They are most difficult stamps in all of philately to identify.

They included new techniques for printing, in addition to flat plate printing, such as rotary press and offset printing methods.

They were the first coil stamps and were the first to employ the single line watermark "USPS".

And for just a moment in time in 1909 they were printed for the first time on blue paper.

The Washington - Fronklin Stamps of 1908 - 1922.

Here's a stock book page from my collection.

Here's a closeup of three rows with Scott #'s 510, 511 and 512.

 They've been stored like this since the late 1950's.

This 1928 cover, from The Panama Canal Clubhouse, to a young lady in San Francisco, might have been from an admirer.

He was obviously jilted by Miss Roberta Saville, if that's the case.

This clubhouse cover got clubbed with cancellations, including the unclaimed kind.

Sad day for her admirer....but a great day for philately !

 Nice pair of 1927 Canal Zone stamps Scott #99 Overprint Type "B" on U.S. Scott #591...awesome !

Look at all the postmarks and cancellations !

What a field day !

Chicago by air, Crisobal, San Francisco, New Orleans...wow !

The postman either couldn't find Miss Roberta or she simply didn't want anything to do with the poor guy who sent  clubbed clubhouse letter ! Boo hoo hoo ...

Here's a neat first day cover flown from Washington D.C. to Milwaukee, Wisconsin on February 10, 1936.

A fine plate block of Air Mail Special delivery stamps, Scott #CE2, is nicely tied to the bar cancels and circular date stamp reflecting the first day of issue of the stamp, February 10, 1936.

Looks like a special order with the Milwaukee Stamp Company stamp on the reverse under the Milwaukee circular date stamps indicating that the cover arrived 10 hours later.

The lithographed pen and ink cachet says it all in a drawing showing the mail going from the runway in Washington D.C. to the motorcycling special delivery rider from the postal service in Milwaukee.

Two close friends, who I loved very much, graduated from Webster College in Webster Groves, Missouri, a suburb of St.Louis.

This cover, from 1898, reminded me of the good times we had when we were kids back in the early 1970's.

Scott #286, the beautiful Trans-Mississippi Exposition Issue two cent copper red stamp, "Farming In The West", is tied to an American Flag machine cancel with a circular date stamp to the left from New Haven, Connecticut.

It was mailed from New Haven, Connecticut on October 21, 1898 at 9:30pm.

The back of the envelope has two circular date stamps announcing it's arrival in Webster Groves on October 24, 1898.

 The circular date stamps of Webster Groves.

Webster College is now Webster University with 22,000 students worldwide.

My friends have passed on.  I miss them.

The stamp shop, where I bought my first set of stamps at six years of age, was located in the alcove of the most beautiful theater in Memphis at the time, The Warner, located at 54 South Main Street.

I couldn't wait until Saturday back in the 1950's to visit Herron - Hill.

This post card, by Jaffe, represents that time and what I sincerely believed in as a child, and have continued to do so every day of my life..

Stamp collecting.

I was six years old when Herron - Hill published this catalog.

I read it cover to cover as a child.

These are very first stamps that I purchased in 1958 at Herron - Hill with money that my great grandmother, Rachel Herzog, gave me to buy them with.

Lundy Island.

Roger Jakes came to Memphis in July of 1908.

He came from McCrory, Arkansas, 72 miles away.

He sent his mother this post card.

Like any good son, he wanted his mother to know that he "...got here all right".

The stamp, Scott #300, 1 cent Franklin, is tied to a wavy bar machine cancel  with a circular date stamp indicating that Roger's love for his mom was sent by the post office on July 10,1908 at 4PM.

The seven bar wavy cancel is International Machine Die type 3C.

Looks like the postal clerk missed this stamp with his cancel.

Scott #279 1c Franklin dodged the cork cancel on my Green Ridge, Missouri to Clayton, Missouri cover sent February 1, 1898 in the afternoon.

The received (RES'D) circular date stamp on the reverse found a nice quiet place to rest when this 119 year old piece of mail arrived at 9 A.M. the next day on February 2, 1898.

A nice view of the Clayton, Missouri cancel.

The WPA, the Works Progress Administration, was created by President Franklin Roosevelt (a stamp collector like me) and employed great artists throughout America.

This beautiful label may have been created for the 1939 New York World's Fair by WPA artists.

It commemorates the 100th anniversary of Railway Express.

From my collection, this 19th Century January 4th New York sender displayed a fine sense of humor when he sent this letter at 1:30pm in the afternoon.

