The Searle and Hereth Company: Handstamp Cancels

 I received my Bachelors Degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where the name Searle was synonomous with the student health center.  A little research into the history of Searle reveals a complicated and controversial past,  from its development of the first commercial oral contraceptive, Enovid, to the development of NutraSweet, and from the tenure of Donald Rumsfeld as its CEO and then President between 1977 and 1985.

Searle and Hereth, which would eventually be renamed G. D. Searle & Company, only exists now as a part of Pfizer corporation.  The Searle name has been retired by Pfizer, and lives on mostly through the foundation of William L. Searle and philanthropy done under the Searle name over many decades of the 20th century.

Pfizer/Monsanto family tree showing Searle's acquisition by Monsanto in 1985

Searle and Hereth did not begin to use printed cancels until late 1900, and they did not print any private die stamps.  Presumably all of their products utilized proprietary stamps canceled by hand.  Below are images of two types of Searle and Hereth handstamp cancels.

Cancelled on the second day of tax period.

Image courtesy of Frank Sente

THE S.&H. CO,

SEP    28    1898 

CHICAGO.

ex-Tolman

Updating the Joyce/Chappell List: The Searle and Hereth Company

Below is a link to an excel file that incorporates the Joyce/Chappell listed printed cancels for S&H plus other known dates.  If you have other dates missing from the list, please contact me by comment below or send me an email so that I can update the spreadsheet.  Thank you!

Updated Searle and Hereth Printed Cancels List

Below are images of cancels available to me that are unlisted by Joyce. 

Type 1

Nov 6, 1900

Type 1

Nov 6, 1900

Type 2

Feb 21, 1901

RB21, Type 2, June 12 1901

image courtesy of Frank Sente

Type 2

Apr 2, 1901

Type 2

Jan 24, 1901

Type 2

Mar 25, 1901

Type 2

Mar 1, 1901

Type 2

Mar 15, 1901

Type 2

June 12, 1901

Based on date patterns, I suspect that there are still many missing dates from the updated list.  Please help make this list more complete.  Email me a 1898revenues@gmail.com.

Updating the Joyce/Chappell List: The Searle and Hereth Company

Immediately below is the Joyce list for Searle and Hereth printed cancels.  Joyce lists approximately 60 different collectible varieties.  However, it is clear from the stamps I possess and those held by others that there are many cancels and varieties unlisted by Joyce. 

Joyce/Chappell list two types of cancels, one type with only "S. & H. CO." in the first line, and a second type with "THE S & H CO" in the first line.  Both types are illustrated below:

S. & H. CO.

NOV.  6  1900

The cancel is a Joyce/Chappell Searle & Hereth Type 1

Type 1 on RB31 is unlisted by Joyce

THE S & H CO

MAR 25, 1901

The cancel is a Joyce/Chappell Searle and Hereth Type 2

This date on RB26 is unlisted by Joyce

Below are the Searle and Hereth pages from Henry Tolman's primary binders for his battleship proprietary printed cancels.  One example of an S&H handstamp is at the bottom of the second page.

Tolman's Searle and Hereth collection is a bit lean relative to the varieties listed by Joyce/Chappell, especially when many of the Tolman's stamps are unlisted by Joyce.  In the coming day I will post an updated excel file of the J/C list.

Cancel for June 12: Louisville and Nashville Railroad

L.  &  N.

JUN

12

1900

R.  R.  CO.

When I was a boy growing up in New Orleans and on the Mississippi gulf coast, L&N and Illinois Central trains and their locomotives produced the most common sights and sounds among all railroads.  The L&N was one of the greatest of the southern railroads.  Its mainline cut south through Alabama to the Gulf Coast.  The Illinois Central ran south through Mississippi to get to New Orleans.  The L&N played a major role in the Civil War and in World War II.  But like almost all of the great early railroads, the L&N has been consolidated with others.  The L&N is now a part of CSX.

1896 L&N Route Map

Author's Note:  From the point of view of somebody who grew up hunting and fishing in the Louisiana marshes, enjoying summers and weekends on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and playing on the beaches of the Florida panhandle, BP's CEO, Tony "I want my life back" Hayward, can go to hell. 

See this post from over a year ago for the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad.  Ship island is a Mississippi Gulf Coast barrier island that might disappear because of the oil spill.  The oil will coat the island, destroy the vegetation and grasses that hold it together, and wave action will erode it to oblivion. 

It is fascinating to watch people like the Texas Governor call this disaster an "Act of God", when every aspect of the rig and its operation were man-made, and for the head of the US Chamber of Commerce to call for the American tax payer to pay for the cleanup.  These "leaders" have no idea what they are dealing with.  There are hundreds of thousands if not millions of lives that will be permanently hurt by this disaster, and they will have no time for politicians like the Governor of Mississippi that continue to downplay the impact of the spill.  Democrats and Republicans alike are on the dole of the oil companies, but eventually the politicians, oil firms and especially BP will realize that the populist anger that will continue to mount over this spill will overwhelm even the lobbying and campaign contribution power of the oil firms. 

