Mystic Stamp Company is an American, employee-owned stamp dealer founded in 1923 by Lawrence K. Shaver (1903 – September 23, 1990). The company is headquartered where it was founded, in Camden, New York. It specializes in the buying and selling of postage stamps, collecting supplies, and other philatelic items. Company history Lawrence K. Shaver On May 26, 1923, H.E. Harris & Co. ran an advertisement in Mekeel's Weekly Stamp News inviting potential stamp dealers to invest $25 to $500 in order to make use of Harris' international wholesale supply network. Backed by his father, Lawrence "Larry" K. Shaver mailed H.E. Harris a check for $500. Not long after sending his check, Shaver traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, to meet H.E. Harris in person. Harris asked him if he had a name for his new company yet, to which Shaver replied "No, I don't... do you have a suggestion, Mr. Harris?" Harris did have a suggestion: "I've always been intrigued by the naming of the Mystic River here." And so Mystic Stamp Company was born. Over the years, with professional guidance from H.E. Harris, Shaver developed his stamp business. In 1973, Shaver was 70 years old and had been in business for 50 years. He decided it was time to retire and sell Mystic. Maynard Sundman In the early 1940s, Lawrence Shaver was on a visit to Boston to meet with H.E. Harris when he met Maynard Sundman for the first time. The two bonded over their love of stamps as well as for business. After World War II ended, the men struck up a professional friendship and rivalry. For many years, the two men had a weekly phone call to discuss changing trends in the advertising and sales world. They compared notes on how events like holidays or economic downturns affected their individual businesses, Shaver at Mystic and Sundman at Littleton Stamp Company in New Hampshire. When it came time for Shaver to sell Mystic in 1973, he first turned to the recent buyers of the H.E. Harris Company, General Mills. But, the Federal Trade Commission had just filed an anti-trust lawsuit on General Mills for monopolizing the cereal business, and because of this they declined the deal. The deal with Mystic fell through, and Shaver had to find another buyer. Shaver rejected several offers to buy Mystic before he turned to Maynard Sundman in February 1974. The two men agreed