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stamps-seals-postmarks.xml
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><TEI xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" xml:id="stamps-seals-postmarks">
<teiHeader>
<fileDesc>
<titleStmt>
<title>Postage stamps, seals, and postmarks</title>
<author key="obert">Dewi Josephine Obert</author>
<author key="trautmann">Marjam Trautmann</author>
</titleStmt>
<publicationStmt>
<publisher>Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities</publisher>
<date when="2020-03-05"/>
<idno type="urn">urn:nbn:de:kobv:b4-20200421172336303-8613365-9</idno>
<idno type="url">https://encoding-correspondence.bbaw.de/v1/stamps-seals-postmarks.html</idno>
<idno type="zotero">https://www.zotero.org/groups/2248469/encoding_correspondence/items/itemKey/NMRZD7DC</idno>
</publicationStmt>
<seriesStmt>
<title type="main">Encoding Correspondence.</title>
<title type="sub">A manual for encoding letters and postcards in TEI-XML and
DTABf</title>
<editor>Stefan Dumont</editor>
<editor>Susanne Haaf</editor>
<editor>Sabine Seifert</editor>
<idno type="urn">urn:nbn:de:kobv:b4-20200110163329488-8695229-7</idno>
<idno type="url">https://encoding-correspondence.bbaw.de/v1/</idno>
<biblScope unit="edition">v1</biblScope>
</seriesStmt>
<sourceDesc>
<p>Born digital.</p>
</sourceDesc>
</fileDesc>
<revisionDesc>
<listChange>
<change n="1" when="2020-03-05" status="draft">Initial Version</change>
</listChange>
</revisionDesc>
</teiHeader>
<text>
<body>
<div xml:id="c-1">
<head>Introduction</head>
<p n="1">Next to addresses and pre-printed parts, a topic that often seems to be neglected
within the TEI universe are the additional parts of information found on envelopes or
postcards, like stamps, seals, and postmarks. Seals are specifically chosen by the
sender and, thus, can tell us a lot about them. Postmarks and postage stamps,
however, seem to be quite the opposite—the sender exerts little to no influence on
both. Still, they can contain a great deal of information about the time and location
the letter was sent from. Furthermore, many tourist spots will have their well-known
places, sights, or buildings printed on their stamps. Even postmarks can include
special editions for certain anniversaries or other festivities. If these elements
are not included, a lot of relevant information about the document in question could
be missed.</p>
</div>
<div xml:id="c-2">
<head>Postage stamps</head>
<div xml:id="c-2-1">
<p n="2">The TEI Guidelines do list an element called <gi>stamp</gi> that "<quote>contains
a word or phrase describing a stamp or similar device</quote>"<note n="1" xml:id="fn1"><ref target="http://www.tei-c.org/release/doc/tei-p5-doc/en/html/ref-stamp.html">http://www.tei-c.org/release/doc/tei-p5-doc/en/html/ref-stamp.html</ref>.
</note>. This element, however, usually refers to armorial stamps or rubber
stamps. But when encoding envelopes or postcards, taking postal stamps into
consideration is often inevitable.</p>
<figure>
<head>Example 1: Postcard with stamps (source: Swiss-German picture postcard
corpus ANKO, <ref target="https://www.ds.uzh.ch/de/projekte/ansichtskartenprojekt">https://www.ds.uzh.ch/de/projekte/ansichtskartenprojekt/</ref>).</head>
<graphic url="../images/stamps-seals-postmarks/example1.png"/>
</figure>
</div>
<div xml:id="c-2-2">
<head>Approach 1: Postage stamps within the <gi>text</gi> element</head>
<p n="3">If the stamps are to be included within the <gi>text</gi> element, a suitable
encoding might be the use of the <gi>figure</gi> element with a @type, such as
<gi>figure</gi> type="postage-stamp". However, it has to be noted that the
given definition is not really what we are looking for: "<quote><gi>figure</gi>
groups elements representing or containing graphic information such as an
illustration, formula, or figure</quote>"<note n="2" xml:id="fn2"><ref target="http://www.tei-c.org/release/doc/tei-p5-doc/en/html/ref-figure.html">http://www.tei-c.org/release/doc/tei-p5-doc/en/html/ref-figure.html</ref>.
