A Collector's Guide to the 1898 Documentary Printed Precancels: The Gould's St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway

The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern (StLIM&SRY), a part of the Missouri Pacific system, produced a limited number of collectible precancels.  There are essentially only two, with the same arched cancel applied to the rouletted and hyphen-holed stamps as the railroad produced and used precancels throughout the 1898 tax period.

A philatelist who gets a bit more into the weeds might discrimate between cancel colors, as ink of these cancels can be red, and quite often, orange red.  Below the rouletted stamp is orange red, the hyphen-hole, red.  Both rouletted and hyphen-holed stamps may be found in both colors.

St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway printed precancel on the one cent roulette battleship

St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway printed precancel on the one cent hyphen-hole battleship

The Gould's Missouri Pacific Railway: Printed Precancel Uses

MOPAC precancelled stamps may be found, and collected, for the uses and the location of their use.  While most off-document used copies of MOPAC precancelled stamps provide minimal additional information beyond the stamp and printed cancel, many stamps may be found with handstamps that identify the date and the location of use.

Handstamp showing date of use with generic "Mo. Pac. Ry. Co." cancel

Mo.Pac.Ry.Co.

AUG

10

1900

Map of the Missouri Pacific Railway Company, which includes the MOPAC and the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern, but also the major affiliated Gould controlled railroads, including the I&GNRR, and the Cotton Belt.  The MOPAC consisted mostly of the lines that ran west from St. Louis on this map, and the cancels below were made at stations and depots on those western MOPAC lines.

THE MO.PAC.RY.

AUG

29

1898

NEW HAVEN, MO.

THE MO.PAC.RY.

SEP

10

1898

TIPTON, MO.

THE MO.PAC.RY.

JUL

1

1899

WEBB CITY, MO.

THE MO.PAC.RY.CO.

MAY

24

1901

WORLAND, MO.

? E. E. MA??

JAN

2

1901

HOWE, NEB.

THE MO.PAC.RY.

SEP

2

1898

GAWKER, KANS.

THE MO.PAC.RY.

AUG

17

1898

MOUND RIDGE, KANS.

THE MO.PAC.RY.CO.

FEB

1

1899

NEWTON, (D) KAN.

THE MO.PAC.RY.CO.

AUG

28

1899

OSBORNE, KANS.

FREIGHT OFFICE

OCT 22 1900

Missouri Pacific Ry. Co.

WICHITA, KANSAS.

Department of the Army Bill of Lading for 211 pounds of ordnance to be carried from Omaha to Fort Crook, Nebraska

Stamp from the above document with generic "Mo. Pac. Ry. Co." handstamp.

MOPAC check with precancelled two cent stamp. 

A Collector's Guide to 1898 Documentary Printed Precancels: the Gould's Missouri Pacific Railway

There are two collectible types of MOPAC precancels, including the most common with lettering 2mms high, and a second very rare type with approximately 1.8mm high letters.  For the first, more common type, one cent and two cent battleship stamps both roulette and hyphen-hole may be found.  For the second type, only a hyphen-hole one cent battleship example is known.

Significant press varieties exist of the type one on the one cent battleship.

Type 1: One cent roulette

Type 1: One cent hyphen-hole

Type 1: One cent roulette horizontal split cancel

Type 1: One cent hyphen-hole inverted cancel

Type 1: Two cent roulette

Type 1: Two cent hyphen-hole

Type 2: One cent hyphen-hole

A Collector's Guide to 1898 Documentary Printed Precancels: The Gould Railroads

A group of seven plus one railroads using printed precancels can be classified as "Gould Railroads", or railroads that were taken over by Jay Gould prior to his death in 1892, and subsequently controlled by his sons, in particular George Gould, through and beyond the 1898 tax period.    Those railroads include:

• MOPAC System: The Missouri Pacific Railway (The Mo. Pac. Ry. Co.)
• MOPAC System: St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway (ST. L. I. M. & S. RY)
• The Kansas City Northwestern Railroad (The K. C. N. W. R. R.)
• Cotton Belt Route: St. Louis, Southwestern Railway (ST. L. S. W. RY. CO.)
• Cotton Belt Route: St. Louis, Southwestern Railway of Texas (ST. L. S. W. RY. CO. OF TEX.)
• Cotton Belt Route: Tyler Southeastern Railway (T. S. E. RY. CO.)
• International & Great Northern Railroad (I & G N R R)
• + an oddly affiliated railroad that was not Gould controlled: The Memphis Route: The Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis Railroad 

Below are examples of the eight collectible Gould or Gould associated railroads that printed and used precancels.  At the end is an example of a potential discovery to be made, a major Gould railroad that was integrated into the larger Gould operations but for which to date, no precancels are yet known.

Following this post, in the coming days, will be an exploration of the cancels and collectible types of each of these railroads.

