FEB. 22,1894 "Remember / This / When You / Are / House / Cleaning / Next / Spring / … / L. C. Brossy Dyeing Co. / Dyers and Cleaners" ad for cleaning & dyeing curtains & drapes from Detroit Michigan firm, printed & illustrated with art in yellow green, about the size of a modern continental postcard, slight browning of the paper with age, trace of cancel ink on front , long crease. $12.00 am-am

    JUL 1 1896 DETROIT WHITE LEAD WORKS / INCORPORATED / DEC. 22d / 1880 within large attention-getting red seal on #6 cover also boldly printed with their address on Woodward Avenue in Detroit Michigan, light but complete Brighton Michigan handstamp just ties damaged 2-cent Washington which the sender applied, a little bleeding of the red color in a short line from the seal (raindrop?), rusty pen-marked X at right edge probably indicating sender answered it, 2 different Detroit backstamps, neatly opened. $4.75 am

"Gafle River. Sweden." as it winds through a settled area, color on undivided back postcard from Axel Eliassons (No. 3937), yellowish paper on back, mailed APR 18 1907 at Clarksville Michigan (light Belding Michigan receiving mark the next day, RFD address), couple tiny spots of toning in sky, minor corner & edge wear. $8.00 s-m

    "Post Office Force, Lakeview, Mich." showing & naming the Postmaster, clerks, messengers & RFD carriers by route, postcard mailed there 1907 (straight-line cancel), minor corner wear & rounding. Marvelous! $47.50 (mpph-mr)

    "BURNS' COTTAGE." with a horse-drawn vehicle beside it, and tracks in the right foreground, color postcard from the Elginton Series, mailed JU 20 07 at AYR Scotland to Gull Lake Michigan, clear & complete JUL 2 1907 YORKVILLE MICH (DPO) Doane transit mark with 3 in the killer bars, creases at the top corners, edge wear elsewhere is minor. $5.00 s-mm(d) NEW / NOVA / BAGO

    "Banqueting Hall, Edinburgh Castle. 1151" lined with many suits of armor & medieval weapons, color postcard from Alex. A. Inglis, mailed at Dinburgh JU 26 07 (clear handstamp) to Gull Lake Michigan (clear Yorkville Doane DPO transit mark JUL 6 1907 overlaps the stamp), bottom corner creased, mild corner wear. $5.00 si-mm(d)s

    "No. 382  THE HARBOR FRONT, HARBOR SPRINGS, MICH." black & white postcard published by Alton G. Cook, mailed JUL 2 1908 at Bay View (fairly clear DPO hand cancel), light toning both sides from album contact, small green mark on the back from the printing process. $7.50 m(h)-m

    OCT 26 1910 GRAND RAPIDS PAPER BOX CO., Grand Rapids Michigan, #6 cover to West Virginia (2-cent Washington stamp), large cachet showing their building with streetcars & autos nearby, neatly addressed & opened, a little cancel ink in address area. $10.00 am NEW / NOVA / BAGO

    "Post Office, Officials and Employees, Jackson, Mich." postcard shows corner view with numerous people, several horse-drawn sleighs, etc.; color from Drake Brothers, unused, lightly toned back, soft corners. Circa 1910. $25.00 mph-m

    JUL 26 1911 "'LOS NOVIOS' / FURNITURE STORE / AGENTS / GUNN D$ESKS / Bookcases / …RAFAEL MARGARIDA / BOX 857 / SAN JUAN, P. R." with large black & red image on #6 cover, the Grand Rapids Michigan address of the company is lined out by overprinting, clear San Juan cancel ties 2-cent Washington, Parkersburg West Virginia flag backstamp on arrival, neatly opened & gorgeous. Interesting use of company stationery by an agent located elsewhere. Sold but still available for scholarly study & research as a full-size & enhanced 72-dpi scan in .jpg or .tif format. $1.50 apm

