James A. Jackson, James McQ. Douglas and Paris S. Pfouts were a firm selling wholesale groceries and liquors in Saint Louis in the 1860's when The Celebrated Home Stomach Bitters was introduced. It may well have been an offshoot of the liquor business, as a number of patent medicines were at that time.

Jackson private die stamps were issued from October of 1870 until April of 1875. 206,532 were issued on old paper and 521,025 on silk paper. This copy is printed on silk paper.

In April of 1875 the Home Bitters Company took over from Jackson, Pfouts & Douglas. They had stamps printed in three denominations beginning with the four-cent green, first issued in June of 1875 and last issued March 3,1883. 271,514 were released on silk paper and 213,617 on watermarked paper. The copy above is on silk paper.

The three-cent green stamp was printed next, from 1876 until February 12, 1883. 482,130 were issued on silk, pink and watermarked papers. The one above is on watermarked paper.

The two-cent blue stamp was issued last, and for a shorter time: 1879 until March 17, 1881. 215,482 were delivered, all on watermarked paper.

It is interesting that Jackson and Home Bittters stamps depicted Perseus slaying the dragon, while Hostetter & Smith used the motif of Saint George and the dragon on their letterheads, medicine bottles and almanacs, but never on their stamps.

It appears that someone in Texas was passing himself off as a representative of the Home Bitters Company and writing merchant's drafts on the company to obtain money. When this one came back to the company to be approved they denied it, which led to a protest filed in 1875.