The earliest reference to an organized effort to study and catalog United States (US) postal markings that I have been able to find is 1912. In that year, the International Postmark Society (IPS) was formed. A. H. Pike edited the house organ until his death. The society was primarily focused on ordinary modern postmarks, although some members collected earlier and rare postmarks.
The Stampless Cover Unit (SCU) of the American Philatelic Society (APS) began publishing a house organ in August 1927. This, and subsequent bulletins, were edited by Frederick S. Eaton under the title Stampless Covers.
In October 1930, Harold Palmer Piser, Chairman of the Organization Committee, began as editor and publisher of Postal Markings, the official organ of the newly created International Postal Marking Society (IPMS). The IPMS apparently was a reorganization of the IPS after the death of Pike.
In April 1931, the SCU merged with the IPMS, which was soon to become the official house organ for the Precancel Stamp Society (PSS). These events helped Postal Markings claim that it reached “more collectors of covers, cancellations and postmarks than any other periodical” in 1932.
Under the direction of Piser, 22 issues were published with articles by Delf Norona, Eaton, Harry M. Konwiser, L. K. Robbins, Stephen G. Rich and others. The publication had grown in stature and was read by enough collectors such that Scott Stamp & Coin Co. took out a front cover advertisement in whole number 19 in June, 1932. This was the first and only front cover advertisement ever accepted by the publication. It stated:
“The work of listing the postal markings of the world in [sic] an ambitious program. The accomplishment of this project will fill a long felt and much needed demand. It can only be achieved by the combined efforts of everyone who has this interest at heart. We wish the International Postal Marking Society every success in their undertaking. In the meantime we are ready to help. We offer either to BUY or SELL STAMPS OR COVERS BEARING POSTAL MARKINGS OF INTEREST OR VALUE.”
A New Editor
Sometime between whole number 22 (November-December 1932) and whole number 23 (May 29, 1933), “demands on Mr. Piser’s time [made] it impossible for him to continue his activity in publishing.” The new publisher was Rich and the new editor was Konwiser. The publication was now to focus on 19th century markings mainly from the US. This duo continued for almost two years, up until the time Konwiser began to advertise a catalog for sale.
By about this same time, several more events had occurred which confirmed the rapidly increasing interest in covers and postal markings. August Dietz had published his Confederate monograph (The Postal Service of the Confederate States of America). The PSS had published the Official Precancel Stamp Catalog. Dietz had also begun publishing Stamp and Cover Collecting to succeed The New Southern Philatelist, which he had published for nine years. Norona had edited and published the first volume of the Cyclopedia of United States Postmarks & Postal History. And, Stamps Magazine added a weekly column titled “Postal Markings,” which was to be written for over twenty years by Konwiser.
The Konwiser Catalogs
The catalog Konwiser advertised in Postal Markings was copyrighted in 1935 and published by Milton R. Miller as the 1936 Edition of the United States Stampless Cover Catalogue (USSCC). David G. Phillips acknowledged that “it is from this work that the present ‘American Stampless Cover Catalog’ has grown.” (Preface to Volume III of the American Stampless Cover Catalog published in 1993.)
Editor Konwiser began the Introduction by stating “This is the initial effort to produce a catalogue for the collectors of Stampless Covers and it was not the intent or desire of the compilers to allot a line to each and every post office, for each year, but rather to present a cross-section of covers from many States seeking to emphasize the known varieties to develop diversification for collectors.”
The catalog was 200 pages long and listed data by state. Some states had a compiler, while approximately 175 collaborators were shown in the introduction. There were only a few illustrations, mostly comprised of full pages showing approximately fifty markings per page from many different states. Unfortunately, there was no index to the illustrations, so they were very difficult to use. Catalog prices began at $0.10, with most items priced below $1.00. The highest priced items were from San Francisco priced at $40.00.
