Guam Guard Mail, Part Two by H

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From the Stamp Specialist: Guam Guard Mail, Part Two by H. F. Bowker (From The 1939 Stamp Specialist, with images added) Continued from SNO June 2012

All the cancellation stamps used by the Guard Mail were destroyed when the affairs of that service were liquidated after 8 April 1931. While no record of the manner of their destruction is available, it is understood that they were burned in the furnace of the Naval Station power plant, in accordance with the terms of Naval Station Order Number 286, announcing the discontinuance of all service on the first anniversary of its establishment. U. S. NAVAL STATION GUAM COMMANDANT’S OFFICE NAVAL STATION ORDER NO. 286. 21 February, 1931. 1. On 8 April, 1931, after one year of satisfactory operation, the Guam Guard Mail will be discontinued, since at that time it will have been replaced, in whole or in part, by service of the U.S. Post Office Department. 2. All unused stamped paper will be turned over to the Naval Government of Guam, without charge, for sale, the proceeds from such sale to be used for the amortization of indebtedness on land and buildings used as public recreation places. All equipment, other than cancellation stamps, will be turned over to the Government of Guam for such use as it may see fit. All cancellation stamps will be destroyed in the pres- ence of the Superintendent of the Guam Guard Mail, in order that their use in the future may be rendered impossible. Willis W. Bradley, Jr. Commander, U. S. Navy, Commandant, U. S. Naval Station, Guam.

Issue 19 - July 6, 2012 - StampNewsOnline.net 22 If you enjoy this article, and are not already a subscriber, for $12 a year you can enjoy 60+ pages a month. To subscribe, email [email protected] A press release dated 14 January 1931 indicates that the Naval Government of Guam was in the stamp business, supplying cancelled specimens as well as mint stamps. On account of the many requests of stamp collectors for used Guam Guard Mail stamps, it is requested that mer- chants or others who receive letters having cancelled Guam stamps thereon and who don’t make a practice of saving these stamps, forward the envelopes complete to the Gov- ernor for future use. These will all help to put Guam before the world at large. A second and third shipment of Philippine stamps were ordered for the third and fourth issues. Copies of the letters of acknowledgement and the certificates regarding the overprinting follow: NAVAL GOVERNMENT OF GUAM GOVERNMENT HOUSE, GUAM 1433-705-30 August 16th, 1930. The Director, Bureau of Posts, Manila, P. I. Dear Sir: The 20,000 two-centavo and 80,000 four-centavo Philip- pine postage stamps forwarded with your letter of 9 July, 1930, to the Supply Officer, U. S. Naval Station, Cavite, for further shipment to the Government of Guam have been received and have been surcharged for local use only. The letter of the officer-in-charge local mail service certifying to the surcharging of these stamps is enclosed herewith. Please accept my thanks for your kindness in furnishing the above mentioned stamps. Respectfully, Willis W. Bradley, Jr. Governor of Guam. ______JAS/Ft. JAS/Ft. Enclosure: NAVAL GOVERNMENT OF GUAM GOVERNMENT HOUSE, GUAM 16 August, 1930. From: The Superintendent, Guam Guard Mail.

