J. Winslow Jones was the successor to Nathan Winslow & Company, which also produced canned green corn. John Winslow Jones was listed in the 1863/64 and 1864/65 Portland Business Directories as "Packer of and Wholesale Dealer in Hermetically Sealed Meats, Vegetables, and Fruits of all kinds, No. 20 Union Street (Brown's Block). Factory at Congin Falls, Westbrook." In the 1869, 1870 and 1873 directories, John Winslow Jones' listing reads "canned goods, 161 Com'l, h Westbrook."
N. Winslow & Co. Label For Can of Green Corn
The J. Winslow Jones essay was created as a result of the Revenue Act of July 13, 1866, which instituted a tax, effective October 1, 1866, of 1 cent “[f]or and upon every can, bottle, or other single package, containing meats, fish, shell-fish, fruits, vegetables, sauces, sirups, prepared mustard, jams or jellies . . . .” of up to two pounds and an additional one cent for each additional pound or fraction thereof. After the institution of the new tax, J. Winslow Jones had a die essay prepared. The essay was approved by Thomas Harland, Commissioner of Internal Revenue on December 14, 1866.
J. Winslow Jones Approval Model J. Winslow Jones Die Essay
Signed by Commissioner of Internal Revenue (Unique)
In the Act of March 2, 1867, Congress retroactively repealed the tax on canned vegetables effective March 1, 1867. The tax on vegetables was in effect for only five months. It is not clear whether J. Winslow Jones ever paid for the engraving of his essay. There are a number of dunning letters in the Butler and Carpenter letter book addressed to Mr. Jones. After letters demanding payment dated March 30, 1867, and May 27, 1867, Mr. Carpenter had apparently lost patience with Mr. Jones. By letter dated June 13, 1867, Mr. Carpenter wrote to Mr. Jones that “your statement and our knowledge of the facts are at conflict,” and that “the repeal of the law in March ‘67 and the corn season have no bearing in the case at all.” By letter dated July 16, 1867, Butler and Carpenter noted that Mr. Jones’ order to stop work on the essay was not received until after the work was completed and that Mr. Jones’ correspondence could not be read as anything other than an absolute order for a stamp plate.
J. Winslow Jones, Winslow's Green Corn Check With Type E 2¢ Revenue Imprint
J. Winslow Jones Letterhead, Dated 1881
The story of the J. Winslow Jones essay does not end with the repeal of the tax on canned vegetables. The J. Winslow Jones die was purchased by Boutell & Maynard, a match manufacturing concern located in St. Paul Minnesota. On August 2, 1873, Boutell & Maynard requested that the J. Winslow Jones die be modified at a cost of $150. The modified die was approved by B.J. Sweet, Commissioner of Internal Revenue on August 22, 1873.
Boutell & Maynard Approval Model Boutell & Maynard Issued Stamp
Signed by Commissioner of Internal Revenue (Unique)
Boutell & Maynard received stamps between September 1873, and August 1875. The Boutell & Maynard stamp’s unusual design with a “can” of matches is explained by the origin of the die as a canned vegetable stamp. In addition, the Boutell & Maynard stamp is one of the very few match stamp bearing the word “proprietary,” in this case due to its origin as a canned food stamp.