‘Skull and Crossbones’ KKK postal cancel, Union Mills, Pennsylvania

‘Skull and Crossbones’ KKK postal cancel, Union Mills, Pennsylvania

c. 1870

Still Image

National Postal Museum at the Smithsonian, on loan from Stampvestors LLC through Columbian Stamp Company

https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/freedom-just-around-the-corner/the-ku-klux-klan

Per the National Postal Museum, "Most U.S. postmasters were not issued standard devices for canceling stamps until the 1890s. Prior to that, they were purchased from vendors or homemade. A number of hand-carved KKK-themed cancels were used by the post office at Union Mills, Pennsylvania in 1870. They serve as a reminder that the Klan had adherents in the north as well as the south."

"The skull and crossbones was one of the earliest symbols adopted by the Klan."

unknown

Ku Klux Klan