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London District Office Cancels

Introduction

This display is of the postmarks used in the London Districts – oval cancellers with the numbers in circles, from 1844 to the 1900s. This seems a long period, and it is, but the variants in cancellers are quite interesting. I think so anyway!

The collection starts with the 1st series and, to some, the best. These were first issued on the 20 May 1844 and continued for a long time for some offices (the latest I have seen used is 1889 of Bow 12), there were recuts of these cancellers with some striking differences and other times subtle differences.

There was a transition from the 10 rides or routes to the division of London into districts in 1857 and this gave rise to the use of district initials when addressing a letter.

Then the 1861 series and the introduction of the letter B to the office numbers and generally these were all sub offices, their parent office holding the 1st series canceller. Finally, we lead to the 3rd series – vertical ovals, which in my opinion are much understudied and just as scarce as the earlier issues.

As a conclusion there are examples of town office cancellers which are different in format so can be regarded in a different light. Also, unusually, some of these offices were issued duplex cancellers.

The pages are shown in the "frames" in approximately the way they were shown on the day for the live display – i.e. blank pages at the end of some frames to make neat sections.

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Frame 1

1. CHIEF OFFICE AND EC OFFICE
  1. Chief Office examples 1844 50‑72
  2. Chief Office examples 1844 68
  3. Chief Office examples 1844 72
  4. Chief Office January 1851 type D3 examples 52‑65
  5. Chief Office December 1851 type D4A examples 71‑79
  6. Chief Office July 1855 type D5 examples 50‑79
  7. East Central office Dubus type 1
  8. East Central office Dubus type 1
  9. East Central office Dubus type 2
  10. Chief Office varieties
  11. Chief Office varieties – 72 with additional duplex
  12. Chief Office varieties – additional strikes
  13. Chief Office varieties – additional strikes
  14. Surveyors office S
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Frame 2

1. CHIEF OFFICE AND EC OFFICE (cont)
  1. Chief Office July 1855 type D5 chief letter carrier 50
  2. Chief Office July 1855 type D5 chief letter carrier 50
  3. Chief Office 51 strip and registered cover
  4. Chief Office 59 Unpaid letter division
  5. Chief Office 59 Unpaid letter division
  6. Chief Office 59 Unpaid letter division
  7. Chief Office 59 as regular canceller
  8. Chief Office 59 as regular canceller
  9. Chief Office 59 as regular canceller
  10. Chief Office 69
  11. Chief Office 69
  12. Chief Office 69
  13. Privately Printed district labels
  14. Privately Printed district labels
  15. Privately Printed district labels
  16. Privately Printed district envelopes
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Frame 3

2. LONDON BRANCH OFFICES
  1. Bethnal Green BG1
  2. Chiswick C4
  3. Chiswick C4
  4. Euston Square Station 964
  5. Euston Square Station 964
  6. Houses of Parliament HP1
  7. Lombard Street LS EC
  8. Maida Hill MH1
  9. Turnham Green T1 T2 and T3
  10. Turnham Green T1 T2 and T3
  11. Turnham Green T1 T2 and T3
  12. Wood Green 52B
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Frame 4

3. LONDON DISTRICT OFFICES 1‑76
  1. Introduction
  2. Difficulty in Identification
  3. Difficulty in Identification
  4. Difficulty in Identification
  5. Suburban receiving houses map
  6. Unusual stamp values
  7. Highgate 1
  8. Finchley 2
  9. Whetstone 3
  10. Hampstead 4
  11. Hampstead 4
  12. Hendon 5
  13. Edgware 6
  14. Edgware 6
  15. Edgware 6
  16. Edgware 6
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Frame 5

3. LONDON DISTRICT OFFICES 1‑76 (cont)
  1. Stoke Newington 7
  2. Tottenham 8
  3. Tottenham 8
  4. West Brompton 8
  5. Kentish Town 9
  6. Edmonton 10
  7. Enfield 11
  8. Bow 12
  9. Bow 12
  10. Stratford 13
  11. Leyton 14
  12. St Martin's Place later Trafalgar Square 14
  13. Woodford 15
  14. Ilford 16
  15. Gracechurch Street 16
  16. Gracechurch Street 16
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Frame 6

