Postal Stationery and Postal History Society of Australia Inc.
A few facts
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Contents:
How it all began
Changing habits
Things which were almost forgotten
Postal Stationery
What happened
Renewed interest
What to do
What to do with old letters
Postal history
How it all began
Adhesive postage stamps have been collected almost from the day in 1840 when the British Post Office issued the now famous “Penny Black” and “Twopenny Blue” depicting the head of the young Queen Victoria. Whilst some of these early stamps were used by fashionable young ladies of the day to adorn parchment lampshades with interesting patterns, other people began to collect them even then, often due to their unusual markings in the corners indicating their particular position within a complete sheet. From these early and often playful pursuits to-day’s hobby of kings and queens was born, being shared by millions of collectors young and old the whole world over.
Changing habits
For many years it had been usual to collect stamps from the four corners of the earth, until masses of new issues made it imperative for the more serious collectors to confine their interests to just one country, group of countries, a period, or even a single issue with all the varieties occurring during the life of the stamp. (e.g., the Australian stamps with the head of King George V., which remained on sale with few changes for a period of 25 years.)- Many new collectors to-day confine their interests to the stamps of one country, such as Australia and possibly the postal dependencies, often covering the decimal period only, perhaps expanding their interest later to include the whole of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, while others may branch out into “thematic” collecting, saving stamps for the subject illustrated thereon, such as ships, animals, famous people, music, etc. etc. – It must be obvious even to the beginner that the hobby has undergone many changes over the years and being subject to human foibles and changing attitudes, is bound to follow these in years to come.
Things which were almost forgotten
A little known fact is, that at the same time as the world’s first adhesive postage stamps appeared in Britain, envelopes and folded lettersheets were also sold by the post offices, which were overprinted with the words and a value stating that these items were prepaid for postage at the ruling rate and thus in fact served a similar purpose to postage stamps proper. Primarily for reasons of convenience, adhesive stamps proved more popular with the users over the years and because of their colourful designs, intricate detail, small size and inherent interest, became as popular with collectors as they are to-day.
Postal stationery
Envelopes, postcards, newspaper wrappers, lettercards and in more recent times the light weight lettersheets designed for transmission by air at a greatly reduced rate, called “aerogrammes,” continued to be produced and sold by postal administrations the world over. Usually these have a stamp printed as part of the overall design, for many decades using the identical or similar pattern to that of the adhesive stamps then current. Some early issues, and virtually all modern ones, however, generally provided a differently illustrated “stamp” imprint to those of the issued adhesive stamps. Such items are known as “POSTAL STATIONERY”
What happened
Few people to-day know, that these pre-paid postcards, envelopes, lettercards, etc., many of which were richly decorated and illustrated, were saved and collected over many decades with the same interest and desire as conventional postage stamps. Although little is known to-day, it would appear that the height of popularity in Postal Stationery collecting was reached around the turn of the 20th century, gradually abating around the time of World War I, to virtually die out in the late 1920’s.
Renewed interest
The last few years have seen a tremendous upsurge of renewed interest in this fascinating field. Modern printing techniques and the recognition by postal authorities of the visual impact and communicative value created by illustrations, have brought forth many colourful new issues, of which the coloured postcards issued by Australia Post late in 1976 and the pre-stamped envelopes featuring Australian subjects, which appeared in late 1978, are probably only a beginning.
What to do
Should you collect Postal Stationery? The choice is yours! The original cost, if bought from the Post Office, is very low indeed, as face value generally amounts to only a few cents. What if you lose interest? At worst, the items could be used for postage. However other collectors could be waiting to buy them. Even to-day 4c. lettercards and similar items, which first appeared in this country in 1966 are priced a great deal higher than unused stamps of similar value from the same period.
What to do with old letters
It is possible that you possess or have been left a trunk, containing assorted “junk”, old letters, envelopes, postcards and the like. A few years ago it was customary for people who did not know better to remove any adhesive stamps by any convenient means, usually damaging the stamps which would have been very common and of low value, as well as virtually destroying the entire article.
With the flood of stamps currently being issued throughout the world, a new interest has quietly grown into a very serious study and is gaining daily in importance and recognition. This is the study and collecting of postally used pieces, which tell their story by the POSTAL MARKINGS impressed or annotated on them, where the adhesive stamps may prove to play a secondary or even a completely unimportant role. The field is vast and the scope limited only by one’s imagination.
Postal history
Such interest could be confined to “Slogan Cancellations” “Military Postmarks” from the wars or peacetime camps, “Railway Postmarks” “Ship Postmarks” towns, periods and many, many others. Very old letters can be studied in this fashion, often ascertaining the routes followed in the days before modern communications, as different postal markings may have been applied en route as well as at points of departure and arrival. A complete history of considerable interest can often be reconstructed by diligent study and research of a single old item!
The study and collecting of such letters, including letters from the era before stamps came into use, postal documents, development of postal services, post offices, past and present, along with most aspects of postal communication, are popularly known as POSTAL HISTORY.
As you can see “collecting stamps” can be expanded and can become a progressive, relaxing, rewarding and educating experience!