Postage stamp
Encyclopedia
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail
Mail
Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...

 as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper
Postage stamp paper
Postage stamp paper is the foundation or substrate of the postage stamp to which the ink for the stamp's design is applied to one side and the adhesive is applied to the other...

, with a national designation and denomination (price) on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side. Postage stamps are purchased from a postal administration or other authorized vendor and are used to pay for the costs involved in moving mail as well as other business necessities such as insurance and registration.

The stamp’s shape is usually that of a small rectangle of varying proportions, though triangles or other shapes are occasionally used. The stamp is affixed to an envelope
Envelope
An envelope is a common packaging item, usually made of thin flat material. It is designed to contain a flat object, such as a letter or card....

 or other postal cover (i.e., packet, box, mailing cylinder) that the customer wishes to send. The item is then processed by the postal system, where a postmark
Postmark
thumb|USS TexasA postmark is a postal marking made on a letter, package, postcard or the like indicating the date and time that the item was delivered into the care of the postal service...

, sometimes known as a cancellation mark, is usually applied over the stamp and cover; this procedure marks the stamp as used, which prevents its reuse. The postmark indicates the date and point of origin of the mailing. The mailed item is then delivered to the address that the customer has applied to the envelope or cover.

Postage stamps have been carrying the mails of the world to their destinations since the 1840s. Before this time, 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
Penny Black
The Penny Black was the world's first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system. It was issued in Britain on 1 May 1840, for official use from 6 May of that year....

, was issued in the United Kingdom in 1840. The invention of the stamp was a part of the attempt to reform and improve the postal system in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....

, 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 UK 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. Later related inventions include postal stationery
Postal stationery
A piece of postal stationery is a stationery item, such as a stamped envelope, letter sheet, postal card, lettercard, aerogram or wrapper, with an imprinted stamp or inscription indicating that a specific rate of postage or related service has been prepaid...

 such as prepaid-postage envelopes, post cards, lettercard
Lettercard
In philately a lettercard or letter card is a postal stationery item consisting of a folded card with a prepaid imprinted stamp. The fact that it is folded over gives the writer twice as much room for the message compared with a postal card. The message is written on the inside and the card is...

s, aerogrammes and wrappers
Wrapper (philately)
In philately a wrapper is a form of postal stationery which pays the cost of the delivery of a newspaper or a periodical. The wrapper is a sheet of paper, large enough to wrap around a folded or rolled newspaper and with an imprinted stamp to pay the cost of postage...

, postage meter
Postage meter
A postage meter is a mechanical device used to create and apply physical evidence of postage to mailed matter. Postage meters are regulated by a country's postal authority; for example, in the United States, the United States Postal Service specifies the rules for the creation, support, and use...

s, and, more recently, specialty boxes and envelopes provided free to the customer by the U.S. postal service for priority or express mailing.

The postage stamp afforded convenience for both the mailer and postal officials, more efficiently 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 during this era were the most popular way of paying for mail, but by the end of the 20th century were rapidly being eclipsed by the use of metered postage and bulk mailing by businesses.) The same result with respect to communications by private parties occurred over the last decade of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st due to declining cost of long distance telephone communications and the development and explosive spread of electronic mailing ("e-mail" via the Internet) and bill paying systems had.

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
Philately
Philately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps...

. Stamp collecting
Stamp collecting
Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects. It is one of the world's most popular hobbies, with the number of collectors in the United States alone estimated to be over 20 million.- Collecting :...

 can be both a hobby
Hobby
A hobby is a regular activity or interest that is undertaken for pleasure, typically done during one's leisure time.- Etymology :A hobby horse is a wooden or wickerwork toy made to be ridden just like a real horse...

 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.

Invention

Throughout modern history
Modern history
Modern history, or the modern era, describes the historical timeline after the Middle Ages. Modern history can be further broken down into the early modern period and the late modern period after the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution...

 various innovations were used to apply or indicate that postage has been paid on a mailed item and as such the invention of the postage stamp has been credited to several different people.

William Dockwra
In 1680 William Dockwra
William Dockwra
William Dockwra was an English merchant who along with his partner Robert Murry created the first Penny Post in London in 1680. In latter 17th century London there was no official postal system for mail delivery within the city of London and its suburbs. Dockwra's London Penny Post was a mail...

, an English merchant in London, and his partner Robert Murray
Robert Murray
Robert Murray , a prominent merchant, was born in County Armagh, Ireland, arriving with his father in Pennsylvania in 1732. Originally a Presbyterian, he became a Quaker after marrying Mary Lindley, daughter of a Quaker politician, in Pennsylvania in 1744. The couple arrived in New York City in...

 established the London Penny Post
London Penny Post
The London Penny Post was a premier postal system whose function was to deliver mail within London and its immediate suburbs for the modest sum of one penny. The Penny Post was established in 1680 by William Dockwra and his business partner, Robert Murray...

