Health stamps are a long-running series of charity stamp issued by New Zealand which include a premium for charitable causes in addition to the charge for postal service. Health stamps were issued annually from 1929 to 2016.
Health stamps are a long-running series of charity stamp issued by New Zealand which include a premium for charitable causes in addition to the charge for postal service. Health stamps were issued annually from 1929 to 2016.
The idea of issuing health stamps in New Zealand originated in the late 1920s. Initial credit is given to a 1926 request by Mr E Nielsen [1] of Norsewood on behalf of his mother that special fundraising for deserving health projects. Letters and articles promoting the idea appeared in newspaper articles [2] [3] in subsequent years, although the official suggestion for the issue of a stamp is credited to the secretary of the Post Office Department, Mr. G. M'Namara. [4]
The stamps were modeled on Christmas Seals, first issued in Denmark in 1904 and subsequently in other countries. While in other countries Christmas Seals were charity labels that could be affixed to mail along with postage stamp, the New Zealand seals combined both postage and charity in a single label.
Authority to issue charity stamps was created by section 34 of the Finance Act 1929, [5] which states:
... the Postmaster-General may cause to be created special postage-stamps of the denomination of two pence, which shall be available only for the payment of postage on postal packets, and for that purpose shall be deemed to have a value of one penny only.
The act continues to state that the additional revenue raised shall be used:
for such purposes in relation to the prevention or cure of disease or the promotion of public health, as may be approved by the Minister of Health.
The first New Zealand Christmas Seal was approved by the Government in October 1929, and issued on 11 December of that year. A statement by Minister of Health Arthur Stallworthy [6] appeared in newspapers on that day, announcing:
To-day we launch our Christmas seal campaign to stamp out tuberculosis
and further identifying the charity:
the first claim upon the funds raised by the inaugural Christmas seal should be the children's health camp movement.
Although the Finance Act 1929 gave the Minister of Health the power to choose the charities supported by the stamps, the idea to support the health camps is credited to the permanent head of the Health Department, Dr Michael Watt. [4]
Health camps had been run in New Zealand since 1919, when Dr Elizabeth Gunn ran a three-week camp for children at Turakina near Wanganui. The camps provided holiday relief for children with nutritional and minor physical problems. [1] Children's health camps have continued to be the recipient of money from New Zealand health stamps from this time on; the country's seven children's health camps (Te Puna Whaiora) are now managed by the New Zealand Foundation for Child and Family Health and Development.
The design for the 1929 Christmas Seal features a nurse, the inscription "HELP STAMP OUT TUBERCULOSIS", and the postage and charity denominations. [7] In 1930 the stamp was reissued with the inscription "HELP PROMOTE HEALTH". In accordance with the 1929 Finance Act, these stamps both sold for two pennies, with one penny for postage, and one penny for charity. The nurse image was drawn by L. C. Mitchell from a photograph supplied by Phillip Norton Cryer, New Zealand Director General of Post and Telegraph, of his niece, a registered nurse, Nellie Rebecca Burt, born 4 October 1904 and trained as a nurse at Napier Hospital, purely for it suitability [8] and the frame by staff at the Government Printing Office. [1] This was Mitchell's first stamp design; he continued as one of New Zealand's most prolific stamp designers until the 1970s.
The 1931 issue is perhaps the most famous of the early health stamps. As a depression-era measure, postage rates for private mail had increased to two pennies (this was reversed in 1932), and so a second stamp was needed. As the 1929 Finance Act had explicitly stated the value of charity stamps, an amendment to the act was required to permit the second stamp. This was provided by section 11 of the Finance (No. 4) Act of 1931, [9] which deleted the explicit values, and allowed the Postmaster-General to issue the stamps "in such denominations as he thinks fit."
Two stamps were issued on October 31, 1931. These were again designed by L. C. Mitchell, and are known as the "Red Boy" (denominated as 1d postage plus 1d charity) and "Blue Boy" (2d postage plus 1d charity), collectively known as the "smiling boy" stamps. These stamps included the inscription "Health" above the postage and charity denominations. Newspaper reports refer to the stamps as "Health Stamps". [10] The design received widespread criticism, with an article in the Evening Post [11] (quoting Australian Stamp Monthly) describing the design as the "world's worst" stamp.
These stamps sold poorly due to the hardships of the Great Depression. Today they are scarce and highly prized by New Zealand collectors. [12]
A further stamp was issued in 1932, denominated at one penny postage plus one penny health. The "Charity" inscription was dropped completely in favour of "Health", recognizing that the stamps were supporting the Health Camps. This inscription has continued to the present day, and the stamps (retroactively to 1929) are considered to be "Health Stamps" by collectors and New Zealand Post [1] (the successor organization to the New Zealand Post Office Department). The term "Christmas Seal" is now rarely used in relation to these stamps.
From 1933 to 1938, a single health stamp was issued each year, denominated as one penny postage, plus one penny health. [7] For several of these years, the health stamp was the only non-definitive stamp issued by the New Zealand Post Office. The 1933 stamp was the first stamp designed by James Berry, another prolific New Zealand stamp designer.
