POST OFFICE IN PARADISE - Cancels: Letters

This page last updated: 4 April 2012

::: CANCELS - Letters :::

A large "H," lettH-16, was used at Hilo on August 30, 1871 to cancel the 2¢ Scott No. 31a on this cover. This cancel is a letter H with a height of 16mm. The cover transited Honolulu, on its way to Lahainaluna on Maui, and was canceled again with the ring4-24 mark.

Various towns used cancels incorportating a letter, usually the first letter of the town name. Davey placed these marks into four categories: 1) Letters H I; 2) Letter H; 3) Letters P O; and Miscellaneous Letters (his Section 4 – Letters, with numbers 151-187). Here I have adopted a straight alphabetical listing. The reference begins with lett followed by the letter and the size in height or, in the case of circled letters or negative letters, the diameter of the circle. In the case of some letters, more than one cancel device employed the letter. Where additional information is necessary to differentiate marks, it is given in parentheses.

I get a total of 34 letter marks with letters "A," "FD," "H," "HI," "K," "KP," "L," "M," McL," "P," "PO" and "W." Some of these listings represent multiple devices.

Letter A

lettA
Rarity 1R
Magenta

Davey unlisted
Shaffer unlisted

Usage: Wells Fargo, mid-1880's.
The letter A is 20mm tall, unserifed.
This mark has long been associated with the Wells Fargo Express office at Honolulu, but I have never understood why.

Letters F D

lettFD

Davey unlisted
Shaffer unlisted

Usage: San Francisco, mid 1880's
This mark is the subject of a special study at LOOSE LETTERS, LATE LETTERS, NEW ZEALAND MARINE POST OFFICE AND PAQUEBOT. At least two styles of the circled FD were used at San Francisco.

Letter H

lettH-14
Rarity 1R
Black

Davey rendering

Davey 164
Shaffer 2-207

Usage: Unknown origin – possibly Honolulu, 1869-1872; known on Scott Nos. 30b and 31a.
Davey: "Large crude H, hand-cut."

The 14mm cancel illustrated here may be what Davey saw. I have not seen an unserifed H as Davey illustrated, but the serifed style breaks down and has a hand-cut look.

lettH-14(negative H)
Scarcity 3
Black

Shaffer rendering

Davey 165
Shaffer 2-209

Usage: Honolulu, August 1, 1872
Davey: "Small colorless H in solid circle, 14mm."

Scarcer than the negative HI cancel [lettH-16(negative HI)].

lettH-16
Rarity 1R
Black

Davey rendering

August 30, 1871

Davey 161
Shaffer 2-203

Usage: Hilo, early 1870's; noted August 30, 1871 (see cover at top of this page).
Davey: "Large H, 14x15 mm., black. About 1869."

The height of this cancel actually measures 16mm.

lettH-17(9x17mm)
Cancel unconfirmed

Davey 162
Shaffer 2-204

Davey: "Large H, 9x17mm., brown. 1870's."
Shaffer: reserved 2-204 for Davey 162 but had not seen it.

lettH-20(circled H)
Scarcity 3
Black

Shaffer rendering

September 22, 1869

Davey unlisted
Shaffer 2-206

Usage: Hilo, June 14, 1869 to September 22, 1869.
Shaffer: "20-22mm. Probably Hilo, known June 14, 1869. May be same as [lettH-24(circled H)]."

The circle varies in diameter from 20mm to 22mm. The usage period given for this mark is derived from dated covers.

lettH-20(negative H)
Rarity 1R
Black

Davey 166
Shaffer unlisted

Usage: Unknown origin, 1870's.
Davey: "Large colorless H in solid circle, 20mm."

The circle is a ¾ round circle in strikes I have seen.

lettH-23(circled H, unserifed)
Rarity 1R
Purple

Davey unlisted
Shaffer unlisted

Usage: Unknown origin, 1870's.

10.

lettH-24(circled H, serifed)
Rarity 1R
Black, purple

Shaffer rendering

Davey 163
Shaffer 2-205

Usage: Hilo, July 24, 1872.
Davey: "Large H in circle, 24mm., black. Hilo, about 1875."

The encircled serifed H in the mark illustrated has a smaller "H" but the diameter of the circle is 24mm. If the illustration is true, then there must be another cancel of the same diameter with a larger serifed H in the middle.

