Postmark
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

A postmark is a
postal marking A postal marking is any kind of annotation applied to a letter by a postal service. The most common types are postmarks and cancellations; almost every letter will have those. Less common types include forwarding addresses, routing annotati ...
made on an
envelope An envelope is a common packaging item, usually made of thin, flat material. It is designed to contain a flat object, such as a letter (message), letter or Greeting card, card. Traditional envelopes are made from sheets of paper cut to one o ...
, parcel,
postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. In some places, one can send a postcard f ...
or the like, indicating the place, date and time that the item was delivered into the care of a postal service, or sometimes indicating where and when received or in transit. Modern postmarks are often applied simultaneously with the cancellation or
killer A killer is someone or something that kills, such as a murderer or a serial killer. Killer may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Killer, the secondary antagonist of the 1989 animated film ''All Dogs Go to He ...
that marks postage stamps as having been used. Sometimes a postmark alone is used to cancel stamps, and the two terms are often used interchangeably. Postmarks may be applied by handstamp or machine, using methods such as rollers or inkjets, while
digital postmark A Digital Postmark (DPM) is a technology that applies a trusted time stamp issued by a postal operator to an electronic document, validates electronic signatures, and stores and archives all non-repudiation data needed to support a potential court ...
s are a recent innovation.


History

The first postmark, called the "Bishop mark", was introduced by English
Postmaster General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. History The practice of having a government official ...
Henry Bishop in 1661 and showed only the day and month of mailing to prevent the delay of the mail by carriers. In England during the latter part of the 17th century, several postmarks were devised for use with the
London Penny Post The London Penny Post was a premier Postal administration, postal system whose function was to deliver mail within London and its immediate suburbs for the modest sum of one penny. The Penny Post was established in 1680 by William Dockwra and h ...
, 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". In the 19th century and early 1900s, it was common for letters to receive multiple postmarks, or
backstamp In philately a backstamp is a postmark on the back of a letter showing a post office or station through which the item passed in transit. The office of delivery may also backstamp a cover and this type of mark is known as a receiving mark. It p ...
s, indicating the time, date, and location of each post office transporting or delivering the letter, and this is still occasionally true. While almost every contemporary postmark includes a location as well as a date, in 2004,
New Zealand Post NZ Post (), shortened from New Zealand Post, is a state-owned enterprise responsible for providing most postal services in New Zealand. The New Zealand Post Office, a government agency, provided postal, banking, and telecommunications servi ...
announced plans to eliminate the location on their postmarks and include only the date; however, information about this can be determined by a three-number code on the postmarks. In Great Britain, the first postmark employed for the cancellation of the then new adhesive postage stamps was the
Maltese Cross The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. It is a heraldic cross variant which develope ...
, so named because of its shape and appearance. This was used in conjunction with a date stamp which was applied, usually to the rear of the letter, which denoted the date of posting. Different types of postmarks include
railway post office In Canada and the United States, a railway post office, commonly abbreviated as RPO, was a railroad car that was normally operated in passenger service and used specifically for staff to sort mail en route, in order to speed delivery. The RPO w ...
s (RPOs) and maritime (on-board ship) postmarks. Postmarks on
naval A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operatio ...
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. The
Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company. During its 18 months of opera ...
used a variety of different
postmarks A postmark is a postal marking made on an envelope, parcel, postcard or the like, indicating the place, date and time that the item was delivered into the care of a postal service, or sometimes indicating where and when received or in transit. ...
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. Hawai'i Post, a discontinued personal delivery service, once had a
surfboard A surfboard is a narrow plank used in surfing. Surfboards are relatively light, but are strong enough to support an individual standing on them while riding an ocean wave. They were invented in ancient Hawaii, where they were known as ''papa hee ...
mail postmark, for covers that traveled by surfboard. A colour postmark is on the United States Postal Service-issued collectible envelope commemorating the 2004
inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...
of
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
. 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, and under certain conditions specified by the
private express statutes The Private Express Statutes (PES) are a group of United States federal civil and criminal laws placing various restrictions on the carriage and delivery of letters by all organizations other than the United States Postal Service. History The ...
in the United States, a privately carried letter may be cancelled with a private postmark. Unofficial entities that issue
artistamp An artistamp (a portmanteau of the words "artist" and "stamp") or artist's stamp is a postage stamp-like art form used to depict or commemorate any subject its creator chooses. Artistamps are a form of Cinderella stamps in that they are not vali ...
s may use postmark-like markings as well.
Marcophily Marcophily, occasionally called Marcophilately, is the specialised study and collection of postmarks, cancellations and postal markings applied by hand or machine on mail that passes through a postal system and applied by the postal operator thro ...
is the study of postmarks and there are many published work on postmarks covering the topic from before 1900, such as the
fancy cancel A fancy cancel is a postal cancellation that includes an artistic design. Although the term may be used of modern machine cancellations that include artwork, it primarily refers to the designs carved in cork and used in 19th century post offices ...
s, until the present day. These include the so-called
fancy cancel A fancy cancel is a postal cancellation that includes an artistic design. Although the term may be used of modern machine cancellations that include artwork, it primarily refers to the designs carved in cork and used in 19th century post offices ...
s of the United States to modern
machine postmark {{Globalize, article, USA, 2name=the United States, date=November 2016 A machine postmark or machine cancellation is a postmark or cancellation on mail that is applied by a mechanical device rather than with the use of a handstamp. Nearly all m ...
s. Fewer postmarks are used now than previously, with the advent of
meter label The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
s, some types of
computer vended postage A postage meter or franking machine is a mechanical device used to create and apply physical evidence of postage (or franking) to mailed items. Postage meters are regulated by a country's postal authority. A postage meter imprints an amount of ...
, and computerized postage that people can print from their own
personal computer A personal computer, commonly referred to as PC or computer, is a computer designed for individual use. It is typically used for tasks such as Word processor, word processing, web browser, internet browsing, email, multimedia playback, and PC ...
s (called "PC postage" in the United States, these services have been offered by such companies as
Stamps.com Stamps.com is a brand and the former corporate name of Auctane, an American company that provides Internet-based mailing and shipping services. Until its acquisition by Thoma Bravo, Stamps.com was a public company traded on the NASDAQ exchang ...
and
Neopost Quadient is an international company specialized in mailing equipment, business process automation and customer experience management. It was originally founded as Neopost. As of 2019, the company had about 5,693 employees and annual sales of â ...
). These indicia are not always postmarked by the post office but if put into the mailstream later than the date listed on them, they are postmarked about 50% of the time. Because of this, it is a bad idea to try to use the date on one's postage as a postmark. An official example relating a
numismatic Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals, and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also inclu ...
item to postmarks occurred on April 13, 1976, when the U.S. issued a new two-dollar bill. People could buy the bills at face value, add a first class stamp (at the time 13 cents), and have the combination postmarked to show they were the first day of issue. Large numbers of these were produced and they remain common.


