W301 cut square fancy cance., Winchester Indiana, CDS, bottle stopper cancel

Item Specifics

Country

United States

Catalog Number

W301

Stamp Type

Back of Book (Other) - Wrapper

Condition

Used

Stamp Format

Single

Topic

People - Inventors

Year of Issue

1890

Item Description

46x51mm. This cut square is Scott W301, blue indicium on horizontal laid manila wrapper paper. The United Postal Stationery Society (UPSS) identifies this as Die 83. This cut square does not include any identifiable part of a watermark. The 1892 cancel is one of several from Winchester, Indiana. Winchester is the seat of Randolph County where this and thousands of other cut squares were collected (see below). The obliterator, probably a rubber bottle stopper, is approximately ~16mm in diameter.

Only a few dozen of the cut squares collected at Union City are large enough to include the addressee’s business name. Several of these were addressed to a supply company and the handwritten “…ply Co” on this cut square identifies it as one of that group. The Knapp Supply Company was the only supply company identified in the 1890 Sanborn™ fire insurance map set for Union City. The company had been dealers in plumbing, steam and gas fitting supplies since 1874, shortly before the large Trenton natural gas field was discovered and developed. The subsequent industrialization of the region probably kept the Knapp company very busy for many years and would have generated a lot of mail. The company was relocated to Muncie, Indiana, in the 1920s and is still in business.

This item has never been mounted in a collection. It was among 11-12,000 cut squares collected from Union City, Indiana, businesses. Although a few cut squares may have been collected across the state line in Union City, Ohio, I have found no evidence of that. Most of the readable postmarks are from 1891 to 1893, with the majority from 1892. However, there were also postmarks from the 1880s. I haven’t counted them separately, but believe there are several hundred 1c blue Franklin cut squares.

Although mail was coming to Union City from all over the country, much of it seemed to be from small cities and towns in Indiana and Ohio and to a lesser degree from smaller communities in other nearby states. In other words, most of the fancy and geometric cancels probably originated within 200 miles of Union City. A significant amount of mail originated in Winchester, which was only 9 miles west of Union City on the C. C. C. & St. L. (Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis) Railroad.

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Seller Information

Seller

keesindy (4624)

Registered Since

04/11/2016

Feedback

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Store

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Item Location

Indiana, United States

Ships To

United States

Shipping Instructions

About 2½ years ago, I stopped selling and shipping outside the US due to the changing regulatory environment and rapidly rising costs. The USPS is raising domestic postal rates again in January 2019. Today, December 25, 2018, due to the continuing rise in the various costs directly associated with shipping, I am reluctantly raising my general domestic shipping fee for only the second time since I began selling at StampWant/BidStart/HipStamp in 2006. My fee is rising from $1.80 to $2.10 and I hope to maintain that level for many years to come. My long-standing policy of not charging for additional purchases in a single order here at HipStamp will be maintained. Shipping is via USPS unless otherwise specified. Insurance is required on orders exceeding $50. Insurance, Registered Mail shipments and other shipping costs are extra at the buyer's expense plus $2.00 processing fee. Be sure to contact me before making your purchases if you have questions.

Returns Accepted

Yes

Returns Policy

All items may be returned unless otherwise stated in the listing. Of course, I cannot be responsible if uninsured items are damaged during shipping. If you are dissatisfied with a purchase, contact me within 7 days of your receipt of the item to make arrangements for returning it. If I have made an error in my listing or the item is not as described, you will receive a full reimbursement plus the pre-agreed-upon cost to return the item.