QUIZ ANSWER Public Deposited

M. L. BEISTLE

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  • The E-Sylum: Volume 9, Number 45, November 5, 2006, Article 21

    QUIZ ANSWER: M. L. BEISTLE

    The answer to last week's quiz question is M. L. Beistle, author
    of "The Register of Half Dollar Die Varieties and Sub-Varieties"

    Pete Smith writes: "Martin Luther Beistle owned the Beistle Company.
    They made paper novelties including ones for Halloween. I picture
    these as flat until they expand like an accordion into a three
    dimensional form. The Beistle Company also made an early coin board."

    Dave Lange writes: "Martin Luther Beistle was awarded U.S. patent
    number 1,719,962 for the Unique brand coin album. This patent was
    later sold to Wayte Raymond, who marketed these albums through Scott
    Stamp and Coin Company as the National brand. That brand was marketed
    into the early 1970s. I believe that this was existing stock from the
    1960s, as I've never seen a mintage figure for dates later than 1964
    or so. A few years after Raymond's death in 1956, the Raymond pages
    were amended to include the words "A. Faxon, Distributor," and the
    address was changed from New York City to Mineola, NY. Amos Press
    later bought the Scott supply business, but sells only albums made
    by and for other companies."

    We learned more about Beistle's business is earlier E-Sylum issues.
    Here are some excerpts:

    Dick Johnson wrote that "Early in the 20th century Beistle purchased
    a paper product company he worked for, whose major product was fake
    trees. In 1910 he purchased the technology to manufacture a party
    goods specialty, honeycombed tissue. The firm prospered in World War
    I when such party goods could not be imported from Germany. And over
    the years the firm manufactured millions of tissue pumpkins and ghosts
    and goblins and bells and hundreds of other items."
    esylum_v04n44a09.html

    Larry Lee added that "Aficionados of Beistle minutia may be interested
    to learn that the ANA Museum has in its collection the original metal
    plates used in printing both the 1929 and 1964 editions of Beistle's
    book. The plates were a gift from Aubrey Bebee. Dick Johnson's
    history of Beistle's paper company helped explain one of the questions
    about this donation: the plates are separated by pieces of cardboard
    with various Halloween cut-outs imprinted on them."
    esylum_v04n45a02.html

    For more on Beistle's Halloween connection, see: beistle.htm
    -Editor]

Source URL Date published
  • 2006-11-05
Volume
  • 9

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