Definitive postage stamps of Ireland

Definitive postage stamps of Ireland are the regular series of definitive

Definitive stamp

A definitive stamp is a postage stamp, that is part of a regular issue of a country's stamps available for sale by the postal service for an extended period of time...

postage stamp

Postage stamp

A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...

s issued by the Irish Free State

Irish Free State

The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...

between 1922 and 1937 and by Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

since 1937. Seven distinctly different series of designs have been released; additionally the watermark

Watermark

A watermark is a recognizable image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light , caused by thickness or density variations in the paper...

was changed for two issues and the currency was changed on three occasions while the designs remained the same.

The stamp series

First series

The first twelve stamps, the low-values up to 1 shilling, were issued during 1922–23 whilst the three high-values, 2/6, 5/- and 10/- did not appear until 8 September 1937. They were printed by typography

Typography

Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading , adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters...

by the Government Printers, Dublin on SE watermark

Watermark

ed paper. The designs were: Sword of Light (4 values), Map of Ireland (3 values), Celtic Cross (2 values), Arms of the Provinces (3 values) and St. Patrick (3 high values). A small number of coil

Coil stamp

A coil stamp is a type of postage stamp sold in strips one stamp wide. The name derives from the usual handling of long strips, which is to coil them into rolls, in a manner reminiscent of adhesive tape rolls...

s with either the horizontal or vertical edges imperf (straight) were issued between 1933 and 1935 including the rare coil

The Rare 2d Coil

The Rare 2d Coil was an experimental vertical coil stamp, denominated 2d, issued by the Irish Post Office in 1935 and is one of the scarcest, and most valuable, Irish stamps...

in 1935.

Starting in 1940 these stamps were replaced by similar ones but printed on "gaelic e" watermarked paper. Two new values 8d (Sword of Light) and 11d (Celtic Cross) were introduced in 1949. In 1967/8 the 3d (Celtic Cross) and 5d (Sword of Light) changed to being printed in photogravure

Photogravure

Photogravure is an intaglio printmaking or photo-mechanical process whereby a copper plate is coated with a light-sensitive gelatin tissue which had been exposed to a film positive, and then etched, resulting in a high quality intaglio print that can reproduce the detail and continuous tones of a...

using a slightly smaller image. Two coil stamps, with imperf vertical edges were also issued.

In 1944 the 1/2d and 1s issues were replaced by the corresponding values of the set printed to commemorate the tercentenary of the death of Michael O' Cleirigh.

Gerl designs

Watermarked paper

Known after its German designer, Heinrich Gerl who won the 1966 international design competition, this was the first new design of Irish definitives in 31 years for the high-values and 46 years for the low-values. Sixteen stamps debuted between 1968–1969 on four release dates. The graphics were all based on early Irish art motifs: a dog was used in one colour for the low-values, the elk

Irish Elk

The Irish Elk or Giant Deer , was a species of Megaloceros and one of the largest deer that ever lived. Its range extended across Eurasia, from Ireland to east of Lake Baikal, during the Late Pleistocene. The latest known remains of the species have been carbon dated to about 7,700 years ago...

was used for the middle-value, the winged ox and eagle

Eagle

Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...

designs were on the high-values.

These stamps used the letter 'p' (Irish pingin) to denote pence rather than the 'd' (Latin denarius) used in the UK, so the three pence stamp bore '3p'. These stamps can be distinguished from the next issue by the presence of the letter 'p' after the numeral.

Decimal currency

With the introduction of decimal currency on 15 February 1971 the Gerl designs were reused in different colours and values and released between 1971 and 1974. A total of 18 single value stamps appeared plus three different multi-value coils; one 5p value and two different 10p se-tenant

Se-tenant (philately)

Se-tenant stamps or labels are printed from the same plate and sheet and adjoin one another, unsevered in a strip or block. They differ from each other by design, color, denomination or overprint. They may have a continuous design. The word "se-tenant" translates from French as meaning "joined...

strips.

