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| Preview of Stamps Catalogue: VOLUME 1 |
Note: on my website many of the
pictures can not be seen! They are of course present in the catalogue;
contact me if you want to purchase it.
Trifet was a collaborator of 'The Boston Gang' (under the guidance of S.A.Taylor). He was born in Paris (France) in 1848. He issued his own stamp journal 'the American Stamp Mercury'. In 1881 he continues his career in publishing sheet music (Trifet's Harmonized Melodies). He died in 1899. In 1867 he was located at 57 Court Street in Boston. He also operated from 408 Washington Street (Boston). According to his own advertisements, his firm was the oldest stamp firm in America.
Trifet arranged the Government Collection of Washington (for
the Centennial of 1876) and the authorities gave him 1,800 full
sets of the 1857 issue. He also received a full sheet with 3
cents US stamps grilled all over.
(http://www.jamaicaphilately.info/20_Philatelic/209_Publications/Journals/BWI_Philatelist/pdf/BWIP-06-01_195409.pdf)
Advertisement card for F.Trifet, dealer in Embossed Pictures,
Chromos, Fancy Cards, Foreign Postage Stamps. etc. 25 School St.,
Boston.
From 'The Stamp Collector's Magazine' (May 1, 1869 p66):
THE STAMP DEALERS OP BOSTON (MASSACHUSETTS).
In our March number, in the course of some remarks on the old
Bolivian stamps, we took occasion to observe, that " there
does exist at Boston a set of impostors, who conspire to palm off
on collectors stamps of their own invention and fabrication ;
" adding, " we are already in possession of some
details of their modus operandi, and we can assure these
gentlemen we shall continue our inquiries, and further, should
circumstances render it necessarv, shall not hesitate to make
public the information we may acquire, with the names of the
defaulters." This brief and general reference to a matter
which has long been the subject of discussion among the leading
collectors, both of England and France, has borne some rather
sadden and unexpected results. In the first place, we received a
rather formidable document from Boston itself. This is no other
than the joint and separate testimony of certain of Mr. Trifet's
admirers to his integrity: The proper place for such a document,
which is no more than a rather clumsey puff, would be in our
advertisement columns, where we shall have no objection to insert
it. Suffice it for, the present to state, that Lemuel Pope, T. W.
Brewer, A. Robeson, jun., F. E. Hunter, F. H. Storry, and George
Fuller, severally bear, witness that they have each bought a
great number of stamps from Mr. Trifet, and have only found a few
counterfeits among them, which have been returned to the vendor ;
that Mr. Trifet is an honest man, &c., &c. George B.
Perkins certifies that the six deponents signed their statements
in his presence. Israel Perkins, justice of the peace, declares
that George B. Perkins swore to the truth of the statement, and
that G. B. P. is a credible person ; and, finally, the Secretary
to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts declares, on a printed form,
to which is affixed the "seal of the commonwealth,"
that Israel Perkins was a Justice of Peace, for the county of
Suffolk, at the date of the attestation thereto annexed.
If this is not enough to convince any one of Mr. Trifet's honesty
and general integrity, what more can be required ? There is only
one point worth noting, and that is, that we, at any rate, never
expressed any doubt of that gentleman's honesty. In the remarks
quoted at the commencement of the presents article we did not
refer to any stamp dealer by name ; the excessive anxiety,
therefore, of Mr. Trifet's friends to vindicate his character in
advance offers food for some curious speculations. We are led to
wonder whether his customers really did, on reading our remarks,
spontaneously combine to testify to his excellence; and further,
did share among themselves the expense incurred in obtaining the
legal attestations by which they seek to give weight to their
testimony. This is a question which we may well leave to our
readers to decide. We, however, may point out to the six
deponents that their declaration that Mr. Trifet has never or but
very rarely sold them counterfeits, does not at all affect the
question whether or not be has been concerned with others in the
fabrication of entirely fictitious stamps. Forgeries and
falsities are two different things. A dealer in " works of
fiction " would seriously injure his trade by selling any
considerable qauntity of forgeries. His position as a vendor of
genuine stamps enables him to pass off his own manufactures ; but
suspicion would at once fall on these latter, were they sold by a
known dealer in counterfeits. We repeat, then, that this
important declaration is entirely superfluous on every ground,
and its only effect is to throw suspicion on the dealings of the
person to whom it refers. Following this declaration, comes an
amusing paragraph from the little New England Journal of
Philately, which, as showing how well our caution to the Boston
impostors has told, we must insert.
With the concluding paragraph [of the article in
The Stamp-Collector's Magazine] have we more particularly to do ;
this states [?] that the Editors of the journals in
question— Le Timbre-Poste and The Stamp Collector's Magazine
— are conjointly aware that there esists in Boston a set of
impostors, who conspire to palm off on collectors stamps of their
own invention. In behalf of Boston, and in the name of the
dealers thereof, we therefore call on the journalists in question
for the names of these parties, so that we may consign them to
eternal and everlasting infamy; and in default of the production
of such names by The Stamp-Collector's Magazine and Timbre-
Poste, we do, in the name of Boston, pronounce such statements a
foul, malicious, and mendacious slander, and the editors of said
journals as liars, traducers, and philatelic defamers and
slauderers of the worst class.
