Auxiliary Handstamp: Called Out

I Need Your Help!








An unusual 4mm x 30mm red-violet auxiliary handstamp "CALLED OUT" appears below this 1911 Lebanon, Penna., "RFD" Address.

Can any SCF Member shed light on the Postal Term " CALLED OUT"?

A period of use?

This appears to be a scarce auxiliary handstamp usage; this is the usage I have ever seen on cover or card. Haver other SCF Members seen this marking?

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

I do not know for sure, but my initial guess is that it might be something unofficial that was made up by the postmaster at Lemoyne for mail that was attempted to be delivered to an RFD location but was unsuccessful in finding the addressee?

Thanx for the thought KIMO~!

Best,
Hal

Perhaps someone at the Auxiliary Markings Club can help.

http://www.postal-markings.org/

Perhaps it is the bottom of something like...

Address Not
Called Out

But this is just my speculation.
Don

CALLED OUT:
AUXILIARY MARKINGS - 'CALLED OUT', Randy Stehle, La Posta, November 1985, Vol. 66, #5, pp 5-6.

http://www.postal-markings.org/bibliography.html

It is an auxiliary marking used by offices with either city or RFD service to indicate the name has been "called out" to the appropriate carriers to see if any carrier recognizes the patron as being on their route. Typically found on poorly or incompletely addressed mail. Here is a more wordy example from 1902:





One fairly common alternative to the "Called Out" procedure was to use an auxiliary marking listing all the city and rural route numbers and have the carriers paw through the box of undeliverables looking for their route patrons, such as this card mailed in Logansport, Indiana and eventually forwarded to North Manchester:



(The A.C. J. in the circle is the mark of clerk Arthur C. Jones)

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks John!
Don

My great appreciation and "THANKS" to everyone for their response and comments.

Here is my speculation as to what the Auxiliary Handstamp it's my SWAG (Simple Wild A## Guess) as to the handstamps' meaning and purpose. The Lebanon, Penna. Post Office had an "RFD System" with over 9 Routes, requiring Pigeon Hole Routing Sections" for mail sortation; this person's name was not identified in any of the Sections.

Perhaps, the Postmaster of Lebanon, PA., gathered all RFD CARRIERS before they departed to deliver mail, and announced or "CALLED OUT" the name of each piece of mail received daily that was "Undeliverable," due to the missing RFD-number. (It could not have been that many pieces on a daily basis.) An RFD-CARRIER, hearing a person's name "CALLED-OUT" on a piece of mail would only have to say, this person is on my route" and get the mail would be delivered. If none of the RFD CARRIERs claimed the mail, then I could see the Postmaster asking his Carriers to check if there were any new Boarders on their Delivery Routes, as this was still small town America.

Of course, it could have an entirely different meaning.

Here is the employee listing for Lebanon, PA from the 1911 Official Register, vol II, page 450. The PM would be far too important to do any call-outs. More logically, a clerk sorting the mail incoming to Lebanon would sort broadly by each RFD route and would have no idea which carrier should get the original card above - other than knowing it should go to the RFD carriers. He would toss it into the bin to be called out the next morning. Although I have not seen any written procedure, I suspect the first RFD carrier done sorting his route for the day would call to his fellow RFD carriers as they finished sorting. And the same for the city carriers. Teamwork.

Thanks for the info, John. That is great info and very much appreciated.