Issue 19 - July 6, 2012 - StampNewsOnline.net 23 To: The Governor. Subject: Surcharging Philippine Postage Stamps. 1. I hereby certify that 20,000 two-centavo and 80,000 four-centavo Philippine postage stamps have been received and that each has been surcharged with the words “Guam Guard Mail” under my personal supervision. 2. These stamps will be used exclusively for the postal service of Guam. J. A. Stuart First Lieutenant, U. S. Marine Corps. ______NAVAL GOVERNMENT OF GUAM GOVERNMENT HOUSE, GUAM 1433-14.8-31 ATP/Jm 3 February, 1931 Dear Sir: The 50,000 two-centavo, 50,000 four-centavo, 25,000 six-centavo, 25,000 eight-centavo and 25,000 ten-centavo Philippine postage stamps forwarded to the Supply Officer, U.S. Naval Station, Cavite, P.I., for further shipment to the Government of Guam have been received and have been surcharged for local use only. The letter of the officer-in- charge local mail service certifying to the surcharging of these stamps is enclosed herewith. Please accept my thanks for your kindness in furnishing the above mentioned stamps. Respectfully, Willis W. Bradley, Jr. Governor of Guam. The Director, Bureau of Posts, Manila, P. I. ______NAVAL GOVERNMENT OF GUAM GOVERNMENT HOUSE, GUAM 1433-149-31 ATP/Jm 3 February, 1931 From: The Superintendent, Guam Guard Mail To: The Governor Subject: Surcharging Philippine postage stamps. 1. I hereby certify that 50,000 two-centavo, 50,000 four-

Issue 19 - July 6, 2012 - StampNewsOnline.net 24 centavo, 25,000 six-centavo, 25,000 eight-centavo and 25,000 ten-centavo, Philippine postage stamps have been received and that each has been surcharged with the word “Guam Guard Mail” under my personal supervision. 2. These stamps will be used exclusively for the postal service of Guam. J. A. Stuart First Lieutenant, U. S. Marine Corps. The following editorial comment which appeared in the Guam Recorder for May 1930, gives some idea of the operation of the Guard Mail: The two most important projects recently undertaken af- fecting the prosperity and advancement of the residents of Guam have been the inauguration of the Guam Guard Mail Service and the decision of the Governor to construct a new athletic field. The Guam Guard Mail got underway for a fly- ing start in a carabao cart on the morning of April 8th. The first route opened was between Agana, Asan, Piti, Agat and Sumay. The service was completely equipped with mail bags, mail boxes, cancelling stamps, and signs, with Bordallo’s bus line as carrier for the mail and the commis- sioners of the outlying points to act as postmasters. Philip- pine two centavos and four centavos stamps were obtained on the GOLD STAR surcharged with the words “Guam Guard Mail.” This is purely a local service for the benefit and convenience of the civilian population of Guam.…

Linoleum block cut of carabao cart published in Guam Recorder, March 1935

Issue 19 - July 6, 2012 - StampNewsOnline.net 25 This is perhaps the source of the oft-repeated errone- ous statement that the stamps were overprinted in the Philippines. The certificates of the Superintendent of the Guard Mail and the letters of the Acting Director of the Bureau of Posts of the Philippine Government quoted in full herein, completely refute this assumption. The early linking of the Guard Mail with the construction of the “new athletic field” was to be much closer in the future than at first appeared. The site selected was on the Agana–Piti road in the section of Agana called Aniguac. In the portion of the plot between the road and the beach were built two buildings for the use, respectively, of the Guam Council and Assembly. At times these buildings have also been used as school houses. The greater portion of the site on the south side of the road was laid out as a baseball field and drill ground for the Militia, whose new armory was to be located along the eastern side of the field. At this time the Guam Militia was a compulsory organization in which all able-bodied male citizens of Guam were drafted at the age of 16 years. During the administration of Governor McCandlish, 1936-37, it was changed to a purely voluntary organization. A summary of the population of the various districts served by the Guard Mail will indicate the probable use- fulness of the service to the inhabitants. The following statistics are from the Fifteenth Census of the United States: 1930, taken at about the time that these issues were current: Municipality 21 years and over Total Agana ...... 4,787 11,042 Agat ...... 411 887 Asan ...... 249 559 Inarajan ...... 498 1,176 Merizo (including Umatac) ...... 469 1,101 Piti ...... 355 928 Sumay ...... 592 1,209 City of Agana ...... 3,724 8,690 Naval reservation...... 855 1,118 It should be understood that the census statistics in-

