This post is part of a continuing series documenting the Henry Tolman collection of 1898 proprietary printed cancels.
The "A&S" printed cancels in the Joyce/Chapell list are credited to the firm Allen & Sharp Co. Henry Tolman was unsure that the A&S stood for Allen & Sharp, and handwrote a note on his album page that the firm might be "Abraham & Straus". With the help of Google and Wikipedia, it was easy to establish that Mr. Tolman was correct, especially because he included a Joyce unlisted variety with a "MACY" handstamp.
A short history of A&S tells us this: Abraham & Straus, commonly shortened to A&S, was a major New York City department store. The store was founded in 1865 in Brooklyn, New York, as Wechsler & Abraham by Joseph Wechsler and Abraham Abraham. In 1893, the Straus family (including Isidor Straus and Nathan Straus), who acquired a general partnership with Macy's department stores in 1888, bought out Joseph Wechsler's interest in Wechsler & Abraham and changed the store's name to Abraham & Straus.
We know that Abraham & Straus department store was affiliated with Macy's. Our Rosetta Stone is the bottom and unlisted stamp that Tolman included in his collection.
Collectors of proprietary printed cancels that use the Joyce list as their primary reference should change the identity of the A&S cancels from Allen & Sharp to Abraham & Straus.
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