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Pennsylvania Postal History Society November 2012 Whole No. 193 Vol. 40, No. 4 PENNSYLVANIA POSTAL HISTORIAN THE BULLETIN OF THE PENNSYLVANIA POSTAL HISTORY SOCIETY Inside this issue: Pennsylvania “Cartes de Visite” Luxury Tax Paid with Revenue Stamps Philadelphia to Aspinwall, 1858 LITIZ ACROSS THE POND Unpaid Letters by Prussian Closed Mail, 1853 and 1854 Faded Letters Speak From a Distance it Looks Tiny, but Up Close it Seems Immense! 2nd Update on Pennsylvania Manuscript Markings, Part XIV (Lawrence, Lebanon and Lehigh Counties) PENNSYLVANIA POSTAL HISTORIAN The Bulletin of the Pennsylvania Postal History Society ISSN – 0894 – 0169 Est. 1974 PENNSYLVANIA POSTAL HISTORIAN The bulletin of the Pennsylvania Postal History Society Published quarterly by the PPHS for its members Volume 40 No. 4 (Whole No. 193) November 2012 APS Affiliate No. 50 Member of the Pennsylvania Federation of Museums and Historical Organizations www.PaPHS.org The PPHS is a non-profit, educational organization whose purposes are to cultivate and to promote the study of t he postal history of Pennsylvania, to encourage the acquisition and preservation of material relevant and necessary to that study, and to publish and to support the publication of such knowledge for the benefit of the public. The views expressed by contributors are their own and not necessarily those of the PPHS, its Directors, Officers, or Members. Comments and criticisms are invited. Please direct your correspondence to the Editor. OFFICERS and DIRECTORS APPOINTED OFFICERS OFFICERS President Richard Leiby, Jr. Historian Editor Norman Shachat 1774 Creek View Dr. 382 Tall Meadow Lane Fogelsville, PA 18051 Yardley, Pa 19067 Secretary Norman Shachat Auctioneer Robert McKain 382 Tall Meadow Lane 2337 Giant Oaks Drive Yardley, PA 19067 Pittsburgh, PA 15241 Treasurer Richard Colberg Publicity Steven Kennedy P. O. Box 10082 P. O. Box 599 Lancaster, PA 17605 Myersville, MD 21773 Catalogs Thomas C. Mazza DIRECTORS 1301 Ave. of the Americas Room 2300 2012 T. Clarke, R. McKain, S. Roth New York, NY 10019-6092 2013 S. Kennedy, G. Spector, S. Washburne 2014 R. Colberg, R. Leiby, D. Telep 1 HISTORIAN Vol. 40, No.4 (Whole No. 193) November 2012 (Editor’s Note: Our President again chose not to provide a letter for this issue so in its place is an interesting reader response from Harry Winter (# 571) regarding articles in the last issue and some Society news.) Reader Response to Last Issue Hi, Norm Received my copy of the PPH the other day. Great issue - thanks for running my Mauch Chunk article prominently. And it was a stroke of genius (or luck) to have that article on the New Hope manuscript letter from Samuel Ingham juxtaposed, since there's really a connection between them - interesting that Ingham got into the anthracite business, too. Although he probably never set foot in or near the territory or the States of Michigan, his name is well known here, because Ingham County (site of Lansing) was named for him. The story is that in the late 1820's, when the Michigan Territory and Ohio were disputing the Toledo Strip, the territorial legislature named a group of new counties they erected after President Jackson and his cabinet, hoping to curry favor with the administration to support their claims for the Toledo strip, in order to gain statehood. So Michigan has Jackson, Ingham (his then Secretary of the Treasury), Van Buren (V-P), Eaton, Branch, Livingston, and several other counties, known as the “Cabinet Counties”. Ultimately, of course, Jackson lost that cabinet over a dispute about Eaton's wife and her social standing, Michigan lost the Toledo Strip but gained the Upper Peninsula and statehood, so all ended well, I suppose. Harry Winter (E-mail dated 8/22/12) Society News By a unanimous E-mail vote of the Board of Directors, Steven Kennedy (# 537) was elected to replace Jim Boyles (Class of 2013) on our Board of Directors. Our next Annual Meeting will take place on Saturday April 6, 2013 at the Philadelphia National Stamp Exhibition , Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, Oaks, PA Note: The Member E-Mail Addresses listing begins on page 21 of this issue. Check Out Our Fabulous Web Site www.PaPHS.org For input, questions, or comments contact our webmaster Steve Roth at: [email protected] HISTORIAN Vol. 40, No. 4 (Whole No. 193) November 2012 2 EDITOR’S COMMENTS As indicated on the previous page, Steve Kennedy has been elected by a unanimous vote of the Board of Directors to replace Jim Boyles on our Board. Steve is currently our Publicity Chairman and is in the process of assuming responsibility for our web site. Steve Roth, our current webmaster has been trying to find someone to assume that responsibility for some time. Kennedy has volunteered to do so and is currently working with Roth on the transition which hopefully will occur before the end of the year. The first article in this issue, “ Pennsylvania “Cartes de Visite” Luxury Tax