The History of Stamp Collecting 29, The Essaimania

 Inspired by a series of articles by K. Kouwenberg that appeared in the monthly magazine Philatelie in the late 1970s, Rob Smit describes the history of stamp collecting anew in biweekly installments. This is part 29, The Essay Mania. As we saw earlier, stamp collecting became increasingly fashionable. The trade expanded, stocks grew, and people began to try to separate the wheat from the chaff. Among the stamps available in trade, there turned out to be specimens that had never appeared in postal use. These often proved to be reproductions of designs for new stamps submitted to the postal administrations at the time. From 1863 onwards, a mania arose in collecting these proofs, or as they were commonly called then: 'essais'. In addition, there was much interest in the stamps of private postal services, which were particularly common in the USA.   It became a chaotic mess. Major studies in this field had not yet been conducted for a long time, so no one knew what was right or official and what was not. People relied on intuition, which naturally often led to mistakes. Nevertheless, in retrospect, it is remarkable how creative men such as Pemberton and Hanciau (for Moens) were often able to make the right judgments. Of course, there were various smooth operators who profited from the demand for these kinds of products by cobbling things together themselves to subsequently fleece collectors. As a result, quite a few novelty items entered the market. Philatelic knowledge, which was still in its infancy, and the limited means of communication naturally helped them to bring large quantities onto the market without suspicion. Thus, there are fantasy stamps from that era depicting Buenos Aires, Dutch Guiana, the Mormons, Greece, Blockade Postage, Bell's Dispatch, Kerr's City Post, Amoy, and many others. And that, in turn, is something that occurs throughout the entire history of collecting, up to the present day.  

To be continued on June 9.

Published so far:

1. Introduction and start 2. The first collectors 3. The first catalogueOscar Berger Levrault is the first to provide an overview. 4. Alfred Potiquet, The first commercially published catalogue. 5. Booming 1862, The most turbulent year in philatelic history. 6. Edard de Laplante, the first to live exclusively from the stamp trade. 7. Natalis RondotThe first true philatelic literature appeared in a family magazine. 8. Henri Justin Lallier, Publisher of the first stamp album. 9. Frederick W. Booty, The first catalogue in English. 10. Mount Brown, A successful English catalogue. 11. Dr John Edward Gray, Inventor of the postage stamp, the very first collector, or merely a good cataloguer? 12. The first stamp magazineFirst a failed attempt, but then a sheet of stamps after all. 13. Edward Pemberton, Active philatelist with descendants in philately. 14. Dr. C.W. Viner, Father of English philately. 15. Jean Baptiste Moens, The greatest trader of all time. 16. Moens' publishing house, of great importance in the early days of philately. 17. Germany in 1862, The slow start of an important philatelic country. 18. The Netherlands in 1862, The first Dutch catalogue and album. 19. The Netherlands in 1864, PH Witkamp 20. The origins of Schaubek 21. The competition breaks out, free stamps with magazines. 22. Crafting with stamps. 23. The Polka Stamp., postage stamps as a source of inspiration for music 24. Alexander Baillieu., stamps as a gold mine? 25. Cunning, deceit, and abundance., postal administrations discover collectors. 26. The Fat Elbe from Dresden, mistaken identity with a prominent figure. 27. Arthur Maury, a name that lives on to this day. 28. Pierre Mahé, idiosyncratic traders with extensive philatelic knowledge.