U.S. Machine Cancel Finder -- Years 1900-1920

Updated July 3, 2011

Introduction

This identifier page and its connected pages are derived from information appearing in the very fine book Postmarks on Postcards by the late Richard W. Helbock. Additional guidance has come from the many members of the Machine Cancel Society. Some of the images you will see are from my collection, while others have been "found" on the web.

I highly recommend Mr. Helbock's book as a great starting-place for new cover and card collectors who want to learn more about postmarks. This book and these web pages currently cover only the postcard era (1900-1920) in the United States. I urge you to purchase your own copy of the book. You can purchase it from these sources: Yudu on-line copy of "Postmarks on Postcards", Amazon Kindle edition of "Postmarks on Postcards" from Amazon, or copy of "Postmarks on Postcards" from James Lee.

My web pages are here for one reason: to help you to identify the machine cancel on a cover or card from 1900-20.

So, let's get started. Keep the cover or card (or a photocopy) in front of you, and work through the series of questions by clicking on the appropriate answer. If all goes well, we'll get down to the correct machine type for your "mystery" cover.

Nomenclature

First, a quick nomenclature lesson:

[machine cancel nomenclature]

Note that the "cancellation" or "killer" is the part that prevents the stamp from being reused. The "postmark" or "dial" is the part of the impression that tells you where the letter was mailed and when. Various dial designs were based on handstamps in use by post offices of the 19th century. However, when machine cancel inventors approached the problem of cancelling the stamp, they used a great variety of designs to ensure that the stamp was obliterated by ink, even when a cover or card was machine-fed at high speed.

Question: Is the date in the postmark between 1900 and 1920?

Yes [from 1900 to 1920]

No [before 1900 or after 1920]

U.S. Machine Cancel Finder -- Years 1900-1920

Introduction

Nomenclature

Question: Is the date in the postmark between 1900 and 1920?

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