Postmark
Encyclopedia
A postmark is a postal marking
made on a letter, package
, postcard
or the like indicating the date and time that the item was delivered into the care of the postal service. Modern postmarks are often applied simultaneously with the cancellation or killer
that marks the postage stamp
(s) as having been used (though in some circumstances there may be a postmark without a killer, and sometimes the postmark and killer form a continuous design), and the two terms are often used interchangeably, if incorrectly. Postmarks may be applied by hand or by machines, using methods such as roller
s or inkjet
s, while digital postmarks are a recent innovation. The local post
Hawai'i Post had a rubber-stamp postmark parts of which were hand-painted. At Hideaway Island, Vanuatu
, the Underwater Post Office has an embossed postmark.
Henry Bishop
in 1661 and showed only the day and month of mailing in order 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
, 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 a 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 indicating the time, date, and location of each post office delivering or transporting the letter, and this is still occasionally true, though to a lesser extent (see "backstamp
"). While almost every contemporary postmark includes a location as well as a date, in 2004 New Zealand Post
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 postage stamps was the Maltese Cross, 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
s ("RPOs") and maritime (on-board ship) postmarks. Postmarks on naval
vessels during sensitive operations in wartime
are sometimes "clean", showing less information than normally 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 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.
Hawai'i post once had a surfboard
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
of George W. Bush
.
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 Permit Postmark], and under certain conditions specified by the private express statutes
in the United States
, a privately carried letter may be cancelled with a private postmark. Unofficial entities that issue artistamp
s may use postmark-like markings as well.
Much of the published work on postmarks covers postmarks from before 1900. (This is perhaps because in the United States
so-called fancy cancel
s were prevalent in this period, with the cancelling device often hand-cut from cork
by the postmaster
in elaborate shapes such as flags, stars or shapes that were seasonally-appropriate such as turkeys for Thanksgiving
). Much work in studying postmarks is needed for 1900 and later.
Fewer postmarks are used now than previously, with the advent of meter labels, which indicate the precise date and time of acceptance at the post office
, some types of computer vended postage, and computerized postage that people can print off their own PC
s (called in the United States
PC Postage, these services were offered by such companies as Stamps.com and Neopost, Inc.). These indicia do not need to be postmarked, though occasionally they are redundantly, and inadvertently (or for whatever other reason).
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.
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 has continued into 2006 and is currently ongoing as of 2011.
offers a "postmark advertising" service which, strictly speaking, applies to the "killer" rather than the postmark. Hungarian Post Co., Ltd. offers a similar service.
of a particular stamp and pictorial cancellations 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 in order to increase their value, in which the postmark has been altered in some way; for example, by changing the date.
will still consider income tax
returns as filed on time though it receives them late if they are postmarked on time, and this date (with, perhaps, other proofs of mailing), may have significance as regards legal filings and proofs of service (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). Entries into sweepstakes
and contests, and juried art exhibition
s, may likewise have a "postmark deadline," and in at least one case it might have significance regarding the date of class withdrawal.
s generally, or pre-cancels (stamps that have been cancelled before the envelope
or package to which they are affixed is submitted or deposited for acceptance into the mailstream
, 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
s, more or less elaborate rubber-stamps on an envelope indicating on which flight (typically a first flight
) a cover
has traveled via air mail, are in addition to the postmark and are not postmarks either.
Source: "Collecting those strange Tongan stamps — on cover," in Scott Stamp Monthly (August 2002)
, founded in 1946 and based in the USA. Another is the British Postmark Society, founded in 1958.
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 annotations, warnings, postage due notices and explanations, such...
made on a letter, package
Package
Package can refer to:* Packaging and labeling* Package testing* Mail item larger than a letter* Chip package or chip carrier, in electronics, the material added around a component or integrated circuit to allow it to be handled without damage and incorporated into a circuit* Automotive package, in...
, postcard
Postcard
A postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an envelope....
or the like indicating the date and time that the item was delivered into the care of the postal service. Modern postmarks are often applied simultaneously with the cancellation or killer
Killer (philately)
In philately a killer is a particularly heavy type of handstamp consisting of heavy bars, cork impressions or other crude devices used to cancel postage stamps...
that marks the postage stamp
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
(s) as having been used (though in some circumstances there may be a postmark without a killer, and sometimes the postmark and killer form a continuous design), and the two terms are often used interchangeably, if incorrectly. Postmarks may be applied by hand or by machines, using methods such as roller
Roller
The rollers are an Old World family, Coraciidae, of near passerine birds. The group gets its name from the aerial acrobatics some of these birds perform during courtship or territorial flights. Rollers resemble crows in size and build, and share the colourful appearance of kingfishers and...
s or inkjet
Inkjet printer
An inkjet printer is a type of computer printer that creates a digital image by propelling droplets of ink onto paper. Inkjet printers are the most commonly used type of printer and range from small inexpensive consumer models to very large professional machines that can cost up to thousands of...
s, while digital postmarks are a recent innovation. The local post
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 posts have been for-profit companies...
