African Stamps
History
The nineteenth century
The Penny Black, the world's first postage stamp (1 May 1840)
Postage stamps have facilitated the delivery of mail since the 1840s.
Before then, ink and hand-stamps (hence the word 'stamp'), usually made from wood or cork, were often used to frank the mail and confirm the payment of postage.
The first adhesive postage stamp, commonly referred to as the Penny Black, was issued in the United Kingdom in 1840.
The invention of the stamp was part of an attempt to improve the postal system in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which, in the early 19th century, was in disarray and rife with corruption.There are varying accounts of the inventor or inventors of the stamp.
Before the introduction of postage stamps, mail in the United Kingdom was paid for by the recipient, a system that was associated with an irresolvable problem: the costs of delivering mail were not recoverable by the postal service when recipients were unable or unwilling to pay for delivered items, and senders had no incentive to restrict the number, size, or weight of items sent, whether or not they would ultimately be paid for.
The postage stamp resolved this issue in a simple and elegant manner, with the additional benefit of room for an element of beauty to be introduced. Concurrently with the first stamps, the United Kingdom offered wrappers for mail. Later related inventions include postal stationery such as prepaid-postage envelopes, post cards, lettercards, aerogrammes, and postage meters.
The postage stamp afforded convenience for both the mailer and postal officials, more effectively recovered costs for the postal service, and ultimately resulted in a better, faster postal system.
With the conveniences stamps offered, their use resulted in greatly increased mailings during the 19th and 20th centuries. Postage stamps released during this era were the most popular way of paying for mail; however by the end of the 20th century were rapidly being eclipsed by the use of metered postage and bulk mailing by businesses
As postage stamps with their engraved imagery began to appear on a widespread basis, historians and collectors began to take notice.
The study of postage stamps and their use is referred to as philately. Stamp collecting can be both a hobby and a form of historical study and reference, as government-issued postage stamps and their mailing systems have always been involved with the history of nations.[30][31]
Although a number of people laid claim to the concept of the postage stamp, it is well documented that stamps were first introduced in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 May 1840 as a part of postal reforms promoted by Sir Rowland Hill.
With its introduction the postage fee was paid by the sender and not the recipient, though it was still possible to send mail without prepaying.
From when the first postage stamps were used, postmarks were applied to prevent the stamps being used again.
The first stamp, the "Penny black", became available for purchase 1 May 1840, to be valid as of 6 May 1840.
Two days later, 8 May 1840, the Two penny blue was introduced. The Penny black was sufficient for a letter less than half an ounce to be sent anywhere within the United Kingdom.
Both stamps included an engraving of the young Queen Victoria, without perforations, as the first stamps were separated from their sheets by cutting them with scissors.
The first stamps did not need to show the issuing country, so no country name was included on them.
The United Kingdom remains the only country to omit its name on postage stamps,using the reigning monarch's head as country identification.
Following the introduction of the postage stamp in the United Kingdom, prepaid postage considerably increased the number of letters mailed.
Before 1839, the number of letters sent in the United Kingdom was typically 76 million.
By 1850, this increased five-fold to 350 million, continuing to grow rapidly until the end of the 20th century when newer methods of indicating the payment of postage reduced the use of stamps.
Other countries soon followed the United Kingdom with their own stamps.
The canton of Zürich in Switzerland issued the Zürich 4 and 6 rappen on 1 March 1843.
Although the Penny black could be used to send a letter less than half an ounce anywhere within the United Kingdom, the Swiss did not initially adopt that system, instead continuing to calculate mail rates based on distance to be delivered.
Brazil issued the Bull's Eye stamp on 1 August 1843. Using the same printer used for the Penny black, Brazil opted for an abstract design instead of the portrait of Emperor Pedro II, so his image would not be disfigured by a postmark.
In 1845, some postmasters in the United States issued their own stamps, but it was not until 1847 that the first official United States stamps were issued: 5 and 10 cent issues depicting Benjamin Franklin and George Washington.
A few other countries issued stamps in the late 1840s.
The famous Mauritius "Post Office" stamps were issued by Mauritius in September 1847.
Many others, such as India, started their use in the 1850s, and by the 1860s most countries issued stamps.
Perforation of postage stamps began in January 1854.
The first officially perforated stamps were issued in February 1854.
Stamps from Henry Archer's perforation trials were issued in the last few months of 1850; during the 1851 parliamentary session at the House of Commons of the United Kingdom; and finally in 1853/54 after the United Kingdom government paid Archer £4,000 for his machine and the patent.
The Universal Postal Union, established in 1874, prescribed that nations shall only issue postage stamps according to the quantity of real use, and no living persons shall be taken as subjects.
The latter rule lost its significance after World War I.
The twentieth and twenty-first century
After World War II, it became customary in some countries, especially small Arab nations, to issue postage stamps en masse as it was realized how profitable that was.
During the 21st century, the amount of mail—and the use of postage stamps, accordingly—has reduced in the world because of electronic mail and other technological innovations.
Iceland has already announced that it will no longer issue new stamps for collectors because sales have decreased and there are enough stamps in stock.
In 2013 the Netherlands PostNL introduced Postzegelcodes, a nine-character alphanumeric code that is written as a 3x3 grid on the piece of mail as an alternative to stamps.
In December 2020, 590,000 people sent cards with these handwritten codes.[39]
Design
When the first postage stamps were issued in the 1840s, they followed an almost identical standard in shape, size and general subject matter. They were rectangular in shape.
They bore the images of queens, presidents and other political figures.
They also depicted the denomination of the postage-paid, and with the exception of the United Kingdom, depicted the name of the country from which issued.
Nearly all early postage stamps depict images of national leaders only.
Soon after the introduction of the postage stamp, other subjects and designs began to appear.
Some designs were welcome, others widely criticized. For example, in 1869, the United States Post Office broke the tradition of depicting presidents or other famous historical figures, instead using other subjects including a train and horse
The change was greeted with general disapproval, and sometimes harsh criticism from the American public.
Perforations
Main article: Postage stamp separation
Rows of perforations in a sheet of 1940 postage stamps
The Penny Red, 1854 issue, the first officially perforated postage stamp
The first officially perforated United States stamp (1857)
Perforations are small holes made between individual postage stamps on a sheet of stamps facilitating separation of a desired number of stamps.
The resulting frame-like, rippled edge surrounding the separated stamp defines a characteristic meme for the appearance of a postage stamp.
In the first decade of postage stamps' existence (depending on the country), stamps were issued without perforations. Scissors or other cutting mechanisms were required to separate a desired number of stamps from a full sheet.
If cutting tools were not used, individual stamps were torn off. This is evidenced by the ragged edges of surviving examples. Mechanically separating stamps from a sheet proved an inconvenience for postal clerks and businesses, both dealing with large numbers of individual stamps on a daily basis.
By 1850, methods such as rouletting wheels were being devised in efforts of making stamp separation more convenient, and less time-consuming.
The United Kingdom was the first country to issue postage stamps with perforations.
The first machine specifically designed to perforate sheets of postage stamps was invented in London by Henry Archer, an Irish landowner and railroad man from Dublin, Ireland.
The 1850 Penny Red was the first stamp to be perforated during trial course of Archer's perforating machine.
After a period of trial and error and modifications of Archer's invention, new machines based on the principles pioneered by Archer were purchased and in 1854 the United Kingdom postal authorities started continuously issuing perforated postage stamps in the Penny Red and all subsequent designs.
In the United States, the use of postage stamps caught on quickly and became more widespread when on 3 March 1851, the last day of its legislative session, Congress passed the Act of March 3, 1851 (An Act to reduce and modify the Rates of Postage in the United States).
Similarly introduced on the last day of the Congressional session four years later, the Act of March 3, 1855 required the prepayment of postage on all mailings.
Thereafter, postage stamp use in the United States quickly doubled, and by 1861 had quadrupled
In 1856, under the direction of Postmaster General James Campbell, Toppan and Carpenter, (commissioned by the United States government to print United States postage stamps through the 1850s) purchased a rotary machine designed to separate stamps, patented in England in 1854 by William and Henry Bemrose, who were printers in Derby, England.
The original machine cut slits into the paper rather than punching holes, but the machine was soon modified.
The first stamp issue to be officially perforated, the 3-cent George Washington, was issued by the United States Post Office on 24 February 1857.
Between 1857 and 1861, all stamps originally issued between 1851 and 1856 were reissued with perforations. Initial capacity was insufficient to perforate all stamps printed, thus perforated issues used between February and July 1857 are scarce and quite valuable.
