One Cent Magenta Read online

  “it [made] ones mouth water” Melville, Philatelic Journal of Great Britain, 179.

  95

  ”There are collectors” Interview with Ted Wilson, January 21, 2016.

  96

  He wrote to Sir Edward Denny Bacon Quoted in Frederick A. Philbrick, “Further Notes on the Earlier Issues of British Guiana,” Philatelic Record, July 1889, 138.

  97

  Instead, according to the Williamses L.N. and Maurice Williams, “British Guiana’s 1c Magenta,” reprinted by David Feldman SA, 2014.

  98

  David Redden maintains Author interview with David Redden, March 12, 2015.

  6. 1878: The Man in the Yachting Cap

  100

  ”undoubtedly a love match” “A Crown Prince’s Bride,” New York Times, May 31, 1886, 2.

  102

  Philippe Arnold de la Renotiére von Ferrary Helen Morgan, Blue Mauritius, 70. The British stamp writers L.N. and Maurice Williams give his name as Philipp la Renotiére von Ferrary. L.N. and Maurice Williams, The Postage Stamp (New York: Penguin, 1956), 58. But later the Williamses note that at one point, he dropped “von Ferrary” and wanted to be known merely as Philipp la Renotiére. The Postage Stamp, 63.

  102

  He patronized one dealer Alvin F. Harlow, Paper Chase, 210.

  102

  ”I would sooner buy” Quoted in Charles J. Phillips, “Philipp La Renotiére Von Ferrary: One of the Greatest Collectors,” Stamps, September 1932, 46.

  104

  Ferrary was known to cut Morgan, Blue Mauritius, 72.

  104

  “one of the few people” L.N. and Maurice Williams, The Postage Stamp , 61.

  104

  ”When a good stamp fell into his collection” Harlow, Paper Chase, 54.

  104

  Ferrary wrote little The notable exception is “A Protest,” a letter to the editor of the Philatelic Record, reprinted in The Stamp News, January 1882, 97.

  105

  Ferrary’s excuse Morgan, Blue Mauritius, 80.

  105

  the artist Eugéne Atget “The Austrian Embassy, 57 rue de Va-renne,” J. Paul Getty Museum, http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/172716/eugene-atget-the-austrian-embassy-57-rue-de-varenne-french-1905/.

  106

  put bundles of cash on nails L.N. and Maurice Williams, The Postage Stamp, 61.

  106

  the stamp-shop clerks knew Morgan, Blue Mauritius, 80–81.

  107

  a syndicated newspaper article “Most Valuable Bit of Paper in the Whole World—Although Hardly More Than an Inch Square, Its Owner Would Not Take $15,000 For It,” Los Angeles Herald, October 28, 1906, 7.

  109

  If Ferrary was born in 1848 See, for example, Stanley N. Bierman, The World’s Greatest Stamp Collectors, 23. But Helen Morgan, in Blue Mauritius, maintains that he was “probably” born in 1850.

  109

  the collected works Harlow, Paper Chase, 52.

  109

  heard Ferrary’s parents quarreling Stanley N. Bierman, The World’s Greatest Stamp Collectors, 24.

  110

  On the same page “The Sacrifice of a Duke,” New-York Tribune, December 3, 1893, 15.

  111

  The stamp writer Fred J. Melville Quoted in Morgan, Blue Mauritius, 80.

  111

  “Look sharp, for Gawd’s sake!” Quoted in L.N. and Maurice Williams, The Postage Stamp, 58.

  111

  Ferrary had taken up stamps Barth Healey, “Pastimes: Stamps, ”New York Times, May 13, 1990, Section 1, 46.

  113

  some philatelists tallied and toted Harlow, Paper Chase, 54.

  113

  ”’a Parisian collection’” L.N. and Maurice Williams, The Postage Stamp , 60.

  113

  Ferrary played the part Stanley N. Bierman, The World’s Greatest Stamp Collectors, 39.

  114

  His will said Sir John Wilson, The Royal Philatelic Collection (London: Dropmore Press, 1952), 25.

  114

  specifically, to the Reichspost Museum ”The World’s Greatest Rarity,” Rarities of the World 1970 (New York: Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, 1970), 23.

  115

  The philatelic writer Kent B. Stiles Quoted in “British Guiana Stamp of 1856 Still the ‘World’s Rarest,’” Scott’s Monthly Stamp Journal, May 1970, 75.

