Fancy Cancel
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A fancy cancel is a postal cancellation that includes an
artistic Art is a diverse range of culture, cultural activity centered around works of art, ''works'' utilizing Creativity, creative or imagination, imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an express ...
design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...
. Although the term may be used of modern
machine cancellation {{Globalize, article, USA, 2name=the United States, date=November 2016 A machine postmark or machine cancellation is a postmark or Cancellation (mail), cancellation on mail that is applied by a mechanical device rather than with the use of a hand ...
s that include artwork, it primarily refers to the designs carved in
cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
and used in 19th century
post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
s of the
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. When
postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...
s were introduced in the US in 1847,
postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...
s were required to deface them to prevent
reuse Reuse is the action or practice of using an item, whether for its original purpose (conventional reuse) or to fulfill a different function (creative reuse or repurposing). It should be distinguished from recycling, which is the breaking down of ...
, but it was left up to them to decide exactly how to do this, and not infrequently clerks would use whatever was at hand, including pens and "PAID" handstamps left over from the pre-stamp era. A number of offices began to use cork bottle stoppers dipped in ink. These worked well, but would tend to blot out the entire stamp making it difficult to check the denomination, and so clerks began to carve a groove across the middle of the cork, making two semicircles. Further enhancements included two grooves cut crosswise (the four-piece "country pie"), and then two more, for the eight-segment "city pie", and notches cut out of the outer edge to lighten the cancel further. The carving process seems to have sparked the creativity of clerks across the country, and soon thousands of designs appeared, ranging from shields to skulls to stars, geometrical shapes, animals, plants, and devils with pitchforks. Among the most common fancy cancel designs are ''stars'' and ''crosses'' of varying designs. The
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post office was the master of the practice, and turned out new cancels for every holiday and special occasion. Their "Waterbury Running Chicken" cancel, perhaps a
turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
since it appeared close to
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of 1869, was in use for only a few days and is now the most prized of all 19th century cancels, with
cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of c ...
s fetching very high prices. The era of fancy cancels came to an end in the 1890s, when the
Post Office Department The United States Post Office Department (USPOD; also known as the Post Office or U.S. Mail) was the predecessor of the United States Postal Service, established in 1792. From 1872 to 1971, it was officially in the form of a Cabinet departme ...
issued new regulations standardizing the form of cancellations. The fancy cancels have since been studied and categorized by specialists. Many types are quite common, and command only a small premium, while others are rare. Not all have been discovered yet; previously unknown cancels continue to surface regularly. Fancy cancels exist for many other countries besides the US. Outside the US they are normally termed cork cancellations. Canadian cork cancellations are famous for their fancy designs. D.M. Lacelle, ''Fancy cancels on Canadian stamps 1855 to 1950'' (British North America Philatelic Society Ltd., Ottawa 2007) Cork cancellations can be found on stamps issued by British Colonies including the Cape of Good Hope.


References

{{Reflist


Sources

* Herst and Sampson, ''19th Century Fancy Cancels'' (1963, 1972) * James Cole, ''Cancellations of the Banknote Era 1870-1894'' * Skinner and Eno, ''United States Cancellations 1845-1869'' Philatelic terminology Postal markings Philately of the United States