Nicholas F. Seebeck
Nicholas [A 1] Frederick Seebeck (* February 19, 1857, † June 23, 1899 ) was an agent working in the U.S. businessman and philatelist German origin. He became internationally known through contracts with the postal administrations of some Latin American countries, which received Seebeck for annual supply of new stamp issues, the utilization rights to the remnants of the previous year.
Life
The exact origin and early life Seebeck little is known. According to his biographer, Danilo A. Mueses he immigrated to the United States in 1873, where he opened a stationery shop in New York in the same year. There he initially sold only in passing Stamps; trading stamps was the recovery of philately in the 1870s quickly Seebeck main source of income. Thus he acquired extensive philatelic knowledge he Descriptive Price Catalog of all known Postage stamps of the United States and Foreign Countries resigned in 1876 his first published catalog. This catalog is experienced in the following six years, three more runs. Beginning in 1884 sold Seebeck his business and invested the proceeds of U.S. $ 10,000 in the Hamilton Bank Note Company, a well reputed company, which specialized in the printing of banknotes, rail tickets and stamps. On 1 May 1884, Seebeck secretary and treasurer of this company. He sold his shares in the very next year for U.S. $ 28,500 and worked in the following years as a salaried manager. During this time he completed four countries of Central and South America supply on stamps. On June 23, 1899 Seebeck died of tuberculosis.
Seebeck issues
The first order for the printing of stamps received Seebeck in 1879 by the postal administration of the Dominican Republic. Which company executed these prints is no longer supported by documentary evidence, it is assumed in Seebeck biography that he turned to the Manhattan Bank Note Company, which was a predecessor firm of Hamilton Bank Note Company. By 1883 the Seebeck received orders for four different stamp issues of the Dominican Republic. The Manhattan Bank Note Company presented from 1879 to 1885 and the stamps for the Colombian Departamento de Bolívar ago, also assumes Mueses that the contracts of Seebeck been completed.
The designated in the philatelic literature as the " Seebeck expenditure" Stamps of countries Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua were issued 1890-1899. The contracts concluded Seebeck during a trip through Central America in the spring of 1889. Seebeck offered the postal administrations of the financially weak states a free annual supply of new stamp series on. In return Seebeck received the unused and declared by the respective postal administrations as invalid scrap for sale on philately back. The plates also remained with Seebeck, that according to selling the remaining stocks could produce reprints for the philatelic market. The contracts included not only the supply of postage stamps and the delivery of postal stationery ( wrappers, postcards, envelopes). By imprints also mark genera were made, including, for example, service marks and telegraph stamps. The Postal Administration of Ecuador had signed a similar agreement with an agent of the printing Waterlow and Sons in London, the obligations under this contract were taken over in 1890 by the Hamilton Bank Note Company.
The quantities to be delivered brand varied between the different countries. For El Salvador were of each stamp at least 1.5 million units, supplied by 25,000 envelopes and wrappers and postcards per 10,000. The delivery quantities for Honduras were about 30 % higher.
All contracts have a term of 10 years, but could be terminated by either party each year. After philatelists had practiced strong criticism because of the large number of newly expended brands, Ecuador announced his contract in 1895, the brands for 1896 were already printed, they were paid and not returned the remaining stocks. Also Honduras announced his contract in 1893, due to supply problems of a Honduran printing the contract was, however, re-enacted. The last Seebeck expenditure arrived there in 1895 at the post office counter. Only Nicaragua and El Salvador gave out to 1899 delivered annually by Seebeck brands. In this decade alone appeared in El Salvador 166 stamps, 152 officials, 100 envelopes, 32 wrappers and 39 postcards and some stamps for special postal services.
The marketing of the remainders not himself took Seebeck, but the dealer Gustav B. Calman, who had bought in 1884 Seebeck business. This also created by Seebeck death of most editions and reprints, which were provided in part with false stamps.
Even during the term of the contracts criticized dealers and philatelists associations, postal administrations of the countries, the corresponding contracts were signed with Seebeck, because of the " brand tide ". It should be noted that in the 19th century collecting all worldwide brands appearing was still common and therefore had many collectors acquire all expenses to complete their collections.
To date, the unused stamps are considered cheap mass-produced goods, in addition, the problem is that in many cases can not be distinguished between originals and reprints. Because of the short validity of one year, real cars brands in the " Seebeck expenditure" are great rarities that achieve today in the commercial good prices.