Musical Cancellations

My main collecting focus is music-themed stamps, hence the name of this blog. Because of that, I have also put together quite a number of covers with musical stamps and themes. As a subgroup of those covers, are a group with interesting musical cancellations.

Such cancellations can include words or imagery. On this page, I will feature those cancellations that are musical in nature. I’ve organized them chronologically and when possible, also by theme. I will add to this as I collect more.

Composer Anniversaries

In 1935, Germany celebrated the anniversary of several composers births, most famously Johann Sebastian Bach. Below is one of my favorite cancellations, featuring a portrait of Bach from that year.

I have another Bach cancellation, this is from Arstadt, Germany, fifty years later, for the 300th anniversary of his birth.

I think my favorite composer cancellation however is of Francois Couperin, from France, in 1968.

I also love this 1982 Paganini cancellation from Genoa, Italy (Paganini’s hometown).

Musical Instrument Maker

Another person who was the subject of a cancellation was the famous violin maker Antonio Stradivari. This cancellation features a historical painting of Stradivari from the 19th century (there is no portrait of the maker so this is a fictional rendition).

Musical Lyres

A very common motif for musical cancellations are lyres. The ancient instrument has become a universal symbol of music and you can see it often. Here are a couple of 1940s examples from my collection. On the left is an Austrian celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mozart in 1941. The Czech cancellation was in honor of the centennial of Frederick Chopin’s death.

Here is another example from Israel in 1977. That year, the country created a set of postage stamps celebrating ancient musical instruments. On the cover cancellations is a wonderful ancient lyre.

Pianos

Pianos are another common theme on cancellations. Below left is another cancellation for a Bach anniversary in 1950, the bicentennial of his death. The fortepiano cancellation on the right is in honor of the Salzburg music festival in 1959.

Piano keys are also common (and a bit more simple) design for musical cancellations.

The next cancellation is much more interesting. It features a type of upright piano known as a Lyraflugel. It gets its name from the lyre-shape of the case, which causes the strings to have to have a special orientation in order to keep the long strings of the bass inside the case. The cancellation honors the Musikinstrumenten Museum of Berlin.

Miscellaneous Stringed Instruments

Here is a group of various stringed instrument cancellations in my collection. The oud is the feature on a 2010 stamp from Israel. Next to it is a cancellation from 2019 celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock music festival. Of course, the specific guitar design comes from the original Woodstock posters of 1969. After that is a group of three violin (or fiddle) cancellations.

Germany 1968

While I have no good way to group these, I have two wonderful cancellations from 1968. The first features a portrait of the French composer Francois Couperin whose 300th birthday was celebrated in 1968. Secondly, Germany celebrated its famed Bayreuth opera house and the centennial of Wagner’s Meistersinger with a fantastic cancellation that year.

Czech Year of Music

In 1974, Czechoslovakia celebrated its musical culture. This included both stamps and several special musical cancellations.

Europa Year of Music

1985 saw the celebration of the 300th anniversary of several Baroque composers, foremost among them Johann Sebastian Bach. The Europa stamps that year, while all individual, were to be around the theme of music. There were multiple stamps featuring Bach and other composers, but also instruments and performers on stamps across Europe. As a result of these stamps, musical cancellations were common that year too.

Russia Post Horn

I am surprised that I only have a single cancellation that features a post horn. Surely, these are common cancellations that I have just not acquired.

Legends of American Music

In the 1990s, the United States created the Legends of American Music series, which celebrated many musical geniuses across genres. Consequently, for many of the first day ceremonies there were special cancellations, including the three below. The gates of Graceland used to cancel some stamps from Memphis in honor of the Elvis stamp is particularly wonderful.

Musical Notation

Of course, musical notation is also a prominent theme of musical cencellations.

Japanese Musical Cancellations

Japan is well known for its wonderful, creative, and intricate postal cancellations. For instance, there are some wonderful musical examples on First Day Covers from the Japanese Song Series stamps from 1979-1981.