The Mute Cancellation (killer)
Since letters were already receiving postmarks, the most obvious thing to do was to position the postmark so as to mark the stamp as well. This is still the most common method of stamp defacement. In many countries the postmark even comes in two parts; the location/date circle, and the "killer". See Cancellation (mail) for much better insights.
Read more about this topic: Postage Stamp Reuse
Famous quotes containing the word mute:
“Amid the tornadoed Atlantic of my being, do I myself still for ever centrally disport in mute calm; and while ponderous planets of unwaning woe revolve round me, deep down and deep inland there I still bathe me in eternal mildness of joy.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)