Ink colour

When the first universal postal system was started in the United Kingdom with its
Penny Black The Penny Black was the world's first adhesive postage stamp used in a public Mail, postal system. It was first issued in the United Kingdom on 1 May 1840 but was not valid for use until 6 May. The stamp features a profile of Queen Victoria. ...
, 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 The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
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 and was ongoing as of 2015.


Postmark advertisement

Singapore Post Singapore Post Limited, commonly abbreviated as SingPost, is an associate company of Singtel and Singapore's designated Public Postal Licensee which provides domestic and international postal services. It also provides logistics services in th ...
offers a "postmark advertising" service which, strictly speaking, applies to the "killer" rather than the postmark. Hungarian Post Co., Ltd. offers a similar service.


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. The
local post A local post is a mail service that operates only within a limited geographical area, typically a city or a single transportation route. Historically, some local posts have been operated by governments, while others, known as private local ...
Hawai'i Post Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
had a rubber-stamp postmark, parts of which were hand-painted. At
Hideaway Island Mele (also known as Hideaway Island) is a Polynesian outlier and islet in Vanuatu. The island is owned by the local Mele villagers, but is leased to the owners of Hideaway Island Resort. On the seaward side of the island is a marine reserve with ...
,
Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...
, the Underwater Post Office has an embossed postmark.


Valuation of cancellations

The study of postmarks is a specialized branch of philately called
marcophily Marcophily, occasionally called Marcophilately, is the specialised study and collection of postmarks, cancellations and postal markings applied by hand or machine on mail that passes through a postal system and applied by the postal operator thro ...
. It may bring added value to the stamps by their historical significance. Other parameters are the rarity and the attractiveness. In particular, the stamps issued by the
Empire of Austria The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...
during the 1850–1867 period (the 5 issues before the Austro-Hungarian compromise of 1867), are collected for their variety and beauty. More details can be found in
Valuation of cancellations of the Austrian Empire The study of postmarks is a specialized branch of philately called marcophily. It brings added value to the stamps by their historical significance. Other parameters are the rarity and the attractiveness. In particular, the stamps issued by the Habs ...
. A special or rare postmark can substantially add to the value of a stamp. For example, on a Victorian cover sold at auction for £8,000 in 2019, a
two penny blue The Two Penny Blue or The Two Pence Blue was the world's second official postage stamp, produced in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and issued after the Penny Black. Initial printing took place from 1 May 1840, and in all 6,460 ...
stamp "was upstaged by" a rare 'sun' date stamp. Also, in addition to everyday postmarks there are postmarks indicating 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 Franking, franked on the first day the issue is authorized for useBennett, Russell and Watson, James; ''Philatelic Terms Illustrate ...
of a particular stamp and
pictorial cancellation A cancellation (or cancel for short; French: ) is a postal marking applied on a postage stamp or postal stationery to deface the stamp and to prevent its reuse. Cancellations come in a huge variety of designs, shapes, sizes, and colors. Modern c ...
s commemorating local events, anniversaries, and the like' and slogan postmarks which advertise an event or pass information to the public (there has been a recent change to the term "pictorial postmarks" rather than "pictorial cancellations" by the USPS). 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.


