Icelandic Cancelers 1894-2003, Þór Þorsteins, soft
covers, spiral bound, 8¼ by 11¾ inches, 124 pages, Icelandic and English text,
self published, Reykjavík, Iceland, 2003. $46 from Jay Smith
& Associates, Box 650, Snow Camp NC 27349.
This is the
second edition of Þorsteins’ catalog of the bridge, roller, and machine
cancellations of Iceland.
The material is much expanded over the previous version and includes many
corrections and such features as the bilingual text and the values priced in
Euros. The book begins with illustrations to identify numeral, crown and
posthorn, bridge, and pictorial cancels.
Bridge
cancelers are known in Iceland
as early as 1894 but they were not widely introduced by the postal service
until 1930. Bridge cancellations are listed in eight major types,
alphabetically by place name, showing period of use and earliest and latest
usage where known. Periods of use were determined by cancelled stamps,
manufacturer’s invoice, or opening and closing date of the post office or
branch.
Roller
cancels were introduced in 1931 and appear similar to bridge cancels but with
the addition of wavy lines. Machine cancels in Iceland
began with use of a Krag machine in 1921. Fifteen different machines were used
and the cancels and some slogans are shown. Each listing includes an
illustration of the cancel, slightly reduced in size. The illustrations are
quite good and help with identification. A “synonym” list shows the possible
place names containing the last 3 to 6 letters of a cancel, for identifying
partial cancels.
This book
is the authoritative source for information on these three cancellation types
of Iceland.
Alan Warren