Stamp Identifier
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The Swedish Tiger
1913 Pan-Pacific 10¢ Yellow P12
See below for details
10¢ - Yellow
Printing Method: FLATE PLATE
Subject: The Discovery of San Francisco Bay
Number issued: 10,000,000 (#400 & 400A)
Perforations: 12
Watermark: Single Line USPS
Scott #: 400
Issued: December 26, 1912
No postmark with gum (MH)
Full perfect gum, no postmark
no trace of stamp hinge mark (MNH)
Precancels
#400 did have precancels, mostly San Francisco precancels
Plate #'s
#400 was issued with the following plate #'s
Plates used:
6130-35, 39, 43
While these stamps were current, a post office was established at Vera Cruz, Mexico, and various denominations of these stamps, perf. 12, may be found with this Vera Cruz cancellation. The station remained open until April 24th, 1914 and was discontinued November 23rd of the same year. Covers franked with stamps of this issue and cancelled Vera Cruz are much sought after. 'Whereas, the two lowest values are still quite common, covers bearing five or ten cent stamps of either perforations have become very desirable.
The above photo shows United States sailors at the door of a post office during the U.S. occupation of Veracruz, Mexico which took place during the Mexican Revolution. The U.S. troops entered the city on April 21, 1914 and stayed through November 1914.
Inspiration for the Design
Discovery of San Francisco Bay
1896 painting by Charles F. Mathews
The l0 cent stamp did not make as satisfactory progress as the others as no suitable photo could be found of any of the subjects under consideration. It had been intended to use a portrait of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, who in 1542 discovered the California mainland, on the highest denomination, but all efforts to find a picture of him proved futile
The story behind this series
This change in attitude on the part of philatelic interests is evidenced by the various ideas for the "new commemoratives to be issued to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal" suggested by stamp publications in 1911 and 1912. The leader in this movement was the Philatelic Gazette, whose editor, Wm. W. Randall, as a native Californian, had a two fold interest, in the advertising of the exposition and in the philatelic value of distinctive new' stamps. In the issue of lMay 15, 1911, he suggested the following six stamps to depict the great scenic effects of the West:
1c - The giant Geyser at Yellowstone National Park*
2c - The Golden Gate entrance to San Francisco Harbor
4c - The Grand Canyon of Colorado*
5c - The Locks of the Gatun Dam, Panama Canal
6c - The Big Trees of California*
10c - The Bridal VeiI Falls in Yosemite Valley*
* Four of the suggestions were not taken up, but, as you can see by my illustration above they were designed later in the century. Only the Bridal Falls of Yosemite did not make it on to a stamp.
By the middle of August 1912 the designs for the 1 cent and 5 cent had been accepted by Postmaster General Hitchcock, the 5 cent bearing his signature "approved July 16." The 2 cent was almost ready for approval at this time, pending the acceptance of a satisfactory picture of the Gatun Locks. The l0 cent stamp did not make as satisfactory progress as the others as no suitable photo could be found of any of the subjects under consideration. It had been intended to use a portrait of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, who in 1542 discovered the California mainland, on the highest denomination, but all efforts to find a picture of him proved futile. I. E. Bennet, who represented the exposition in Washington, finally discovered a painting acceptable to the Department, of one of the subjects under consideration and this was then used. Once the vignette subject had been accepted, work on the 10 cent stamp progressed rapidly, on the 22nd of August the latter stamp was approved, while the 2 cent stamp was not approved until August 27th.
There were, at the time, two fairly common portraits of Cabrillo circulating, and like all portraits of the early Spanish Explorers, they were based on the artists interpretation, there being no contemporary representation. Cabrillo, did make it onto a stamp in 1992.
The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe today
After Gaspar de Portola's visit to the bay, the tribe flourished, the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe became landowners of several large ranches under Spanish authority. They established communities and supported the missions. After the American conquest of California things went rapidly downhill, the tribe, like most Mexican landowners were cheated out of their holdings. Further humiliation occurred when the Federal Government cheated them out of their formal recognition as a tribe, back in the 1920's.
Even today the tribe is attempting to regain that recognition. It is surprising to me that the tribe that led white man to the bay of San Francisco should not have the favor returned.
A quarter sheet or one pane (70 stamps) of #400
An example of the expo cancel on #400
Essay's and Proofs
Approved essay for the vignette - 400E
Essay on card in wash, unadopted design
400-E2
Designer's model, wash frame
Mounted on thick card, unadopted design
Unadopted design essay on mounted on thick card, unadopted design
The Pan-Pacific Exposition
The exposition was a commercial success and as result efforts were made to save as much as possible, unfortunately most of the buildings were temporary in nature, including the tower. Furthermore almost all the Expo was on leased land and the owners expected to have their land back. Much of the exposition was built of plaster and wood. The Palace of Fine Arts was left to decay by the lagoon, only to be demolished in 1930, since then four replica's have been built in its place.
A 1915 photograph and painting of the Palace of Fine Arts
Reconstructed by the city of San Francisco, this is how the Palace of Fine Arts looks today
The Exposition lit at night
The Tower of Jewels
Encrusted with over 100,000 Novagems to make it sparkle in the sunlight
and at night by spotlight
Before demolition the jewels were removed from the tower and sold to the public, boxed, at $1 each
Two views of the Exhibition
The Pan-Pacific Issue of 1913
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