Postmark

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. Modern postmarks are often applied simultaneously with the cancellation or 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 inkjets, while digital postmarks are a recent innovation.

History

The first postmark, called the "Bishop mark", was introduced by English Postmaster General 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, 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 backstamps, indicating the time, date, and location of each post office transporting or delivering the letter, and this is still occasionally true.