Manufacturers of the proprietary goods taxed during the Civil War were given the option of producing their own stamps instead of using the government's. Many makers of matches, medicines, perfumes and playing cards availed themselves of this opportunity, because a discount of 5% to 10% was allowed for those producing their own stamps. They also perceived an advertising advantage in using what have come to be known as "Private Die Proprietary Stamps". These beautiful and imaginative stamps are found in the Scott U.S. Specialized Catalogue and are known to collectors as "Match and Medicines". But you will not find any Photographer stamps there. No studio ever took up the government on its offer. There were several reasons. Photographers hated the stamp tax and fought for its repeal from the beginning. Expecting they would succeed, none were willing to go through the effort and expense of producing a stamp. In addition, the discount would not have been as compelling for studios as it was for other manufacturers, who produced far greater quantities of taxed goods. Nor would most studios find an advertising advantage, since most had a design printed on their card mounts. The first illustration is of a private die stamp produced by a perfume maker, Corning & Tappan. In speculating on what a photographer's stamp might have looked like, I show two advertising labels of the period, forerunners to a stamp catagory that could have existed, but doesn't.