Postage meter
A device that imprints postage, cancellation, and postmark in one.
A postage meter, or franking machine, is a mechanical device that prints proof of postage directly onto mail. It is regulated by the national postal authority and combines a stamp, cancellation mark, and dated postmark in one imprint. This serves as payment evidence and removes the need for adhesive stamps.
Concerns about stamp theft and mail processing speed arose after adhesive stamps were introduced in 1840. A stamp-affixing machine appeared in the 1880s. The earliest recorded franking machine was patented in Britain in 1884 by Frenchman Carle Bushe, but it likely was never built. The first known working machine was a coin-operated device invented by Charles A. Kahrs, installed in the Christiania, Norway, post office lobby in August 1900 and removed later that year. In 1902, Chicago inventor Arthur Pitney patented a mailing system and founded the Pitney Postal Machine Company, renamed the American Postage Meter Company in 1912. His machine used a manual crank, chain action, printing die, counter, and lockout. Pitney’s company competed with Edward Franks’ Franking Company of America, founded in 1911, which sold a streamlined version of a machine Franks had demonstrated at the 1886 International Inventions Exhibition in London. Both companies sold well. In 1919, Pitney partnered with Walter Bowes, who made postal canceling machines. Their companies merged in 1920 to form Pitney-Bowes Postage Meter Company. In 1926, this company merged with Franks’ firm to become the Franks Universal Postage Company, also called the Universal Postage Trust. In the 1930s, Franks Universal entered Europe through a partnership with Albert H. Girling, trading as Franks Consolidated Postage, and later expanded globally. In 1938, the trust was investigated for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act, was dissolved, and its assets split among four companies: Wright Post, Evans Roberts Godkin Inc, Franks-Girling Universal Postage, and Pitney-Bowes Co. The Model M Postage Meter was authorized in September 1920 and began commercial use in Stamford that year; it was later designated an International Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark.
A typical postage meter has a keyboard for entering postage, three seals, and a stamping mechanism. Originally, users had to take the meter to a post office to add postage.
- Field
- Postal technology
- Known for
- Imprinting postage, cancellation, and postmark in one device
- First known use
- August 24, 1900, in Christiania, Norway
- Early inventor
- Arthur Pitney (1902 patent)
- Regulatory body
- Country's postal authority
Lore & Background
The earliest record of a franking machine was by Frenchman Carle Bushe, who in 1884 obtained a British Patent for a device that would print a stamp on an envelope and record postage via a counting device. However, Bushe's device is not known to have existed. The first franking machine known to have been placed into use was a coin operated machine invented by Charles A. Kahrs, installed in the lobby of the General Post Office in Christiania, Norway, on August 24, 1900, but removed in December that same year. Working independently, Chicago inventor Arthur Pitney obtained his first mailing system patent in 1902, forming the Pitney Postal Machine Company, which became the American Postage Meter Company in 1912.
Reader's Guide
The postage meter revolutionized mail processing by combining postage, cancellation, and postmark into a single imprint, reducing reliance on adhesive stamps and improving security against theft. Its development involved key figures like Arthur Pitney and Walter Bowes, whose companies merged in 1920 to form Pitney-Bowes Postage Meter Company, later merging with Edward Franks' Franking Company of America in 1926. The technology evolved from mechanical meters requiring physical reset at post offices to digital meters with remote resetting via telephone, internet, or network connections. The Model M Postage Meter, authorized in 1920, was later designated an International Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. Today, digital meters print Information Based Indicia with two-dimensional barcodes, and internet-based solutions like Stamps.com allow printing postage from a PC printer. The postage meter remains a component of larger mailing systems, including feeders, scales, sealers, and stackers.
Did You Know?
- In 1979, Pitney Bowes invented remote meter resetting, otherwise known as Postage by Phone.
- The Model M Postage Meter was authorized on September 1, 1920, and was designated an International Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1986.
More in Norwegian inventions 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced