Inter Ocean, September 9, 1892
The postage stamps commemorative of the Columbian Exposition, or rather of the Columbian year and anniversary of 1492, will be read, by Jan, 1. One of the designs will bo a head of Columbus. Another will be the landing, of Columbus, from the well-known American painting representing Columbus on the shore of America, sword in one hand and banner in the other. The same picture was used in the design for tbe 15 cents stamps of the issue of 1869. These stamps were printed in two colors and the scene was set in the center of a square with a wide border surrounding it. After these commemorative stamps have run their time the department will probably return to the popular stamp now in use. One fact not generally appreciated is that the government does a rushing business when a new stamp is first put out by reason of the demand of mercantile houses that want them to serve as an advertisement for circulars.
- Top Row: 1¢ blue, 2¢ brown, 3¢ green, 4¢ ultramarine
2nd Row: 5¢ chocolate, 6¢ purple, 8¢ magenta, 10¢ black brown or gray black
3rd Row: 15¢ dark green, 30¢ orange brown, 50¢ slate blue, $1 salmon
Bottom Row: $2 red, $3 yellow green, $4 crimson lake, $5 black
Inter Ocean, December 8, 1892
To Issue Columbian Stamps.
Closely following the authorization by Congress to establish the Columbian Exposition in Chicago the idea was conceived by the department of issuing concurrently with that event, a special series of stamps with illustrations to commemorate the discovery of America by Columbus, such stamps to be sold at all the postoffices in the country, without, however, discontinuing the issue and sale of the stamps in current use. The advantages to be gained by such a special series of stamps were so manifest that it was determined to provide for their issue, and the necessary arrangements for manufacturing the stamps were concluded in September last. The subject selected as the prominent features of the stamps were conspicuous events connected with the discovery of America. The denominations, designs, and colors of the Columbian stamps are as follows:
- 1-cent Stamp-Columbus on ship board in sight of land; color, medium shade of blue.
2-cent Stamp—The landing of Columbus; color, maroon.
3-cent Stamp-The Santa Maria, the Bag ship of Columbus; color, medium shade of green.
4-cent Stamp—The fleet of Columbus, corsist-ing of the Santa Maria, the Nina, and the Pinta; color, light blue.
5-cent Stamp—Columbus appealing to Queen Isabella for aid; color, chocolate brown.
6-cent Stamp—Columbus entering Barcelona in triumph; color, royai purple.
10-cent Stamp—Columbus presenting natives at the Spanish court; color. Van Dyke brows.
15-cent Stamp—Columbus reeiting the story of his discorery: color, dark green.
30-cent Stamp—Columbus at La Rabida, demonstrating the theory of his enterprise; color, sienna brown.
50-cent Stamp—The recall of Columbus by Isabell, after the rejection of his proposition; color, carbon blue.
$1 Stamp—Isabella pledging her Jewels in support of the project; color, rose salmon.
$2 Stamp—Columbus in chains; color, toned mineral red.
$3 Stamp—Columbus describing his third voyage, color, light yellow green.
$4 Stamp—Portraits, in three-quarters face, of Isabella and Columbus; color, carmine.
$3 Stamp—Portrait, in profile, of Columbus; color, black.
The portrait of Columbus is the same as that used on the souvenir coin, a plaster cast of the same having been kindly furnished by the Treasury Department. The number of new stamps to be issued is fixed at 3,000,000,000, equal to about one year’s supply of the regular stamps.
The introduction of the Columbian series of postage stamps will contribute in a marked way to the recognition given by the government of the United States to the Columbian Exposition, and they will create for it, both in this country and abroad, an interest that will help it financially and in many other ways. The beauty and unique character of the new Columbian stamps will cause their sale in large quantities simply for use in collections, and not only will they be purchased in single or partial sots by collectors, but in view of the limited time in which they will be issued, they will be accumulated in great quantities by dealers and othors to meet future demands. The introduction of the new stamps, though not designated primarily for the object, will probably be a revenue measure of the highest importance/to the public service.
