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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;cwtokenman, post: 219302, member: 2100&quot;]Some history of John Gault and encased postage stamps.</p><p><br /></p><p>John Gault was the inventor of encased postage stamps, and some other devices/mechanisms. His father (a carpenter) died when he was 15, about 6 months before the time the news of the California Gold rush began breaking. This fatherless 16 year old son of Irish immigrants followed Horace Greeley&#039;s advice to &quot;Go West, young man. Go West.&quot; Gault joined a Massachusetts mining company and set off for California via around the Horn. He boarded the bark <i>Edward Fletcher</i> on March 5, 1849 at the age of 17. The journey was 18,000 miles from his native Boston, and took 189 days (cost of passage was $150). While there, he was a successful miner, averaging about $8 in gold (about 1/2 ounce) per day. He left for California a visionary and returned 5 years later as a realist, now having to face the unraveling of the Union. </p><p><br /></p><p>He had considerable mechanical ability and created several rather ingenious inventions, the most notable being a sewing machine (with a lock stitch mechanism), the encased postage stamp and a series of exploding artillery shells. None of these things were very rewarding financially though, and eventually he made a living by selling whiskey.</p><p><br /></p><p>John Gault was a good family man of upstanding character, intelligent, opportunistic, and had to deal with the deaths of a number of family members. He took care of his mother, who died of melancholia. He buried his younger brother who died of wounds during the Civil War. Late in his life, he married a widow who had two sons, both of whom died.</p><p><br /></p><p>Gault knew many of the men who were the movers and shakers of their day, and many of those businessmen would&nbsp; later participate in Gault&#039;s encased postage venture by buying advertising space on the backs of his stamp money.</p><p><br /></p><p>At the outbreak of the Civil War, early fears were that both the North and the South would become financially insolvent, so the people began to hoard hard coinage in anticipation of the dark days ahead. Coinage became so scarce that it began to command a premium at the banks. Bankers were paying a 4 3/4 percent premium in early Feb. 1862. By June, it had doubled. People still did not turn in/spend their coins as the feared inflation would continue and they would lose out if their coins were spent. Imagine the difficulties of making purchases. While we still use small change today, it was much more the case in 1862. Prices were much much lower. Three cents could buy a stagecoach ride and five cents could buy lunch and a glass of beer. Withholding even a small amount of change was not at all acceptable.</p><p><br /></p><p>To be continued - it is getting late.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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