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Old Photographs, Recognition, Handwriting Deciphering => Free Photo Restoration & Date Old Photographs => Topic started by: ValJJJ on Sunday 09 September 18 20:10 BST (UK)

Title: Postmark date
Post by: ValJJJ on Sunday 09 September 18 20:10 BST (UK)

Hi

I'm not sure if this is the correct section of the forum to ask this question.  Please let me know if I should put this elsewhere.

I have a postcard sent from a great-uncle to his future wife while he was in the Territorial Army, at a camp.  I'm attaching a photo of the date stamp as I am unsure what year, month or day it was sent. The most likely is 6th August 2010 and perhaps 2nd post of the day?   Definitely from Buxton and it looks like 3pm or 9pm.

Hope you can help.

Thanks for reading.

Title: Re: Postmark date
Post by: Handypandy on Sunday 09 September 18 21:15 BST (UK)

Quote from: ValJJJ on Sunday 09 September 18 20:10 BST (UK)

The most likely is 6th August 2010

I'm sure that you meant 1910 ;D

Title: Re: Postmark date
Post by: ainslie on Sunday 09 September 18 21:35 BST (UK)

9pm, 6 August (19)10.

Title: Re: Postmark date
Post by: ValJJJ on Sunday 09 September 18 23:03 BST (UK)

Thanks HandyPandy - yes 1910 of course.  D'oh.

Thanks too Ainslie.

What about the number 2 in the circle?  Any ideas please?  Just out of interest really, as the date is the most important.

Title: Re: Postmark date
Post by: Jebber on Sunday 09 September 18 23:26 BST (UK)

Just  a suggestion, if it was going to a local address it could have been the mileage, there were different rates according to the distance.

Title: Re: Postmark date
Post by: JohninSussex on Monday 10 September 18 00:25 BST (UK)

It's a postcard so there are no variable rates.

The figure 2 seems to be a fixed part of the stamp so I would read it as "postmarked at Buxton 2".  I'm sure one of the postmark sites on the Web would elucidate. 

Title: Re: Postmark date
Post by: Chris Doran on Monday 10 September 18 05:35 BST (UK)

I don't purport to be an expert, but this looks like postmark type 162 in Dr J T Whitney's "Collect British Postmarks" which categorises it as: "General Purpose Handstamp/Double Circle/With one pair of thick arcs broken by stamp number", Thus I think the 2 would enable it to be traced back to the (sub-)post office or person who used that handstamp then.

In the 3rd edition of the book, published in 1983, postmarks of that type had a basic value of 15p, which would obviously be increased for rare towns.

Title: Re: Postmark date
Post by: ValJJJ on Monday 10 September 18 09:14 BST (UK)

Thanks for the further information Chris and JohninSussex.

Amazing what forum members come up with!  Sorry Jebber, I didn't say, not knowing it might be important, that it was a postcard sent to a London address.

I will be looking at postmarks with more curiosity now.