FEB 19 1912 "GUNN DESKS / AND / Bookcases / THE Gunn Furniture Co. / Grand Rapids Mich." with large black images of furniture & some red printing on #6 cover, clear Grand Rapids cancel ties 2-cent Washington, clear & complete Parkersburg West Virginia flag backstamp on arrival, backflap torn & creased in opening, brownish paper. $20.00 am

    MAR 3 1912 ALEXANDER DODDS CO. / MANUFACTURER OF / SPECIAL / WOOD WORKING / MACHINERY / 181-183 CANAL STREET / GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN in large decorative corner card picturing one of their machines, cancel ties 2-c Washington to neatly opened #6 cover to West Virginia, Parkersburg flag on back, front toned mostly at left and bottom due to long contact with another cover. $12.00 am

    MAR 14 1912 clear Grand Rapids cancel on 2-c Washington franking #6 cover with illustrated advertising for "BALDWIN, TUTHILL & BOLTON / SAW AND KNIFE FITTING / MACHINERY // GRIND YOUR BAND WHEELS WHEN THEY NEED IT. / MOTOR AND BELT DRIVE GRINDER." Neatly opened, illegible backstamp, toning along one back edge. $14.00 am!

    MAR 8 1913 clear Grand Rapids Michigan cancel on 2-c Washington #6 postal stationery with all-over back depiction of Nichols & Cox Lumber Company mill & distributing yards at Grand Rapids (in black & white), backstamped on arrival with Parkersburg West Virginia flag, neatly opened, slight browning of the paper with age. $10.00 am

    "Nobody Loves a Fat Feller Nohow" was mailed AUG 6 1914 (Saginaw West Side Michigan DPO cancel) with a small tear in the bottom margin that has an internal crease starting from it & not going to any edge. The fault is hard to see when the card is under plastic. $5.00 (a(t)b-m) NEW / NOVA / BAGO

    "HARBOR SPRINGS, / MICHIGAN" showing a Harbor Springs-Petoskey conveyance with driver standing beside it in approximately 5 feet of snow both sides, sepia-tone real photo post card, mailed AUG 13 1931 from Wequetonsing (almost complete DPO hand cancel). Focus is so sharp you can read the entire license plate. $15.00 m(h)w-m NEW / NOVA / BAGO

SEP 18 1936 Flint Michigan metered #10 cover from Chevrolet Motor Company to a tool & die company in Detroit, with the Chevrolet / GM logo in blue in the corner card, opened neatly. $2.00

SMALL ORDERS ARE WELCOME!

MAR 27 1937 Detroit Michigan cancel on 2-c Washington stamp franking cover from Chevrolet--Gear and Axle, small Chevrolet / GM logo in blue in the corner card area, opened neatly. $1.50

"W8YCE" Detroit Michigan QSL card with simulated wood background, mailed MAR 9 1948 by operator Robert Bazzy, interesting DEFICIENCY IN ADDRESS SUPPLIED BY   DETROIT, MICH violet auxiliary marking on the back because they corrected the state of the addressee. $2.50 m-m

APRIL 26 TRIP 2 1952 first trip highway post office cover Cadillac & Grand Rapids Michigan, violet cachet supplies simple map, addressed to Maryland. $2.00 hm

"Azalea garden at Lindum Ranch / on Skyline Boulevard, Portland / Ore..." well done home-made (and, hence, unique) postcard mailed Mar 2 1959 from Azalia Michigan (2 hand cancels, one with small ink smear the other bold). $2.00 o-m

DEC 3 1963 Okemos Michigan cancel boldly ties 1963 TB seal to postcard franked by 5-cent city mail delivery stamp with another type of cancel from there, small corner crease. $1.75 um

"'Black Steer Restaurant' / Yankton South Dakota" with art depicting the interior, well done home-made postcard mailed MAY 18 1965 from Mason Michigan (clear cancel publicizing their centennial that June). $2.00 s-m

