A recent lot acquired for my revenue illegal usage collection.

J.D. Van Volkenburgh of Hamilton, Missouri owned a “post office book store” that sold “Books, Stationery, Cigars and Tobacco, Newspapers, and Periodicals”. He was an early member of the American Philatelic Society.

The lot consists of 7 checks, starting with a nice 2-cent battleship documentary with margin marking. The remaining 7 checks are all comprised of a wide variety of PROPRIETARY battleship revenue stamps, affixed illegally.

Because most of the proprietary battleship revenues were denominated in fractions of a cent, this allowed for all sorts of fun colorful combinations of 1/8, 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, 1, 1-1/4, 1-7/8, and 2-cent proprietary battleships, totaling 2 cents on each check.

One of them was caught, and a 2-cent documentary battleship affixed over the proprietary stamps.

The bottom item (sadly just a photocopy, not the real cover) is of a cover from Van Volkenburgh, to well-known stamp dealer J. M. Bartels.

Even though they are philatelic, I think they make for wonderful aesthetic pieces.