Meisel Letter Henry O. Meisel was the president of the American Metered Postage Society (AMPS) from the mid 1930’s to some time in the 1960’s. Meisel was a forceful presence who injected a little excitement into the hobby by regularly preparing interesting meter and permit covers. While one could be very creative in preparing a permit, there are rules about meter design and Meisel often modified the meter design, apparently with some tolerance from the local post office. Here are a few of Henry Meisel’s metered covers.

References to Henry go back to the 1920’s when he was involved in motorcycle events using an Indian Motorcycle. He created covers to commemorate these events. His newsletter, the American Metered Postage Society Bulletin can be found at the Spellman Postal History Museum in Weston, MA. He also had another newsletter named Indicia News held at the APRL. At left is a Letter from Ernest Roscoe to the editor of the Canadian Meter Study Group (CMSG) in 1984 reminiscing about Henry O. Meisel.

Early AMPS Cover December 16, 1940

Early AMPS Cover December 16, 1940 Close Up

Low numbered Pitney Bowes Eagle with AMPS slug. The advertising slug on this early AMPS cover shows September 15, 1935, likely the birth date for AMPS. Images courtesy of David Crotty.

First Convention November 25, 1952

First Convention November 25, 1952 Close Up

Town mark is modified. Images courtesy of David Crotty.

Roman Numeral in Date, May 5, 1953

Roman Numeral in Date Close Up

The US never authorized the use of Roman numerals for dates. Images courtesy of David Crotty.

International Postal Supply Meter December 11, 1954

International Postal Supply Meter December 11, 1954 Close Up

Meisel’s permit number was often used in creative ways. Images courtesy of David Crotty.

International Postal Supply Meter July 30, 1954

International Postal Supply Meter July 30, 1954 Close Up

The I.P.S notation with the meter number was never used officially. Images courtesy of David Crotty.

IPS Meter with inverted town mark, December 20, 1955

IPS Meter with inverted town mark Close Up

The “Last Day Cover” may have refered to the Clintonville Centenial as postmarked on the reverse of this cover. The postal code slug probably did not apply. Images courtesy of David Crotty.

Modified Town Mark

Date blotted out Close Up

The date is blotted out in this example, and unneeded permit number is included with the town name and a postal code section slug that probably did not apply are evident in this cover. Images courtesy of David Crotty.

NCR Meter with AMPS Slug, May 25, 1958

NCR Meter with AMPS Slug Close Up

NCR meters often contained a slug identifying the sending company but few were this verbose. Images courtesy of David Crotty.

An Unmodified UK Meter, May 15, 1961

Unmodified UK Meter Close Up

AMPS sometimes had conventions in Canada but this one was in the UK. Images courtesy of David Crotty.

An Unmodified Canadian Meter, March 31, 1964

Unmodified UK Meter Close Up

The second AMPS convention in Canada. Images courtesy of David Crotty.

An Unmodified Japanese Meter, July 18, 1953

Unmodified UK Meter Close Up

It is not clear how Mr. Meisel moved from President (often General Manager) to Secretary Treasurer in this case. Images courtesy of David Crotty.

Meisel Local Post Cover 1965

Unmodified UK Meter

Meisel produced many meter covers but also produced a number of permit covers and in addition the odd Local Post Cover.