Regular Postal Markings Circular Date Stamps PAID and FREE WAY RAILROAD WATERWAY NUMERAL Obliterators MANUSCRIPT GRID FANCY DEMONETIZED FOREIGN

In this first color Chronicle, it seems appropriate to examine the cancellations that can be found on the 1847 stamps. Presentation of these interesting and colorful cancels should benefit from our new printing process. Our objective here is to show cancels in a photographic walk-through, providing an overview of how our nation's first stamps were invalidated to prevent re-use. Please remember, all color reproductions at best produce an approximation of the hue and saturation of the original. But in their favor, such images are considerably more accurate than their black-and-white predecessors.

The practice of canceling United States stamps really began in 1847, since these were the first stamps distributed nationwide and the first that could be applied anywhere in the country. Postmaster provisional and local stamps preceded the 1847s, but their usage was generally restricted to specific geographical areas.

As the 1847 stamps were the inaugural emission of the United States, the need to cancel them was a fresh concept. The Post Office Department required in its regulations that the new stamps be canceled with either a government-supplied seven-bar circular grid (ink color was not stated) or a manuscript pen cancel, specifically an "X". This regulation was frequently ignored by smaller post offices and even sometimes by larger ones, inked cork devices or markings from the pre-adhesive era being used instead.

Stampless letters were typically marked with a circular date stamp (CDS) or town marking. Some towns also used rating markers. Usually, a handstamp or manuscript "Paid" was applied to prepaid covers. Hence, in many cases, the first cancels on 1847 stamps were these same postal markings used on stampless letters: the CDS, numeral raters and "PAID" markings.

If the postmaster did not have a canceling device on hand, a manuscript cancel was applied. As noted, many postmasters improvised with a plain cork device and used it to apply the ink. Some of these corks or rubber stoppers were later carved into segments and wedges and other simple designs. Over time, these evolved into geometrics and more elaborate grids.

Other than pre-adhesive markings, the unauthorized cancellations found on the two 1847 stamps are usually a smudged red cork or a manuscript marking other than an "X". Anything other than that is notable.

Catalogs assign extra value to the more desirable types of cancels on the 1847 stamps. These prices are often driven by a recent auction realization, not an average of all the material currently selling in the marketplace. Prices arrived at by such narrow sampling may fluctuate greatly. But a well-struck cancel, particularly a desirable one, has a much higher value than the plain-vanilla catalog listing.

The cancels on the 1847 stamps issue divide roughly into two main categories, regular postal markings and obliterators. We will discuss each in turn.

Circular Date Stamps: Among CDS cancels, any color other than blue or red is hard to find. Contrary to what one might think, a black CDS is not at all common. Uses from small towns are very scarce since only the larger towns and cities received a distribution of the 1847 stamps from the Post Office Department. Figures 1 through 8 show examples of color circular date stamps used as canceling devices.

Figures 1-8. Examples of circular date stamps used as canceling devices: (1) red "BURLINGTON Vt."; (2) blue "TROY N.Y."; (3) magenta "HARTFORD Ct." with integral "5" rating marking; (4) "St. Louis Mo." in red paint; (5) black "ELIZABETHTOWN N.Y."; (6) blue/black "UTICA N.Y." double rim oval; (7) orange "LANCASTER N.H."; (8) green "BRIDGEPORT CT".

PAID and FREE: These markings, largely holdovers from the stampless period, indicated that a letter was either "FREE" and required no charge for delivery or was "PAID" in advance with no money to be collected. Therefore, their use on an envelope with a stamp is purely as a canceling device--since a "FREE" cover would have no stamp on it and a cover with a stamp would evidence prepayment with no need for further indication. Figures 9 through 12 show "PAID" handstamps and Figure 13 and Figure 14 show "FREE" handstamps, all used as cancellers.

Figures 9-14. PAID and FREE markings: (9) blue boxed Philadelphia "PAID"; (10) blue straight line "PAID"; (11) red arched New York "PAID"; (12) orange "PAID"; (13) blue "FREE"; (14) red "FREE".

WAY: A way letter was a letter that was not mailed at a post office, but picked up "along the way," usually by mail carriers under contract with the Post Office Department. During the life of the 1847 stamps, waterway captains or clerks often received such letters; railroad clerks or stagecoach drivers could also receive them, but this was rare. "WAY" markings are not often found on the stamp; they are usually struck elsewhere on the cover. Figures 15 through Figure 17 show "WAY" markings canceling individual stamps.

Figures 15-17. WAY markings: (15) bright blue Mobile "WAY 6" with scrolls in a circle; (16) red Baltimore "WAY 5"; (17) blue Baltimore "WAY 5".

