#628 -1926 5ยข Ericsson Memorial Issue
See below for details
Basic Info
5¢ - Gray lilac, deep gray lilac, purplish gray.
Printing Method: Flat plate
Subject: The John Ericsson Memorial
Number issued: 20,280,500
Perforations: 11
Watermark: Unwatermarked
Scott #: 628
Issued: May 28th, 1926
Value
Used
25¢ - 60¢
No postmark with gum (MH)
50¢ - $1.50
Full perfect gum, no postmark
no trace of stamp hinge mark (MNH)
$2 - $5
The Swedish Stamp
In 1989 Sweden also celebrated the American-Swedish engineer
First Day Cover
A first day cover of #628, May 29th, 1926
The Inspiration for the Vignette
The vignette was based on the John Ericsson Memorial, located near the National Mall at Ohio Drive and Independence Avenue, SW, in Washington, D.C.. For more on John Ericsson see below.
Plate #'s
#628 was issued with the following plate #'s
Number only
18595-99
18600-01, 06-09, 12-13
Essays and Proofs
Unadopted design for #628
628-E
628-P1a
Large die proof on white wove die sunk on card
628-P1a
John Ericsson
Having lived in Sweden and as this site is 'The Swedish Tiger' I cannot help but give a little background on this American-Swedish engineer. Besides inventing two heat engines and one of the first railroad engines his fame probably is greatest in the field of naval engineering.
John Ericsson did not invent the screw propeller, that honor belongs to the Scottish engineer Robert Wilson. Up to the moment of this 1827 invention the fastest method of powering a boat was by side paddles. Unfortunately Britains Admiralty ignored the invention. The screw propellor was patented by Ericsson in 1836 with the American Government taking full advantage of it.
In 1903, at Kittyhawk, NC., Orville and Wilbur Wright found another use for the propeller.
The famous, four hour, battle of the Union USS Monitor (foreground) and the Confederate CSS Virginia.So good were the Iron clads that neither ship could inflict serious damage on the other. These ships, and the battle, changed the course of Naval Warfare forever.
The photos depicts the inside of the turret of the Monitor. The turret, designed by Theodore Timby swivelled and, in the heat of battle, was like an oven inside. The remainder of the ship was designed by John Ericsson. He designed his ship to have the engine below the waterline, thus lessening the chance of it being hit by shellfire, a design first.
At only 23 he designed the steam engine, 'The Novelty', which raced against Robert Louis Stevenson's 'The Rocket' for a railway competition in 1829. The Rocket won, propelling Stevenson to instant fame, but Ericsson's time was to come.
1925-26 Commemoratives
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