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
Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...
will still consider
income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
returns as filed on time though it receives them late if they are postmarked on time, and this date (with, perhaps, other proof of mailing), may have significance in the context of legal filings and proofs of service or of delivery (though in this case the date may viewed as "on time" if the date of the postmark is no more than one day after the date service is supposed to have been made). Postal voting ballots may be accepted in some places if postmarked by the date of the election, though other places require receipt by a certain deadline. Historically, postmarks, known as
backstamp In philately a backstamp is a postmark on the back of a letter showing a post office or station through which the item passed in transit. The office of delivery may also backstamp a cover and this type of mark is known as a receiving mark. It p ...
s were also applied to the reverse side of a cover to confirm arrival at the post office on a specific date.


Delivery postmarks

China Post China Post, officially the China Post Group Corporation, is the national postal service corporation of the China, People's Republic of China. It is incorporated as a state-owned enterprise. China Post shares its office with the sub-ministry- ...
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" ( zh, 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" ( zh, 投递日戳).


Similar marks

A postmark should not be confused with the
killer A killer is someone or something that kills, such as a murderer or a serial killer. Killer may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Killer, the secondary antagonist of the 1989 animated film ''All Dogs Go to He ...
which are lines, bars, etc. used to cancel a postage stamp. The killer acts as the cancellation, though the postmark can also serve this purpose. Neither should a postmark be confused with
overprint An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a Postage stamp, postage or revenue stamp, postal stationery, banknote or Ticket (admission), ticket after it has been Printing, printed. Post offices most often use ...
s generally, or
pre-cancels A precanceled stamp, or precancel for short, is a postage stamp that has been legitimately Cancellation (mail), cancelled before being affixed to mail. A number of nations of the world use precancels, typically in the form of an overprint on defi ...
(stamps that have been cancelled before the
envelope An envelope is a common packaging item, usually made of thin, flat material. It is designed to contain a flat object, such as a letter (message), letter or Greeting card, card. Traditional envelopes are made from sheets of paper cut to one o ...
or package to which they are affixed is submitted or deposited for acceptance into the
mailstream The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal servi ...
, they most commonly have taken the form of a pre-printed city name on the stamp) specifically, which generally do not indicate a date. Flight
cachet In philately, a cachet () is a printed or stamped design or inscription, other than a Cancellation (mail), cancellation or pre-printed postage, on an envelope, postcard, or postal card to commemorate a postal or philatelic event. There are both ...
s, more or less elaborate rubber-stamps on an envelope indicating on which flight (typically a
first flight First Flight may refer to: * Maiden flight, the first flight of a new aircraft type * First Flight Airport, in North Carolina, United States * First Flight High School, in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina * ''First Flight'' (sculpture), a sculp ...
), a
first flight cover In aerophilately, a branch of philately, a first flight cover, also known by the acronym FFC, is mail that has been carried on an Maiden flight, inaugural flight of an airline, route, or aircraft, normally postmarked with the date of the flight of ...
has traveled via
airmail Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be th ...
, are in addition to the postmark and are not postmarks either.


Clubs

There are many clubs devoted to the hobby of collecting postmarks. One of those clubs is the Post Mark Collector's Club, founded in 1946 and based in the USA. Another is the British Postmark Society, founded in 1958.


See also

*
Indicia (philately) In philately, indicia are markings on a mail piece (as opposed to an adhesive stamp) showing that postage has been prepaid by the sender. ''Indicia'' is the plural of the Latin word , meaning distinguishing marks, signs or identifying marks. T ...
*
Postal marking A postal marking is any kind of annotation applied to a letter by a postal service. The most common types are postmarks and cancellations; almost every letter will have those. Less common types include forwarding addresses, routing annotati ...
*
Postal history Postal history is the study of postal systems and how they operate and, or, the study of the use of postage stamps and Cover (philately), covers and associated postal artifacts illustrating historical episodes in the development of postal system ...


References


External links


Anonymous Postmark Mailer

British Postmark database

World postmark primer: how to decipher dates


* ttp://members.tripod.com/~pennyreds/mystery.html A Mystery Postmark
London 2012 – New postmark kicks off 2012 day in London
(backing London's bid to host
2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
)
Post Offices with Christmas Names of the United States Postal Service

November 17, 2011, Postal Bulletin 22324 Philately Pictorial Postmarks Announcement
* Museum *
Post Mark Museum and Research Library
* Precancels *

* Clubs *
Post Mark Collectors Club
*
Bullseye Cancel Collectors Club
*
British Postmark Society
{{Postal system Postal systems Postal markings Philatelic terminology