Perhaps this suggestion will be heeded by the album publishers. If so, there will soon spring up special groups of collectors of the early Nesbitt Die Varieties.
In conclusion I desire to express to Messrs. J. M. Bartels, Edward H. Mason and Geo. Rauh, all of Boston, my sincere thanks for the valuable aid which they have rendered me in preparing this work.
Mr. Bartels has worked with me continuously in my investigations into the intricacies of these dies; Mr. Mason has placed his grand collection of United States envelopes unreservedly at my disposal, besides aiding me in many other ways, and it is to Mr. Rauh that I am indebted for the very fine and conscientiously executed drawings of the various, heads of this series.
[Footnote A: The--Nesbitt Stamped Envelopes--and Wrappers--of the--United States of America,--with descriptions of the varieties of the dies,--and fifteen full-page illustrations--by--the late Gilbert Harrison.--Edited and completed--by--E. D. Bacon.--Published as a supplement to the "London Philatelist",--by M. P. Castle,--Vice-President of the Philatelic Society, London,--1895.]
[Footnote B: The--Stamped Envelopes.--Wrappers and Sheets--of the United States--by John K. Tiffany, R. R. Bogert,--and Joseph Rechert.--A Committee of the National Philatelical Society,--New York--1892.--Published by--The Scott Stamp & Coin Co. Limited.--12 East 23rd St.]
It is strange that the Yankee, who is generally so quick witted in all matters pertaining to trade and commerce, has been comparatively slow in recognizing the value of the stamped envelope for business purposes. As a matter of fact, the famous Mulready and its numerous caricatures had been used in Great Britain for nearly a dozen years when the Thirty-second Congress, on Aug. 31, 1852, authorized the issue of stamped envelopes in the United States.
The next we hear of the matter is a short line in the Report of the Postmaster-General, dated December 4, 1852, which reads: "Such envelopes as are authorized are now in preparation and will soon be issued." And, in February of the following year, the _Scientific American_ mentions the interesting news that "G. F. Nesbitt has shown to the Postmaster-General an embossed stamp for prepaid envelopes which has been accepted, and the manufacture will at once proceed. Such, however, is the labor and care required for their production, that none will be ready for delivery before the middle of next April."