, a mail system that delivered letters and small parcels inside the city of London for the sum of one penny. The postage for the mailed item was prepaid by the use of a hand-stamp to frank the mailed item, confirming payment of postage. Though this 'stamp' was applied to a letter instead of a separate piece of paper it is considered by many historians as the world's first postage stamp.

Rowland Hill
The Englishman Sir Rowland Hill
Rowland Hill (postal reformer)
Sir Rowland Hill KCB, FRS was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of penny postage and his solution of prepayment, facilitating the safe, speedy and cheap transfer of letters...

 started to take an interest in postal reform in 1835. In 1836, a Member of Parliament, Robert Wallace, provided Hill with numerous books and documents, which Hill described as a "half hundred weight
Hundredweight
The hundredweight or centum weight is a unit of mass defined in terms of the pound . The definition used in Britain differs from that used in North America. The two are distinguished by the terms long hundredweight and short hundredweight:* The long hundredweight is defined as 112 lb, which...

 of material". Hill commenced a detailed study of these documents, which led him to the publication, in early 1837, of a pamphlet entitled "Post Office Reform its Importance and Practicability". He submitted a copy of this to the Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...

, Thomas Spring-Rice
Thomas Spring Rice, 1st Baron Monteagle of Brandon
Thomas Spring Rice, 1st Baron Monteagle of Brandon, PC, FRS was a British Whig politician, who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1835 to 1839.-Background:...

, on 4 January 1837. This first edition was marked "private and confidential" and was not released to the general public. The Chancellor summoned Hill to a meeting during which the Chancellor suggested improvements and changes to be presented in a supplement, which Hill duly produced and supplied on 28 January 1837.

Rowland Hill then received a summons to give evidence before the Commission for Post Office Enquiry on 13 February 1837. During his evidence, he read from the letter he had written to the Chancellor, which included the statement that a notation of paid postage could be created "…by using a bit of paper just large enough to bear the stamp, and covered at the back with a glutinous wash…". This is the first publication of an unambiguous description of a modern adhesive postage stamp (though the term "postage stamp" did not yet exist at that time). Shortly afterward, the second edition of Hill’s booklet, dated 22 February 1837, was published, and made available to the general public. This booklet, containing some 28,000 words, incorporated the supplement he gave to the Chancellor and the statements he made to the Commission.

Hansard records that on 15 December 1837, Mr Benjamin Hawes asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer "whether it was the intention of the Government to give effect to the recommendation of the Commissioners of the Post-office, contained in their ninth report relating to the reduction of the rates of postage, and the issuing of penny stamps?"

Hill’s ideas for postage stamps and charging postage based upon weight soon took hold and were adopted in many countries throughout the world. With the new policy of charging by weight, using envelopes for mailing documents became the norm. Hill’s brother, Edwin Hill, invented a prototype envelope-making machine that folded paper into envelopes quickly enough to match the pace of the growing demand for postage stamps.

Rowland Hill and the postal reforms he introduced to the UK postal system are commemorated on several postage issues of the United Kingdom.

James Chalmers
The claim that the Scotsman James Chalmers was the inventor of the postage stamp first surfaced in 1881 when the book "The Penny Postage Scheme of 1837", written by his son, Patrick Chalmers, was published. In this book, the son claims that James Chalmers first produced an essay describing and advocating for a stamp in August 1834. However, no evidence for this is provided in the book. Patrick Chalmers continued to campaign until he died in 1891 to have his father recognised as the inventor of the postal stamp.

The first independent evidence for Chalmers' claim is the essay and proposal he submitted for adhesive postage stamps to the General Post Office
General Post Office
General Post Office is the name of the British postal system from 1660 until 1969.General Post Office may also refer to:* General Post Office, Perth* General Post Office, Sydney* General Post Office, Melbourne* General Post Office, Brisbane...

, dated 8 February 1838 and received by the Post Office on 17 February 1838. In this approximately 800-word document about methods of franking letters he states, "Therefore, of Mr Hill’s plan of a uniform rate of postage … I conceive that the most simple and economical mode … would be by Slips … in the hope that Mr Hill’s plan may soon be carried into operation I would suggest that sheets of Stamped Slips should be prepared … then be rubbed over on the back with a strong solution of gum …". Chalmers' original document is now in the UK's National Postal Museum.

As the postage amounts on James Chalmers' essay mirrored those that were proposed by Rowland Hill in February 1837, it is clear that Chalmers was aware of Hill’s proposals. It is unknown whether he had obtained a copy of Hill’s booklet or if he had simply read about it in the Times newspaper, which had, on two occasions, on 25 March 1837 and on 20 December 1837, reported in great detail Hill’s proposals. However, in neither article was there any mention of "a bit of paper just large enough to bear the stamp", so merely reading the Times would not have made Chalmers aware that Hill had already made that proposal; this suggests either that he had read Hill's booklet and was merely elaborating on Hill's idea, or that he in fact independently developed the idea of the modern postage stamp.

