Selah R. Van Duzer opened a drug store in New York City in 1849. He was a distributor of some matches and patent medicines, and had a product of his own, Mrs. S.A. Allen's Hair Restorer.

The four-cent Van Duzer private proprietary stamps were issued from May of 1869 until December 31, 1879. 253,250 were printed on old paper, 331,494 on silk paper and 197,836 on watermarked paper. This copy is on silk paper.

The price of Mrs. S.A. Allen's Hair Restorer was raised from $1 to $1.50 in 1879, so the private proprietary stamp was reissued to reflect the required tax of six cents on January of 1880. These were last delivered May 7, 1883. 174,600 were printed, all on watermarked paper. Many were cancelled in red.

A proof of the six-cent Van Duzer stamp.

Van Duzer used general issue proprietary stamps as well, with several easily recognizable cancels. The stamp on the left is in miserable shape, even having the lower right corner replaced - by one from a postage stamp. The one-cent proprietary on the right shows signs of being cut from the sheet with a scissors. This is true of a number of the match stamps bearing Van Duzer cancels as well.

Van Duzer cancels are often found on Woodbridge match stamps, such as Brockett & Newton or Clark Match Company.

An 1866 Van Duzer billhead.

An 1869 cover listing products that could be found at the Van Duzer locations: Fancy Goods, Perfumery, Patent Medicines, Paints, Oils, Dyes, Acids, etc.