Why do you get mail ?
By: David H Silverstein, MD
Have you ever wondered how come you can place a stamp on an envelope and get the letter sent to any corner of the world and vice versa ? How did this evolve ?
Well, here is the story:
For centuries transportation of mail (originally by horse/courier) was limited to very few wealthy individuals, a few rulers, and some religious officials. Despite the introduction of the railway, which provided a lower cost and speedier process becoming available to common individuals; sea postage and transit rates between different countries was complex and involved complicated formulas determining cross border rates for mail.
In an attempt to overcome these issues, the Postmaster General of the United States (Montgomery Blair) started the Paris Postal Conference on May 11, 1863; but it was not until the German Postmaster General (Dr. Heinrich Von Stephan) summoned the 1st International Postal Congress; which was convened in Berne, Switzerland on September 15, 1874, that these problems where initially addressed.
On October 9, 1874, a total of 22 nations attended and signed the first postal convention and agreement which embodied the covenants reached on the reciprocal exchange and unimpeded transit of letter posts and the uniformity of tariff levels (Treaty of Bern).
To maintain this co-operation, at the following congress held in Paris, the congress instituted the "Union Generale des Postes". Overall membership in this “Union” grew so quickly that its name was changed in 1878 to "Union Postale Universelle" or Universal Postal Union (UPU).
On June 16, 1947, Mr. Herwich; head of the Polish postal administration from the UPU at the Paris Congress, proposed that an identical set of stamps be issued by all countries of the Union on its 75th anniversary, to draw attention to the principle that it constituted a single postal territory.
The delegates of Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Greece and Lebanon recommended that each country should choose the design, number, denomination and printing of its stamps for itself. On June 20, 1947, the UPU agreed to adopt an unopposed joint resolution as follows: “With a view to commemorating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Universal Postal Union, the Congress of Paris expresses the desire that the Administrations of the Union will find themselves able, in 1949, to issue a series of stamps to celebrate this event.”
The original founding day of “October 9” was chosen for the 75th anniversary of the Universal Postal Union, and it was celebrated throughout the world despite it being a Sunday. All postal administrations were requested to issue special stamps to commemorate this event. Over 185 member countries & colonies issued approximately 700 commemorative stamps and souvenir sheets celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the UPU.
This resulted in the 1st and largest world-wide compilation of philatelic material.
The UPU now has 192 members and is the 3rd oldest international organization. After the founding of the United Nations in 1945, the UPU became a specialized agency of the UN in 1948.
Every major stamp issuing country, except for Canada and New Zealand, released commemorative stamps for this event in 1949. About 25 countries were delayed and issued commemorative stamps over the following four years.
Only the following 14 countries/colonies issued stamps on the declared founding date (October 9, 1949) which was a Sunday. These were: Burma, Denmark, Egypt, Germany (Russian Zone and West Federal Republic), Iceland, Philippines, El Salvador, Spain (as well as Spanish Guinea, Spanish Sahara/Ifni and Spanish West Africa), Sweden and Turkey.
This explains the scarcity of some first day covers for these places; nonetheless, the same exist.
I have compiled the world’s largest philatelic collection regarding this event, has written extensively on the topic of the 75th Anniversary of the UPU, and published a catalog on this topic which is used by many philatelic research societies/libraries and is available for review/study while at the APRL (American Philatelic Research Library) in Pennsylvania (https://stamps.org/services/library)
I share with you the colorful and rich world of stamps created by the United States of America solely for the commemorative event known as the “75th Anniversary of the Universal Postal Union”. These pieces of art encapsulate part of the nation's history, culture, and spirit in a way that is both fascinating and captivating.
It's not just history; it's art.
Today, I share with you what the USA created to commemorate this great event; and following on, I will provide in following newsletters the entirety of what was produced to commemorate this event, one country at a time, every month. So, as you peruse these miniature masterpieces, remember that every stamp is a portal into the history, heart and soul of each country.
ENJOY !!
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (Sc C42-4; SG A984-6; YT 41-3; Mi 601-3)
Dates of Issue: 15₵ value October 7, 1949 at Chicago, Illinois; 10₵ value November 18, 1949 at New Orleans, Louisiana; and 25₵ value November 30, 1949 at Seattle, Washington.
Values:10₵, 15₵ and 25₵ (cents)
Perforation:
11 x 10½ Paper: Unwatermarkd Process: Engraved
Designers: 10₵ and 15₵ Charles Ransom Chickering (born on October 7, 1891, in Smithville, New Jersey; died April 29, 1970 in Island Heights, New Jersey), 25₵ William K Schrage.
