The Macklin match stamps are large, crudely printed items, reputedly done by American Phototype rather than the approved printers. John Macklin owned several match companies at the time, 1881-3, apparently none of which were in Covington. One was in Atlanta, using stamps of the Maryland Match Company. Another was located in Lyons, Iowa. Macklin's son, interviewed in the early part of the 20th Century, recalled that some quantities of matches were brought from Baltimore to Covington to have the heads re-dipped. This would account for the location printed on the stamps.

There is no record of the number of stamps printed, but copies are quite rare. 11 copies were recorded in the recent Aldrich census.