Williamsburg, Virginia, 1958 - Is This A Real Cancel Or A Souvenir Thing?

I just stumbled across this lovely cover for sale, and I am wondering if someone can provide insight as to whether this is an actual cancel as a result of something going through the mail, or if it is just something that was created at Colonial Williamsburg and not actually postally used.



I can tell that the cancel has been partially penciled in - I'm okay with that. I'm not concerned about the value of the piece. The reason why I ask is because of my personal collection criteria, trying to be concise, and general curiosity.

Thank you in advance,
Christopher

Yours is over paid a cent, the rate did not rise until 8-1-1958.




It has all that is required for first class, day, month and year.

It is a major living history museum, Williamsburg.

To repeat, yes, it's a postal cancel.

This is a reproduction of a 1770s stampless marking. Wms.BURG was the only part that originally existed of the left side of the modern version. Perhaps someone can tell us if a bishop mark, the date part, was used with this marking originally.

Yours might be from the earliest year the modern one was used. I've seen several cancelled on the 4th of July from that year, none earlier (yet, anyway).

The Williamsburg "Colonial Printing Office" was under restoration with the work being completed in the summer of 1958. This building was (is) a part of the restoration and recreation of many of the buildings that formed the colonial village of Williamsburg as a living history museum to make it appear to visitors as the original historical colonial village would have appeared. Re-enactors are throughout the village, dressed in colonial garb, who give talks and answer questions from tourists about what life was like there. The managers of the place applied for and were given permission to operate as a temporary US post office and use the special historical recreation handstamp cancel that was originally used back in the day. They began their operations using this hand stamp cancel on any mail visitors mailed there on July 4, 1958. I do not know how long they operated with this hand cancel. For all I know they may still be using it.

Thank you all for this clarification. I really appreciate it.

This just closed today.

eBay item number: 233938167332

Parcelpostguy-

Oooooh! Goals.

Well, I started the post to say one was for sale on eBay, I had to amend it before I got the images. Seems a make offer of $3.00 nailed it down verses the buck fifty open, plus 95 cents S&H.

All I know is the historic cancellation is "too early" for parcel post usage.