Take your time, its all in fun.............lol

Figure I would try to revive this thread......

What are the only 2 US stamps produced with the printer's name or initials shown within the frame of the postage stamp???

Well I tried to find this but this time google failed me

Just wanted to answer the question, since no else did.

The answer is Scott# 1 and 2. Initials are R W H & E, stands for Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edison.



The intials are on the bottom center.

Thanks Kris, Now I know

Here's a bit of trivia I didnt know..........

The January 1, 1869 issue of Stamp Collectors Magazine showed collectors how to make their own stamp hinges cut from the margins of stamp sheets. This is the first known example – previously collectors had pasted their stamps directly into their albums.

OK hears one someone might know,what is the name of the World's Largest stamp firm-founded in 1916.

I'm guessing you may be referring to H. E. Harris & Company? At one time they were, for a good run of years, the largest stamp company in the world. Now, no longer. A much smaller operation. They bought Whitman 10 years ago and converted their name to Whitman Publishing.

Not sure the exact year the company started, but Harris (the person) began selling stamps in 1916 when he was 14 years old.

Is that the company you are referring to?

Yes you are Correct,I was just reading one of there Catalogs,they had a tour 80,000 square foot at 645 Summer st,Boston,Mass.

Yeah, looking at old sales catalogs is nifty. Unfortunately, I recycled most of mine to make more space for stamps.

The demise of H. E. Harris & Company was truly a loss for philately. To go from a claim of being "the world's largest stamp company" to bankruptcy in the 1980s...

They have left their mark, however, as I still regularly run into a large percentage of Harris stamp albums in collections I thumb through. Their albums were quite popular in their day.

I don't know the specifics of the Harris case you are referring to. Harris was well-known for producing a LOT of cinderellas. The used to sell sheets of Coat of Arms, Presidents... stamps that would go along with their albums. And yes, they had a spot for those cinderellas in their albums!

Many very famous dealers of the late 19th through 20th Century are known for "creative stock-acquisition". Even Scott (of Scott catalog fame) is known to have "produced" some stamps, both US and foriegn stamps. Some of his forgeries (such as forgeries of the Hawaiian Missionaries) for use as illustrations in his catalog, and some for sale.

The history of stamp dealers is checkered with these incidents, some well-establish, some merely accusations/suspicions.

Even in the past 30 years, there have been some major dealers who have been outed for various shenanigans involving altering stamps, bid-rigging, postal fraud...

There is a rumour that a certain British dealer got their start by submitting an article in the London press advertising for stamps shortly after the release of the Penny Black. The advert was by a 'woman' who liked the stamp so much that she wanted to wallpaper a wall or room with them. That company is still in business today... Stanley Gibbons