US Lighthouse Society - Collectibles

Lighthouse Stamp Society

tomtag — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 16:28:20 +0000

There is a Lighthouse Stamp Society on the web and you can see their webpage at: http://lighthousestampsociety.org/wp/

Collecting Antique Prints of Lighthouses by Loren Graham

tomtag — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 14:22:19 +0000

Before the advent of photography the best way to present images in multiple copies to readers of books and newspapers and to art collectors was the print, usually made by pressing onto paper an engraved or etched plate of metal that had been inked. Starting in the seventeenth century and continuing until the early twentieth, many thousands of prints were produced. Some of them were of considerable artistic value, created by engravers of distinction. Displaying framed prints, often colored or tinted, on the walls of one’s residence was considered to be a mark of sophistication and culture. In the late seventeenth century the centers of printmaking were in France, Holland, and Italy, but during the eighteenth century England gradually won a favored place. In the nineteenth century prints were produced in many European countries and in the United States.

Among the favorite subjects of print makers were architectural monuments: palaces, public buildings – and lighthouses. The golden age of the print coincided with that of the flourishing of lighthouses themselves, a time when the maritime powers were expanding their trade routs throughout the world, establishing colonies in the Americas, Africa, and Asia, and building lighthouses along the way to illuminate and secure their commerce. In many cases these lighthouses possessed distinctive designs, and some of their architects were quite famous. Both the governments of the oceanic powers and their knowledgeable citizens took pride in these structures and they frequently commissioned and purchased lighthouse prints, creating a print market in cities such as London, Paris and New York. The British Admiralty and the French government commissioned prints of harbors and lighthouses, including those in their far-flung colonies. British, French, and American newspapers and magazines, such as The Illustrated London News, La France de nos jours, and Harper’s Weekly, commonly featured prints of lighthouses, along with stories about shipwrecks and storms. As a result, hundreds of original and interesting antique lighthouse prints still exist today, and make appropriate and interesting objects for collectors.

In some cases the lighthouses depicted in prints no longer exist, so the best visual representations we possess of them today are in prints, which are more aesthetically pleasing and interesting than architectural plans, which usually did not portray the surroundings of land and sea in the graphic way in which the print makers often did. Furthermore, print makers frequently portrayed famous calamities at or near lighthouses, relying on their imaginations to supply the details. Thus, in the case of the famous Eddystone light, we not only have prints of Henry Winstanley’s marvelous massive lighthouse of 1699, commissioned by Winstanley himself, but we also have prints showing the collapse of the lighthouse in 1703 storm in which Winstanley perished.

Print of the First Eddystone Lighthouse

In the eighteenth century many outstanding prints of lighthouses were made in Europe, including depictions of perhaps the most architecturally distinguished lighthouse ever built, Le Cordouan in France, and also of lighthouses in the American colonies, such as Havana, Cuba.

Print of Havana Harbor Cuba

In England in the first half of the eighteenth century one of the most famous engravers was George Vertue, who made many prints of lighthouses, and who, in 1736, donated a large collection to the Bodleian Library on Oxford, where they can still be seen. When Grace Darling and her father, the lighthouse keeper of the Farne Islands, performed their famous rescue of the crew of the steamer Forfarshire in 1838, the feat was the subject of dozens of prints. An example of an early nineteenth century British print is that of the lighthouse on the Isle of Wight.

Print of Freshwater Cliff Isle of Wight

A British print of the last part of the nineteenth century is that of the lighthouse in St. Pierre-Port, Guernsey.

Print of St. Pierre-Port Guernsey UK

Most American prints of lighthouses were made in the nineteenth century, and American prints had a shorter life span than in Europe, since by the late nineteenth century they were being replaced by photographs as a means of reproduction. Two examples of late nineteenth century prints of California lighthouses can be seen in the accompanying illustration.

Print of American Lighthouses

No one knows how many engravings and etchings of lighthouses were produced, but the number is certainly in the hundreds, and probably the thousands. Each of these was in turn usually printed in multiple copies, so it is often possible today to buy a high quality antique lighthouse print, sometimes hundreds of years old, for a relatively small amount of money, although the prices are rising.

Many large cities contain print sellers but only a few have stores where the prints are adequately categorized by subject, and fewer still maintain a separate category for “lighthouses.” Among those that do, the following are among the most helpful.

