1942: Philately

Estimates as to the number of stamps issued by all governments in 1942 vary from 2,000 to twice that number. Only about 600 were added to the Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue during the year, although an equal number were classed as 'tentative.' There are two reasons for the discrepancies in figures, first the Government ruling that no stamps of enemy countries, issued after the declarations of war, should be imported, offered for sale or catalogued; second, the impossibility of determining the nature of many stamps reported to have been printed. It is known, for example, that there have been many 'occupation issues' of both new stamps and overprints, but there is no means of knowing how many of these have really been valid for postage. Some, like many of the Vichy colonial issues, were obviously printed for propaganda purposes and may never have been used on mail. Other stamps issued by or for the Axis or Axis-controlled countries are equally doubtful.

To a greater degree than usual, stamps of the United States led in popularity through the year. Next to these, and perhaps more spectacularly, the stamps of Free France, later Fighting France, were in demand. Some of the early overprints, hastily printed in small quantities to fill emergency demands, have already disappeared from the market or command high prices. The new designs, with the Cross of Lorraine, were also popular.

The war has stressed the importance to the United States of relations with South and Central America, and philately is one of the many fields which has been affected. Collectors showed much greater interest in the stamps of Latin America than they have in the past.

It is natural that there should be unusual interest in the stamps of countries currently in the war news, but the hobby seems also to have been generally stimulated by wartime conditions. In spite of the fact that thousands of the millions of men drawn from civilian life into the armed forces were stamp collectors, there appears to have been no decrease in the pursuit of stamps. Some of the demand still comes from men now in the army and navy, and the United Service Organizations have established 'philatelic centers' in several hundred of their recreation rooms near military camps. In these, stamps, albums, and philatelic periodicals, gifts from collectors, dealers and publishers, are available.

At the beginning of the year, dealers' stocks of foreign stamps were fairly large, but by December even some of the common varieties began to get scarce, since importation from some of the most prolific sources of supply had stopped after Pearl Harbor. For this reason, the general level of prices was higher at the end of the year than in the beginning. This price change was reflected in many of the auction sales, notably the seven in which part of the collection of the late Col. Edward R. Green was dispersed. These sales, held by as many auction houses, disposed of about 14,000 lots of United States, British and other foreign stamps. Prices in all categories were above usual auction levels, and many of the United States items brought full catalogue prices.

In the United States, most of the 'war stamps' issued in 1941 and 1942, 156 out of 161, were for revenue or war savings use. The five postage issues were the 1, 2 and 3¢ Defense Stamps, the 'Win the War' 3¢ and the 3¢ China commemorative. In December 1942, the Post Office Department announced the acceptance of new designs to replace the 1¢ and 2¢ Defense stamps.

Until the summer of 1942, the Treasury Department had not encouraged collectors to mount war savings stamps in their albums, but at that time the government gave its official approval. A number of companies printed special album pages for these stamps and gave widespread publicity to the several philatelic varieties available. By the end of the year, most stamp dealers were offering plate number blocks and other collector's pieces, so far as they could find them, all, of course, at face value. In December, governmental authorities instituted a campaign to promote the collection of war stamps.