Climax Rubber Handstamps - overview

Climax Rubber Date-Stamps were first issued in 1885 to small post offices that were not Money-Order Offices, to date-stamp the recently introduced postal orders.  Later, they were also used by these offices to date-stamp Parcel Post labels and ordinary mail.  Although much cheaper than steel hand-stamps they were very much less durable, and from about 1916 they were gradually replaced by the more economic steel hand-stamps.

From their introduction in 1885, the rubber datestamps were necessarily used with a special violet water-based ink, because the normal post office black ink contained oil that would damage the rubber.   In December 1910 a new black ink suitable for rubber handstamps was introduced.  Because of this, a Post Office Circular of 20^th June 1911 now permitted the cancellation of stamps with the Climax datestamps at non-Money Order Offices - a practice that had actually been in operation for about seven years.  The Circular still expected a Head Office transit stamp to be added - a practice that had been abandoned for many years, and an instruction that continued to be ignored.  Violet ink was banned from November 1912.

The particular characteristic of a Climax datestamp is that the month is always expressed as three letters, followed by a full stop. This distinguishes them from any 28 mm. steel skeleton handstamps.

There are three main types of Climax datestamp, the first of which comes in three varieties.

• Type Ia - Village name only, with long names split between top and bottom.  This Type was issued only in the first two years - a total of 27 handstamps from 26 post offices (Butleigh had two) - plus one which appears to have been issued to Catcott in 1912.

• Type Ib - Village + Head Office only.

• Type Ic - Village + Head Office + County.

• Type II - Inscription in three lines.

• Type III - Rubber Skeletons.  When a Climax rubber datestamp needed repair, the office was supplied with a 'skeleton' handstamp. From late 1905 until 1916, this was of a special kind with slots for loose rubber type. Impressions are generally very poor. Before and after this period, steel skeleton handstamps were supplied.  

How many different handstamps of this type were used in Somerset ?  The Somerset & Dorset Postal History Group has catalogued approximately 630, so allowing for ones not yet found there are probably 700-750 different handstamps.  A catalogue of these handstamps is available from the society website for download by S&DPHG members.

The next posts will illustrate these handstamps, grouped together by issuing head office.  The handstamps are not the most exciting but do extend the breadth of Offices covered quite considerably.  A number of the handstamps do not appear in the Proof books so just have known dates of usage which are often extended as new examples of a handstamp come to light.