Since the previous series had used the letter p to denote pre-decimal pence, the stamps in this series just used a numeral to denote the denomination, so, a three-pence stamp bore the digit 3 with no 'p' after it.

Unwatermarked paper

The last of the Gerl definitives consisted of 14 dog designs, 9 elk designs and 6 winged ox and eagle designs issued on 17 different dates between 1974 and 1980. For the first time a £1 value was put on sale. Some of the values produced were to replace different values as needed because of changing postal rates due to inflation. Unwatermarked paper, that had been introduced with the 1972 Christmas stamp

Christmas stamp

Many nations of the world issue Christmas stamps, postage stamps with a Christmas theme and intended for use on seasonal mail such as Christmas cards. These stamps are regular postage stamps, unlike Christmas seals, and are usually valid for postage year-round...

, was used for the first time on definitives.

Between 1981 and 1982, six more values, printed by lithography

Lithography

Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...

, were issued on four different dates. A multiple coil stamp based on a se-tenant strip valued 10p also appeared.

Architecture

Line drawings by Michael Craig with graphics by P. Wildbur were used for a new series based on Irish architecture through the ages. Over six dates between 1982 and 1988 twenty-eight values were released starting with a low-value of 1p and a high-value of £5. The images depicted: Central Pavilion (Botanic Gardens

Irish National Botanic Gardens

The National Botanic Gardens are located in Glasnevin, 5 km north-west of Dublin city centre, Ireland...

, Glasnevin

Glasnevin

Glasnevin is a largely residential neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland.-Geography:A mainly residential neighbourhood, it is located on the Northside of the city of Dublin . It was originally established on the northern bank of the River Tolka...

, Dublin), Dr. Stevens' Hospital (Dublin), St. Mac Dara Church (Co. Galway), Aughnanure Castle

Aughnanure Castle

Aughnanure Castle is a tower house in Oughterard, County Galway, in Ireland.-History:The castle was built by the O'Flahertys in the 16th century, one of Connacht's most notable lord families. Aughnanure is one of over 200 tower houses in County Galway, constructed mainly by Gaelic and ...

(Co. Galway), Cormac's Chapel

Rock of Cashel

The Rock of Cashel , also known as Cashel of the Kings and St. Patrick's Rock, is a historic site in Ireland's province of Munster, located at Cashel, South Tipperary.-History:...

(Cashel

Cashel, County Tipperary

Cashel is a town in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 2936 at the 2006 census. The town gives its name to the ecclesiastical province of Cashel. Additionally, the cathedra of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly was originally in the town prior to the English Reformation....

, Co. Tipperary), Killarney

Killarney

Killarney is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is located north of the MacGillicuddy Reeks, on the northeastern shore of the Lough Lein/Leane which are part of Killarney National Park. The town and its surrounding region are home to St...

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

(Co. Kerry), Casino at Marino

Casino at Marino

The Casino at Marino, located in Marino, Dublin, Ireland was designed by Scottish architect Sir William Chambers for James Caulfeild, the 1st Earl of Charlemont, starting in the late 1750s and finishing around 1775. It is a small and perfect example of Neo-Classical architecture, situated in the...

(Dublin), Cahir Castle

Cahir Castle

Cahir Castle , one of the largest castles in Ireland, is sited on an island in the river Suir. It was built in 1142 by Conor O'Brien, Prince of Thomond...

(Co. Tipperary) and Busáras

Busáras

Busáras is the central bus station in Dublin, Ireland for intercity and regional bus services operated by Bus Éireann. Busáras is also a stop on the Red Line of the Luas system, just before the terminus at Dublin Connolly railway station. Áras Mhic Dhiarmada is the official name of the...

(Dublin).

Heritage and treasures

The Irish Heritage

Cultural heritage

Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...

and Treasure

Treasure

Treasure is a concentration of riches, often one which is considered lost or forgotten until being rediscovered...

s definitives were released between 1990 and 1995. The Michael Craig designs were printed in 22 denominations with 13 different designs comprising; 11th century silver brooch, 18th century funerary pot, 12th century hammered gold armlets, 8th century BC gold dress fastener, 12th century bronze crozier, 6th century BC bronze brooch, 1st century BC gold collar, 8th century BC gold collar, 9th century silver thistle brooch, 1st century BC beaten gold boat, 8th century BC Ardagh Chalice

Ardagh Chalice

The Ardagh Hoard, best known for the Ardagh Chalice, is a hoard of metalwork from the 8th and 9th centuries, found in 1868 and now in the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin...