  117

  the Mahés—“father and son” Townsend and Howe, Postage Stamps and Postal History of British Guiana, 48.

  118

  Redden’s pre-sale catalogue The British Guiana: The World’s Most Famous Stamp (Sotheby’s pre-auction catalogue, 2014), 45.

  7. 1922: The Plutocrat with the Cigar

  120

  ”was never publicly identified” Kent B. Stiles, Stamps: An Outline of Philately (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1935), 320.

  121

  He put his signature Author interview with David N. Redden, March 12, 2015. Redden and his colleagues at Sotheby’s failed to turn up any of Hind’s cards before the sale of the one-cent magenta in 2014.

  121

  The story about the second stamp “A Second One Cent British Guiana?” Stamp and Cover Collectors’ Review, October 1938, 261–63.

  123

  So what There is no way to know. The magazine’s last issue was published in 1939, and the editors, August Dietz and August Dietz Jr., are long dead; August Dietz’s great-grandson told me that the magazine’s files were discarded in the 1960s. August Dietz would have known that Hind liked his cigars. In the same issue, Dietz mentioned that he had visited Hind in Utica and that Hind had presented him with “a Pennsylvania ‘stogie’ that he tried to have me smoke.” Apparently, Dietz was no more of a cigar smoker than the man with the second stamp.

  123

  “He had more money than knowledge” Sir John Wilson, The Royal Philatelic Collection (London: Dropmore Press, 1952), 26.

  124

  He himself repeated “Penny Stamps That Are Worth Thousands,” The Queenslander, February 16, 1938, 40.

  124

  “The difficulty in showing” Wilson, The Royal Philatelic Collection, 27.

  125

  described him as “headstrong” Alvin F. Harlow, Paper Chase, 141.

  125

  “opinionated, cynical and strong-minded” Stanley N. Bierman, The World’s Greatest Stamp Collectors, 145.

  125

  “The unfortunate side” Quoted in L.N. Williams, Encyclopaedia of Rare and Famous Stamps, Volume 2 (Geneva: David Feldman, 1992), 27.

  125

  the Ferrary of America “America’s Biggest Stamp Collector,” New York Times, November 7, 1922, 27.

  125

  “[AJs [Brown] had no knowledge” L.N. and Maurice Williams, Stamp Collecting (New York, Penguin, 1956), 76.

  126

  Hind glued many of his stamps George H. Sloane, “Arthur Hind at the Collectors Club,” Collectors Club Philatelist, 1923, 142.

  126

  “we do not think” “Death of Mr. Arthur Hind,” London Philatelist, March 1933, 65.

  126

  “la piéce de résistance” Quoted in Mauritius [auction catalogue] (Geneva: David Feldman, 1993), 92.

  127

  Even A.J. Sefi A.J. Sefi, “Mr. Arthur Hind,” Philatelic Journal of Great Britain, March 1933, 46–47.

  127

  Sefi—a distant cousin of Michael Sefi Author interview with Michael Sefi, March 30, 2016.

  129

  ”thrifty, hard-headed” David H. Beetle, Along the Oriskany (Utica, N.Y.: Utica Observer-Dispatch, 1947), 155.

  129

  not the Horatio Alger story it appeared to be A. J. Sefi, Philatelic Journal of Great Britain, 46.

  129

  Hind moved to the United States Some accounts say that Hind arrived in 1891, though A.J. Sefi gives the date as 1890.

  129

  more often a mediator Kevin Phillips, William McKinley (New York: Times
Books-Henry Holt, 2003), 146.

  131

  ”little town with the big red-light district” Harold Faber, “Hudson Casts New Light on Its Red-Light Past,” New York Times, October 21, 1994, B6.

  131

  Clark Mills, New York, ”a place” Charles J. Phillips, “Arthur Hind—Owner of the World’s Highest Priced Stamp,” Stamps, Vol. 1, No. 8, 1932, 261.

  131

  a ”virtual ghost town” Clifford Morris, A Brief History of Clark Mills, www.clintonchamber.org/history.cfm.

  132

  Edmund Morris described Edmund Morris, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (New York: Random House, 1979), 240.

  132

  that was soon rechristened ”Arhipaca” Eugene E. Dziedzic and James S. Pula, New York Mills (Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Publishing, 2013), 85; and “Arhipaca Opens to Public Today,” Rome Daily Sentinel, April 19, 1930, 8.

  132

  Harrison had heard A.J. Sefi, Philatelic Journal of Great Britain,46.

  132

  ”Despite his great wealth ” Stanley N. Bierman, The World’s Greatest Stamp Collectors, 145.

  133

  ”didn’t want a cripple in his collection” Harlow, Paper Chase, 141.

  133

  echoed that idea Wilson, The Royal Philatelic Collection , 26.

  133

  “repeatedly pointed out” Stanley N. Bierman, The World’s Greatest Stamp Collectors, 145.

  133

  no more diplomatic George H. Sloane, “Arthur Hind at the Collectors Club,” Collectors Club Philatelist, 1923, 142.

  135

  Thanksgiving Day “Ann Leeta M’Mahon Weds Arthur Hind,” Utica Daily Press, November 26, 1926, 3; “A. Leeta McMahon Becomes Bride of Arthur Hind,” Utica Observer-Dispatch, November 26, 1926, 32.

  135

  an affectionate nickname for the bride “In the Matter of the Trans fer Tax Proceeding in the Estate of Arthur Hind, Deceased,” Surrogate’s Court, Oneida County, New York, February 2, 1934, 18.

  135

  The couple had been living together Author interview with Rich ard L. Williams, August 14, 2014.

  135

  the daughter of a harness maker Advertisement for Leonard Gar-danier, Oswego County Gazeteer and Business Directory for 1866–67 (Oswego, New York: The Daily Commercial Advertiser, 1866), 99; “Leonard Gardanier,” Utica Herald-Dispatch, March 28, 1904, 4.

  136

  One listed her as an attendant 1910 United States Census, Orange County, New York, “Middletown State Psychiatric Hospital,” digital image.

  136

  “She was the girl” Author interview with Richard L. Williams, August 14, 2014.

  136

  a second passport application Passport application 593885, digital image, http://www.ancestry.com/.

  136

  It was the same name she had used SS Cartago, “List of United States Citizens,” arriving at New Orleans, March 12, 1915, digital image, http://www.ancestry.com/.

  136

  She was Mrs. Hind again Toyo Kisen Kaisha, “Oath to Inward Passenger List,” 1917, digital image, http://www.ancestry.com/.

  136

  Hind bought her a strand “A Good Philatelist, But No Jewel Buyer, Pearl Sale Indicates,” Utica Observer-Dispatch , August 13, 1947, 3.

  137

  She registered as Leeta A. Hind in 1918 SS Brazos, “List of United States Citizens,” arriving at San Juan, Puerto Rico, January 20, 1918, digital image, www.ancestry.com/.

  137

  the SS Brazos, promoted by its owners Advertisement for New York & Porto Rico SS Company, Boston Evening Transcript, November 29, 1912, 15, http://www.ancestry.com/.

  137

  she boarded the SS Carmania SS Carmania, “List of United States Citizens,” arriving at New York, New York, May 31, 1919, digital image, http://www.ancestry.com/.

  137

  Hind worked on his stamps The British. Guiana: The World’s Most Famous Stamp (Sotheby’s pre-auction catalogue, 2014), 48.

  137

  He turned down an offer “Stamp Sale Fails; Price Up $100,000,” New York Times, June 7, 1931, 73.

  138

  but he did revise his will Last Will and Testament of Arthur Hind, 2.

  8. 1940: The Angry Widow, Macy’s, and the Other Plutocrat

  140

  He raised the price “Stamp Sale Fails; Price Up $100,000,” New York Times, June 7, 1931, 73.

  141

  ”Arthur Hind was sitting in his study” “In the Matter of the Transfer Tax Proceeding in the Estate of Arthur Hind, Deceased,” Surrogate’s Court, Oneida County, New York, February 2, 1934, 1, and testimony of Ann Hind Scala, 10, 16.

  142

  died on March 1 “Arthur Hind Dies; Noted Philatelist,” New York Times, March 2, 1933, 17.

  143

  ”all prominent Utica men” Charles J. Phillips, “Arthur Hind’s Funeral,” London Philatelist, March 1933, 66.

  143

  ”well-known young Utican” “Suit Over Hind’s Estate Ended; Widow’s Marriage to P.C. Scala Announced,” Utica Observer-Dispatch, May 4, 1934, 20.

  144

  disappointing a Pemberton ”The World’s Greatest Rarity,” Rarities of the World 1970 (New York: Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, 1970), 23.