"W8JXU" Hazel Park Michigan QSL postcard mailed in 1966 by Al Hoffman (founding member of the Institute of Amateur Radio), with his seal tied by the clear JUN 10 1966 Hazel Park cancel on back. Wonderful cartoon art on front shows dog in blackface listening without much understanding to sounds from a headset. Nice! $5.00 m-m

    USS VOGE (DE-1047) commissioning, three-color cachet, 11 / 25 / 66. Built by Defoe Shipbuilding Company in Bay City Michigan, its first operations were off Guantanamo Bay. $4.50 (nm)

"Nepal, Himalayas" shows several men on a street from above, well done home-made (and, hence, unique) post cards mailed AUG 3 1966 at Calumet Michigan (2 different cancels). $1.75 n-m

April 1968 American Philatelist: Post Office at Lunga, Gaudalcanal during World War II; US--Fort Winnebago, Michigan Territory--1828-1845; Canada--Royal Visit Stamps and Special Cancellations; & much more. $3.75 the complete journal. acms NEW / NOVA / BAGO

Fancy & well-struck JUL 23 1983 Kalamazoo Michigan USCS Convention Station cancel (depicting the ship) on 20-c flag stamp franking unaddressed cacheted #6 cover honoring Stephen Decatur. Nice. $2.00 nm

Undated, unaddressed & unused #10 cover bearing the free frank of Paul H. Todd Jr., Member of Congress from Michigan. Not often seen this way! $2.50 u(f)m

Wanted to buy--covers from the RFD route of the Steamer Tashmoo. Please offer us some, priced in US dollars. *c

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TOPICAL MILITARY COVERS

World War I. Regular-size postcard on brown paper, unused, good edges, where the address side is "Correspondance / des Armées de la République / Carte en Franchise" intended as a soldier's mail card for French troops in World War 1 active-duty operations  More French goes on instructing the soldier not to reveal his location, etc. $6.00 fm

    Clear SAINT PETERSBURG JUN 12 1932 machine cancel with AIR MAIL / SAVES TIME in the killer bars ties 5-c airmail beacon stamp to cacheted #6 envelope commemorating the Veterans of Foreign Wars state encampment there, sent to Ohio. colorful & attractive. Cover sold. Still available for scholarly study & research as an enlarged (almost 2x original postcard area) 100-dpi scan in .jpg or .tif format. $1.50 fm

    Mostly clear SAINT PETERSBURG NOV 11 1932 machine cancel with AIR MAIL / SAVES TIME in the killer bars ties 2-c Washington & horizontal pair of 3-c Olympic runner stamps franking #6 envelope to Ohio, stars and stripes blue & red border all around, red-violet cachet commemorating Armistice Day, evenly browning paper, some cover glue show-through on back. Attractive. Cover sold. Still available for scholarly study & research as an enlarged (almost 2x original postcard area) 100-dpi scan in .jpg or .tif format. $1.50 fm

    Clear USS DICKERSON OCT 27 1934 hand cancel with NAVY DAY / N. N. Y. / VA in killer bars ties 1-1/2-c Harding stamp franking #6 cover to New York, large blue NAVY DAY cachet is well struck, envelope glue just starting to show through the front. long bend in the upper left front corner may iron out. $3.75 nvm

    Clear AUG 5 1944 JACKSON cancel at lower left front corner of #10 envelope sent free by Lt. J. Margolskee at ASFTC there, amusing large cachet art depicts a disgruntled soldier with mop & bucket (cancel overlaps the bottom), neatly opened, envelope glue show-through on the back, small creases at the bottom corners will probably iron well. $3.50 mm

    USAF, SAN MARCOS, TEXAS. V post card to Illinois, mailed 1945, receiving mark. $2.50

