W2806

1898 Trans-Mississippi - Centenary

Hardships of Emigration

Summer 2024 Mail Sale Commentary 

Lot 38 W2801 to W2809 — Trans-Mississippi set of 9 — Centennial Re-Issue of 1898 set — 6-18-98

In 1998, the U.S. Postal Service re-issued a much anticipated and appreciated set that had originally been released one hundred years previously. The re-issued stamps faithfully duplicated the color scheme and image area of each of the original stamps, and the quality and beauty of this great set of nine stamps is amazing. The bi-color design of the stamps is wonderful. The center image area of each is black and white, and the large, ornate perimeter area of each is in color. It's a fabulous effect!

The topics of the set of nine are: * Marquette on the Mississippi * Mississippi River Bridge * Indian Hunting Buffalo * Fremont on Rocky Mountains * Troops Guarding Train * Hardships of Emigration * Western Mining Prospector * Western Cattle in Storm * and Harvesting in the West. Two of those topics — The "Indian Hunting Buffalo" and "Western Cattle in Storm" have become two of the great classics in American philatelic history. All of the topics of western expansion and settlement lent themselves to a great set of Collins hand painted cachets. Included in the set were three covers that were considered "high-value" at that time. They were fifty-cent, one-dollar and two-dollar stamps and include the classic one-dollar "Cattle in Snowstorm."

The individually hand painted cachets make the Trans-Mississippi set of nine truly spectacular. Father Marquette explores the Mississippi River in a birch bark canoe * A flatboat with settlers and livestock on board passes a double-stacked river boat on the Mississippi River * An Indian warrior armed with a lance closes in on a large buffalo * John Fremont explores the Rocky Mountains * The Cavalry escorts a wagon train * A settler tries to control his team * A prospector searches for gold * A calf is rescued in a snowstorm * And settlers harvest the grain. It's a marvelous set thanks to the subject matter, the incredible re-issued stamps from 100 years earlier, and the amazing story the set tells. It's one of my all-time personal favorites!