Westpex Retrospective
A Judge’s Guide to the Exhibit
Chapter One: Pre Stamp Licenses
The forerunner chapter is not only an important part of the story, it is essential for putting the stamps themselves into context. Prior to the use of stamps, regulation and enforcement was achieved through issuing separate licenses (with different fees) for different classifications of hunters and kinds of hunting. In general, all pre-stamp hunting licenses are scarce to extremely rare, especially in presentable condition. Size is a factor, with the majority of early licenses extant having tears, stains, animal blood, wallet-wear, etc. In general, the earlier the license, the higher the difficulty of acquisition. Assembling a run of pre-stamp licenses from 1901-1933, from any state and in any in any condition, is a lifetime achievement. Early metal and celluloid-covered licenses have a high degree of difficulty. This chapter helps to make the exhibit one for the ages in terms of the number of different states represented, the variety of formats and materials represented and their overall condition. Frame 1 could not be duplicated. Highlights:
1887 Delaware Game Protective Certificate. A remarkable artifact that documents the establishment of the game warden system in the U.S. A very sizable hobby exists that is devoted to collecting game warden and law enforcement badges and ephemera. This certificate is the Holy Grail for their entire hobby. For us, it serves to represent a fundamental component of the license and stamp system often overlooked by stamp collectors (see Figure 7).
Figure 7. The extraordinary 1887 Delaware Game Protective certificate.
1895 Michigan License to Hunt Deer. Representing the origin of licensing in the U.S., this is the first resident license issued. The most sought after license extant. There are five examples recorded. This is one of only two retaining their original coupons and thus being complete. Further, the license was printed on thin paper and in view of its large size is in exceptional state of preservation (see Figure 8).
Figure 8. The first resident hunting license issued in the U.S. The license was printed and issued with a total of five shipping coupons. This particular hunter was unsuccessful, therefore, the license remains intact. The five coupons have been folded to fit the exhibit page.
1908-09 California Non-Resident Hunting License. California hunting licenses are the most highly collected of any state. California issued metal hunting licenses in 1907 and 1908. The copper 1908-09 non-resident license in this exhibit is pitted and likely dug by a bottle collector (see Figure 9). However, only one other has ever surfaced and it has been cut halfway through with a hacksaw. Paper licenses were issued starting in 1909. Those from 1909-1926 featured stunning chromolithography (see Figure 10). Advanced collectors seek uncommon licenses such as non-resident, alien and duplicate.
Figure 9. California issued metal hunting licenses in 1907 and 1908 before shifting to paper in 1909. The 1908-09 non-resident license shown above is the finest of two examples recorded.
Figure 10. The early California paper licenses were works of art and are highly collected today.
1909 Territory of New Mexico Hunter’s License. Territorial licenses are very difficult to acquire and are prized by two groups of collectors; those who collect hunting and fishing licenses and those who collect fish and game stamps. New Mexico issued their first hunting license in 1909, three years before statehood. The license is considered to be exceptional for both the large illustration of a turkey and it’s extreme difficulty of acquisition. There are three examples recorded (see Figure 11).
Figure 11. 1909 Territory of New Mexico Hunter’s License. Issued three years before New Mexico became a state.
1916-17 White Pine County, Nevada Hunting & Fishing License. The use of metal licenses was relatively unusual in the U.S., with the exception of one state. Pre-stamp licenses in the state of Nevada were issued by the individual counties and prior to 1919, at least 17 different counties issued licenses made of metal. Many included a slot at the top so they could be used as a fob. One county, White Pine, issued licenses for a few years in unique shapes. The 1916-17 license was made in the shape of a horseshoe with a rifle laying across it (see Figure 12). Due to the fact the gun component was made of relatively thin metal, many surviving examples have the gun broken off. Less than ten examples have been recorded with the rifle intact.
Figure 12. Metal hunting and fishing license issued by White Pine County, Nevada in 1916-17. Many of the surviving examples have the thin rifle component broken off.
Permit For Collecting Specimens of Migratory Birds and Their Nests and Eggs for Scientific Purposes. Issued to George Lawyer in his capacity of Chief U.S. Game Warden for the Bureau of Biological Survey (the forerunner to the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service) in 1919. Lawyer traveled the country gathering data concerning migratory waterfowl and this unique license is an amazing historical artifact documenting his work (see Figure 13).
Figure 13. Permit issued to George Lawyer while acting as Chief U.S. Game Warden in 1919.
1919 California Non-Resident license and Original Drawing. George Lawyer was one of the main architects of the license and stamp system as we know it today. He was the first to propose a national hunting stamp for conservation purposes. His vision eventually became a reality in 1934, with RW1. All items on this exhibit page are original, obtained from his estate subsequent to his death by a Maryland license and stamp collector in the 1960s. They represent some of the most important Items in the hobby and such artifacts are rarely seen in private collections. Featured in many books and articles, including The Duck Stamp Story by Dolin and Dumaine. The drawing and the California non-resident license it was modeled after (see Figures 14 and 15) were cornerstones of my own exhibit, Classic State and Local Fish and Game Stamps.
Figure 14. California Non-Resident hunting license issued to George. A Lawyer in 1919.