Our readers may be interested to learn that, notwithstanding this
tremendous onslaught, we continue in good health ; and as we
received tbe current numher of Le Timbre- Poste some days in
advance of the usaal time, we presume that M. Moens feels, if
anything, rather better after it. As the New England Journal is
so overpowered with virtuous indignation at the idea that Boston
dealers are other than what they ought to be, we will just point
out to it that, on the very page in which the above extract
appears, there is an advertisement from S. Allan Taylor, of
" Cheap Sets of Stamps," among which are mentioned the
set of eight Pacific Steam Navigation Company's stamps, used, for
15 cents (seven- pence halfpenny). These stamps, we have pleasure
in informing the New England Journal of Philately, are forgeries
; the fact that they are " used " is alone sufficient
to prove this. It is true, Mr. S. A. Taylor's connection with the
stamp- fabricators is not proved by his selling forgeries, but
the New England Journal will, no doubt, find sufficient reason in
the fact, that he deals in counterfeits, for consigning him
"to the eternal and everlasting infamy" which it
threatens. The legal declaration and the New England Journal's
very emphatic disclaimer represent, up to the present time, the
effect of our remarks on the Bostonians; the following letter,
from Mr. Pemberton, represents their result on this side of the
water. In giving it currency, we do not bind ourselves to an
entire agreement with tbe writer's observations. To no small
extent, they are certainly justified; and if Mr. Pemberton speaks
very plainly, and calls a spado a spado in an entirely
unequivocal manner, we, for our part, cannot blame him. If
certain of our American readers feel themselves injured by his
remarks, Mr. Pemberton is, no doubt, well able to take upon
himself the responsibility for what be says.
