Below is a list of Military Postal History Reference Literature that we currently have available. With these references, collectors and dealers can identify and evaluate thousands of different postmarks.
Most of these books are regular stock items, but some are available
in limited quantities. As an example, the total printing of my
Illinois Post Offices book was 418 copies. More than two-thirds
of those have been sold since it was published in February, 1996,
and I do not plan to reprint it. Such limited-edition titles are
often difficult to obtain once the original printing is sold out.
PUBLISHERS: If you have any reference literature that you would
like to make available through this page, please email 
mehrer@postal-history.com , call or write
to discuss terms.
DEALERS: If you would like to stock any of the literature that
we publish (those showing Jim Mehrer as the author), we give generous
wholesale discounts at low quantities.
Email mehrer@postal-history.com,
call or write for details.
ALL BOOKS ARE PRICED POSTPAID IN U.S.
INTERNATIONAL ORDERS: Due to the restructuring of the international postal rates which took effect in January, 2001, we must ask that you email us before ordering. In most cases, we add a charge of 20% to your total to provide for additional shipping costs. However, in some cases, the amount required for postage exceeds the 20% that we usually charge.
ILLINOIS RESIDENTS: Add 7% state sales tax to your order.
We do not accept CHARGE CARDS, and HERE'S WHY: Card companies would take about 5 percent off the top of whatever we sold. We don't feel like giving it to them, and we would rather not raise all of our prices just for the sake of handling charge cards. (Before you write and tell us that we can negotiate a better deal than 5 percent, we know that. But whether it's 3 or 4 or 5 percent, we still don't feel like raising the prices to "cover" it, as they say.) We were accepting payments through an online payment service for awhile, but then they started charging for their services, too. Maybe things will change someday.
We regret that we're unable to send
"bill with" orders, but that just adds to
the paperwork, and we've got plenty to do without the extra load.
Exceptions: If you're a long-time customer of ours, and you're
experiencing some kind of major "reference literature emergency"
that won't allow you to wait a couple of extra days, give us a
phone call (309 / 786-6539) and we'll discuss the possibilities.
Catalog of U.S.
Naval Postmarks / Fifth Edition. (David A. Kent, Editor/1997):
This important catalog was the first full revision in more than
twenty years. Lists ships and cancel types, and includes a scarcity
index. This one is a must for all dealers and collectors. (500
pages; unbound, 3-hole punch.) #970603. $39.00.
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Passed by Army Censor. (Richard W. Helbock/2006): A
catalog of censor markings used on mail from American soldiers
and War Department civilians assigned overseas in 1941 and 1942.
There are 18 chapters in all, organized chronologically and geographically.
All Army operations throughout the world are covered. The last
chapter deals with Operation Torch (the invasion of North Africa)
which involved nearly 200 thousand servicemen and was a turning
point in the war in Europe. Well illustrated with covers and markings.
Includes earliest and latest known dates of use, as well as a
scarcity index for each type. (256 pages; hardbound.) #761101.
$50.00.
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U.S. Postal Machines of the Army Post Offices: World War II. (Bart Billings, in conjunction with Russ Carter, Bob Payne and Reg Morris/2006): More than sixty years after the end of WW II, there is finally a complete catalog of machine impressed postal markings used by the U.S.Army to cancel soldiers' mail. This 2-volume publication contains data accumulated by a number of dedicated collectors, covering APO cancels through the 900 series, as well as all of the BPOs (Base Post Offices). Included are hundreds of illustrations of postmarks; earliest known dates of use; and a valuation guide. Each type is rated from very common to extremely rare, with price ranges from $1 to $200.
A key feature is the Index of APOs, showing which of the seven
basic models of machines was used at each APO. The page on which
the APO listing and illustrations may be found is also given.
As long as the APO number in known, one can easily learn which
machine impressed a given cancel by checking the table. Another
important feature is the Type chart, which describes and illustrates
the various models and types of machines. We
have ONE copy left in stock. (314 pages; softbound.)
#761001. $65.00.
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United States Patriotic Envelopes of World War II. (Lawrence
Sherman/2006): The most comprehensive work ever done on this subject.
Hundreds of full-color illustrations. Includes brief biographies
of the cachetmakers and a complete pricing guide. (430 pages,
hardbound.) #760603. $78.00.
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Domestic United States Military Facilities of the First
World War (1917-1919): A Postal History. (Bob Swanson/2000):
An important publication in which the author lists every known
location in the United States and Territories where soldiers,
sailors or marines might have been stationed during World War
I, providing source locations and checklists for postal history
(letters and cards) from military personnel. The book lists all
fixed, land-based United States military camps and facilities
that operated during the War period, with known postmark types
and dates of usage for the various machine cancels that were used,
as well as some handstamp types. The book includes:
- Many illustrations of cancels and covers
- Extensive index to assist searching for specific military bases
- Additional background information covering both the War and
its military postal history
- War-era listing of U.S. military abbreviations
- Listings arranged by state to assist both state and local postal
history collectors
Available in three different formats:
- Printed version: 375 pages; looseleaf. #700301. $55.00.
