WSCC Banner

D.C. Postal History Project

Old Post Office Pavilion TowerThe Washington Philatelic Society had undertaken to compile a postal history of the District of Columbia. The objective was to publish a research and reference work with contributions by WPS members and others who are recognized experts in their particular aspects of D.C. postal history. The intent was also to draw upon the enormous collection donated to the Washington Philatelic Society by the late George T. Turner. Since the WPS merged with the Collectors Club of Washington to form the WSCC, the project has continued under the auspices of the WSCC.

The first objective of this project was to compile and publish a bibliography of sources on the subject. This bibliography was compiled by Seymour Stiss and C. A. Stillions and appeared in the second quarter 1999 issue of the Philatelic Literature Review published by the American Philatelic Research Library. The individual chapters that will eventually make up the work will be published as monographs as they are prepared. Ultimately, they will be collected into a single volume. Member Sy Stiss is directing this project.

We welcome contributions by anyone with a scholarly interest in any aspect of D.C. postal history. Contact C. A. Stillions by mail at 1435 Fourth Street, S.W., No. B212, Washington, D.C., 20024-2227; by E-mail or by phone/fax at 202-484-6524.

D.C. Machine Slogan Catalogue

Thumbnail, Cover of Machine Slogan Cancels CatalogueThe WSCC Machine Slogan Cancellations catalogue lists more than 200 different types of strikes culled from the Society's George T. Turner Collection of D.C. Postal History, the Post Mark Museum’s collections, and the Editor’s personal collection. Earliest and latest known dates of use are provided, and each entry is illustrated.

The catalogue can be downloaded in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) by clicking here. You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them. If you do not already have it installed on your computer, you can download it here.

Read Darragh Johnson, "D.C.'s Identity Lost in the Mail: City Using Md. Postmark After '01 Anthrax Scare," Washington Post, 5 December 2001, p. B1. An interesting look at the disappearance of the Washington, D.C. postmark and how issues of place and identity can be reflected in the mails.

Read Bill McAllister, "Washington, D.C. Postmark Returns to Most District Mail," Linn's Stamp News, 14 January 2008. Following a furor over the December 5, 2007 Washington Post story above, most letters mailed in the nation's capital will once again carry a Washington, D.C., postmark--although it is still being processed outside the District.

The photo at top left shows the clock tower of the Old Post Office Pavilion at 12th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., which rises 315 feet above the ground. The Pavilion served as Washington, D.C.'s main post office from 1899 until 1914, when it was replaced by the City Post Office next to Union Station. The tower contains the ten Congress Bells, full-size bronze replicas of the bells at Westminster Abbey gifted by British subjects during the American Bicentennial year.