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ORIGINAL ENGRAVED STEEL DIE
DONATED TO THE NATIONAL POSTAL MUSEUM The original hand engraved steel die that produced the 1851 three-cent essay designated "11-E2" in the Scott's Specialized Catalogue, has been donated to the National Postal Museum by a group of 13 philatelists, who pooled their resources to buy it. Only nine copies of the rare essay are known to exist. Originally discovered for sale on eBay, the donors purchased the die directly from the owner for an undisclosed amount. The donors are Thomas J. Alexander of Kansas City, MO; James A. Allen of Midland, MI; Thomas R. Bane of Peterborough, NH; Dr. Charles J. DiComo of Pawling, NY; Mark S. Friedman of Tolland, CT; Sonny Hagendorf of New Rochelle, NY; Robert R. Hegland of Falls Church, VA; W. Wilson Hulme of Morristown, NJ; Lawrence J. Hunt of Basking Ridge, NJ; Michael C. O'Reilly of Huntsville, AL; Stanley M. Piller of Oakland, CA; Dr. George W. Tyson of Setauket, NY; and Roy P. Weber of Bridgewater, NJ. The group purchased the die from William Snyder of Holland, PA, who told the buyers, "This plate was originally acquired by my late grandfather Willard Snyder. He was a very well known coin and stamp dealer in Philadelphia and it was not uncommon for him to come across some interesting and rare items while he was in business. I think he acquired the plate from a friend that ran an auction house. I don't however know when he acquired it, though I know he had it for quite some time." Mr. Snyder's grandfather had two additional items stored with the die that the group also purchased and donated to the museum, a business card of S. Tiller, Plate Printer, Philadelphia, and an 1853 bill of sale for iron printing presses, but it cannot be determined if they were related to the die. Tom Hipschen, engraver, and Michael Bean, plate printer, of the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, authenticated the die, confirmed that it was hand engraved, and that the thickness was consistent with 1850's technology. National Postal Museum Director Allen Kane said, "This significant addition to the museum's collection comes through a wonderful act of philanthropy. Now philatelists and scholars can study the die at the museum and it will also be available for viewing on the museum's website." Wilson Hulme, curator of philately, stated, "It is our hope that additional ad hoc groups will be formed when unique and valuable philatelic items come on the market, so that more objects can become permanently available to all philatelists and researchers." On February 22, 2003 Michael Bean, a plate printer at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, made 16 prints from the essay die. Each of these 16 prints can be distinguished from the original essays by the presence of rust marks in the hair of George Washington. Bean used an intaglio "Spider" hand press that had actually been used in the printing of U.S. currency circa 1862. Old India paper was used. The prints were die-sunk onto 204mm x 255mm cards. On the back, they were numbered 1/15 through 15/15, and one was marked "printer's proof." Print 1/15 was donated along with the die to the museum, print 15/15 was given to Mr. Bean, the "printer's proof" was given to the Philatelic Foundation, and each of the 13 donors received one print. The donors and Mr. Bean signed the museum's print. The 11-E2 essay has been known since at least 1912, when it appeared in Edward Mason's More Essays for United States Postage Stamps, published by Percy McGraw Mann. Previously, it was believed that the die was made to print essays for submission with a bid for the 1851 Postage Stamp Contract. Roy Weber, who initiated the purchase of the die and is leading the continuing research effort, said, "Careful examination of the essays by Charles DiComo showed that there are two states, which our group has designated as State 1 and State 2. Dick Celler, a noted plater of early U.S. stamps, confirmed that the State 2 essays had multiple lines that were strengthened and/or added to the State 1 engraving. Of the nine known copies of the original essay seven are State 1, and two are State 2. The die is State 2." The research continues to determine who made the die and where it has been all these years. It was believed that Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson made the die, but this might not be the case. The group plans to publish the results of their research when it is complete. The National Postal Museum is located at 2 Massachusetts Ave. NE, in the Old City Post Office Building, across the street from Union Station. It is open seven days a week, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. All Smithsonian museums are closed of Christmas Day. Pictures of the die can be downloaded from: http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/press/diedonationimages.html |