James Chalmers organized petitions "for a low and uniform rate of postage". The first such petition was presented in the House of Commons on 4 December 1837 (from Montrose). Further petitions organised by him were presented on 1 May 1838 (from Dunbar and Cupar), 14 May 1838 (from the county of Forfar) and 12 June 1839. Many other people were concurrently organizing petitions and presenting them to Parliament. All these petitions were presented after Hill’s proposals had been published.

Lovrenc Košir
In 1835 the Austrian of Slovenian nationality Lovrenc Košir
Lovrenc Košir
Lovrenc Košir, also Laurenz Koschier was an Austrian civil servant who worked in Ljubljana...

 suggested the introduction of "artificially affixed postal tax stamps". His suggestion was looked at in detail and rejected.

Other claimants
Other claimants include or have included
  • Dr John Gray
    John Edward Gray
    John Edward Gray, FRS was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray ....

     of the British Museum
  • Samuel Forrester, a Scottish tax official
  • Charles Whiting, a London stationer
  • Samuel Roberts of Llanbrynmair, Wales
  • Francis Worrell Stevens, schoolmaster at Loughton
  • Ferdinand Egarter of Spittal, Austria
  • Curry Gabriel Treffenberg from Sweden

History

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
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....

 on 1 May 1840, as a part of postal reforms promoted by Sir Rowland Hill
Rowland Hill (postal reformer)
Sir Rowland Hill KCB, FRS was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of penny postage and his solution of prepayment, facilitating the safe, speedy and cheap transfer of letters...

. With its introduction, the postage fee was now to be paid by the sender and not the recipient, though it was still possible to send mail without prepaying. Postmarks have been applied over stamps since the first postage stamps came into use.

The first stamp, the penny black
Penny Black
The Penny Black was the world's first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system. It was issued in Britain on 1 May 1840, for official use from 6 May of that year....

, was put on sale on 1 May, to be valid as of 6 May 1840; two days later the two pence blue
Two pence blue
The Two Penny Blue was the world’s second official postage stamp, issued after the Penny Black.It was issued in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and was first sold to the public at the London Inland revenue office in the afternoon of May 8th 1840. Except for its denomination of the...

 was introduced. Both show an engraving of the young Queen Victoria, with smooth, unperforated edges. At the time, there was no reason to include the United Kingdom’s name on the stamp; the UK remains the only country not to identify itself by name on postal stamps, as it simply uses the current monarch’s head as implicit identification. Following the introduction of the postage stamp in the UK, the number of letters increased dramatically as the use of the stamp rapidly accelerated. Before 1839 the number of letters sent was 76 million. By 1850 this had increased fivefold to 350 million and continued to grow rapidly thereafter, until the end of the 20th century when newer methods drastically reduced the use of delivery systems requiring stamps.

Other countries soon followed with their own stamps. The Canton of Zürich
Canton of Zürich
The Canton of Zurich has a population of . The canton is located in the northeast of Switzerland and the city of Zurich is its capital. The official language is German, but people speak the local Swiss German dialect called Züritüütsch...

 in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 issued the Zurich 4 and 6
Zurich 4 and 6
The Zürich 4 and 6 were the first postage stamps issued in continental Europe, on 1 March 1843. Both were inscribed "Zürich" at the top.The 4-rappen stamp was also inscribed "Local-Taxe" at the bottom, since it was intended to pay for letters mailed within the city, while the 6-rappen, inscribed...

 rappen
Rappen
A Rappen originally was a variant of the medieval Pfennig common to the Alemannic German regions Alsace, Sundgau and Northern Switzerland. As with other German pennies, its half-piece was a Haller, the smallest piece which was struck.Today, one-hundredth of a Swiss franc is still officially...

 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
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 issued the Bull’s Eye
Bull's Eye (postage stamp)
The Bull's Eye postage stamps were the first stamps issued by Brazil on 1 August 1843, having face values of 30, 60, and 90 réis. Brazil was the second country in the world, after Great Britain, to issue postage stamps valid within the entire country...

 stamp on 1 August 1843. Using the same printer as for the Penny Black
Penny Black
The Penny Black was the world's first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system. It was issued in Britain on 1 May 1840, for official use from 6 May of that year....

, Brazil opted for an abstract design instead of a portrait of Emperor Pedro II
Pedro II of Brazil
Dom Pedro II , nicknamed "the Magnanimous", was the second and last ruler of the Empire of Brazil, reigning for over 58 years. Born in Rio de Janeiro, he was the seventh child of Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil and Empress Dona Maria Leopoldina and thus a member of the Brazilian branch of...

, so that his image would be not be disfigured by a postmark
Postmark
thumb|USS TexasA postmark is a postal marking made on a letter, package, postcard or the like indicating the date and time that the item was delivered into the care of the postal service...

. In 1845 some postmaster
Postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...

s in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 issued their own stamps, but it was not until 1847 that the first official U.S. stamps were created, 5 and 10 cent issues depicting Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...

 and George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

. A few other countries issued stamps in the late 1840s. Many others, such as India
Postage stamps and postal history of India
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of India.Indian postal systems for efficient military and governmental communications had developed long before the arrival of Europeans. When the Portuguese, Dutch, French, Danish and British displaced the Mughals, their postal systems...