, 7th century Tara brooch

Tara Brooch

The Tara Brooch is a Celtic brooch of about 700 AD generally considered to be the most impressive of over 50 elaborate Irish brooches to have been discovered...

and 12th century Shrine of St. Patrick

Saint Patrick

Saint Patrick was a Romano-Briton and Christian missionary, who is the most generally recognized patron saint of Ireland or the Apostle of Ireland, although Brigid of Kildare and Colmcille are also formally patron saints....

's Bell.

Birds

In 1997 Irish bird illustrations were used for the new issues that spanned the changes of currency from the Irish pound

Irish pound

The Irish pound was the currency of Ireland until 2002. Its ISO 4217 code was IEP, and the usual notation was the prefix £...

, through dual currency, to the introduction of the euro. Lithographically printed on unwatermarked paper by a number of different printers, the stamps were designed by Killian Mullarney

Killian Mullarney

Killian Mullarney is an Irish ornithologist, bird artist and bird tour leader. He designed a series of Irish definitive stamps for An Post illustrating Irish birds issued between 1997 and 2004....

. These were the first definitives where all values were printed in full colour. The initial birds illustrated are: Magpie

Magpie

Magpies are passerine birds of the crow family, Corvidae.In Europe, "magpie" is often used by English speakers as a synonym for the European Magpie, as there are no other magpies in Europe outside Iberia...

, Gannet

Gannet

Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus Morus, in the family Sulidae, closely related to the boobies.The gannets are large black and white birds with yellow heads. They have long pointed wings and long bills. Northern gannets are the largest seabirds in the North Atlantic, with a wingspan of up...

, Corncrake, Wood Pigeon, Kingfisher

Kingfisher

Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...

, Lapwing

Lapwing

Vanellinae are any of various crested plovers, family Charadriidae, noted for its slow, irregular wingbeat in flight and a shrill, wailing cry. Its length is 10-16 inches. They are a subfamily of medium-sized wading birds which also includes the plovers and dotterels. The Vanellinae are...

, Blue Tit

Blue Tit

The Blue Tit is a 10.5 to 12 cm long passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and western Asia in deciduous or mixed woodlands...

, Blackbird, Robin

European Robin

The European Robin , most commonly known in Anglophone Europe simply as the Robin, is a small insectivorous passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family , but is now considered to be an Old World flycatcher...

, Stonechat, Ringed Plover

Ringed Plover

The Common Ringed Plover or Ringed Plover is a small plover.Adults are 17-19.5 cm in length with a 35–41 cm wingspan. They have a grey-brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with one black neckband. They have a brown cap, a white forehead, a black mask around the eyes...

, Puffin

Puffin

Puffins are any of three small species of auk in the bird genus Fratercula with a brightly coloured beak during the breeding season. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crevices among...

, Song Thrush

Song Thrush

The Song Thrush is a thrush that breeds across much of Eurasia. It is also known in English dialects as throstle or mavis. It has brown upperparts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has three recognised subspecies...

, Sparrowhawk, Barn Owl

Barn Owl

The Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...

, White-fronted Goose

White-fronted Goose

The Greater White-fronted Goose is a species of goose. The Greater White-fronted Goose is more closely related to the smaller Lesser White-fronted Goose...

, grey head Pintail

Northern Pintail

The Pintail or Northern Pintail is a widely occurring duck which breeds in the northern areas of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory and winters south of its breeding range to the equator...

and Shelduck

Shelduck

The shelducks, genus Tadorna, are a group of large birds in the Tadorninae subfamily of the Anatidae, the biological family that includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl such as the geese and swans....

.

These stamps were also released in several booklet and coil formats and different printings.