Letters H I

11.

lettHI-16(negative HI)
Estimated 8
Black

Shaffer rendering

June 22, 1870

November 1, 1870

Davey 151
Shaffer 2-200

Usage: Honolulu, September 22, 1869 to November 12, 1873.
Davey: "Small colorless HI in solid circle, 16mm. Honolulu, 1869."
Shaffer: "Probably 2 or more similar marks."

I suspect one device made the bulk of these marks.

12.

lettHI-18(monogram)
Rarity 1R
Black

Davey 153
Shaffer 2-202

Usage: Unknown origin, mid-1880's.
Davey: "Colorless monogram HI in solid circle, 18mm."

This device wore down and the monogram often is difficult to discern.

13.

lettHI-18(negative HI)
Rarity 1RRRR
Black

Davey unlisted
Shaffer unlisted

Usage: Unknown origin; noted on Scott No. 31.

14.

lettHI-23(negative HI)
Rarity 1RRRR
Black

Davey 152
Shaffer 2-201

Usage: Unknown origin, noted on Scott No. 31.
Davey: "Large colorless HI in solid circle, 23mm. Honolulu, 1872.

The circle is quite irregular and difficult to measure.

15.

lettHI-23(serrated negative HI)
Rarity 1RRRR
Black

Davey unlisted
Shaffer unlisted

Usage: Unknown origin; noted on Scott No. 31.

Letters H P

16.

lettHP
Rarity 1RRRR
Black

Davey unlisted
Shaffer unlisted

Usage: Unknown origin; noted on Scott No. 31.

Letter K

17.

lettK-12
Rarity 1RRRR
Black

Courtesy of Gary Spicer

Davey 181
Shaffer 2-212

Usage: Unknown origin, noted on Scott No. 35.
Davey: "Large K in at least 4 types, all hand-cut, varying in size and shape; late 1870's."
Shaffer: Shaffer reserved 2-212 for Davey 181 but had not seen one.

Davey and Shaffer reference numbers refer to all stand alone K cancels, regardless of size. More than one style of K cancel is 12mm tall (as illustrated in the first column). Other stand alone sizes are broken out by size in this table (see lettK-18 and lettK-20, below).

18.

lettK-15(negative K)
Rarity 1RRRR
Black

Davey 183
Shaffer 2-214

Usage: Unknown origin, noted on Scott No. 31.
Davey: "Small colorless K in solid circle, 15mm., black. 1860's."
Shaffer: Shaffer reserved 2-214 for Davey 183 but had not seen one.

19.

lettK-18
Rarity 1R
Black

Davey 181
Shaffer 2-212

Usage: Unknown origin, noted on Scott No. 31.
See notes for lettK-12.

20.

lettK-20
Rarity 1R
Black

Davey 181
Shaffer 2-212

Usage: Unknown origin, noted on Scott No. 35.
See notes for lettK-12.

21.

lettK-24(circled)
Rarity 1RRRR
Black

Davey 182
Shaffer 2-213

Usage: Unknown origin, noted on Scott No. 31.
Davey: "Large K in circle, 23mm., black. 1860's."
Shaffer: Shaffer reserved 2-212 for Davey 181 but had not seen one.

My notes have only this small K in a 24mm circle but Davey notes a large K in a 23mm circle. I discount the 1mm difference in diameter because these marks are so hard to measure. The description of a large K is hard to reconcile with the example shown here. However, I have noted examples of lettK-18 that appear encircled because of accompanying ring cancels. Davey may have based his description on such an example – or his notion of "large" may be different than my own.

22.

lettK-25(negative K)
Rarity 1RRRR
Black

Davey unlisted
Shaffer unlisted

Usage: Unknown origin; noted on Scott No. 31.
The measurement is close but perhaps inexact because the total ink space extends beyond the stamp.

Letters K P

23.

lettKP-25(circled)
Rarity 1R
Black

Davey 184
Shaffer 2-215

Usage: Kawaihae, about 1875, noted on Scott No. 35.
Davey: "K P in circle, 25mm., black. About 1875. Kawaihae."
Shaffer: Shaffer reserved 2-215 for Davey 184 but had not seen one.

Regarding usage at Kawaihae, I take Davey at his word, but have not seen confirming evidence.

Letter L

24.

lettL-15(negative)
Rarity 1RRR
Black

Davey unlisted
Shaffer unlisted

Usage: Origin unknown, noted on Scott No. 31.