, initiated their use in the 1850s, and by the 1860s most countries had stamps.

Perforations
Postage stamp separation
For postage stamps, separation is the means by which individual stamps are made easily detachable from each other.Methods of separation include:# perforation: cutting rows and columns of small holes...

  began in January 1854, and the first officially perforated stamps were issued in February 1854. However, stamps from Henry Archer's perforation trials had been issued the last few months of 1850, then during the 1851 parliamentary session of 1851, at the House of Commons, and finally in 1853/54 after the government paid Mr. Archer £4,000 for his machine and the patent.

Design

When the first postage stamps premiered in the 1840s, they followed an almost identical standard in their 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 and, with the exception of UK stamps, depicted the name of the country from which it was issued. Nearly all early postage stamps depicted the images of national leaders only, but before long, other subjects and designs began to appear. Sometimes the new designs were welcomed, while at other times changes were widely criticized. For example, in 1869, the U.S. Post Office broke from its tradition of depicting presidents or other famous historical figures on the face of postage and instead used other subjects, for example, a train or a horse. The change was greeted with general disapproval and sometimes harsh criticism from the American public.

Perforations

Perforations are small holes made between individual postage stamps on a sheet or page of stamps, allowing for the easier separation of individual stamps. The resulting frame-like rippled edge that surrounds the separated stamp has become part of the characteristic appearance of a postage stamp.

For about the first ten years of postage stamp use (depending on the country), stamps were issued without perforations. Scissors or other cutting tools had to be used to separate individual stamps. If cutting tools were not used, individual stamps were torn off, as evidenced by the ragged edges of surviving such examples. This proved to be quite an inconvenience for postal clerks and businesses, both of which had to deal with large numbers of individual stamps on a daily basis. By 1850, various methods such as rouletting wheels were being devised in an effort to make stamp separation more efficient and to allow for large numbers of stamps to be quickly separated.

The United Kingdom
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....

 was the first country to issue postage stamps with perforations, after years of struggle with the unsatisfactory cutting or tearing methods. The first machine specifically designed to perforate postage stamps was invented in London by Henry Archer
Henry Archer
Henry Archer was the son of an Irish landowner and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He was called to the Irish Bar and spent most of his time between North Wales and London.- Ffestiniog Railway :...

, an Irish landowner and railroad man from Dublin, Ireland. The 1850 Penny Red
Penny Red
The Penny Red was a British postage stamp, issued in 1841. It succeeded the Penny Black and continued as the main type of postage stamp in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until 1879, with only minor changes to the design during that time...

. was the first stamp to be perforated in the course of the trials 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 U.K. postal authorities started continuously issuing perforated postage stamps in the Penny Red and all subsequent designs.
The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 government and the Post Office were quick to follow the lead of the U.K. In the U.S., the use of postage stamps caught on quickly and became more widespread when on March 3, 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 U.S. quickly doubled, and by 1861 had quadrupled. In 1856, under the direction of Postmaster General James Campbell
James Campbell (Postmaster General)
James Campbell was a politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He served as Attorney-General of Pennsylvania and United States Postmaster General during the presidency of Franklin Pierce....

, Toppan and Carpenter, (commissioned by the U.S. government to print U.S. 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 U.S. Post Office on February 24, 1857. Between 1857 and 1861 all stamps originally issued between 1851 to 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.

Shapes and materials

In addition to the most common rectangular shape, stamps have been issued in geometric (circular, triangular and pentagonal) and irregular shapes. The United States issued its first circular stamp in 2000 as a hologram of the earth. Sierra Leone and Tonga have issued stamps in the shapes of fruit. Stamps that are printed on sheets are generally separated by perforations, though, more recently, with the advent of gummed stamps that do not have to be moistened prior to affixing them, designs can incorporate smooth edges (although a purely decorative perforated edge is often present).

Stamps are most commonly made from paper designed specifically for them, and are printed in sheets, rolls, or small booklets. Less commonly, postage stamps are made of materials other than paper, such as embossed foil (sometimes of gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

). Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 made a stamp that contained a bit of lace and one of wood. The United States produced one of plastic. East Germany issued a stamp of synthetic chemicals. In the Netherlands a stamp was made of silver foil. Bhutan issued one with its national anthem on a playable record.

Graphic characteristics

The subjects found on the face of postage stamps are generally what defines a particular stamp issue to the public and are often a reason why they are saved by collectors or history enthusiasts. Graphical subjects found on postage stamps have ranged from the early portrayals of kings, queens and presidents to later depictions of ships, birds and satellites, famous people, historical events, comics, dinosaurs, hobbies (knitting, stamp collecting), sports, holiday themes, and a wealth of other subjects too numerous to list.

