The American Philatelist May 2018

An American Philatelist Exclusive Sneak Peek
Stamp
Century
of the
We all know the Inverted Jenny, the United States’ upside-down airplane
stamp. Following is an excerpt from Stamp of the Century, a new book by
Kellen Diamanti and Deborah Fisher about the stamp and those who sought
out and have owned a copy over the past 100 years.
The book – unveiled May 1 during a ceremony for a stamp honoring the
centennial of airmail – has been published by the American Philatelic Society
in partnership with the National Postal Museum.
The book is available from www.stamps.org/publications.
INTRODUCTION
The room is packed and the auctioneer is
late. The clock has slipped several minutes
past the scheduled start time and,
still, a few more people try to squeeze into the
windowless, colorless meeting room located
several floors below the glass-and-steel cathedral
ceiling of the Jacob K. Javits Convention
Center. It’s the fourth day of World Stamp Show NY 2016,
and one of the marquee events is about to take place.
World stamp shows are extravaganzas of philatelic buying,
selling, trading, schmoozing, and socializing, which the
designated country hosts every ten years. Sanctioned by the
Fédération Internationale de Philatélie in Luxembourg, international
shows are an order of magnitude larger and more
lavish than the annual national shows taking place throughout
the United States. Sixty years have passed since New York
hosted a world stamp show, and the city pulled out all the
stops to welcome stamp enthusiasts from around the world
during the show’s eight-day run.
Stamp dealers capitalize on big shows to sell personal collections
with items made famous by history, scarcity, quality,
or celebrity ownership. Conducted like performance pieces,
high profile auctions give dealers a chance to boost their visibility
while giving collectors an opportunity to acquire something
special. The person or heirs whose material is being sold
hope the bidding produces premium prices. The auctions on
May 31 include a selection of United States rarities, classics
(printed before 1870), and stamps important to postal history.
But the majority of people waiting for the event to start
came to see the sale of a single stamp—the Inverted Jenny.
The Inverted Jenny is the most famous error ever printed.
What makes this stamp so intriguing is that the airplane appears
to be serenely flying upside down. The stamp up for
auction was one in a sheet of one hundred purchased by William
Robey on the morning of May 14, 1918, in
a Washington, D.C., post office. Position 58, as
the stamp is known, was originally the third-tothe-last
stamp on the right in the sixth row of the
sheet. Bidders, reporters, and looky-loos had every
chance to see the object of all this attention in
its shrine at the Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries
superbooth near the entrance to the vast upstairs showroom.
Despite the stamp’s age, the colors of its carmine frame and
tiny blue biplane remain vivid, the condition excellent, and
centering almost perfect. Graded XF-superb 95, position 58
could sell in the high six figures and perhaps more.
William Robey’s Granddaughter, Carolyn Marek, and her husband
Tony, taking pictures at the 2016 Inverted Jenny auction.
Robey’s granddaughter, Carolyn Marek, and her husband,
Tony, are sitting up front, snapping photos like excited tourists.
They flew in the previous night to witness the sale. Her
grandfather’s famous purchase has been a highlight of family
lore for generations, and though Carolyn has seen a few spec-
MAY 2018 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 471