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Post by smauggie on Jul 31, 2017 21:34:49 GMT
First I want to start out with a definition of Auxiliary Marking (which may change if/as we have a discussion about this branch of US Postal History.
An Auxiliary Marking is a marking on a cover, parcel, package or postal form (USPOD/USPS) which is added to indicate a special service or event in the processing of the mail item.
There are four methods of adding an auxiliary marking that I have been able to detect:
Manuscript marking on the cover Handstamp marking on the cover A combination of handstamp and manuscript marking on cover
- Machine-Applied marking directly on envelope
- Labels (aka stickers or etiquettes) adhered to the cover
Items that are questionable as auxiliary markings (I haven't made up my mind about these, perhaps you have):
Labels (aka stickers or etiquettes) featuring a short 1-2 character code composed of numbers and or letters (used 1970s to 1990s) "Chop" marks of a combination of 1-2 letters and numbers (used 1980-s to 1990's) Spray on post office or routing information (used 1990-s to early 2000's) Spray-on barcodes used for routing mail using automated mail processing machines (used 2000's to date)
Items that are not auxiliary markings:
Received cancels Transit cancels Machine cancels Received Machine Cancels (which can often look quite unique but are simply cancels) Post office seals (either federal or local) Local Post stamps and markings Cinderella stamps (including Christmas Seals)
For those with an interest in this area of US postal history I highly recommend the Auxiliary Markings Club. They have an excellent journal which I look forward to every time it comes in the mail (yes, I am a member). They have a more detailed definition on their site for auxiliary markings but I though I would keep things as basic as possible.
I will start by reposting one I posted to TSF a while ago here, but I wanted it to be a part of this thread for convenience and educational purposes.
This item was mailed on December 30, 1963. The mailbag it was in was assumed empty and placed in storage. When it was brought out of storage to be used again, this bank statement was found inside. It was re-postmarked on July 7, 1964 and mailed to the customer.
I hope to share many more examples of auxiliary markings as time allows.
Thanks for stopping by (and reading all the way to the end).
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Post by smauggie on Jul 31, 2017 23:46:12 GMT
Found Loose in Mail I am guessing this letter was in a large envelope and somehow the envelope was damaged and the item found loose in the mailstream. The enclosed letter was dated in 2007. It was packed in this USPS "body bag" envelope. I have a "body bag" I got here in Minnesota that was an actual plastic bag, which may be a more recent innovation. As you can see it also has a label with a bar-code for routing purposes at the bottom.   |
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tomiseksj
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Post by tomiseksj on Aug 1, 2017 0:01:30 GMT
Great idea for a thread...thanks for starting it smauggie ! Here is a "body bag" that I received some time ago. It contained a "We Care" notice (USPS Notice 110) from "Your Postmaster" and about 1/3 of the cover of a People Magazine but was missing the rest of the "body." The cover fragment inside the plastic was stamped with a "Received Without Contents At" hand stamp. |
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tomiseksj
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Post by tomiseksj on Aug 1, 2017 0:19:56 GMT
smauggie, Would service markings (i.e., via air mail, registered, etc.) be included in your definition?
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Post by smauggie on Aug 1, 2017 0:31:00 GMT
That's a keeper! Here is a "Due" or postage due marking from 1854. The sender was most likely sending a carte de visite with a picture of himself. The rate for such items was 9 cents. The envelope only paid for three cents, hence the Due 6 in balloon marking. It seems either the sender was unaware of the proper rate or decided to let the recipient pay some of the cost.  |
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Post by smauggie on Aug 1, 2017 0:43:17 GMT
Great question Steve. Here are my responses/thoughts.
Via Air Mail: No. Air mail was usually indicated by the use of an air mail stamp as well as the coloring of the envelope. I am not aware of "Via Air Mail" being used as a service indicator expressly by the post office for mail routing purposes as such. Those are my thoughts until compelling evidence says otherwise.
Registered: Yes! There was a study of all the general registered markings used in the US in an issue of the Auxiliary Markings Club newsletter about a year or so ago. I later found an example I don't think is in the article but I haven't checked for sure. There are also local registered markings which include the town name of the originating post office. Those can be harder to find.
Special Delivery: Yes if applied by post office. Generally manuscript indications of special delivery are considered to be of private origin while handstamps of official post office origin. If placed by the post office is usually accompanied by another hand-stamp indicating who was paying the special delivery fee. Hence . . .
Fee claimed at office . . .: Yes!
Nixie labels: Yes! Nixie labels are yellow address - style labels placed on envelopes to redirect, forward or return mail. When they were first rolled out in the 1980's they all had the name NIXIE in the upper left hand corner. Later iterations do not.
Edit - Addressographed yellow labels seem to have actually originated in the 1970's and at that time were placed by hand. Nixie and subsequent labels are placed by machine.
