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The Paraphilately
Page
Promoting U.S.
Poster Stamps
By
Arthur H. Groten, M.D.
Figure 2 (below and at right): Paper pochette and one of a set of
three German-printed (probably by Wentz) stamps for Dutch Boy
paint made by National Lead Co., Cincinnati, Ohio.
Figure 1: Glassine
pochette and a strip
of stamps issued by
Warner’s Sugar Co.,
New York.
P
oster stamps, those delightful colorful advertising
stamps, had their heyday in the U.S. between 1912
and 1916 and again in the mid-1920’s to late 1930’s.
As in Europe, some of the finest American graphic
artists designed them and, as in Europe, they promoted exhibitions, sold products, advocated causes i.e., just about
any other purpose one can imagine.
It is often said that American designs can’t compare to European
ones. That reflects, I think, the abundance of truly awful 1930’s
U.S. stamps that most folks are more familiar with. But the best
52 • The American Stamp Dealer & Collector • June 2011
of the pre-WWI American stamps are every bit as eye-catching as
their European counterparts. And, of course, there are many unattractive European stamps. But such a comparison is a topic for
another article.
In this column, let’s look at how American poster stamps were
presented to the American public before WWI. It is key to remember that poster stamps were a true “craze” in 1914 and 1915, fading quite quickly in 1916, partly because many of the stamps that
had been printed in Germany were no longer available. All stamps
shown were produced prior to WWI.
Figure 4: Eaton, Crane & Pike
Co., Pittsfield, MA made at least
two different sheetlets of 9 stamps
for the 1915 PPIE. The interleaving
addresses in particular what to do
with them. This exposition marks
the high water mark for the collecting of pre-World War I U.S. Exhibition stamps, with several hundred
different made especially for the
Expo and many more available at it.
Figure 3 (left, above, at right): The Pictorial Printing Co.
of Aurora, Ilinois, was a large printer of poster stamps, many
designed in-house. They were distributed in glassine pochettes
for end users. But for their own promotion, they made strips of
5 examples of their work in a small folder with their company
stamp on the face. The folder itself is known in grown or grey
(shades).
There were a number of ways companies made the public aware
of the poster stamps for their products. Such stamps were often
included with the product as an inducement to buy, like prizes in
a Cracker Jack box. There were little pochettes that would protect
the stamps when they were placed into the packaging of the product with which they were given. Because of the ephemeral nature
of this packaging, it is unusual to find these little envelopes or,
sometimes, small booklets. The envelopes might be made of glassine or paper. Such envelopes may be found bearing the product
manufacturer’s name (Figures 1 and 2) or the printer’s (Figure 3).
An even scarcer form of such protection is the glassine interleaving found between the sheetlets of 9 stamps produced by Eaton Paper Co. for the 1915 Pan Pacific International Exposition.
(Figure 4)
There were dozens of designers and printers of poster stamps in
the U.S. Many created stamps promoting their own work. Self-employed designers printed their stamps under their own name. (Figures 5 & 6) Others worked for larger firms that printed the stamps,
some with attribution (Figure 7) and some without. (Figure 8)
A number of companies printed explanatory labels on the sheets
The American Stamp Dealer & Collector • June 2011 • 53
Figure 5: Harvey
Blodgett continued to make
poster stamps well into the
1930’s. His style remained
pretty much unchanged,
tending toward large
swaths of bold colors.
Figure 7 (left and above): Rogers & Company,
Chicago & New York, printed poster stamps designed and attributed to Franklin Bittner, a set of 24
scenes of New York City in bold colors, distributed
in a special pochette. To promote his own services,
Bittner designed and printed some glorious stamps.
Figure 8 (Below): Smith-Brooks Printing
Company of Denver used an underprint to
advertise its services, letting the image on
the face speak for their abilities.
Figure 6: Similarly, A. Broun (first
name unknown) not
only made stamps
into the 1930’s but
also published a
poster annual.
of stamps they issued. Often, they would promote poster stamps
as a hobby; the more people collect, the more demand for their
product’s stamps, the more the word is spread. (Figure 9)
Poster stamps were also promoted to the public by dealers, be it
through the mail, in a small shop or by the mass media.
A.W. Dunning was a major figure during these early years. He
was member #2 of the Poster Stamp Exchange Club as attested to
on an application sent to Dr. A.P. Mason of Fitchburg, PA in December 1915. On the reverse of the application are several typical
U.S. poster stamps of the time. (Figure 10) Dunning formed major
collections of poster stamps some of which recently surfaced after
decades. His particular interest, at least among those seen, was the
patriotic stamps issued, worldwide, during WWI.
The Hobby Shop of Hartford, CT produced an album for its clients to use. The cover design was that which they used on their
own poster stamp. I don’t know of another similar concordance.
(Figure 11)
54 • The American Stamp Dealer & Collector • June 2011
St. Nicholas Magazine, published by Scribner’s, from 1873 to
1940, was an extremely popular children’s magazine often including stories by the best writers of the day such as Alcott, Twain,
Fitzgerald, etc. During the height of the poster stamp craze, it undertook to act as a sales outlet for poster stamps being produced in
the U.S. and became the country’s single largest distributor. They,
too, made an album for its readers. (Figure 12) The stamp on the
album cover was printed in Germany by Wentz & Co. who had
offices in New York and Berlin. (Figure 13)
As quickly as it came, the craze passed. After the War, it returned, slowly at first. But then, entrepreneurial types seized hold
and began producing many stamps of poor design, soon glutting
the market and, in essence, killing it, much as excessive “black
blot” issues are doing today in countries who depend on stamps
for much of their income. Poster stamps never had the true renaissance in the U.S. that it did in Europe between the Wars. There is
a moral there and we all know what it is. )
Figure 9: Boston
Confectionery Co.,
makers of Sparrow
Chocolates, and Oxweld, makers of acetylene fuel for ranges
and other appliances,
both used explanatory
labels.
Figure 10: Dunning’s envelope has a label indicating that
he would act as distributor for
makers of advertising labels.
He was a very early U.S. dealer.
The application and samples
were inside the envelope
along with other, unrelated,
promotional material; he was
a purveyor of more than poster
stamps.
Figure 12: The December 1914 advertisement for
the St. Nicholas Poster Stamp Album gave tips on
collecting. The cover sported a stamp produced by
the German company, Wentz of Berlin, with offices
in New York.
Figure 11 (Above left and
at left): The album cover and
poster stamp used by The
Hobby Shop of Hartford, Conn.
Figure 13: The Wentz stamp is
known in both English and German; the set of 6 spells WENTZ
& CO. Note the similarities of
design and printing to the stamp
in Figure 12..
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