OUR NEW HALFPENNY STAMP

Otago Witness, Issue 2171, 3 October 1895, Page 34

OUR NEW HALFPENNY STAMP

I ehould be very uawilling to hurt the feeliugi of our most grac'.oU3 sovereign by casting any reflections on her by speaking in derogatory terms of the little black a-.d white label that now does duty for our halfpenny stamp. So I will not do so. I have seen tho following letter copied into more than one philatellic paper, so I do not tee any reason for withholding it longnr. It ruos as follows :—: — Sir, — It is a woll-a^certiincd fact that editors kuow «verylhiug, even the wonderful ways of the New Zealand (i oveiutuent, winch are too wonderful for the ordinary man. I therefore propound the following questions in reference to the bla:k atrocity which now does duty as a halfpenny stamp : — 1. Why has the Government made the change ? 2. Who is the gainer by it ? 3. Is the stamp a prize design? If bo, what can the others be like V 4. Who is the disloyal caitiff who has da^ed to represent her Most u radons Majesty with a dishcloth on her head ? 5. Is there any statute under which he can be bagged, drawn, and quartered ? 6 Did he ever diaw a human face from the life? 7. If he must depict a dishcloth, why did he not bang oue over a mop and draw its folds propprly, instead of diawiug the thing out of bis own heaT ? As a 1 ynl subject I shall v.eilher eat, dri -k, sleep, nor rates or taxos till you eet my mind at ea.se on thy above puima.— I am, Ac, . " . • The authorities of I'riedl'n International Pofit\ge Stamp Museum in Vienna offered a priz-j ot 1000 kroneu in gold to anyone who would discover a whole eagle watermark iv the firbt issue of Austriau stamps. Up to the present the priz3 has not been claimed, ro tbat the contoutiju Ih-it the watermark is nniply the papermaker's name is probably correct. • . * A writer in a German contemporary states that a native postmaster in G^nn-m West Africa stuck his entire stock of fita-nps ou his body to prevent them bsing stolen. To prevent them btiug fraudulently used the man posfeii)ly had to b^ postmarked. In the svme di -trice a slave dealer inquired if he oould send small slaves by sample post. * . ' The remainder of the United Sbates Columbian stamps tbat wtre placed on sale at Washington are being exhausted vtry fust. The only denominations that remain are the lc, 6c, 3dol, 4dol, and 5 iol. It is s*id a syndicate bought up all the values up to and including the 2dol, thereby exhausting the supply. The chances are that prices will now go up. • , • A writer in Invention gives his ideas of a new device for exhibiting collections. He says :—": — " I am n't a philatelist, but by Bomo chance I became the possessor of a few hundreds of good genuine stamps. A^ I am of an original tni'id I did not gum them into the u-tual stamp iiUxim, Xu 1 , I rigg' dup a special apparatus tor th-s purpose. An endless thiu leather band is driven by means of an electric motor at a very low speed. The st^mpi were pasted to the band, and this conibiu&tion was fixed inside a longitudinal box oruamentod externally with fancy work. At a certain part of the box is fixed a small movable brass tube provided with an objective gla'S. A small electric incandescent Ump, provided with * silvered reflector, is also fixed iuside the box. By pressing on the button every stamp is seen magnified many times its size, ia suo*

ceeded soon by another htamp, and ab the Bamo time more light; is Ihrown on the Bubjecb."