Duplex Cancellations of Canada
Introduction
Postal regulations required that an envelope be postmarked and that the
stamp be cancelled. This would usually be accomplished by striking the
envelope twice, once with a datestamp and once with an obliterator. The
duplex device simplified this process by requiring only one strike per
envelope.
The database classifies all such cancellations by
listing number, identifies each by wording, type and size. It also
defines the period of use with earliest and latest known dates, known
timemarks.
A duplex hammer (struck exactly as you would a hammer) is composed of
two parts: the dater, to indicate the office of origin, province, month
and day and sometimes a timemark, and the obliterator (or killer)
normally of horizontal bars in varying numbers used to render the stamp
unusable a second time. These two parts are most commonly made from one
piece of steel, but can sometimes be made of two separate pieces welded
together, as was done with the A types.
Duplex hammers were first introduced in Great Britain in 1853 as a
result of increased volumes of mail and the desire to speed up its
handling. Canada's first duplex hammers were manufactured by D. G. Berri
in England and placed in service in 1860. These cancellations are
commonly called ''Berri''. Several different types of duplex have evolved
from this and have been in use in Canada since then, but they are slowly
disappearing due to replacement by rubber POCON (Post Office Computer
Organization Number) datestamps and machine cancellations among others.
Smaller offices here and there still use the mighty duplex hammer.
Collectors are fortunate to have available for study the Pritchard &
Andrews as well as the Canada Post Office proof impression books
covering the period 1876 to 1953, except for the period May 1895 to July
1907, which are missing from the Pritchard & Andrews proof impression
books. These original proof impression books are available at the
National Library and Archives and additionally through a series of books
edited by J. Paul Hughes, published by Robert A. Lee Philatelist Ltd.
and now available through Gary J. Lyon at Eastern Auctions Ltd.
In addition to the duplex cancelling devices issued by the Post Office,
some postmasters chose to manufacture their own. Some combined two
official devices and some combined an official device and one handmade
of cork, wood or metal. These interesting oddities are listed and
described in the Unofficial Duplexes section.
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A typical duplex hammer.
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An example of a duplex handstamp.
© Musée canadien des civilisations,
1974.998.97 S96-01205.
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Self-inking duplex device.
© Musée canadien des civilisations,
1974.1081.1 D2004-29394.
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Explanation of Database Columns
NUMBER: (Catalogue number)
The "D" refers to duplex; the next two
letters are either the provincial or category abbreviations. The numbers
are sequential, with occasional spaces left for additional listings. A
number followed by a small letter, e.g. DBE-14a, indicates a sub-listing
and not a separate hammer. A number followed by a capital letter, e.g.
DON-30A, indicates a separate hammer added later when a new number was
not available. A missing number could indicate either it was left for a
possible entry, or it was removed for different reasons.
POST OFFICE:
Alphabetical and chronological listing of all recorded duplex
instruments. The symbol "/" separates the wording at the top of the hammer
from the wording at the bottom, e.g. "TORONTO/·CANADA·." Using this
example, the two middle dots at either side of CANADA are called side
dots and are seen right and left of the bottom part of the dater, and
there is an additional period after "CANADA". Two-part town names can
sometimes be separated by either "-", ".", or "·" hyphens, periods or
dots. All these are very important to note for proper hammer
identification.
DATER:
The roman numerals here refer to the dater type. We note that this historical nomenclature differs from that used in the
Broken Circles and CDS databases, but we trust that it will not cause confusion here.
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- I - Split or broken circle
- II - Full or unbroken circle (CDS)
- III - Double split or broken circle
- IV - Full circle enclosing a broken circle
- V - Other
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KILLER:
The letter followed by a number refers to the obliterator or killer
type and the number of bars it contains. For example, "B11" indicates an oval killer
with eleven unbroken horizontal bars.
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- Horizontal unbroken bars:
- A - Circular
- B - Oval
- C - Other
- Vertical unbroken bars:
- D - Circular
- E - Oval
- F - Other
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- Horizontal broken bars:
- G - Circular
- H - Oval
- J - Other
- Vertical broken bars:
- K - Circular
- L - Oval
- M - Other
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- Wavy line oval bars:
- N- Convex curve ends up
- O - Convex curve ends down
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- Vertical CANADA (~3mm in between dater and wavy line killer)
- P - Convex curve with ends up
- Q - Convex curve with ends down
- Vertical CANADA (~2.5mm in between dater and wavy line killer)
- R - Convex curve ends up
- S - Convex curve ends down
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- Wavy line broken by letter
- T - Convex curve ends up or number
- U - Convex curve ends down
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- Symbols
- V - Target
- W - Star
- X - Boxed
- Y - Intaglio letter
- Z - Other
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DIAMETER:
Refers to the diameter of the dater in millimetres, measured
horizontally across the widest portion. These measurements are prone to
minute differences caused by poor inking, overinking, paper absorption,
impression struck at an angle, etc.
PROOF:
Where registered in the proof ledgers this is the date appearing in the
indicia.
"N.I.P.B." indicates 'Not In Proof Books.' A blank space
indicates proofed, but with no precise indication of when. In this case
there will usually be a note in the Remarks column indicating the
approximate month and year of the impression. It should be noted that
the period May 1895 to July 1907 is missing from the Pritchard and
Andrews proof impression books.
ERD:
Indicates the earliest recorded (reported) date of use.
LRD:
Indicates the latest recorded (reported) date of use.
TM:
Timemarks recorded. This column does not include timemarks seen in the
proof impression. Includes AM, PM, AP (probably French for après-midi),
BLANK (no timemark), NT (night), numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.), hours (10AM,
2:30PM) and letters (A, B, C, etc.). Where no timemark is known, an
empty space will be seen.
REMARKS:
This column contains information intended to help the reader identify a
particular duplex. What can be seen here includes: killer dimensions
(height × width in millimetres); differences in lettering sizes, styles
or spacing; width of a given group of letters, e.g. "SASK." is a
measurement from the left of the first 'S' to the period after the 'K'; In
this section, "f.a.l." means "from at least". In this section, no
attempt has been made to list all the different time mark variations
such as reversed, TM at top or bottom, as they are plentiful, and can
often change many times in a given number of years for one given duplex.
Bibliography and Acknowledgments
The first two editions of the Catalogue of Canadian Duplex Catalogues were
produced by Robert A. Lee. The database presented here originated in the third
edition of the catalogue, produced by Stéphane Cloutier. Important contributions
were made by many collectors over the years, particularly by members of the BNAPS Duplex Study Group.
In addition, the early work of
E. A. Smythies, the father of Canadian duplexes, should be also acknowledged.
The Canadian Postal Archives provided the proof impressions for the
series of books Proof Strikes of Canada edited by the late J. Paul
Hughes. The three books covering the duplex proof impressions have been
a major contributor to the catalogues and database.
The Canadian Postal Museum allowed the viewing of photographing of their collection of duplex
cancellers, and some of these photographs are reproduced here with permission.
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