Precancels of Great Britain
This part of the web site is to consolidate information on GB precancels.
The site has expanded. Click here for a site-map.
The Edwardian examples shown below have been described as PreCancellations by Stanley Gibbons, but the term has a slightly different meaning in that case.
Whereas the other pre-cancels on this website were precancelled before use to save time in the delivery process, the Edwardian booklet panes were pre-cancelled to prevent any use.
Since their purpose was to prevent postal use, they are really a form of 'SPECIMEN' stamps.
Initially these were just for the purposes of informing sub-offices and the U.P.U., but later when advertisement pages
started to be inserted, they were also used to supply samples to potential advertisers.
| This page is very much a collaborative effort with little more input from me than editorial/publishing. Thanks go to: Barry Fitzgerald. for introducing me to this whole subject. Andrew G Lajer. for kindly providing most of the images. Paul Ramsay for providing cancellation and other information. |
This reunited pair is from a Bonelli's Telegraph booklet.
Perhaps it demonstrates one of the earliest examples.
It is an example of the S.G. Type A St. Andrew's Cross cancel.
6823 Courtesy of Mike Jackson, 6824 Courtesy of Mark Talbot.
The London District Telegraph Company may well have done something similar.
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| Type A. | Type B. | Type C. | Type D. |
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| Type E. | Type F. | Type G. | Type I. |
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| Type H(Large) 24 to 25 mm diam. | Type H(Medium) 22 to 23 mm diam. | Type H(Small) 20 to 21 mm diam. |
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| Steel Type I/J. | Rubber Type J. | Rubber Type K. |
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| Type A. Used on booklets (2) to (5). Image courtesy of Paul Ramsay. |
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| Type B. Used on booklet (6). Image courtesy of Paul Ramsay. |
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| Type C. Used on booklet (6). Image courtesy of Paul Ramsay. |
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| Type D. Used on booklet (6). Image courtesy of Ian Harvey. |
According to Stanley Gibbons, booklets also exist cancelled with 'E.C.E' and 'E.C.Q' in the same style.
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| SG329Wi, 1911 1d die 1b - Type E. (Spec NB3as) Courtesy of Andrew G Lajer. |
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| Type F. Is considered very rare. Used only on booklets BB2, BB7 and BB24. Image courtesy of Paul Ramsay. See there for an explanation of the last stamp. |
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| April 12, 1912 ½d SG324, die 1b - Type G. (Spec NB1v) Courtesy of Andrew G Lajer. |
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| Nov 20 , 1912 1d SG336. (Type H-small. Spec NB5at) Courtesy of Andrew G Lajer. |
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| Mar 7 , 1914 (Type H-large). Image courtesy of Ian Harvey. |
| Some of the booklets have punch-holes through them, but this does not significantly affect the price. |
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| 26 Feb , 1916 ½d SG351. (Type I. Spec NB6y) Images courtesy of Andrew G Lajer. |
Some of the booklets have punch-holes through them, but this does not significantly affect the price.
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| 13 Sept. 1924 ½d Type I/J. Image courtesy of Ian Harvey. |
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| 24 Nov, 1928 1d SG420. (Type K in violet. NB14aza. Spec N35m) Courtesy of Andrew G Lajer. |
Types J and K were rubber obliterators whereas the others were steel.
Types J and K are usually in violet and usually smudged to some degree.
Barry Fitzgerald says of these booklet panes "These are fully explained in the SG Vol.2
They were in voucher booklets sent out to potential advertisers and not meant to be used by the public, hence being pre-cancelled.
They were pre-cancelled so that when sent out to potential advertisers,
they could NOT be used by them for postage."
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| NOT ALL USED BOOKLET PANES ARE PRECANCELS THOUGH. This is normal usage of a complete pane with a London Foreign Section cancel. It does however show the kind of advertising being done. Image courtesy of Andrew G Lajer. |
The Precancelled Booklet panes should have full gum.
For the record, Paul Ramsay who supplied many of the images above and co-authored the GB Post Office Telegraphs book,
has three other sites :
www.gbpostagedues.com
www.gbstampbooklets.com
www.gbstamprolls.com
Last updated 2nd. March 2023
©Copyright Steve Panting 2010 - 2023 except where stated.
Permission is hereby granted to copy material for which the copyright is owned by myself, on condition that any data is not altered and this website is given credit.
