Schermack Stamp Vending Machine

The August Object of the Month on the National Postal Museum's website is the Schermack Stamp Vending Machine.

In 1905 the Post Office Department officially began investigating the use of vending machines to sell stamps, stamped envelopes, and postal cards.

According to the site, Joseph Schermack is generally credited with producing the first practical stamp vending machine. In 1910 he introduced a “profit-sharing” model where he sold two two-cent stamps or four one-cent stamps for a nickel, and in 1926 he formed the Sanitary Postage Service Corporation.

Labeling the machine as a vendor of “sanitary stamps” differentiated the machine from competitors while attracting a clientele that feared the spread of germs.

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