Photographs & Revenue Stamps Usage

many of the match and medicine provisional issues were printed, especially by the large users. they had there own advertising facilities, or used a local print shop or newspaper composing room by prior arrangement during off hours. I am not aware of any lack of POD approval for this method of cancellation for revenue stamps.

No, I don't think POD approval would be required but this is my reference point from collecting percans. Which takes me back to the original question, was this common for revenues and subsequent comment that I wasn't sure about revenues... in practice. I do collect revenues and have for some time but had not taken note to an obvious precancel (yet) on issues of this age/date range. Attention to the details for them is a more recent indulgence so I'm still learning. I appreciate the info.

Yes, it was common for revenues to be precanceled. Remember, essentially the tax was paid when the stamps were purchased. They were then put on the appropriate locations in the appropriate amounts to prove the tax was paid. So it didn't matter in the least when they were cancelled.

There was an additional practical reason for photographers/studios precanceling the stamps: CDVs were typically stored in stacks. If a stamp was canceled at the time it was affixed, you would have to wait for the ink to dry before stacking it, lest the wet ink from the cancel offset onto the next photo stacked on top of it. Precanceling the stamps avoided that whole scenario.