Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from University of Florida, George A. Smathers Libraries http://www.archive.org/details/panamacanalrevie1977pana HAROLD R. PARFITT WILLIE K. FRIAR Governor-President Editor PANAMA ANAL RICHARD L. HUNT j Lieutenant Governor Writers Vic Canel, Fannie P. HERNANDEZ, FRANK A. BALDWIN Dolores E. Suisman Panama Canal Information Officer Official Panama Canal Publication Review articles may be reprinted without further clearance. Credit to the Review will be appreciated. The Panama Canal Review is published twice a year. Yearly subscription: regular mail $1.50, airmail $3, single copies 75 cents. For subscription, send check or money order, made payable to the Panama Canal Company, to Panama Canal Review, Box M, Balboa Heights, C.Z. Editorial Office is located in Room 100, Administration Building, Balboa Heights, C.Z. Printed at the Panama Canal Printing Plant, La Boca, C.Z. Contents OurCover Postage stamps provide a unique <HE "BRIDGELESS" THATCHER look at local history 4 T Ferry Bridge stamp, one of the Triumph of Canal diggers best known rarities in the stamp world vividly depicted is among the Canal Zone stamps appearing on the cover of this edition. Airmail service to the Isthmus Six of these misprinted stamps are marvel of the age in the 1920's 10 along the right side of the page and can be compared to the perfectly Lindbergh opened route printed stamp, with the bridge in between Miami and silver, which is shown on the first dav Cristobal of issue cover at the top of the page. The bridge stamps are from the Those were the days when ... 13 col- lection of the Canal Zone Library- Passengers had the luxury Museum which has 50 of these rare wicker chairs of and stamps; 50 are in the Smithsonian In- open windows stitution in Washington, D.C.; and the only others in existence are 50 that arc Canal Zone—Paradise for in the hands of private collectors and hird watchers 14 stamp dealers. (For further information on this famous stamp, see the storv Preservation of forests which begins on p. 4.) assures profusion of tropical birds Among the other stamps on the cover are examples of the handsome 25th Panama Canal anniversary stamp series Painting the birds 22 showing the "before and after" of Lois Morgan's watercolors Canal construction sites; the regular delight library patrons series which honors the builders of the ("anal; and the new 13-cent dredge Culinary Capers 25 Cascadas stamp. All of the stamps are from the collection of Louis R. Reves, Marine Bunkering 30 Administrative Officer in the Canal Zone Postal Division. A vital service for Canal customers To produce this photograph, the stamps were arranged on a sheet of glass and suspended several inches above the shears and the red. white, At left: The "Quern Elizabeth 2" and three and blue ribbon used in the ribbon- other nipersized thlpt moot through Miraflores Locks of the Panama Canal. The "QE2" cutting ceremonv that marked the (loti set a netv left) toll record when *hr opening of the bridge, October 12. transited Starch 29 on an around-the-unrld 1962. cover cruite. Shi vaid $68,499.46. The was designed bv (Photos are by Kmn Jenkhu, Don Goode, and Willie K. Friar and photographed by Arthur I.. Pollack.) Arthur L. Pollack. The Panama Canal Rlvii:\ CANAL ZON E POSTAGE • , E P S A - The story of the United States' construction of the Panama Canal, one of the world's great Stamps provide engineering achievements, is told in Canal Zone stamps a colorful look at local history By Eunice Richard when Henrv L. Harris, prominent PHILATELY IS ONE OF OUR The 1-cent green Gorgas stamp, Boston stamp dealer found, in checking most interesting hobbies. It also which came out October 3, 1928, is his order of 5,000 of the commemora- has a distinct educational value. Here believed to be the oldest stamp in the tive stamps, that he had a sheet of in the Canal Zone, the stamp collector's world in terms of continuous use. Other 50 stamps without the bridge. attention is drawn to one of the richest oldsters and their dates of issue are About the same time that collector sagas in the history of the United the 50-cent Blackburn, issued in 1929; Harris found that he possessed what States, the man-made funnel through the 20-cent Hodges, 15-cent Smith, amounted to a philatelic bonanza, the which flows the commerce of the world. and 20-cent Rousseau, all issued in Canal Zone Postal Service discovered "The postal history and stamps of 1932; the 3-cent Goethals issued in that it also had 150 of the misprinted the Canal Zone Government vividly 1934; and the 30-cent Williamson, last stamps. reflect the early trials, heartbreaking of the lot, issued in 1940. The United States Post Office