Irish currency

Eighteen values from 1p to £5 made up the initial set. All values, except the £1 and £5 (being nearly double size at 24 mm x 45 mm) that were printed in sheets of 50, were all sheets of 100 by ISSP, Irish Stamp Security Stamp Printing Ltd. On 2 February 1999, a miniature sheet

Miniature sheet

A souvenir sheet or miniature sheet is a small group of postage stamps still attached to the sheet on which they were printed. They may be either regular issues that just happen to be printed in small groups , or special issues often commemorating some event, such as a national anniversary,...

of fifteen different 30p birds stamps debuted using many of the original birds except that new designs were used for the Peregrine Falcon

Peregrine Falcon

The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...

, Wren

Wren

The wrens are passerine birds in the mainly New World family Troglodytidae. There are approximately 80 species of true wrens in approximately 20 genera....

and Pied Wagtail.

Dual currency

On 11 June 2001, six values in dual currency (Irish & euro) appeared using birds from the previous Irish currency issue. Both Irish pound and euro values were printed on each stamp and in most cases this required the designs to be reset in a smaller form to accommodate the additional currency text. This is especially noticeable on the 30p and 32p values.

Euro currency

With the euro introduction on 2 Jan 2002, 17 new issues in the new single currency in values from 1c to €10 were put on sale. The €10 became the highest ever value postage stamp issued in Ireland. The initial offering used five new bird designs; Chaffinch

Chaffinch

The Chaffinch , also called by a wide variety of other names, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.- Description :...

, Grey Heron

Grey Heron

The Grey Heron , is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in the milder south and west, but many birds retreat in winter from the ice in colder regions...

, Roseate Tern

Roseate Tern

The Roseate Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a number of geographical races, differing mainly in bill colour and minor plumage details....

, Curlew

Curlew

The curlews , genus Numenius, are a group of eight species of birds, characterised by long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. They are one of the most ancient lineages of scolopacid waders, together with the godwits which look similar but have straight bills...

and Barnacle Goose

Barnacle Goose

The Barnacle Goose belongs to the genus Branta of black geese, which contains species with largely black plumage, distinguishing them from the grey Anser species...

. Three additional values, 47c, 55c and 60c, appeared in June 2002 with new designs of Kestrel, Oystercatcher

Oystercatcher

The oystercatchers are a group of waders; they form the family Haematopodidae, which has a single genus, Haematopus. They are found on coasts worldwide apart from the polar regions and some tropical regions of Africa and South East Asia...

and Jay

Jay

The jays are several species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the crow family Corvidae. The names jay and magpie are somewhat interchangeable, and the evolutionary relationships are rather complex...

.

An increase in postal rates resulted in two new values on 6 January 2003. Two more were released on 25 August of the same year. The 75c showed a Ringed Plover and the 95c depicted a Sparrowhawk. The August releases were priced at 7c and 48c using the Stonechat and Peregrin Falcon designs. As usual these were printed in sheets of 100.

The last single sheet stamps were released on 5 January 2004; in 60c and 65c denominations depicting the Atlantic Puffin

Atlantic Puffin

The Atlantic Puffin is a seabird species in the auk family. It is a pelagic bird that feeds primarily by diving for fish, but also eats other sea creatures, such as squid and crustaceans. Its most obvious characteristic during the breeding season is its brightly coloured bill...

and the Song Thrush

Song Thrush

Wild flowers of Ireland

Seven stamps, designed by the botanical artist Susan Sex, featuring flowers native to the Woodland

Woodland

Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...

s and Hedgerows of Ireland came on sale on 9 September 2004. They were; 4c Dog Violet

Dog violet

Dog violet is the common name for various species of the plant genus Viola with unscented flowers. The term arose to differentiate them from the scented sweet violet. Species so named include:*Viola canina - heath dog violet...

, 5c Dandelion, 48c Primrose

Primula vulgaris

Primula vulgaris is a species of Primula native to western and southern Europe , northwest Africa , and southwest Asia...