Issue 19 - July 6, 2012 - StampNewsOnline.net 26 clude the rural population of the Municipalities, which closely resemble townships, with the urban population of the principal villages from which they take their names. Of a total population in 1930 of 18,509, 8,690 lived in the principal city, Agana; 8,701 were classed as rural; and 1,118 were naval personnel and their families. The adult population of 21 years and over was 21.5 percent illiterate, so that the actual demand for mail service was not as large as might have been expected. The inhabitants of the naval reservation, which included the personnel of naval ships stationed in Guam, may be elimi- nated entirely from consideration, as they were permitted by the station regulations to use the Guard Mail without cost, by franking communications in accordance with the order of the Governor quoted herewith: SUBJECT: Free carriage of mail matter. Reference: Notice in Guam Eagle published 9 April, 1930. 1. The reference stated that hereafter mail for regular military messenger guard mail service without payment of postage will be accepted only as follows: Official mail matter showing official origin. Mail from naval personnel or families of such to naval personnel of families. The latter class of mail must show the sender in order to establish eligibility for military guard mail.… It will be noted that in the above communication a distinction is made between “regular military messenger guard mail” and the reiterated “Guam Guard Mail”. It appears that two services were actually maintained throughout the lifetime of the Guam Guard Mail, whose routes largely overlapped. The “military messenger guard mail” doubtlessly operated between Agana and the outlying military stations at Piti and Sumay, duplicating to that extent the route and service of the Guard Mail. As parallel services were operated, there is a possibility that the exclusion of all but service-connected personnel from the time-honored use of the long-established guard mail was but a whim of the authority whose order stopped the practice, and which perhaps emanated only from a desire

Issue 19 - July 6, 2012 - StampNewsOnline.net 27 to bolster up the local use of the Guard Mail, with a view to giving it an unwarranted color of public necessity. The Guam Guard Mail stamps are more than adequate- ly listed in the latest issue of the United States Specialized Catalogue of Scott Publications, Inc. of New York. It is difficult for a philatelist to recon- cile the statement made that the 2d issue was printed on unwatermarked paper, with the listing of number 204a “Wmkd. ‘VEL’ ”. As a matter of fact, both values of the completely locally-printed stamps, numbers 203 and 204 [now Sc. M3 and M4], were printed on watermarked bond paper drawn from the stock of the Naval 2nd issue, Sc. M3 Station’s Supply Officer, each sheet of which was watermarked “CLEVELAND,” the letters “VEL” being but a small part of the whole watermark, upon discovery of which in one specimen of the 2-cents value probably caused some overwrought stamp collector to write to Scotts about his epoch-making discovery. [Scott now states “Examples are often found showing parts of watermark ‘Cleveland Bond’.”] PRINTING METHODS The first, third, and fourth issues were overprinted in panes of 100 stamps. The setting for the first issue was set up in type which was not used for later printings. That used for the third and fourth issues was a different font,

1st issue, Sc. M1 4th issue, Sc. M7

Issue 19 - July 6, 2012 - StampNewsOnline.net 28 the same type being used for both, but the type was distributed after the third issue was overprinted and reset for the fourth issue. When the type was set up for the latter issue, two cliches, numbers 63 and 84 were, through error, set up as “GRAUD” and “MIAL”. These errors were discovered after all the sheets of the 1-cent fourth issue were printed. The two cliches were then corrected before proceeding with the overprinting of the other values. The errors were removed from all of the sheets before the stamps were placed on sale. No record having been kept of the relative positions of the two errors, it has been impossible to determine the position of each in the sheets. As all were removed from the sheets, they are unobtainable in pairs or blocks with normal stamps. As these were not sold during the currency of the stamps, they are obviously merely printers’ waste, and worthless from the viewpoint of a philatelist. It is noted that these slight trifles are now listed by Scott at $20 for the pair. They should be deleted from the catalog. [They are valued at $425 each in the 2012 Specialized.] A block of ten of the 2¢ Fourth Issue with “GRAUD” Mail, Sc. M7a, second stamp down in left column, and Guard “MIAL”, fourth stamp down in right column, Sc. M7b. While the author stated that the positions were not known at that time, and that no multiples existed, such multiples, such as seen here, did turn up and the positions were determined to be position 63 for “Graud” and 84 for “Mial”. (The singles shown are not from this block, but were selected as more visible examples. See also page 32 for a reading notice regarding the sale of these errors.)