For the reasons that led to the introduction of Columbian adhesive postage stamps arrangements have been made for issuing at the same time a special series of Columbian embossed stamped envelopes. The denominations are 1, 2, 5, and 10 cents. The design of the stamp is circular in form, of somewhat large size, and contains as the principal features the heads of Columbus and Liberty in profile with words to indicate the character and value of the stamp. The colors will be the same as those of the Columbian adhesive stamps of the corresponding denominations.
E. B. W.
Inter Ocean, January 3, 1893
This morning by applying to Colonel Sexton at the government building you may for 1 cent secure a blue engraving of “Columbus in Sight of Land,” or for 2 cente a maroon tinted one of the “Landing of Columbus.”
Should you desire a series of fifteen pictures illustrating the stirring events of the life of the great navigator Colonel Sexton will oblige you upon the payment of $16.26.
An edict was issued eight months ago from the Post office Department that the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus should be commemorated by a Columbian series of postage stamps. There will be fifteen stamps in the series and they will range in value from 1 cent to $5, The denominations will be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 15, 30, and 50 cents, and $1, $2, $3, $4 and $5. The stamps are beautifully engraved and are nearly twice the size of those of the present series, each piece bearing a different design illustrative of the discovery of America. The series will be continued during 1893, and will be retired at the close of the year. The present issue will not be displaced, and both series will be sold from the same postoffice window. The public may take its choice between Washington and Columbus.
The designs on the Columbian series of stamps are really works of art, and were indeed all originated by artists of great renown. A reporter for The Inter Ocean was perhaps the first person in the city, with the exception of the postal authorities, to see the designs adopted, and the public will secure its first peep when the stamps are offered for sale at 9 o’clock this morning.
On the 1-cent stamp is “Columbus in Sight of Land,” copied after the famous painting by W. H. Powell; color, medium shade of blue.
The “Landing of Columbus,” after the painting by Vanderlyn which hangs in the rotunda of the Capitol at Washington, is seen on the 2-cent stamp. The color of this piece is a light maroon, shaded towards the center.
“Columbus Soliciting Aid from Isabella,” copied from the painting by Brozik in the Metropolitan Museum of Art at New York, is reproduced on the 5-cent stamp. This stamp is said to be the neareat to perfection ever produced in any country. The design is beautiful, and in color it is a sort of chocolate brown, a shade for which there is no name,
The 6-cent stamp is also very beautiful in design and color. On it is, “Columbus Welcomed at Barcelona,” from one of the panels of the bronze doors in the Capitol, by Randolph Rogers. It is a shade of royal purple.
On the 10.cent stamp is reproduced “Columbus Presenting Natives,” by Luigi Gregori. In color it is a Vandyke brown, two shades being shown on the piece.
The postal authorities went to Spain for a design for the fifteen-cent stamp. It shows a
copy of the great painting, “Columbus Announcing His Discovery,” by Baloca, which has never been allowed to leave Madrid. In color it is a shade of green that was used on the 3-cont stamp of the last issue. The 30 cont stamp shows “Columbus at La Rabida.”
The “Recall of Columbus,” copied after the painting by A. G. Wheaton, now owned in Washington, is shown on the 50 cent stamp.
“Isabella Pledging Her Jewels,” “Columbus in Chains,” “Columbus Describing His Third Voyage,” are shown on the stamps of the $1, $2, and $3 variety. On the two that sell respectively for $4 and $5 are portraits in circles of Isabella and Columbus and the Lotta profile of the head of Columbus.
Five new envelope stamps will also be insued of values 1, 2, 4, 5, and 10 cents. The general design on these will consist of profiles of Columbus and Liberty above the figure of an eagle with outstretched wings and surmounted by a shield similar to the one used in the arms of the United States.
This is the second jubilee series of stamps ever issued by any country. England honored Queen Victoria by issuing a special series in 1887, the fiftieth year of her Majesty’s reign. They were printed in two colors and are beautiful specimens of the stamp engraver’s art.