, 60c Hawthorn, 65c Bluebell

Common Bluebell

Hyacinthoides non-scripta, commonly known as the common bluebell, is a spring-flowering bulbous perennial plant. -Taxonomy:...

, €2 Lords and Ladies

Arum maculatum

Arum maculatum is a common woodland plant species of the Araceae family. It is widespread across temperate northern Europe and is known by an abundance of common names including Wild arum, Lords and Ladies, Devils and Angels, Cows and Bulls, Cuckoo-Pint, Adam and Eve, Bobbins, Naked Boys,...

and €5 Dog Rose

Dog Rose

Rosa canina is a variable scrambling rose species native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia....

. ISSP were the printers and as previously, the low-values were printed in sheets of 100, while the high-values (€2 and €5) appeared in sheets of 50. With another design, the 48c Daisy

Bellis perennis

Bellis perennis is a common European species of Daisy, often considered the archetypal species of that name. Many related plants also share the name "Daisy", so to distinguish this species from other daisies it is sometimes qualified as Common Daisy, Lawn Daisy or occasionally English daisy. It is...

, only available in booklets, self-adhesive booklets or self adhesive rolls.
Five more designs were added on 12 April 2005, the 1c Bloody Crane's-bill, 2c Irish Orchid, 7c Fly Orchid

Fly Orchid

Ophrys insectifera, the Fly Orchid, is a species of orchid and the type species of the genus Ophrys. It is native to Europe and favors sites with alkaline soil. The name arises because it resembles a fly, being totally dependent on flies and bees for pollination...

, 10c Mountain Avens and €10 Spring Gentian

Spring Gentian

The Spring Gentian is a species of the genus Gentiana and one of its smallest members, normally only growing to a height of a few centimetres.The short stem supports up to three opposing pairs of elliptical or lanceolate leaves...

. Another five on 20 February 2006: 12c Autumn Gorse

Gorse

Gorse, furze, furse or whin is a genus of about 20 plant species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae, native to western Europe and northwest Africa, with the majority of species in Iberia.Gorse is closely related to the brooms, and like them, has green...

, 25c Common Knapweed

Centaurea nigra

Centaurea nigra is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common names Lesser Knapweed, Common Knapweed and Black Knapweed...

, 75c Navelwort, 90c Viper's Bugloss

Viper's Bugloss

Echium vulgare is a species of Echium native to most of Europe, and western and central Asia. It is also common in North America....

and €1 Foxglove. With four more on 1 March 2007: 3c Yellow Flag, 55c Butterwort, 78c Black Bog-rush

Schoenus nigricans

Schoenus nigricans is a species of sedge known by the common name black bogrush. It is native to Eurasia, parts of Africa, Australia, and southern North America, including Mexico and the southernmost United States. It grows in many types of wetlands and other moist and alkaline habitat, including...

and the 95c Loosestrife

Loosestrife

Loosestrife is the common name of a number of different flowering plants. The species belong to two taxonomic genera, Lythrum, within the family Lythraceae, and Lysimachia, within the family Primulaceae.Lythrum species known as loosestrife include:...

. And a final 3 on 3 March 2008 a 20c Thrift, 50c Biting Stonecrop and 82c Sea Aster.

N Denomination
On 1 March 2007 the Butterwort was reissues with an N denomination together with a new design the Blue-eyed-grass, these were only available in self-adhesive booklets or self adhesive rolls.

Stamps on a Roll
On 22 July 2010 An Post introduced Stamps On A Roll. The stamps are on rolls of 600 and are only given a denomination at the time of purchase. To distinguish these stamps from other stamp products, they are being given the name Stamps On A Roll or SOAR for short. The stamps feature four of the designs from this series: Bloody Crane's-bill, Mountain Avens, Spring Gentian

Spring Gentian

and Common Knapweed

Centaurea nigra

Centaurea nigra is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common names Lesser Knapweed, Common Knapweed and Black Knapweed...

