Editing Postmark (section)

== History ==
[[File:Austria 10h Franz Josef.jpg|thumb|Austrian stamp and postmark]]
The first postmark, called the "Bishop mark", was introduced by English [[Postmaster General of the United Kingdom|Postmaster General]] [[Henry Bishop (postmaster general)|Henry Bishop]] in 1661 and showed only the day and month of mailing to prevent the delay of the mail by carriers.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A1082558 |title=History of the Postal Service |publisher=BBC |date=July 24, 2003 |access-date=February 22, 2009}}</ref>{{ugc|certain=y|date=February 2024}}

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".<ref name="William Dockwra and the Penny Post Service">{{cite web |url=http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/cpm/chrono/ch1680ae.shtml |title=William Dockwra and the Penny Post Service |publisher=Canadian Museum of Civilization |access-date=November 8, 2010}}</ref>

In the 19th century and early 1900s, it was common for letters to receive multiple postmarks, or [[backstamp]]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]] 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.<ref>New Zealand Post {{cite web |url=http://stamps.nzpost.co.nz/Cultures/en-NZ/Stamps/MoreAboutStamps/PostmarkService/ |title=Postmarks (Date Stamp) Service |access-date=May 26, 2006 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090114073036/http://stamps.nzpost.co.nz/Cultures/en-NZ/Stamps/MoreAboutStamps/PostmarkService/ |archive-date=January 14, 2009 }}</ref><ref>The United States Postal Service digital color postmark commemorating the wedding of the Duke of Cambridge to Kate Middleton [http://faq.usps.com/eCustomer/iq/usps/request.do?create=kb:USPSFAQ&view%28%29=c%5Bcusps_050411%5D&varset%28source%29=sourceType:embedded does not have a location on it]{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}.</ref>

In Great Britain, the first postmark employed for the cancellation of the then new adhesive postage stamps was the [[Maltese Cross (symbol)|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.

[[File:Pony Express'60 West bound 1860.jpg|thumb|One of several types of postmarks found on [[Pony Express#Mail|Pony Express mail]]]]
Different types of postmarks include [[railway post office]]s (RPOs) and maritime (on-board ship) postmarks.  Postmarks on [[Navy|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.<ref>{{cite web |last=Klug |first=Janet |title=Insights: Myriad possibilities to postmark collecting |work=Linn's Stamp News |publisher=Amos Media Company |date=January 19, 2004 |url= http://www.linns.com/insights/stamp-collecting-basics/2004/january/myriad-possibilities-to-postmark-collecting.html |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200730111917/https://www.linns.com/insights/stamp-collecting-basics/2004/january/myriad-possibilities-to-postmark-collecting.html |archive-date=30 July 2020 |access-date=30 July 2020}} This site provides a clear [https://www.linns.com/images/default-source/news/rc5_0119_big.tmb-slide-1900.jpg?sfvrsn=5e7c8520_0 example of a sanitised postmark] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200730111918/https://www.linns.com/images/default-source/news/rc5_0119_big.tmb-slide-1900.jpg?sfvrsn=5e7c8520_0 |date=30 July 2020}}</ref>

The [[Pony Express#Mail|Pony Express]] used a variety of different [[Pony Express#Postmarks|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.<ref name="rfrajola.com">{{cite book |title=The Pony Express: A Postal History |date=2005 |first1=R. |last1=Frajola |first2=G. |last2=Kramer |first3=S. |last3=Walske |url= http://www.rfrajola.com/books.htm}}</ref>

Hawai'i Post, a discontinued personal delivery service, once had a [[surfboard]] mail postmark, for covers that traveled by surfboard.<ref name="postmarks1"/>

A colour postmark is on the United States Postal Service-issued collectible envelope commemorating the 2004 [[inauguration]] of [[George W. Bush]].{{citation needed|date=May 2013}}

[[File:Penny Post 1680.jpg|thumb|[[London Penny Post]] postmark and heart-shaped timestamps]]
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,<ref>USPS Form 3615, section for precancel postmark, not for bulk mailers.</ref> 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.<ref>Privately carried and privately canceled postcards from Chickensville Location, Michigan, which does not have its own post office, are an example.</ref> Unofficial entities that issue [[artistamp]]s may use postmark-like markings as well.{{citation needed|date=May 2013}}

[[Marcophily]] is the study of postmarks and there are many published work on postmarks covering the topic from before 1900, such as the [[fancy cancel]]s, until the present day.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.worldcat.org/search?qt=worldcat_org_bks&q=postmarks&fq=dt:bks|title=Results for 'postmarks' > 'Book' |work=WorldCat.org}}</ref>{{better source needed|reason=Search results are too volatile to be a reliable source|date=February 2024}} These include the so-called [[fancy cancel]]s of the United States to modern [[machine postmark]]s.

Fewer postmarks are used now than previously, with the advent of [[meter label]]s, some types of [[computer vended postage]], and [[computerized postage]] that people can print from their own [[personal computer]]s (called "PC postage" in the United States, these services have been offered by such companies as [[Stamps.com]] and [[Neopost]]). 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.{{citation needed|date=May 2013}} Because of this, it is a bad idea to try to use the date on one's postage as a postmark.{{citation needed|date=May 2013}}

An official example relating a [[numismatic]] item to postmarks occurred on April 13, 1976, when the U.S. issued a new [[United States two-dollar bill|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.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://en.allexperts.com/q/Coin-Collecting-2297/2010/7/1976-Dollar-Bicentennial-bill.htm|title=1976 Two Dollar Bicentennial bill postmarked April 13, 1976 with a airmail stamp and a USPS Airmail Postmark on it. |work=Allzrxperts.com |access-date=May 23, 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120815041111/http://en.allexperts.com/q/Coin-Collecting-2297/2010/7/1976-Dollar-Bicentennial-bill.htm |archive-date=August 15, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>