- CD-ROM version, with the data stored in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format, compatible with PC's and MAC's. (CD-ROM includes additional color illustrations not present in the printed copy.) #700302. $30.00.
- Floppy disk version: 15 PC format 1.44 meg floppy disks,
with the data stored in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format. #700304. $30.00.
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Prisoners' Mail from the American Civil War. (Galen
D. Harrison/1998): It has been decades since the last work was
compiled on the Civil War prison covers. This book is a totally
new work on the subject.
More than 20 years of research and a database of more than 2,700
Prisoner of War covers were used to produce this publication.
Included in this work are the earliest and latest dates of usage
for most handstamped "examined" markings, as well as
manuscript markings, from the various U.S. and Confederate prisons.
The number of reported covers is given from each of the 58 Confederate
and 83 Union prisons that are listed. A series of four appendices
gives tabulated information at a glance. This work corrects many
errors that are to be found in earlier articles on the subject.
It contains more than 300 illustrations, about 50 which are illustrations
of the prisons themselves.
This archive-quality publication is a must for any Civil War enthusiast,
postal history collector or library. Only 1,000 copies have been
printed and, considering the appeal of the subject matter, these
will surely be sold in a short time. (307 pages, hardbound: Smyth
sewn and bound with a gray roxite cloth cover, gold stamped.)
#980103. $45.00.
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The Catalog of Union Civil War Patriotic Covers. (Weiss/1995):
A lavishly illustrated, monumental work. Replaces the 60 year-old
Walcott book as the standard reference to aid in identifying and
collecting Union patriotics. Includes both a value guide and cross-reference
index to both Walcott and Nutmeg catalog numbers. (850 pages;
hardbound.) #740503. $110.00.
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Confederate States General Issues Stamps Used on Adversity
Covers, 1861-65. (Weiss/1995): Well illustrated look at a
wide range of adversity cover types and usages. Includes a value
guide. (109 pages; softbound.) #740504. $35.00.
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AEF in the BEF. (Jim Boyden/1997): A study of the postal
history of the American Expeditionary Forces during World War
I whose mail bears cancellations of either the British civil post
in the British Isles or the British Military Post in France and
Western Europe. Includes:
(approx.400 pages; spiral softbound.) #980203. $40.00.
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Numbered Army & Air Force Post Office Locations / 7th Edition, Volume 1: BPOs, PRSs, & Regular Post Offices, 1941-1964. (Russ Carter/2001): Due to the amount of new information since the last edition, the book has been split into several volumes. This, the first of these volumes, deals only with the numbered permanent Army Post Offices from World War II until the start of the Zip Code era. Many corrections have been made in this edition. The large number of additions is the result of extensive research in the National Archives and the Center For Military History along with the input from Society members. Besides many new dates and locations, there are entries for APOs previously not known along with previously many unrecorded branches.
Some examples are: the previous edition had 34 Base Post Office entries while the new edition has 88 entries plus information on BPO detachments; the 1st BPO which had 2 lines now lists 25 lines and now known to be 3 different units; APO 196, which was on a ship, was listed with 5 locations and now lists 12 locations; APO 999, which previously had 4 sub unit entries now has 16 entries. Also, the have been many changes and additions to Canadian, Alaskan, and Central American APOs.
Many new APOs in India and post war Germany have been added.
The section on "APOs % PM Los Angeles" is the most comprehensive
and detailed listing ever published. The book opens with an introductory
chapter on the history of the Army Postal System, and how it worked
with such things as listings of APOs used in US maneuvers, lists
to help identify covers, and a description of the relationships
between the pans of the Post Office Department and the Army. Next
are chapters on the Base Post Offices and Postal Regulating Stations
with their histories, workings and listings. The main body of
work, over 240 pages, is the chapter on APOs with their listings.
Finally, there is a country index of numbers listed. (321 pages,
with 23 illustrations and 7 charts; unbound, 3-hole punch.) #710704.
$40.00.
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Numbered Army & Air Force Post Office Locations / 7th Edition, Volume 2: Temporary APOs, 1941-1947. (Russ Carter/2002): Almost nothing in military cover collecting is as mysterious as those 4 and 5 digit APO numbers. There have been questions on what they were called, how they worked, who got them, and where they were or went. The previous edition of this book listed about 600 of these APOs but was little more than a listing from a couple of cover collections. So much new information has been gathered that a whole volume was required.
