I know it’s not much to look at, really, but something about this postmark from Myrtle Beach, SC caught my eye.  It appeared in my home on the back of a Postcrossing card.  Something about it just spoke to me– it really is this red in person and I’ve never seen noticed that art-deco-esque bird on machine postage. Possibly I’ve only just started really looking at the cancellations as much as I look at the stamps themselves…

Apparently, “postalia” is the mark of the German mail services/postage meter company Francotyp-Postalia.  Typically I’d start whining about how postage meters like this have contributed to the downfall of the mail: stamps are just so much prettier!  FP is some mega corporation! They just care about your junk mail!  Boo hiss!  But… this one is kind of pretty in its own way.

Plus, one of FP’s slogans is “a letter is more than stamped paper.”  True… obvious to you and me? Yes, but still nice that it’s on their homepage.  I don’t retract my previous whining about machine postage but I’m willing to tone it down (and stare at this postmark for a bit longer).