Irish animals and marine life

On 8 September 2010, eight stamps of the seventh definitive stamp series, entitled "Irish Animals and Marine Life", were issued at launch. They photographically illustrate Ireland’s biodiversity. Issued in "Stamps on a Roll" self-adhesive strips, the stamps feature the following wildlife: Tompot Blenny

Tompot blenny

The tompot blenny, Parablennius gattorugine, is a medium sized blenny growing to about , part of the large family of blennies that live on the seabed of rocky areas in shallow water...

, Green Tiger Beetle

Cicindela campestris

Cicindela campestris , commonly called the green tiger beetle is a widespread Eurasian species of tiger beetle.Adults are 12-15mm long. The elytra and thorax are green, varying in tone from light to dark, spotted with cream-coloured patches, and in bright sunlight are somewhat iridescent. The eyes...

, Red Squirrel

Red Squirrel

The red squirrel or Eurasian red squirrel is a species of tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus common throughout Eurasia...

, Golden Eagle

Golden Eagle

The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...

, Common Octopus

Common Octopus

The Common Octopus is the most studied of all octopus species. Its natural range extends from the Mediterranean Sea and the southern coast of England to at least Senegal in Africa. It also occurs off the Azores, Canary Islands, and Cape Verde Islands.- Characteristics :O. vulgaris grows to 25 cm...

, Hermit Crab

Hermit crab

Hermit crabs are decapod crustaceans of the superfamily Paguroidea. Most of the 1100 species possess an asymmetrical abdomen which is concealed in an empty gastropod shell that is carried around by the hermit crab.-Description:...

, Sea Slug

Sea slug

Sea slug is a common name used for several different groups of saltwater snails that either lack a shell or have only an internal shell, in other words this name is used for various lineages of marine gastropod mollusks that are either not conchiferous or appear not to be.The phrase "sea slug" is...

and Bottlenose Dolphin

Bottlenose Dolphin

Bottlenose dolphins, the genus Tursiops, are the most common and well-known members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Recent molecular studies show the genus contains two species, the common bottlenose dolphin and the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin , instead of one...

Booklets

Definitive stamp booklets

Postage stamp booklet

A postage stamp booklet is a booklet made up of one or more small panes of postage stamps in a cardboard cover. Booklets are often made from sheets especially printed for this purpose, with a narrow selvedge at one side of the booklet pane for binding. From the cutting, the panes are usually...

were first put on sale on 21 August 1931. Booklet construction was a lightweight cardboard

Paperboard

Paperboard is a thick paper based material. While there is no rigid differentiation between paper and paperboard, paperboard is generally thicker than paper. According to ISO standards, paperboard is a paper with a basis weight above 224 g/m2, but there are exceptions. Paperboard can be single...

cover stitched

Lockstitch

A lockstitch is the most common mechanical stitch made by a sewing machine. The term "single needle stitching", often found on dress shirt labels, refers to lockstitch.-Structure:...

on the left-hand side with panes of stamps (usually four panes), advertising panes and interleaving bound in. Until 1956 most booklets had half of the front cover devoted to advertising, and until 1963 booklets also had serial numbers on the front cover: two numbers indicated the year of issue and serial number (in that order on the early issues but with the order reversed for later issues), until 1963 when the serial numbers ceased.
Since 1983, most booklets are no longer stitched; the stamp pane, or panes, are glued into a folded card cover.

Until 1988, when the Dublin Millennium booklet containing commemorative stamps was issued, all booklets contained only definitive stamps. Since then, An Post has issued both commemorative and definitive booklets, with three times as many commemorative booklets issued. In 1990 An Post issued the first booklet mixing definitive and commemorative stamps in one booklet and also on a single pane.

Many booklet stamps can be identified by one non-perforated edge, though a few are perforated on all edges. On booklets up to 1977, the printing plate construction enabled both upright and inverted watermarks in equal quantities owning to a gutter dividing rows 6 and 7 in the sheets of 12 x 10 stamps. The gutter was used for stitching during assembly, requiring rows 4–6 and 10–12 to be turned through 180 degrees so those panes could be stitched on the left of the booklet.

External links

An Post Irish Post Office
Definitive Irish stamps

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.