</note>.</p>
<p n="4">As mentioned above, the element <gi>stamp</gi> does already exist but is rather
used for rubber stamps. A convenient addition could therefore be the expansion of
the description and usage of the <gi>stamp</gi> element to include postal stamps
as well.</p>
</div>
<div xml:id="c-2-3">
<head>Approach 2: Postage stamps within the meta data</head>
<p n="5">Understanding postage stamps as part of the meta data could be another proposal.
An adequate place to put them could be the <gi>objectType</gi> element, for
example within the <gi>physDesc</gi> element. This way it can be stated that one
or several stamps are present in the given document. It is also easily possible to
add the text written on the stamp, as well as any other information required such
as the motive or value.</p>
<p n="6">A possible encoding of example 1 might look like this: <egXML xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/Examples">
<msDesc>
<physDesc>
<p><idno type="postcard">101030</idno>
<objectType n="1">Stamp</objectType> from Italy with the imprint
<quote>CASTELLO <lb/> ARAGONESE • ISCHIA 100<lb/> ITALIA</quote>
<figure>
<graphic url="postagestamp1.jpg"/>
<figDesc>The drawing on the postage stamp shows a castle on top of
a cliff.</figDesc>
</figure>
</p>
<p>
<objectType n="2">Stamp</objectType> from Italy with the imprint
<quote>CASTELLO <lb/> SCALIGERO • SIRMIONE 600<lb/> ITALIA</quote>
<figure>
<graphic url="postagestamp2.jpg"/>
<figDesc>The drawing on the postage stamp shows a castle next to a
body of water</figDesc>
</figure>
</p>
</physDesc>
</msDesc>
</egXML></p>
</div>
<div xml:id="c-2-4">
<head>Postage stamps: Conclusion</head>
<p n="7">By the current status, there is no uncomplicated way to incorporate postage stamps
inside the <gi>text</gi> element. It also seems unnecessary to invent a new
element specifically for those—considering that a <gi>stamp</gi> element already
exists. Therefore the proposal to solve this problem would either be to expand the
description and usage of the <gi>stamp</gi> element to include postal stamps as
well, or to just position them in the <gi>physDesc</gi> element within the
metadata, where it is possible to add significant information such as the text or
motive.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div xml:id="c-3">
<head>Seals</head>
<div xml:id="c-3-1">
<p n="8">A similar issue is the topic of seals: There is the option to encode them in the
header via <gi>sealDesc</gi> (within <gi>physDesc</gi>), which "<quote>describes
the seals or similar items related to the object described</quote>"<note n="3" xml:id="fn3"><ref target="http://www.tei-c.org/release/doc/tei-p5-doc/en/html/ref-sealDesc.html">http://www.tei-c.org/release/doc/tei-p5-doc/en/html/ref-sealDesc.html</ref>.</note>. It is even possible to specify the @type and @subtype of the seal
as well as describing it along with other desired information such as the date,
owner and a description.</p>
<figure>
<head>Example 2: Seal on an envelope for a letter (source: Clara Schumann to
Hedwig von Holstein, 18 June 1886, <ref target="https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/item/SD5BCK2IF4HNMI5AYZHYDRD4YIOZJ6S7">https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/item/SD5BCK2IF4HNMI5AYZHYDRD4YIOZJ6S7</ref>).</head>
<graphic url="../images/stamps-seals-postmarks/example2.png"/>
</figure>
<egXML xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/Examples"><physDesc>
<sealDesc>
<seal type="x" subtype="y">
<p>Round seal of <name>XY</name> made of red wax</p>
</seal>
</sealDesc>
</physDesc>
</egXML>
<figure>
<head>Example 3: Three seals on a letter (source: Adelbert von Chamisso to Louis
de La Foye, 26 June 1804, <ref target="https://www.berliner-intellektuelle.eu/manuscript?Brief005ChamissoandeLaFoye+en#2">https://www.berliner-intellektuelle.eu/manuscript?Brief005ChamissoandeLaFoye+en#2</ref>).</head>
