::: Evolution of Country Office Postmarks :::
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A cover bearing the Waihee, Maui, town postmark, type 237.02, sent Dec. 4, 1876, the only on-cover example of the five recorded strikes of this mark.
Until August 1859 country offices had no need for postmarks because all local and interisland mail was free. Before 1879, only a few post offices outside Honolulu (the “country offices” or “local offices”) used handstamped postmarks. Most postmasters used manuscript postmarks or cancels, often just penning a stroke of ink across the face of the stamp.
Assigning year dates to pre-1878 postmarks often is speculative. Only the Wailuku and Waiohinu marks included a year date and some had no date at all. Determining the earliest known use (the “EKU”) of the other marks is based on manuscript docket information written on a cover or the usage period of a postage stamp. However, without docket information, it is almost impossible to pin down a year for a particular mark and the exact EKU may never be known.
Two country office postmarks are regarded as the earliest: the locally fashioned Laup/Hilo mark and the customs seal used by the customs collector at Hilo, who was ex-officio postmaster there. These marks are undated but they appear on 2˘ Numeral stamps of Plate 1-A sent out from Honolulu in July 1859. Soon the postmaster at Lahaina began canceling stamps with the undated Lahaina custom house seal. This mark is found on Plate 3-C Numeral stamps printed in September 1859.
Throughout Hawaii’s postal period the Honolulu Post Office was, in effect, the General Post Office. The first postmark device issued by the Honolulu post office to a local office was put in use at Lahaina in July 1862. In the ensuing years up to 1878 a few local offices used a variety of postal service issued marks and locally ordered or manufactured marks.
Postmark devices used up to 1878 were metal or wood. The material used to fashion the Laup/Hilo mark is uncertain, but it could have been cork. Rubber devices appeared in 1881. The following list illustrates the earliest marks up to 1881.
Country Office Handstamped Postmarks to 1881
Marks to mid-1878
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Laupahoehoe, type 860
August, 1859 EKU
The three recorded strikes are all on Plate 1-A Numeral stamps, issued in July, 1859 for use beginning August 1, 1859.
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Laupahoehoe type 860
On Plate 1-A-III (Courtesy Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Sale 1009, lot 344, the Golden Sale)
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Hilo, type 211
August, 1859 EKU
This mark is recorded on a Plate 1-A Numeral stamp, issued in July, 1859 for use beginning August 1, 1859.
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Hilo, type 211
On May 27, 1865 cover
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Lahaina, type 303
September, 1859 EKU
Strikes are known on Plate 3-B and Plate 3-C Numeral stamps, issued in August - September 1859.
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Lahaina, type 303
On June 9, 1860 official mail
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Lahaina type 243.02
July 25, 1862 EKU
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Lahaina type 243.02
February 21, ___
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Hilo type 242.13,
June 16, 1866 EKU
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Hilo type 242.13
On June 16, 1866 cover
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Lahaina type 242.13,
March 22, 1867 EKU
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Lahaina type 242.13
September 10, 1875
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Kawaihae type 244.02
July, 1868 EKU
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Kawaihae type 244.02
February 9, 1871
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Wailuku MH type 215
May 20, 1869 EKU
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Wailuku MH type 215
February 16, 1870
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Makawao type 243.22
September, 1870 EKU
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Makawao type 243.22
May 30, 1879
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Waihee type 237.529
June 29, 1871
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Waihee type 237.529
December, 1876
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Waiohinu type 214
April 24, 1878 EKU
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Waiohinu type 214
April 24, 1878
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Beginning in 1878, the Honolulu Post Office issued standardized postmarks to fourteenl offices. These metal devices produced the style designated as type 238.02. The earliest EKU for a type 238.02 mark is from Kohala, dated in August 1878. From this point forward, most local town postmarks contain a year date.
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Kohala type 238.02
Aug. __, 1878
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Kohala type 238.02
Sept. 18, 1880
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Town postmarks proliferated starting in 1881 with the introduction of rubber die handstamp devices issued by the Honolulu Post Office to various country offices. The earliest of these rubber devices produced a mark with a double lined outer circle and single lined inner circle, often including side ornaments of one kind or another. The EKU for the earliest of these marks is January, 1881, from Kahului for type 282.013.
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Kahului type 282.013
Jan. __, 1881
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Kahului type 282.013
October 12, 1883
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