Topical Stamp Collecting
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Postal Markings

Cancellations are markings applied to the stamp on an envelope or to the indicium on postal stationery to render further use impossible.

• 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.

• 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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