Grosvenor Prints
25/32 Shelton Street
Covent Garden
London WC2H 9HP
United Kingdom

Kenrick A. Claflin & Son
James W. Claflin
1227 Pleasant Street
Worcester, MA 01602

Argosy Book and Print Store
116 East 59^th Street
New York, New York

Paul Proute S.A.
74, rue de Seine
75006 Paris
France

The Old Print Gallery
1220 31^st Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20007

84 Charing Cross Bookstore
6411 Detroit Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44102

Collectibles

Collecting Covers, Cancels & Cachets USA and Foreign by Phil Cole

tomtag — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 14:14:46 +0000

Covers, cancels and cachets go together like horse and carriage and lots of good fun. There is hardly a stamp collector, whether the collector has just a few lighthouse stamps or has a worldwide collection of thousands of stamps, who does not have one or two favorite covers.

Let’s look at covers. What are they? What kinds of covers are there? Why do people collect them? By definition, a cover is an envelope that has passed through the mail, has been franked with either a postage stamp or meter stamp and appropriately cancelled. Covers come in many forms. One of the most popular is the first day cover (FDC). With very few exceptions whenever a new stamp is issued by any country in the world, a first day cover is also specially prepared for collectors. In many foreign countries the Postal Administration prepares the first day cover and they are sold to customers along with other postal items; i.e., stamps, cards, air letters. To date the U.S. Postal Service has not prepared any FDCs. In the United States the majority of FDCs are prepared by commercial companies that specialize in covers and by private individuals. Whether they are done commercially or privately, the procedure is much the same. Usually some sort of a cachet is applied to the left hand side of the cover. The particular stamp is attached and the cover is taken to or mailed to the post office designated as the place of issue for the new stamp and the stamp is cancelled with a special FDC cancel.

Typical FDC Cancel

First Day Covers are purchased in one of two ways. They can be mailed to you as the customer. This way the cover comes to you through the mail addressed to you. The purist thinks this is best. It actually came through the mail or we say, it was postally used. The hazard in this procedure is that the cover may be damaged or defaced in some way in its travels through the postal system. Other collectors prefer to have the unaddressed cover sent to them in another envelope. This way the cover will arrive in the best possible condition. Both addressed and unaddressed FDCs may be purchased at any time from stamp dealers.

Privately prepared FDCs are often very beautifully prepared and are highly prized collectors items. Usually the individual who prepares the cover is a talented artist and will prepare a very attractive cachet for the cover. For this type of cover the cachet is the feature attraction. Many are truly beautiful works of art. Sometimes only one or two copies of the cover are produced and may be kept by the individual artist or traded with other cachet makers. Other cachet makers will have their covers produced in limited number (25 to 100 + or -) and sell them to the public.

Another very popular type of cover is the one produced by a stamp club or other similar organization. These covers are generally prepared and sold to make money for the club or organization that prepared them. Usually they are printed in limited quantities.

Another type of cover that is very highly prized by historians and stamp collectors who have a special interest such as lighthouses, is what might be called a private cover. This is the type of cover you receive every day. It may be a personal letter or it may be a business letter. It will not have a special stamp, special cancel or cachet. The information on the cancel (date and location) and the person to whom the letter was addressed now become the important items. As an example, you have a letter (cover) addressed to Peter C. Bird, head Keeper, Eagle Harbor Light Station, Eagle Harbor, Michigan. The cancel shows the date August 1871. What makes this an interesting and potentially valuable cover is the fact that Mr. Bird was the first Keeper at the present light at Eagle Harbor. The date on the cancel helps confirm the fact that Mr. Bird was on duty at that time. An equally interesting cover would be one addressed to BM-3 Jerry McKinney dated April 1981. He was the last keeper at the Eagle Harbor station.

Perhaps now you can see why a cover can be a very interesting and potentially valuable item to collect. Here on one relatively small piece of paper you can have; an interesting stamp, a special cancel, often an attractive cachet, and a bit of history.

Since several references have been make to cancels and cachets it might be helpful to take a closer look at these two features. A cancel or cancellation by definition is a marking placed upon a postage stamp to render its further use impossible. You will note some part of the cancel always touches the stamp. Most present day U.S. cancels contain two distinct parts. The circular imprint, which includes the date and location, is commonly referred to as the postmark. The other part of the cancel comes in many shapes or forms. A series of wavy or straight lines is very common. If it is a first day cover, the words FIRST DAY OF ISSUE usually appear in this area. This is the part of the cancel and that normally touches the stamp. A type of cancel that is very popular with stamp collectors in general and lighthouse enthusiast in particular is the pictorial cancel. Anything can be pictured here. Usually the subject pictured in the cancel relates directly to the stamp, the cachet or the purpose for which the cover was prepared. Any individual may design a pictorial cancel, but it must be approved by the local postmaster before it can be used. The local post office applies the cancel. Usually this special cancel is good for only one in two days.

Types of Covers

Foreign pictorial cancels differ from U.S. cancels in several significant ways. They are normally produced or designed by the Postal Service of that country and they are used over an extended period of time. Sometimes the same cancel will be used for several years. The only thing that changes is the date on the cancel. The countries of Japan, Germany and France have produced hundreds of lighthouse cancels.

