the ABNCo large numeralpostage- due shipment data for fiscal year 1894 (July 1,1893, to June 30, 1894). It can be seen that althoughJohnson’s forecast for total number of postagedue stampsis slightly greater than the actual totals in both FY 1893and FY 1894, his estimate was over one- half million underthe actual shipment of two- cent postagedues in FY 1894.The ten- cent value estimate was almost 90,000 below theFY 1894 shipments, while the three- cent was slightly over40,000 below the actual data for FY 1894.Near the end of its contract, the ABNCo supplied theremaining stock of large numeral dues to the BEP so that itwould have a supply of postage dues to begin the 1895 fiscalyear (Table 3). The quantity supplied was 2,796,543 postagedue stamps. This quantity, broken down by denomination,is shown in Column 2. The shipments of large- numeralpostage- due stamps by the BEP to postmasters in fiscal year1895 is given in Column 3. Column 4 indicates the differenceor the remaining large- numeral postagedues in thehands of the BEP. The BEP indicated that these remainderswere scrapped in early calendar year 1895 to avoid “elaborate”daily inventory reports.By comparing the data in Tables 2 and 3, it is quiteclear that the ABNCo dues were insufficient to meet thedemand. In fact, the 50,164 two- cent postagedues representedonly 0.76 percent of the estimated needed supply.This percentage equates to about 2.8 days, assuming alinear usage rate throughout the year. The one- cent supplywas about fifteen percent of the estimated needed supplyor fifty- five days worth, and the ten- cent large- numeraldues on hand could satisfy the demand for about sixtysevendays. Even the five- cent supply was only good for306 days or about ten months. Only the thirty cent andfifty cent dues were in sufficient numbers to last multipleTable 2. BEP Forecast of Postage Due Stamp Requirements forfiscal year 1895 and Shipment Records of Large Numeral PostageDues for fiscal years 1893 and 1894Table 3. ABNCo Large Numeral Postage Dues Transferred tothe BEP and Subsequently Distributed by the BEP during FiscalYear 1895Johnson’s ABNCo ABNCoForecast Shipment Shipmentfor Fiscal in Fiscal in FiscalValue Year 1895 Year 1893 Year 18941¢ 9,000,000 8,967,456 8,441,9002¢ 6,600,000 6,598,500 7,131,7003¢ 200,000 198,955 242,9005¢ 800,000 808,510 603,78010¢ 1,520,000 1,525,550 1,608,47030¢ 40,000 6,650 6,29050¢ 40,000 2,350 3,106Total 18,200,000 18,101,950 18,038,146Value ABNCo Shipment a BEP Distribution b Difference1¢ 1,350,369 1,350,369 02¢ 50,164 50,164 03¢ 294,783 190,300 104,4835¢ 670,148 604,320 65,82310¢ 277,794 277,780 1430¢ 96,502 23,430 73,07250¢ 56,783 15,030 41,753Total 2,796,543 2,511,393 285,150 caPost Office Bill Book, June 30, 1879–March 30, 1895b John N. Luff, The Postage Stamps of the United States 1902 Edition, Scott Stampand Coin Company Limited, pp 245–352.cExcess scraped.