Hawai'i Post had a rubber-stamp postmark parts of which were hand-painted. At Hideaway Island, Vanuatu
Vanuatu
Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...
, the Underwater Post Office has an embossed postmark.
History
The first postmark (called the "Bishop Mark") was introduced by English Postmaster GeneralUnited Kingdom Postmaster General
The Postmaster General of the United Kingdom is a defunct Cabinet-level ministerial position in HM Government. Aside from maintaining the postal system, the Telegraph Act of 1868 established the Postmaster General's right to exclusively maintain electric telegraphs...
Henry Bishop
Henry Bishop (postmaster general)
Henry Bishop, , also spelt Bishopp and Bisshopp, from Henfield in Sussex, England was a Postmaster General of England and inventor of the first postmark used on mail.-Postmaster General:...
in 1661 and showed only the day and month of mailing in order 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
London Penny Post
The London Penny Post was a premier 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 his business partner, Robert Murray...
, 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 a 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 indicating the time, date, and location of each post office delivering or transporting the letter, and this is still occasionally true, though to a lesser extent (see "backstamp
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....
"). While almost every contemporary postmark includes a location as well as a date, in 2004 New Zealand Post
New Zealand Post
New Zealand Post, commonly referred by its acronym, NZPost is a State owned enterprise responsible for providing postal service in New Zealand.-History:...
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
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
the first postmark employed for the cancellation of the then new postage stamps was the Maltese Cross, 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
Railway post office
In the United States a railway post office, commonly abbreviated as RPO, was a railroad car that was normally operated in passenger service as a means to sort mail en route, in order to speed delivery. The RPO was staffed by highly trained Railway Mail Service postal clerks, and was off-limits to...
s ("RPOs") and maritime (on-board ship) postmarks. Postmarks on naval
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
vessels during sensitive operations in wartime
Wartime
The term wartime could refer to:* Wartime, Saskatchewan, a small community in Saskatchewan, Canada.* Wartime Station, Saskatchewan, a small community in Saskatchewan, Canada.* A formal state of war, as opposed to peacetime...
are sometimes "clean", showing less information than normally 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 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.
Hawai'i post once had a surfboard
Surfboard
A surfboard is an elongated platform used in the sport of surfing. Surfboards are relatively light, but are strong enough to support an individual standing on them while riding a breaking wave...
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
Inauguration
An inauguration is a formal ceremony to mark the beginning of a leader's term of office. An example is the ceremony in which the President of the United States officially takes the oath of office....
of George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
.
While postmarks are applied almost universally by or under the authority of the official postal department, service, or authority [in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
it is possible to receive a permit to apply your own postmark, called a Mailer's Permit Postmark], and under certain conditions specified by the private express statutes
Private Express Statutes
The Private Express Statutes 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:...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, a privately carried letter may be cancelled with a private postmark. Unofficial entities that issue artistamp
Artistamp
The term artistamp or artist's stamp refers to a postage stamp-like art form used to depict or commemorate any subject its creator chooses...
s may use postmark-like markings as well.
Much of the published work on postmarks covers postmarks from before 1900. (This is perhaps because in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
so-called fancy cancel
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 of the United States.When postage stamps were...
s were prevalent in this period, with the cancelling device often hand-cut from cork
Cork (material)
Cork is an impermeable, buoyant material, a prime-subset of bark tissue that is harvested for commercial use primarily from Quercus suber , which is endemic to southwest Europe and northwest Africa...
by the postmaster
Postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...
in elaborate shapes such as flags, stars or shapes that were seasonally-appropriate such as turkeys for Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
). Much work in studying postmarks is needed for 1900 and later.
Fewer postmarks are used now than previously, with the advent of meter labels, which indicate the precise date and time of acceptance at the post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, some types of computer vended postage, and computerized postage that people can print off their own PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
s (called in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
PC Postage, these services were offered by such companies as Stamps.com and Neopost, Inc.). These indicia do not need to be postmarked, though occasionally they are redundantly, and inadvertently (or for whatever other reason).
Ink colour
When the first universal postal system was started in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
with its Penny Black
Penny Black
The Penny Black was the world's first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system. It was issued in Britain on 1 May 1840, for official use from 6 May of that year....
, 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 ServiceUnited States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
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 has continued into 2006 and is currently ongoing as of 2011.