Artists, designers, engravers and administrative officials are involved with the choice of subject matter and the method of printing stamps. Early stamp images were almost always produced from engravings
Line engraving
Line engraving is a term for engraved images printed on paper to be used as prints or illustrations. The term is now much less used and when is, it is mainly in connection with 18th or 19th century commercial illustrations for magazines and books, or reproductions of paintings.Steel engraving is...

 — a design etched into a steel die, which was then hardened and whose impression was transferred to a printing plate. Using an engraved image was deemed a more secure way of printing stamps as it was nearly impossible to counterfeit a finely detailed image with raised lines unless you were a master engraver. In the mid-20th century, stamp issues produced by other forms of printing began to emerge, such as lithography
Lithography
Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...

, 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...

, intaglio
Intaglio (printmaking)
Intaglio is a family of printmaking techniques in which the image is incised into a surface, known as the matrix or plate, and the incised line or area holds the ink. Normally, copper or zinc plates are used as a surface, and the incisions are created by etching, engraving, drypoint, aquatint or...

 and web offset printing
Offset printing
Offset printing is a commonly used printing technique in which the inked image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface...

. These later printing methods were less expensive and typically produced images of lesser quality.

Types

  • Airmail stamp
    Airmail stamp
    An airmail stamp is a postage stamp intended to pay either an airmail fee that is charged in addition to the surface rate, or the full airmail rate, for a piece of mail to be transported by air....

     — for payment of airmail service. The term "airmail" or an equivalent is usually printed on special airmail stamps. Airmail stamps typically depict images of airplanes and/or famous pilots and were used when airmail was a special type of mail delivery separate from mail delivered by train, ship or automobile. Aside from mail with local destinations, today almost all other mail is transported by aircraft and thus airmail is now the standard method of delivery. Scott has a separate category and listing for U.S. Airmail Postage. Prior to 1940, Scotts Catalogue did not have a special designation for airmail stamps. The various major stamp catalogs have different numbering systems and may not always list airmail stamps the same way.

  • Booklet
    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...

     stamp — stamps produced and issued in booklet format.
  • Carrier's stamp
    Carrier's stamp
    Carrier's stamp is a type of postage stamp used by private mail carriers to deliver mail directly to an addressee from the post office.-History:...

    .
  • Certified mail
    Certified Mail
    Certified Mail is a type of Special Service mail offered by the United States Postal Service and other postal services that allows the sender proof of mailing, as well as proof of delivery. Certified Mail also provides the sender with a copy of the recipient's signature, which is obtained at the...

     stamp.
  • Coil stamp
    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 — tear-off stamps issued individually in a vending machine
    Vending machine
    A vending machine is a machine which dispenses items such as snacks, beverages, alcohol, cigarettes, lottery tickets, consumer products and even gold and gems to customers automatically, after the customer inserts currency or credit into the machine....

    , or purchased in a roll.
  • Commemorative stamp
    Commemorative stamp
    A commemorative stamp is a postage stamp, often issued on a significant date such as an anniversary, to honor or commemorate a place, event or person. The subject of the commemorative stamp is usually spelled out in print, unlike definitive stamps which normally depict the subject along with the...

     — a stamp that is issued for a limited time to commemorate a person or event. Anniversaries of birthdays and historical events are among the most common examples.
  • Computer vended postage — advanced secure postage that uses information-based indicia (IBI) technology. IBI uses a two-dimensional bar code (Datamatrix or PDF417
    PDF417
    PDF417 is a stacked linear barcode symbol format used in a variety of applications, primarily transport, identification cards, and inventory management. PDF stands for Portable Data File. The 417 signifies that each pattern in the code consists of 4 bars and spaces, and that each pattern is 17...

    ) to encode the originating address, date of mailing, postage and a digital signature
    Digital signature
    A digital signature or digital signature scheme is a mathematical scheme for demonstrating the authenticity of a digital message or document. A valid digital signature gives a recipient reason to believe that the message was created by a known sender, and that it was not altered in transit...

     to verify the stamp.
  • Customised stamp — a stamp on which the image can be chosen by the purchaser by sending in a photograph or by use of the computer. Some are not true stamps but technically meter labels.
  • Definitive stamps — stamps for everyday postage and are usually produced to meet current postal rates. They often have less appealing designs than commemoratives, though there are notable exceptions. The same design may be used for many years. The use of the same design over an extended period may lead to unintended color varieties. This may make them just as interesting to philatelists as are commemoratives. A good example would be the US 1903 regular issues, their designs being very picturesque and ornamental. Definitive stamps are often issued in a series of stamps with different denominations
    Denomination (postage stamp)
    :This article deals with the price of a postage stamp. For other meanings of the word 'denomination' see Denomination .In philately, the denomination is the "inscribed value of a stamp"...

