ROMANCE OF PHILATELY.

Shannon News, 7 December 1923, Page 4

ROMANCE OF PHILATELY.

Probably few people outside the small world of philatelists know what ( a rich vein of romance runs through the story of stamp-cqllectipgTj-a ro- 1 mance which is often stranger than fiction (writes W. Greenwood in the Weekly Scotsman). Take for example the story of the one cent British Guiana stamp of 1866, of which only one specimen is known to exist. This, by some lucky accident, came into possession, just 50 years ago, of a George-

town schoolboy,, who, Ignorant of its value, was glad to exchange it for what to him was the-princely sum of 6/-. Five years later the stamp's new owner sold it, with his entire collection, to a dealer in Liverpool, for £120; and he, in turn, soon found in M. Ferrary, the famous Paris collector, a purchaser for the stamp for £l5O. For nearly 40 years M. Ferrary kept his treasure jealously; and it was only after his death six years, ago, that it found a new owner for the fabulous and record sum of £7343. The Tapling collection contains a perfect specimen of the Id. Post Office Mauri-

tius on the original envelope, and an unused 2d. Mauritius. This collection, it may be interesting tos add, was worth about £4b,000 when Mr. Tapling died in 1891; to-day,its value is placed at >£loo,ooo, and it is growing daily. One of the most interesting stamps in this collection is a Hawaiian Island 2 cent first issue, which would probably be snapped up and day for £IOOO. Its rarity and value are due to a singular cause; the stocks were almost entirely consumed by white ants shortly after their issue, and Only four copies are known to exist to-day. About 25 years ago a Dr. Westmore, of the Sandwich Islands, when 1 asked

for a subscription towajxi the furnishing of a 'new church at Hilo, playfully 1 volunteered a few old stamps, which were somewhat sceptically acr cepted. To the amazement of thedbctor and the church authorities,, the stamps, when sold, realised over £IOOO and two of them alone—of the first issue for the Sandwich Islands —more than paid for the entire cost of furnishing the church. In another case a. i Miss Ottenburg, an enthusiastic Washington i collector, wrote to every consul in the United States begging him to send her a few stamps of his native country. Senor M. J. Berliner, a Spanish consul, was" among many who complied with her request. A correspondence followed between him and the fair collector, then an interview; and it all ended in the consul getting the highest price-on record fof a few stamps—the hand and heart of Miss Ottenburg, of Washington