Scotts #292 US stamps

#292 - 1898 $1 Trans-Mississippi

$1
Black

Printing Method: Engraved
Subject: Western Cattle in Storm
Number issued: 56,900
Perforations: P12
Watermark: Double Line USPS
Scott #: 292
Issued: June 17th, 1898

Value

Used
$225 - $400
No postmark with gum (MH)
$375 - $800
Full perfect gum, no postmark
no trace of stamp hinge mark (MNH)
$1,500 - $3,000

First Day Cover

A #292 first day cover dated June 17th, 1898Ten panes of fifty #292 stamps were shipped to Post Offices for the first day of sale. This is the only surviving first day cover.

#292 Plate #'s

#292 was issued with the following plate #

606

A pane of #292

A pane of #292. 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 the "Vanguard' painting by Scottish artist John A. MacWhirter.

MacWhirter painted these cattle in the West Highlands of Scotland. This stamp is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful US stamps.

John A. MacWhirter, artist

Essays and Proofs

Enlarge

292-E3

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292-E5

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292-E6

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292-P1

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.