To the Editor of " The Stamp-Collector's
Magazine." Dear Sir, — *I have a few words to say in
the matter of the three most successful of recent Boston
swindles. Why these people have been allowed to go on so long, in
the uninterrupted exercise of their peculiar faculties for lying,
swindling, and forging, I cannot divine. That the letter in your
January number, signed W. C. Bancroft, purporting to be a correct
account of the officially-issued Bolivian stamps, is altogether
worthless, a few minutes consideration of the remarks translated
by you (on pp. 38, 39) will amply show ; it is, as Le
Timbre-Poste says: "nothing more than an attempt to pass off
the Boston impostors' wares, and to give them the seal of
authenticity." Precisely so; this has been the impudent
"game" for years past. The Ecuador 12 reales was soon
knocked on the head, the proprietors having forgotten to write a
letter from the United States consul at Quito. This was fortunate
for many if our collectors, who would certainly have purchased
upon the strength of such apparently convincing proof. The best
swindle of all appears to mbe to be the Paraguay stamp. I can
only regard it as a swindle, though for some time I felt
doubtful. When I read the onslaught upon it in The American
Journal of Philately, I felt fairly puzzled for a little time,
for I scarcely thought it likely that even Boston swindlers would
go to the length of forging a consul letter, but now I firmly
believe that they have done so, and here are my reasons ; First,
I see no motive why the American Journal of Philately should
attack the stamp if it were genuine, save possibly an animus
against your informant, C. P. Wright; but to gratify this they
themselves would have to forge the consul's denial. On the other
hand, if they are false, there is at once a motive for exposing
them— to spoil the trade of another man. I do not for an
instant think that any American dealer would be influenced by
care for the pockets of collectors ; I know so very few United
Stales dealers who suffer from that antiquated disease, pangs of
conscience, that, Unsatisfactory as it is, one has to look at all
motives in examining their doings and writings. From this
exposure in the American Journal of Philately, I imagine there
has been a split in the Boston camp, and "when thieves fall
out," proverbial honesty gets the benefit. Secondly, if we
turn to p. 47 in The Stamp- Collector's Magazine of last year, we
find that the very first notice of the Paraguay stamp under
discussion was contributed by Charles L. Hill, of Boston,
"who received it from a person at Monte Video." This I
fear is the same as your "independent correspondent at Monte
Video," who had been primed with the stamps to set the
swindle fairly going. Thirdly, the denial by the postmaster at
Yonkers, New York, of the existence of any such person as Charles
P. Wright —this in answer to an inquiry by Sir. James A.
Petrie, with whom I am in correspondence. Fourthly, we know from
indisputable evidence, that the letter of W. C. Bancroft contains
"information" which can only have been invented. It
such a thing will be attempted in one case, it certainly will be
in another. Why should we credit the evidence for the Paraguay
more than that for the Bolivians, when we have such a denial as
that in The American Journal of Philately? To be introduced by a
Bostonite is quite enough to damn any new stamp now- a-days. The
"inventors" really must change their place of residence
; we are all getting sick of Boston. Another of your Boston
correspondents, Mr Chute, has never been asked to explain his
share in "introducing " one of the earlier humbugs of
his city to your notice; will he give us an explanation? If we
turn to vol. v. p. 40, we remark how carefully and how kindly he
explained about a certain rose-coloured stamp, value 2 reales,
accredited to St. Domingo ! How, to allay all doubt, he mentioned
a friend— no, a relative, I see,— residing in that
chaste locality, who, perhaps, kindly neglected important
business to supply him with the copies he sent you ! How
particular he was to call your attention to the variety of a
dirty red colour, of which he possessed duplicates ! Yet this
very thing was a swindle from first to last. How came Mr. Chute's
relative in St. Domingo to know so much about them, and to be so
prodigal with his information ? Many people would bo glad to
know. Another swindle is that of the forged Canadian envelopes,
which I recently noticed ; these Mr. Chute first pointed out, and
my correspondent, who sent me the specimens, after reading my
letter in The Stamp- Collector's Magazine (vol, vi. p. 176),
wrote me that "they were struck from the original die in the
possession of Mr. Nesbitt, and came from him, through one person
only (Mr. Benjamin Haines, of Elizabeth, New Jersey), to me. They
are printed in sheets of 50, allowing about half-an-inch margin
round the stamps, so as to cut them square ; some few of the buff
were struck on entire envelopes, none of which I have,
howver." Now, this would be enough to stagger many people,
but we are getting to swallow everything that is told us. If
anyone can produce an impression, from what I consider the forged
die, upon an entire envelope officially watermarked, I admit that
it may be genuine. They are not from the same dies as the genuine
stamps on white, with which we are so well acquainted, this is a
prima-facie evidence that they are fine forgeries; besides, why
should Mr. Chute denounce them, if they were genuine ? If they
are false, we have the same reason as in the ccase of the
Paraguayan denunciation, by the American Journal of Philatety. I
imagine they are Boston forgeries— at any rate, Boston
always has credit for anything very fine in forgeries ; and their
denunciation from Boston is due to unother split in the camp, and
honesty obtains another benefit. My correspondent says that Mr.
Trifet (Mr. Chute's friend) wished to purchase a quantity of them
from him, " but he would not give my price, and so he was
offended, and got them written down." I mention all these
trifling matters, to show the ebb and flow of honesty in Boston.
What a charming picture for we poor deluded English collectors,
who have so long afforded practice for the exercise of those
illimitable powers of lying which the Boston forgers possess ! My
language is strong, but one cannot write too strongly on such a
subject — a polite style would hardly be in character with
it. My correspondent who sent me these Canadians is personally
unknown to me, and I have not had much correspondence with him ;
but I do not accuse him of any knowledge of their real character,
I rather fancy he has been victimised. In conclusion, those who
know anything of S. Allan Taylor's large dealings in United
States local rubbish and Boston goods, cannot but be amused that
he is writing articles upon the genuine locals for a Boston
paper. It reminds one of Artemus Ward's anecdote of meeting
" Old Poodles, the allfirdist gambler in the country. '
Whither goist thow, sweet nimp?' sez I, in a play-actin' tone.
'To the mines, sir, he unto me did say, ' to the mines, to earn a
honest livin'.' Thinks I, that air ain't very cool, I guess. and
druv on."
Yours faithfully, Birmingham EDWARD L. PEMBERTON
With regard to the Paraguayan stamps, we mast admit Mr.
Pemberton's argnments have considerably shaken our faith in them.
The case of the Bolivian stamps tells very much against them. We
may be accused of inconsistency in changing our views respecting
them, but it must be remembered that the pretended issues of
Paraguay have always given rise to difficulties, and that the
evidence is in favour of these particular stamps. Without going
so far as to declare them false, we must now place them in the
catalogue of " suspects." As to the Ecuador 12 reales,
wo never put much faith in it. We chronicled it originally
without remark either way, further than that our specimen was on
a fragment of envelope, postmarked New York ! — a
circumstance which, at the time, we thought rather suspicious ;
and in September last we advised its rejection. We may add, that
it was noticed by the American Stamp Mercury (Mr. Trifet's paper)
in July last, and in the following number of that paper, it was
positively stated that "the 12 reales stamp was issued early
in the year." Mr. Trifet is certainly the only person who
has been favoured with such exact information respecting this
stamp. Some months after, it is true, he admitted it was
suspicious; but if he had grounds for his positive statement as
to date of emission, why did he so quietly yield his belief in
this stamp ? With regard to the persons named by Mr. Pemherton :
we know nothing of Bancroft, nor of C. P. Wright. Mr. J. M. Chute
is an old correspondent of ours, and we regret to think that, as
appears to be the case, he has been mixed up with a set of
impostors. It is a fact that he gave us the information
respecting the spurious San Domingo two reales, which we retailed
to our readers, and it is difficult to reconcile his statements
respecting the stamp with belief in his integrity.
Mr. S. A. Taylor is well known in both hemispheres, but the
notoriety he has acquired is not altogether an honourable one. We
have long been aware of his having been concerned in the
fabrication of various " locals," " college
stamps," &c. ; and though we cannot prove his having
been the " promoter " of the Ecuador and San Domingo,
we can state that the copy of the Guatemala design, from which we
wrote our original description came from him. The very fine
engraving of this design thoroughly deceived us. We knew who was
the sender, but did not doubt he had by chance lighted upon an
early proof of a genuine emission. We all know the value of the
Guatemala design; and as to Mr. S. A. Taylor, we must believe of
him one of two things — either that he was the dupe of some
more " designing " person, or was accessory to the
manufacture of the stamp.
