ROTHFUCHS, CARL FREDERICK

Carl Frederick Rothfuchs is one among the earliest stamps dealers in the United States beginning in 1859. Rothfuchs confesses that in 1863 he was counted among the dealers in recycled paper and rags (straccivendoli) who accumulated large caches of material and scoured through it looking for stamps and old mail correspondence "canceled covers" for sale in the market. One of his sources was the wastepaper baskets from the old Post Office on Chauncey Street, Boston, Massachusetts.

In 1863, Rothfuchs published his first fixed price list of postage stamps.

Sometime in the mid or late 1860's Rothfuchs says he was able to purchase a series of bulk lots of War Department stamps from a lady stamp dealer, and that over time he amassed over 500,000 selling them through the mail to other dealers and collectors.

In 1877, Rothfuchs, while dealing in Washington, D.C. aquired one sheet of the 3¢ Scarlet. We have supportable and defensible evidence to support the view that he acquired this sheet from John W. Scott who had obtained four sheets from a New Orleans postmaster sometime around late 1860 or early 1861. Jerome S. Wagshal, who has published a series of articles about this in the Chronicle (see Bibliography) disagrees and assigns "some 3¢ Scarlet stamps" acquired from the Post Office in 1893.

He was a charter member of the Rhode Island Philatelic Society, which was founded in Providence in 1882.

In 1886, Rothfuchs purchased a hoard of old Revenue stamps from a retired postmaster from a southern state. At the same timeframe he purchased a stock book of stamps from a young woman stamp dealer containing some sheets of the 1857-1860 issue and sings and blocks.

Carl Frederick Rothfuchs, Washington, D.C., February 23, 1889, to Ernest Jordan, New York, New York. Duplex cancel, corner, R/C. This was the period when Rothfuchs purchased 25 sheets of $10 and $20 State stamps. $400

3¢ Scarlet #74 with manuscript killer in four short parallel horizontal pen nib strokes in black ink. These distinguish themselves as the Rothfuchs Group of 3¢ Scarlets. Photo courtesy of Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc., Lot 92 realized $3,000.

In 1893, Rothfuchs advertised the 3¢ Scarlet for sale as follows : The 3¢ Scarlet which I offer for sale are not used, They have four ink lines three quarters across each stamp. Otherwise they are in fine condition and have original gum. All are guaranteed as genuine original 3¢ Scarlet postage stamps. And are of the same sheet that I obtained some sixteen years ago while located at Washington. I have carefully examined some of the 3¢ Scarlet sold elsewhere at private sale and by auction. Some do not compare favorable with the undoubted genuine 3¢ Scarlet.”

Jerome S. Wagshal, Chronicle, Nos. 56, 60, 61 and 62 interpretations of the evidence regarding Carl F. Rothfuchs, believes that he obtained a supply of the 3c Scarlet in 1893 -- probably from the Post Office Department in exchange for his assistance with the Columbian Exposition -- and sold them with pen marks and original gum. Wagshal believes that the Rothfuchs lot is not from the same supply acquired by John W. Scott in either late 1860 or early 1861 since mail service was officially suspended between the Union and the Confederacy in May 1861. Stamps from New Orleans/John W. Scott cache exist uncancelled and cancelled with a New York City Station D oval, but Wagshal never considered that the New Orleans Postmaster may have created either a precancel sheet or around April May 1861 as a Confederate he may have obliterated the stamp design of Washington on the top sheet of a stack of four sheets of the 3¢ Scarlet doing it rather neatly like doodling when bored on a rainy dayconsidering the lot worthless and unusable.

Rothfuchs advertisement in The Virginia Philatelist, Vol. II, September 1898

Reminiscences, Weekly Philatelic Era, Vol. XV, February (1901) republished in Weekly Philatelic Gossip (1924) :969-972-

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Jerome S. Wagshal, Chronicle, Nos. 56, 60, 61 and 62

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