25.

lettL-24(negative)
Rarity 1RR
Black

Davey unlisted
Shaffer unlisted

Usage: Origin unknown, noted on Scott No. 31.

Letter M

26.

lettM-15(negative)
Rarity 1RRR
Black

Davey 186
Shaffer 2-217

Usage: The negative M in a circle (upper illustration on the left) is noted from Makawao on a Scott No. 31 cover dated August 21, 1872. The “M” in a serrated circle or a cogwheel (lower illustration on left) is attributed to the San Francisco Post Office in the 1870s.
Davey: "Small colorless M in solid circle, 15mm., black. 1860's."
Shaffer: Shaffer reserved 2-217 for Davey 186 but had not seen one.

Letters McL

27.

lettMcL-15(negative)
Rarity 1R
Black

Davey rendering

September, 1869

Davey 185
Shaffer 2-216

Usage: Makawao, late 1860's.
Davey: "Large M resting on horizontal line, 15mm., black. 1860's."

As the clear strike on the Scott No. 31 shows, the horizontal line in fact forms an "L" and the dot is a small "c." I associate the mark with the McLean Plantation near Makawao.

Letter P

28.

lettP-20(circled)
Rarity 1RRRR
Black

Davey unlisted
Shaffer unlisted

Usage: Origin unknown, 1880's.

29.

lettP-20(negative)
Rarity 1RRRR
Black

Davey unlisted
Shaffer unlisted

Usage: Origin unknown, 1870's. Possibly a mark applied at San Francisco (see Mahoney type 133).

Letters P O

30.

lettPO-15
Rarity 1R
Black

eBay lot 2908520097

Courtesy of Jeremy Uota

Davey 172
Shaffer 2-210

Usage: Origin unknown, 1870's, noted on Scott Nos. 31, 34 and 35.
Davey: "Large crude P O, hand-cut, impossible to measure. On 1864 issue."

I get a height of 15mm on a full strike of the O.

31.

lettPO-22(in 3 rings)
Cancel unconfirmed

Davey 171
Shaffer 2-163

Davey: described a 22mm mark with the letters PO in a target of 3 circles, early 1880's. Possibly an incorrect description of lettPO-25(in 3 rings)
Shaffer: reserved 2-163 for Davey 171, but had not seen it.

32.

lettPO-25(in 3 rings)
Scarcity 2
Black, purple

April 6, 1876

Davey unlisted
Shaffer 2-162

Usage: Domestic mail; Honolulu, March 20, 1876 – April 6, 1876; the usage period is believed to be longer but dating is impossible for most marks. The purple strike reported is on the lilac 2¢ Kalakaua, Scott No. 38, showing the mark was being used around 1882-1883.
Probably this mark is what Davey described as a 22mm mark and listed above as lettPO-22(in 3 rings)
Shaffer: 24mm (I measure it as 25mm)

33.

lettPO-25(in dashes)
Rarity 1RRR
Black

2-35 PO round grid of dashes MH14 Waiohinu 24Dec79

December 24, 1879,
Waiohinu

Davey unlisted
Shaffer unlisted

Usage: Waiohinu, December 24, 1879 - April, 1883.
Compare this mark with cirgrid25-7(dashes). This mark has the letters PO in the center of the mark. I have seen this variety only from Waiohinu and all Waiohinu strikes I have seen are lettPO-25(in dashes) rather than cirgrid25-7(dashes).

Letter W

34.

lettW-20(circled)
Rarity 1RRRR
Black

Davey unlisted
Shaffer unlisted

Usage: Origin unknown, 1870's.
The diameter measurement is approximate because the circle is irregular.

35.

lettW-22(circled, large W)
Rarity 1RRRR
Black

Davey unlisted
Shaffer unlisted

Usage: Origin unknown, 1870's.
The diameter measurement is approximate because the circle is irregular.

36.

lettW-22(negative)
Rarity 1RRRR
Black

Davey unlisted
Shaffer unlisted

Usage: Origin unknown, 1870's.
A little imagination helps with this one. I am tempted to call it a triceratops footprint. The diameter is too irregular to measure exactly.

Letter X

37.

See ring3-25(negative X)

Davey 120
Shaffer 2-159

Usage: unknown origin, mid 1880's to early 1890's.

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