Scott E12 First Day Covers - Stamp Community Forum

SCOTT E12 FIRST DAY COVERS
THE 10-CENT MOTORCYCLE SPECIAL DELIVERY ISSUE
JULY 12, 1922

The purpose of this post is to present the E12 FDC and locate and record E12 FDCs that are not similar to the FDCs presented in this post. Do you have one?

The victory of Warren G. Harding in the 1920 U.S. presidential election ushered in a new Republican administration. Among the top appointees in the Post Office Department was the new third assistant postmaster general, W. Irving Glover. His duties would include the responsibility for postage stamps.

An early Glover policy was his change of the design of all existing postage stamps. The first stamp to receive this attention was the current special delivery stamp whose bicycle messenger design had been in use since 1902. The new design would show a motorcycle messenger to reflect the fact that the post office was mechanizing.

With this special delivery issue Glover started the practice of publishing Post Office Department press releases that announced the planned release of a new stamp on a specific day and at a specified site related to the subject of the stamp. This would be true not only for commemorative stamps, but ordinary and special service stamps as well.

Glover's July 8,1922 press release of the new stamp to major newspapers states that "sale of the new stamp to collectors will begin at the Philatelic Stamp Agency here (Washington, DC) on Wednesday (July 12) and to the public at the city post office on the same day." However, the new stamp would not probably be issued to other post offices until the supply of the bicycle special delivery stamp was exhausted.

Because first day cover collecting was still in its infancy and the fact that special delivery stamps were not popular, only a few FDCs of the new stamp would be processed on its first day of release. We know of only eight servicers. They were collectors or dealers who were local area residents or who had a relationship of some sorts with the Post Office Department. It appears that none of the known covers were mail in requests from collectors who read the first day announcement.

Surveys over the last sixty years have identified 87 FDCs of the stamp. Only 21 of the covers are unique because there are several duplicates. The unique covers and their counts are shown below by time sequence. The Worden cover counts are reasonable estimates.

Servicer: Edward C. Worden, Known copies: est. 35, Time: 10:00 A.M.

This was chemist Edward C. Worden's first venture in servicing FDCs. Most of his FDCs are addressed to him by a common two or three line addressograph labeler. Singles with plate numbers 13917, 13918, or 13920 (above) are on some of his covers.

Servicer: Edward C. Worden, Known copies: est. 15, Time: 10 A.M.

The "Fee Claimed" handstamp was to insure that the Millburn Post Office received the 10-cent special delivery fee if in case the delivered letter had to be forwarded to another post office. The handstamp is not found on most of the Worden covers.

Servicer: Edward C. Worden, known copies: 3, Time: 10 A.M.

All 10:00 A.M. cancelled covers are believed to be Worden covers. That includes some unaddressed covers. There is no evidence that the unaddressed covers were ever addressed which implies they were post office handbacks.

[Servicer: Edward C. Worden, Known copies: 1, Time: 10 A.M.

There is evidence that some unaddressed covers were eventually addressed to Worden (above, typed not addressograph) or some of his customers. Another question to be raised is whether or not some of his addressograph covers originated as unaddressed covers.

Servicer: Edward C. Worden, Known copies: 3, Time: 10 A.M.

Three of the 10:00 A.M. covers are addressed to Miss M, R. Cornish at 213 Seaton in Washington, DC. That is an address associated with dealer C. E. Nickles, but not until 1926. This cover probably originated as an unaddressed cover.

Servicer: Edward C. Worden, Known copies: 1, Time: 10 A.M.

Rahway, NJ is about 14 miles from Millburn, Worden's mail town. The similarity between the names of the unknown E. C. Worthem and Edward C. Worden seems like more than a curious coincidence. Someone cut off 5/8 in. from the end of the cover.

Servicer: Michael Eidsness Jr., Known copies: 1, Time 11:00 A.M.

Michael Eidsness Jr., the Superintendent of Stamps who had responsibility for the Philatelic Stamp Agency, sent an E12 FDC to Edward Worden with an enclosed note that mentioned that Worden had previously asked Eidsness to send him a FDC. Note the strange crossed out Oct.

Servicer: W. O. Siebold, Known copies: 1, Time: 12:00 P. M.

William O. Siebold was a patent examiner at the U.S. Patent Office. He was at the center of considerable FDC activity at that office. His family would receive several early twentieth century FDCs from Henry Hammelman before he started servicing FDCs in 1920. Note the return address.

Servicer: W. O. Siebold, Known copies: 1, Time: 12:00 P. M.

