Editing Postmark

{{Short description|Mark of the date/time that mail enters postal service custody}}
{{For |the American band|The Postmarks}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2020}}
[[File:Postmark USS Texas 1932.jpg|thumb|Postmark used on [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] ship]]
{{Multiple image
| image1 = South Pole Postmark 1.png
| image2 = South Pole Postmark 2.png
| width  = 150
| footer = Postmark of the [[Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station]] at the [[South Pole]]
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A '''postmark'''<ref>Sometimes spelled "post mark" or "post-mark".</ref> 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.  Modern postmarks are often applied simultaneously with the [[Cancellation (mail)|cancellation]] or [[Killer (philately)|killer]] 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 [[Inkjet printer|inkjets]], while [[digital postmark]]s are a recent innovation.

== 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>

== 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<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.usps.com/communications/news/stamps/2004/sr04_080.htm |title=Revolutionary First Day Digital Color Postmark Creates Unique Collectable |publisher=[[USPS]] |date=November 15, 2004 |access-date=February 22, 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110514053546/http://www.usps.com/communications/news/stamps/2004/sr04_080.htm |archive-date=May 14, 2011 }}</ref> and was ongoing as of 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://store.usps.com/store/browse/productDetailSingleSku.jsp?productId=S_578465&categoryId=subcatC_CP_DCPs |title=The War of 1812: USS Constitution Digital Color Postmark |publisher=[[USPS]] |date=March 30, 2013 |access-date=February 22, 2009 |archive-url= https://archive.today/20130412023401/https://store.usps.com/store/browse/productDetailSingleSku.jsp?productId=S_578465&categoryId=subcatC_CP_DCPs |archive-date=April 12, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Postmark advertisement ==
[[Singapore Post]] offers a "postmark advertising" service which, strictly speaking, applies to the "killer" rather than the postmark.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.singpost.com.sg/singpost_02_04_05postmark.htm |title=Postmark Advertising |publisher=[[Singapore Post]] |year=2005 |access-date=February 22, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090126064146/http://singpost.com.sg/singpost_02_04_05postmark.htm |archive-date=January 26, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Hungarian Post Co., Ltd. offers a similar service.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.posta.hu/object.150fa336-6b9f-4599-9cbb-db4c6e7ed910.ivy |title=Postmark ad |publisher=[[Magyar Posta]] |date=March 8, 2005 |access-date=February 22, 2009}}</ref>

== 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.<ref>{{Cite journal | last=Snee | first=Charles | title=3-D postmark update: use on postal card in 1993 |journal=[[Linn's Stamp News]] |date=August 9, 2004 |page=35 |url=http://www.httpdemo.com/pr-3350-usps-3d-postmark2.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/httpdemo.com/pr-3350-usps-3d-postmark2.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |issn=0161-6234 }}</ref> The [[local post]] [[Hawai'i Post]] had a rubber-stamp postmark, parts of which were hand-painted.<ref name="postmarks1">{{cite web |url= http://www.hawaii-post.com/postmarks.html |title=Postmarks |publisher=Hawai’i Post |date=2008 |access-date=February 22, 2009}}</ref> At [[Hideaway Island]], [[Vanuatu]], the Underwater Post Office has an [[Embossing (paper)|embossed]] postmark.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.hideaway.com.vu/postoffice.htm |title=World's only underwater Post Office |publisher=Hideaway Island |date=May 26, 2003 |access-date=February 22, 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090202223316/http://www.hideaway.com.vu/postoffice.htm |archive-date=February 2, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Valuation of cancellations ==
The study of postmarks is a specialized branch of philately called [[marcophily]]. 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]] 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]].
[[File:MährischOstrau 5kr 1878 MoravskaOstrava.jpg|thumb|Example of postmark with historical significance: bilingual in the Austrian monarchy Moravia province, 1878]]

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]] stamp "was upstaged by" a rare 'sun' date stamp.<ref>{{cite news |title=Auction Highlights: Great Britain 1841 London 'Sun' datestamp|work=Stamp Magazine |publisher=My Time Media |date=April 2019 |page=15|volume=85|number=4|issn=0307-6679}}</ref> Also, in addition to everyday postmarks there are postmarks indicating the [[first day of issue]] of a particular stamp and [[pictorial cancellation]]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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.askphil.org/b55.htm |title=How to be an Expert/Covers |work=AskPhil |publisher=Collectors Club of Chicago |access-date=March 17, 2009}}</ref>

