The International Machine Cancel Society
Dedicated to the study of Machine Postal Markings,
the machine inventors, patents, and other related history![[eagle and thunderbolt cancel]](pics/eagle.gif)
Would you pay over US$2,000
for an envelope with
the Eagle & Thunderbolt postmark shown above?
We will!
Ohio Town List of Universal Machine Cancels
![[ohio townlist of universal machine cancels]](pics/bignew.gif)
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 Sales List Available!
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]](pics/cirwig3.gif)
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
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
In 2004, we started a new feature on the MCS
website: "The Cover of the Month".
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. We are
catching up. Go to the
Cover of the Month page to see them all.
New WW II APO Book
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.
Proud Members of...
Contact information for the Society's President.
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