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tomiseksj
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Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
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Post by tomiseksj on Aug 1, 2017 1:27:39 GMT
...Via Air Mail: No. Air mail was usually indicated by the use of an air mail stamp as well as the coloring of the envelope. I am not aware of "Via Air Mail" being used as a service indicator expressly by the post office for mail routing purposes as such. Those are my thoughts until compelling evidence says otherwise... Let me give you something to consider regarding the "via air mail" service indicator...instructions from the Second Assistant Postmaster General regarding such markings for routing purposes in the early stages of the air mail system (i.e., 1923/4) and later instructions regarding markings of air parcel post from 1953. My sense is that these were directed specifically to aid in routing. |
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Post by smauggie on Aug 1, 2017 8:15:44 GMT
Great documentation and thanks for sharing. It doesn't change my opinion. In every case it looks like the marking is placed before the item enters the possession of the USPOD. I know many post offices may have kept supplies of red white and blue labels and even hand-stamps stating "Via Air Mail" but it doesn't seem like this was applied during the processing of the mail item.
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Post by smauggie on Aug 1, 2017 8:19:19 GMT
Here is an unusual postage due rating. Likely from 1855, the rate system at the time this cover was mailed was 3 cents for half an ounce and an additional 5 cents for an additional half an ounce. Weighing over the half-ounce limit this cover received the Due 5 (Due and 5 being separate markings in this case).  |
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Post by smauggie on Aug 1, 2017 11:00:19 GMT
Missent This turn-of-the-century cover was intended to go to St. Lawrence, South Dakota. A postal worker though routed it to Lawrence, Kansas by mistake where a received postmark was added to the back, and then it was marked as missent added their own cancel to the front and forwarded on to the correct post office.  Part of the back with the receiving Lawrence, Kansas and Saint Lawrence, South Dakota cancels.  |
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Ryan
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Post by Ryan on Aug 1, 2017 11:37:36 GMT
Missent This turn-of-the-century cover was intended to go to St. Lawrence, South Dakota. A postal worker though routed it to Lawrence, Kansas by mistake We would occasionally get mail at the shop from American customers which was addressed to "Calgary, AL". The letter would first head off to Alabama before eventually making its way here to Alberta. "The cheque is in the mail" was in fact true once in a while. I never thought to ask for the envelopes, though - there would have been the occasional marking of interest, I'm sure. Ryan |
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tomiseksj
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Post by tomiseksj on Aug 1, 2017 14:32:01 GMT
...In every case it looks like the marking is placed before the item enters the possession of the USPOD. I know many post offices may have kept supplies of red white and blue labels and even hand-stamps stating "Via Air Mail" but it doesn't seem like this was applied during the processing of the mail item. I think we may end up agreeing to disagree here as I see no difference between a window clerk adding a "via air mail" label or hand stamp and the same clerk adding a registered or special delivery service indicator. I'll grant that it would be difficult to discern if the marking was applied by postmaster or patron but I wouldn't rule out the possibility that it could have been applied as part of the Post Office Department's processing (which in my mind includes acceptance), per the below. The following text, taken from direction issued by the Third Assistant Postmaster General on July 21, 1939, indicates that application of a new air mail sticker (Form 3584-B) was a function of the postmaster. The 3dAPMG directive is also provided. |
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Post by smauggie on Aug 1, 2017 16:14:05 GMT
You make a good argument for considering air mail markings in certain circumstances as auxiliary markings. The Auxiliary Markings club does not recognize air mail markings as far as I can tell. I guess that is the evidence I would want to see: is there evidence to show what particular label or marking was placed by the post office for routing air mail (outside of the postal forms mentioned)?
As I cannot conceive of a way of determining that I rule it out, but I give you credit for making a great case for them.
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tomiseksj
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Post by tomiseksj on Aug 1, 2017 16:22:52 GMT
...There are also local registered markings which include the town name of the originating post office. Those can be harder to find... Here is an example of a 1914 Florence, South Carolina registration marking on the cover's face and two of its "registered" double circle date stamps on the reverse (Feb 17). Also included on the reverse are two New York Registry Division date stamps (Feb 18) and what appears to be a New York Station receiving stamp (Feb 19). The number 34552 appears on both the face and reverse and I assume it was a control number added by the New York Registry Division. |
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Post by smauggie on Aug 1, 2017 16:28:33 GMT
Great cover!
Here is a local registered hand-stamp from Minnesota on a parcel card.
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tomiseksj
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Post by tomiseksj on Aug 1, 2017 21:59:32 GMT
This cover sent by Bessie Borton from Quincy, Illinois to the Postmaster at Cedar Rapids, Iowa has both "REGISTERED" and "Return Receipt Requested/FEE PAID" hand stamps. |
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Post by smauggie on Aug 1, 2017 23:29:51 GMT
Foreign Letter Package . . This is a piece from a parcel sent from Great Britain on it's way to Albert Lea, Minnesota. Upon arriving at Chicago, it received a marking stating that a customs fee of 10 cents was owed, then in Saint Paul it was given an additional customs stamp, and then when it arrived in Albert Lea, the postage due stamp was added and canceled. To be honest I am not sure of the purpose of the marking from Saint Paul. 
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Post by smauggie on Aug 1, 2017 23:55:07 GMT
Supposed Liable to US Customs DutiesHere are some lesser seen customs auxiliary markings on a cover form Switzerland. 