The United States has been very conservative in the matter of getting out new varieties of stamps. Very few people know what a great revenue there is in the sale of stamps. Every new series of stamps pays big dividends to the country issuing them. Spain has followed the policy for years of getting out new stamps every year, and thereby obtains a large revenue. But until the postage was reduced in the United States to 2 cents a few years ago, the green 3-cent stamp with the head of Washington had been in use for seventeen years. The Columbian issue has thrust into obscurity then old ninety-cent stamp which never proved satisfactory. The stamps of the higher denomination are used in paying postage on registered foreign parcels at five cents per half ounce. England goes farther in this matter than the United States and has issued one, two and five pound stamps. Last August the American Philatelic Association petitioned Mr. Wanamaker to issue fifty-cent and dollar stamps and retire the ninety-cent stamp.
The first regular issue of United States stamps was in 1847. This included only two varieties, 5-cent, with the head of Franklin; and 10 cent, with the head of Washington.
These were the rates of postage at that time established by act of Congress in 1845, but it was not until two years later that the issue of stamps was authorized. During this interval a few stamps were issued by the postmasters of different towns as a sort of preliminary trial of the postage-stamp system. These postmasters’ stamps were issued in Now York, Now Haven, St. Louis, Providence, Baltimore, Brattleboro, and Millbury, Mass. Very few were ever used, and they are now exceedingly scarce. They are the rarest of United States stamps, with the possible exception of the early Confederate stamps is. sued by postmasters previous to the general issue.
Three hundred and five hundred dollars are not unusual prices to charge for these rare specimens of tho Now Haven variety. which is a five-cent stamp signed by the post-master. Only one perfect specimen is known, and this came to light in the most singular manner a short time ago. It was during a sale of autographs in Philadelphia, when a small bundle of nine letters was knocked down to Mr. E. B. Sterling, of Trenton, N. J., for 9 cents. One of the letters was written Oct. 20, 1845, by Professor Benjamin Silliman, of Yale College, and was inclosed in an original envelope, on which was a perfect specimen of the long looked for New Haven stamp, signed by E. A. Mitchell; Postmaster, and postmarked New Haven, Oct. 21. This is the very rarest of American stamps and is now valued at $2,000.
The only issues of United States stamps that have ever been declared obsolete are those of 1817, 1851 and 1857. The two latter are practically the same, the only difference being that the 1857 series were perforated, while those from 1851 to 1857 were unperforated. The first issue was declared obsolete on account of the reduction of the postal rate in 1851 from 5 to 3 cents, and the 1857 series at the outbreak of the late war. There were large quantities of these stamps in the Southern postoffices, and the old series were declared valueless to prevent their use by the Confederates. With those two exceptions, every postage stamp issued by our government is as good for use to-day as when it first came from the plates.
As the Columbian stamps will be in use only one year they will soon bring more than their face value.
Chicago Tribune, January 4, 1893
Nearly 3,000,000 Columbian Stamps Sold the First Day.
About $300,000 worth of the new Columbian postage stamps were put on sale at the Post-Office yesterday morning and at 4:30 p. m. exactly $35,822.50 worth had been sold. From the man office at that hour 1,946,023 jubilee stamps had gone out and 9,000 had been sold at the thirteen sub-stations in various parts of the city.
John Wanamaker, founder of the Wanamaker’s department store chain, was Postmaster General from March 2, 1889 until March 6, 1893. He got the idea to commemorate, or recognize, an historic event with special stamps designed for that purpose. The ultimate result was the Colombian Exposition issue. This colorful and elegant series of stamps, the first commemoratives ever issued in the United States (or the world, for that matter) celebrated the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s landing in the New World in 1492, by portraying a number of scenes from Columbus’ life. Instead of presenting them in chronological order with increasing postage value, Wanamaker decided to portray the most important events in his life on the least expensive (and most commonly used) stamps in the series. Fifteen denominations of the series were placed on sale by post offices on Monday, January 2, 1893. They were available nationwide, and were not restricted to the Exposition in any way.
- 1¢ “Columbus in Sight of Land”
Adapted from a painting by William H. Powell. Engraved by Charles Skinner. Jones added three Indians to the sides of the image, making this the first United States postage stamp to depict Native Americans. This stamp was used to cover the cost of either the postal card rate or third class mail. A total of 440,195,550 one cent stamps were printed. The one-cent “Columbus in Sight of Land” was ranked #46 in the book 100 Greatest American Stamps by Janet Klug, Donald Sundman, 2008.
