The International Machine Cancel Society

September 12, 2008

Dedicated to the study of Machine Postal Markings,
the machine inventors, patents, and other related history

[eagle and thunderbolt cancel]

Would you pay over US$2,000 for an envelope with
the Eagle & Thunderbolt postmark shown above?

We will!

Limited-Time Book Offer!

[limited time book offer] Miller's From Hinrichsen to Krag -- $58 PPD

The new Miller book (Second Edition) From Hinrichsen to Krag is available in only limited quantities, as received at the Machine Cancel Society. We are selling them as a service at $58, postpaid USA. Shipping to Europe or Oceana will be an additional $15 postage. If you want the book shipped with your October Forum, send a $58 check to Gary Carlson and on the same day send an email to Alex Savakis (mcsforum < at > embarqmail < dot > com) saying you paid for a book. This offer is only available to Society members.

How good is the new edition? Glad you asked. The book is beautiful, with full color on glossy paper. Each page has both German and English, arranged so as not to distract. The left column and to the left of each picture is the German text. The right column and to the left of each picture is the corresponding English. Quite frankly, one can compare each English and German sentence it is that well organized. I had assumed correctly that even for a US collector, the information would be useable. There is a section on Columbia and Internationals used in Germany. It is very complete and user friendly. Lots of pictures of machines and covers. So if you want a book "el pronto" send a check on or before Tuesday, September 16 to Gary Carlson and an email to me, Alex Savakis (mcsforum < at > embarqmail < dot > com), saying you sent the money to Gary, and both book and Forum go out in the same package. Gary's Address is:

Gary Carlson
3097 Frobisher Avenue
Dublin OH 43017

William Barlow's Award-Winning Boston Machine Cancel Exhibit

[boston machine cancel exhibit] Exhibit Now Available Online

Our Society's president, William Barlow, Jr., has produced an award-winning exhibit (2008 Indypex GOLD) on the history of machine cancels used in Boston, Massachusetts. Most collectors of machine cancels will recognize that Boston was a major center for experimentation with new machines, and study of American flag machines used in this city alone offers an amazing variety. The exhibit goes well beyond the American company and is a useful education for both new and experienced machine cancel collectors. The Boston Machine Cancel Exhibit is now available online here at the MCS website.

Ohio Town List of Universal Machine Cancels

[ohio townlist of universal machine cancels] New Publication Now Available Online!

A new machine cancel publication: the Ohio Town List of Universal Machine Cancels is now available online here at the MCS website. The document was prepared for the first Universal Symposium held at the Trumbull Philatelic Exhibition in 2008. This publication was prepared for the educational use of Machine Cancel Society members and its guests at the Symposium and this web site. Use of this document is restricted, see the front material for the exact license wording.

New List of Publications About Machine Cancels

[new publication list] Most Recent Publication Sales List

Members of the Society have created a large number of publications about machine cancels, their inventors, manufacturers, and the markings themselves. This is an important goal of the Society: passing along critical knowledge. The publications are for sale to both members and the general public. Machine Cancel Society members receive a discount on the publications they purchase. The following Adobe Acrobat PDF file contains the current book pricelist, dated 2008. Take a look and you should find just the book you are looking for. (Do you need an Adobe PDF reader? Its free! Download it from here.)

Most Recent Machine Cancel Articles

[recent articles on machine markings] Several articles are on-line from the October 2007 Machine Cancel Forum. Our Editor has made as a major "theme", the task of getting youth involved in collecting. For instance there is an article about getting Cub Scouts involved in stamp collecting [365K PDF file], and a more general call to encourage youth to collect [242K PDF file].

Another theme from our most recent MCF is "Modern Postal History". The following two articles cover areas where the postal system and our hobby are both changing rapidly. The Facer-Canceller Revolution [1M PDF file] details the history of these important mail handling devices.

50 years ago, the Space Race really started in earnest. The mail handling machines [851K PDF file] that we study have changed too, as part of the "space age".

Other articles from the Machine Cancel Forum are available at this link.

Selected Articles From the Machine Cancel Forum

[articles on machine markings] Here are links to some selected articles that appeared in previous editions of the Society's newsletter Machine Cancel Forum.

Information About the Machine Cancel Society

Learn more about the society here.

Society Auctions

The Society offers regular auctions of machine cancel material. Remember, you must be a member of the MCS to bid in our auctions. The lot descriptions of some of the auctions below are contained in Adobe Acrobat PDF Files that can be viewed and printed. (Do you need an Adobe PDF reader? Its free! Download it from here.)

The Society operates regular auctions of machine-cancel material. Some of the other previous auctions are listed here: November 2007, November 2004, Early 2004, Early 2003, Early 2002, Late 2002, Buckland Auction One, and Buckland Auction Two.

Cover of the Month

[cover of the month] In 2004, we started a new feature on the MCS website: "The Cover of the Month". Currently, we do not have any new material and need your help! Please send a scan and information on your interesting machine cancel. It doesn't have to be rare or expensive to be interesting; that is one of the great things about machine cancel collecting. Go to the Cover of the Month page to see all of the covers we've published so far.

New WW II APO Book

[new book now available] The "classic" triumvirate: Bart Billings, the late Bob Payne, and Reg Morris have completed a WW II Book of APOs, the result of over 10 years effort. Here is an article about this new book, giving more details about its contents, and how you can order a copy.

Bob Payne Obituary

Both our Society, and the entire collecting fraternity suffered a great loss with the passing of Bob Payne. Our Forum editor Alex Savakis has put together a tribute [PDF File] to Bob that describes his great contributions.

Officers, Directors, and Study Group Leaders

Need to communicate with an officer of the Society? Identify a machine cancel? Here is an extensive listing of the officers and study group leaders of the Society.

Application for Membership

We need you! If you are not already a member, please consider joining us. Our application form is simple. Just fill it out, and mail it in!

Society News Items

As issues come up from time to time, related to the Society, this page will keep you informed. Also any news items of interest for the website will be included. This page has timely information. Current items are dated October 24, 2004.

Machine Cancel Database

The Society has a long-term project to build a database of all known machine cancels. This page describes some of the results already achived with this project.

On-Line Edition of The Machine Cancel Forum

As am experiment, we put most of the content from an issue of The Machine Cancel Forum on-line for your reading enjoyment. Follow this link to see just some of the interesting articles that appear in our newsletter.

Machine Cancel Links

What's a web page without links? Here are some useful links to other machine cancel sites on the web.

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Contact information for the Society's President.


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