The Missouri Pacific Railway Sytem

    The Missouri Pacific Railway

The Missouri Pacific was the Gould's flagship railroad, and a railroad that remained independent until the late 20th century.  By the time the railroad was absorbed into the Union Pacific, it actually had more locomotives and track miles than the UP itself.  The MOPAC printed precancels on the one and two cent battleships.  Like all the Gould railroads, there was Gould presence in the railroad's senior managment.

MOPAC printed precancel

Poor's Manual of Railroads, 1899:

George Gould was the President of The MOPAC, while Edwin and Howard Gould were on its Board of Directors.  

    St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway

The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern was an integrated railroad of the MOPAC system, and participated in using printed precancels.  Their precancels are only known on the one cent battleship stamp.

StLIM&SRY printed precancel

from Poor's Manual of Railroads, 1901:

George Gould was the President of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern, Frank Jay Gould its first VP, and Harold Gould was on its Board of Directors.

The Kansas City Northwestern Railroad

The KCNWRR was a small railroad of of ultimately 160 miles that went from Kansas City to Beatrice, Nebraska.  It never did enough business and ceased operations by 1919.  But early financial difficulties, and its location in the backyard of Gould railroad interests made it a takeover target by the Goulds.  KCNWRR cancels are rare.

The KCNWRR printed precancel

from Poor's Manual of Railroads, 1899:

George Gould was the President of the KC Northwestern, while Howard Gould was on the Board of Directors.

St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company (The Cotton Belt Route)

The Cotton Belt Route functioned as a single railroad, but had three differently named components during the 1898 tax period, including the St. Louis Southwestern, the St. Louis Southwestern of Texas (Texas law did not allow "foreign corporations"), the the Tyler Southeastern.  All three railroads were controlled by Gould interests during the 1898 tax period.

from Poor's Manual of Railroads, 1899:

The Cotton Belt Routes' main components: the St. Louis Southwestern, the St. Louis Southwestern of Texas, dn the Tyler Southeastern Railway.

from Poor's Manual of Railroads, 1899:

Edwin Gould was the President of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company.  J. A. Edson, the General Superintendant, was based in Tyler, Texas.

    St. Louis Southwestern Railway

STLSWRY printed precancel

    St. Louis Southwest Railway Company of Texas

STLSWRYCOofTEX printed precancel

    Tyler Southeastern Railway

TSERY printed precancel

International & Great Northern Railroad

The International & Great Northern was "international" as it terminated at the Texas-Mexico border at Laredo and connected with a major Mexican railroad.  The I&GNRR was a most prolific railroad when it came to printing precancels as their precancels are known on the 1, 2, 5, and 10 cent battleships, and on Scott R155, the IR overprinted green Franklin postage stamp.  

I&GNRR printed precancel

from Poor's Manual of Railroads, 1899:

George Gould was President, Frank Gould was second VP, and Howard and Edwin Gould were on the Board of Directors of the I&GNRR.

Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis Railway, "Memphis Route"

Because few railroad systems printed and used precancels, I feel compelled to try to explain why some outliers, like the Memphis Route, might have done so.  The Memphis Route was not technically a Gould railroad.  However, major aspects of their operations were conducted in areas proximate to Gould interests, so the Goulds would have had an interest in the railroad.  There were also documented connections between the Goulds and senior members of the Memphis Route's Board of Directors.  

Memphis Route printed precancel.  The Memphis route also printed cancels on the two cent battleship.

from Poor's Manual of Railroads 1899

Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis Railroad Board of Directors.  There are no Goulds.  A Nathaniel Thayer is on the Board.

The December 22, 1901 edition of the New York Times reported what was a false story, claiming that the Memphis Route had been taken over by the Goulds.  The Frisco never lost control of the railroad despited this story.  But while this story is false, there are clear associations between the Goulds and this railroad.

A Discovery Possibility: The Texas & Pacific Railway

There are multiple possibilities for cancel discoveries with the Gould railroads, as the Goulds owned many lines like the Kansas City Northwestern with cancels that are quite rare, such that some may have printed precancels but that to date have shown no evidence of having done so.  As in the case of the Tyler Southeast, it is very possible that some of the roads may have printed cancels, but may have been so small and rurally located that their bills of lading and stamps were not preserved and lost to philately.

Rather than present a list of discovery possibilities, here is a single possibility with evidence that the railroad was a part of the larger Gould empire and which may have printed precancels.

from Poor's Manual of Railroads, 1899:

Texas & Pacific Board of Directors and Senior Management that includes George Gould as President, Frank J. Gould as second VP, and Howard Gould as a member of the Board

Below, an International & Great Northern precancancelled one cent battleship stamp with a Texas & Pacific handstamp cancel.

THE T. & P. RY. CO.

