|
That envelope reposed for a few years in the collec-tion of Louis H. Barkhausen. This was the greatest col- lection of United States postal stationery ever formed.When sold by the author in 1954, Meurer himself at-tended the sale and watched the envelope he had pur-chased a few years before — from a stamp dealer's boxof miscellany for five cents — bring the record price of$2900.00. A more recent incident of treasure trove took placein 1957 when a mild mannered gentleman visited mybooth at a stamp exhibition and produced two envelopesissued to commemorate the Bi-centennial of GeorgeWashington celebrated in 1932. Such envelopes are quitecommon — worth a few cents each. But the thing whichmade the two envelopes this gentleman presented so re-markable was that they were printed on blue paper. Nosuch blue paper Bi-centennial envelopes had heretoforebeen known — and this although some 25 years hadpassed since the envelopes had been issued. Where hadthese two blue envelopes been all of these years? Thegentleman explained that he had found them in a box ofordinary white paper envelopes and had kept them allof these years wondering if they had any value. Now, hehad reached retirement age and wondered if they didhave a value could they be sold? They most certainlydid have a value. After careful research to determine thepossibility of more having been made, I was convincedthat these two blue paper envelopes were an error. Twoblue envelope blanks had inadvertently become mixedwith the white paper blanks of which the Bi-centennialenvelopes were being made. When sold a few monthslater the two envelopes brought the tidy sum of $2650.00each. |
|||
|