Engravers: 10₵ vignette and ornamental parts by George Arthur Gundersen (born 1910 in Ottawa, Canada; died April 18, 1975); lettering, frames and numerals by Reuben K Barrick (prior acting chief of the Office of Engraving and Plate
Manufacture of the Bureau of Printing and Engraving). 15₵ vignette by Charles A. Brooks (born April 26, 1905 in Washington, DC; died 1993); frame, lettering and numerals by Axel W. Christensen. 25₵ vignette by Matthew Daniel Fenton (born 1905 in Washington, DC; died July 7, 1992 in Casper, Wyoming); lettering, ribbon and numerals by John S Edmondson.
Printer: Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington.
Notes: Joined the UPU July 1, 1875. Stamps were printed in sheets of 200 as four panes of 50 each (5 X 10), and with 9
different plates numbered 24147 through 24155. The 10₵ value was printed with plates numbered 24151, 24152 and 24155. Originally a total of 15,000,000 stamps were authorized but later increased to 20,000,000 stamps and a total of 270,000 first day covers were canceled in New Orleans. The 15₵ value was printed with plates 24147, 24148, 24149 and 24150. A total of 35,000,000 stamps were issued and a total of 246,833 first day covers were canceled in Chicago in conjunction with the American Air Mail Society Convention (as such there are two different types of first day cancels that were used for this stamp). The 25₵ value was printed with plates numbered 24153 and 24154. A total of 15,000,000 stamps were issued and a total of 220,215 first day covers were canceled in Seattle. At the time the stamps were issued Joseph J. Lawler was Assistant Postmaster General of the U.S. Government Printing Office and John J. Gillen was the Deputy Second Assistant Postmaster General, International Postal Service; both with offices in Washington, D.C. No constant plate flaws are known.
Plate blocks signed by all designers, engravers and letterers
(See below for FDC’s)
Detailed instructions regarding the stamps and their use were originally printed in the Postal Bulletin at 3 different times according to the date of release of each stamp; and reprints of the same sent, in official envelopes from the office of Joseph L. Lawler, Assistant Postmaster General at the Postmaster General’s office in Washington, to each Postmaster in the country. The following are examples of the official envelopes sent to all Postmasters:
The following are the official reprints sent to all Postmasters:
Many First Day Cover cachets were created by diverse artists. The listing of these is beyond the scope of this work. Excellent reviews are available from the American Philatelic Society and Mellone’s Specialized Cachet Catalog of 1st day covers. The following are just but a few of the notable hand-drawn and carved wood-block presentations collected by the author:
Variations in FDC collecting exist with all cachet covers including “around-the-clock” sets with plate numbers in all four positions of the cover as is noted in the following 1st day covers from Seattle (Ira Bennett cachet):
Collective “FDC sets” exist with all three values canceled in Seattle on November 30, 1949:
Lastly, First Day Covers exist as plate blocks signed by all designers, engravers, and letterers:
Very few printing errors made it to the public (like this paper fold error):
Photographic essays that were not accepted exist for both the 10₵ & 15₵ with a Pony Express Rider design; and of the 15₵ with images of Montgomery Blair (Postmaster General at the time the Postal Conference was held in Paris in 1863 leading to the
creation of the Universal Postal Union). These measure about 100mm x 65mm.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Rarities (Ellington-Zwisler 18A1/EZ18D1/EZ18D2; and Sc C42-4; SG A984-6; YT 41-3; Mi 601-3)
A series of Cinderellas exist commemorating the First American Rocket-Airplane Flight at Greenwood Lake, New York (which took place February 23, 1936). These stamps were imperforated and printed in sheets of four, in either red or green color issued by Willy Otto Oskar Ley (a rocket pioneer), and engraved at Langon Engraving Co., N.Y. Exactly 15 years later; on the 23rd of February, 1951, the event was celebrated with the same stamp overprinted in either red, blue or black with a vertical line reading “1874 U.P.U. 1949” and a horizontal overprint reading “Universal Postal Union 75th Anniversary and 15th Anniversary First American Rocket Airplane Flight”. These overprints are known double and inverted. To the best of authors knowledge, all of the used ones were tied to covers or postcards with other valid stamps; but not used flown individually as rocket mail. A special cancel in different colors was also used (see below).
A block of four of the 15₵ value (Sc C43) was printed on a souvenir page measuring 270 x 216 mm commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Universal Postal Union at the Milwaukee Philatelic Society meeting in 1974 (MILCOPEX):
Collectors should be aware that despite there being rules for creating pre-cancels, pre-cancels are known as “Fakes” (forged pre-cancels) and as “Not A Real Pre-Cancel” (printed from genuine precancel devices but are likely favors made by or for the benefit of a collector). There does not appear to be a reason for the USA airmail stamps commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the UPU to have been used by mass mailers, or to actually mail anything commercially; nonetheless, the author has many precancels of this set. Below examples of “pre-cancels” from Caldwell, Idaho; Salisbury, Maryland; Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts and Fremont, Nebraska:
