Early Stamps of the United States

Our second meeting for 2010 saw Chris Keery speaking about the early stamps of the United States. Chris noted that the first postage stamps issued by the United States appeared in 1847, and that prior to that date the postal rate was stamped in the corner of the cover, usually in red or green. The first issue consisted of two stamps, a five cent stamp featuring a portrait of Benjamin Franklin (the first Postmaster-General), and a ten cent stamp that had a portrait of George Washington. This issue was in use for four years, and today is very difficult to come by.

In 1851 the postal rate was lowered from five to three cents, and there was a one cent stamp issued for dropped mail - mail delivered within the same city that it was posted. Perforated stamps were first issued in the United States in 1857, featuring the portraits of Franklin, Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

The Civil War caused the northern states to issue a set of stamps to prevent the southern states using their stamps. One of the stamps in the 1861-66 issue is known as the Black Jack or Big Head because Andrew Jackson's portrait fills so much of the stamp! A fifteen cent stamp issued in 1866, printed black, shows the recently assassinated Abraham Lincoln, and is the first mourning stamp in the world. The Southern states found they had no stamps to use, so were forced to issue their own, most of which feature portraits of Jefferson Davies. He was the first living American to appear on a stamp.

The first pictorials were issued in 1869, but they proved to be very unpopular and after a year the unsold stock was withdrawn and destroyed, making them very difficult to obtain today. Postal history relating to this issue is also very difficult to obtain. The pictorials were the first bi-coloured stamps to be issued by the United States.

A new definitive series was issued in 1870, and these are known as the Banknote issue, because three different banknote printers were involved in the printing of the stamps. Government departments started printing their own stamps in 1873, using the 1870 designs. Different departments used different colours for their stamps. The department of Agriculture, for example, had yellow stamps, the Justice Department purple, the Navy department ultramarine, and the Department of the Interior vermillion.

In 1875 new international postal rates were introduced, necessitating the issuing of some new values, and in 1883 Congress reduced the first class mail rate from three cents to two cents, resulting in a huge increase in the volume of mail being sent. Yet another definitive issue appeared in 1890, with the usual range of portraits, but these were taken from early photographs. The Columbian Exposition commemoratives were issued in 1893, with values from one cent up to five dollars. Previous issues had had a highest value of only 90 cents. Another definitive issue in 1894 allowed for increases in the international mail rate.

The designs for the Trans-Mississippi Exposition issue of 1898, with values up to two dollars, were based on paintings made by famous Wild West painters. One of the most effective designs is on the one dollar stamp, showing Western Cattle in a Storm. The 1901 Pan-American Exposition commemoratives feature different methods of transportation. The 1902 definitive issue was noted for the intricacy of the borders around the designs, and for the appearance of Martha Washington on the eight cent stamp. She was the first woman to feature on an American stamp.

From 1904 through to 1907 there were various commemorative issues, including the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, and the Jamestown Exposition, featuring the 300th anniversary of the its establishment. In 1909 the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition was commemorated, along with an issue for Hudson-Fulton, an American steamboat pioneer. A parcel post issue, with values from one cent to one dollar, appeared in 1912, along with a set featuring Benjamin Franklin that remained in use for a considerable period.

A series of stamps commemorated the Panama Canal in 1913, and in 1918 the first airmail stamps were issued. There were three issues, 6, 16 and 24 cents, the six cents featuring the Curtiss Jenny, made famous by the copies with the inverted centre. The initial air mail rate from Washington to New York was 24 cents, this was reduced to 16 cents, and by the end of 1918 the rate was down to six cents. This rate did not include special delivery of the mail at its destination, whereas the two higher rates had. Various other air mail issues followed, including the very valuable Zeppelin stamps in 1930.

In the 1920s and 1930s there were a number of commemoratives issued, some of which featured battles and personalities from the revolutionary war. Kansas and Nebraska issued stamps in 1929 with the name of the state overprinted, to prevent stamps being bought in one state and sold in another. A set of 12 stamps in 1932 all featured a portrait of Washington, and in 1934 the United States issued its famous National Parks series, with Yosemite on the one cent stamp. These were made available both perforated and imperforated - the latter are very difficult to find.

This was a very well presented talk, about stamps some of which most collectors have acquired at some time in their collecting histories.