    Light but complete SEP 16 1954 USS ROCHESTER hand cancel ties 3-c Navy stamp franking #6 cover to Ohio; well struck fancy red cachet shows ship & Capitol dome & 'The Nation's Pride / United States Navy', neatly addressed, slight cover glue show through on back. $2.50 nm

Light AUG 20 (1963) USS OBSERVATION POINT (EAG 154) cancel ties 5-cent Carolina Charter stamp franking # cover to California, large cachet in dark gray over most of the back depicts the ship & reads in part 'Mailed Upon the Occasion of a / POLARIS MISSILE FIRING'. $2.00 nm

25 AUG 1966 Atlanta 2A "NAVAL AIR RESERVE/ 50^th ANNIVERSARY/ 1916 - 1966" lightly but legibly struck on postcard. $1.00 gm

15.3.71 AUSTRIAN COMMEMORATIVE CANCEL for the SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty) between the US & Russia, unaddressed #6 cover franked tied 30g Rathaus stamp. $1.25

Install this webpage as a Favorite now

    HAWKBILL (SSN666). Clear US Navy AUG 18 1972 17002 BR. cancel with 'REMEMBER OUR / POW-MIA SACRIFICE / FOR FREEDOM in killer bars on 11-c airmail postal stationery, unaddressed. A lot of eye appeal. $2.50 nmu(p)

    Clear 23 AUG 1972 machine cancel with REMEMBERING OUR / POW - MIA SACRIFICE / FOR FREEDOM slogan ties 11-c National Parks airmail stamp franking #6 cover to Ohio, large well-struck violet cachet for the Patrol Gunboat Hydrofoil TUCUMCARI (PGH-2), corner card of its Officer in Charge at FPO 09501. Sold but still available for scholarly study & research as an enlarged (about 771% of original print area) & enhanced 200-dpi scan in .jpg or .tif format. $2.00 n(t)m

FEB 19 1982 clear APEX STATION of ANCHORAGE 99510 handstamp with star in circle design ties 20-c Franklin D. Roosevelt stamp franking cacheted (large brown collage of Eskimo, bombs, crane, Army truck, flags, and state map) cover of the Anchorage Philatelic Society for their 30th show. With enclosure picturing World War II insignias for military forces in Alaska (11th Army Air Force, Alaska Defense Command) and explaining the cachet. Interesting & attractive. Autographed possibly by a club official. $2.50 am

    10 AP 95 CARDIFF PAQUEBOT cancel on 18-p & 3-p Gibraltar cannon stamps franking #6 cover from M.V. Cableman to Ohio, never sealed, Columbus spray marking over stamps (not affecting cancel) on receipt. 8" howitzer of 1783 & 25-pounder gun-how of 1943 are the stamp subjects. $3.00 wgm

Wanted to buy--mail franked only by the words "Soldiers Mail". Please offer us some, priced in US dollars or Euros! *c

MILITARY PHILATELIC LITERATURE

"WAR DATES 1911-1950" by Theo Van Dam, spiral bound, 80 pages plus errata sheet, organized by alphabetically by country--about 135 different countries & about 1,250 dates. Published 1993. Useful for detecting when your military covers are from historically important dates.  Pronounced curl of the pages at the top, but otherwise fresh. Getting hard to find. $12.50

"BEYOND WAR DATES 1911-1950" by Theo Van Dam, companion volume which expanded & corrected the previous work, spiral bound, 88 pages plus errata sheet, published 1994. Useful for detecting when your military covers are from historically important dates.   Pronounced curl of the pages at the top, thumbprint on one page, but otherwise fresh. Hard to find. $15.50

SPECIAL: Both of the above for $26.00 %

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The cancellation collector self-addressed postcards with images from all over the world and sent them under cover to the various postmasters to form this collection. He almost always used commemoratives, and those stamps which were rectangular were oriented vertically -- permitting the dial portion of the cancel to be easily read. He wrote vertically at the left edge of the message side so as to leave maximum room for cancels & auxiliary marks. Occasionally he would decorate the postcard with a seal, but not many got tied. While not all postmasters took special pains with their cancels, it is obvious that many did in response to the politeness of the request. (An example letter of request will be provided with the collection, in case you want to add to the collection yourself.) Almost always regular size postcards were used (avoiding the tendency of larger continentals to get bent). Our illustrations only show the stamp and cancel to conserve on bandwidth, but everything is on a full-size postcard mailed at the post office indicated. Some postcards got damaged in the mails, but most of them are quite presentable. Truly a labor of love that took hundreds of hours.

