Hand Cancellations Hand Stamps from Various Wisconsin Post Offices

Hand stamps gradually replaced other methods of cancellation throughout the second half of the 19^th century, and were replaced by machines in larger cities at the beginning of the 20^th. For a time, in the mid-1880s, there was a fad among postmasters to include their names or initials and the county name as part of the postmark. This fashion seems to be the result of more advertising on the part of hand stamp manufacturers, because no postal regulations requiring this information have ever been in effect.

Hand stamp postmark from Oshkosh, WI. A.J. Schoerb was a postal clerk.

Advertisement for a rubber hand stamp made in Hingham, WI.