    .
  • Express mail
    Express mail
    In most postal systems express mail refers to an accelerated delivery service for which the customer pays a surcharge and receives faster delivery. Express mail is a service for domestic mail and is governed by a country's own postal administration...

     stamp / special delivery
    Special delivery (postal service)
    Special Delivery is a postal service for urgent postal packets. Its meaning varies among postal services and is different and separate from Express mail delivery service offered by many postal administrations...

     stamp.
  • Late fee stamp — issued to show payment of a fee to allow inclusion of a letter or package in the outgoing dispatch although it has been turned in after the cut-off time.
  • Local post
    Local post
    A local post is a mail service that operates only within a limited geographical area, typically a city or a single transportation route. Historically, some local posts have been operated by governments, while others, known as private local posts have been for-profit companies...

     stamps — used on mail in a local post; a postal service that operates only within a limited geographical area, typically a city or a single transportation route. Some local posts have been operated by governments, while others, known as private local posts, have been operated by for-profit companies.
  • Military stamp
    Military stamp
    A military stamp, is a postage stamp used by a military organisation, in time of war, or while ensuring a peace keeping operation. Often the letters will be transported by the army itself until they reach the country of destination. These stamps were widely used during World War II by soldiers...

     — stamp for a country’s armed forces
    Armed forces
    The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external aggressors. In some countries paramilitary...

    , usually using a special postal system.
  • Minisheet — a commemorative issue smaller than a regular full sheet of stamps, but with more than one stamp. Minisheets often contain a number of different stamps, and often having a decorative border. See also souvenir sheets.
  • Newspaper stamp
    Newspaper stamp
    A newspaper stamp is a special type of postage stamp used to pay the cost of mailing newspapers and other periodicals. Although many types were issued in the 19th century, typically representing rates reduced from regular mail, they generally fell out of use in the mid-20th century, as mail...

     — used to pay the cost of mailing newspaper
    Newspaper
    A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

    s and other periodicals.
  • Official mail
    Official mail
    Official mail is mail sent from, or by an authorised department of government, governmental agency or international organization and normally has some indication that it is official; a certifying cachet, return address or other means of identity, indicating its user...

     stamp — issued for use by the government or a government agency.
  • Occupation stamp — a stamp for use by an occupying army or by the occupying army
    Army
    An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...

     or authorities for use by civilians
  • Non-denominated postage
    Non-denominated postage
    Non-denominated postage is postage intended to meet a certain postage rate that retains full validity for that intended postage rate even after the rate is increased. It does not show a monetary value, or denomination, on the face. In many English speaking countries, it is called non-value...

     — postage stamp that remains valid even after the price has risen. Also known as a permanent or "forever" stamp.
  • Overprint
    Overprint
    An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a postage stamp or banknote after it has been printed. Post offices most often use overprints for internal administrative purposes such as accounting but they are also employed in public mail...

     - A regularly issued stamp, such as a commemorative or a definitive issue, that has been changed after issuance by "printing over" some part of the stamp. Denominations can be changed in this manner.
  • Perforated stamps
    Perfin
    In philately, a perfin is a stamp that has had initials or a name perforated across it to discourage theft. The name is a contraction of perforated initials or perforated insignia...

     — while this term usually refers to perforations around a stamp to divide a sheet into individual stamps, it can also be used for stamps perforated across the middle with letters or a pattern or monogram, which are known as "perfins." These modified stamps are usually purchased by corporations to guard against theft by employees.
  • Personalised stamp
    Personalised stamp
    A personalised stamp is a postage stamp where a picture or photograph can be added to the stamp by a member of the public, some non-governmental entity, or a governmental entity that is not in an official stamp-issuing capacity; it is obviously to be distinguished from personalised rubber stamps as...

    s — allow the user to add his or her own image.
  • Pneumatic post
    Pneumatic tube
    Pneumatic tubes are systems in which cylindrical containers are propelled through a network of tubes by compressed air or by partial vacuum...

     stamps — for mail sent using pressurized air tubes, only produced in Italy.
  • Postage currency postage stamps used as currency rather than as postage
  • Postage due
    Postage due
    Postage due is the term used for mail sent with insufficient postage. A postage due stamp is a stamp added to an underpaid piece of mail to indicate the extra postage due.- Background :...

     — a stamp showing that the full postage has not been paid, and indicating the amount owed. The United States Post Office Department has issued "parcel post postage due" stamps.
  • Postal tax — a stamp indicating that a tax above the postage rate required for sending letters has been paid. This is often mandatory on mail issued on a particular day or for a few days.

  • Revenue stamp
    Revenue stamp
    A revenue stamp, tax stamp or fiscal stamp is a adhesive label used to collect taxes or fees on documents, tobacco, alcoholic drinks, drugs and medicines, playing cards, hunting licenses, firearm registration, and many other things...

    s — used to collect taxes or fees on items such as documents, tobacco, alcoholic drinks, hunting licenses and medicines.
  • Self-adhesive stamp
    Self-adhesive stamp
    A self-adhesive stamp is a postage stamp with a pressure sensitive adhesive that does not require moistening in order to adhere to paper. They are usually issued on a removable backing paper....

