Postal Markings
Cancellations
are markings applied to the stamp on an envelope or to the indicium on
postal stationery to render further use impossible.
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A postmark generally is defined as that part of a cancellation that
shows the date and place of posting, or the date and transit point, or
date of arrival.
Milan , Italy , boasts the earliest postal marking identifying the place of mailing, in the 14 th century.
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First marking indicating mailing date was invented in 1661 by Henry
Bishop, Great Britain’s postmaster general, and known as the Bishop
Mark
- First cancellation was the
Maltese Cross obliterator, supplied to every post office in Great
Britain in 1840 in conjunction with issuance of the first postage stamp
that year.
- Great Britain introduced the first numerical obliterators in 1844, a concept rapidly adopted by many other country
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