Issue 19 - July 6, 2012 - StampNewsOnline.net 29 The printing of the two values of the second issue was a tedious process. As only one electrotype of the Guam seal, which was used for the center design of both values, was available, the stamps were printed one at a time. This entailed fifty impressions Second is- for each sheet of twenty-five sue 1¢ red stamps, or 6,000 impressions & black sin- for the entire issue of 3,000 gle, Sc. M3 A proof from the original die used in stamps. It has been stated the printing of the that the electrotype which was used for Second Issue. printing the center design of this issue was destroyed after the issue was printed. This is incorrect, as the identical cut used for printing the centers was in use in the printing office in Agana until late in 1938, when it was obtained by the writer. In latter years it had been used infrequently, as new-style cuts had been purchased without the horizontal lines in the background, which were considered more suitable. The perforating of the second issue was done, not with a sewing machine as has been variously stated, but with a “GEM” single line perforating machine. This necessitated running the sheets through separately for the horizontal and vertical perforations. As the dies of the machine were badly worn, the perforations are rough and poorly executed. Only, nine, or 36% of the 25 stamps of each sheet are perforated on all 2¢ black & red, block of four sides; 48% are imperforate on four, Sc. M4, without gum one side or at the top or bottom; as issued, perforated on and 16% are imperforate at the all sides, reportedly one of only 80 possible perfo- top or bottom and one side. rated all around blocks.

Issue 19 - July 6, 2012 - StampNewsOnline.net 30 1930, 1¢ Red & Black (M3). Horizontal pair, tied by “Guam Service Sumay Sep. 10, 1930” double-circle datestamp on buff Peggy Muller cover. The number of fully perforated pairs of the 1¢ from the 40 sheets of 25 printed (1,000 stamps) is relatively small, the amount in one collector's opinion is 120. RECAPITULATION OF NUMBER ISSUED denomination 1st issue 2d issue 3d issue 4th issue 1-cent (2-centavos) 2,000 1,000 20,000 50,000 2-cents (4-centavos) 3,000 2,000 80,000 50,000 3-cents (6-centavos) 25,000 4-cents (8-centavos) 25,000 5-cents (10-centavos) 25,000 Face value $80 $50 $1,800 $4,500 Total face value $6,430. The “errors” were sold for 25¢ for the pair, there being 500 of each, the excess revenue derived from their sale was approximately $115. The anticipated increment on the remainders was immediately placed to the credit of the Guard Mail Account of the Naval Government of Guam by the advancing of the prices at which the remainders would thereafter be sold to collectors an average of 2.41 times face value. This is shown by the following reading notice which was published in the Guam Recorder of April 1931. On 8 April 1931, the Guam Guard Mail will cease to ex- ist and all remaining stamped paper will be taken over by the Naval Government of Guam for sale, the proceeds to be applied to the public benefit. The first and second issues of the Guam Guard Mail

