CURRENT
REGISTERED SLIPS OF
Ai Li-shan
Few of us pay too much attention to the current registered forms. Most of the time, when a registered letter is received, the mailman will remove the registered slip as proof of delivery. What remains is like illustration slip 4 which has just the portion left that was stuck to the envelope. Intact slips are sometimes found when a large number of items are delivered to the same address.
The question of the different forms arose when I recently acquired a blue form that I had not previously seen, as well as a hand stamped variety. There are currently three different forms in use.
Registered slip 1 is generated by a computer. The form is printed as required on a roll of paper. The paper has a backing to protect the self stick adhesive on the back. When it is printed, it is cut just below the top bar code. This cut goes through the backing paper. Thus the top is pealed off, leaving the bottom backing to prevent the rest of the form from sticking to the envelope. When delivered, the bottom portion is removed and filed as proof of delivery.
Registered slip 2 is the normal form that is affixed to registered
mail. With some minor changes (bar code,
post office name etc), the format has remained the same since the 1950s. You will note in the example that it was
printed by
Registered slip 3 is the one that got me interested in the subject. It is a Blue form with black lettering. It is used for bulk rate paid registered mail only. An example of this might be financial statements mailed by a brokerage firm or bank. Besides the reduced rate for postage, they pay the current rate of NT$20 which is same for all registered items. (postage + fee).
Registered slip 4 is an interesting error that was found many years ago. It was on a cover dated May 14, 1990 cancel Taipei Sanchung Branch 2. The character for “Receiving” was in error and hand stamped with the character “shou” which is correct.
Reg. Slip 1
Reg. Slip 2
Reg. Slip 3
Reg. Slip 4 Hand Stamped character