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Recent Significant Acquisitions : 1998
1998 Significant Acquisitions
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United States Plate Proof Singles
The original letter accompanying this set of 211 U. S. plate proof singles indicates that they were sent by the Post Office
Department to a Mr. Alexander Barclay at the request of Vice President Stevenson in 1893. What Barclay received were proofs
of U. S. stamp issues dating from 1847 to 1893 housed in their original printed presentation envelopes. The proofs included
designs for regular postage, carrier, special delivery, postage due, revenue and official stamps.
Purchased at auction with non-federal funds
1998.2005
Image (at left, top):
Presentation envelope for the Columbian issues
Image (at left, bottom):
Blue 1-cent "Columbus in Sight of Land"
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Postal Forgery
The 1894 two-cent postal forgery (red George Washington in profile) was used as postage on a mailed envelope postmarked "Kansas City, MO,
Mar 30 1895". The stamp is presumably from the same printing plate that was used by a forgery ring working out of Canada. Other known
examples on cover have had Chicago, Illinois, postmarks.
Purchased at auction with non-federal funds
1998.2015
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R.M.S. "Titanic" Objects
Two paper objects were acquired from the sea post office aboard the R.M.S. "Titanic". Both items were recovered from the body
of the American Sea Post clerk Oscar Scott Woody after the sinking of the vessel. The first item is the April 1, 1912 letter
assigning him to work aboard the ship on its April 10 maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City. The second
is a facing slip used to route letters to Washington State and Alaska; it is stamped "Titanic", "O S Woody" and postmarked
"Transatlantic Post Office 7, Ap 10 (19)12."
Purchased at auction with non-federal funds
1998.2017
(from American Postal Workers Union and Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Fund)
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