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Postage
Stamps
Every stamp
tells a story
History
of stamps
Postage stamps have facilitated the delivery of mail since the 1840s
The First Modern Postage Stamp: Penny Black was issued in the United Kingdom in 1840. The invention of the stamp was part of an attempt to improve the postal system in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland by Sir Rowland Hill. The Penny Black engraved the profile of Queen Victoria's head, who remained on all British stamps for the next 60 years.
At the time it was normal for the recipient to pay postage on delivery, charged by the sheet and on distance travelled. By contrast, the Penny Black allowed letters of up to 14 grams to be delivered at a flat rate of one penny, regardless of distance.
around the world
communicate
invention changed the way
people
that led to a very small
A big idea
Main
components
Always featuring the name of the issuing nation, a denomination of its value, and often an illustration of persons, events, institutions, or natural realities that symbolise the nation's traditions and values.
Image
Denomination
Perforations
Country name
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, sports, holiday themes, and a plethora of other subjects too numerous to list.
In addition to the most common rectangular shape, stamps have been issued in geometric and irregular shapes. Circular, triangular, pentagonal and etc.
Subjects and shapes
The United States issued its first circular stamp in 2000 as a
of the Earth.
of the Earth.
hologram
Sierra Leone and Tonga have issued stamps in
the shapes of
the shapes of
fruit
.
The end
of an Era?
The holidays and birthdays are times that many people still send messages to each other the old-fashioned way: through the post office.
With the conveniences stamps offered, their use resulted in greatly increased mailings during the 19th and 20th centuries. Before 1839, the number of letters sent in the United Kingdom was typically 76 million. By 1850, this increased five-fold to 350 million, continuing to grow rapidly until the end of the 20th century.
19-20th century
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. Stamp collecting can be both a hobby and a form of historical study.
Stamp collecting
During the 21st century, the amount of mail and the use of postage stamps, accordingly has reduced in the world because of electronic mail and other technological innovations. In 2013 the Netherlands PostNL introduced Postzegelcodes, a nine-character alphanumeric code that is written as a 3x3 grid on the piece of mail as an alternative to stamps. In December 2020, 590,000 people sent cards with these handwritten codes.
21st century
the history of
a nation
Postage stamps can reveal more than
.
the history of
, they can reveal
a letter
All materials in this project belong to their owners
design by
Maria Bukhalova
