I recently came across this photo with an Internal Revenue Proprietary stamp on the back of it. I've read that the Proprietary stamps were for tax on items such as playing cards, patent medicines and luxuries, and for various legal documents, stocks, transactions and various legal services. I guess photographs were maybe a taxable "luxury"? And of course, I'll never know who the fellow is - wish I knew something about him!

re: Some Fun Revenues

This one is attached to the last page of a 3-page handwritten document, I'll spare you the other 2 pages.

re: Some Fun Revenues

Taxes were needed to help raise money for the costs of the Civil War and reconstruction; so Congress implemented a new tax effective June 30, 1864. Revenue stamps were required on photographs only from 1864 to 1866.

The tax for photographs was as follows; "2c with a retail value of not over 25c, 3c for a photo costing over 25c but not over 50c; 5c for photos costing over 50c but not over a dollar; and for each additional dollar or fraction of a dollar, another 5c." The revenue stamp was to be attached to the back of the photograph.

Also note that virtually any type of revenue stamp might be used on photographs. It was difficult to maintain all the various types of revenue stamps required and they were having a hard time keeping up with the demand for stamps. Business owners got mad so matching usage was only required up to December 25, 1862; after that interchangeable usages were allowed.

Lastly, fakes of these are common. Cancels typically did not tie the stamp on the photograph (many were ‘precancelled’) so it is easy to simply slap one on a photograph. Only buy these from a known quality seller or if you have significant experience in this area.
Don



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