US Postal Stationary
US Postal Stationary
When I was young, I realized that I could not afford to collect early US stamps, but that stamped envelopes matched my budget and allowed me to build an important collection of postage used a little after the introduction of prepaid postage in the US. This was doable because of basic economics: supply and demand. Early postage stamps were popular: rare and unusual objects were correspondingly expensive; on the other hand, few people were interessted in postal stationary of the same era and, except for a few of the very rarest pieces, the prices were within my reach. This was especially true of specialist items. As my collection grew, so did my appreciation for the nuances of early stamped envelopes and their rich history. US Postal Stationary - 19th Century Designs The latest 'complete' catalogs for US Postal Stationary are:
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The Different Issues As is traditional we have organized these by the companies who manufactured them. 19th Century Issues
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Collecting Postal StationaryWhen a peson starts collecting stamps they eventually come across small squares of paper with stamps printed on them. These are called 'cut squares' and are cut from the entire envelope where they were printed. Collecting cut squares using Scott catalog (available here) numbers is where everyone starts. Soon enough collectors realize that a cut square is just a small part of the envelope it was cut from. This opens a new world, where one collects the entire envelopes, rather than just the 'corners' where the stamp is found. In the late 19th century the effort began to determine what envelopes were issued by the Post Office and people started to collect all the different types. As it turned out, the Post office issued more varieties of envelopes than of stamps!!! Consider the first issue of 'stamped envelopes' made by George F. Nesbitt & Company starting in 1853: The early Freeman catalog lists 63 varieties, the Thorp Century Edition liats 1 die types 5 2 1 3 i die 33 + 3 varieties 9+8; UPSS 11+3 4 = 24 + 11 There were many attempts to make
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Ever since 1853
the US Post Office has issued stamped envelopes. That is, envelopes with
the stamp embossed directly onto the envelopes. The image at the right is
an evample of the first such stamps to be issued. I have been interested
in these envelopes and their history since I was a kid and these pages
describe these facinating stamps.