History of Stamp Collecting 30, William P. Brown

Inspired by a series of articles by K. Kouwenberg that appeared in the monthly magazine Philatelie in the late 1970s, Rob Smit re-examines the history of stamp collecting in biweekly installments. This is part 30, William P. Brown. Up until now, we have remained in Europe, but stamp collecting also took off across the ocean in North America, albeit a little later. It is not entirely certain who can be considered the first American stamp dealer. John William Kline, trading as AC Kline, was a bookseller in Philadelphia. In the 1950s, he also emerged as a major coin dealer. At some point, he began trading in stamps as well and eventually published a catalog in 1862. The other candidate is William P. Brown. He was a collector from the 1950s and a dealer from 1860. He may have been the first dealer to devote himself entirely to the stamp trade. He sold stamps to passersby in New York's City Hall Park. In any case, he was the first in New York with his own shop. In 1864, he opened a shop at 145 Nassau Street, nearby, where he sold stamps and, soon thereafter, coins to New York collectors. His example was later followed by many (including John Walter Scott in 1867), causing Nassau Street to develop into a philatelic center. This remained the case until the 1970s (partly due to the Stamp Center at 116 Nassau Street). Currently, not a single stamp dealer can be found on this street. Brown, born in 1841, was a striking figure. Sometimes he resembled an American Santa Claus. He had a clubfoot, and as he hobbled past his counter, serving customers with stamps and coins with dirty fingers and without tweezers, he was a true spectacle. He was eccentric and deeply religious by upbringing. His father worked as a minister in the USA, Burma, India, and Japan, where he translated the Bible into Japanese. See Wikipedia regarding his father's merits. William P. Brown was once appointed to a lay jury but refused to take the oath on religious grounds. When the judge also learned that he earned his living trading in old stamps, he became convinced that he was not quite right in the head. The judge is said to have remarked that if the court had known of his trade, he would never have been appointed as a juror. (source: The Philatelic Record 1881; 79). He was not always liked by his colleagues, and there was quite a bit of teasing back and forth. In 1856, a new private postal service was established in New York, the 'Essex Letter Express Post'. This postal service, which used its own stamp, soon went bankrupt. When, as a result of the rise of collecting, a demand arose for stamps from private postal services, the rare stamps of the Essex Letter Express nowhere to be found. At one point, however, Brown found a number of them at a grocer's who used to have a mailbox from the Essex Letter Express had in his shop. Brown took advantage of this opportunity to play a trick on a colleague he disliked. He took one of the stamps, neatly erased the letters sx from the pennant on the ship's mast, and placed the letters under the ship. Then he sent the altered stamp to his colleague. To Brown's great joy, some time later advertisements appeared from his colleague offering guaranteed genuine Essex Letter Express to be able to supply stamps. Brown ordered a few, and sure enough, the letters sx were under the ship instead of in the pennant. Faked!  

Years later, Brown started his own city postal service; it is not entirely clear whether the purpose was to earn money from mail delivery or from the stamps he could issue, but I have my suspicions. That Brown was unpopular with many colleagues is evident, among other things, from the fact that S. Allan Taylor counterfeited the stamp above, in which he placed a devil behind the man with the wheelbarrow (presumably representing Brown) as a symbol of the driving force behind Brown. He further added the text '3 limps to the post office'. Not exactly subtle, considering Brown's disability. Nevertheless, Brown continued his stamp business for a long time, during which he also published a philatelic magazine. William P. Brown died in 1929. The American Stamp Dealers Association has dedicated a page to Brown with more info.

To be continued on June 23.

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. 29. Swarming mania, Collecting stamps that aren't actually stamps.