We should have given expression to our views respecting Boston
stamp dealers earlier, but we delayed doing so, partly until we
could arrive at something like certainty that those views were
thoroughly well- founded, and partly until a fitting opportunity
might occur. Such an opporlunity has now arrived, and we feel it
is time to take active measures against a set of people who do
infinite harm to collecting. We anticipate our so doing will have
the effect of drawing upon us unlimited abuse from the parties
concerned, but, disregarding this- we shall continue our
investigations, and do, not despair of getting to the bottom of
the matter, with the assistance (which we invite) of those
American collectors who feel interested in the suppression of a
fraud on the community.
The above discussion the THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE (August 1, 1869, page 115) is continued including the reproduction of an angry letter from Trifet and a summary of a letter by S.A.Taylor:
THE STAMP DEALERS Of BOSTON ( MASSACHUSETTS).
(SEQUEL TO ARTICLE IN MAY NUMBER).
The remarks we felt it our duty to make in the May number,
respecting the questionable dealings of certain dealers in
Boston, have called forth replies from two of the parties
referred to— Mr. Trifet, and Mr. S. Allan Taylor. The first
named publishes, in the June impression of his paper (the
American Stamp Mercury), a lengthy communication, which he does
us the honour to address to us, unfolding his connection with the
trade in forgeries which has been carried on in the puritan city.
This letter we think it advisable, for several motives, to
republish in full, as it is interesting in itself, and throws
some light on the matter under discussion. It reads as follows :
THE STAMP DEALERS OF BOSTON.
To the Editor of "THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE."
In your May number you have a long article under the above
heading ; and as a large portion of the same is written, either
intentionally or otherwise, in a manner to seriously damage my
character as a dealer in genuine stamps, I feel compelled to giv
you an explanation of all the share I had or have in the
following "Boston impositions" :
Guatemala, 5 centavos brown.
St. Domingo, 2 reales carmine,
Paraguay, 5, 10, 20, 50 centavos, red, green, blue, blue.
Ecuador, 2, 12 reales, green, red.
Bolivia, 1 peso blue, red.
Sandwich Islands, 13 cents red.
Canada, buff paper envelopes.
And in doing so, I shall confine myself strictly to the truth,
which all the collectors of any note in Boston or the United
States, will testify to, as well as incidents known to you as
well as to other European dealers and collectors.
I shall commence by saying, that in 1861 I commenced collecting
stamps; and, by that means, became acquainted with Mr. S. Allan
Taylor, of this city, in 1866, A short time alter this, I sold my
collection to Mr. Lemuel Pope, of Cambridge, and established
myself in the stamp business on a small scale. In buying of
persons in this city, I verry frequently got badly swindled with
counterfeits, but at that time had no scruples in selling them
over again without warranting them. At that time I had set up and
printed 200 of each of the figure issue of the Sandwich Islands.
I also, in conjunction with Messrs. Taylor,
Seltz, and Frost, all of Boston, had
engraved a fine wood-cut copy of the 3 1/8 cent Luzon stamp,
paying one quarter of the expenses, and receiving one quarter of
the stamps. I carried on this nefarious business until June,
1867, when, at the urgent solicitations of personal friends and
prominent collectors of Boston, who promised to give me all the
help and encouragement in business, provided I should have
nothing to do with counterfeit or fictitious stamps, I issued a
circular, in which I stated that, on and after date (June 20th
1867), all stamps sold by me would be warranted genuine. Of
course, this made certain parties of this city threaten vengeance
and destruction, which, I am happy to state, I am still waiting
for. At that time, the Ecuador 2 reales stamps had been
circulated some time ; and I believed it to be what it
represented, until, in a private conversation with Mr, Seltz, I
found out the character and also the name of the person who got
it up : the latter I decline making public, as this article is to
defend me, and not to accuse others.
When the first news of new stamps for Ecuador reached Boston, the
person above alluded to, seeing a good chance for a speculation,
had the 2 reales prepared ; and copies of it arriving in England
as soon as the real emissions, they were quickly bought by
dealers there, and sold, no doubt, very readily. By this account,
you will observe that I had nothing to do in the manufacture of
this stamp ; and as for disposing of them, I may have done so in
a few cases previous to June, 1867, At about this time, the St.
Domingo stamp made its appearance, and was condemned by me at
first sight, which was on seeing in a collection that Mr. Taylor
had for sale, and which belonged to Mr. J. M. Chute, a set of
about twelve proofs, in different colours. I had nothing to do,
either with the selling or making of these, beyond disposing of
two copies, sent to me from England, and warranted genuine, under
protest [?], and which I have since taken back.
In June, if I remember right, that most successful of
impositions, the Guatemala stamp, appeared. At first, Mr. Taylor
had proofs in four or five colours, and stated to the persons he
sold them to, that he did not know which colour would be adopted.
Shortly after, the stamp appeared properly gummed and perforated.
In this stamp I had at first some confidence, but not enough to
state to any one that it was a genuine stamp. I very quickly
found out, or rather guessed at its nature, and in May, 1868,
gave it a fatal blow, by publishing a letter from Dr. E. L.
Sturtevant, of Framingham, in the Mercury. I have had frequent
calls from Europe for them ; and once being pressed for some, I
obtained and sent Mr. Julius Goldner
two dozen, which were returned by him, he having, no doubt, found
out their true character. The person of whom I got them in this
city charged me 1 dollar currency for the two dozen, which, you
will perceive, is less than their facial value.