<graphic url="../images/stamps-seals-postmarks/example3.png"/>
</figure>
<p n="9">A possible encoding of the seals in example 3 might look like this:</p>
<egXML xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/Examples"><physDesc>
<sealDesc>
<seal n="1">
<p>The green wax seal represents the motto of the "Nordsternbund":
<foreign xml:lang="grc"><hi rend="greek">τὸ του πόλοῦ
ἄστρον</hi></foreign>.</p>
</seal>
<seal n="2">
<p>The red wax seal has not been identified yet.</p>
</seal>
<seal n="3">
<p>The yellow wax seal shows Chinese inscriptions. In his book "Reise um
die Welt" (p. 132), Chamisso reports that Julius Klaproth gave him
that seal in 1804 or 1805 and that it shows a quote by Confucius.</p>
</seal>
</sealDesc>
</physDesc>
</egXML>
<p n="10">Such an encoding is both sufficient and reasonable, and putting the encoding of
seals within the <gi>text</gi> element can be dismissed. Seals, just as postage
stamps, do not really belong to the text flow and, therefore, do not need an
element of their own within the text. If insisted upon, the element
<gi>figure</gi> should be adequate (again, example 3):</p>
<egXML xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/Examples"><text>
<body>
<p>
<figure type="seal" n="1">
<graphic url="seal1.jpg"/>
<figDesc>A green wax seal, representing the motto of the
"Nordsternbund": <foreign xml:lang="grc"><hi rend="greek">τὸ του
πόλοῦ ἄστρον</hi></foreign>.</figDesc>
</figure>
<figure type="seal" n="2">
<graphic url="seal2.jpg"/>
<figDesc>A red wax seal that has not been identified yet.</figDesc>
</figure>
<figure type="seal" n="3">
<graphic url="seal3.jpg"/>
<figDesc>A yellow wax seal that shows Chinese inscriptions. In his
book "Reise um die Welt" (p. 132), Chamisso reports that Julius
Klaproth gave him that seal in 1804 or 1805 and that it shows a
quote by Confucius</figDesc>
</figure>
</p>
</body>
</text>
</egXML>
</div>
</div>
<div xml:id="c-4">
<head>Postmarks</head>
<div xml:id="c-4-1">
<p n="11">Postmarks provide information about the place and date of shipping of the letter.
This information can be found in the <gi>correspAction</gi> element of the
<gi>teiHeader</gi>. Furthermore, it is thinkable, depending on the question,
that one would like to explicitly refer to the existence of a postmark and its
information content. Also a differentiation between the date and place of the
letter written by the sender, on the one hand, and the date and place at which the
letter was actually dispatched by the post office, on the other hand, could be
relevant. In the following, it is assumed that the letter writer provided
handwritten information. This is usually encoded within <gi>text</gi> within
<gi>dateline</gi> and can also be found in <gi>correspAction</gi>. However, the
postmark might provide different information. If there is a correct date of
dispatch, i.e. the date on the postmark, this is always encoded in
<gi>correspDesc</gi>. It should be recorded elsewhere in the metadata, if the
handwritten date differs from the date documented on the postmark.</p>
<p n="12">Such a case could be encoded in the element <gi>origin</gi> within the element
<gi>history</gi>. According to the TEI P5 Guidelines, <gi>history</gi>
"<quote>groups elements describing the full history of a manuscript, manuscript
part, or other object</quote>"<note n="4" xml:id="fn4"><ref target="https://www.tei-c.org/release/doc/tei-p5-doc/en/html/ref-history.html">https://www.tei-c.org/release/doc/tei-p5-doc/en/html/ref-history.html</ref>.
</note> and being part of it, <gi>origin</gi> "<quote>contains any descriptive or
other information concerning the origin of a manuscript, manuscript part, or
other object</quote>"<note n="5" xml:id="fn5"><ref target="https://www.tei-c.org/release/doc/tei-p5-doc/en/html/ref-origin.html">https://www.tei-c.org/release/doc/tei-p5-doc/en/html/ref-origin.html</ref>.
