The Post Office Department issued Scott number 1343 in May 1968 during the 1960s unrest.

I was having lunch with someone a few weeks back who mentioned in passing that it seemed I was not as active with my stamp collection as I had been. It was pretty much true. The past few years have been so busy there was been little time. Now that the cooler months are here again I am going to carve some out. My interest in philately has always come in fits and bursts depending on where I am in my life, what I am doing, and how much physical and mental energy I have to expend on it. Last year I did manage to get to the World Stamp Show at the Javits Center here in New York City. About two years ago for the World War One Centennial Commission I wrote a pitch for a particular stamp, which then went into a larger packet that was sent off to the USPS for consideration. We’ll see what happens.

Over the weekend the same friend forwarded to me this New York Times article about a downsizing onetime stamp collector who donated his collection to Stamps for Veterans, a non-profit that sends donated stamp albums to VA hospitals. Like most collections, this one was not worth a great deal monetarily; the value, such as it was, rested in the hours put into gathering and sorting the stamps. That is no small thing and it’s no wonder the owner held onto his album as long as he did, even if it was just stuck in a closet. Hopefully some veteran is enjoying it right now.

When I was young I would go to the stamp store once every few Saturdays and sort through the bargain tins for what I might find. Ten bucks or so was about my limit. I have still them today. What makes stamp collecting unique is that there is no wrong way to do it. It is entirely up to the individual. Done well, a collection can become a manifestation of the individual himself. It is pastime that is going away. Email has largely replaced the letter as the form of communication. Bill paying too is largely done online and over the phone. Stamps today are mostly self-adhesive, which are not conducive to mounting. Personally, with contemporary stamps I buy for posterity, I stick mainly to First Day Covers. Most importantly however, has been the change in culture. Kids have more options with their time nowadays. Video games and other alternatives have diminished the interest in philately. Even the Stamps for Veterans program reflects this. It is primarily Korean and Vietnam War veterans, not contemporary vets, who are interested in receiving stamp albums under the program.

(image/Bureau of Engraving and Printing; Designed by Edward Vebell)

Imagine Theodore Roosevelt’s likeness on a two cent piece. It sounds funny and yet almost happened. In September 1919 the Women’s Roosevelt Memorial Association petitioned the Treasury Department for such a coin. The last two cent piece had gone out of circulation in 1874. The proposal passed the U.S. Senate in May 1920. It stalled in the House when, curiously, a congressman from New Jersey pushed for a two ½ cent Roosevelt coin. This new proposal opened a whole new can of worms. The American Bankers Association threw their, uh, two cents in and came out against the proposal. The bankers argued that a 2 ½ center would necessitate the creation of a half cent piece to make change. The stalemate proved too much and the whole thing died soon thereafter.

Still something came of the measure. On October 27, 1922 the Postal Service issued a 5 cent Roosevelt stamp. It was the first time Theodore Roosevelt’s likeness appeared on an American postage stamp. His widow Edith was present at the ceremony held in Oyster Bay. Ted Jr. and Alice also received some. The stamps went on sale in a limited run in Long Island, Washington, and right here at the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace. Note that this was while the site was under still under construction. The 5 cent Roosevelt proved especially popular for international mail.

image/Roosevelt missed his chance at the 2 cent piece but made up for it with this gorgeous five cent stamp first issued in 1922.

I went to the ASDA stamp show at the New Yorker hotel yesterday. I was looking more than anything else. A pack of hinges, a notebook for mint sheets, and a few first day covers were about all I bought. There was a lot to see, and just for fun I was looking through the discount bins of various vendors on the chance that maybe an inverted jenny might have slipped through the cracks. Alas, there were no jennies, but I did come across a fun little thing: this piece of correspondence between the Oklahoma State Board of Pension Commissioners and one Benjamin L. Perry.

Oklahoma State Board of Pension Commissioners postcard

Here is the other side.

Oklahoma State Board of Pension Commissioners postcard (reverse)

Despite my best efforts, I was unable to find any information about Perry in Ancestry or Fold3. An internet search did reveal this document, however.

Card of Benjamin L. Perry Benjamin, Commissioner of Confederate Pensions, Oklahoma, via Oklahoma Digital Praire

Oklahoma began issuing Civil War pensions in 1915, fifty after Appomattox. A soldier did not have to have served in an Oklahoma unit to receive a pension. This makes sense, as so many people moved to the territory after the war. As you can see, Perry fought in the 3rd Alabama Cavalry. Perry settled in Madill, which is in southern Oklahoma near the Texas panhandle. The Texas/Oklahoma border was a focal point especially for Alabamians and Tennesseans fleeing the poverty and devastation caused by the war. Sam Rayburn’s family, for instance, was part of this migration. The future House Speaker’s family left Tennessee in the 1880s and settled in Bonhan, Texas. Perry was just a lowly private, not the Speaker of the House of Representatives. I was hoping to find a photograph of his grave, but found none.

A few things about the postcard itself. First, it has no zip code. We think such things “always” existed but of course this is not the case. Mr. ZIP is only in his fifties. Second, I was intrigued that the building was listed on the address, and so I went looking for a picture of it. Here is the Patterson Building.

Patterson Building Oklahoma City, OK

The Patterson was designed by Solomon Andrew Layton. The building no longer stands, but its renowned architect has no less than twenty-two buildings currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It makes sense that such a talented and prolific individual would be working in remote Oklahoma in the early twentieth century. For starters, the region was flush with oil revenue. Art and architecture follow the money. Moreover, the territory achieved statehood in 1907. It stands to reason that officials and citizens would want first-class civic spaces for the new state. That is why the Board of Pension Commissioners landed in this grand structure.

Benjamin Perry applied for and received his pension in 1915, but he did not have much time after that. The postal correspondence signed by him above is from April 1916. He must have died six to eight weeks after that, because as you can see died in “Spring 1916.” I must say I felt a tinge of sadness about the whole thing.

And that is how I spent my Saturday.

(Patterson Building image/Card Cow)