2¢ “Landing of Columbus”
Adapted from a painting by John Vanderlyn. Alfred Jones and Charles Skinner engraved the vignette, and D.S. Ronaldson engraved the frame and lettering. The stamp depicts a scene one day after the image on the one cent Columbian. Yet while the earlier stamp shows the renowned explorer looking clean-shaven, here he has a full beard! Because two cents covered first-class mail at the time, 1,464,588,750 two-cent stamps were printed, making it the most common Columbian today.
- 3¢ “Flag Ship of Columbus”
Models of 15th century Spanish ships held at the Smithsonian Institution inspired the images of Columbus’s ships featured on the 3-cent and 4-cent stamps. Engraved by Robert Savage. Because it did not cover a specific postal rate, it was a “make-up” stamp, used in conjunction with other stamps to meet postage costs. Just over 11.5 million of these stamps were printed.
4¢ “Fleet of Columbus”
Models of 15th century Spanish ships held at the Smithsonian Institution inspired the images of Columbus’s ships featured on the 3-cent and 4-cent stamps. Robert Savage engraved the vignette of the 3-cent stamp, and Charles Skinner engraved the vignette of the 4-cent stamp. G.H. Seymour engraved the frames and lettering for each. The stamp covered double postage on heavier first class items; in all, 19,191,550 four-cent stamps were printed. A significant color error occurred with the 4-cent stamp. The error, which produced two shades of blue, took place when the American Bank Note Company used the 1-cent stamp’s deeper blue ink for a small press run of the 4-cent value, the standard color of which is ultramarine. Stamps from at least two panes reached the public.
- 5¢ “Columbus Soliciting Aid of Isabella”
Inspired by an 1884 painting by Vacslav Van Brozik. Charles Skinner engraved the vignette, and D.S. Ronaldson engraved the lettering and frame. Five cents was the half-ounce international postage rate at the time; 35,248,250 of these stamps were printed.
6¢ “Columbus Welcomed at Barcelona”
The illustration was taken from a bronze door panel designed by Randolph Rogers. Robert Savage engraved the vignette, and G.H. Seymour engraved the lettering and frame. This stamp covered three times the first class postal rate. In all, 4,707,550 of these stamps were issued, but 48,400 remainders were destroyed in Washington in 1899.
- 8¢ “Columbus Restored to Favor”
This design came from a painting by the Spanish artist Francisco Jover y Casanova. Charles Skinner engraved the vignette, and D.S. Ronaldson engraved the lettering and frame. A latecomer to the series, the eight-cent Columbian was added on March 2, 1893, after the US registered mail fee was lowered. It was the first eight-cent stamp ever issued by the United States. A total of 10,656,550 of these stamps were issued.
10¢ “Columbus Presenting Natives”
From a painting by Luigi Gregori. Robert Savage engraved the vignette, and D.S. Ronaldson engraved the lettering and frame. This denomination of stamp covered the registered mail fee. A total of 16,516,950 ten-cent stamps were issued.
- 15¢ “Columbus Announcing His Discovery” Charles Skinner, who engraved this issue, used a painting by Ricardo Baloca y Cancico as his model. This stamp could be added to other stamps to meet postal costs for heavier items.
30¢ “Columbus at La Rabida” A painting by Felipe Maso titled “Columbus Before the Franciscans at La Rabida” served as engraver Alfred Jones’s model for the 30-cent stamp. The thirty-cent Columbian depicts Columbus being encouraged by Franciscan friars of the Convent of Santa Maria de Rabida to ask the King and Queen a second time to underwrite his first voyage. Used chiefly as a “make-up” stamp to help cover postage on heavier items. In all, 1,576,950 were issued.