Issue 19 - July 6, 2012 - StampNewsOnline.net 31 stamps have been exhausted. There are some of the 4 centavos stamps of the third issue and all denominations of the fourth issue still on hand. The prices of these stamps after 8 April will be: Third Issue 4-centavos 8 cents Fourth Issue 2-centavos 3 cents " " 4-centavos 6 cents " " 6-centavos 6 cents " " 8-centavos 8 cents " " 10-centavos 10 cents There are approximately a thousand 2-centavos stamps in which errors in over-printing occurred. None of these stamps has been used for mail purposes. The errors con- sist (about half of each) of mis-spelling in the word “MAIL” in one instance and “GUARD” in another instance. As long as these “errors” last they will be sold for 25¢ per pair, consisting of one of each kind. Prior to the closing of the Guam Guard Mail a certain number of envelopes with cancelled stamps can be sup- plied, while they last, for 25¢ each. All remittances should be made to the Governor of Guam. The following month the same publication printed what appears to be an officially-inspired self-congratulatory report on the future prospects for deriving revenue from further exploitation of collectors. On 8 April, after a year of most successful operation, the Guam Guard Mail was discontinued to make way for the Federal Postal Service, which is to take its place. It is interesting to note that this little local mail service paid its own way during its one year of life, paid one-half of the cost of construction of the Guam Militia armory and outbuildings, and contributed its remaining cash on hand, $1,559.49, to aid in the amortization of the indebtedness of Bradley Field. Upon closing out this service, all stamped paper was advanced somewhat and turned over to the Government of Guam for sale for the public benefit. The exact value of the stamped paper so presented (at the new prices) is $8,186.74. While some of this will be lost due to

Issue 19 - July 6, 2012 - StampNewsOnline.net 32 deterioration in the tropics prior to sale, enough will undoubtedly be realized to pay for both buildings now being erected for the Guam Congress and for the property on which they stand. It is apparent that the The Guam Congress Building, no Guam Guard Mail was an longer in use, was completed by excellent thing for Guam, the Navy in 1948. JFD. not only assisting to bring about the establishment of Fed- eral mail service throughout the island, but in its actual returns in cash. We could stand several such episodes without feeling at all alarmed. That the editorial expressions of the Editor were echoes from Government House will be confirmed by the report of the address of Governor Bradley before the Guam Cham- ber of Commerce at a farewell luncheon on 15 May 1931. Among other things he said: …And next we come to a thing which is neither of the elements nor of the mind. It combines both, and exists no longer. I refer to the Guam Guard Mail, which after having achieved the venerable age of one year, was painlessly put to death on the 8th of April, while enjoying good health. The Guam Guard Mail was born of the necessity of providing an inter-island mail service, a thing which has not existed during the entire life of Guam. It was not intended to be a permanent organization, but was organized to demonstrate the practicability and the necessity for a local mail service, which I, for one, felt sure would pay. As I look back now upon that day, a little more than a year ago, when the first bull cart left the office in Agana, and as I realize how some of my advisors were certain that the service would not pay the price of needed equipment and the $5 per month required for transportation, it seems rather a joke, and leads one to wonder how many good things are destroyed by pessimism. Just what did the Guam Guard Mail accomplish? Starting without a cent, it paid all expenses; it demonstrated to the United States Post Office Department the need of an inter-

Issue 19 - July 6, 2012 - StampNewsOnline.net 33 island mail service and brought about its establishment—it made the people begin to understand that communication with one’s neighbors is easy and in so doing increased friendship existing between different municipalities—it paid one-half the cost of the armory for the Guam Militia and one-half of the cost of the necessary outbuildings; it contributed some $1,600 in cash towards the purchase of property now used for baseball and parade purposes; and then, as a final gesture, it contributed some $8,000 worth of stamps to the Island Government, to be sold for the benefit of the people of the Island, a sum sufficient to amortize all of the outstanding options, all of the present indebtedness on BRADLEY PARK and to pay the entire cost of construction of the two buildings now being erected from the Guam Con- gress. And then it did one more thing, it brought the name of Guam into more publicity than all of the other things we have done in the past decade, for practically every stamp collector of the world read of this peculiar issue of Guam Guard Mail stamps. So, all in all, feel we are very proud of the Guam Guard Mail and am happy to think I had some part in starting the bull cart on its way.… The bull cart referred to is the typical Chamorro native cart which was employed upon the occasion of the first mail trip. It was used solely for “local color” on that one occasion, to take the first pouch of mail from the office of the Guard Mail in Government House to a point out of sight a few squares away, where the pouch was trans- ferred to the automobile of the contractor who had been engaged for the munificent sum of $5 per month to make the fifteen-mile trip from Agana to Agat, via Asan, Piti, and Sumay, six times a week. A linoleum block cut of this carabao cart was published in the March 1935 issue of the Guam Recorder and is reproduced on page 25. An inspection of the remainders on hand 30 November 1938 in the office of the Governor of Guam, revealed the following pertinent information: They consisted of the 2-cents—4-centavos, third issue, and all values of the fourth issue.

