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Is There A Catalog For Post Office Forms?

 
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United States
13 Posts
Posted 01/02/2025   3:04 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this topic Add texasguy to your friends list Get a Link to this Message
Here are the forms I am referring to... I did a few searches on-line for Post Office Forms, but all I get are links to current USPS downloadable forms. I am obviously looking for the older versions. Is there a catalog (either printed or on-line)? or a group or society that studies these?

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Pillar Of The Community
6060 Posts
Posted 01/02/2025   3:18 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add John Becker to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
Not a specific catalog, but here is a page with the link to the "USPS forms" database within the postal history grouping at the StampSmarter webpage. (I linked one level up here to give you an idea of some of the other potentially useful projects at this site):
https://stampsmarter.org/features/H...eatures.html

The USPOD/USPS had thousands of different forms in countless editions over the past 200 years. The challenge of collecting and cataloging them is the immensity of the task. Most of them have very modest monetary value (including yours) because of the low demand and the fact that they are often found in bulk quantities. However, they can tell quite a lot about how the mail moves and how the post office operates - both visible to the public and behind the scenes.
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Edited by John Becker - 01/02/2025 3:26 pm
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Posted 01/02/2025   8:01 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add chris s to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
I checked my 2023 Scot US Specialized Catalog and there was no section for Post Office forms. You run into the same problem if searching for values of stamps produced by local private posts after the late 19th century - there are no listings and Scott states it does NOT include these iun their catalog.

However, when you investigate the Specialized Catalog you see the breadth of philately and even though Scott does not categorized it or give it a value there is likely a collector niche interested in postal forms.

I would also check the American Philatelic Society's dealer page at their website. You may find dealers who do buy and sell such items.
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United States
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Posted 01/03/2025   5:02 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add texasguy to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
Thank you very much for the information. Very helpful. !
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Posted 01/03/2025   6:07 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add John Becker to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
To say a bit more, the USPOD/USPS has items identified as forms, labels, notices, posters, publications, publicity photos, tags, etc. Not to mention all the unlabeled/untitled periodic ad mailings they do. These are all well beyond the scope of the Scott catalog, with the few odd exceptions of the various OX labels and the U.S. registry exchange labels which have been listed for several years.

As for dealers, look for those who sell "postal history" to have (at most) a small section of PO items in their stock. Most will file them by other postal history facets. The price is often driven by the scarcity of the postmark/use, rather than anything else. The common items will most often be in the $1 box.

If you have a question about a specific form, show us both sides of it. Nearly all are explained somewhere in the "Postal Bulletin" or the "Postal Laws and Regulations" or the "Postal Guide" volumes, which are available online at several websites.
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United States
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Posted 01/03/2025   7:15 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add Parcelpostguy to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
Yes I read and understood you question. The basic answer is, "No." That said someone was trying to assemble all of the forms and write about them but he, David Straight of St. Louis, died before doing so. His vast holding of such material was split into several not well described bulk lots and auctioned. I did not win any though I tried to keep it together.

My question to you is what do you want to know? There are some sources to explain some forms but I need so direction before I will point.

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