The next two editions were published by Rich as the 1938 and 1942-43 editions. Konwiser used far fewer illustrations in these catalogs, but this time the illustration was shown with the catalog listing. The two-column format began in the 1938 edition. This allowed it to contain almost 50 fewer pages than the 1936 edition, even though several pages of advertising were included in 1938 and the listings were greatly enhanced. The Third Edition (1942-43) grew in size as inland ship markings, American waterways markings, railroad markings and Confederate markings were added. The listing of collaborators also returned. The list now contained almost 300 names.
The Fourth Edition (1947) was published by a third company, the Severn-Wylie-Jewett Company. This edition continued to grow in size and added new sections on independent mail route markings and free mail. The collaborator list was moved to a more prominent position in this catalog (and subsequent catalogs), directly following the contents page.
The last edition edited by Konwiser was the 1952 (Fifth) Edition. Even though a new section (British North America markings) and data were added, this edition shrunk in size due to smaller print. This edition also had a new publisher, Van Dahl Publications, Inc. Furthermore, the fifth edition was the first which did not contain any advertisements or a list of “Collectors and Dealers Interested in Stampless Covers.” The minimum catalog price in this edition appears to be $0.25, with covers priced up to $100.00.
The Sampson Catalogs
A new editor also brought a new name to the catalog, the American Stampless Cover Catalog (ASCC) edited by E. N. Sampson, published in 1965. It was the combination of three former separate catalogs: the USSCC (above), the American Colonial Postmark Catalog and the United States Territorial Postmark Catalog – Stampless Cover Section. The last two were edited and published by Sampson. The combination of these three catalogs closely approximates the scope of the current editions of the ASCC.
The format of the catalog was changed to include three sections, which was maintained for both editions Sampson edited. Section 1 contained General Information. Section 2 included the “listing of town postmarks by states (including colonies, territories and possessions).” The third section was expanded to contain “other types of markings on US stampless covers.”
For the first time, I believe, the catalog became commercially available in a hard bound edition, with a dust jacket. Sampson also initiated the practice of placing postmark and rating mark illustrations on the end papers.
Catalog prices were generally $1.00 and up, while a very few covers were priced at $0.50. Sampson commented on pricing in the introduction. “Values of stampless covers change constantly due to factors such as available supply, varying degrees of collector interest in certain types and general inflationary trends. The individual prices in this Catalog are subject to change but we believe they will be a good guide to collectors for many years, particularly in relation to each other. Higher priced covers will always be hard to obtain, except for an occasional find of many covers bearing a postmark hitherto considered scarce.” That statement is as true today as it was in 1965.
W. W. Wylie, the editor of the Western Stamp Collector, wrote a review of the catalog titled “The Postal Historian’s Vade Mecum” (literally translated as “to go with me,” implying constant companion). It was printed on the dust jacket and began, “To the student of this country’s postal history the American Stampless Cover Catalog is a veritable bible – a reference book he will use constantly, finding in its pages a wealth of information as well as inspiration.”
Sampson produced his second catalog six years later in 1971. The format and content were identical to his first edition with the addition of a “Way Mail Markings” section in Section 3. As before, the list of collaborators was short and most sections were shown as being edited by one or more persons.
The Phillips Years
David G. Phillips purchased the catalog in late 1976 from Stamp Collector, formerly Van Dahl Publications, Inc. Phillips wasted no time as he published his first of six catalogs a little more than a year later in 1978. The Third Edition of the ASCC was edited by Benjamin Wishnietsky with Hubert C. Skinner as co-editor and Gordon L. Hudson as editorial assistant. The catalog was dedicated to Sampson, who was also listed as editor emeritus.
Although similar in format to earlier editions, this edition included several innovations, some very subtle, most of which have been carried forward in later editions. Many more illustrations were added, with some states doubling in quantity. There appears to have been a significant increase in cooperation, as the list of contributors for this edition alone contained around 125 individual names and societies. As with the previous edition, most states listed one or more individuals as editors.
I believe this was the first time that a Limited Deluxe Edition was offered. It consisted of 300 numbered copies in a special binding with a matching slip cover. Neither version contained a dust jacket. The regular version used postmark and rating mark illustrations on the front and rear covers.
