Dr. Charles J. DiComo, President of the Philatelic Society of Lancaster County and the Empire State Postal History Society, shares a presentation entitled “A Brief History of the C.B. Woodworth & Son Imperishable Perfumes Company and the scarce RT20b Double Transfer Private Die Proprietary Stamp.”
In this lecture, Charles gives a brief history of the C.B. Woodworth & Son perfume company, then examines a recent find of the scarce double transfer variety on the 2 Cent green silk paper RT20b private die proprietary stamp. Proprietary Tax Stamps were issued in the 1860’s by the U.S. Government to meet the ever-growing expenses from the American Civil War. These were focused on commodities such as Playing Cards, Matches, Perfumes, Cosmetics, Canned Fruit, and the lucrative business of packaged remedies, also known as Proprietary Medicines. These engraved stamps were produced from modest to eye-catching, and while more than two billion were produced, many are unobtainable since they were invariably torn when the bottle or package was opened.
A fascinating subject and one that should get any viewer interested in learning more about these nostrums and their proprietors.