Reliable censuses of stampless covers do not exist. In the late 1970s and early 1980s Morris Everett published lists of the gross number of individual stampless markings he had collected since 1946. They were listed by the 1956 Dietz Catalog types and were not detailed lists, just numbers. In the initial list Everett noted:
“One of the principal problems I’ve had in compiling my lists is that well meaning collectors have reported owning such and such handstamp paid covers, but they have failed to identify these holdings (as requested) by supplying the date in the canceller or the address details. This has meant that in a number of instances, I have had to assume that when later reports in full were made that they were referring to the unidentified covers. . .”
In addition to the problems noted by Everett there are two other problems. Everett gives the stampless type, the postage value, and the total quantity. These do not always align with the types listed in the 1956 Dietz Catalog and in some cases Everett introduces unlisted types. The other problem is the additions to the basic listing contained in the two subsequent listings are not always based on the original totals resulting in errors in the final totals.
As can be seen by Everett’s remarks and the errors mentioned above, the counts in his listings are not always accurate. The Everett counts are only included in this census to give users an approximate idea of how many examples of a particular stampless marking were known 40 years ago.
As a general rule the Everett listings did not include due markings or markings that were all manuscript.
Everett’s listings first appeared in the Dixie Philatelist as a series of articles in the summer of 1978 through the winter of 1980 issues. Later the articles were combined in the booklet Confederate Handstamped Paids published by the Confederate Stamp Alliance in 1981. An addendum, Confederate Handstamp Paids Addendum, was published by the Confederate Stamp Alliance in 1983. A second addendum was published in the July-August 1987 issue of the Confederate Philatelist.