RAILROAD: The Post Office entered into contracts with railroads to carry mail over their routes. Special employees of the Post Office Department, referred to as "route agents," accepted mail along the routes of the railroads and applied most of the markings that indicated railroad carriage. There are exceptions when the marking was applied elsewhere (such as "PHILADA RAILROAD," shown in Figure 21) but these are uncommon. There are two types of railroad markings: CDS-like route-agent markings (showing the name of the railroad or route in place of the town) and obliterators (designed specifically to deface stamps). Figures 18 through 21 show informational railroad markings and Figures 22 through 24 show obliterators whose association with individual railroads is documented.

Figures 18-24. Railroad markings: (18) blue "ALBY. & Buffalo R.R."; (19) blue "Wilmington & Raleigh Railroad"; (20) black "MIC. CENTRAL R.R./Mic."; (21) red "PHILADA RAIL ROAD"; (22) blue 4-bar closed grid of Norwich & Worcester R.R.; (23) bright red crisscross grid of Boston & Albany Railroad; (24) blue grid of small squares of Madison River & Lake Erie R. R.

WATERWAY: Like the railroads, steamboats with Post Office contracts to carry mail could have route agents on board, but this occurred less frequently than with the rails. Boats without contracts were allowed to carry loose letters to the nearest post office. These were similar to way letters, but usually stamped "STEAM", "STEAMBOAT" (in one or two lines), or sometimes with the vessel name. Figures 25 through 31 are examples of waterway cancellations.

Figures 25-31. Waterway markings: (25 and 26) red closed circular grid of 17 wavy lines (Hudson River Mail); (27) black "STEAM"; (28) blue Vicksburg "STEAM 10"; (29) light blue Norwich, Conn. "STEAMBOAT 5" in circle; (30) blue boxed "TROY & NEW YORK STEAMBOAT."; (31) red Boston "STEAM".

Numeral: Numeral markers were intended for rating a piece of correspondence, to show the cost of the transit through the mails. On domestic mail, since there was rarely a need to "rate" a letter with a postage stamp on it (the payment being evidenced by the stamp itself), these numerals were superfluous; they had no meaning other than to cancel the stamp. On international mail, rate markings were necessary, but for informational and accounting purposes, not for canceling stamps. Most rating markings are simple, but a few are ornate. Figures 32 through Figure 46 show numeral rating markings used as cancellations.

Figures 32-46. Numerals: (32) red Chicago "5" in cogged oval; (33) red Chicago "10" in cogged oval; (34) dark green Princeton N.J. "5" in box; (35) blue Philadelphia "5" in double circle (worn state); (36) blue Philadelphia numeral "5"; (37) blue numeral "5"; (38) black "10" in circle; (39) red "10" in circle; (40) blue Utica Roman numeral "V" in double circle; (41) blue Roman numeral "X" in circle; (42) blue "6" in circle; (43) red "19"; (44) red "20" in circle; (45) black "40" in circle; (46) red "40".

MANUSCRIPT: These are usually the simplest of cancels: a straight or wavy line of writing ink drawn across the face of the stamp. Some collectors consider manuscript cancels less desirable (even today, a postman's pen cancel raises the blood pressure of many a collector), but they have redeeming graces on classic stamps. Often, the pen cancel leaves the stamp's design nicely "un-obliterated;" and rarely, it allows the postmaster artistic license. Figures 47 through 49 show simple manuscript cancels. Figures 50 and 51 suggest the imagination of the postmaster who picked up the pen.

Figures 47-51. Manuscript markings: (47) blue; (48-49) black; (50) spectacles; (51) elaborate geometric.

GRID: The grid was the first cancel designed specifically to deface U.S. postage stamps. Grids come in many shapes, sizes, patterns and colors. Because of this, they can form an interesting study. There are three general categories: circular grids, line grids and pattern grids.

Circular grids were 7-bars, enclosed within the circle. These were provided by the government. They are usually seen struck in red, with other colors being more highly valued. Figures 52 through 62 provide examples. Wheeling, Virginia (now in West Virginia) placed a control marking, a red circular grid, on its 1847 stamps. This marking was applied to the stamps before they were cut apart and used. These stamps are always found with a cancel on them as well as the red control grid. The Wheeling grids are among the most sought-after of the grids. Examples are shown in Figures 63 and 64, both showing the red control marking and a blue grid cancel as well.

Figures 52-64. Seven-bar circular grids: (52) red; (53) magenta; (54) carmine; (55) orange-red; (56) orange; (57) yellow-orange; (58) green; (59) light blue (on heavily blued paper); (60) blue; (61) dark blue; (62) black; (63-64) red Wheeling control marking with blue grid cancels.