From where I live in Nairobi, Kenya, I can't even watch the news anymore.  The news from the Gulf either makes me depressed or stirs me to anger as the places of so many thousands of hours of my childhood memories are destroyed.

Update to Post for May 1, 2010

On May 1, I posted an image of a one dollar documentary stamp cancelled in Malone, New York.  Anne Werley Smallman, the Director of the Franklin County, New York Historical and Museum Society left a comment here, explaining the origin of the ABP & Son initials.     Thanks, Anne, for the help!

Cancel for June 8: Santa Clara Valley Bank

SANTA CLARA VALLEY BANK

JUN

8

1899

SANTA CLARA, CAL.

Still looking for the history of this bank and its current incarnation, if there is one.

Chattanooga Medicine Company Printed Cancels - Updated List

Below is a link to an updated list following Frank Sente's submission of two fresh printed cancel images, including one date unlisted by Joyce:

Updated list: Chattanooga Medicine Printed Cancels

Frank Sente's submitted images are below:

8-15-1899

Unlisted by Joyce

12-19-1900

new image date for data base

Ebay Update: Tolman 1898 Material Posted to Ebay Auction Platform

Michael Aldrich has just put what looks like his entire Ebay store plus to the open Ebay auction platform, though they are all listed as Buy-It-Now sales.  There are dozens of 1898 items, especially cancels on documentary and proprietary stamps.   Most of the 1898s come from Henry Tolman's collection. 

Cancel for June 5: J. R. Sweeny

J. R. SWEENY,

JUN

5

1899

WHITE PLAINS,  N. Y.

Mr. Sweeny was a real estate broker.

Cancel for June 4: J. W. Fitzgerald & Company

JUNE   4    1901

J. W. FITZERALD & CO., AGENTS

LITTLE FALLS, N. Y.

From the Little Falls Evening Times

J. W. Fitzgerald & Company advertising as the agent for

the Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Company

Cancel for June 3: Wheeler Express Company

WHEELER EX. CO.

JUN   3   1899

MARLBORO

This stamp first appeared on this blog more than a year ago when I posted a series of express company cancels.  It reappears today by virtue of its date.  As stated in the original post, the Wheeler Express ran between Marlboro and Boston.

Updating the Joyce/Chappell List: The Chattanooga Medicine Company - 2 1/2 Cent Stamp Cancels and Updated List

I haven't even finished two companies worth of printed cancels and I am already weary of individually selecting and posting each stamp in my collection.  So, from here on out I will supply edited versions of the quadrille pages that hold many of my stamps.  Below are two scans of the 2 1/2 cent stamps with Chattanoonga printed cancels.

The layouts below and all future displayed hinged stamps on quadrille pages are of the same origin and come from the collection of Henry Tolman II.  Mr. Tolman developed a substantial collection of printed cancels, and incorporate many of the stamps in the Joyce lists.  Click on the images below to get a more detailed look at the stamps.

Below is a link to an excel file of Joyce/Chappell list plus other cancels that are known to exist.  Those that have the ability to provide updates to this list and can confirm and especially send scanned images of the cancels that I don't have are highly encouraged to confirm and send those images. 

Chattanooga Medicine Company Printed Cancels Excel File

Cancel for June 1: Wood & Havemeyer

WOOD & HAVEMEYER

JUN

1

1901

N. Y. XXX

Wood & Havemeyer opened in 1894 in New York and traded in the bonds and equities of various firms, particularly gas and street railway companies.

Cancel for May 31: Company Unknown

R172 80 cent documentary

Red CDS for May 31, 1899

Company unknown

Cancel for May 30: Peoria, Decatur, and Evansville Railway

P. E. & E. R Y.

MAY

30

1900

In 1879, a railroad known as the Pekin, Lincoln and Decatur moved into southeast Illinois by taking over the Decatur, Mattoon and Southern.  When it did so it was renamed the Peoria, Decatur, and Evansville Railway.  In 1900, the year of the date of the cancel above, the railroad was sold at auction to the Illinois Central, and much of its rail lines were operated by the IC for the next 76 years.  You can find a more detailed history of the PD&E by clicking here.

Cancels by State: Pennsylvania

Scranton

Wilkes-Barre

Reading

Lancaster

Philadelphia

Pittsburgh

Pottsville

South Bethlehem

Oil City

Updating the Joyce/Chappell List: Chattanooga Medicine Company 5/8 Cent Cancels

Below are some of the Chattanooga Medicine Company cancels from the above list.  Several dates are missing, and there are possibly more dates that are not included in the above list.  I am looking for confirmation and examples of missing images or non-listed dates.  I will post the editable Excel list in the next day or so.

7-15-1898

2-19-1900

3-19-1900

4-19-1900

5-19-1900

6-19-1900

8-15-1900

9-25-1900

10-25-1900

11-25-1900

12-15-1900

1-15-1901

2-15-1901

 

3-15-1901