Sometime in February, 1868, Mr. H. Loud, of Boston, called on me,
and informed me that Mr. Taylor had a Paraguay stamp, and he (Mr,
L,) wished my opinion as to its genuineness. I went over to Mr.
Taylor's office, and was shown a copy of it. At the time, I
thought it strange that the postmark sould be partly in English ;
but can yoo blame me if, after only two years' espenence, I
merely questioned this stamp, when you for a long time believed
in it ? I therefore spoke of it in the Mercury for March. During
that time, quite a number were sold, including one unused, to Mr.
F. C. Foster, with whom I spoke about the stamp at the time, and
told him I did not believe in its genuine character. In April, I
agian mentioned it in the Mercury, and stated that "we were
waiting for something to turn up."
Something did turn up ; for we received the letter published in
the May number, tho original of which was lost in Mr. S. O.
Thayer's printing-office. This letter was accompanied by one
specimen cut off of a newspaper, and two stuck on the fragment of
an envelope, which had all the appearance of being genuine. I
showed them to Mr. Taylor; and he said to me, in a sarcastic
tone, that the person that made the stamp no doubt made the
envelope.
From appearances ot things, I unfortunately judged otherwise, and
allowed the few remarks on page 46 to go in. Of the three
specimens I received, I sold one to Dr. Sturtevant and the others
to Mr. F. H. Hunter, of West Newton. A few months after,
Mr.Taylor showed me a similar envelope, or rather fragment,
bearing a postmark of RIO JANEIRO in one corner and a 5 and two
10 centavos stamps in another. I told Mr. Taylor I did not
believe in these stamps and proceeded to peel them off the
envelope, when he cried out not to do so; and before he had a
chance to see that part of the envelope under the stamp I was
looking at, he said that I must not judge of things by
appearances, and that the figures 81 (the number of his office)
under the stamps had nothing to do with him. I afterwards bought
two lots of mixed South American stamps from him, each of which
contained one or two of each— Ecuador, 12 reales; Bolivia, 1
peso blue; and Paraguay, 5 centavos, These I sold to parties in
Boston, with the agreement that I should take them back if they
proved bogus. They have proved so; and I have kept my agreement.
For further particulars of this stamp, I refer you to vol. ii.,
p, 50, of the Mercury.
I now have to clear myself of the charge ot fathering the
Bolivias and the Ecuador 12 reales. In May, 1868, a boy called at
my office, and showed me some stamps that he wanted to sell. I
bought the lot, and, in sorting them over, found one of each of
the above. I took it for granted, never having seen one, that the
Bolivia 1 peso was the one spoken of in the magazines, and
therefore put it in my collection, as I also did the 12 reales
Ecuador, which I accidentally took to be a 4 reales, and did not
find out my mistake until looking over my collection at Messrs.
J. W. Soott &. Co.'s office, in New York. I noticed it in
July and August, and the statements I then made, and with which
you trip me up, I cannot give any excuse for, but that I
conjectured that it " was issued early in the year." As
for the Bolivias, I have never said anything in their favour.
Other Boston dealers are selling sets of six— 2, 5, 10, 20,
50, 100 centavos-for 10 cents a set, "warranted genuine, or
the money refunded."
In relation to the Sandwich Island 13 cents, I again refer you to
the Mercury p. 55, vol. ii.
The last thing that I am accused of manufacturing, or aiding to
manufacture, is the Canada envelopes, on buff paper. Were this
not a serious matter, I should be inclined to treat this as a
joke, I have always considered them impositions. When I was in
New York, Mr. J. A. Petrie offered me fifty sets or more at the
prices he received from a firm in England, viz. 1 s. a set. I
told him "they were impositions;" upon which he
proceeded to give an account about how Mr. Nesbitt had made them
for a particular friend of a particular friend of his; and that,
apprehending some trouble, upon being asked, they denied their
ever having made them.
A likely story, that this firm should be so devoid of honour as
to manufacture hundreds of forgeries for "particular friends
of particular friends." Believe me when I tell you that the
Canada envelopes on buff paper are better, far better, known by
Mr. Petrie than by me. I have his letters to me, with
propositions about these same. Speaking about letters, where is
the one in which I offered a certain price for these envelopes? I
will give 100 dollars for a look at it. But enough.
Before closing, allow me to say a few words about that "
rather formidable document." Mr. Pope wrote the letter, and
I got all the endorsements myself from the signers. The
counterfeits they speak of were not counterfeits but fictitious
stamps, as follows:—
Lemuel Pope, Ecuador, 12 r. ; Bolivia, 1 p. ; Paraguay, 5 c.
T. W, Brewer, none.
A. Hobeson, jun,, Ecuador, 12 r. ; Bolivia, 1 p.
F. E. Hunter, Ecuador, 12 r.; Bolivia, 1 p.; Paraguay, 5 c.
F. H. Story, Ecuador, 12 r. ; Bolivia, 1 p.
Geo. Fuller, none.
Now, I shall conclude by asking you a few questions. If I am
guilty of selling forged or false stamps,
Why did I never send them to Europe ?
Why did I publish letters condemning them ?
Why have I not sold more than, at the most, six of each kind?
Why, after paying a high price for them, should I take them back
of the above persons, refunding from 30 to 75 cents for each, and
sell them to Mr. C. A. Lyford, in presence of witnesses, as
forged stamps, at the rate of about one dollar per dozen ?