</note>. The reference to a handwritten date would reflect the course of the
origin of the letter at this point. As another possibility we would like to
suggest the encoding of the handwritten date as <gi>note</gi> within the
respective <gi>correspAction</gi>. Both suggestions are presented in the
fictitious example below.</p>
<p n="13">Encoding example within the <gi>history</gi> element:</p>
<egXML xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/Examples">
<sourceDesc>
<msDesc>
<history>
<origin>
<p>The sender dates the letter, contrary to the postmark, to the
<origDate when="1915-01-16">16 January 1915</origDate>.</p>
</origin>
</history>
</msDesc>
</sourceDesc>
</egXML>
<p n="14">Encoding example within <gi>correspAction</gi>:</p>
<egXML xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/Examples"><correspDesc>
<correspAction type="sent">
<persName>Franz Marc</persName>
<placeName>Benediktbeuern</placeName>
<date when="1915-01-18"/>
<note>The sender dates the letter, contrary to the postmark, to the
<origDate when="1915-01-16">16 January 1915</origDate>.</note>
</correspAction>
<correspAction type="received">
<!-- [...] -->
</correspAction>
</correspDesc>
</egXML>
<p n="15">Another possibility would be the separate encoding of the postmark. In the
following, we would like to discuss possible coding variants using example 4:</p>
<figure>
<head>Example 4: Postcard with several stamps (source: Franz Marc to Herwarth
Walden, 16 January 1915, in: DER STURM. Digitale Quellenedition zur Geschichte
der internationalen Avantgarde, <ref target="https://sturm-edition.de/id/Q.01.19150116.FMA.01">https://sturm-edition.de/id/Q.01.19150116.FMA.01</ref>).</head>
<graphic url="../images/stamps-seals-postmarks/example4.png"/>
</figure>
</div>
<div xml:id="c-4-2">
<head>Approach 1: Postmarks within the meta data</head>
<p n="16">A postmark is not an object in the true sense of the word, like a stamp or a seal.
However, the definition of the <gi>stamp</gi> element in the TEI Guidelines states
that it could also represent a "<quote>similar device</quote>"<note n="6" xml:id="fn6"><ref target="https://tei-c.org/release/doc/tei-p5-doc/en/html/ref-stamp.html">https://tei-c.org/release/doc/tei-p5-doc/en/html/ref-stamp.html</ref>.
</note>—something to which a postmark could be assigned. As an equivalent to
stamps, it would therefore be conceivable to encode postmarks within the
<gi>teiHeader</gi> in <gi>msDesc</gi> as <gi>stamp</gi> and, in addition to a
description, to encode the stamped information of example 4 as follows or
similarly:</p>
<egXML xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/Examples"><msDesc>
<physDesc>
<objectDesc>
<supportDesc>
<support>
<p>postcard with
postmark:<stamp><!-- Description if needed--><mentioned><placeName>Feldpoststation
A. A. Falkenhausen</placeName><date when="1915-01-18">18 Januar 15</date>2-3 N</mentioned></stamp></p>
</support>
</supportDesc>
</objectDesc>
</physDesc>
</msDesc>
</egXML>
<p n="17"><gi>support</gi> "<quote>contains a description of the materials etc. which make
up the physical support for the written part of a manuscript or other
object</quote>"<note n="7" xml:id="fn7"><ref target="https://tei-c.org/release/doc/tei-p5-doc/en/html/ref-support.html">https://tei-c.org/release/doc/tei-p5-doc/en/html/ref-support.html</ref>.
</note>—a definition that could include postmarks. Furthermore, the TEI P5
Guidelines recommend to clearly separate the transcription of text written on an
object from the editor’s description of that object, e.g. by <gi>mentioned</gi>
for the text of stamps as child element of <gi>stamp</gi><note n="8" xml:id="fn8"><ref target="https://tei-c.org/release/doc/tei-p5-doc/en/html/MS.html#mswat">https://tei-c.org/release/doc/tei-p5-doc/en/html/MS.html#mswat</ref>.
</note>. The element <gi>mentioned</gi>, however, is intended to make words and
phrases explicit that are only implicit in the text: "<quote><gi>mentioned</gi>
marks words or phrases mentioned, not used</quote>"<note n="9" xml:id="fn9"><ref target="https://www.tei-c.org/release/doc/tei-p5-doc/de/html/ref-mentioned.html">https://www.tei-c.org/release/doc/tei-p5-doc/de/html/ref-mentioned.html</ref>.
