Fox Theatre July 19, 1996 Cancel

Because of Sydney's selection to host the 2000 Summer Olympics, Australia Post had a major presence at OLYMPHILEX '96. Additionally, as part of a special partnership with the U.S. Postal Service, Australia Post had a booth selling Australia postal items in at least one downtown Atlanta Postal Store. Australia Post also rented Atlanta's classic Fox Theater for the first of two first day of issue ceremonies for its commemorative Atlanta 1996/Sydney 200 Olympic stamp. To mark the occasion, both Australia Post and the U.S. Postal Service had postal stations in the lobby of the Fox Theater throughout the Olympics. For this station, officials of the Postal Service's Atlanta district prepared a special cancel for use at the booth throughout the Olympics. As shown above, the pictorial cancel shows the logo of the Fox Theater, with no overt mention of the Olympics. Yet, by virtue of the July 19-August 3 Olympic dates on the cancel and its use in conjunction with the joint Australia-U.S.P.S. presence at the Fox, this seems to clearly qualify as an Olympic cancel. Of all U.S. pictorial cancels marking the 1996 Summer Olympic, this one may prove the rarest -- as there was no mention of the cancel in the philatelic, postal, or Atlanta press about its availability.

(c) Carl Vinson Institute of Government, The University of Georgia

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