Issue 19 - July 6, 2012 - StampNewsOnline.net 34 The Philippine plate numbers were as follows: 3d issue: 2-cents—4-centavos, numbers at top and left, 44873, 44874, 44875, and 44876, all in upper left-hand panes of 100 stamps. 4th issue: 1-cent—2-centavos, numbers at top only, 121068, 121069, 121070, all in upper left-hand panes of 100 stamps. Stamps number 63 and 84 removed from all sheets. These stamps were the errors “GRAUD” and “MIAL”. 2-cents—4-centavos, numbers at top only, 44873, 44874, 44875, 44876, all in upper right-hand panes of 100 stamps. All of the right-hand plate numbers were removed from the sheets when the right-hand margins were detached prior to the overprinting in Guam. 3-cents—6-centavos, numbers at top and bottom, 34789, 34817, 34820, 34821, all in left-hand panes of 100 stamps. 4-cents—8-centavos, numbers at top and bottom, 21973, all in left-hand panes of 100 stamps. 5-cents—10-centavos, numbers at top only, 34792, 34807, 34822, 34827, all in upper left-hand panes of 100 stamps. The 6- and 8-centavos panes are from 200-subject plates. All others are from 400-subject plates. Therefore the former have 10 stamps with straight edges at the right, while the latter values have the usual 19 stamps with straight edges at bottoms or sides. The 6-, 8- and 10-centavos sheets have arrows in the left-hand margins, and guide lines between rows 5 and 6. None of the other values have arrows or guide lines. PLATE NUMBERS First Issue: 1 -cent — 2-centavos, top only, numbers unknown 2-cents — 4-centavos, top 44876*, left 44876* Second Issue: None Third Issue: 1 -cent — 2-centavos, top only 103589, 90, 92 2-cents — 4-centavos, top 44873, 74, 75, 76; left 44873, 74, 75, 76

Issue 19 - July 6, 2012 - StampNewsOnline.net 35 Fourth Issue: 1-cent—2-centavos, top only, 121066, 68, 69, 70, 71 2-cents—4 centavos, top only 44873, 74, 75. 76 3-cents—6-centavos, top 34789, 817, 20, 21 bottom 34789, 817, 20, 21 4-cents—8-centavos, top 21973, bottom 21973 5-cents—10-centavos, top only 34792, 807, 22, 27 * probably other numbers RATES Copy of rate card distributed to local postmasters and business firms in Guam. CLASSIFICATION AND RATES OF SERVICE GUAM POSTAL SERVICE 1st Class Matter Letter Mail: 2¢ an ounce or fraction thereof. Postal Cards: 1¢ each. 2nd Class Matter Newspapers and Periodicals: 1¢ for each 2 ounces or fraction thereof. 3d Class Matter Third class matter includes circulars, books, catalogues having 24 pages or more and other printed matter not actually personal correspondence or including 2nd class matter. Rate: 1-1/2¢ for each 2 ounces or fraction thereof up to and including 8 ounces. Note: Matter weighing more than 8 ounces should be sent Parcel Post. 4th Class Matter—Parcel Post. Fourth class matter includes all merchandise, domestic parcels, printed matter, etc., exceeding 8 ounces in weight. Rate: 7¢ for 1st pound or fraction thereof and 1¢ more for each additional pound or fraction thereof up to and including 70 pounds. Parcels exceeding 70 pounds in weight will not be carried. (i.e. 2 pounds—8¢, 3 pounds—9¢, etc.) The regulations of the U.S. Postal Service, where ap- plicable, are in force except that U.S. Stamps will not be

