The term earliest reported postmark or ERP is a term used by the

United Postal Stationery Society The United Postal Stationery Society (UPSS) was formed July 1, 1945 from the merger of the Postal Card Society of America, in existence since 1891, and the International Postal Stationery Society, founded 1939. Current membership stands at about 1,0 ...

(UPSS) for the past four or more decades. They have established a database in which the earliest postmarks on

stamped envelope A stamped envelope or postal stationery envelope (PSE) is an envelope with a printed or embossed indicium indicating the prepayment of postage. It is a form of postal stationery. United Kingdom The Sherborn Collection in the British Library P ...

s or

postal card Postal cards are postal stationery with an imprinted stamp or indicium signifying the prepayment of postage. They are sold by postal authorities. On January 26, 1869, Dr. Emanuel Herrmann of Austria described the advantages of a ''Corres ...

letter sheet In philatelic terminology a letter sheet, often written lettersheet, is a sheet of paper that can be folded, usually sealed (most often with sealing wax in the 18th and 19th centuries), and mailed without the use of an envelope, or it can also ...

s is kept. Postmarks are typically dated from days to many months after the date of issuance. An envelope can come out in varying sizes, colors, or shapes without notification to the public. Collecting the earliest reported postmark for a particular variety is an ongoing effort. An earliest reported postmark is different from the

first day of issue A first day of issue cover or first day cover (FDC) is a postage stamp on a cover, postal card or stamped envelope franked on the first day the issue is authorized for useBennett, Russell and Watson, James; ''Philatelic Terms Illustrated'', Stanl ...

where there is a first day of issue postmark and frequently a pictorial cancellation, indicating the city and date where the item was first issued. Although primarily a US undertaking, recently the UPSS has expanded the project to include the issues of Cuba during the US occupation (1898-1902)Krieger, George T.; ''The Postal Stationery of the Possessions and Administrative Areas of the United States of America''; United Postal Stationery Society, 2009, . and the Republic (1902-1958). Earliest reported postmarks are collected by the ''entire'' or cover (the entire envelope). The obvious reason for this is that an envelope's

knife A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evide ...

or size could not be determined if the specimen was a

cut square In philately a cut-out is an imprinted stamp cut from an item of postal stationery such as a postal card, letter sheet, aerogramme or wrapper that may have been used as a normal stamp. Historical aspects In Great Britain the postal use of cut ...

or full corner, even if the entire postmark is retained. Earliest reported postmarks are collected for postal cards as well.Bussey, Lewis E., Ed.; ''United States Postal Card Catalog, 2010'', United Postal Stationery Society, 2010. For the first fifty years of postal card use there was no "first day of issue" as we now know it. Cards would not necessarily be available on any announced day as postmasters were ordered to exhaust existing supplies before ordering more. Previous to 1926, earliest reported postmarks exist up to several months after announced availability dates.

References

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External links

United Postal Stationery Society's Earliest reported postmark page
Philatelic terminology