We list them all--starting with 83 items of special interest (reasons in parens), then the others. All population figures quoted in parens are from the 1950 census; we note those that are 100 or less throughout the listing.

PRICE: $290.00 postpaid & insured to any US address. To order this collection, please click here. Just tell us where you want delivery. We will check availability & quote promptly.

List of special Minnesota cancels:

Allen (smallest PO in Minnesota according to Postmaster's note--population 21)

Alma City Rural Station of Janesville (DPO)

Averill (DPO--population 46)

Ball Club Rural Station of Deer River (DPO--population 100)

Barnum (2 different on same card)

Beaulieu (DPO--population 100)

Belle Plaine (tied NWF butterfly seal)

Big Fork (DPO)

Blakeley (DPO--population 98)

Bongards (DPO)

Burtrum (2 different on same card)

Calhoun Station of Minneapolis (DPO)

Camden Station of Minneapolis (DPO)

Denham (before it became a rural branch of Duluth--population 96)

Douglas (DPO)

Elba (DPO)

Eldred (DPO--population 44)

Elmer (DPO)

Ericsburg (DPO)

Fairhaven (DPO)

Forest Center (DPO--population 100)

Gatzke (before it became a rural branch of Middle River --population 36)

Gemmell (DPO)

Genola Rural Station of Pierz (DPO--population 79)

Goodhue (with Postmaster's note about Bellechester)

Goodridge (2 different on same card)

Gowan (DPO)

Graceton (DPO--population 38)

Green Valley (DPO, 2 different on same card)

Hammond (before it became a rural branch of Rochester)

Henriette (DPO--population 57)

Hitterdal (with Postmaster's auxiliary mark)

Inver Grove (DPO)

Kabetogama (DPO--population 28)

Kimberly (DPO--population 35)

Kingsdale (DPO--population 72)

Lake Bronson (2 different on same card)

Lake Park (2 different on same card)

Lamoille (DPO--population 50)

Larsmont (DPO)

Lawler (DPO--population 75)

Leader (before it became a rural branch of Motley--population 20)

Lime Creek (DPO--population 54)

Little Marais (DPO, with Postmistress's autograph--population 50)

Lyle (2 different on same card)

Manitou (DPO--population 50)

Margie (tied 1956 Christmas seal--population 100)

Matawan (DPO--population 59)

Maynard (2 different on same card)

Menahga (DPO)

Mendota (DPO)

Minnetonka (with note about Oak Terrace)

Moose Lake (2 different on same card)

Nassau (2 different on same card)

Northcote (DPO--population 35)

Northrop (before it became a branch of Fairmont)

Prosit (DPO)

Quamba (before it became a rural branch of Brook Park--population 100)

Rapidan (DPO)

Redore (DPO)

Regal (DPO--population 64)

Richmond (2 different on same card)

Round Prairie (DPO--population 35)

Sandstone (2 different on same card)

Sauk Rapids (before it became a branch of St. Cloud)

Sawbill Landing (DPO--population 25)

Shooks (DPO--population 30)

Skime (DPO)

Smiths Mill (DPO)

Soderville (before it became a rural branch of Anoka)

Talmoon (before it became a rural branch of Deer River--population 25)

Trommald (DPO)

Twin Valley (2 different on same card)

Viola (DPO--population 80)

Waite Park (before it became a branch of St. Cloud)

