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Commercially used inland postcard sent from The Hague to Koog aan de Zaan on September 2, 1901. The contents on the back concern an order for tea.
The stamp is cancelled with the very special postmark of the Vulcanus Experimental Machine. The Vulcanus Machine was invented and built by the Dutch engineer C.C. van der Valk.
The machine was provided with a steel datestamp that was heated by a paraffin flame and which made a permanent burned imprint. It took 15 minutes time to heat up the machine before it was ready for use. The cancellation machine, operated by foot, could cancel 240 items per minute.
The aim of the trial was to develop a type of cancellation that prevented the reuse of lightly cancelled postage stamps.
The problem, however, was that not only the stamps were cancelled but that also the covers were damaged by heat and more than once even the contents were completely burned trough, particularly if the covers were produced of thin paper.
The machine was in use only in The Hague between August 5th and November 2nd, 1901. In connection with the problems mentioned before after September 29 the machine was only used for postcards and printed matter.
Cancellations of the Vulcanus Machine can be indentified by the three broken circles (the regular stamps are provided by two closed circles) and the redbrown burned imprints. The burnt-in-cancellation exists in two types with relatively small differences. Naturally clear and clean cancellations of this type are rare. The exhibited item shows a nice example of this cancellation.
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