Thursday, August 9, 2012

More on Just How Many Stamps Are There?

Before I did my count of worldwide stamps 1840-1940 awhile back, I tried to ascertain whether anyone else had made such a count. I assumed naturally that at least in the early days someone might have taken the trouble to count the number of stamps issued between 1840 and 1850 say. But I couldn't initially find anything. But it dawned on me that I never really tried searching Google Books. This time I came up with a citation to the article "Philately's Ninetieth Birthday" by Kent B. Stiles (Scott's Monthly Journal, May 1930, pp 74-76). Thanks to the APS Library, I now have a photocopy.

Below is the table prepared by Mr. Stiles of stamp types by decade from 1840-1930. As the author explains, the rows total correctly across, but the Grand Totals at the bottom don't because there can be overlap between types (i.e., you could have an airmail stamp that was also overprinted and thus is counted in both categories). Mr. Stiles' total of 79,500 at first seemed high to me but he then I remembered he is counting minor as well as major varieties which I certainly didn't do.

>
1840-491850-591860-691870-791880-89
Overprints02560612193062
Air00000
Bisects5591117099
Commemorative001433
Inverts01358233458
Military00000
Newspaper0304414253
Occupation00016143
Official345974379561
Parcel Post000023
Pebiscite00077
Postage Due2382230376
Semi-Postal00000
Spec'l Deliv'y00002
Tete beche829575351
Registration0410129
War Tax000330
Grand Total1811830421150106980
 
 1890-991900-091910-191920-30Totals
Overprints454163901036210611 36,816
Air0027965 992
Bisects5219846 505
Commemorative5303968032680 4,447
Inverts6087291065595 3,759
Military59620417 322
Newspaper20662195111 843
Occupation41551847633 2,843
Official10359159081300 5,265
Parcel Post32109129292 585
Pebiscite0220453 489
Postage Due65781911641808 5,141
Semi-Postal163510171418 2,486
Spec'l Deliv'y73478135 256
Tete beche41313972 381
Registration46593231 203
War Tax16141982 263
Grand Total10342134381647020915 79,377

12 comments:

Keijo said...

Hi Bob,

again an attractive read... I know I've stated having a somewhat similar printed source (besides my own stamp counts), but I've never showed it before. Well, I finally managed to scan a picture of it: http://www.stampcollectingblog.com/?attachment_id=10716

The author doesn't state to which catalogue/sources the numbers are based, but I would assume either Michel or Stanley Gibbons.

Bob said...

Hi Keijo, I tried all the variants I can think of but can't get your url to display. Could you repost? Thanks.

Keijo said...

Hi Bob,

let's try an alternative, direct link to picture: http://www.stampcollectingblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/stamp-counts.jpg

John said...

Bob,
Great article. I thought I had seen it before, and when I went back to find the article I remembered, I realized it was actually a follow up that Mr. Stiles did for the April 1935 Scott Journal. It had a similar chart covering several years in the '30's and the text of the article had additional data. I saved a pdf of the artlce to the public folder of my dropbox account. Here is a link to the file:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12654195/scott0435.pdf

Bob said...

John, thanks for the heads-up and the download. Mr. Stiles makes a number of interesting comments here (and in the 1930) article.

I did an unsuccessful search on the hopes he might have written something that would take us through 1940. But the next time I'm at a library with the Scott's Monthly Journal, I'll do a more thorough search.

InforaPenny said...

Thanks for providing this listing of stamps by decade, information of particular interest to me since I especially like the earliest WW classics. Am I correct in assuming in these tables that a column for regular issue stamps is NOT included?

Best Regards,

InforaPenny

Bob said...

InforaPenny, regular issues are in the totals at the bottom for each decade, but their numbers are obscured by some of them being counted in multiple categories (i.e., a regular issue could also be in the overprint, bisect, war tax etc. categories). I wish he had broken regular issues out separately.

John said...

Bob,
When you go to the library, look for Scott's monthly from March-May 1941. Kent Stiles had a monthly column called Of Topical Interest, and the count seems to have been an annual feature. I found additional articles from 1936 and 1937, which I will scan and give you a link to later this week.

John said...

Bob,
Below are links to four articles from Scotts Stamp Journal. Three are Kent Stiles annual counts from his Of Topical Interest Column from March 1936, April 1937 and June 1941. The fourth is a ten year review he did in May 1936. Unfortunately the 1941 article only covers 1940 and doesn't have a lifetime count. It doesn't have the usual chart either. I haven't checked later issues to see if he had a more comprehensive count.



http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12654195/scott0336.pdf

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12654195/scott0437.pdf

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12654195/scott0536.pdf

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12654195/scott0641.pdf

Bob said...

John, thanks so much. I'll check 1942, etc., when I have a chance.

John said...

12Bob,
I found Kent Stiles' 1940 article and he had the 100 year 1940-1939 count at 98,512. Combined with his 1940 number, the total comes to 100,689. I will scan the 1940 article in a week or so.

Bob said...

John, I can't wait to see the most recent Stiles article. I really do appreciate you ferreting these out.