There is one philatelic item I do have however in my Albion history archives, and it is the 1939 Duck Hunting Permit Stamp issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Why would I collect that? By way of background, these stamps have been issued annually since 1934 when they were first issued. Congress authorized the U.S. Postal Department to issue them as a receipt for purchasing a duck hunting license. The stamps were required to be attached to the hunting license of hunters for a particular year,
The funds derived from the sales of these stamps are designated to be used to maintain waterfowl life in the United States--for example, to purchase wetlands. A variety of America’s top artists have designed these through the years. That’s where Albion comes into the picture. One of Albion High School’s most famous graduates was Lynn Bogue Hunt (1878-1960), a celebrated wildlife artist whose artwork graced the covers of numerous magazines in the early 20th century.
Hunt was originally a native of Honeoye Falls, N.Y., but his family came to Albion when he was twelve years old, where relatives lived. He received the remainder of his education here. His artistic talents were quite apparent even as a youth. Lynn graduated from Albion High School in 1897, and went on to attend Albion College. There he studied under Professor Franklin C. Courter where he learned to depict wildlife on canvass.
Following college, Hunt began his professional drawing career, and soon became noticed by New York magazines. He moved to New York where he joined the staff of Field & Stream magazine; his first cover there was the August, 1904 issue. Over the years he subsequently drew more than 100 covers for that publication.
His drawings also appeared in such publications as Outers Recreation, the Saturday Evening Post, Colliers, Better Homes and Gardens, Natural History, Boy’s Life, the Woman’s Home Companion, Country Gentleman, American, Rotarian, and Elks Magazine. In addition, there was a series of ceramic plates issued with his artwork on them, and even a large-size drawing book printed, about how to draw ducks. Hunt illustrated more than 50 books in his lifetime.
It was Lynn Bogue Hunt who designed the 1939 Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp, Scott #RW-6. It is a rectangular stamp measuring 48 x 39 mm., and had a printing of 1,111,561. The design features two Green-Winged Teals, and has an original valuation of 1 Dollar. The bottom legend reads, “Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp, U.S. Department of Agriculture. The top states, “Void After June 30, 1940.”
These stamps are readily available today in various prices beginning at around $30 and up from philatelic dealers and on E-Bay. Hunt also designed 19 National Wildlife Federation stamps, and numerous works for Ducks Unlimited.
From our Historical Notebook this week we present the 1939 Duck Stamp designed by Lynn Bogue Hunt. Following his death in 1960, Hunt’s cremains were interred in Woodmere Cemetery in Detroit. There are still distant relatives of Hunt that live in the Albion-Jackson area today. How many of our readers have this particular Duck Stamp in their collection? This might make a nice Christmas gift for the stamp collector in your life.