Why should I have sold three to Mr. G. H. Dunbar, of New Bedford,
as forgeries, for 3 cents each ?
Why should I want to buy " buffs" of Mr. Petrie if I
made them ? I ought to have enough myself.
Why should prominent citizens of Boston and the United States
subscribe their names to statements that they know, or even
think, are false ?
Why should I make these statements, and you not be able to
contradict them ?
That Boston produces impositions, I grant. That some dealers of
Boston are thieves, swindlers, &c,, according to your
thinking, I will also grant. But because I am unfortunate enough
to be in Boston with these parties, does it naturally follow that
I am also one of them ? it does not : no more than because Mr.
---- states a thing to be true, it naturally follows such. I had
shown me some Zurich stamps lately for my opinion, the person
telling me that Mr. — had pronounced them genuine. I told
him, as I tell you now, that they are forgeries. Either Mr. -----
does make mistakes, or else some persons do not always speak
truthfully. Why should everything be termed Boston forgeries ?
In conclusion, I call your attention to the facts above stated,
and advise you— nay, command you, if I may use the term
— to make further inquiries, and make them known to the
world. By all means, take the assistance of American collectors,
if you can get any after treating their first step in the manner
in which you have done ; and when you have found out the truth,
let us know it. If you hear of anything against me or the firm,
publish it, and I promise you that I will publish it in my own
magazine if it is true ; but be an impartial judge, and publish
all you can find in my favour also. Do not always consider a
person by the company he keeps, and do not bring as an evidence
against a man his own defence.
Do, as you say you always do, what is right, and, whether you
fairly find me "guilty " or "not guilty," you
will receive the thanks of,
Yours respectfully, P. TRIFET.
In this apology there is a great deal of irrelevant matter, but
in justice to Mr. Trifet, we have inserted the whole of his
defence. Some credit is due to him for coming forward and
admitting his share in the transactions alluded to ; but our
opinion of him would have been higher, had he not waited until
stimulated to do so by self-interest. Ha candidly admits his
share in the manufacture of the forged figure Sandwich Islands,
and in the 3 1/8 c. of Luzon, but he denies being privy to the
fabrication of any other forgeries or falsities. On the contrary,
he declares that though resident in the place where they were
created, he was himself duped by them, and afterwards aided in
exposing their true character. We see no reason to seriously
question these statements ; for though there runs throughout the
extract above quoted a very strong vein of justification, it
still bears about it such an air of truthfulness as permits of
its acceptance. What, however, we may reasonably be surprised at
is, that Mr. Trifet, although at an earlier period of his career
he was concerned with Allan Taylor in what he now justly terms a
" nefarious business," and therefore must have known
the character of his quondam confederate, still continued, after
he had entered upon a new path, to continue his relations with
Taylor, and to buy stamps from him. How could he warrant as
genuine anything — or at least, anything new and unknown
— which he had purchased from Taylor? Our correspondent, if
we may so term him, says that he bought a lot of South American
stamps, in 1868, from Taylor, and found among them copies of the
12 rls. Ecuador, 1 peso Bolivia, and 5 c. Paraguay, which he sold
again, with " the agreement that he should take them back if
they proved bogus." We do not wonder he or his clients made
such a stipulation, but we do wonder that he should have either
bought or sold them, knowing, as he did, that only a few months
before the person from whom he obtained them had
"uttered" the Guatemala falsity. Acquitting Mr. Trifet
of any intention to defraud in the matter, he is certainly
chargeable with a culpable want of caution. Every hononrable
stamp dealer sells his stamps upon the implied condition that he
will refund the money paid for them if they should be proved to
be forged or valueless, but his customers have a right to expect
in addition that he shall take every possible precaution to
obviate even the chance of his selling them such stamps ; a
dealer, therefore, who obtains his stock from a known fabricator
of forgeries, violates the confidence of his friends, no matter
under what stipulations he sells to them. Mr. Trifet concludes
his explanations with an appeal, " not always to consider a
man by the company he keeps ; " but he cannot be surprised
that the world should judge by what are often the only data on
which it can form an opinion. If Mr. Trifet be not a "bird
of the same feather" as Taylor and Lyford, his best plan
will be to avoid consorting with them, or either of them. If he
continue to associate himself with persons of their character, it
will be idle for him to declare himself their dupe.
Thus much with regard to Mr. Trifet personally, but we cannot
part from his apology without adverting to the portions which
bear upon another implicated person- Mr. Allan Taylor. We find it
stated, then :
1.— That Mr. Taylor, together with Messrs, Trifet, Seltz,
and Frost, engraved "a fine wood-cut copy of the 3 1/8 Luzon
stamp."
2. — That the first copies of the sham 2 reales of St.
Domingo which Mr. Trifet saw (and as he was in Boston, he would
be likely to see them as soon as anyone), were in a collection
which Mr. Taylor had for sale, and which belonged to Mr. J. M.
Chute. In this collection was a set of twelve proofs.
3. — That Mr. Taylor " at first had proofs of the
Guatemala in four or five colours, and stated to the persons be
sold them to that I.e did not know which colour would be
adopted."
The italics are our own, though the " richness " of the
latter clause of the sentence hardly requires emphasising.
