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Smithsonian sunburst Smithsonian National Postal Museum
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  • Bull's eye cancellation handstamp
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Bull's eye cancellation handstamp

Object Details

Description
Concentric-ring, wood cancellers such as this were fashioned between the 1870s and 1930s. Most were made by the Chambers shop at Lodge, Virginia. However, there is no manufacturer identification on this handstamp, so it is not possible to link it to a specific source or year of production.
Sometimes after the rings wore down, postal clerks or postmasters who were gifted at carving converted the handstamp to a 'fancy' canceller. 'Fancy' means that a design or lettering was created instead of the concentric rings.
'Bull's eye' handstamps saw a long period of use at very small offices, where deposited and received mail volumes were often low. A single postmark could be used for both out-bound and received mail. For the dispatched mail, the postmaster used the canceller to obliterate postage stamps after postmarking the mail piece. Although this created double-work, the incremental time impact was small, and it avoided the cost to the postmaster of a separate 'received' postmarker.
Data Source
National Postal Museum
Date
1870-1940
Object number
1987.0905.14
Type
Mail Processing Equipment
Medium
wood; metal
Dimensions
Height x Width x Depth: 4 3/4 x 1 1/4 x 1 1/4 in. (12.07 x 3.18 x 3.18 cm)
Place
United States of America
See more items in
National Postal Museum Collection
On View
Currently on exhibit at the National Postal Museum
Topic
Civil War and Reconstruction (1860-1877)
Mail Processing
Record ID
npm_1987.0905.14
Usage
CC0
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/hm8b59c6fd1-6778-4478-ba98-27e7df0c45e0
This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Open Access page.
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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HomeSmithsonian National Postal Museum

Visit »

Open daily 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Admission is always free!

2 Massachusetts Ave., N.E.
Washington, DC 20002

The museum's main entrance is located on the corner of First Street and Massachusetts Avenue NE. Other entrances have variable hours.

street map of Postal museum

Learn more
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Owney, the Railway Mail Service Mascot

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