     — not requiring moisture to stick. Self-sticking.
  • Semi-postal / charity stamp — a stamp with an additional charge for charity. The use of semi-postal stamps is at the option of the purchaser. Countries such as Belgium
    Belgium
    Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

     and Switzerland
    Switzerland
    Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

     that often use charitable fund-raising design stamps that are desirable for collectors.
  • Souvenir sheet — a commemorative issue in large format valid for postage often containing a perforated or imperforate stamp as part of its design. See also minisheet.
  • Specimen stamp
    Specimen stamp
    A specimen stamp is a postage stamp or postal stationery indicium sent to postmasters and postal administrations so that they are able to identify valid stamps and to avoid forgeries....

     — sent to postmasters and postal administrations so that they are able to identify valid stamps and to avoid forgeries.
  • Telegraph stamp
    Telegraph stamp
    Telegraph stamps are stamps intended solely for the prepayment of telegraph fees. The customer completed a telegraph form before handing it with payment to the clerk who applied a telegraph stamp and cancelled it to show that payment had been made...

     — for sending telegrams.
  • Test stamp
    Test stamp
    A test stamp, dummy stamp, or training stamp, is a label resembling a postage stamp that is used by postal authorities for testing equipment and/or training postal workers. They generally have the same size and shape as regular stamps, but with a minimal design...

     — a label not valid for postage, used by postal authorities to test sorting and cancelling machines or machines that can detect a stamp on an envelope. May also be known as dummy or training stamps.
  • Variable value stamp
    Variable value stamp
    A variable value stamp, is a gummed or self-adhesive postage stamp of a common design, issued by a machine similar to an Automatic Teller Machine, with a value of the user's choice printed at the time the stamp is dispensed. The value may be variable or from a fixed selection of postal rates. The...

    s - dispensed by machines that print the cost of the postage at the time the stamp is dispensed.
  • War tax stamp
    War tax stamp
    A war tax stamp is a type of postage stamp added to an envelope in addition to regular postage. It is similar to a postal tax stamp, but the revenue is used to defray the costs of a war; as with other postal taxes, its use is obligatory for some period of time.- Early Spanish issues :The first war...

     — A variation on the postal tax stamp to defray the cost of war.
  • Water-activated stamp — for many years, water-activated stamps were the only type available, so this term entered into use with the advent of self-adhesive stamps. The adhesive or gum on a water-activated stamp must be moistened (usually by licking, thus the stamps are also known as "lick and stick").

First day covers

Postage stamps are first issued on a specific date, often referred to as the First day of issue. A first day cover usually consists of an envelope, a postage stamp and a postmark with the date of the stamp’s first day of issue thereon. Starting in the mid-20th century some countries, including the U.S., began assigning the first day of issue to a place associated with the subject of the stamp design, such as a specific town or city. There are two basic types of First Day Covers (FDCs) noted by collectors. The first and often most desirable type among advanced collectors is a cover sent through the mail in the course of everyday usage, without the intention of the envelope and stamp ever being retrieved and collected. The second type of FDC is often referred to as "Philatelic," that is, an envelope and stamp sent by someone with the intention of retrieving and collecting the mailed item at a later time and place. The envelope used for this type of FDC often bears a printed design or cachet of its own in correspondence with the stamp’s subject and is usually printed well in advance of the first day of issue date. The latter type of FDC is usually far more common, and is usually inexpensive and relatively easy to acquire. Covers that were sent without any secondary purpose are considered non-philatelic and often are much more challenging to find and collect.'

Souvenir or miniature sheets

Postage stamps are sometimes issued in souvenir sheets or 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,...

s containing one or a small number of stamps. Souvenir sheets typically include additional artwork or information printed on the selvage, the border surrounding the stamps. Sometimes the stamps make up a greater picture. Some countries, and some issues, are produced as individual stamps as well as sheets.

Stamp collecting

Stamp collecting is a popular hobby
Hobby
A hobby is a regular activity or interest that is undertaken for pleasure, typically done during one's leisure time.- Etymology :A hobby horse is a wooden or wickerwork toy made to be ridden just like a real horse...

. Collecting is not the same as philately
Philately
Philately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps...

, which is defined as the study of stamps. It is not necessary to closely study stamps in order to enjoy collecting them. Many casual collectors enjoy accumulating stamps without worrying about the details. The creation of a valuable or comprehensive collection, however, may require some philatelic knowledge.

Stamp collectors are an important source of revenue
Revenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....

 for some small countries that create limited runs of elaborate stamps designed mainly to be bought by stamp collectors. The stamps produced by these countries may far exceed their postal needs. Hundreds of countries, each producing scores of different stamps each year, resulted in 400,000 different types of stamps in existence by the year 2000. Annual world output averages about 10,000 types.

Naive or new collectors are vulnerable to exploitation by countries and individuals who authorize the production of postage stamps intended primarily for collectors rather than for postal use. These stamps are often "canceled to order", meaning they are postmarked without ever having passed through the postal system. Most national post offices produce stamps that would not be produced if there were no collectors, some to a far more prolific degree than others. It is up to individual collectors whether this concerns them; collecting such issues is as legitimate an endeavor as any other collection, but is unlikely to result in a collection of any value or to provide a monetary return on an investment (though may be found worthwhile in other ways such as teaching geography or collecting methods to a child, or sheer pleasure in the beauty of some of these issues). Others may argue that since these stamps are virtually worthless, they will be discarded in large numbers and eventually become less common and thus collectable in their own right, though this process would likely take many decades.

