William Barlow Jr.'s Award-Winning Exhibit on the History of the Machine Cancels of Boston, Massachusetts

Our Society's past president, William Barlow, Jr., has produced an award-winning exhibit (2008 Indypex GOLD, Napex GOLD, Postmark Society award, and many more) on the history of machine cancels used in Boston, Massachusetts. Most collectors of machine cancels will recognize that Boston was a major center for experimentation with new machines, and study of American flag machines used in this city alone offers an amazing variety. The exhibit goes well beyond the American company and is a useful education for both new and experienced machine cancel collectors. The contents referred to here are images of the exhibit pages created by William Barlow, Jr., and are reproduced and distributed to the public with his permission.

There are three sets of files, each for a particular format (such as web pages). The exhibit contains 7 frames in all.

Each of the PDF files listed below is approximately 6-9 megabytes in size. You should be able to read them on any computer that can handle larger files and images. See the web page with information about downloading and viewing PDF files.

The second set of files are the same 7 frames, made available for direct viewing on the Machine Cancel Society website. Each of the 7 web pages has a table of contents to point to the various frame images. To view a frame, simply click on the HTML link below. (NOTE: for users of phone and tablets, you should turn your device to be horizontal, in order to best view the exhibit pages.)

The third set of files are the same 7 frames, but stored as web page sets that you can download to your computer/phone/pad. Each file is a ZIP compressed archive, of approximately 6-9 megabytes in size. Viewing these files is a completely off-line experience, and once the files are downloaded, you do not need to be connected. To learn how to download, unpack and use these files, see the web page with information about downloading, unpacking, and viewing the ZIP files.