MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD, OREGON
THURSDAY, DECEMBER , issl
D 13
Post Office Department Floods Market With Printing Error
. By DAVID D. LEWIS
Washington - fllHl - A West
German reporter glanced at
a U. S. newspaper, shook his
head and said: "Only in
America could it happen.
With Cuba, Berlin and India
to worry about-what upsets
you, people is a silly little up
side down stamp."
Sent to the United States
to cover the Cuban crisis and
Chancellor Konrad Adenau
ers Berlin talks with Presi
dent Kennedy, he found him
self absorbed in reading about
the uproar over the Dag Ham
marskjold stamp mi?prints-
both accidental and Inten
tional. Perhaps the visitor was
right; perhaps not. But one
thing is certain: there was
more at stake in Postmaster
General J. Edward Day's de
cision to flood the market
with unlimited, deliberate
misprints than a few thousand
dollars profit for fortunate
finders of the original errors.
Public Service
When Day decided to wipe
out a couple of budding small
fortunes, he was not being
vengeful or trying to cover
up an error. He was not try
ing to cash in on it by selling
more stamps.
The postmaster general said
he was "looking out for the
little guy, the amateur and
the kids who collect stamps.
We print stamps as a public
service-not to create or de
flate fortunes."
"Now, let's gel something
straight, he said. "The stamp
business is one thing, and
sometimes it isn't connected
with collecting. The business
is for dealers and wealthy col
lectors for the most part. Most
stamp collectors never see a
dealer.
"We have to avoid contrib
uting to the business end in
any unfair way, while not in
terfering with the hobby."
Viewed in Day's terms, the
decision to issue additional,
deliberate mi.prints revolved
on one question: Where dors
private right stop and public
right start?
Day, a stamp collector him
self, decided in favor of the
mass of collectors. He put it
this way:
Not Lottery
"We're not in the stamp lot
tery business. We certainly
sympathize with the few luc
ky finders of the original mis
prints. But we arc more sym
pathetic to the wishes of the
millions of other collectors
whose ambition it is to have
one of every stamp we issue,
especially the commemora
tive issues- our real art
work."
Dealers, editorial writers
and the general public split
on whether Day chose the
right course, but he won his
point where it counted-with
the collectors.
In the three hours and 45
minutes the deliberately mis
printed stamps were on sale
Nov. 18. more than 375,000
were snapped up-mostly by
collectors who stood in line
for hours to buy them. The
rest of the first order for one
million extra misprints was
spoken for in telephone, tele
gram and Irller orde-s.
Two noted stamp experts
were diametrically opposed in
their reaction to the deliber
ate misprints.
Few Benefited
.Jacques Hinkus, head of
stamp sales for 39 department
stores-including Gimbel's of
New York City-said "it is
wrong. Finding something dif
ferent is part of the joy of
collecting. Why destroy it?"
Peter G, Keller, executive
officer for the American
Stamp Dealers association,
said "1 understand the post
office department's point of
virw. One, two or three peo
ple have benefited fabulously
by the mistake and other peo
ple are not able to get copies
of the stamp." But he said
"the controversy will add val
ue to the original misprints."
James F. Kelleher, special
assistant to the postmaster
general for Information and
philatelic star,j) matters,
said "With U due respect and Causing trouble on the flam-
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consideration for our critics
we have to judje success or
failure on the response oi the
general public."
"We knew that it we had
destroyed the hobby and the
interest in these stamps-there
would be no iarge public de
mand," Kellrher said. "This
siami; - the intentional misprint-sold
like hot cakes and
it was the people we were
trjing to protect who bought
most of them."
Will the reprinting of the
Hammarskjold inversions end
the chance of rare U. S.
stamps ever getting into pub
lic sa!c-cr being permitted to
stay rare? Keiicher says so.
Many Variations
'We're not trying to take
the kick out oi a chance dis
covery, he maintained. "Lots
of little variations occur and
will occur, plenty to satisfy
most collectors' curiosity."
Although neither Day nor
Kelleher would say so, it was
known they also were trying
to forestall the slim possibil
ity that someone connected
with the printing and distri
bution of U. S. postage might
try to deliberately create a
rarity.
Kelleher added, hr ever.
There definitely is no suspi
cion that this occurred In the
Hammarskjold misprints. It
was just a matter of a couple
of sheets of paper being slip
ped backwards into the press
for the yeHew overlay Impression,"
The mulij-color Giori press
Is used for the commemora
tive issues. More than one
billion stamps have been
printed on it is the last five
years.
