Tucked in the back - a philately connection

My last post on A sheet of stamps and a thick bundle of postcards discussing the stamps in 'Philatelic & Numismatic Holmes' by Benton Wood BSI. Peter Blau wrote to me to remind me of the excellent "The Philatelic Sherlock Homes" web page that was created and maintained by Stephen (Kepano) Trussel: www.trussel.com/detfic/sholmes.htm. The site indicates that Trussel passed away on June 26, 2020. Sadly I cannot find an obituary for Trussel, but he appears to have been a linguist who created and maintained Hawaiian and Pacific language online dictionaries, described also as a retired professor of English from Sanno College in Tokyo. Trussel apparently created and maintained the eminent Maigret site Simenon and his Inspector Maigret, and lived in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The information on Trussel's site is truly remarkable and detailed, and provides a list of all stamps ever released. So thorough is the site, that it goes beyond officially. issued stamps to also describe other reference works, as well as "Cinderella issues". Cinderalla stamps are non-postal labels that can look exactly like stamps. They are not 'postally usable', but can be created for a special purpose. Looking at Trussel's site, I browsed the Cinderalla stamps, and noticed something....

I recently obtained a copy of Susan Rice's 'A Compound Of Excelsior', which prompted me to write a blog post about beekeeping.

"For Mary Jane, It is my goal to keep the Master's memory not only green, but honey colored! Best Regards, Susan Rice, Hallowe'en '92."

Inside this wonderful book was the above inscription, indicating that Susan signed her book on October 31, 1992. Tipped into the book were two yellow cardboard sheets, as shown below. The list 1992 as the year, include perforations to tear out the four rectangles, the letters "ABS" and "LOCAL POST", with the signature of "L. Crane 1992" at the bottom.

I posted on the 'socials' to see if anyone could advise me of what they were... and didn't have any luck on what the item was for, though Scott Monty pointed out the ABS is likely 'Autumn in Baker Street'. This was an annual meeting held in .... Autumn!..... usually at Bear Mountain in NY.

The Philatelic Sherlock Homes website closes the loop - on the item and the date in the book. It is a sheet containing four Cinderella stamps! Linda Crane ASH established a 'Wigmore Street Post Office' that operated at the 1992 Autumn in Baker Street meeting - one would buy Cinderella stamps, hand the letter over, and they would be delivered to their recipient. Mystery solved! These Cinderellas never made it onto a letter.

This also explains exactly where Susan Rice signed the above copy of 'A Compound of Excelsior' - it must have been at the 1992 Autumn in Baker Street meeting !

Now if only I knew who Mary Jane was....