What Is The Significence Of These Overstamps.

I bought a kiloware of old US stamps about eight years ago and
recently went through them and noticed that there were a few of
the stamps below in them and I am curious as to what the over
prints represent.

Many thanks for any help.

All of these are killer portions of common machine cancels. The piece in the middle of the second row is nearly complete with the New York dial.

As an aside, several of the stamp pairs have straight edges at both the left and right - these are from booklet panes - 2 stamps wide, 3 high. And of lesser interest, at least 1 appears to be from a coil, with straight top and bottom edges.

All are Post Office mail processing locations in metropolitan New York City. Not all had retail services; some merely processed mail in transit. Several survive to this day.

The New York Times published an article in 1863 noting the establishment of these:

"... The City, embracing the whole of Manhattan Island, since the 7th of July last has been consolidated into one postal district, divided into thirteen station divisions, located as follows:

Station A, No. 129 Spring-street.

Station B, No. 382 Grand-street.

Station C, corner of Troy and Fourth streets.

Station D, No. 12 Bible House.

Station E. No. 368 Eighth-avenue.

Station F, No. 408 Third-avenue.

Station G, No. 1.259 Broadway.

Station H. Yorkville.

Station J, Harsenville.

Station K, Manhattanville.

Station L, Harlem

Station M, Washington Heights or Carmansville.

Station N. Kingsbridge Park, or Tubby Hook.

Mails from the main office and from each station are interchanged, each way, seven times per day between Stations "A" and "G" inclusive, and six times per day, each way, between Stations "H" and "L," (Yorkville and Harlem,) and twice per day, each way, between "K," "M" and "N," (Manhattanville, Washington Heights and King's Bridge Park.)

The carrier system has been extended over the entire island, except at Stations "K," "M" and "N."

Five deliveries per day (not two) are made by the carriers, 104 in number, as follows: first, at 8 A.M., second, 10 A.M.: third, 12:30 P.M.; fourth, 2:30 P.M.; and, fifth 4:20 P.M., except Stations "H," "J" and "L."

Here is a complete example on a full cover mailed at Church Street Annex about the same time as your clippings.

In this case, mailed on Leap Day, February 29, 1940, on a business reply envelope, charged postage due as a 2 cent local letter + 1 cent BRM fee. The due stamps are provisionally precanceled with a parcel post style roller cancel. Nice to see the half cent due stamps used on cover.

Don't dwell too much on the address locations for those New York "Postal Stations" as there was a big changeover that occurred in the mid to late 1940's, that included the following:

Station N to Ansonia Station (10/01/1946)
Station D to Cooper Station (04/01/1947)
Station H to Cathedral Station (06/01/1947)
Station O to Old Chelsea Station (06/01/1947)
If NYC, Station G to Radio City Station (04/01/1947)
* If Brooklyn, Station G to Greenpoint (11/01/1947)
* If Brooklyn, Station Y to Parkville (11/01/1947)
Station K to Gracie Station (10/01/1946)

Since the above dates are probably within the expected usage dates of the stamps shown, it may be that the station locations changed, although the post office may have used old cancelling devices for an unknown period after the changes took effect. Without the CDS it is virtually impossible to identify them further.

great leap day cover. but I find myself wondering why the postage due if the envelope says postage paid. It was mailed in the USA.

I wonder why the cancels on the due stamp suddenly end at the edge of the stamp and don't mark the card. Do they really belong on this card/cover?

John Becker is contending that the Postage Dues were "provisionally precanceled with a parcel post style roller cancel."

The postage due stamps were precanceled before attaching to the envelope.

Peter

Business Reply Mail is used by mailers who distribute a large number of return envelopes expecting a small return percentage and they have promised to pay the postage and a business reply mail fee when they are received back at the company. The envelope is NOT prepaid - note the upper left corner "postage will be paid by addressee".

For the postage due: Often times cities will precancel their postage due stamps with a standard precancel device for ease of use. In this case, they used a parcel post roller, which is not generally intended for precancel use, to (as I have heard it referred to ) "provisionally" precancel the due stamps, and thus like any precancel are not tied. Yes they belong on the cover exactly as used.

Or...Or...Someone took the off another cover and reused them...

I didn't want to high-jack this tread, so I started a new one on Business Reply Mail.

Check it for another use of postage due stamps for Business Reply Mail

Interesting. I didn't know they pre cancelled postage dues.
I posted this piece a while ago, either here or on another forum, I can't remember, and it was dismissed as a fake or accident. Now I think I'd reconsider that.

It looks perfectly good. I don't know why those who are not students of postal history try to cast everything as faked or altered when they don't understand it. Precanceled dues in this era and before are quite common, whether with official precancel devices or other provisional postmarkers used as a convenience. The dues would be precanceled with the name of the destination city, so your piece would have been addressed to NYC also. Without the entire cover, it is hard to figure this one out exactly. There is a good chance it was the top piece of mail in a bundle of several due pieces summed on this piece - as is common with business mail.

A big thank you for all of the information concerning the overstamps.
I found the information very interesting indeed and now I understand
this part of postal history far better than I had before.

Many thanks.