Recent Match&medicine

Here are a few of my newest BOB additions, match and medicine stamps.

RS90b



RS157d



RS208b McMunn's Elixer of Opium, must have been a real cure all.



RS213b




An unidentified mix.





I hope you enjoy the scans-Bill

Wow absolutely stunning! I love them all! Congrats!

Fantastic group- Never amazes me anymore just how many different types of BOB the US has. Love the odd shape ones in the mixed lot.

Love the G.W. Sweet, "Pine Tar". Always one of my favorites. Nice little lot!

Very nice! Now I need to go away... before I get the urge to collect M&Ms...

these are one of my favorite types of stamps.
i love the art work.
great stamps.

Very nice collection. As to the stamp on the bottom row of the last scan (Dr. G. W. Swett, Boston, Mass.), that revenue stamp apparently was in use from 1866 to 1879.

I came across this link on the internet. Someone put a great deal of time and effort into the history of Dr. Swett and his concoctions, including his Root Beer which continued to be marketed into the mid-20th century. Certainly related to the revenue stamp shown, and quite an interesting read:

http://swett-genealogy.com/gws/DrGWSwett.html

Awesome selection. I've never owned any, but am fascinated by the elixirs & pills. It is like shopping for Harry Potter's school supply list.

Great BOB pieces - jeff

A quick note to thanks everyone for their kind words.
And a special thanks to wt1 for his timely links to great information, I have enjoyed reading them on a number of threads. It inspires me to look past the image posted and learn a bit of background. Well done!

I'm glad my posts are appreciated. I have learned to appreciate a lot of stamps that would otherwise be set aside as "junk" simply by looking into the postmark or the names on the cover. Virtually every cover, no matter how seemingly mundane, can tell a story and it's just a matter of digging up the material that brings a whole new dimension to an otherwise common cover.

Even for those who can't afford to buy the "classic" stamps at big money, the story behind the common ones can prove just as interesting!

Nicely said WT1. I must admit that you have inspired me to do more "digging" as it were. Fascinating this thread.

Those are beautiful stamps. I wonder if you have seen albums/collections for sale with such stamps and if you think one could buy such things, break them down and make a profit.Do these collections tend to be bid up in the auctions to a price where the sum of the parts does not allow a profit?

Crap! The more I see these, the more I love 'em. Great, something else I've got to collect.

Actually, they are beautiful. What's not to love.

In a word... Yes. (Quite often)




You could try. But, any that are worth the effort will sell for roughly the sum of the parts.

They are by far more fun to collect and research!

I would say the product to which these stamps were attached!

What awful sounding "remedies" for a vast number of ailments, that were for the most part later taken off of the market as nothing of significant medicinal value.




I agree! Most collectors have learned long ago that our "investment" in stamps has to be primarily for the enjoyment the hobby provides because most stamp collectors will never get rich by any significant "profit" they can make by selling stamps -- even Match & Medicine stamps -- on the secondary market.

While there are certainly exceptions, unless one has the resources to delve into the truly rare stamps worth thousands or tens of thousands of dollars (or more) the likelihood of making a substantial "profit" should not be considered the best motive for collecting.