4.— That Mr. Taylor sold to Mr. Trifet, among other stamps,
copies of the "Ecuador, 12 reales; Bolivia, 1 peso blue; and
Paraguay, 5 centavos,"
Besides these, Mr. Trifet supplies a hint as to the fabricator of
the 2 reales Ecuador. Unguided by it, we should have been
inclined to credit the creator of the 12 reales of the same
country with its production, but when Mr. Trifet tells us that
Mr. Seltz (who had been S. A. Taylor's partner and his own in the
manufacture of the Luzon stamp) informed him who was the maker,
there is no longer room for doubt. The facts which Mr. Trifet
narrates respecting the Paraguay 5 c. are also interesting, and
tend to prove either that Mr. Taylor is a clairvoyant, or that he
had incautiously postmarked one of his own envelopes with the
words, RIO JANEIRO. With regard to the St. Domingo, it is of
course possible that Mr. Chute may have duped or deceived Mr.
Taylor as to their real character and that the latter offered
them for sale in ignorance of their worthlessness. Such a thing
is possible, but only barely so. The more probable supposition
is, that Mr. Chute and Mr. Taylor conspired together to palm off
the result of their joint incentive powers. If not, and we wrong
Mr. Chute in the matter, wo shall be glad if that gentleman will
favour his brother collectors with an explanation of his
connection with this humbug.
We now come to the answer made by Allan Taylor himself to our
strictures. His letter is just such a one as might be expected
from his pen — evasive, bombastic, and bullying in tone. We
see no reason in his case for inserting his reply in full, as the
greater portion consists of abuse pure and simple, but we shall
give a resumé of its contents, and then, so far as Mr. Taylor is
concerned, we have done with the matter.
He addresses himself to our publishers, Messrs. Alfred Smith
& Co., and starting from the erroneous assumption that they
are also the editors, he goes on to threaten them with vengeance,
declaring that he will use his entire influence with the
"stamp trade in America " to their detriment. Neither
this tremendous threat, nor the farther one which concludes his
letter, to the effect that he will deal with our publishers
"on the inflexible principles of Mosaic law," has, we
fear, been duly appreciated by those to whom it is addressed. We
think, and our readers will probably think with us, that their
full value is given them in regarding them as the expressions of
Mr. Taylor's perhaps natural rage at the exposure of his
dishonest transactions which, in the interests of philately, we
have made.
Mr. Taylor professes to believe that our statements were made
with the purpose of injuring his trade. That they were made to
serve any private ends we deny, but we certainly admit that it
was our intention in making them to caution dealers and
collectors in general against accepting new and unheard-of
varieties, or sets of Pacific stamps, from him. Beyond that we
have no wish to damage his business, and trust that as long as he
sells genuine stamps, he may go on and prosper.
His defence is really no defence at all. He wishes us to prove
that he has ever manufactured any " college " stamps.
We recollect one which came from him, and him only, colour green,
and in design an exact copy of the current penny New South Wales.
This en passant. He also wishes us to tell him what United States
local stamps are to our knowledge more genuine than those he
sells — by which we presume he alludes to the notorious
Westervelts. This is a reply bordering on the nonsensical. Mr.
Taylor himself has been at the pains of writing articles about
the United States locals, and - has done his best to justify
them, but without such justification a large majority of those
known to collectors could be proved to be of genuine origin, and
of many we ourselves have seen postmarked original copies. But we
are not going to enter upon a general discussion of the character
of locals to please Mr. Taylor, whose tactics in raising the
qnestion are so very clear. It would be, indeed, supererogatory
to prove step by step the genuineness of such local stamps in
order to demonstrate the already proven falsity of the
Westervelt.
Mr. Taylor has the coolness to promise that the genuineness of
the Guatemala stamp shall be proved. This is really a
masterstroke of audacity, and exemplifies fully the happy manner
of " facing a thing out," which Mr. Taylor possesses.
Such an attempt at Barnumism is really so ludicrously absurd,
that it is difficult to think of the matter seriously. However,
if any one can tell us the whole history of the Guatemala stamp,
and prove what a "genuine" humbug it was, it is its
author, and we should like to read such an interesting
contribution to the ethics of stamp-dealing.
Concluding his letter, Mr. Taylor regrets that we are beyond the
reach of the "stern arm of New England justice." In
reply to which, and in conclusion of our own remarks, we have
only to observe that it is well for him the " stern arm
" is not long enough to reach the sellers of forged stamps,
sush as the Pacific Steam Navigation Co. series, or he would find
himself in a very unpleasant predicament.
The 'Sandwich Islands 13 c' or Hawaii
forgery as referred to above. A description of this forgery is
also given in 'The Stamp Collector's Magazine' of May 1, 1869,
page 71. Sandwich Islands, 13 c, head, red — may be told
by the absence of a full stop after STATES (right side) ; by the
top of the arch containing the word POSTAGE touching the border
line above it for a greater length than in the genuine. The great
difference is, this forgery is on a very slightly-bluish paper
and gum white; the colour very much brighter, varying from very
bright red to fine vermilion; originals are always on creamy
paper, gum creamy, colour less intense, being red with rather a
rosy tint, on thick paper. The forgery is slightly shorter than
the genuine, and is from a fine steel die; the originals appear
from a copper plate. This being so finely engraved requires some
little description.