Paid with Revenue Stamps ” was submitted by our newest member Steve Swain. When Steve sent me this article earlier this year he was not a member. He recently joined and has already sent me another outstanding article. As you can imagine, I am delighted that Steve is now a member. In “ Philadelphia to Aspinwall, 1858 ”, Neal Erkes shows a cover he recently obtained addressed to the U. S. Frigate Sabine and details his research on the Sabine which played an important role in the Civil War and in the U. S. involvement in Panama. Dick Colberg illustrates and analyzes three Prussian Closed Mail covers which he recently added to his collection in “ Litiz Across the Pond ”. From his excitement in finding the covers it is clear that Trans-atlantic covers from Litiz are not prevalent. All it took for Norm Nicol to begin a genealogical study of the Linskill family were two faded letters. His research in “ Faded Letters Speak ” illustrates the passion of a philatelic genealogist. With a couple of picture postcards, Charlie Fricke again entertains and informs us in his article entitled, “ From a Distance it Looks Tiny, but Up Close it Seems Immense” . The issue ends with an update of the manuscript markings for Lawrence, Lebanon and Lehigh Counties by Tom Mazza. (Continued on page 23) MEMBERSHIP SUMMARY Total Membership as of 7/15/12 -------------------------------------------------------------- 117 New Members ------------------------------------------------------------------ +2 # 589 David Latzko (York, PA) (York County) # 590 Steve L. Swain (Roswell, GA) (Revenues, Civil War, Mourning Covers) Deceased ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -1 # 554 Thomas J. Post (Scotts, MI) Total Membership as of 10/15/12 ------------------------------------------------------------- 118 (includes 4 life members) ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 3 HISTORIAN Vol. 40, No. 4 (Whole No. 193) November 2012 Pennsylvania “Cartes de Visite” Luxury Tax Paid with Revenue Stamps By Steve Swain (# 590) Patented in Paris, France, by photographer Andre Adolphe Eugene Disderi in 1854, cartes de visite (CDVs) were photographs created with a special camera that produced eight poses on one negative. CDVs quickly replaced the old glass images of the ambrotypes, producing a card the size of the then standard calling card, around 2.5” by 4". CDVs arrived in the United States around 1859. Faced with the financial demands of the Civil War, a June 30, 1864 Act of Congress placed a new luxury tax on "photographs, ambrotypes, daguerreotypes or any other sun- pictures." Photographers were required to affix a properly denominated revenue stamp on the back of the image and cancel it by initialing and dating it in pen or using an appropriate handstamp. A 2 cent “Proprietary”, Scott R13c, paid the tax on this Pottsville, PA, carte de visite However, there was not a special stamp created for photography. So, you will see on the backs of CDVs revenue stamps originally intended for Bank Checks, Playing Cards, Certificates, Proprietary, Bill of Lading, etc. These were accepted by the Federal Government on cartes de visite as long as the stamp denomination was appropriate. HISTORIAN Vol. 40, No. 4 (Whole No. 193) November 2012 4 Examples of revenue stamps affixed to cartes de visite photos are shown below. Scott R5c Scott R15c Scott R19c Scott R11c “Bank Check” “Internal Revenue” “Telegraph” “Playing Cards” Scott R10c Scott R18c Scott R3c “Express” “Proprietary” “Proprietary” The amount of tax required for a carte de visite was determined by the cost of the photograph: ● Less than 25 cents: 2 cent stamp ● 25 to 50 cents: 3 cent stamp ● 50 cents to $1: 5 cent stamp ● More than $1: 5 cents for each additional dollar or fraction thereof The majority of CDVs required either a 2 cent or 3 cent revenue stamp. But some studios specialized in higher quality photographs commanding a higher cost and thus requiring more tax for the cards. For these CDVs, the photographers would often affix multiple 2 cent and 3 cent stamps creating some beautiful combinations. Cartes de visite were so profitable during the Civil War period that studios sprang up throughout Pennsylvania to support the high demand. In West Chester alone there were at least 17 studios making CDVs. On the next page are examples of the affixed revenue stamps on four unique Pennsylvania photo cards. 5 HISTORIAN Vol. 40, No. 4 (Whole No. 193) November 2012 This card of a young couple was made by the Tyler Created by the A. Meyers studio in Mechanicsburg, studio, EASTON, PA. A 2 cent “Proprietary” revenue Pa., a 2 cent “Internal Revenue”, Scott R15c, stamp, Scott R13c, paid the tax on the card. satisfied the tax on this carte de visite. A Philadelphia photographer created this portrait of C. L. Lochman, “Artist”, of Carlisle, PA, created “William Harris”, affixing a 3 cent “Proprietary” this card. A 2 cent “Playing Card” variety, stamp, Scott R18c, to the card.
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