Postmark
A postmark
History
The first postmark, called the "Bishop mark", was introduced by English
In England during the latter part of the 17th century, several postmarks were devised for use with the London Penny Post, a postal system that delivered mailed items within the city of London. The postmarks bore the initial of the particular post office or handling house it was sent from along with a separate time stamp. Postage was prepaid and the postmark was applied to the mailed item by means of an inked hand-stamp. Some historians also consider these postmarks to be the world's first postage "stamps".[3]
In the 19th century and early 1900s, it was common for letters to receive multiple postmarks, or
In Great Britain, the first postmark employed for the cancellation of the then new adhesive postage stamps was the
Different types of postmarks include railway post offices (RPOs) and maritime (on-board ship) postmarks. Postmarks on naval vessels during sensitive operations in wartime are sometimes "clean", showing less information than usual to prevent route of travel or other details from falling into enemy hands. Similar to this is the "censored postmark", overprinted with a black obliteration of the time and place of mailing, for similar reasons.[6]
The Pony Express used a variety of different postmarks on the mail it carried across the Western United States. There are only 250 known examples of surviving Pony Express mail/postmarks in various collections today bearing one of more than a dozen different types of postmarks.[7]
Hawai'i Post, a discontinued personal delivery service, once had a surfboard mail postmark, for covers that traveled by surfboard.[8]
A colour postmark is on the United States Postal Service-issued collectible envelope commemorating the 2004 inauguration of George W. Bush.[citation needed]
While postmarks are applied almost universally by or under the authority of the official postal department, service, or authority in the United States it is possible to receive "a permit to apply your own postmark", called a Mailer's Postmark Permit,
Fewer postmarks are used now than previously, with the advent of
An official example relating a
Ink colour
When the first universal postal system was started in the United Kingdom with its Penny Black, the postmark used red ink for contrast. This was not successful, and the stamp was changed to non-black colours so that the postmark could use black ink.
The majority of postmarks today are in black, with red (particularly in the United States with local post offices' handstamps) following, though sometimes they are in other colours. This is particularly true in the case of pictorial postmarks if the colour in question has some connection to the commemoration.
Digital postmarks
In 2004 the United States Postal Service announced plans to introduce first day digital colour postmarks to be used to cancel some first day covers for commemorative stamps in 2005 and this practice continued[13] and was ongoing as of 2015.[14]
Postmark advertisement
Singapore Post offers a "postmark advertising" service which, strictly speaking, applies to the "killer" rather than the postmark.[15] Hungarian Post Co., Ltd. offers a similar service.[16]
Unusual postmark techniques
There have apparently been some postmarks producing a stereoscopic or "3D" effect where a special viewer is required. They are considered more as a novelty than as a practical postmark.
Valuation of cancellations
The study of postmarks is a specialized branch of philately called
A special or rare postmark can substantially add to the value of a stamp. Also, in addition to everyday postmarks there are postmarks indicating the
There are some examples of "faked covers" produced by philatelic forgers, most usually to increase their value, in which the postmark has been altered in some way; for example, by changing the date.[19]
Practical uses
The postmark is often considered as an official confirmation that a cover (letter, packet, etc.) mailed item was mailed at a given location at a specific date. For example, the date of the postmark can be quite important. In the United States, the
Delivery postmarks
China Post distinguishes delivery postmarks from posting postmarks. When a letter or a postcard is accepted into the care of a postal service, a black postmark is applied on the postage stamp, known as the "posting postmark" (Chinese: 收寄日戳). When a letter or a postcard is delivered, a red postmark is applied on the back side of the envelope or a blank region of the postcard, known as the "delivery postmark" (Chinese: 投递日戳).[22]
Similar marks
A postmark should not be confused with the
Flight
Clubs
There are many clubs devoted to the hobby of collecting postmarks. One of those clubs is the
See also
References
- ^ Sometimes spelled "post mark" or "post-mark".
- ^ "History of the Postal Service". BBC. July 24, 2003. Retrieved February 22, 2009.
- ^ "William Dockwra and the Penny Post Service". Canadian Museum of Civilization. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
- ^ New Zealand Post "Postmarks (Date Stamp) Service". Archived from the original on January 14, 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2006.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ The United States Postal Service digital color postmark commemorating the wedding of the Duke of Cambridge to Kate Middleton does not have a location on it.
- ^ Klug, Janet (January 19, 2004). "Insights: Myriad possibilities to postmark collecting". Linn's Stamp News. Amos Media Company. Archived from the original on July 30, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2020. This site provides a clear example of a sanitised postmark Archived 30 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Frajola, R.; Kramer, G.; Walske, S. (2005). The Pony Express: A Postal History.
- ^ a b "Postmarks". Hawai’i Post. 2008. Retrieved February 22, 2009.
- ^ USPS Form 3615, section for precancel postmark, not for bulk mailers.
- ^ Privately carried and privately canceled postcards from Chickensville Location, Michigan, which does not have its own post office, are an example.
- ^ "Results for 'postmarks' > 'Book'". WorldCat.org.
- ^ "1976 Two Dollar Bicentennial bill postmarked April 13, 1976 with a airmail stamp and a USPS Airmail Postmark on it". Allzrxperts.com. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
- USPS. November 15, 2004. Archived from the originalon May 14, 2011. Retrieved February 22, 2009.
- USPS. March 30, 2013. Archived from the originalon April 12, 2013. Retrieved February 22, 2009.
- ^ "Postmark Advertising". Singapore Post. 2005. Archived from the original on January 26, 2009. Retrieved February 22, 2009.
- ^ "Postmark ad". Magyar Posta. March 8, 2005. Retrieved February 22, 2009.
- (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022.
- ^ "World's only underwater Post Office". Hideaway Island. May 26, 2003. Archived from the original on February 2, 2009. Retrieved February 22, 2009.
- ^ "How to be an Expert/Covers". AskPhil. Collectors Club of Chicago. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
- Church of Scientology International v. Fishman and Geertz, a civil case before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California: Weiner, Robert A. (April 9, 1993). "Proof of Service". Los Angeles: Bowles & Moxon. Retrieved February 22, 2009 – via CS.CMU.edu.
- ^ "Mute oval canceling device handstamp". PostalMuseum.SI.edu. Washington DC: National Postal Museum, Smithsonian Institution. April 18, 2006. GUID ark:/65665/hm83cefd3104acf435d94356e84f94f42dd. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- ^ "中国邮政印发《邮政日戳管理办法》(试行)". Sohu (in Simplified Chinese). June 8, 2021. Archived from the original on January 21, 2024.
- ^ "Collecting those strange Tongan stamps — on cover". Scott Stamp Monthly. August 2002.
External links
- Anonymous Postmark Mailer
- British Postmark database
- World postmark primer: how to decipher dates
- Geographic North Pole Postmark
- A Mystery Postmark
- London 2012 – New postmark kicks off 2012 day in London (backing London's bid to host 2012 Olympics)
- Post Offices with Christmas Names of the United States Postal Service
- November 17, 2011, Postal Bulletin 22324 Philately Pictorial Postmarks Announcement
- Museum
- Precancels
- Clubs