Inside Linn’s: Rare Vin Fiz stamp comes into view

By Charles Snee

The April 20 monthly issue of Linn’s Stamp News just landed on the presses and goes in the mail to subscribers Monday, April 6. And if you subscribe to Linn’s digital edition, you’re at the head of the line with early access Saturday, April 4. While you wait for your issue to hit your mailbox, enjoy these three glimpses of exclusive content available only to subscribers. 

Rare 25¢ Vin Fiz stamp is Calbraith Perry Rodgers’ family heirloom

Ken Lawrence, in Spotlight on Philately, offers a remarkable sequel to his fascinating history of the famed 1911 25¢ Vin Fiz stamp and the aviator who inspired it, Calbraith Perry Rodgers, that appeared in Linn’s Aug. 19 issue. Further research on the 13th Vin Fiz stamp known to collectors led Lawrence to Cynthia Pease Bayne, the great-granddaughter of Rodgers’ sister, Martha Rodgers Pease. Bayne is still in possession of the postcard franked with the Vin Fiz stamp that made its first grainy appearance in the 1930 edition of The Historical Air Mail Catalogue.

Forwarded Treasury Department cover warrants closer inspection

Classic U.S. Postal History author Labron Harris has written about forwarded mail in two previous columns. But then he happened upon a cover mailed in 1864 from Washington, D.C., to Chambersburg, Pa., and then forwarded twice: first to Jefferson Barracks, Mo., and then to Memphis, Tenn. Harris discusses the significance of Jefferson Barracks, which served as a military hospital during the Civil War, and then explains the various forwarded and other markings that were added before it finally arrived in Memphis.

British philatelic exhibitions and their collectible souvenirs

The London 2020 International Stamp Exhibition has been canceled due to the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak. But this disappointment didn’t dampen Matthew Healey’s desire to explore past British philatelic exhibitions and the various labels, postmarks and related souvenirs that enticed collectors to attend. And, as Healey explains, “stamp shows have been going on for more than 150 years through all kinds of wars, depressions, epidemics and disasters.” Be sure to enjoy this trip down memory lane.

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