By definition a cachet is a design or inscription printed, stamped or drawn on a cover relating to an event or anniversary occurring on the date of the cancellation or the subject of the stamp. Let’s be honest, the major purpose of the cachet is to dress up the cover. It is much like a fancy paint job on a car. Cachets serve no postal function and thus are not popular with all collectors. On the other hand, many cachets are works of art in their own right and are collected as just that.

Cachets

When you receive a letter (cover) take a good look at it before you open it and before you remove the stamp for your collection. Look at the stamp, the cancel, the cachet and to whom the letter is addressed. (If you happen to be president of the U.S., the cover is automatically valuable). It is usually not too difficult to decide whether a cover is of special interest to you. Generally if it appeals to you (because of its lighthouse feature) it will also appeal to other people. Open it carefully, trying not to damage the envelope. Under no conditions remove the stamp. A cover with the stamp removed is worthless.

Covers, cancels and cachets can be fun and interesting and a nice addition to your collection of lighthouse memorabilia.

The author, Phil Cole, was the founder and editor of the monthly newsletter PHAROS, the voice of the Lighthouse Study Unit of the American Topical Association. The newsletter features (strangely enough) information on historical and contemporary stamps of the world, which depict lighthouses. Short histories of lighthouses and book reviews are published in the newsletter.

Royal Mail Release of Cover, Cachet and Stamp 2014

Collectibles

Collecting Lighthouse Stamps by Richard T. Richardson

tomtag — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 13:54:08 +0000

Stamp collecting can be a fun way to learn about many things, including lighthouses. Not only can you identify which countries have lighthouses, but you can also see what they look like. Sometimes you can find informative material about lighthouses, such as where they are located, their characteristic, the types of lighting apparatus, in addition to related subjects such as the Coast Guard, buoys, and lifesaving.

Every year new stamps are issued around the world showing lighthouses. Unless you are a stamp collector, the stamps you are most likely to see are those of the United States. Recently the United States Postal Service (USPS) issued a set of five stamps in the summer of (2007) featuring Pacific lighthouses. They are Diamond Head in Hawaii, Five Finger Islands in Alaska, Gray’s Harbor in Washington, Umpqua River in Oregon, and St. George Reef in California.

In addition to the stamps, which were issued in panes of 20, the USPS also issued picture postal cards of each lighthouse. The postal cards were issued in booklets of 20.

The set of Pacific lighthouse stamps complements three other sets of postage stamps the USPS has issued in recent years depicting lighthouses around the country:

1990 – Lighthouses – Admiralty Head, WA; Cape Hatteras, N.C.; West Quoddy Head ME; American Shoals, FL; and Sandy Hook, N.J.

1995 – Great Lakes Lighthouses – Split Rock, Lake Superior; St. Joseph, Lake Michigan; Spectacle Reef, Lake Huron; Marblehead, Lake Erie; and Thirty Mile Point, Lake Ontario.

2003 – Southeastern Lighthouses – Old Cape Henry, VA; Cape Lookout, N.C.; Morris Island, S.C.; Tybee Island, GA; and Hillsboro Inlet, FL.

(Editor’s Note: The U. S. Lighthouse Society has framed plaques of the 1990 and 2003 stamps. Each framed series contains the five stamps, the society logo, and a first day cover of one of the stamps. The plaques cost $65.00 postpaid)

US Issued Lighthouse Stamps

While the stamps mentioned above were issued specifically to recognize lighthouses, the United States has issued many other stamps that show lighthouses, although the lighthouses were not the reason the stamps were released.

The Statue of Liberty, one of the most famous national monuments in our country, was once a lighthouse. Shortly after the statue was dedicated in 1886, President Grover Cleveland turned the statue over to the Lighthouse Board, lighting it on November 22, 1886. The Lighthouse Board maintained the light until March 1, 1902 when the Board turned the statue over to the War Department, that maintained it for several more years. Now the statue is a National Park. Many stamps have been issued showing the Statue of Liberty, the first one in 1922. The statue can still be found on stamps currently available from the Postal Service.

In 1935 the U.S. issued a stamp showing the California-Pacific International Exposition in San Diego. The international fair was held during 1935-36 in San Diego’s Balboa Park. Several San Diegans decided to organize the fair to boost the city’s economy during the Great Depression. In the background of the stamp can be seen the old Point Loma lighthouse. Although a mere speck on the stamp, under a magnifying lens the lighthouse is clearly recognizable, demonstrating the attention to detail that the engraver took in making the stamp.