  144

  “had he lived a month longer” Kent B. Stiles, “1856 Issue Keeps Price,” New York Times, August 7, 1938, 140.

  145

  another stamp dealer, Ernest G. Jarvis “‘Rarest Stamp’ Put on Market at $37,500,” New York Times, September 25, 1938, 58.

  145

  She had steadily increased “$48,000 Insurance Placed on Stamp,” New York Times, February 15, 1935, 21.

  145

  “She has none of the reverence” “Woman Owner Not Awed by ‘Terribly Homely’ Penny Stamp Worth $50,000,” Olean [New York] Times-Herald, June 6, 1940, 4.

  145

  bigger and more “Barnumesque” Robert Hendrickson, The Grand Emporiums (New York: Stein and Day, 1978), 3.

  146

  “That little black spot” “Penny Stamp Worth $50,000 to Be Displayed at the Stamp Centennial Exhibition, New York World’s Fair,” Elizalde Stamp Journal, April-May-June 1940, 12.

  146

  When she finally sold it “Rare Stamp, Worth $50,000, Changes Hands in New York,” Boston Globe, August 8, 1940, 3; “World’s Costliest Stamp, Valued at $50,000, Sold,” New York Times, August 8, 1940, 22.

  146

  only $40,000 “$40,000 for One Stamp,” New York Times, August 11, 1940, 116.

  146

  she pocketed $45,000 Rarities of the World 1970 (New York: Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, 1970) 23.

  146

  The judge who handled the case “Mrs. Ann Hind Scala Granted Divorce,” Utica Daily Press, January 16, 1946, 6.

  147

  Mrs. Hind died “Mrs. Hind Found Dead in Her Home,” Utica Daily Press, June 25, 1945, 2; “Mrs. Ann Hind, Sold Stamp for $50,000,” New York Times, June 23, 1945, 13.

  147

  The judge turned him down “Court Denies Scala Plea to Set Aside Divorce,” Utica Daily Press, August 27, 1946, 5.

  147

  Soon after the purchase Kent B. Stiles, “World’s Rarest Stamp, a $50,000 Item, Comes Out of Hiding to Star on Television,” New York Times, October 29, 1949, 17.

  148

  the new owner recalled “Australian Veteran Identified as Seller of $280,000 Stamp,” New York Times, April 2, 1970, 36.

  148

  an Australian who had been David Lidman, “British Guiana 1c Owner Identified,” New York Times, April 12, 1970, 150; also “A Short Account of Celanese Corporation of America,” Plastics Distributor and Fabricator, March-April 1999, http://www.plasticsmag.com/ta.asp?aid=1801.

  149

  ”was not a stamp collector.” David Lidman, “British Guiana 1c Owner Identified,” New York Times, April 12, 1970, 150.

  150

  ”after seeing the destruc
tion” William E. Kelly, “Former Local Man Sells Rare Stamp for $280,000,” Cumberland [Maryland] Evening Times, April 2, 1970, 11.

  151

  He left Macy’s “Private Finbar Kenny,” New York Times, August 2, 1942, 74.

  152

  one of three inaugural events Christopher Gray, “Streetscapes: The ‘Hybrid Pseudo-Modern’ on Columbus Circle,” New York Times, April 26, 1987, Section 8, 14.

  152

  ”Despair and suspense mounted” Stanley N. Bierman, The Wwld’s Greatest Stamp Collectors, 148.

  153

  the first person to plead Martin T. Biegelman and Daniel R. Biegel-man, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Compliance Guidebook (Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons, 2010), 15.

  153

  ”a significant number of.America’s major corporations” Quoted in Biegelman and Biegelman, 14.

  154

  also designing and printing stamps See also Stewart McBride, “The Case of the Airmailed Voter and Other Tales of the Cook Islands,” Christian Science Monitor, March 4, 1982, 1; “Stamp Firm Stuck in Bribery Case; First Fine Posted Under New Law” (Associated Press), Toledo [Ohio] Blade, August 3, 1979, 25; Philip Taubman, “New York Concern Admits Rigging Pacific Vote to Keep Stamp Rights,” New York Times, August 3, 1979, A10; Mike Koehler, “Postage Stamps, Sir Albert Henry, Flying Voters, and the FCPA,” FCPA Professor (website), http://fcpaprofessor.com/postage-stamps-sir-albert-henry-flying-voters-and-the-fcpa/.