This volume is the culmination of several years' research in the National Archives and lists over 21,000 numbers. Most of these numbers list the date they were assigned and where they were going. The story begins with the first assignment in December 1941 to the last one recorded in April 1947. There are sample documents to show not only the source of the information but also how the system worked. Included, for example, is a document assigning a temporary APO to comedian Jack Benny.
The volume takes you through each feature of a temporary APO
and tells who used them and why, how many people used them, where
they were used, and so forth. Of particular interest is information
on how to decipher a cover: what numbers were set aside for special
purposes and what the suffixes or letters and additional numbers
meant. Along with this, one will find what it means when a cover
is or is not censored, why Navy cancels are on some covers, and
how to figure out where a cover was posted when there is only
a killer cancel or no cancels. (417 pages, with 17 illustrations,
9 documents and 1 chart; unbound, 3-hole punch.) #720801. $65.00.
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Numbered Navy & Marine Corps Post Office Locations / 7th Edition, Volume 3. (Russ Carter/2003): The numbered Post Office codes used by the Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps were an attempt to hide the locations or unit type. This volume is the culmination of several years' research in the national Archives and U.S. Postal Service library to try to fill gaps of previous editions. While there are a good number of newly discovered Post Office numbers, the real contribution of this edition is the thousands of additions to Branch locations.
This book begins with an introduction to the Navy and Marine
Corps postal coded numbering systems. It is followed with a detailed
listing of Navy Post Office numbers, then by the Branch numbers
used by the Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps and finally a listing
of the Marine Corps Unit numbers that were used early in WW II.
Each section contains illustrations of both common covers and
a few oddities created by the numbering systems. Last but not
least, the numbers and the countries in which they were used are
included. (287 pages, with 37 illustrations; unbound, 3-hole punch.)
#740202. $55.00.
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We Build - We Fight: Locations and Assignments of United
States Naval Construction Units 1941-2005. (Norm Gruenzner/2005):
United States Naval Construction units came into existence just
prior to December 7th, 1941. "We Build - We Fight" is
the motto of the Seabees. This work traces the evolution of the
construction units from 1941 thru 2005 and updates the 1976 work
by Robert Murphy of the old War Cover Club. (421 pages, with 76
illustrations of covers, censor marks and official Navy photographs;
spiral bound.) #750604. $60.00.
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War Ballots: Military Voting by Mail from the Civil War
to World War II. (Russ Carter/2005): The War Ballot envelopes
and cards, with those bright red stripes across the middle, have
long been an enigma. They present the collector with a challenge
in that they do not fit into any conventional category. For example,
they cannot be classified as postal stationery, as penalty covers
can. They were used by the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard
and even selected civilians. Some were only used overseas while
others were used everywhere. One can find them on a regular basis,
yet they are not available in great numbers. And finally, there
has been no source of information to guide the collector - until
now. (262 pages, with more than 315 illustrations, 9 charts and
2 identification guides; spiral bound.) #750603. $55.00.
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U.S. Air Service in the British Isles, 1917-1919. (James Boyden/2002): This study concerns the many American Air Service squadrons and subordinate units that were stationed in the British Isles during World War I, and were required to use the British civil postal system. Included are listings of all reported Air Service units, the British Royal Air Force locations used by those units, and a listing of post offices available for use at each location. Also included is the background of the Air Service in the British Isles and a discussion of postal and censorship operations. Contains several reproductions of covers. (96 pages; comb bound.) #740201. $35.00.
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A Price Guide to U.S. APO Cancels of the Second World War. (Jim Forte & Richard W. Helbock/1996): A priced listing of W.W. II U.S. Army Post Offices according to APO number and country of location! Includes an informative introduction to the subject of APO collecting, and comments on scarcity, demand, condition and pricing. (144 pages; softbound.) #970374. $18.00.
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Canadian Military Postal Markings. (W.J. Bailey & E.R. Toop/1996): Final Canadian Military Postal History book by these writers, a massive work in two soft bound volumes with multi-color cover & slip case. (872 pages; softbound.) #760106. $110.00.
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Mellone's Photo Encyclopedia of U.S.S. Akron & Macon Event
Covers. (John F. Ullmann/1996): Contains photographs and current
market prices of more than 2,700 city and ship cancels on event
covers commemorating the Akron & Macon dirigibles. Indicates
cachet maker, color and quantity issued, when known. Uses unique
numbering system for types. (352 pages; softbound.) #970379.$40.00.
INTERNATIONAL ORDERS: Due to the restructuring of the international postal rates which took effect in January, 2001, we must ask that you email us before ordering. In most cases, we add a charge of 20% to your total to provide for additional shipping costs. However, in some cases, the amount required for postage exceeds the 20% that we usually charge.
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©2002 Jim Mehrer. REPRODUCTION OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS
PAGE, IN PART OR WHOLE, IS EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED.