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, and the idea was not pursued. The first franking machine known to have been placed into use was a coin operated machine invented by Charles A. Kahrs. It was installed in the lobby of the General Post Office in Christiana, Norway, on August 24, 1900 but was removed in December that same year.