And more than one trillion
one thousand billienj U. S.
stamps had been pr ced in
the 44 years since the last in
verted issue-the air mail
stamp with an airplane flying
upside down-slipped through
inspection and onto the mar-
ket. This one, oy the way, is
now worth about $10,000.
New Process
'It's quite possible that
we'll never have another in
version on the Giori press,"
Kelleher said. "A new process
has been worked out that will
permit multiple color printing
in most Instances, without the
necessity of two press runs.
"And the Bureau el KB
graving and Printing has
tightened Its examination pro
cedures drasttaatly
The multiple color ability
i of the Glori press has both ad-
vantages and disadvantages,
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marskjold issue was the peed
for two turns through the
press to keep the black outer
band lrom running into the
yellow highlights where Use
portrait touched the top edge.
But the color-mixing fea
ture will be employed en the
next commemorative issue to
produce a remarkable variety
of tones and shades for the
sunset background in the re
production of Winsiow Horn
er" renting, "Breezing Up."
The Homer stamp, ito be
dedicated Dec. 15 at Glouces
ter, Mass., will be the second
in a series of commemorative
on American art designed to
put such a work in the hands
of every American who has
four cents (or a nickel after
Jan. 7, First in the series was
the Frederic Remington paint,
ing, "Smoke Signal," issued
13 months ago.
Sin of Dots
Lost in the confusion was
the fact that the Hammsrsk.
joid stamp was printed in a
revolutionary technique. The
portrait was engraved with a
series of tiny dots, rather than
the broken lines formerly
usect for steel stamp engrav
tag? The result was hailed by
stamp experts as dramatic
success, creating b more soft
ly human picture and paving
the way for elimination of th
so-called "halo effect" previ
ously used to keep multiple
colors from running Into each
other by separating them with
s thin, white space.
Stamp fans will be glad to
know that the confusion caus
ed by the Hammarskjold mis
prints has not dampened the
postmaster general's enthusi-
asm for dramatic results.
We're not going to back
off on our efforts to push the
horizons oi American stamp
art because of this fluke.
Day said. "The Homer stamp
will be out soon Bnd we have
more surprises in the works,"
Dav has been full of pleas
ant surprises for the stamp
Buying public. Two examples
were the project Mercury
stamp commemorating Col.
John H. Glenn Jr.'s earth orbit-on
sale minutes after he
safely landed; and the first
Christmas stamp that came
out earlier this month already
is bidding lor sales recorij.
As one long-time postal of
ficial put if. "The stamp busi
ness used to be nice and neat
and quiet before Ed Bay came
to town. But these last two .
years have been exciting and
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REDUCE VALOE - Leonard Sherman of Irvington, N.
who purchased sheet of irregular four-cent Dbr Hammar
skjold commemorative stamps, didn't wind up with s wind
fall aflcr all. Pest office flooded the market with printing
error to drastically reduce value of original mistake. UPI
photo)
Christmas Tree Custom
Revived With New Twist
if you've a yen to make this j
a really "old - fashioned" :
Christmas, the best way to be-;
gin is to go out and grf your j
tree the way our forefathers
did! Co into the "forest," cut
it down, and then haul it
home.
Yei, today there are hun
dreds nf American tree farms
and nurseries, where this old
family custom is being revived
with a new twist.
Csrafuliy Cultivated
The difference is that these
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nurserymen find that they can
lower their costs and build
customer Interest by allow
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Christmas ire while it is still
growing.
Customers usually come out
to select their tree in Novem
ber or early December, have
it tagged, then pick it tip a
week or so before Christmas.
Stay Frth Longtr
There are some places
where you tan have the lun
of cutting down your own tree
with a saw or ax provided by
the grower. 5n others, the tree
Ms dug up lor yo and ihtn
put in a bucket or wrapped in
burlap.
Trees selected In this way
stay fresh and green longer
than those that are cut down
far in advance of their sale.
Too, prices are usually a little
lower tlian they would be si
the usual street corner sales
tot. Costs, however, vary wide
ly, depending largely on lo
cale but also on the tree's size,
shape, thickness, etc.
Trees that are balled and
buriapped (dug out with tteir
roots intact, suitable for trans
planting) are mora expensive.
To find farms and nurseries
that offer this choose your
own service, contact your
county agricultural agent. Or
just drive along a country
road outside your town and
look for the signs.
NAME'S THE SAME
Charlotte. N.C. - - Tla
names of about 23 streets hers)
arc being changed in the in
terest of public safely. Tir
trucks were recently sent ta
McArthur avenue when t
house nn McArthur street
caught lira.