1. A Bureau was printed at the Bureau of Printing and Engraving, the whole sheet at a time. It will appear to be professionally printed, straight and uniform.
A town or local precancel was hand canceled locally by a post office. It is usually a rubber stamp that covers a number of stamps at once, like a block of 6. It will appear to be rubber stamped like a cancellation, often not straight or quality printing.
See if you can find a used copy....i am sure they can be found on the internet of The Precancel Stamp Societys Town and Type Catalog of the United States and Territories...its about 2 inches thick !