He sketched a couple of dancing moonshine jugs for his friend, Sol Smith Esq., in St.Louis.

I'm guessing it was sent around 1867.

Notice the interesting "V" shaped marking on the jug to the right.

Could it be secret code for a Confederate, Union officer, or government official ?

 The stamp is grilled and includes an interesting cancel.

I'll try to determine which grill type, i.e., "A", "B", etc., and post it later.

Find a way to say "I love you" to somebody today, even if it's your cat.

 This card of love is from the 19th century.

 Yemen and Iraq want to end hunger and malnutrition along with all of the great  nations of the world.

Iraq is a beautiful country opposed to war and understands the importance, and peaceful meaning, of nourishing it's families and children.

Yemen, a magnificent, beautiful country in Western Asia on the Red Sea, believes in freedom from hunger and remains vigilant in the fight to end starvation.

Uruguay, Yemen and Paraguay fight hunger with the world's nations.

Yemen includes an overprinted declaration of freedom along with their fight to end hunger and famine.

Two hands of Sharjah embrace wheat, food for the hungry, strength for the poor, cure for disease.

Sharjah recognizes the importance of overcoming hunger and malnutrition and joins the world to do so.

It takes hard work and love to end famine.

The countries of Liechtenstein, New Hebrides, Nicaragua, Peru and the Phillipines believe this.

A woman harvesting wheat, featured on the beautiful stamps of the Phillipines, demonstrates the importance of fighting hunger and malnutrition throughout the world. 

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordon joined the world in the campaign to fight hunger and malnutrition in 1963.

Jordan's land is fertile. The farmers of Jordan skilled.

The dove of peace flies above the symbol of the United Nations.

Czechoslovakia, Brazil, Western Germany (then behind the Iron Curtain), Guatemala and Haiti join hands to end hunger and malnutrition.

The Hands of Haiti.

Bread for the world.

What is peace ?

Is it harmonious relations ? Freedom from disputes ?

The state prevailing during the absence of war ?

Afghanistan had all of the above once upon a time.

Feeding the hungry was, and is, the mission of a peaceful nation.

Jordan and Sierra Leone join the fight against hunger and malnutrition along with Afghanistan.

Wheat and corn of Afghanistan.

Countries at war lay their guns down when their children are starving.

Afghanistan, Bhutan and Bolivia will fight hunger.

War-torn Afghanistan seeks peace and the elimination of hunger and malnutrition.

Hands contre la faim...hands against hunger.

Joining the fight against hunger and malnutrition are the United Arab Republic in Palestine, Venezuela, Virgin Islands, Yemen and Zanzibar.

The great stamps of Venezuela depict fish netting, a map of the country, a man with his baby lambs, and a man harvesting wheat.

Eliminating hunger will solve many of the world's problems.

Trinidad & Tobago, Tristan da Cunha, Turks Island, Upper Volta and the United Arab Republic join hands in the fight against hunger and malnutrition.

The Republic of Upper Volta (French: République de Haute-Volta) is a west-African country established on December 11, 1958.

This beautiful stamp unites world with a ribbon in the fight against hunger.

Countries at war are responsible for hunger and malnutrition.

Peaceful nations solve these problems.

Syria and Thailand join the fight to end hunger.

Syria's beautiful stamps represent a palm of wheat and the bird of peace.

Seychelles, Spain, Somalia, Swaziland, Tonga and Sweden join the battle against hunger and malnutrition.

Hungry hands of Sweden.

The Lord's Prayer from Spain.

Rwanda illustrates the tools for harvesting wheat on stamps issued to combat hunger.

Salvador, Senegal and Saudi Arabia are devoted to ending hunger and famine.

Milk is nutritious as noted in the beautiful stamps of Romania.

Along with Romania, Portugal, Pitcairn Islands, St.Helena, St.Lucia, St.Vincent and Sarawak join the fight against Hunger.

The four stamps of Romania issued to end famine.

Wheat is from God. It saves lives.

Niger, Mexico, New Hebrides, Nepal, Netherlands and North Borneo

fight for the lives of those facing malnutrition and starvation.

A man, his wheat, his tractor and his home.

The stamps of Nepal issued to raise funds to fight hunger.

Deuteronomy 8:7-8

"For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey."

Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Monaco, Montserrat and Morocco fight hunger and malnutrition.

 Monaco and the dove of peace feeding her young.

Atelier de Fabrication des Timbres-Poste (workshop of production of stamps) for Laos in the fight against hunger.

Beautiful stamp prints of grain production and wheat threshing.

The full sheet printed in Paris for Laos.