== 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]] 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 [[Registered mail|proof of mailing]]), may have significance in the context of legal filings and [[Proof of service|proofs of service]] or [[Proof of delivery|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).<ref>Examples from ''[[Church of Scientology International v. Fishman and Geertz]]'', a civil case before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California: {{cite web |url= https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Fishman/Declaration/venserv.html |title=Proof of Service |first=Robert A. |last=Weiner |publisher=Bowles & Moxon |location=Los Angeles |via=CS.CMU.edu |date=April 9, 1993 |access-date=February 22, 2009}}</ref> [[Postal voting|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]]s were also applied to the reverse side of a cover to confirm arrival at the post office on a specific date.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mute oval canceling device handstamp |work=PostalMuseum.SI.edu |publisher=[[National Postal Museum]], [[Smithsonian Institution]] |location=Washington DC |date=18 April 2006 |url= https://postalmuseum.si.edu/object/npm_1992.2002.152 |id=GUID ark:/65665/hm83cefd3104acf435d94356e84f94f42dd |access-date=30 July 2020}}</ref>

== Delivery postmarks ==
[[File:Delivery postmark from China Post in Beijing, China on 2024-05-29.jpg|thumb|China Post "delivery postmark" in Beijing, China, on 29 May 2024]]
[[File:Posting postmark from China Post in Shanghai, China on 2024-01-27.jpg|thumb|China Post "posting postmark" in Shanghai, China, on 27 January 2024]]
[[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" ({{lang-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" ({{lang-zh|投递日戳}}).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sohu.com/a/471136729_121124710 | title=中国邮政印发《邮政日戳管理办法》（试行） | date=2021-06-08|website=Sohu|url-status=live|language=zh-hans|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240121194105/https://www.sohu.com/a/471136729_121124710 |archive-date=2024-01-21}}</ref>

== Similar marks ==
[[File:FAM 18 Round the World 1939 (front).jpg|thumb|1939 Around the World flight with red flight cachet]]
A postmark should not be confused with the [[Cancellation (mail)|killer]] which are lines, bars, etc. used to cancel a postage stamp. The killer acts as the [[Cancellation (mail)|cancellation]], though the postmark can also serve this purpose. Neither should a postmark be confused with [[overprint]]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 [[first flight cover]] has traveled via [[airmail]], are in addition to the postmark and are not postmarks either.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Collecting those strange Tongan stamps&nbsp;— on cover |journal=Scott Stamp Monthly |date=August 2002}}</ref>

== 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)]]
* [[Postal marking]]
* [[Postal history]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Postmarks|lcfirst=yes}}
* [http://www.privatepostmark.com Anonymous Postmark Mailer]
* [http://www.philatelicweb.com/pmks/index.php British Postmark database]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060430131715/http://www.linns.com/howto/refresher/world_20040223/refreshercourse.asp World postmark primer: how to decipher dates]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110514113840/http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images/view?back=http:%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp=postmark&fr=FP-tab-img-t&toggle=1&ei=UTF-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:%2F%2Fwww.coretek.org%2Falsmith%2Fal6.html&rurl=http:%2F%2Fwww.coretek.org%2Falsmith%2Fal6.html&p=postmark&type=jpeg&no=1&tt=10,554 Geographic North Pole Postmark]
* [http://members.tripod.com/~pennyreds/mystery.html A Mystery Postmark]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050205195758/http://www.london2012.com/en/news/archive/2004/december/2004-12-20-11-40.htm London 2012 – New postmark kicks off 2012 day in London] (backing London's bid to host [[2012 Olympics]])
* [https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postal-history/christmas-post-office-names.htm Post Offices with Christmas Names of the United States Postal Service] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806093241/https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postal-history/christmas-post-office-names.htm |date=August 6, 2020 }}
* [http://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2011/pb22324/pdf/pb22324.pdf November 17, 2011, Postal Bulletin 22324 Philately Pictorial Postmarks Announcement]
* Museum
** [http://www.postmarks.org/museum/ Post Mark Museum and Research Library]
* Precancels
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20020904154830/http://www.geocities.com/moprecancels/beginner/abcsof.htm The ABCs of Precancel collecting]
* Clubs
** [http://www.postmarks.org/ Post Mark Collectors Club]
** [https://archive.today/20130126222929/http://bccc.jeffhayward.com/ Bullseye Cancel Collectors Club]
** [http://www.britishpostmarksociety.org.uk/ British Postmark Society]

{{Authority control}}
{{Postal system}}

[[Category:Postal systems]]
[[Category:Postal markings]]
[[Category:Philatelic terminology]]