A Brief History of the PSS

The Precancel Stamp Society, Inc. is the outgrowth of two earlier organizations of collectors of precanceled stamps. The International Precancel Club was organized in 1910. The IPC held several conventions in conjunction with other stamp gatherings.  By 1921 it had 111 members, but was relatively inactive. At about this time, a rival precancel organization was formed under the name: Precancel Club of America. This group had an initial rapid growth and changed its name to The Precancel Stamp Society at what is now considered to be the first PSS convention in Denver in 1922.

In 1923, moves instigated toward a merger between the two rival societies were culminated at the second convention, in Washington on August 16 and 17. Only nineteen members were present. Of several alternatives suggested, the name "Precancel Stamp Society" was chosen. The problem of membership numbers in the merged society was resolved when the oldest living member of the IPC (the older group) was given No. 1, the oldest member of the PCA was given No. 2, and this alternation between groups was continued through the rosters. Fred W. Allen, then of Minneapolis, was elected the first president of the combined society. At that time, the Twin City Precancel Club was enrolled as Branch No. 1.

The Philatelic Gossip was chosen at that time as the official organ of the society. Since then, a number of philatelic publications have served in this capacity, including the Precancel Bee, the Precancel Optimist, and the present organ, The Precancel Forum. In 1949, the Forum became the property of the Society. Beginning in 1923, the PSS issued a Yearbook giving important information about the Society and a roster of members. Beginning in 1975, the Yearbook was published every other year. At present the Precancel Stamp Society, Inc. is composed of over 950 members residing in 48 states, and in over 20 foreign countries.

PSS Convention History

Every year since 1922, the PSS holds a national convention somewhere in the United States. From 1943-45, mini-conventions were held in accordance with the by-laws due to the war.  Annual conventions of the Society have been held at the following locations: (Click on the link to see more info about each convention.  I'm planning to add more historical data about past PSS conventions here).

Membership Numbers

An approximate correlation of membership numbers with dates of admission is as follows:

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Webmaster: Michael Hynes
Revised: September 17, 2007