Artist Edward Hopper made several paintings of the Cape Elizabeth Light Station in the 1920’s, one of which is reproduced on a 1970 stamp celebrating 150 years of statehood for Maine. The stamp shows the east tower and keeper’s residence. Originally the light station had two towers, but the western tower was discontinued as a beacon in 1924. The lighthouse with its two towers first went into operation in 1828, eight years after Maine became a state.

The centennial of the national parks was the theme of a se-tenant set of stamps (multiple stamps joined together to form one picture) issued in 1972. The four stamps show the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, with the Cape Hatteras lighthouse in the upper right of the seashore scene. The nation’s parks system began in 1872 when Congress established Yellowstone as our first official national park.

Sandy Hook lighthouse in New Jersey was pictured on a 1978 stamp in the “Americana” series reflecting American values and history. Stamps featured subjects such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, love of liberty, Paul Revere’s midnight ride, and the westward movement. Sandy Hook represents, as is inscribed on the stamp, the “Lonely Beacon-Protecting Those upon the Sea.”

In 2002, the Postal Service issued a pane of 50 statehood stamps called Greetings from America. Four states considered lighthouses as important parts of their heritage. Although no longer a lighthouse, the Statue of Liberty appears on the New York stamp. Maine featured Portland Head, North Carolina featured Cape Hatteras, and Rhode Island featured Block Island Southeast.

Individual Lighthouse Stamps

Many other countries have issued postage stamps glorifying many of their lighthouses.

Bermuda features Gibb’s Hill lighthouse; China, Tungyin Tao lighthouse; Faeroe Islands (Denmark), Torshavn; Jersey (united Kingdom), La Corbiere; Kenya, Ras Serani; Russia, Keri lighthouse in Estonia; and Uruguay, Punta Brava.

Others go a little further than simply presenting an image of a lighthouse and show the location, the characteristic or provide some descriptive text. For example, the Canadian stamp of the Sisters Islets lighthouse in British Columbia states the light flashes twice every 15 seconds. The focal plane is 21.3 meters, and the range is 21 miles. It also has a radio beacon that transmits the letter “M.”

Cuba also issued several sets of stamps picturing lighthouses. The Cayo Jutias lighthouse is located on the northwestern end of the island.

Estonia not only shows the location of its lighthouses, but gives the latitude and longitude to be even more precise. The Ristna lighthouse is at 58 degrees, 56 minutes, 40 seconds north latitude and 22 degrees, 3 minutes, 31 seconds east longitude.

What do you know about the Hook Head Lighthouse in Ireland? “Hook Head is the oldest Irish lighthouse, the original feudal structure dating from 1172,” states the text on a souvenir sheet showing four Irish Lighthouses. The big dot at the bottom of the souvenir sheet shows its location on a partial map of Ireland. Other souvenir sheets in the set give information about Fastnet, Tarbert, and Baily lighthouses.

Irish Lighthouse Stamps

Generally accepted as the world’s first lighthouse is the Pharos of Alexandria, Egypt. (Editor’s Note: Refer to the Spring 2006 issue of The Keeper’s Log for an article on the Pharos of Alexandria.) Exactly what the Pharos looked like isn’t known, and artists have depicted it in many ways on stamps. One such stamp is from Cuba.

The sun valve, a device used for automatically turning a light on and off, is depicted on a stamp from Sweden. Its inventor, Gustaf Dalen, appears in another Swedish stamp. (Editor’s Note: Refer to the Summer 2006 issue of the Keeper’s Log for an article on Dalen and his inventions.)

Shipwrecks were common in the 1800s, and many people called “wreckers” made a living salvaging anything they could, often killing any survivors, although in later years wreckers saved the crew before claiming the ship. Lighthouses initially posed a threat to these wreckers and it wasn’t beneath them to set up a false light to draw ships into the rocks. A stamp from the Bahamas shows “Wrecking in the 1800’s with a ship smashed upon rocks.

Safety at sea is paramount today, and Great Britain has issued a set of four stamps showing a lifeboat, the Beachy Head Lighthouse, a communications satellite, and a signal buoy. The country also released a stamp honoring 150 years of Her Majesty’s Coast Guard. The Isle of Man, located in the Irish Sea and a crown possession of the United Kingdom, has issued stamps to commemorate the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Sweden has also issued stamps for its lifesaving society.

Foreign Lighthouse Stamps

Postage stamps can provide a fascinating story about lighthouses and related topics. As a final example, perhaps the oddest lighthouses, at least to Westerners, are the pagoda lighthouses in China that include the Mahota Pagoda in Shanghai. In AD 874, monk RuHai built the pagoda in the middle of the Mao River, hanging a lantern from the top at night. It continued to serve as an aid to navigation until the end of the Song Dynasty (AD 1279). Today the pagoda is a national historic relic.

Collectibles