In 1980, Phillips published the first edition of the Confederate States of America Stampless Cover Catalog (CSASCC). It was edited by Wishnietsky with Hudson as the editorial assistant again. As noted by Wishnietsky in the preface, “This catalog is a listing by states of all types of postal markings found on stampless covers of the Confederate States of America, including handstamped, manuscript, and due markings. It is a greatly expanded listing of such markings contained in the ‘American Stampless Cover Catalog’ and presents much information not previously available from any single source of reference.” Although much more comprehensive than the CSA section in earlier catalogs, it was still a slender paper bound volume with 94 pages. The most current Dietz catalog of CSA markings and stamps available at the time of this publication had been copyrighted in 1959, more than twenty years earlier.
Phillips was both editor in chief and publisher for the remaining four volumes he would publish. The biggest change in the history of the catalog took place when he became editor in chief as he split it into three volumes. Volume I contained all of the state markings, formerly section 2. The second volume included all of section 3 except for CSA markings and volume III contained CSA and colonial markings, as well as additional material.
The first of the split catalogs to be published was Volume I, the Fourth Edition, published in 1985. Joining Phillips on the editorial staff were senior editor James S. Leonardo, associate editors Hubert C. Skinner and Wishnietsky, assistant editors Kenneth L. Gilman and Kristi Johnson and editorial coordinator Thressa G. Terry. This edition listed general contributors and those providing assistance (almost 100 individuals and societies) as well as state editorial contributors and assistants. Improvements continued with this edition, most notably the listing of manuscript town postmarks by date, with many priced. This edition had many more illustrations and contained a large number of catalog additions. It was almost 400 pages in length. Prices ranged from around $2 to thousands for the rarer and most desirable covers.
Just two years later in 1987, Phillips published Volume II. It was also considered the Fourth Edition and it is the current edition, as are the next two volumes. Leonardo and Skinner served as senior editors; Gilman and Wishnietsky were associate editors; and, Helen S. Krasne and Terry were editorial coordinators. This volume was a significant update of the last section 3 as published in 1978 and it contained several new sections. It grew from less than fifty pages to almost 300 pages. In the preface, Phillips attributed the success to “the splendid response received to our calls for help from the editors and contributors named elsewhere in these pages.”
Volume III of the ASCC was also published as the Fourth Edition in 1993. The senior editors were Leonardo, Wishnietsky and Skinner with Gilman as assistant editor. However, the catalog contained a lengthy section on stampless telegraph covers written by Robert Dalton Harris. The Confederate section was shown as the second edition of the CSASCC and listed Wishnietsky as the editor with Gilman as the assistant editor. The remaining sections (Colonial Period Markings, The Mexican War and Auxiliary Markings) did not list additional editors. Volume III contained 336 pages, making the three volumes over one thousand pages. The catalog has come a long way from its humble beginnings in 1936.
The last edition published was an update to Volume I as the Fifth Edition in 1997. The senior editors were Gilman and Leonardo with Skinner as the associate editor. This edition contained several major enhancements “and almost 100 pages of new listings,” as Phillips wrote in the preface.
Summary
The ASCC is certainly a unique catalog in many respects. Although it only attempts to catalog postal markings used on US stampless covers and not worldwide covers as first anticipated by the IPMS, it is still a very ambitious project. In nearly seventy years and thirteen volumes, hundreds of volunteers have donated their time and effort for the sole purpose of advancing knowledge. Phillips said it best in the acknowledgements in his final publication: “Over the years, no other American postal history work has received a higher degree of cooperation from individual collectors, dealers and societies, than this one has. The Editors offer their gratitude and appreciation to all who have contributed information, listings, illustrations, pricing advice, constructive criticism and editorial assistance – it is only as a result of this freely shared knowledge, pooled for the benefit of all, that a catalog of this sort can be complied.”
The US Philatelic Classics Society recently purchased all rights to the ASCC. This purchase was made possible by the generous donations of many members. It will require the help and support of many more members and non-members to carry on the catalog’s fine tradition.
