1862-71 4c J. C. Ayer & Co., Blue, Old Paper

This 4-cent blue proprietary revenue stamp was issued by J. C. Ayer & Co. of Lowell, Massachusetts, one of the most prominent patent medicine manufacturers in 19th-century America. The Revenue Act of 1862 required manufacturers of proprietary medicines to affix Internal Revenue stamps to their products as proof of tax payment, and J. C. Ayer & Co. — producing a wide range of preparations including Cherry Pectoral, Cathartic Pills, Sarsaparilla, Ague Cure, and Hair Vigor — was among the largest and most prolific users of proprietary revenue stamps during the Civil War era. The star-shaped format of this stamp is one of the most distinctive designs in the entire match and medicine revenue series, immediately setting it apart from the rectangular and oval formats used by most other manufacturers.

James Cook Ayer founded his company in Lowell in 1837, beginning with Cherry Pectoral — a cough remedy that became enormously popular — and expanding from there into a full line of patent medicines. By the time this stamp was issued, Ayer's factory in Lowell was one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturing operations in the world, employing hundreds of workers. Ayer distributed five million copies of his annual almanac each year, printed in English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish for distribution across the United States and internationally. The town of Ayer, Massachusetts is named for him. He died on July 3, 1878, and his brother Frederick Ayer continued operating the business.

The old paper variety of this stamp dates it to the 1862-71 period, the earliest phase of the proprietary revenue stamp program. The 4-cent denomination reflects the tax rate applied to Ayer's products during this period. The Revenue Act proprietary stamp program ran from 1862 through 1883, when Congress retired the last of the Civil War-era excise taxes.