African Stamps
History
The nineteenth century
The Penny Black, the world's first postage stamp (1 May 1840)
Postage stamps have facilitated the delivery of mail since the 1840s.
Before then, ink and hand-stamps (hence the word 'stamp'), usually made from wood or cork, were often used to frank the mail and confirm the payment of postage.
The first adhesive postage stamp, commonly referred to as the Penny Black, was issued in the United Kingdom in 1840.
The invention of the stamp was part of an attempt to improve the postal system in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which, in the early 19th century, was in disarray and rife with corruption.There are varying accounts of the inventor or inventors of the stamp.
Before the introduction of postage stamps, mail in the United Kingdom was paid for by the recipient, a system that was associated with an irresolvable problem: the costs of delivering mail were not recoverable by the postal service when recipients were unable or unwilling to pay for delivered items, and senders had no incentive to restrict the number, size, or weight of items sent, whether or not they would ultimately be paid for.
The postage stamp resolved this issue in a simple and elegant manner, with the additional benefit of room for an element of beauty to be introduced. Concurrently with the first stamps, the United Kingdom offered wrappers for mail. Later related inventions include postal stationery such as prepaid-postage envelopes, post cards, lettercards, aerogrammes, and postage meters.
The postage stamp afforded convenience for both the mailer and postal officials, more effectively recovered costs for the postal service, and ultimately resulted in a better, faster postal system.
With the conveniences stamps offered, their use resulted in greatly increased mailings during the 19th and 20th centuries. Postage stamps released during this era were the most popular way of paying for mail; however by the end of the 20th century were rapidly being eclipsed by the use of metered postage and bulk mailing by businesses
As postage stamps with their engraved imagery began to appear on a widespread basis, historians and collectors began to take notice.
The study of postage stamps and their use is referred to as philately. Stamp collecting can be both a hobby and a form of historical study and reference, as government-issued postage stamps and their mailing systems have always been involved with the history of nations.[30][31]
Although a number of people laid claim to the concept of the postage stamp, it is well documented that stamps were first introduced in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 May 1840 as a part of postal reforms promoted by Sir Rowland Hill.
With its introduction the postage fee was paid by the sender and not the recipient, though it was still possible to send mail without prepaying.
From when the first postage stamps were used, postmarks were applied to prevent the stamps being used again.
The first stamp, the "Penny black", became available for purchase 1 May 1840, to be valid as of 6 May 1840.
Two days later, 8 May 1840, the Two penny blue was introduced. The Penny black was sufficient for a letter less than half an ounce to be sent anywhere within the United Kingdom.
Both stamps included an engraving of the young Queen Victoria, without perforations, as the first stamps were separated from their sheets by cutting them with scissors.
The first stamps did not need to show the issuing country, so no country name was included on them.
The United Kingdom remains the only country to omit its name on postage stamps,using the reigning monarch's head as country identification.
Following the introduction of the postage stamp in the United Kingdom, prepaid postage considerably increased the number of letters mailed.
Before 1839, the number of letters sent in the United Kingdom was typically 76 million.
By 1850, this increased five-fold to 350 million, continuing to grow rapidly until the end of the 20th century when newer methods of indicating the payment of postage reduced the use of stamps.
Other countries soon followed the United Kingdom with their own stamps.
The canton of Zürich in Switzerland issued the Zürich 4 and 6 rappen on 1 March 1843.
Although the Penny black could be used to send a letter less than half an ounce anywhere within the United Kingdom, the Swiss did not initially adopt that system, instead continuing to calculate mail rates based on distance to be delivered.
Brazil issued the Bull's Eye stamp on 1 August 1843. Using the same printer used for the Penny black, Brazil opted for an abstract design instead of the portrait of Emperor Pedro II, so his image would not be disfigured by a postmark.
In 1845, some postmasters in the United States issued their own stamps, but it was not until 1847 that the first official United States stamps were issued: 5 and 10 cent issues depicting Benjamin Franklin and George Washington.
A few other countries issued stamps in the late 1840s.
The famous Mauritius "Post Office" stamps were issued by Mauritius in September 1847.
Many others, such as India, started their use in the 1850s, and by the 1860s most countries issued stamps.
Perforation of postage stamps began in January 1854.
The first officially perforated stamps were issued in February 1854.
