Bonus Points?

Found these in a box of stamps won at an estate auction last weekend.
Coupons from the Littleton Stamp Co. and Goliath Company. Some sort of award program for collectors I suppose. Before my time.



Do any of you veterans remember partaking in these?

Also came with a 'vintage' glassine.



Actually the box came equipped with a number of glassines from both companies and a couple of others too.

These "profit shares" pre-date me, but you may be intersted to know that:

First, the Goliath Stamp Co. of Bethlehem, NH was around until at least 1978, based on period ads you can find on the internet.

Second, the Littleton Stamp Co., of Littleton, NH is still around today in the form of the Littleton Coin Co., also located in Littleton, NH. The company is owned by the Sundman family and deals exclusively in coins now. In 1974, they acquired the Mystic Stamp Co. of Camden, NY and the stamp portion of their business went there.

Interestingly, "profit shares" in one form or another still exist with both Littleton Coin and Mystic Stamp, although you get very little for the "shares" and I'm sure the ones shown in your scan have long since expired since the company changeovers.

All these companies (and former companies) were notorious for heavily advertising in magazines, newspapers and comic books primarily geared to young people and providing overpriced stamps for beginner collectors, often accompanied by approval services that were not always evident at first read of their ads.

A lot of kids either got low valued stamps for high prices, or else got themselves into trouble that their parents had to rectify when invoices started coming in for unwanted approvals that were never sent back. In my opinion, many a kid got disinterested in stamp collecting because of some of these scams.

wt1
Thank you for your post. It brings back memories.




I remember receiving approvals and when my mother saw them and what was the prices she start shouting "Send it back!". What was disappointing and you don't see if you have no catalogues is that the sets were partial, always missing the high values. Yes these companies were scamming kids and that's disgusting.

I did those approvals as a kid. I bought a packet - I think it was 100 stamps for a dime - and got approvals from H.E. Harris. Saw their ad in Boy's Life. I kept up with it for a while before finally cancelling.

Even as an adult, I'd run across certain companies who offered overpriced stuff in their approvals.

Here's a perfect example of how unsuspecting kids were lured into approvals by these ads ... this one from Goliath Stamp Co. took up a full page in a period comic book:



First of all the "free" came out to be 10-cents for shipping, not a big deal. But then if you took the time to read the "fine print" (and few kids ever did) it cleverly avoided us of the word "approvals" but instead used the term "plus other interesting offers for your inspection...". Sure, it meant the same thing, but kids didn't always understand that.

I remember getting into trouble the same way but not stamps though, they was them little yellow envelopes with wheat pennies or buffalo nickles and stuff in them. It operated the same way though. They was from littleton and I still have every one to this day too! Maybe I'll dig em out and scan one in a little bit.

I have a few old H.E. Harris glassines that my late father had. One in particular is the Canada 1937 coronation issue still in original envelope. My dad always warned me against getting into the approval game.

Interesting. It's as if these old envelopes are worth collecting themselves.
The auction lot came with a pile from Littleton and Goliath companies, as well as these, including a number of German glassines.

As a collector of advertising glassines, I find these rather drool-inducing.

A great thread......for a glassine collector especially.

Thanks



Londonbus1

I got totally sucked into approvals as a kid. I look back at what I bought then and it was mainly CTO's, big colorful worthless stamps from countries that I do not collect these days.

@ the Bus -
They're yours Michael. I wasn't sure what to do with them anyway. When I get home I'll check that I still have your address and pop a bunch in the post this weekend. Always happy to see these things go where they're appreciated.

@ the Bus -

How do you mount your glassines, hinges or plastic mounts?

Don't be silly. You don't mount them.
You keep them in large glassines.

Re. not realising answering stamp ads leads to approvals:

I suspect this is a very English memory, but as a child I read avidly all of Anthony Buckeridge's 'Jennings and Darbyshire' novels. This is the synopsis of 'Our Friend Jennings' -

"Free on Approval. Fifty rare foreign stamps given away with each of our genuine Colonial and Empire issues. Send for free lists and sheets on approval."

When S. & S. Boddington. Ltd composed their advertisement, they could have no idea of the chain of events it would unleash.

Of course, a seasoned stamp-collector may have understood that the offer of free stamps was intended for those who made purchases of more valuable items from the pages of the firm's catalogue. But would-be philatelists Jennings and Darbishire were new to the game, and they could hardly believe their good fortune. "A kindly couple, these Boddingtons, to give so freely to all in need!"

Wasting no time, Jennings requests the latest sets of stamps from Boddingtons. When they are delivered a few days later, he shares the stamps among his friends with typical generosity but pays little attention to the contents of the accompanying letter.

It is Mr. Carter who breaks the news to Jennings & Darbishire that Messrs. S. & S. Boddington expected the approval sheets to be returned to them if the stamps were not purchased. Jennings is aghast, as by this time the stamps had been swapped and re-swapped among the seventy-nine boarders at Linbury Court School. If the stamps could not be retrieved, Boddingtons would expect the princely sum of five shillings!