A Collector's Guide to 1898 Documentary Printed Precancels: the National Express Company's Collectible Types

National Express was effectively owned and controlled by American Express.  Frank Haigh Dixon in the July 1905 edition of The Atlantic Monthly wrote:

"The National Express Company is regarded as but an offshoot of the American, and an examination of the directorates of the two companies confirms the general impression.  President James C. Fargo of the American is a director of the National, while President Livingston and Vice-president Ledyard of the National are both directors of the American."

Dixon didn't get much deeper in spelling out the management connections between the two.  One simple demonstration of their connection is their precancels:  each National Express precancel has an American Express doppelganger.  The AMEX and NatEx type one and type twos are essentially the same, though the NatEx precancel has not yet been found with the 1901 year date.  

So as with the AMEX, there is a type one serifed cancel, and type twos that are smaller and non-serifed.

Nat. Ex. Type one 189_ precancel on one cent roulette.

Nat. Ex. Co. Type two 189_ precancel on one cent roulette.

Nat. Ex. Co. Type two 189_ precancel on one cent hyphen-hole.

Similar to the American Express 189_ hyphen-hole stamps, the National Express 189_ hyphen-hole stamps are the scarcest of all the National Express types.

 

Nat. Ex. Co. Type two 1900 precancel on one cent hyphen-hole.