The depiction of bicycles on stamps began in 1899 with a Cuban special delivery stamp, although unofficial (local or cinderella) issues had been previously released in Germany (1887/8), in the United States (1894), [1] and in Australia (1896). [2] The number of bicycle-related postal items (stamps, postal stationery, etc.) exceeds 30,000 as of 2024. [3] As a thematic topic, bicycles are notable for the wide variety of subjects that they are used to illustrate. [4]
The definition of what constitutes a bicycle stamp is open to interpretation. [5] [6] [7] A bicycle stamp [Note 1] has one or more of the following characteristics:
The following types of material are excluded (although they may also be collected by bicycle stamp enthusiasts):
The first bicycle stamp of the 20th century was a 1900 stamp issued for local postal delivery during the siege of Mafeking, depicting Cadet Sgt. Major Goodyear on a bicycle. [9] The United States issued a special delivery bicycle messenger stamp in 1902. Bulgaria issued a cycling stamp as part of a set commemorating the Balkan games of 1931. In 1935 the USSR issued a bicycle stamp to commemorate the World Spartacist Games. Denmark issued a stamp showing King Christian X on horseback as part of his silver jubilee celebrations in 1937; in the background of the street scene are three cyclists.
These early issues illustrate the wide variety of subjects depicted on bicycle stamps.
Cycle sports include:
Subjects depicted on non-sport bicycle stamps include:
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage. Then the stamp is affixed to the face or address-side of any item of mail—an envelope or other postal cover —which they wish to send. The item is then processed by the postal system, where a postmark or cancellation mark—in modern usage indicating date and point of origin of mailing—is applied to the stamp and its left and right sides to prevent its reuse. Next the item is delivered to its addressee.
This is a list of philatelic topics.
Ascension Island is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean, part of the wider British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. Like other British Overseas Territories, it issues its own postage stamps, which provide a source of income for the island from sales to overseas collectors, as well as being used for domestic and international postage.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Cuba.
The postal history of Malta began in the early modern period, when pre-adhesive mail was delivered to foreign destinations by privately owned ships for a fee. The earliest known letter from Malta, sent during the rule of the Order of St John, is dated 1532. The first formal postal service on the islands was established by the Order in 1708, with the post office being located at the Casa del Commun Tesoro in Valletta. The first postal markings on mail appeared later on in the 18th century.
U.S. Special Delivery was a postal service paid for with additional postage for urgent letters and postal packets which are delivered in less time than by standard or first class mail service. Its meaning is different and separate from express mail delivery service. Essentially it meant that a postal packet was delivered from a post office to the addressee immediately once it arrived at the post office responsible for delivering it, rather than waiting for the next regular delivery to the addressee.
The Palestinian National Authority began in 1994 to issue stamps and operate postal services as authorized by the Oslo Accords.
The postal history of Turkey and its predecessor state, the Ottoman Empire, dates to the 18th century when foreign countries maintained courier services through their consular offices in the Empire. Although delayed in the development of its own postal service, in 1863 the Ottoman Empire became the second independent country in Asia to issue adhesive postage stamps, and in 1875, it became a founding member of the General Postal Union, soon to become the Universal Postal Union. The Ottoman Empire became the Republic of Turkey in 1923, and in the following years, its postal service became more modernized and efficient and its postage stamps expertly designed and manufactured.
Bangladesh first issued its own postage stamps upon gaining independence in 1971. A set of eight stamps, with various motifs including a map of the country, were issued. Shortly after, stamps in eight values were overprinted "Bangladesh Liberated" in both English and Bengali were prepared in the United Kingdom, but only three values were issued in Bangladesh.
The Tuvan People's Republic issued postage stamps between 1926 and 1936. They were popular with stamp collectors in the Western world in the mid-twentieth century because of the obscurity and exoticism of Tannu Tuva and the stamps' quirky, colorful designs. The validity of many stamps purportedly issued by Tannu Tuva has been questioned by philatelists.
The story of Japan's postal system with its postage stamps and related postal history goes back centuries. The country's first modern postal service got started in 1871, with mail professionally travelling between Kyoto and Tokyo as well as the latter city and Osaka. This took place in the midst of the rapid industrialization and social reorganization that the Meiji period symbolized in Japanese history. Given how the nation's railroad technology was in its infancy, Japan's growing postal system relied heavily on human-powered transport, including rickshaws, as well as horse-drawn methods of delivery. For example, while commemorating the 50th anniversary of Japan's postal service, the country's 1921 government released decorative postcards depicting intrepid horseback riders carrying the mail. This however was done to compare postal transport in past and present, as the other card showed modern transportation viz. rail and shipping. The railroad net from the north to the south, Aomori to Nagasaki, was completed in 1889. Prior to 1920s, local delivery was mainly by men- and horsepower, not principally different to Europe.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of the Isle of Man.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of the Philippines.
Postage stamps and postal history of Singapore surveys postal history from Singapore and the postage stamps issued by that country and its various historical territories until the present day. Postal service in Singapore began with the delivery of stampless letters whose cost was borne by the receiving person, later encompassed pre-paid letters carried by private mail carriers and provisional post offices, and culminated in a system of universal prepayment that required all letters to bear nationally issued adhesive postage stamps. Singapore is an island country off maritime Southeast Asia, located between the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of the Netherlands.
The U.S. Parcel Post stamps of 1912–13 were the first such stamps issued by the U.S. Post Office Department and consisted of twelve denominations to pay the postage on parcels weighing 16 ounces and more, with each denomination printed in the same color of "carmine-rose". Their border design was similar while each denomination of stamp bore its own distinctive image in the center (vignette). Unlike regular postage items, whose rates were determined by weight in ounces, Parcel Post rates were determined and measured by increments in pounds. The new stamps were soon widely used by industry, farmers and others who lived in rural areas. Partly owing to some confusion involving their usage, their exclusive use as Parcel Post stamps proved short lived, as regular postage stamps were soon allowed to be used to pay parcel postage rates.
Bicycles on postal items includes bicycles on postal stationery and other postal items depicting bicycles such as postcards, first day covers and items delivered by bicycle mail. The collection of bicycles on postal items is commonly associated with collecting bicycles on stamps, or collecting the stamps and postal stationery of a specific country.
The depiction of mathematics on stamps began in 1923 with the issue of a set of three Polish stamps commemorating the 450th birth anniversary of the astronomer and mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus. As the definition of what constitutes a valid mathematical stamp is not universally agreed, some collectors make the case that the first mathematical stamp was the 1847 United States issue depicting the polymath Benjamin Franklin even though he was not primarily a mathematician; others prefer to recognize the 1926 German Leibniz stamp as the first depicting a mathematician.
The depiction of chemistry on stamps began in 1923 with the issue of a set of definitive French stamps commemorating the chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur. Another early chemical stamp depicted the botanist and chemist Herman Boerhaave. The depiction of chemistry on stamps contributes to chemical education and to the public understanding of science.
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