Wales (DPO--population 35)

Walters (2 different on same card)

Ward Springs (DPO--population 45)

Wegdahl (DPO--population 51)

Westport (DPO--population 96)

Willmar (DPO)

Withrow (DPO)

Wood Lake (2 different on same card)

The other MINNESOTA postmarks in the collection:
(1950 populations of 100 or less noted in parens)

    "Tugs Breaking Ice for Steamer Ireland Going to Winter Quarters, Duluth, Minn." color post card mailed to Mankato Minnesota 1907 (nice flag cancel receiving mark DEC 21 1907 ties 1-c Franklin stamp), published V. O. Hammon (No. 644), tiny upper corner crease, all corners worn, small light stain along lower left front edge. The Steel Steamer Ireland was registered to the Gilchrist Transportation Company in Cleveland; the names Gilchrist & Ireland are plainly visible on the bow. Not easy to find--the best American ship postcard collection we ever saw did not have it. $9.00 m(d)s(l)s(g)-mf NEW / NOVA / BAGO

1911 Civic Celebration postcard with color view of Minnehaha Falls. advertising postcard franked by 1-c Franklin with Minneapolis MINN precancel (letters imperfectly formed), typed message in blue advertises "THE GREATEST PRESERVATIVE PAINT / EVER PRODUCED / ... / MAIRE PAINT CO.", corner crease, bottom back edge toned, corner wear & rounding. $10.00 m-a

    OCT 15 1923 Morris Minn. cancel on 2-c Harding (corner gone before mailing) franking #11 cover to Herman Minnesota, violet 'POSTAGE DUE ____ CENTS' filled in 2 by hand, bold black HERMAN, / MINN. in rectangle cancels 2-c postage due affixed, raster hole in corner card area, vertical crease & crinkling at short end away from stamps. $8.00 um

MAY 24 1927 violet double-ring Rochester General Delivery receiving mark (75% there) on postcard from Joplin Missouri (view is Memorial Hall there), franked by 2-c Washington from booklet, cancel ink on front, corner crease, another corner away from stamp multiply creased, as is. $2.00 m

NOV 4 1943 clear Rollingstone Minnesota hand cancel ties 1-c defense stamp to postcard announcing a meeting of the Bridgeton New Jersey Stamp Club. $1.00 m

"W0BDI" QSL card on brown paper, mailed at Minneapolis FEB 10 1948 by operator Bob Haskins, 2 corners creased. Clear & complete 'GIVE / RED CROSS / FUND' slogan cancel ties the stamp. $1.25 m

SEP 8 1949 clear Douglas Lodge handstamp (DPO) ties 1-c Washington franking postcard to Missouri, slight ink smear on back, small corner crease. Linen view is Itasca State Park. $3.75 m

"W0TKX" postcard mailed there SEP 18 1950 (clear 'Remember--Only you can / PREVENT / FOREST FIRES' slogan cancel) by operator R. W. 'Bob' Schoening, minor wear at one corner. $1.25 m-m

"Captain Young Brings the Mail to Penasse, Northernmost U. S. Post Office" showing the skipper of the mailboat Resolute with mail bags standing near Postmistress Mrs. Fran Cole, home-made (and, hence, unique) post card fashioned skillfully from a clipping in black & white, mailed at Penasse Dec 17 1960 (clear postmark). The post office there was discontinued in 1969. $10.00 m(p)pg-m

June 1968 American Philatelist: Pitcairn Islands--Source Notes on Designs; Indian Uprisings in Minnesota--A Letter from Winnebago; US Freaks 'n' Oddities--Rotary Press 'Double Papers'; & much more. $3.75 the complete journal. ampu

Wanted to buy--interesting postal history items from Duluth. Please offer us some, priced in US dollars or Euros! *c

Wanted to buy--covers mailed from Farris and / or Graceland. Please offer us some, priced in US dollars or Euros! *c

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