- 50¢ “Recall of Columbus”
Charles Skinner engraved the vignette, and D.S. Ronaldson engraved the letters and frame. Skinner used a painting of the same name by Augustus G. Heaton that hangs in the Senate wing of the U.S. Capitol as his model.The first fifty-cent postage stamp ever printed, this Columbian features an image that is now owned by the United States Senate. The usefulness of this stamp was limited to heavyweight international items; therefore, only 243,750 of these stamps were issued.
$1 “Isabella Pledging Her Jewels”
Though the conquest of the Moors in 1492 freed the Spanish monarchs to consider backing Columbus’s adventure, the war had depleted their funds. Once again they turned him away. The impassioned pleas of Louis de St. Angel reportedly forced a change in the monarchs’ position, however, and they agreed to assist Columbus. After all, a shorter route to China than the one around the dangerous tip of Africa certainly had its appeal. Columbus lore suggests that Queen Isabella, lacking adequate funds at the time, offered her jewels as collateral, which was almost certainly not the case. It has been suggested that Louis de St. Angel himself actually advanced significant financial support. Antonio Munoz-Degrain based a painting of Isabella and her jewels, and the $1 issue, engraved by Robert Savage and inspired by the Munoz-Degrain painting, perpetuated the myth. The 1-dollar Columbian filled no specific rate on its own and as such was issued purely as a collectible and revenue-generator for the Post Office Department. It was the first 1-dollar stamp issued by the United States.
- $2 “Columbus in Chains”
Based upon a painting by Emanuel Leutze. Engraver unknown. This Columbian is one of only two in the series (along with the two-cent “Landing of Columbus’) that depicts Columbus in the New World. Like the one-dollar stamp, this one was mainly acquired by collectors. Only 45,550 were printed. The two-dollar “Columbus in Chains” was recently ranked #48 in the book 100 Greatest American Stamps by Janet Klug and Donald Sundman, 2008.
$3 “Columbus Describing Third Voyage”
Inspired by Francisco Jover y Casanova. Engraved by Robert Savage. Only 24,713 of these stamps were sold. This stamp was recently ranked #36 in the book 100 Greatest American Stamps by Janet Klug and Donald Sundman, 2008.
- $4 “Isabella and Columbus”
Based on a painting by Lorenzo Lotto. Engraver unknown. The carmine four-dollar Columbian was the first US postage stamp to depict a woman, Queen Isabella of Spain. Another nine years would pass before a second woman, Martha Washington, was honored with a stamp. Only 22,993 of these stamps were sold. The four-dollar “Isabella and Columbus” was recently ranked #40 in the book 100 Greatest American Stamps by Janet Klug and Donald Sundman, 2008.
$5 “Columbus”
A metal cast in Madrid by artist Olin L. Warner served as the stamp’s model. The design for both was taken from an earlier Columbus medal struck in Madrid, probably designed in turn by Olin L. Warner of New York. Albert Jones and Charles Skinner engraved the stamp. The five-dollar Columbian features a coin engraved with a bust of Christopher Columbus. Alfred Jones engraved both the stamp and the original half-dollar coin issued by the United States Mint.
The most popular stamp in the Columbian series, the five-dollar Columbian “has an almost mystical aura in the United States philatelic community,” according to Alexander Haimann of the National Postal Museum. Philatelic historian Lester Brookman describes this stamp as “the very peak of desire for a great many collectors.” Only 21,844 were sold. An additional 5,506 were printed, but were subsequently destroyed by the Postal Department in June, 1899. The five-dollar “Columbus” was recently ranked #4 in the book 100 Greatest American Stamps by Janet Klug and Donald Sundman, 2008.
The beautiful and highly collectible Columbian stamps, on sale only between January 2, 1893, and April 12, 1894, proved an incredibly ingenious marketing device for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition because they repeatedly drew the public’s attention to the fair. Many businessmen disliked the stamps for their large size, but the Post Office Department soon used the format again, in the 1898 Trans-Mississippi series.
i have the sight and landing stamps with columbus in good condition and would like to sale them
have many others also from other and all counterys
There were four specially issued government stamp ed envelopes equally worth illustrating in this excellent article. DGP
I have a Colombian exposition registration stamp -10 cents. It has a picture of the Western Hemisphere in the center. Where can I find additional information about this issue?