Issue 19 - July 6, 2012 - StampNewsOnline.net 36 accepted. Guam Postal Service Stamps will not be valid outside Guam. M. R. Carroll Supt. Guam Postal Service Approved: Willis W. Bradley. Jr. Governor of Guam. Guam 3-April-30-50 PLATES It will be noted from the plate numbers given above, that the 2-, 4-, and 10-centavos values were in panes of one hundred stamps from plates having four hundred subjects. Insofar as is known, all these panes, excepting only the 4- centavos fourth issue, are from the upper left-hand panes. In the case of the 4-centavos value of the fourth issue, all of the panes are from the upper right-hand section of the sheets, and all of the right-hand plate numbers of this value were removed from the panes prior to the overprinting. In the case of the 10-centavos value, altho all panes are from the upper left-hand corner of the sheets of one hundred subjects, these plates have no plate numbers in the left-hand margins. No comment is made on the plate numbers of the 2-centavos first issue, as nothing is known of them. OVERPRINT SETTINGS The plate settings for the first issue were handset from foundry type of a different font than the later ones. There are no marked varieties of overprinting in this issue. Both denominations were overprinted from the same setting of type. The type from which the third issue was overprinted was distributed after that issue was completed. No marked varieties of overprinting have been discovered in this issue. When the type for the fourth issue was set up from the same font which was used for the third issue, two marked errors were made in the overprints. They are the errors in the spelling of the words GUARD and MAIL, which appeared as GAURD and MIAL, but only in the first-printed

Issue 19 - July 6, 2012 - StampNewsOnline.net 37 lowest value, the 2-centavos. These errors were discovered after the completion of the printing of this value, and were corrected before the printing of the remaining values was started. It is not known where each of these errors appeared in the plate. They were stamps number 63 and 84 of the pane, but which position was the GAURD and which the MIAL error is not known, as these two stamps were removed from all of the sheets prior to their being placed on sale. There has lately appeared a block of four of the 10- centavos value which purports to be the MIAL error in one of the stamps of the block. This is believed to be of late manufacture, as it does not appear to be from the same type-setting as the authentic 2-centavos MIAL errors. The fact that this variety has appeared in a block of four mitigates against its being accepted as authentic, as the 10-centavos stamps were not overprinted immediately after the 2-centavos values, in which this error appeared, but were the last value to be printed. The 4-, 6-, and 8- centavos values were all printed before the 10-centavos. A moment’s consideration of the well-known fact that all of the errors of the 2-centavos denomination were removed from the sheets, would cause one to doubt the bona fides of this specimen, as had it been printed in Guam at the time all the rest of the values of the fourth issue were printed, it would indubitably have been removed from the sheet as were the others, and would have first appeared as a single stamp and not in a block. Bibliography GUARD MAIL ISSUES: Anderson, R.W., Guam Guard Mail and its Stamps and Postmarks, Mekeel’s Weekly Stamp News, 5-9, 16- 38. Anderson, R.W., Guam Guard Mail, The Philatelist, 5- 38. Miller, Jay F., Guam Guard Mail, American Philatelist, Sept. 38, pp. 1159-1160 Osborne, C.E., Guam Guard Mail Issues, Western Stamp Collector, #751, 12 June 1937.

Issue 19 - July 6, 2012 - StampNewsOnline.net 38 Anon., History of Guam Stamps, Guam Recorder, Dec. 38, pp. 11-13, 43 Anon., History of Guam Stamps, Reprint of above with corrections. Preston, R.B., Guam Guard Mail, Stamps, 9 Dec. 33, p. 352.

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