CYPHER STAMP CLUB
Colorado Young Philatelic Explorers and Researchers
Sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Philatelic Library
2038 S. Pontiac Way, Denver, CO 80224
Stamp Firsts
1840
Great Britain issues the worlds first postage stamp - The Penny Black
Officially issued for sale on May 6, 1840, the Penny Black is the world’s first adhesive (gummed) postage stamp. There are covers with stamps postmarked May 1, 1840 and May 2, 1840. The “Penny Black” allowed someone to send a letter weighing ½ an ounce or less anywhere for just one penny. Over 68,000,000 stamps were printed.
1843
Brazil issues their first postage stamps.
Brazil issued their first postage stamps in 1843. Brazil was the second country in the world to issue adhesive postage stamps. Like the British Penny Black the stamps from Brazil do not include the country name. The unique design of the first Brazilian stamps have earned them the nickname "Bull's Eyes." (Portuguese Olho-de-boi)
1845
Switzerland issues the first three colored stamp.
This stamp is known as the “Basel Dove.” It was issued on July 1, 1845, in the canton of Basel in the country of Switzerland. This stamp paid for a letter weighing ½ ounce to be sent anywhere within the canton of Basel. This was also the very first stamp issued with an embossed image. The stamp is very rare.
1847
Great Britain issues the first embossed postage stamp.
The world’s first embossed postage stamps were issued by Great Britain. This 1-shilling value was released on September 11, 1847. There were two additional values, a 6-pence issued in 1848, and a 10-pence issued in 1854. The image of Queen Victoria was created by cutting the image into the plate and then impressing the paper onto the plate. The printing method was laborious and time consuming, also, only one stamp could be printed at a time! This set of stamps was discontinued in 1856. Another special note, this is the worlds first polygonal shaped stamp!
1847
The United States issues its first postage Stamp.
The stamp features the portrait of Benjamin Franklin, the first Postmaster of the United States. The stamp went on sale on July 1, 1847. With the stamp someone could send a letter weighing ½ an ounce or less up to 300 miles. About 3.7 million copies of the stamp were printed.
1851
Canada issues the first postage stamp featuring an animal.
On April 23, 1851, the province of Canada issued its first official postage stamp. The “3 penny beaver” is not only the first Canadian stamp it is also the first stamp in the world to feature an animal rather than royalty or a head of state.
1851
Nova Scotia issues the first diamond shaped stamp.
The world’s first diamond shaped stamp was issued by Nova Scotia, a province of Canada, in 1851. This is the lowest value of a set of the three values issued in a diamond shape. Nova Scotia joined the Canadian Confederation on July 1, 1867, becoming one of the four original “states” of the Dominion of Canada.
1852
The worlds first circular postage stamp is issued in India.
The Scinde Dawk stamp is the worlds first circular adhesive postage stamp. It was issued in the Indus Valley of Sindh, an area of present day Pakistan in 1852. The stamp consisted of course paper with a red sealing wax stamp and featured the Merchant’s Mark of the British East India Company. The brittle sealing wax stamps cracked and disintegrated and were soon replaced with embossed images in other colors. Less than 100 are known to exist today.
1853
The Cape of Good Hope issues the first triangle shaped stamp.
The first triangle stamp was issued by the British Colony, Cape of Good Hope, on September 1, 1853. Although the design was striking, it soon became apparent to the post masters that it was not practical. Printed in sheets of 240, and without perforations, the stamps had to be separated with a knife or a pair of scissors.
1854
India issues the first two color postage stamp.
In October 1854, the first postage stamps for use in India were placed on sale. The stamp features a portrait of a young Queen Victoria of Great Britain. The 4-Anna stamp shown paid for a letter weighing 3-troy ounces to be sent anywhere in India.
1854
Switzerland issues the first stamp printed in three different languages.
In 1854 Switzerland issued a new set of imperforate stamps which featured the denomination in three different languages, French, Swiss, and Italian. There were 7 stamps in the set and they are now referred to as the “Strubel” issue. The word “Strubel” refers to the frizzy hair seen on the central figure.
1859
France issues the first postage due stamp.
Many consider this to be the world’s first postage due stamp, it was issued by France in 1859. Postage due stamps are actually the reverse of postage stamps. A postage stamp shows that payment was made for the delivery of the mail. A postage due stamp shows that full payment was not made for the delivery of the mail.
1861
New Brunswick issues the first postage stamp featuring a locomotive.
The province of New Brunswick issued the worlds first postage stamp featuring a locomotive in 1861. The was the low value of a set of and commemorated the opening of the railway between the cities of Pointe-au-Chene and Saint-Jean, New Brunswick.
1863
Bolivia issues the worlds smallest postage stamp.
The world’s smallest postage stamp was issued by the province Bolivia in 1863. The stamp is called the “Bolivar 10-cent green” and measures 8mm x 9.55mm, or about 1/3 of an inch square.
1912
The United States issues the first stamp featuring an airplane.
The United States issued a set of Parcel Post stamps in 1912-1913. These stamps were to be used for the mailing of packages, and parcels, weighing 16-ounces or more. The 20-cent value is the first postage stamp in the world to feature a picture of an airplane.
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1913
The first children were delivered by mail in the United States.
In the early days of parcel post service all manner of goofy things was sent through the Post Office (eggs, dogs, coffins, and in a few cases children). The first recorded case of a baby being mailed was in 1913, Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Beauge of Glen Este, Ohio, shipped their 10-pound infant son to his grandmother’s home about a mile away, paying 15 cents in postage and springing for $50 in insurance (because they were worriers). The longest travel by mail for a child was made by Edna Neff of Pensacola, Fla., was 6 when she sent to her father in Christiansburg, Va., 720 miles away. The most famous mailed child, May Pierstorff, was sent on an Idaho railway mail car in 1914 with the appropriate stamps stuck to her traveling coat. In 1914 the Post Master instituted a general rule: No Humans, and this rule remains in force to this day.
1917
Italy issues the first official airmail stamp.
In May 1917, Italy issued the world’s first official airmail stamp. An express mail stamp was overprinted, “Experimental Airpost – May 1917, Torino to Rome, and Rome to Torino.”
1922
Austria experiments with mail delivery by rocket.
Rocket Mail was first proposed in 1810 by Henrich Von Kleist, a German author. He suggested using artillery batteries that would fire shells filled with mail. The first successful launch of Rocket Mail occurred in Austria in 1922, when an experimental rocket carried 102 pieces of mail. In 1928, Great Britain conducted two test flights for delivering mail by rocket, both of the rockets exploded. Rocket mail was tested in India from 1934 through 1944. A total of 270 rockets were tested, 80 carried mail. The United States experimented with Rocket Mail in the mid to late 1930’s. In 1959 the Navy assisted the Post Office with the launch of a Regulus Cruise Missile. The nuclear warhead was removed and replaced by two postal containers with 3,000 pieces of mail. This was the last recorded experiment with Rocket Mail in the United States.