n u m b e r 5 5 • 9 7years (14.5 years and 24.2 years respectively, based on actualusage in Fiscal Year 1893. See Table 2).If the distribution of the new one- cent and two- centbureau dues were delayed by even a few days, there wouldhave certainly been shortages of both values, especiallythe two- cent dues. Shortages of the one- cent and two- centvalues were more likely to have occurred in the westernstates and in the rural areas of the east, but occasionallyeven large cities were without these values of postage dues.Also, it is believed that both the five- cent and ten- cent valuesexperienced localized shortages.Postmasters’ SolutionWith any shortage of a particular denomination stamp,the postmaster or postal clerk would simply make up therequired value using other denomination stamps. For example,a two- cent shortage could be made up with twoones, a five- cent shortage with one two- and one three- centstamp, and so forth. In the 1895 period, however, a shortageof one- cent postagedue stamps would be problematic(no half- cent postage dues existed), unless the postmastercould substitute a regular issue one- cent stamp in its place.Although common practice later on, postmasters of the1890s were reluctant to just use a regularissue stamp unlessit was suitably marked “Postage Due” or “Due 1” orsome other variant of “due” to indicate its intended function.Examples of this approach will be described below inthe section on provisionals.Another and perhaps more common approach wasto bisect a higher value stamp to achieve the desiredvalue. For example, a two- cent postagedue stamp couldbe bisected to make two one- cent stamps. Since these bisectedstamps (vertical, horizontal, or diagonals) were stillpostage- dues, most postmasters did not feel the need toadd a “due” marking to the bisected stamp. The notableexception to this was the Jefferson, Iowa, bisects of October1895, where each half of a vertically bisected two- centpostage due stamp was overprinted with “Due 1 cent.”Clinton, Iowa, also used diagonal bisects hand stampedwith “Due 1” in early 1896. These and other bisects willbe described below in the section on bisects.It should be noted that both provisional use of regularissuestamps as postagedues and postagedue bisects havebeen used to address more than a shortage of one- centstamps. Provisionals have been used for local two- centpostage- due shortages and ten- cent bisects have addresseda shortage of five- cent postagedue stamps. Much later inthe 1920s and 1930s when half- cent postage rates werein effect, both provisional due markings on half- centregular- issue stamps and bisected one- cent postage- duestamps exist. A detailed discussion of these usages is beyondthe scope of this article. Similarly, some postmastersprinted (stamped) “Due __ cents” diagonally on regularissue stamps. The blank was filled in with a manuscriptnumber —thus, any value postagedue stamp shortagecould be addressed.Detroit ProvisionalsAs mentioned above, provisionals (or locals) typicallyresulted when a postmaster had a shortage of a commonlyused stamp. In such instances, the postmaster would overprintthe required value (and intended function) on anotherstamp, and use these overprinted stamps until his replacementstamps (stamps in shortage) arrived. The most famousprovisionals of the 1895 era were those created bythe postmaster of Detroit. In the early summer of 1895,the Detroit postmaster found himself short of both onecentand two- cent postagedue stamps. Thus, he stampedin black “DUE 1” on Scott No. 246, one- cent ultramarineregular- issue stamps and “DUE 2” on Scott No. 250, twocentcarmine regularissue stamps, both issued in 1894.A cover illustrating a pair of “Due 1” overprints usedto address a two- cent deficiency is shown in Figure 3. Ithas a Detroit circular date stamp (CDS) with the date June23, 1895. A similar cover with the two- cent carmine “Due2” is illustrated in Figure 4. Again, this cover has a DetroitCDS, dated June 23, 1895, at 11:30 am. June 23,1895, is supposed to be the first day of provisional use accordingto an accompanying note dated 1947 by Fred R.Schmalz reidt, a noted Detroit philatelic dealer of the timewho claimed they were used from June 23 to June 26,1895. Brower 9 states that they were used from June 21to June 27, 1895. Brower’s dates were taken from Luff’sbook published in 1902. If the note from Schmalzreidt iscorrect, then both of these covers were postmarked on thefirst day of provisional use in Detroit. Both covers haveidentical envelopes with crossed out return addresses. Thecover with the pair of one- cent dues is addressed to Hubeland Company Electricians, City, while the cover with thetwo- cent due is addressed to Ernst Stolze, Buhl Block,City. Figure 5 illustrates another Detroit provisional pairused to pay two- cents postage due. The stamps are ScottNo. 264 and were issued in April 1895. They are bluein color rather than the ultramarine of the stamps (ScottNo. 246) on the cover shown in Figure 3. This cover wasaddressed to Geo. N. Rice, 186 East High Dr., City, and
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Smithsonian InstitutionScholarly Pr
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smithsonian contributions to histor
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ContentsLETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR OF
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AcknowledgmentsThe symposium would
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2 • s m i t h s o n i a n c o n t
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1 0 • s m i t h s o n i a n c o n
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“Little Colored Bits of Paper”C
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 7as something
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 9protest came
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 2 1nals I revie
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WWI Philatelic Censuses of East Afr
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 2 5Table 1. GEA
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 2 7Figure 5. MA
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Explorations in the Official Regist
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 3 1receipts. De
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 3 3TABLE 2. Pop
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 3 5different ge
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Introduction to the Second Symposiu
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From the Pulpit to the Post: Anti-
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 4 9The allege
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 5 1Individual
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