Mr. Seaver was a patent attorney whose office was across the street from the U.S. Patent Office. He received Siebold FDCs until he started servicing cover for himself. He would form an outstanding FDC collection.

Servicer: W. O. Siebold, Known copies: 1, Time: 12:00 P. M.

Clara Helff was a clerk who worked with William Siebold. This cover is in Siebold's handwriting but has Helff's return address at the Patent Office. Her name and address appear on several of his later serviced FDCs.

Servicer: Clara Helff, Copies: 1, Time: 12:00 P.M.

This cover is addressed to teenager Jack Allen, a nephew of Miss Helff who lived at the same residence as Miss Helff. Because of that, this cover is attributed to her. Note the Office of the Commissioner of the U.S. Patent Office corner card.

Servicer: Howard C. Beck, Known copies: 5, Time: 4:00 P.M.

Howard C. Beck helped organize the original Detroit Philatelic Society in 1887. He was its first president. His career took him to Baltimore where he was a president of the Baltimore Philatelic Society. In total, he serviced at least ten E12 FDCs

Servicer: Howard C. Beck, Known copies: 1, Time: 4:00 P.M.

Beck sent E12 FDCs to five Detroit friends. Two of the covers, like the cover addressed to him, have his corner card. The other three covers, like this cover addressed to William Swan, have his embossed address on the reverse.

Servicer: Howard C. Beck, Known copies: 1, Time: 4:00 P.M.

Some of Beck's stamp friends at the Detroit Philatelic Society were also members of the Michigan Stamp Club. Members of the latter organization would be 11-cent Hayes stamp servicers on October 4 at Fremont, Ohio, the subject of Glover's next stamp announcement and release.

Servicer: Howard C. Beck, Known copies: 1, Time: 4:00 P.M.

The Detroit Post Office used serial numbers for control of incoming special delivery mail. The above cover has a 14991. The other Detroit covers have a high of 15191. A difference of 200. Detroit was receiving a lot of special delivery covers. Beck's Detroit FDCs have 3 P.M. July 13 special delivery receiving numbers on their back sides.

Servicer: Howard C. Beck, Known copies: 1, Time: 4:00 P.M.

David L. Ballentine specialized in U.S. Revenues and Possessions. His name, like many others , can be found in the Blue Book of Philately, a 1935, 1938 set of H. L. Lindquist books listing collectors and specialties. The back side of this cover was removed.

Servicer: Howard C. Beck, Known copies: 1, Time: 4:00 P.M.

Fred Schmalziedt was a FDC collector who was into many aspects of philately. He collected deliberately mutilated stamps, on and off cover, of the Civil War. He also wrote about silk thread in papers of the bank notes issues.

Servicer: Henry W. Porter, Known copies: 4, Time: 4:30 P.M.

Henry W. Porter was a clerk who worked for the U.S. Government. All of his covers are addressed to his home address. One of then is pictured on page119 of H. Gobie's book The Speedy which addresses the U.S. Special Delivery system; a recommended reading.

Servicer: Henry W. Porter, Known copies: 1, Time : 4:30 P.M.

Porter sent a FDC to J. B. Jackson who worked with hin in the government. He was also an occasional contributor to Philip Ward's popular column in Mekeel's Weekly Stamp News.

Servicer: Philip Ward Jr., Known copies: 1, Time: 5:00 P.M.

Philadelphia dealer and philatelic writer Philip Ward. Jr. had established a strong working relationship with the Post Office Department over several years. His cover reverse bears the wax seal of the Department of Stamps which regulated the Philatelic Stamp Agency. Note the return address.

Servicer: Henry Hammelman, Known copies: 4, Time: 6:30 P.M.

Henry Hammelman and William Siebold were good friends who grew up in Buffalo, NY. Both ended up working in Washington, DC. Hammelman in the Dead Letter Office of the U.S. Post Office Department and Siebold in the U.S. Patent Office.

Servicer: Henry Hammelman, Known copiess: 2, Time: 6:30 P.M.

Hammelman rarely used his own name on covers. He used the names of other workers at the Post Office Department, such as E.E. Scherer, who would return the covers to him. He was building up an inventory of FDCs so he could become a cover dealer after retirement.

Servicer: Henry Hammelman, copies: 2, Time: 6:30 P.M.

Hammelman serviced his first FDC in 1912. Upon retirement, he moved in 1935 to the philatelic district of New York City at 116 Nassau Street and set up the Pioneer Stamp Company. His last known cover is dated 1950. He is the first known exhibitor of a competitive FDC exhibit (1926).

I need a color scan of this cover.