Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 December 1891 — POSTAGE STAMPS. [ARTICLE]

POSTAGE STAMPS.

HISTORY OF UNCLE SAM’S LITTLE STICKERS. How the Different Designs are Chosen—The Postal Card, the Stamped Envelope and the Newspaper W'rapper. Americans are the greatest letterwriting people on the globe. Of the fifty-odd billion pieces of mail which are posted in tho world every- year, nearly three billious go through the post-ofHees of tho United States. We spend every year more than $52,009,009 for postage, and during tho past twelve mouths American tongues have licked tho backs of $37,000,000 worth of sticky stamps. The postage stamps sold every- year the world over far surpasses in valuo tho riches of Juy Gould or tho Rothschilds, and tho postage stamp industry of the world is one of the greatest factors in the machinery which moves the universe to-day. And yet postage stamps are of comparatively recent origin. It is barely fifty yeurs ago since they- were first used in England, and in 1847 Congress first authorized their use in the United States. The first stamps issued were the denominations of five and ten cents. Theso stamps are now obsolete, and they would not be recognizod by the post-offices. Thefivo-cent stump contained a portruit of Franklin, made after a painting byJohn B. Longacre, iu whioh the first Postmaster-General is represented wearing a white neckerchief and a coat with a fur collar. The color of the stamp is a light brown, and there is a border of fine, straight lines around tho entire stamp. The ten-cent stamp contained a portruit j of Washington, made from Stuart's j painting. Its color was black, and it had j in the upper oorners the letters “U. S.” These two stamps were all that wore used until 1851, when letter postago was reduced to three cents, and a new series of stamps came iu. All of theso stamps i are now obsolete, but they included eleven different denominations. Thore was a one-eent stamp, a throe-cant stamp and a five-cent stamp. There was also ten, twelve, twenty-four, thirty and ninety-cent stamps, and, in addition to these, two carrier stamps, oaeh of whioh cost one cent. These stamps all boro the busts of American statesmen. Those stamps continued in uso until 1861, when the war broke out, and a vast quantity of stamps which were in tho hands of the postmusters of the Southern Statos beeaine useless. Tho postmasters of the Confederacy did not suppose that they would ever bo called to account for thorn, and Postmaster Goncral Blair issued un order stuting that after a given date all stamps issued previous to that date would not be held good for postage. Up to tills time it was advertised that the old stumps would be redeemed if thoy- wore presented, and upon the date fixed the now igsuo of stamps was made and this was tho issue of 1861. The same denominations were used us in tho former issue, but the twocent local postage stamp was added. Iu 1860 stamps of five, ton and twentyfive cents were issued for newspaper postage, but they wore not popular, und were soon discontinued. The next issue of stamps was in 1869, and we hud another in 1870. The series of 1870 continued until 1890, and it was superseded only a sow months ago by tho stumps now in use. At present there are- more stamps iii use than most people have nny idea of. The new stamps alone range iu denomination from one cent to ninety cents and there is a ten-cont stamp, a fifteeu-cent stamp and a thirty-cent stump. The designs for all the gtamps are seloctod by tho Postmaster General with the assistance of his subordinates. Tho faces on tho stamps are sharply criticised and the greatest cure is tukcu to get designs which will bo popular and appropriate. The highest denomination issued by the United States in the form of a stump is the sixty-dollar stamp, which is used by newspapers ill paying their postage bills. lor the sumo purpose are tho one-dollar-nnd-ninoty-two-cent stamp,the threo-dollar stump and the vurious other denominations ranging from thut on to forty-eight dollars. Our postal-cards were first issued in May, 1873, and during the first two months of their use there were 31,000,000 of them issued. During the following year 90,000,000 were used, and in 1878 the number had risen above 200,000. During the past year we used 386,000,000 postal-cards, and we expect to put out more than 400,000,000 this year. The Government gets theso curds made for thirty-five cents a thousand, orut tho rate of thirty for a cent, and tho contractors are complaining that they can make no money at theso rates. The ordinary postago stumps cost tho Government a little more than seven cents a.thousand, und tließO stamps ure all made under contract und by- private firms. Tho stumped envelopes cost pro portionntely much more, but the Government endouvors to increase tho saio of these over the stamps to us great au extent as possible. It sells tho envelopes at about cost, and you can hot buy of the stationers envelopes of an equal quality at the cost of tho stumped envelopes after deducting the fnce value of the postage. The use of stamped envelopes obviates tho danger of the stamps falling off in the mails, and it lessens the number of letters which coine to the Dead Letter Office. The paper of whioh they are made has a water mark which effectually prevents a counterfeiting, and there is no dauger of any one trying to wash the ink off of a stamped envelope and thereby use it a second timo for postage. The first stamped envelopes were issued in 1853, of the two denominations of threo and six cents, and it was not until two years later that the ten-cent envelopo was added. The stamped newspaper wrapper was first adopted in 1861, uud the Department sold one million of these during the first three months following their ii-suo They were first made bearing u two-cent stamp, and in October, 1870, the onecent stamp was added. The incrcaso of newspaper wrappers and stamped envelopes l.ud been steady since their reduction, and lust year 451,000,000 of the two were issued.—[Courier-Journal.