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

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 postage- due 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 regular- issue 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 postage- due 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 postage- dues and postage- due 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 postage- due 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 postage- due 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 postage- due stamps. Thus, he stampedin black “DUE 1” on Scott No. 246, one- cent ultramarineregular- issue stamps and “DUE 2” on Scott No. 250, twocentcarmine regular- issue 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