Elliott Perry's 1918 Book on U.S. Revenues

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Elliott Perry's 1918 Book on U.S. Revenues — Expanded

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Elliott Perry's 1918 Book on U.S. Revenues — Expanded

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Sold Date: 06/18/2011
Channel: Online Auction
Source: eBay
Category: Stamps

Privately reconstituted and rebound edition of The Revenue Stamps of the United States, by Chris[topher] West (pseudonym of stamp dealer and philatelic scholar Elliott Perry), published by the Severn-Wylie-Jewett Co., publishers of Mekeel's Weekly Stamp News , Portland, Maine, and Beverly, Mass., 1918, 52 pages, original card cover removed but dedication preserved and pasted to the inside front cover; Perry's authoritative, exhaustive and easy-to-read treatment of the subject helped to popularize revenue stamp collecting, then considered such a backwater that a respected philatelic researcher had to be careful about publishing under his own name.

This volume was enhanced by revenue collector Philip Little Jr. of Minneapolis (ARA No. 1426) who had it rebound in green cloth, inserting a blank page between each printed page. This enabled him to tip in photostats of relevant revenue articles published in Mekeel's in 1926 and 1927 on Civil War Revenues by Henry L. Dean, anecdotally treating inverts and rarities, etc., along with random notes.

A long penciled note following Perry's section on the scarce 6¢ orange proprietary stamp of 1871, Scott R32, the survival of which Perry estimated at 30 or 40 examples, spins a tale of intrigue:

"This estimate is very much too low in my mind. I know of too many copies to feel that the stamp is as uncommon . . . At one time, after the above was written, a gentleman from Kansas City Mo. sent me six copies from which to select. On a train to the Pacific Coast a lawyer told me he had found 24 copies in which was a block of 6 unused. I have never heard of the block coming to life and as it was sold by him to the San Francisco Croker it may still be in that collection. The lot came from a purchase in the Catalina Island."

Provenance of this volume: An undated note penciled on the inside front cover states that the book was "Purchased from Robert A. Siegel Auction Sale of the Philip Little Jr. Revenues" by H.P. Th[illegible], M.D. "Price $12.00."

Condition: fine and unusual.

. Seller is 25-year member of the American Philatelic Society and the United Postal Stationery Society, among other affiliations.

Shipping and handling within the United States by Media Mail, $3.50; to all other countries $10.95. Combine purchases and save. I accept Paypal. Returns, at the expense of the buyer, are accepted for 7 days for a full refund. All items must be paid before shipment. I expect contact from a buyer within three weekdays and payment within five weekdays or lot will be resold. If you have any questions, kindly contact me.