Other Listings
Going back at least to the early part of the 20th century, attempts were made to produce detailed listings of the various fancy cancellations. In most of these listings, the cancellations were grouped into design types, where stars were prominent among them. The following are some of the better known listings:
Covering the early period during which fancy cancels were used, more than 300 stars are listed in the stars class, with several other stars found in other classes. The star class is further sub-divided into the following groups:
- solid stars
- outline stars
- stars with dots or circles at center
- stars within stars
- shaded stars
- elaborate stars
- stars in combination
- stars with six points
- stars with four points
- stars with seven points
- stars with eight points
Focusing on the period during which the private carvings of individual postmasters began transitioning into automated machine cancels, this book covers both the whimsical carvings generally found in other fancy cancel listings, as well as the privately purchased and government issued devices which produced similar cancels. Star killers, as the most popular fancy cancel shape during this period, occupy a major section of the book, with more than 500 star cancels listed. Many stars can be found in other sections as well. The stars are further sub-divided into the following groups:
- solid stars
- stars in circles
- negative stars
- four, six, seven, and eight points stars
- shaded stars
- lined stars
- segmented stars
- open stars
- unusual stars
Despite the name, much of this work is devoted to postal markings other than fancy cancellations. Stars do not have their own section, and, for the most part, are found in the geometric designs section, although several appear elsewhere throughout the book.
Self-described as an update to the Herst-Sampson catalog, fancy cancels occupy just a small portion of this work. The stars have been placed in their own section, though only about 50 are listed.
Unlike the other listings, this work focuses solely on star cancels, and only those used in New York state. No attempt is made to group or classify the different star cancellation designs. It is the only listing where an attempt at completeness is made.