De- failures and glorious completion of the The Caribbean Stamp Club mem- partment suggested to the Governor Panama Canal. These bits of postage bers and other stamp collectors have of the Canal Zone that more of the depict the ingenious planners, scenes of scanned stamp catalogs and journals stamps without the bridge be reprinted their work and the determined Canal for possible rivals to these venerable in order to flood the market with iden- gers accomplishments." stamps but no close competitors could misprinted copies, which would Thus wrote former Gov. William E. be found for the 1-cent Gorgas or the ticallv have destroved the potential worth of Potter in his introduction to the book, 50-cent Blackburn. the 50 original misprinted stamps il Zone Postage Stamps," which Stamp collectors are interested in bv Harris. was published bv the Canal Zone these stamps but perhaps the most owned This was an act that would have eminent in 1961. coveted bv collectors and best known blunted much of the fun and excite- Prepared bv the late Judge E. I. P. to the average citizen is the 4-cent of stamp collecting for the Tatelman, Magistrate of the Cristobal Thatcher Ferrv Bridge commemorative ment millions who are alwavs hopeful of Court, this book, which is still sold at stamp, issued in 1962 to mark the finding a rare error. Harris promptly ( local post offices, gives a thorough opening of the bridge across the C .mil to the Federal District Court account of Canal Zone stamps, dis- at Balboa. appealed restraining order. cusses the subjects depicted on the A full sheet, 200 hundred of these for a There were protests from stamp col- stamps, and tells the story of the I handsome stamps, was printed per- lectors all over the world and Harris Zone Postal Service. fectlv like all of the others in the champion of The Canal Zone regular stamp issue issue, except for one important detail— proved to be a stalwart their cause. After nearlv 3 years of is, bv far, the oldest in use anywhere the bridge was missing. Somehow during the press run that legal action, the Federal District Court . according to research by the Caribbean Stamp Club. These stamps overprinted the bridge in silver, this in Washington, D.C., ruled in favor of prevent Canal Zone are referred to by collectors as the sheet did not come in contact with the Harris in his suit to deliberately "14th Canal Zone series." Stamp buffs printing plate. This sheet probably postal authorities from bridgeless stamps. term these regular issues "definitive" had adhered to the sheet directly on printing more of the misprinted stamps in the pos- issues. This issue was first recom- top of it as it passed through the press. The session ol ( anal Zone postal authorities mended in 1928 by < ilhoun, The Thatcher Ferrv misprint became following who was Director of Posts for the one of the world's most famous stamp were disposed of in the laminated (anal Zone from 1916 to 1947. errors. Word of the error spread fast manner. A sheet of 50 was Summer 1977 - i ^B I M and deeded to the Smithsonian Insti- tution in Washington, D.C., where the stamps have become a star attraction; 50 more were laminated and given to the Canal Zone Library (6 of the 50 appear on the cover of this magazine); and the remaining 50 were destroved. Seeing that these stamps are now worth $3,500 each, this must have been an heartbreaking task for some emplovee. The Canal Zone Postal Service has a colorful history that dates back to 1904. when it was established as part of the Department of Revenues under the supervision of the Treasurer of the Canal Zone. Paymaster L. C. Tobev, CSX, was the first Director of Posts. Post offices were first opened at La Boca, Ancon, Cristobal, Gatun, Cule- bra, Bohio, Corgona, Matachin, and Empire. They were operated then by railroad station agents as postmasters. The Canal Zone Postal Service has operated as an independent postal svs- tem from the beginning and is estab- lished as such by Act of Congress of the United States. When the Canal Zone Postal Service was first established on June 24, 1904, a small supply of 2i, 50, and 10c Panama provisional stamps overprinted "Canal Zone" horizontally in roman capitals were obtained and used. Colombian stamps overprinted "Pan- ama," "Canal Zone" and stamps issued by Panama overprinted "Canal Zone" were used between the years 1904 and 1924 in conformity with the provision of an executive older issued in 1904 b) Secretary of War William H. Taft. U.S. stamps overprinted "Canal Zone" were initially used in 1904 for a short period of time and again commencing CANAL ZON E POSTAG President Roosevelt suggested the design for the 25th anniversary 1928, but this particular stamp is no longer in use.