Sales of stamps to collectors who do not use them for mailing can result in large profits. Good examples of excessive issues have been (1) the stamps produced by Nicholas F. Seebeck
Nicholas F. Seebeck
Nicholas Frederick Seebeck was a stamp dealer and printer, best known for his stamp-printing contracts with several Latin American countries in the 1890s.-Life in USA:Seebeck emigrated to the United States at the age of 9...

 and (2) stamps produced for the component states of the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...

. Seebeck operated in the 1890s as an agent of Hamilton Bank Note Company. He approached Latin American countries with an offer to produce their entire postage stamp needs for free. In return he would have exclusive rights to market stamps to collectors. Each year a new issue would be produced, but would expire at the end of the year. This assured Seebeck of a continuing supply of remainders. In the 1960s, printers such as the Barody Stamp Company contracted to produce stamps for the separate Emirates and other countries. The sparse population of the desert states made it wholly unlikely that many of these stamps would ever be used for mailing purposes, and earned them the name of the "sand dune" countries. Another example of what might be considered by some to be excessive issues is that, at the time of the millennium, the United Kingdom issued 96 different stamps over about 24 months, all for pre-existing values with the same four rates for each set.

In the United States there is concern among some collectors that the United States Postal Service has become a promotional agent for the media and entertainment industry, as it has frequently issued entire sets of stamps featuring movie stars and cartoon characters like Mickey Mouse and Bart Simpson Over the decades the annual average number of new postage stamp issued by the U.S.P.S. has significantly increased.

Famous stamps

  • Basel Dove
    Basel Dove
    The Basel Dove is a notable stamp issued by the Swiss canton of Basel. It was issued on 1 July 1845 with a value of 2½-rappen and was the only stamp issued by Basel. At the time each canton was responsible for its own postal service and there were no uniform postal rates for Switzerland until after...

  • British Guiana 1c magenta
    British Guiana 1c magenta
    The British Guiana 1c magenta is regarded by many philatelists as the world's most famous stamp. It was issued in limited numbers in British Guiana in 1856, and only one specimen is now known to exist....

  • Hawaiian Missionaries
    Hawaiian Missionaries
    The Hawaiian Missionaries are the first postage stamps of the Kingdom of Hawaii, issued in 1851. They came to be known as the "Missionaries" because they were primarily found on the correspondence of missionaries working in the Hawaiian Islands...

  • Inverted Head 4 Annas
    Inverted Head 4 Annas
    The Inverted Head Four Annas of India is a postage stamp prized by collectors. The 1854 first issues of India included a Four Annas value in red and blue...

  • Inverted Jenny
    Inverted Jenny
    The Inverted Jenny is a United States postage stamp first issued on May 10, 1918 in which the image of the Curtiss JN-4 airplane in the center of the design was accidentally printed upside-down; it is probably the most famous error in American philately...

  • Mauritius "Post Office"
  • Penny Black
    Penny Black
    The Penny Black was the world's first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system. It was issued in Britain on 1 May 1840, for official use from 6 May of that year....

  • Scinde Dawk
    Scinde Dawk
    Scinde Dawk was a very old postal system of runners that served the Indus Valley of Sindh, an area of present-day Pakistan. The term also refers to the first postage stamps in Asia, the forerunners of the adhesive stamps used throughout India, Burma, the Straits Settlements and other areas...

  • Treskilling Yellow
  • Uganda Cowries
    Uganda Cowries
    The Uganda Cowries, also known as the Uganda Missionaries, were the first adhesive postage stamps of Uganda. Because there was no printing press in Uganda the stamps were made on a typewriter by Rev. E. Millar of the Church Missionary Society, in March 1895, at the request of C. Wilson, an official...


See also

  • List of entities that have issued postage stamps
  • Philatelic fakes and forgeries
    Philatelic fakes and forgeries
    In general, philatelic fakes and forgeries refers to labels that look like postage stamps but are not. Most have been produced to deceive or defraud...

  • Philately
    Philately
    Philately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps...

  • Stamp catalog
    Stamp catalog
    A stamp catalog is a catalog of postage stamp types with descriptions and prices.The stamp catalog is an essential tool of philately and stamp collecting...

  • Stamp collecting
    Stamp collecting
    Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects. It is one of the world's most popular hobbies, with the number of collectors in the United States alone estimated to be over 20 million.- Collecting :...

  • Variable value stamp
    Variable value stamp
    A variable value stamp, is a gummed or self-adhesive postage stamp of a common design, issued by a machine similar to an Automatic Teller Machine, with a value of the user's choice printed at the time the stamp is dispensed. The value may be variable or from a fixed selection of postal rates. The...


External links

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