Stamp show postmark commemorates California native, author Jack London: Postmark Pursuit

By Michael Baadke

The pictorial postmark commemorating this year’s Westpex stamp show and exhibition, held April 29 to May 1 in Burlingame, Calif., near San Francisco, commemorates the 100th anniversary of the death of Jack London, the author of Call of the Wild, The Sea Wolf, White Fang, and other books and stories.

London was born in San Francisco on Jan. 12, 1876, and died Nov. 22, 1916, in Glen Ellen, Calif., north of San Francisco in the Sonoma Valley.

The postmark shows a portrait of London within a circle, and features the name of the sponsoring show.

London was honored on a United States 25¢ definitive stamp issued in 1986 (Scott 2182). The same design was featured on a second 25¢ stamp, formatted for booklets, that was issued in 1988 (2197).

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To obtain the Westpex-Jack London postmark, which has been granted a 30-day extension, address your request to:

SPO MARRIOTT HOTEL Station, Postmaster, 329 Primrose Road, Burlingame, CA 94010-9998, April 29.

The following cancels are also available:

FLEET WEEK Station, Postmaster/Customer Relations Coordinator, 1900 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Suite 103, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33310-9998, May 5-June 4. (Oval ship insignia, “Broward Navy Days.”)

BUTLERPEX Station, Postmaster, 345 S. Main St., Butler, PA 16001-9998, May 6-7. (Oval breast cancer awareness emblem including ribbon in middle, round station emblem.)

PHILATELIC SHOW Station, Postmaster, 7 Post Office Square, Acton, MA 01720-9998, May 6-8. (Rectangle, star inside, “Honoring Gold Star Mothers.”)

MOREL Station, Postmaster, 5500 Beecher Road, Osseo, MI 49266-9998, May 7. (Mushrooms, “Where Families Celebrate Local Culture, History and the Great Outdoors,” “Commemorating the 20th annual Osseo Heritage Day & Great Mushroom Hunt.”)

121ST IRRIGATION FESTIVAL Station, Postmaster, 1240 S. Sunnyside Ave., Sequim, WA 98382-9998, May 7. (“Looking to the Future through the past,” mountains.)

KIWANIS Station 50th Anniversary, Postmaster, 535 N. Court Ave., Colby, KS 67701-9998, May 7. (Round Kiwanis International emblem, “Thomas County-Colby Kiwanis club.”)

HISTORY FAIR Station, Postmaster, 34 N. Main St., Bethel, VT 05032-9998, May 7. (Man in an oval, “Honoring Bethel’s Italian Stone Cutters.”)

MOTHER’S DAY BREAST CANCER CANAL WALK Station, Postmaster, 138 East Ave., Lockport, NY 14094-9998, May 8. (Butterflies, crossed ribbon.)

RACHEL GRAHAM Station, Postmaster, 226 W. Missouri St., Floydada, TX 79235-9998, May 10. (Small house, bow and arrow, shotgun, pair of hands, flower, camera, heart.)

RENOVO Station, Postmaster, 365 Huron Ave., Renovo, PA 17764-9998, May 13-15. (Keystone PRR insignia of Pennsylvania Railroad.)

SYTTENDE MAI Station, Postmaster, Box 9998, Stoughton, WI 53589-9998, May 14. (Floral decoration for Norwegian festival.)

FREEDOM ISN’T FREE Station, Postmaster, Box 9998, Louisville, KY 40272-9998, May 14. (POW-MIA insignia showing prisoner in silhouette profile, barbed wire.)

TIMBERWOLVES DAY Station, Postmaster, 105 N. Oak St., Newark, AR 72562-9998, May 15. (Timberwolf, basketball, “State Champs Boys 3A Basketball.”)

FOREST PARK Station, Postmaster, 1883 Main St., Springfield, MA 01101-9998, May 15. (Flower bloom, “1916 Gardens of Remembrance.”)

ANN ARBOR Station, Postmaster, 2075 W. Stadium Blvd., Ann Arbor, MI 48106-9998, May 17. (Circular datestamp at left and matching circle at right with portrait of Gerald R. Ford, reproducing design of dollar coin, “In God We Trust, 38th President 1974-1977.”)

The following postmarks were granted a 30-day extension:

GHOSTAL Station, Postmaster, 7500 E. 53rd Place, Room 2204, Denver, CO 80266-9999, May 14. (Ghost town, “Ghostal Station of Rocky Mountain Stamp Show, Ghost Trains to Ghost Towns.”)

100TH ANNIVERSARY OF US COAST GUARD AVIATION Station, Postmaster, 2000 Royal Oaks Dr., Sacramento, CA 95813-9998, April 1. (Round central emblem including aircraft, winged emblems, four stars, “USCG Aviation Centennial.”)

LOLLIPOP Station, Postmaster, 724 15th St. W., Billings, MT 59102-4102, April 18. (Boat with pennant, lollipop at bow and stern.)

LOYALTY DAY Station, Postmaster, Box 9998, Frankfort, KY 40601-9998, May 1. (Outline map of Kentucky, VFW insignia includes Great Seal of the United States, “Veterans of Foreign Wars-Kentucky, No one does more for veterans.”)

Share information by writing to Postmark Pursuit, Box 4129, Sidney, OH 45365. 

Instructions for requesting postmarks

Linn’s subscribers can see complete instructions for requesting postmarks by registering at our website, or by visiting online.

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