| 释义 |
▪ I. ˈpostmark, n.
[f. post n.2 + mark n.1]
A mark officially impressed upon letters or other postal packages for various purposes; formerly esp. one bearing the name of the office at which the letter was posted, with the words ‘paid’ or ‘unpaid’, and the amount of postage; later also, a mark used to deface or obliterate the postage stamp; now, usually a mark giving the place, date, and hour of dispatch, or of the arrival of the mail, in the former case serving also to deface the postage stamp, or combined with a special obliteration-mark for that purpose.
Marks for various other purposes (e.g. to indicate deficient prepayment) are still in occasional use; see the work cited in quot. 1898.
1678Trial of Ireland, etc. 47 Mr. Oates..the Post mark upon it was but Two-pence, to be paid for it. 1800E. Hervey Mourtray Fam. III. 94 He received a letter from Henry, without either date or post-mark. 1830Marryat King's Own xiv, The post-mark is Plymouth. 1859Lady Morgan Autobiog. p. vii, [Letters] with their old horrible postmarks of two-and-sixpence and two-and-tenpence (which now would be a penny a head). 1891Smiles J. Murray I. xiv. 344 Letter..dated..26th December, 1814, though the post-mark shows it was not delivered until the 12th of January, 1815. 1898J. H. Daniels (title) A History of British Postmarks. Illustrated. Ibid. 5 In 1680 William Dockwra started in London the first Penny Post, and he is also credited with the introduction of postmarks, [but] I have entire letters containing undoubted marks impressed by the General Post fifteen years previously. Ibid. 35 The introduction of postage-stamps took place on May 6th, 1840. The postmark used to cancel the stamp is known as the Maltese Cross. This was used throughout Great Britain and Ireland until 1844. Ibid. 2 The collecting of postmarks is gradually gaining ground as a pursuit.
▪ II. ˈpostmark, v.
[f. prec. n.]
trans. To mark with the post-office stamp, esp. that showing place and date of posting. Almost always in pass. Hence ˈpostmarked ppl. a.; ˈpostmarking vbl. n.
1716Admiralty Notice in Lond. Gaz. No. 5436/3 A Letter without Date, but Post mark'd, the 24th of this Instant May. 1813M. Cutler in Life, etc. (1888) II. 317 Your favor of February 3d (but postmarked the 18th). 1859Regul. P.-O. Department, Washington U.S. §397 The use of the office dating or post-marking stamp as a canceling instrument is prohibited. 1883F. M. Crawford Dr. Claudius i. 9 The envelope..was post-marked ‘New York’. |