“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.
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/.