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VERY FINE APPEARANCE. AN EXTREMELY RARE FRANK FOR THIS SHORT-LIVED TELEGRAPH COMPANY, THE PRIMARY BUSINESS OF WHICH WAS ILLEGAL BOOKMAKING FOR HORSE RACES. HEREINAFTER TO BE KNOWN AS THE TELEGRAPH "BOOKIE" STAMP.
The short-lived Mercantile Telegraph Co. was incorporated in 1892, had offices in St. Louis, Chicago and St. Paul and leased telegraph lines from other companies. Using Google Books, we located an 1892 appeal of a criminal complaint by the State of Missouri against J. H. Townsend, President of the Mercantile Telegraph Co., in which Townsend was accused of running an interstate bookmaking operation for horse races. F. N. Shaw, named on the stamp as the addressee for "ten word messages" was a co-conspirator. In fact, the complaint states that the telegraph office business consisted almost exclusively in taking money orders for bets on horses. Townsend was convicted, appealed and had his conviction affirmed. (Image)