</note>. This appears to be a contradiction within the TEI Guidelines. Elements
like <gi>q</gi>, <gi>quote</gi> and <gi>cit</gi> are not allowed at this point,
perhaps a validation of these elements at this point would be the resolution of
the discrepancy we suspect for the element <gi>mentioned</gi>?</p>
</div>
<div xml:id="c-4-3">
<head>Approach 2: Postmarks within the <gi>text</gi> element</head>
<p n="18">For encoding the postmark within the <gi>text</gi> element, we suggest using a
typified <gi>ab</gi> or <gi>div</gi> element (the latter needing an additional
<gi>p</gi>):</p>
<egXML xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/Examples"><ab type="postmark"><placeName>Feldpoststation A.A. Falkenhausen</placeName><date>18 Januar
15</date></ab></egXML>
<p n="19">or</p>
<egXML xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/Examples"><div type="postmark">
<p>
<placeName>Feldpoststation A.A. Falkenhausen</placeName>
<date>18 Januar 15</date>
</p>
</div>
</egXML>
<p n="20">Within <gi>text</gi> non-encoded descriptions in plain text of objects in the
letter—to which a postmark is counted here—are not provided per se, and are rather
assigned to the metadata in the <gi>teiHeader</gi>. So <gi>stamp</gi>, if you want
to use it correctly, must not be used within <gi>text</gi> since the element
<gi>stamp</gi> explicitly contains a description of the object and is solely
part of <gi>msDesc</gi>. But would not a valid use of the <gi>stamp</gi>
element—in combination with a validation of elements like <gi>cit</gi>,
<gi>quote</gi> etc. as discussed in approach 1—also make sense within
<gi>body</gi>, not only for postmarks but also for other types of stamps (e.g.
for receipt stamps)?</p>
<p n="21">Another solution could be to encode the actual letter text again separately in a
<gi>div</gi> or <gi>ab</gi> element, or to even introduce a new element
<gi>postmark</gi> within the <gi>text</gi> element.</p>
<egXML xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/Examples"><body>
<ab type="postmark">
<placeName>A.A. Falkenhausen</placeName>
<date>18 Januar 15</date>
</ab>
<div>
<opener/>
<!-- [...] -->
</div>
</body>
</egXML>
<p n="22">or</p>
<egXML xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/Examples"><body>
<postmark>
<placeName>A.A. Falkenhausen</placeName>
<date>18 Januar 15</date>
</postmark>
<opener/>
<!-- [...] -->
</body>
</egXML>
</div>
<div xml:id="c-4-4">
<head>Postmarks: Conclusion</head>
<p n="23">To take into account the difference between handwritten places and dates and those
on postmarks in the coding of correspondence, we discussed different approaches.
In order to document the handwritten date in the meta data, we suggest using the
element <gi>origin</gi> within <gi>history</gi>/<gi>msDesc</gi>, or analogously an
additional <gi>note</gi> within <gi>correspAction</gi>, since the date of the
postmark is always listed in the <gi>correspAction</gi>.</p>
<p n="24">However, in order to capture the information of the postmark not only in terms of
content but also in terms of a transcription, we make two suggestions. The first
is the possible encoding of the text of the postmark in the element <gi>stamp</gi>
within <gi>support</gi> (inside <gi>msDesc</gi>) (approach1). Here, the explicit
text is in the element <gi>mentioned</gi>, which contradicts the actual definition
of this element. For this reason, we suggest allowing elements such as
<gi>cit</gi>, <gi>quote</gi>, and <gi>q</gi> in the <gi>stamp</gi> element.</p>
<p n="25">In our second approach, we discussed the possibilities of encoding the postmark
within <gi>text</gi>. One way could be to use a paragraph-like element like
<gi>ab</gi> or <gi>div</gi> with a @type attribute "postmark". We also
encourage discussion on the possibility of introducing a separate element
<gi>postmark</gi> or to validate <gi>stamp</gi> with the adjustments proposed
in approach 1 for elements such as <gi>cit</gi>, <gi>q</gi> and
<gi>quote</gi>.</p>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</text>
</TEI>