Postmark Advertisement
Singapore PostSingapore Post
Singapore Post Limited or commonly known as is Singapore's designated Public Postal Licensee which provides domestic and international postal services. It also provides logistics services in the domestic market and global delivery services...
offers a "postmark advertising" service which, strictly speaking, applies to the "killer" rather than the postmark. Hungarian Post Co., Ltd. offers a similar service.
Stereoscopic
There have apparently been some postmarks with a producing a stereoscopic or "3D" effect where a special viewer is require and is considered more as a novelty than a practical postmark.Value
A special or rare postmark can substantially add to the value of a stamp. (In addition to everyday postmarks there are postmarks indicating the first day of issueFirst day of issue
A First Day of Issue Cover or First Day Cover is a postage stamp on a cover, postal card or stamped envelope franked on the first day the issue is authorized for use within the country or territory of the stamp-issuing authority. Sometimes the issue is made from a temporary or permanent foreign or...
of a particular stamp and pictorial cancellations 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 in order 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 ServiceInternal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
will still consider income tax
Income tax
An income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
returns as filed on time though it receives them late if they are postmarked on time, and this date (with, perhaps, other proofs of mailing), may have significance as regards legal filings and proofs of service (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). Entries into sweepstakes
Sweepstakes
The United States consumer sales promotion known as a sweepstake has become associated with marketing promotions targeted toward both generating enthusiasm and providing incentive reactions among customers by enticing consumers to submit free entries into drawings of chance...
and contests, and juried art exhibition
Art exhibition
Art exhibitions are traditionally the space in which art objects meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is rarely true, it is stated to be a "permanent exhibition". In American English, they may be called "exhibit", "exposition" or...
s, may likewise have a "postmark deadline," and in at least one case it might have significance regarding the date of class withdrawal.
Similar marks
A postmark should not be confused with the killer which are lines, bars, etc. used to cancel a postage stamp. Neither should a postmark be confused with overprintOverprint
An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a postage stamp or banknote after it has been printed. Post offices most often use overprints for internal administrative purposes such as accounting but they are also employed in public mail...
s generally, or pre-cancels (stamps that have been cancelled before the envelope
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 or card....
or package to which they are affixed is submitted or deposited for acceptance into the mailstream
Mailstream
The term mailstream was coined in the late 20th century to recognize the emerging industry that combined business insight, customer engagement, document workflow and mail production....
, they most commonly have taken the form of a pre-printed city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
name
Name
A name is a word or term used for identification. Names can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. A personal name identifies a specific unique and identifiable individual person, and may or may not include a middle name...
on the stamp) specifically, which generally do not indicate a date.
Flight cachet
Cachet
In philately, a cachet is a printed or stamped design or inscription, other than a cancellation or pre-printed postage, on an envelope, postcard, or postal card to commemorate a postal or philatelic event. There are official and private cachets. They commemorate everything from the first flight...
s, more or less elaborate rubber-stamps on an envelope indicating on which flight (typically a first flight
First Flight
First Flight may refer to:* "First Flight" * First Flight , an animated short film* First Flight Airport, in North Carolina, United States* First Flight Handicap, a horse race...
) a cover
Cover (philately)
In philately, the term cover pertains to the outside of an envelope or package with an address, typically with postage stamps that have been cancelled and is a term generally used among stamp and postal history collectors. The term does not include the contents of the letter or package, although...
has traveled via air mail, are in addition to the postmark and are not postmarks either.
Source: "Collecting those strange Tongan stamps — on cover," in Scott Stamp Monthly (August 2002)
Clubs
There are many clubs devoted to the hobby of collecting postmarks. One of those clubs is the Post Mark Collector's ClubPost Mark Collector's Club
The Post Mark Collector's Club is an international, non-profit organization by and for collectors and students of postmarks, covers and related items...
, founded in 1946 and based in the USA. Another is the British Postmark Society, founded in 1958.
External links
- Anonymous Postmark Mailer
- World postmark primer: how to decipher dates
- http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dpostmark%26fr%3DFP-tab-img-t%26toggle%3D1%26ei%3DUTF-8&h=121&w=150&imgcurl=www.coretek.org%2Falsmith%2Fpics%2Fpostmark.jpg&imgurl=www.coretek.org%2Falsmith%2Fpics%2Fpostmark.jpg&size=6.8kB&name=postmark.jpg&rcurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coretek.org%2Falsmith%2Fal6.html&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coretek.org%2Falsmith%2Fal6.html&p=postmark&type=jpeg&no=1&tt=10,554Geographic North Pole Postmark]
- A Mystery Postmark
- London 2012 - New postmark kicks off 2012 day in London (backing LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's bid to host 2012 Olympics) - Specialty Holiday Postmarks Offered by the United States Postal Service
- November 18, 2010 Postal Bulletin 22298 Philately Pictorial Postmarks Announcement
- Museum
- Precancels
- Clubs
