The newest addition to my collection of 14¢ American Indian stamps on cover is closing in on 100 years old. Mailed from the James Manufacturing Company of Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, to Grand Rapids, Michigan, this parcel tag bears a single copy of my favorite stamp.
14¢ American Indian parcel tag mailed from Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin14¢ American Indian parcel tag mailed from Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin (reverse)
This falls into a rather interesting area of postal history. Since the stamp in this case was precanceled and there are no dated markings of any sort, we can’t say with any great specificity when the parcel tag was mailed. That doesn’t make it any less significant a solo use of the 14¢ American Indian, in my opinion, but a dated cancellation would arguably add some visual appeal.
Oh, and if you’re wondering what rate the stamp paid, it was for a four (or possibly five) pound fourth class or parcel post item sent to a destination between 150 and 300 miles from its place of mailing. I provide a more thorough breakdown in my complete write-up.
The newest stamp from New Hampshire-based Purgatory Post was issued on October 8, 2021, and it follows up on the local post’s September issue by picturing another of the Granite State’s covered bridges, McDermott Bridge in Langdon, New Hampshire.
Purgatory Post McDermott Bridge stamp
McDermott Bridge was built in 1869 at a cost of $450, and was used by vehicular traffic until a modern bridge was built next to it in 1964. According to state archives, the 81′ structure is one of a series of bridges that have spanned the Cold River at that site since the first was built back in 1790.
Purgatory Post’s bicolored 18-sola stamp depicts the bridge in black, while the stamp’s frame is printed in what to my eyes appears to be a dark fuschia. It’s a very bold color combination and very striking on cover.
Bat’s Private Post issues 15th anniversary bat stamps
Bat’s Private Post out of Beverly Hills, California, on September 30 issued two new stamps picturing bats in celebration of the operation’s 15th anniversary.
The 5¢ local fee stamp pictures a large-eared bat, while the $1.35 stamp for international letters and postcards pictures a bat with its wings outspread. The illustrations on both stamps are taken from Ernst Haeckel’s 1904 work Kunstformen der Natur.
5¢ Bat’s Private Post stamp picturing a bat$1.35 Bat’s Private Post stamp picturing a bat
My seven-year-old loves to ask what my favorite animal is, and I can say with confidence that the bat is not at the top of my list. Nevertheless, I can’t help but admire how nicely the illustrations used on these stamps reproduced at stamp size. The designs are not engraved, but I almost expected to feel the raised lines of intaglio printing when I touched the stamps. They really are very nicely done.
12+ years and 500 blog posts about stamp collecting
On June 23, 2009, I made my first Philosateleian blog entry. In it, I wrote that I planned “to write about stamps, stamp collecting, and the mail in general.”
Over the past 12+ years, I’ve done that, and I realized recently that this would be my 500th blog post. That averages out to well under one post per week, so I can’t claim to have been a particularly frequent poster, but 500 entries? That’s a milestone that I never even thought about way back when.
And 12+ years—a lot has happened in that time span. In terms of stamp collecting, I’ve become much more focused in my collecting interests. I have a couple of tubs of unprocessed stamps and covers that I pick at as time allows, but I rarely buy much of anything for my collection these days unless it’s a 14¢ American Indian stamp on cover. I bought my first perforating machine, and later my second, so that I could improve the looks of my Philosateleian Post local post stamps, and my appreciation for a well-designed, well-perforated stamp has only grown as I’ve dabbled in that myself.
Of much greater importance, I’ve gotten married, had a baby, moved halfway across the country for a new job, then gone back to work for my former employer. My family and I have visited Yosemite and Disney World and the Great Smoky Mountains. I have to say that God has given me more than a fair shake in life.
There has been stress and sorrow, too. Losing Grandma. Saying goodbye to Granddaddy…and then to my mom. Those are the hard times, but we keep moving.
So, will I make it to blog post #1000 in the year 2033? None of us even knows, really knows, what’s coming up 12 minutes from now, much less 12 years from now, but I do intend to keep writing, hopefully informing and entertaining you along the way, and as always, I appreciate your readership.
Philosateleian Post Tenaya Lake FDC arrives unscathed
On October 1, I mailed first day covers bearing Philosateleian Post’s newest stamp, which pictures Tenaya Lake in Yosemite National Park. I sent one of those to myself, and it was awaiting when I checked my post office box on Friday.
Somewhat to my surprise, the cover was processed without incurring serious damage. Even more surprising is that the local post stamp I applied to the cover survived completely unscathed!
Philosateleian Post Tenaya Lake first day cover
I’m accustomed to the United States Postal Service’s processing equipment scraping the surface of my stamps, sometimes leaving little scrolls of paper barely attached, so to receive a cover with one of my stamps intact is a delightful treat. If only everything that I mail reached its destination in this condition!
