COLLECTING STAMPS

COLLECTING STAMPS

COLLECTING STAMPS

Stamps and postal history

Even the commonest stamp can be valuable if it is still attached to the original envelope, or 'cover'; the postmark could be what makes the difference.

The first adhegesive posta ge stamp penny black,has acquired an almost mystical reputation as a rare and valu­able item. Yet it is not as unusual as all that. Some 68 million Penny Blacks were printed between its issue in 1840 and its replacement by the Penny Red-Brown in 1841, and many have survived. The Twopenny Blue appeared at the same time but is generally worth three times as much today as the equivalent Penny Black, because far fewer were issued.

COLLECTING STAMPS
 

Many later stamps issued in limited num­bers are even more desirable: the scarcer the item, the more it will be worth. And more important still can be the postmarks cancel­ling the stamps - an aspect of stamp collecting (or philately) which was largely ignored by early collectors and eager amateurs as they soaked stamps from their original envelopes ('covers') and stuck them into albums.

POSTMARKS AND COVERS

COLLECTING STAMPS

Since the Middle Ages, merchants, universi­ties and even trade guilds organised their own postal networks, often operating internation­ally. Letters which hear the handwritten (or 'manuscript') marks of these services are much in demand by today's collectors.


COLLECTING STAMPS

The earliest postmarks were made with a small hand stamp carved from wood, and were first used in the 17th century. By 1661 Charles II's postmaster general, Henry Bishop, had invented the first date stamp - a circle with a line across it, with a number for the date in one half and a two-letter abbreviation for the month in the other. This remained in use in cities as far afield as New York, Dublin, Edinburgh and Calcutta until 1787.

Another distinctive postmark was the tri­angular mark used by William Dockwra for his Penny Post, established in the London area in 1680. His service was taken over by the Post Office two years later, and similar marks were in use for over a century. Letters bearing Dockwra's original mark can be worth up to five-figure sums, but those with the more plentiful Post Office stamp are less valuable.

Postmarks bearing the name of the office of posting came into use at the end of the 17th century, although they were not common until the 1730s. Meanwhile, many post­masters wrote in the name of the place and postage charged by hand, a c ustom thatcanbe deceptive for collectors. What looks like a meaningless squiggle may in fact he an unusual and valuable rate (or charge) mark.

COLLECTING STAMPS

Before 1840, postage was charged accord­ing to the number of sheets sent and the distance a letter travelled. To save on post­age, letters were generally part of the same sheet as the outer wrapper, on which the address was written. These early letters are known by collectors as 'entires' (or entire letters) and are valued for their postmarks.

COLLECTING STAMPS

The importance of taking care of old envelopes - introduced after the coming of the Uniform Penny Post in 1840 - cannot be overemphasised. Even common 19th and early 20th-century stamps can be very valu­able if accompanied by some rare postmark or in an unusual combination.

PICTORIALS AND SOUVENIRS

Postal stationery bearing embossed stamps was first produced in Sydney, New South Wales, in 1838. It bears the seal of the colony, and is regarded as the world's first stamped stationery. The British painter William Mul- ready designed the first prepaid British penny postage envelope around 1840, carrying a picture of Britannia. 'Mulreadies' soon dis­appeared, but a spate of caricatures eventually led to a vogue for highly decorated envelopes.

COLLECTING STAMPS

Pictorial stationery such as this can fetch high prices at auction. Both hand-drawn and printed, stamped stationery - whether post­cards, envelopes, letter cards, newspaper wrappers or aerogrammes (air letter sheets) - have a strong following among collectors today. Postal souvenirs from the early days of aviation (especially pre-191 o) can also fetch considerable sums and include early air mail letters and 'First Flight' commemoratives.

COLLECTING STAMPS

Modern first-day covers (FDCs) - post­marked the first day of issue of a particular stamp - are, surprisingly, of little value. Indeed, many stamps are actually commoner on FDCs than on normal envelopes. But postmarked FDCs dated between 1902 (when British stamps first came out on a particular day) and about 1950 are sought after.