British Postmark Society Journal
The BPS Journal is published four time a year, at the end of January, April, July and October. Regular features include news about handstamps, stamp cancelling machines (both die-based and inkjet), slogan postmarks, special event postmarks, postal labels and instructional or explanatory markings, Post Office openings and closures, Mail Centre changes, computer-printed postage labels, and PPIs (printed postage impressions) of Royal Mail and of rival mail companies. The BPS Journal is distributed in printed form by post or as a PDF download. The cover of a recent issue appears on the Home page. We are currently working towards making the archives of the BPS Quarterly Bulletin and the BPS Journal since 1958 available in digital form.
Books About Postmarks
The best general guide to our areas of collecting and study is the 9th Edition of 'Collect British Postmarks', published in December 2013 by Stanley Gibbons Ltd and available by mail-order from the publisher. The SG 8th Edition of 2011 was a successor to the 7th Edition published in 1997 by the British Postmark Society - itself based on the earlier works of the late Dr J T Whitney. This is a general guide to the study and collecting of British Postmarks from 1661 to the present. The latest edition further updates all types of postmarks and their prices, including the effects of recent reductions in the number of Mail Centres. The current edition, contains much new and updated information compared with earlier versions, which are widely available second-hand but no longer recommended as guides.
The British Postmark Society has published a number of books about particular types of postmark over the years, and the following are currently available:
'Special Event Postmarks of the UK' – five volumes covering 1851 to 2013, now also available in digital form - see the Digital Publications page - as is 'Twenty Years of First Day Postmarks – 1963 to 1983'
'Krag Machine Postmarks of Great Britain & Ireland' by Paul T Carter was published by the BPS in September 2012. The book covers Krag stamp-cancelling machines used in Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and the Irish Republic from 1905 to 2012 – all covered for the first time in a single publication (with more than 90 colour and 3000 mono illustrations). Second Edition (July 2022), fully updated and expanded, is now available as a free PDF download - see below.
'Slogan Postmarks, 2000 to 2012' by Martin Grier was published by the BPS in February 2014. This volume is printed in the same format as the four earlier books in the series, written and published by Parsons, Peachey & Pearson. It includes a complete listing of all slogans recorded as used in the years 2000 to 2012, including those used in iLSM (Intelligent Letter Sorting Machine) trials and slogans used in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man. It also lists many additions and amendments to the earlier volumes. It is now available in PDF format, as all printed copies have been sold, via the link on the Digital Publications page. The yearly PDF supplements covering 2013 to 2020 have now been combined by Martin in to a single supplement, which also includes further additions and amendments to the earlier books - follow this link: Slogan Postmarks of the UK 2013-2020
Further supplements cover slogan postmarks used during 2021 and 2022, and these can be downloaded using these links:
Slogan Postmarks of the UK 2021
Slogan Postmarks of the UK 2022
NEW PUBLICATION - October 2022
'Universal Machine Postmarks of Great Britain & Northern Ireland' by Paul T Carter was first published as a series of supplements to the BPS Journal. The entire listing is now online and is frequently updated. It is an exploration of the many dies used in Universal stamp-cancelling machines, including Universal-style "unified" dies used 1933 onwards in Hey-Dolphin and Krag single-impression machines. There are separate listings covering dies used for cancelling stamped mail and dies used on mail prepaid in cash. As well as these detailed listings, which are downloadable as PDF files, there is an introduction to the history, development and deployment of Universal machines, a reference guide to the early machines (with illustrations of their dies) and an explanation of die styles and their evolution. The site can be found by clicking on the following link:Universal Machine Postmarks of Great Britain & Northern Ireland
NEW PUBLICATION – July 2022
'Krag Machine Postmarks of Great Britain & Ireland' by Paul T Carter was first published by the British Postmark Society in September 2012. With more than 90 colour and 3000 mono illustrations, the book covered Krag stamp-cancelling machines used from 1905 to 2012 in Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Irish Republic –the first time this had been attempted in a single publication.
Second Edition (July 2022): Fully revised and updated, this is now available
as a PDF download. With 307 pages,
including more than 130 colour and 4500 mono illustrations, the new edition includes
thousands of updated entries and has expanded sections delving more deeply into
the realms of Krag triangular dies and Krag single-impression machines. There
is also a much-extended image gallery of Krag machine dies.
PDF FREE DOWNLOAD
Please click on the Dropbox symbol below; you do not need to have a Dropbox account. You can view the book online, and you can download the PDF file to your computer or device.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Permission is granted to reuse or reproduce the downloaded content but only for non-commercial purposes. The author, publisher and title of the work Krag Machine Postmarks of Great Britain & Ireland (2nd edition, 2022) should always be mentioned.
Page updated September 2023