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tomiseksj
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What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
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Post by tomiseksj on Aug 2, 2017 11:25:20 GMT
Foreign Letter Package . . ....To be honest I am not sure of the purpose of the marking from Saint Paul. St. Paul negated the Chicago "COLLECT 10 CENTS" marking by indicating that the contents of the package were "DUTY FREE." |
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Post by smauggie on Aug 2, 2017 13:04:33 GMT
Yeah, that's what it looks like. Yet the duty was charged anyway. Did they make a mistake in Saint Paul? I am assuming of course that the item arrived first in Chicago, then Saint Paul and then Albert Lea, but I am beginning to wonder if that is a safe assumption. Wouldn't the office that marked it duty free cross out the part from Chicago wanting to charge the fee, or visa versa? Having both is confusing.
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tomiseksj
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What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
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Post by tomiseksj on Aug 2, 2017 14:10:31 GMT
I think you've got the processing sequence correct -- Chicago, St. Paul, Albert Lea.
It apparently was confusing as the Albert Lea post office charged the recipient 10c for what I assume was the fee for the customs duty. The 1932 and 1940 PL&Rs both required material subsequently found to be free of duty to effectively cancel the impression of "supposed liability" so it seems that St. Paul should have canceled the Chicago impression prior to sending it to Albert Lea.
One other possible explanation for the 10c postage due was that the package was short paid but I don't think that was the case here. 2-1/2p was the rate in effect for a 1 ounce letter from May 14, 1923 to April 30, 1940 (the KGVI stamps were issued in 1937). Without knowing the weight of the letter/package and when it was sent it is impossible to determine if that assumption is valid.
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Post by smauggie on Aug 2, 2017 14:26:16 GMT
Missent
This cover originated in Trenton, NJ on June 18, 1868 and was intended to go to Pittstown, NJ but ended up in Patterson by mistake. The Missent marking was added in balloon and re-cancelled in Patterson. I like the large cork asterisk or star cork cancel.
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coastalcollector
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Post by coastalcollector on Aug 2, 2017 14:59:36 GMT
Here is one from my collection. The auxiliary marking is the red double circle marking "Providence Advertised". It is dated Nov. 8, 1864 an is an early use of the 3c U58. The cover is from a soldier stationed at Ft. Sedgwick as part of the 7th Rhode Island. Prior to 1863 there was no home mail delivery and you would have to go to the Post Office to collect your mail. If the mail was not collected, about once a quarter, the local Postmaster would place an advertisement in the local paper notifying those that there letters should be collected. The "Advertised" marking was then applied.  |
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Post by smauggie on Aug 2, 2017 15:29:34 GMT
Adv(ertised) and (Due) 1
Great cover and marking!
This cover predates that one by about 5 -10 years. The destination is a small town, so the auxiliary markings are in manuscript. At this time, to have your mail advertised cost one cent to help defray the cost of paying for advertisement in the local newspaper (which was usually the way they were advertised).
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tomiseksj
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Post by tomiseksj on Aug 2, 2017 15:44:44 GMT
Two special delivery covers with hand stamped markings. The marking on the 1905 cover reads "Fee claimed at office of/first address." and the marking on the 1911 cover reads "Special Delivery fee paid at/office of first address." |
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Post by smauggie on Aug 2, 2017 16:19:45 GMT
Special Delivery Fee Paid ......10 Cents
This one had me confused for a while because I thought it was underpaid by one cent. (3 cents first class mail and 10 cents special delivery). As it happens the cover was sent at the city mail rate (mail within the same city) of 2 cents.
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Post by smauggie on Aug 2, 2017 19:28:18 GMT
Returned for Postage
Whoever put this item in the mail stream over at Allina Health just put a forever stamp on the envelope, which of course is insufficient postage. These days most post offices use preprinted labels to put on the envelope to indicate postage due. In this case no labels were not available so they got out the hand-stamp. Only instead of applying the marking to the cover, they decided they still needed a label and so they got a blank APC (Automated Postal Counter) label and pasted it on and the marked the label. The cancel is also a spray cancel only used for large envelopes, magazines and other mail items of similar size.
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Post by smauggie on Aug 3, 2017 0:48:08 GMT
Refused - Business Reply Permit Not RenewedReturn to Sender, From Washington, D.C. Initials: ____
This is a recent purchase. If you keep your eyes open it seems there is no end the variety of markings you can find.  There is a cancel on the back that gives the year as 1986. MNA, Inc. is an ad agency in Washington DC that must have been handling the Presidential Fitness Council's outreach. 
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Post by smauggie on Aug 3, 2017 3:21:40 GMT
Name Duplicated in Directory
(Return) to (writer) - Pointing FingerThis has a lovely Time Cummings machine cancel (and I am a sucker for machine cancels), but what I like most about this cover is that it is the only example I have of a "Pointing Finger" marking where the fingernails are colored in. A sweet bonus is the "Name duplicated in directory" marking. 
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Mick
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Post by Mick on Aug 3, 2017 18:54:24 GMT
Re: "Name duplicated in directory". Would that mean that two listings existed for Mr Christensen in the city directory?
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