The Fullerton List; Railroad 55, The International & Great Northern Railroad

This post is part of a continuing series on Richard Fullerton's 1952 Catalog of Railroad Company, Street Railway & Express Company Printed Cancellations on the 1898 U. S. Revenues.

Examples of the cancels, when available, are posted.

RR055:  The International & Great Northern Railroad
 
The I&GNRR was featured on this site in a post on February 27 of this year. I've learned a little more about this railroad since that time, for while I reported than that the I&GNRR was bought out by the MOPAC in the 1950s and merged with the MOPAC, the two lines have always been run as if they were the same company.  Indeed, the I&GNRR and the MOPAC were the cornerstone of Jay Gould's and the Gould family's railroad empire.  Gould was active in railroads in the southwest from St. Louis to Texas, including other major lines like the Cotton Belt, which also issued printed cancels on the 1898 battleships. 

From the historical information as the back of the Fullerton Catalog:  A consolidation on February 19, 1872 of the Houston & Great Northern and the International RR, both Texas lines.  The I&GNRY was incorporated in Texas August 10, 1911, as successor to the I&GNRR due to foreclosure.  The line was purchased in 1924 by the Texas & Mexico Railway  but is now solely owned and operated by the MOPAC (RR075).

The Texas & Mexico and the MOPAC were Gould lines.
 
Handstamp cancels:  Fullerton lists three types of cancels in the I&GNRR section, including the catalog's only handstamp cancel.  In keeping with site policy regarding handstamps and the battleship proprietary series, I will omit this entry in my listing here.  Apparently there is an I&GNRR handstamp that looks somewhat like the type 1 printed cancel, and on this basis Mr. Fullerton probably felt obliged to include the cancel.  The cancel is Type HS-1, is a bold and large set of I&GNRR initials 21mm long.  This is not a printed cancel.
 
There are two major types of printed cancel, on three different denominations of battleship stamps and on R154, the green Franklin IR overprinted stamp.
 
Type 1:  One line of serifed caps 2.5mm high and 20.75mm long without punctuation.  Undated.
 
1ct Pale Blue              a.   Normal     (1)  Roulette
                                                        (2)  HH
                                 av.  Invert        (2)  HH
 
2ct Carmine Rose       a.  Normal      (1)  Roulette
                                                        (2)  HH
 
5ct Lilac                     a.  Normal      (1)  HH

Unlisted by Fullerton:

10ct  Dark Brown      a.  Normal      (1)  roulette 
 

Type 1, 1ct a.(1)

roulette

Ron Lesher scan

 

Type 1 1ct a.(2)

Hyphen hole

Type 1 1ct a.(2)

Hyphen hole Block of 4

Frank Sente scan

There appear to be numerous remainders of the I&GNRR 1 cent stamps, as this block can be added to a block of 100 recently sold in one of Eric Jackson's self-run auctions.

Type 2, 2ct  a.(1)

2ct roulette w/HS bullseye

Type 2, 2ct a.(2)

hyphen hole

Ron Lesher scan

Type 1, 5ct  a.(2)

5 cent hyphen hole

 

10ct roulette Type 1 - unlisted by Fullerton

Ron Lesher scan

Type 2:  One line of serifed caps 2mm high and 17.5mm long without punctuation.  Undated.
 
1ct Green - Perf 12, 1895 Regular Postage Issue overprinted "I.R." in 1898.
                    a.  Normal
 

Type 2  a.

Frank Sente scan

The I&GNRR is the only railroad known to have used a printed cancel on this stamp. 

 

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Example of IGNRR Handstamp

Ron Lesher scan

 

I&GNRR check with rouletted 2ct printed cancel