FEB

1

1901

Creating a 21st Century Collectors Guide to 1898 Documentary Printed Precancels: Charles Metz in Chambers Stamp Journal in 1951

As mentioned in previous posts, the philatelist Charles Metz was compiling a list of 1898 documentary precancels concurrently to Richard Fullerton, to the point where he published an article in the Chambers Stamp Journal in November, 1951 with a list and narrative material.  Metz's article did not provide the kind of articulation that Fullerton's list provides or images of the cancels.  But it is clear that there was more than one effort to compile an inventory of this material in the mid-20th century.  

Oddly, Metz is mentioned in Fullerton's acknowledgements but only at the very end, as if he was minor player in the work to document these cancels.  And while it may have been that he only played a minor role in Fullerton's work, it was clear that his work meant something to the community of revenue collectors.  

Metz's work in Chambers Stamp Journal was reprinted at least twice in The American Revenuer, as early as 1948, years before Fullerton had anything published on this subject.  Metz did not discriminate by perforation type, unlike Fullerton, and he limited his compilation only to steam railroads, omitting express companies and street railways.

In the article below, Metz provides background to some of the cancels, initially by introducing us to Mr. D. S. Turney, who had a substantial collection of bills of lading with railroad printed precancels, and was in possession of what is now known to be one of the rarest of the 1898 railroad precancels, that of the Chicago, Fort Madison & Des Moines Railroad.  

Turney's story of the Chicago, Fort Madison & Des Moines cancel:

"I have corresponded quite a bit with several of the better known collectors of these issues, such as Chappell, Harold Field, Don Lighton, etc., regarding these issues, and have one item which I have never seen listed, nor have any of the above men heard of it.  This is the printed precancel on the blue documentary battleship of the CFM&DMMRR.  The copy I have is on an original bill of lading of the CB&QRR used in January 1901.  Since this is right in my own backyard, a little investigation locally, plus the kindness of the CB&QRR in Chicago brought out the interesting facts that this was a short line that in its prime extended from Fort Madison, Iowa, northwestward to a junction with the CB&QRR near Batavia, Iowa (12 miles west of my home). 

"The short line was originally three foot gauge, which was standardized about 1890, and on January 1, 1900 the entire road, 71 miles long, was leased to the CB&Q.  Exactly a year later, the CB&Q bought complete ownership of the road through purchases of securities and its identity as the CFM&DMRR ceased to exist.  My conclusion is that the CB&Q, which was fairly prolific in the use of printed precancels on the one cent blue on its leased and subsidiary lines, also caused precancels to be made for the short line after it assumed the lease in January 1900.  Probably these precancels were used during 1900 and the remainders used in 1901 after the CB&Q became owner of the railroad.  

Metz's Chambers article continued:

So both Clarence Chappell and Charles Metz were ahead of the curve when it came to pulling together a list of these precancels, but Mr. Fullerton's work has become the reference standard.

Creating a 21st Century Collector's Guide to 1898 Documentary Printed Precancels: The Bureau Specialist from November 1946

R. A. Bryant, in the November 1946 edition of The Bureau Specialist, wrote a short article referencing Chappell's 1942 list in the Weekly Philatelic Gossip.  The article sheds a bit of light on the philatelic discovery process, as it notes that Chappell listed no printed precancelled 10 cent battleships, and that subsequently, by 1946,  two had shown up: in particular, stamps cancelled by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul and another cancelled by the International & Great Northern.  The collector Gilmore Martin reported that a collector in Missouri had an export bill of lading with the I&GNRR 10c stamp.  The tax on an export bill of lading was ten cents.  

Curiously Richard Fullerton in 1952 did not list the International & Great Northern 10 cent stamp.  So despite a quite reliable report of the existence of the I&GNRR cancel, Fullerton either did not know about or chose not to list the stamp and cancel.

The Original 1898 Documentary Printed Cancel Inventory: Clarence Chappell's 1942 List

10 years before Fullerton published his list, Clarence Chappell produced a documentary railroad printed cancel list and published it in the February 7, 1942 edition of the Weekly Philatelic Gossip.

Fullerton credited Mr. Chappell for providing assistance in the compilation of his list, and credited the structure of his list to Chappell's work.  As such, The format for Chappell's documentary cancel list is identical to his better known proprietary cancel list.  But the field was clearly very much in the discovery phase in the middle of the 20th century, as there are several railroads and major types missing from Mr. Chappell's list that were accounted for by Fullerton, including:

• CB&N: Chicago, Burlington & Northern
• CFM&DMRR: Chicago, Fort Madison & Des Moines Railroad
• KCNWRR: Kansas City, North Western Railroad
• SC&PRR: Sioux City & Pacific Railroad - No Year Date

Several Fullerton listed cancels on the two cent battleships were not in Chappell's list, including:

• B&MRRRinNeb:  Burlington & Missouri River Railroad in Nebraska
• CB&QRR:  Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad
• H&StJRR:  Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad (this is a curious listing for Fullerton as I have not been able to confirm whether this cancel exists on the two cent battleship)
• I&GNRR:  International & Great Northern Railroad