3. LONDON DISTRICT OFFICES 1‑76 (cont)
  1. Chigwell 17
  2. Deptford 18
  3. Deptford 18
  4. Deptford 18
  5. Deptford 18
  6. Greenwich 20
  7. Greenwich 20
  8. Woolwich 21
  9. Woolwich 21
  10. Eltham 22
  11. Bexley 23
  12. Bexley 23
  13. Brockley 23
  14. Dulwich 24
  15. Dulwich 24
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Frame 7

3. LONDON DISTRICT OFFICES 1‑76 (cont)
  1. Sydenham 25
  2. Sydenham 25
  3. Sydenham 25
  4. Beckenham 26
  5. Clapham 27
  6. Clapham 27
  7. Tooting 28
  8. Mitcham 29
  9. Carshalton 30
  10. Lee 30
  11. Wandsworth 31
  12. Wandsworth 31
  13. Wandsworth 31
  14. Wandsworth 31
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Frame 8

3. LONDON DISTRICT OFFICES 1‑76 (cont)
  1. Putney 32
  2. Putney 32
  3. Putney 32
  4. Mortlake 33
  5. Richmond 34
  6. Richmond 34
  7. Richmond 34
  8. Richmond 34
  9. Twickenham 35
  10. Twickenham 35
  11. Twickenham 35
  12. Hampton 36
  13. Brompton 37
  14. Brompton 37
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Frame 9

3. LONDON DISTRICT OFFICES 1‑76 (cont)
  1. Kensington 38
  2. Kensington 38
  3. Kensington 38
  4. Kensington 38
  5. Hammersmith 39
  6. Hammersmith 39
  7. Hammersmith 39
  8. Hammersmith 39
  9. Acton 40
  10. Brentford 41
  11. Brentford 41
  12. Brentford 41
  13. Paddington 42
  14. Sutton 43
  15. Wimbledon 44
  16. Southwark 47
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Frame 10

3. LONDON DISTRICT OFFICES 1‑76 (cont)
  1. Greenwich Royal Hill 49
  2. Herne Hill 52
  3. Woodford Green 53
  4. Homerton 53
  5. Norwood 54
  6. Norwood 54
  7. Leyton Street 55
  8. West Kensington 55
  9. Isleworth Smallbury Green 56
  10. Isleworth Smallbury Green 56
  11. Kilburn 60
  12. Kilburn 69 for 60 error
  13. Willesden 61
  14. Willesden 61
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Frame 11

3. LONDON DISTRICT OFFICES 1‑76 (cont)
  1. Harrow 62
  2. Harrow 62
  3. Elstree 63
  4. Camberwell 65
  5. Lewisham 66
  6. Peckham 67
  7. Blackheath 69
  8. Blackheath 69
  9. Catford 71
  10. Tottenham 74
  11. New Cross 76
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Frame 12

4. LONDON DISTRICT OFFICES 1861 B SERIES
  1. 1861 Header page
  2. Holloway 5B
  3. Clapton 6B
  4. Hackney 8B
  5. Poplar 11B
  6. Lewisham 17B
  7. Rotherhithe 21B
  8. Rotherhithe 21B
  9. Merton 25B
  10. South Lambeth 26B
  11. Stockwell 27B
  12. Petersham 32B
  13. Acton 34B
  14. Ealing 35B
  15. Ealing 35B
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Frame 13

4. LONDON DISTRICT OFFICES 1861 B SERIES (cont)
  1. Notting Hill 37B
  2. Notting Hill 37B
  3. Paddington 38C
  4. Shepherds Bush 39B
  5. Southall 40B
  6. St Johns Wood 41B
  7. St Johns Wood 41B
  8. Stanmore 42B
  9. Stanmore 42B
  10. Stanmore 42B
  11. Barking 45B
  12. Fulham Walham Green 46B
  13. Forest Hill 48B
  14. South Norwood 49B