Line grids were also used. Most were simple straight-line grids but others include fancy "herringbone" designs. Examples are shown in Figures 65 through 69. Pattern grids were designs made of small geometric shapes, patterned into a grid shape. These are the hardest grids to find. Examples are presented in Figures 70 through 73.

Figures 65-73. Line and pattern grids: (65) black line grid (struck twice); (66) red New York square line grid; (67) black 11-bar line grid; (68-69) Binghamton herringbone line grid in red and green; (70) black Wilkes Barre grid of 25 squares; (71-72) East Hampton, Mass., open circular grid of tiny diamonds, in blue and red; (73) green Tallahassee grid of dots.

FANCY: Compared to the later issues of the 1850s-70s, the fancy cancels found on 1847 stamps are simple, even crude. Their beauty lies in the fact that they are the first of the ornate handstamps. Their purpose was to not only to cancel the stamp, but to do it with flair. The Trenton star (74) is reputed to be the first star marking created specifically to cancel a postage stamp. The attractive Huntsville, Alabama, star cancel (75) is actually a stampless-period rate marking. As common as target cancels are on the 1861 and 1869 stamps, they are known from only two U.S. towns during the life of the 1847 issue: Greenwich, New York and Hanover, New Hampshire. Figures 74 to 79 illustrate various fancy cancellations.

Figures 74-79. Fancy: (74) blue Trenton star; (75) blue Huntsville negative "5" and stars within a star; (76) red St. Johnsbury scarab; (77) red target, probably Hanover, N.H.; (78) red Paris, Ky., circle of V's (pinwheel); (79) red geometric pinwheel.

DEMONETIZED: A demonetized cancel is one that is non-contemporaneous with the proper period of use for the stamp on which it appears. By Post Office regulation, the life of the 1847 issue ended on July 1, 1851. After that, the 1847 stamps were no longer valid for postage. There were new rates for mailing letters and the 1¢, 3¢ and 12¢ 1851 stamps were issued to replace the 1847s.

Any use of an 1847 stamp after July 1, 1851 is a demonetized use. Collectors seek demonetized examples. They are uncommon and should not have been allowed. Figures 80 through 83 show cancels known to have been used only after the 1847 stamps were demonetized. The small Boston "PAID" in grid (80) is not known used before July, 1851. The large Boston "PAID" in grid (81) is not known before January, 1852. The New York Foreign Mail marking (82) dates from April, 1875, more than 23 years after demonetization of the 1847 stamps, making this 5¢ stamp the latest known use of the 1847 issue. The New York ocean mail marking (83) is not known used before the advent of the 1851 stamps.

Figures 80-83. Demonetized uses: (80) small Boston "PAID" in grid; (81) large Boston "PAID" in grid; (82) New York Foreign Mail; (83) New York Ocean Mail.

FOREIGN: The vast majority of stamp-bearing covers originating in the U.S. and addressed to foreign destinations had their stamps canceled stateside. On some covers, the stamps acquired foreign postal markings in addition to the cancel applied in the U.S. Figures 84 and 85 are examples, showing foreign markings incidentally canceling the stamps. In Figure 84, the red New York square grid canceled the stamp; the black French entry mark at bottom left was added when the cover reached France. The stamp in Figure 85 is similar. A red circular grid canceled the stamp and the boxed French "COLONIES & ART. 13" was applied en route.

As a general rule, only covers posted from Canada under the treaty rate bore foreign markings that specifically canceled the stamp. There are exceptions. Compare Figure 86 and Figure 87; both these stamps were originally used on covers sent to Grenock, Scotland. The 10¢ stamp was canceled stateside (in New York City) and the one shilling handstamp was applied in Scotland. For some reason, the 5¢ pair went uncanceled at New York; the stamps were canceled only with the "1/" handstamp. Figures 88 through 93 show Canadian cancellations.

Figures 84-93. Foreign markings: (84) black French entry postmark; (85) boxed French "COLONIES & ART. 13."; (86) "1sh" British handstamp; (87) red New York square grid with British "1sh" handstamp added; (88-89) black 7-ring Canadian target; (90) red-brown Canadian Butterfly grid (blue pen applied later) on 5¢ stamp and (91) on 10¢ Stamp; (92) black Nova Scotia oval 13-bar grid; (93) reddish brown New Brunswick "Snowshoe" grids.

While the purpose of a cancellation was to prevent re-use of a stamp, it also indicates that the stamp was recognized by the local postmaster as having fulfilled its primary purpose of pre-paying mail to its destination. For today's collectors, cancellations represent much more than that. They add interest and variety to a showing of the stamp. Some cancels are simply colorful and attractive. Others, such as railroad, steamboat and foreign cancellations, can fire the imagination with images of the mode of transport, the routes negotiated and the places journeyed during the travels of the posted letter.