Basic Information
Color: Dark Yellow Green
Subject: Marquette on the Mississippi
Watermark: Watermarked double-lined USPS
Paper: Soft porous paper
Printing method: line-engraved intaglio on flat plates
Perforations: 12
Scott #: 285
Quantity issued: 70,993,400
Issued: June 17th, 1898
Value
An unused stamp with perfect gum: $9-$20
An unused stamp with gum and a hinge mark: $4-$6
A used stamp: $2-$3.50
About the Trans-Mississippi Series
A pane of #285
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Promoting the "New West"
The primary reasoning was to showcase the prosperity and progress of the states and territories west of the Mississippi River. Unlike the previous 1893 Columbian stamps, which focused on historical discovery, the Trans-Mississippi designs highlighted modern achievements and frontier life. Key themes included:
Settlement and Agriculture: Encouraging people to move to and invest in "unclaimed" Western lands.
Technological Advancement: Depicting engineering feats like the Eads Bridge in St. Louis to represent the region's industrial growth.
Pioneer Spirit: Using images of buffalo hunting and farming to evoke a nostalgic but promising vision of the frontier.
Strategic Revenue Generation
Following the massive success of the 1893 Columbian series, the Post Office Department recognized that special commemorative sets were highly profitable. By offering a wide range of denominations—from 1¢ to $2—they aimed to generate substantial revenue through sales to collectors.
About the Trans-Mississippi Exhibition
Tickets to the Expo
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Dance from the Indian Congress
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The Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition, also known as the Omaha Worlds Fair, was a grand world’s fair held in Omaha, Nebraska, from June 1 to November 1, 1898. Often referred to as the Omaha World's Fair, its primary goal was to showcase the rapid development and economic recovery of the American West following the financial panic of 1893.
Key Features & Attractions
The Grand Court: The heart of the 184-acre site featured a two-thousand foot-long lagoon designed to resemble Venetian canals hosted gondola rides as a whimsical form of transportation throughout the fair.
The "White City": Like the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, the buildings were constructed of staff (a mixture of plaster and horsehair) and painted white, giving them a marble-like appearance. 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.
Electrical Illumination: One of the most stunning features was the use of over 20,000 electric light bulbs to illuminate the fairgrounds and lagoon at night—a brand-new marvel at the time.
Indian Congress: A massive gathering of over 500 Native Americans from 35 different tribes, including notable figures like Apache leader Geronimo.
Entertainment: Visitors enjoyed carnival rides, a giant seesaw, and Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West show
Attendance & Legacy
Visitors: Over 2.6 million people attended the five-month event, including President William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan.
Economic Success: Unlike many other world's fairs, it was a financial success, paying back roughly 90% of its initial investment.
Current Site: Most of the temporary structures were demolished shortly after the fair closed. Today, the site of the Grand Court is home to Kountze Park in North Omaha.Exhibits Today: You can still see artifacts, souvenirs, and a scale model of the fairgrounds at The Durham Museum in Omaha.
The Abandoned Bi-Color Plan
285E1
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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.
Usage
A #285 first day cover dated June 17th, 1898.
#285 was primarily used for paying the postage on postcards. It was also used for drop letters, circulars, and newspapers/periodicals. Another use was in combination with other denominations to fulfill higher postage rates.
Plates
#285 was issued with the following plate #'s
590-592, 598, 600-601, 605, 607, 612, 635, 709-712
The Inspiration for the Design
Father Marquette and the Indians
William Lamprecht
An engraving from the period
The vignette was based on a painting by William Lamprecht called "Father Marquette and the Indians"
Marquette and Jolliet did not discover the Mississippi. Indians had been using it for thousands of years, and Spanish explorer Hernan De Soto had crossed it more than a century before them. They did confirm, however, that it was possible to travel from the Great Lakes all the way to the Gulf of Mexico by water, that the native peoples who lived along the route were generally friendly, and that the natural resources of the lands in between were extraordinary. Equipped with this information, French officials led by the explorer LaSalle would erect a 4,000-mile network of trading posts to systematically exploit those riches over the next century and a half.