Stamps from Henry Archer's perforation trials were issued in the last few months of 1850; during the 1851 parliamentary session at the House of Commons of the United Kingdom; and finally in 1853/54 after the United Kingdom government paid Archer £4,000 for his machine and the patent.
The Universal Postal Union, established in 1874, prescribed that nations shall only issue postage stamps according to the quantity of real use, and no living persons shall be taken as subjects.
The latter rule lost its significance after World War I.
The twentieth and twenty-first century
After World War II, it became customary in some countries, especially small Arab nations, to issue postage stamps en masse as it was realized how profitable that was.
During the 21st century, the amount of mail—and the use of postage stamps, accordingly—has reduced in the world because of electronic mail and other technological innovations.
Iceland has already announced that it will no longer issue new stamps for collectors because sales have decreased and there are enough stamps in stock.
In 2013 the Netherlands PostNL introduced Postzegelcodes, a nine-character alphanumeric code that is written as a 3x3 grid on the piece of mail as an alternative to stamps.
In December 2020, 590,000 people sent cards with these handwritten codes.[39]
Design
When the first postage stamps were issued in the 1840s, they followed an almost identical standard in shape, size and general subject matter. They were rectangular in shape.
They bore the images of queens, presidents and other political figures.
They also depicted the denomination of the postage-paid, and with the exception of the United Kingdom, depicted the name of the country from which issued.
Nearly all early postage stamps depict images of national leaders only.
Soon after the introduction of the postage stamp, other subjects and designs began to appear.
Some designs were welcome, others widely criticized. For example, in 1869, the United States Post Office broke the tradition of depicting presidents or other famous historical figures, instead using other subjects including a train and horse
The change was greeted with general disapproval, and sometimes harsh criticism from the American public.
Perforations
Main article: Postage stamp separation
Rows of perforations in a sheet of 1940 postage stamps
The Penny Red, 1854 issue, the first officially perforated postage stamp
The first officially perforated United States stamp (1857)
Perforations are small holes made between individual postage stamps on a sheet of stamps facilitating separation of a desired number of stamps.
The resulting frame-like, rippled edge surrounding the separated stamp defines a characteristic meme for the appearance of a postage stamp.
In the first decade of postage stamps' existence (depending on the country), stamps were issued without perforations. Scissors or other cutting mechanisms were required to separate a desired number of stamps from a full sheet.
If cutting tools were not used, individual stamps were torn off. This is evidenced by the ragged edges of surviving examples. Mechanically separating stamps from a sheet proved an inconvenience for postal clerks and businesses, both dealing with large numbers of individual stamps on a daily basis.
By 1850, methods such as rouletting wheels were being devised in efforts of making stamp separation more convenient, and less time-consuming.
The United Kingdom was the first country to issue postage stamps with perforations.
The first machine specifically designed to perforate sheets of postage stamps was invented in London by Henry Archer, an Irish landowner and railroad man from Dublin, Ireland.
The 1850 Penny Red was the first stamp to be perforated during trial course of Archer's perforating machine.
After a period of trial and error and modifications of Archer's invention, new machines based on the principles pioneered by Archer were purchased and in 1854 the United Kingdom postal authorities started continuously issuing perforated postage stamps in the Penny Red and all subsequent designs.
In the United States, the use of postage stamps caught on quickly and became more widespread when on 3 March 1851, the last day of its legislative session, Congress passed the Act of March 3, 1851 (An Act to reduce and modify the Rates of Postage in the United States).
Similarly introduced on the last day of the Congressional session four years later, the Act of March 3, 1855 required the prepayment of postage on all mailings.
Thereafter, postage stamp use in the United States quickly doubled, and by 1861 had quadrupled
In 1856, under the direction of Postmaster General James Campbell, Toppan and Carpenter, (commissioned by the United States government to print United States postage stamps through the 1850s) purchased a rotary machine designed to separate stamps, patented in England in 1854 by William and Henry Bemrose, who were printers in Derby, England.
The original machine cut slits into the paper rather than punching holes, but the machine was soon modified.
The first stamp issue to be officially perforated, the 3-cent George Washington, was issued by the United States Post Office on 24 February 1857.
Between 1857 and 1861, all stamps originally issued between 1851 and 1856 were reissued with perforations. Initial capacity was insufficient to perforate all stamps printed, thus perforated issues used between February and July 1857 are scarce and quite valuable.