In October 1864, some studios were given special permission by the Office of Internal Revenue to omit stamps from their photographs. They were allowed to file monthly returns accompanied by stamps equal to the tax due. But permission was revoked in late April 1865 after Congress failed to codify the practice by amending the law. The practice continued on for a while and notices of this change were published well into June. Some studios apparently used higher denominations. This $20 Conveyance, bearing a New York City studio's handstamp dated May 26, 1865, stands unique as the highest denominated stamp used by a studio to be reported. Evidence of the practice can also be documented by surviving blocks of 2¢, 3¢, 4¢, 5¢ and 10¢ stamps, with multiple studio precancellations dated within this period, once part of sheets intended to be filed with returns. The block shown here is from the same studio as the $20 Conveyance, Fredricks & Co., which was in fact the first studio granted permission to omit stamps, according to Internal Revenue correspondance. block ex George Turner