Trifet himself denies ever to have sold forgeries (Philatelic Record 5 1883, pages 76-77):
" The practice of manufacturing
counterfeit United States postage stamps, even of obsolete
issues, is a criminal offence under section 5464 of the Revised
Statutes, which provides that any person who shall forge or
counterfeit, or knowingly utter forged or counterfeit stamps,
shall be fined not more than 500 dollars, or be imprisoned at
hard labour not more than five years, or shall receive both
punishments. The next following section provides that any one who
forges or counterfeits foreign stamps shall be liable to
imprisonment at hard labour at not less than two years nor more
than ten years.
" Complaints have been made to the solicitor of the treasury
regarding the matter from various sources and at different times,
and the business of making or selling counterfeit stamps of any
country has in every instance been declared illegal. Stringent
measures to suppress the trade have not been made, however, until
quite recently. The district attorney for this district has
recently instructed the officers that it is unlawful for any
person to have counterfeit dies for printing stamps in their
possession, or to make or sell such counterfeits, and they are
instructed to see that the law is no longer violated. In
accordance with these directions all the dealers in foreign
stamps and stamps for collectors in Boston have been visited by a
government agent, and summoned to deliver up all counterfeit
plates and dies in their possession. In some cases the dies have
been surrendered, and in others the dealers have been granted
delay until they can consult counsel or communicate with the
officials at Washington. There are understood to be no cases in
Boston of the counterfeiting of stamps for the purpose of
defrauding the Post-office Department of this or any other
country ; but nearly every dealer in stamps has in his possession
counterfeit electrotype plates used' in printing facsimiles of
stamps for catalogues or advertisements, and these plates are
counterfeits within the meaning of the law. These cuts are not
ordinarily printed from in the colours of the genuine stamps ;
but they nevertheless are held to be unlawful. The Government has
no intention to inflict punishment in these cases, for there has
been no intention to violate the law ; but it is determined to
abolish the business.
"A Globe reporter called upon Mr. F. Trifet,
the oldest postage stamp dealer in Boston, Saturday, and made
some inquiries regarding the action of the Government officers in
the matter of fac-similes of stamps. Mr. Trifet admitted that the
law forbids the counterfeiting of stamps in certain cases ; but
he said he should not give up all his electrotype plates of
stamps without a contest.
"' The law,' he said, ' forbids counterfeiting the stamps of
this or any other government ; but in the case of a good many of
my cuts the governments do not any longer exist. There is no law
against my keeping cuts of Confederate stamps, for instance. When
Major McIlrath called on me about the matter 1 said I was willing
to give up the United States cuts and those of existing foreign
governments ; but he said he was willing for me to keep the cuts
for a time until the question is settled. I then wrote to
Washington, making a similar offer, but I have not yet received a
reply.'
"Being asked regarding the extent of his collection of cuts,
he said that he had over 1,000, and he proceeded to pull out
several drawers in his safe, showing them all to be full of
electrotype plates of stamps. "'My cuts I get from Europe,'
he explained. ' Perhaps 3 per cent, of them are made in this
country.
"' It would cost from 5 dollars to 10 dollars a piece to get
them made here; but I can get electrotypes from publishers of
foreign books on stamp-collecting at say 75 cents a piece. I
don't publish them in colours, and if I did they would not be
very dangerous counterfeits, for they are all wood-cuts ; I
don't deal in counterfeits ; I simply
illustrate my catalogue. The counterfeits which are sold are nut
printed from wood-cuts, but are lithographed in their proper
colours, with the exception of a few, which are engraved on
steel. Most of them are made in Germany, but some are printed
here.'
He then handed the reporter two stamp albums containing many
postage stamps. The contents of one of the albums, he said, were
entirely counterfeit, and those of the other all genuine. In both
the colours almost precisely corresponded, and the counterfeit
stamps were in many cases discoloured, as if with travelling in
mail bags, and in most cases cancelled with cancellation stamps
of the design in use in the country from which they purported to
come. The edges were perforated as in the case of the genuine
stamp. In most cases the false stamps were so finely executed as
to readily deceive an unpractised eye.
'"That stamp,' said Mr. Trifet, pointing to a curious
Sandwich Island stamp, ' was engraved on steel here in Boston ;
but most of them are lithographs from abroad. There are a great
many of these counterfeits sold, out they are mostly foreign,
very few counterfeit American stamps being used.' He denounced
the trade in counterfeit stamps, and emphatically asserted that
he had never dealt in them during eighteen years that he has
spent in the business.
" A priced catalogue of postage stamps of all nations was
then handed to the reporter. It was a pamphlet of 156 octavo
pages, and contained sixty pages of facsimiles of stamps printed
from woodcuts. The facsimiles were printed in black, and were in
no wise calculated to deceive even a beginner in the art of stamp
collecting, being simply designed to aid in identifying the
country and issue of any stamp. The annexed prices were, in the
case of the rarer stamps, often very high ; and in some cases,
where stamps were obsolete, or the governments which had issued
them no longer existed, the prices of cancelled stamps were
higher than those of unused specimens. Mr. Trifet hopes to be
allowed to retain his electrotypes to use as illustrations,
offering to cut some distinctive mark on each plate, as by
runninglines through it, so that it cannot be used as a
counterfeit.
