When I acquired a 14¢ American Indian first day cover postmarked in Muskogee, Oklahoma, in 2019, I figured I was finished with gathering FDCs for my favorite stamp. I already had a copy of the flat plate-printed American Indian on a cover postmarked in Washington, D.C., as well as a FDC bearing a copy of the rotary press-printed stamp.
Last month, however, I spotted this beauty listed on eBay at a very reasonable price, and I was quick to snap it up.
14¢ Canal Zone 14¢ American Indian first day cover
This cover was postmarked in Balboa Heights on January 14, 1933, the day the overprinted rotary press-printed stamp was
released for use in the Canal Zone. This isn’t valued especially highly by Scott, so there must be plenty of them around to meet demand, but I’d never seen one before.
With this added to my collection, I think the flat plate-printed American Indian stamp with Canal Zone overprint is the only one for which I don’t have a first day cover. Based on the catalogue value for that item, I’m probalby not likely to get one any time soon. On the other hand, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to afford that Muskogee cover, either, but it happened, so you never know…
Free State Local Post stamp commemorates outhouses
One of the things I love about local post stamps is the wide variety of subjects that are featured. Sure, local post operators commemorate major events and anniversaries and well known individuals, but there’s also a delightful range of other topics that might not otherwise show up on stamps: local landmarks, friends and family members, and so forth.
What I had never before seen on a stamp prior to last week was an outhouse.
That’s what’s pictured on a stamp issued by Mississippi’s Free State Local Post. The image below shows the nondenominated stamp, which bears the caption “The Forgotten Room,” on a cover I received from the local post’s operator.
Free State Local Post The Forgotten Room stamp
I’m not sure when Free State Local Post originally released this stamp; it could easily be many years old for all I know. It is, however, an amusing design, and would make an interesting start for an unusual topical collection: toilets on stamps.
Rattlesnake Island stamp pictures Lake Erie vessel
The most famous modern local post in the United States is, without doubt, Rattlesnake Island Local Post. Rattlesnake Island Local Post was established in 1966 to transfer mail to and from Rattlesnake Island, which is located in Lake Erie several miles from the Ohio shore, and remained in continuous operation until 1989, and then again from 2005 until 2010.
In 2022, collector Dave Gill relaunched Rattlesnake Island Local Post with the release of three triangular stamps. I recently received a cover bearing a copy of one of those, a 75¢ stamp picturing the Jet Express II, a vessel sailing on the waters of Lake Erie.
Rattlesnake Island Local Post 75¢ Jet Express II stamp
The stamp on the cover shown above is imperforate, but also exists perf. 12 and rouletted 24.
Earlier this year, Rattlesnake Island Local Post issued an additional set of stamps commemorating the 1813 Battle of Lake Erie. We can look forward to seeing what other new issues are forthcoming as we move into next year!
New Hampshire-based Purgatory Post on November 16 issued a pair of stamps commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Skylab 4 mission.
The 4-sola stamps picture astronauts Gerald Carr, Ed Gibson, and Bill Pogue along with the launch of their spacecraft. The other stamp pictures the Skylab station along with the Skylab 4 mission patch.
Purgatory Post 4-sola Skylab 4 stamps
The Skylab 4 crew launched from Cape Canaveral on November 16, 1973, and did not return to Earth until February 4, 1974. According to Purgatory Post operator Scott A., the astronauts remained on Skylab for 84 days, setting an endurance record not broken until 1978 when a Russian crew recorded a 96 day mission.
Although additional Skylab missions were planned, Skylab 4 turned out to be the last. NASA turned its attention to development of the Space Shuttle program, and Skylab itself eventually burned up in Earth’s atmosphere in July 1979.
This small update includes spaces for all United States stamps issued since early September.
If you use The Philosateleian’s annual update track rather than the quarterly track of which this update is a part, I plan to have my full set of pages for 2023 available in early January. Stay tuned!
