George & O.C. BarberBarber Match Company

The first of the three firms that used Barber match stamps was Geo. and O.C. Barber. The company's factory was located in Middlebury, Ohio. The owners were George and Ohio Columbus Barber. Their stamp was issued from October of 1864 to March of 1866. 8,372,420 were issued on old paper.


Barber & Peckham took over the business of Geo. and O.C. Barber in 1865. This company used up the stamps of the predecessor organization and then had their own stamps issued beginning in March of 1866. In June of 1867 a revised die of the earlier stamp was ready, so printing of the Barber & Peckham stamps stopped. 6,181,250 were issued on old paper.


The three-cent Barber & Peckham stamp was created for 300-match packages. It was issued from December of 1865 until the end of June, 1867. 1,054,900 were printed on old paper. (The illustration is about 60% of the scale of the smaller stamps.)


Barber & Peckham was succeeded by the Barber Match Company, headed by O.C. Barber. The original Geo. & O.C. Barber die was revised for use, and issue of stamps printed from it began in June of 1867. The last Barber Match stamps were issued March 27, 1883. 22,709,931 were issued on old paper, 66,848,874 on silk paper, and 280,880,696 on pink and watermarked papers. The copy above is on silk paper.

Rouletted copies were considered suspect in the early part of the 20th Century, but have achieved catalog status. The copy above looks genuine.


The three-cent Barber & Peckham stamp was revised for Barber Match Company use as well. It was issued from July of 1867 until November, 1867. 5,965,650 were printed on old paper and 9,963,307 on silk paper. The copy shown is on silk paper. (The illustration is about 60% of the scale of the smaller stamps.)


Double transfers are known on the Barber Match Company one cent and three cent stamps. This three cent example has small doublings primarily visible at places on the second, dark frame line.


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