Scotts #289 US stamps

#289 - 1898 8¢ Trans-Mississippi

8¢
Violet brown, dark violet brown, dull brownish purple

Printing Method: Engraved
Subject: Troops Guarding Train
Number issued: 2,927,200
Perforations: P12
Watermark: Double Line USPS
Scott #: 289
Issued: June 17th, 1898

Value

Used
$7 - $14
No postmark with gum (MH)
$22.50 - $85
Full perfect gum, no postmark
no trace of stamp hinge mark (MNH)
$175 - $425

Patriotic Cover

#288 and #289 on a Spanish-American War patriotic cover

#289 Plate #'s

#289 was issued with the following plate #'s

609, 643

A pane of #289

A pane of #289. Each pane had 50 stamps, there were two panes to a sheet of 100 stamps.

Almost a bi-color stamp

It was intended to print the Trans-Mississippi issue with a black vignette and a frame in color. The bi-color idea had to be abandoned because of the fact that the Spanish American War, which broke out in April, 1898, necessitated the printing of enormous quantities of revenue stamps and the facilities of the Bureau were taxed to the utmost . The time and manpower needed for the printing of stamps in two colors could not be spared and it was necessary for the Bureau to abandon the proposed bi-color stamps in favor of stamps of single colors.

The Inspiration for the Design

For the vignette was based on a drawing called "Federal Troops Conveying a Wagon Train" by Frederic Remington.

Despite the fact that the Trans-Mississippi became known as the first attempt to showcase the first Americans, it was really a showcase for the west. So the 'other' side was depicted. This being the US Cavalry. The US government had no use for the masses of commissioned Union troops after the civil war and so they were sent out to protect the white immigrants from the 'heathen's' and 'savages'. Conversely the first Americans saw trespassers on their land, who at some later date, they knew would occupy it and take it away from them.

The Union recruits quickly left and it was extremely difficult to find recruits for this difficult, hazardous and sometimes fatal duty. The Plains Cavalry became the equivalent of the French Foreign Legion, where men could disappear, and many had arrest warrants on them. The ranks of the enlisted were filled with criminals, adventurers and many ex-confederate officers now serving as corporals and sergeants.

Due to the fact that the cavalry was stretched thin it would have been rare to have as many cavalry as you see protecting a wagon train in the stamp. A troop consisted of 98 men, of which only a large portion would be garrisoned at the fort and patrols were split between protecting wagon trains, search and destroy missions.

A photograph of the US cavalry performing their duty

#289a

One pane of fifty was discovered with no horizontal perforations. The value today is $23,000 for a mounted pair.

Essays and Proofs

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289-E1

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289-E1var

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289-E4

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289-P1

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289-P2

The Omaha World’s Fair

The Trans-Mississippi Exposition was a World’s Fair hosted in Omaha, NE from June 1 to November 1 of 1898. The purpose of the Omaha World’s Fair was to exemplify the fertility and potential of Western farming and manufacturing as a definite pathway to financial success. It attracted 2.6 million visitors.

A two-thousand foot-long lagoon designed to resemble Venetian canals hosted gondola rides as a whimsical form of transportation throughout the fair. Stately trees and lush grass plots lined artistically crafted walking paths, illuminated by electric lights. Bright white building designed in Renaissance style reflected ancient Greek and Roman influences and possessed strenuous constraints on color, scale and height. All was built out of cheap materials or designed not to last, at the end of the exposition it was all removed.

There were two great attractions during the show, the first being President McKinley's speech which attracted 100,000 people to the plaza. The other was Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, a video of which can be viewed below.