Section 9 of the Adhesive Stamps Act 1939 [13] replaced the clauses of the 1929 and 1931 Finance Acts under which health stamps were issued, although the powers of the Postmaster-General and Minister of Health were largely unchanged.
In 1939, two stamps were issued. These were initially printed as ½d+½d and 1d+1d stamps, but due to postage rate changes, the postage denominations were overprinted as 1d and 2d before issue. [14] Two values were issued every year from 1939 until 1973, with the exception of 1955, 1956, 1969, and 1971 when there were three values. Owing to wartime strictures, in 1940 and 1941, similar issues to 1939 were used, issued in different colours (both years) and overprinted with the year (1941 only).
From 1973, three values became the norm, often with two lower value stamps of the same value issued as a se-tenant pair, with a third higher value stamp. In 1990, the issue reverted to two values, and most years since that time have had two or three values (the exceptions being in 2000 and 2006, with sets of six stamps issued). The 2009 issue of three stamps carried images from earlier issues to commemorate the eightieth anniversary of New Zealand health stamps.
From 1957, miniature sheets have been issued annually of New Zealand's health stamp issues. Initially these consisted of two separate sheets each containing six stamps of the same value, but since the 1970s one sheet has been issued annually containing the entire set of stamps. Self-adhesive stamps of the lowest value in each year's set have been issued most years since 1996, often in different designs to the gummed-sheet issue. The last health stamps were issued in 2016, and on 27 July 2017 New Zealand Post announced that no more health stamps will be issued due to declining sales and mail volumes.
Several of New Zealand's health stamps have notable varieties recognised by collectors. The 1957 set was issued with watermark either sideways or upright, and the 1960 set is found with two different gauges of perforation, one of which came from the miniature sheets. Stamps from the 1977 miniature sheet feature slight design differences, notably the lack of a white border around the design. [15]
The twopenny value of the 1949 health stamp features a notable, though not particularly rare, flaw, with some stamps issued with no dot below the "d" of the value. Far rarer is an incorrect design used for the 40 cent stamp in 1996, which featured a young child sitting in a car. This was withdrawn and replaced with a new design after it was noticed that the child was incorrectly restrained. [16] Some copies of the first design found their way to post offices, both in standard and self-adhesive form; these stamps—known to collectors as the "teddy bear" stamps because of the prominent soft toy in the design—are now among New Zealand's rarest and most collectable stamps. [17]
The following table shows sales figures for each health stamp issued from 1929 to 1945, and the total sum raised for health camps.
| Year | Postage | Charity/Health | Sales [18] | Total Charity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | 1d | 1d | 592,848 | £2470 4s 0d |
| 1930 | 1d | 1d | 215,543 | £898 1s 11d |
| 1931 | 1d | 1d | 74,802 | £778 0s 11d |
| 2d | 1d | 111,929 | ||
| 1932 | 1d | 1d | 237,504 | £989 4s 0d |
| 1933 | 1d | 1d | 260,883 | £1086 16s 1d |
| 1934 | 1d | 1d | 279,120 | £1163 0s 0d |
| 1935 | 1d | 1d | 1,250,057 | £5208 11s 5d |
| 1936 | 1d | 1d | 1,449,980 | £6041 11s 8d |
| 1937 | 1d | 1d | 897,035 | £3737 12s 11d |
| 1938 | 1d | 1d | 1,234,720 | £5144 13s 4d |
| 1939 | 1d | ½d | 482,746 | £3155 18s 3d |
| 2d | 1d | 516,046 | ||
| 1940 | 1d | ½d | 284,756 | £2093 2s 6d |
| 2d | 1d | 359,972 | ||
| 1941 | 1d | ½d | 349,543 | £2540 2s 2½d |
| 2d | 1d | 434,855 | ||
| 1942 | 1d | ½d | 720,042 | £5426 17s 2d |
| 2d | 1d | 942,425 | ||
| 1943 | 1d | ½d | 3,133,111 | £20442 13s 5½d |
| 2d | 1d | 3,339,686 | ||
| 1944 | 1d | ½d | 3,045,288 | £20532 18s 8d |
| 2d | 1d | 3,405,260 | ||
| 1945 | 1d | ½d | 3,994,633 | £24967 6s 9½d |
| 2d | 1d | 3,994,845 |
According to a 2008 newspaper article, [19] contributions from health stamps peaked at $158,000 in 1996, but had fallen to $35,000 in 2007.
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.
Postage stamps and postal history of Great Britain surveys postal history from the United Kingdom and the postage stamps issued by that country and its various historical territories until the present day.
This is an overview of the postage stamps and postal history of Australia.
Postal services in New Zealand have existed since at least 1831, when the Postmaster-General of New South Wales deputed a Bay of Islands merchant to receive and return mail. Governor William Hobson issued an ordinance covering postal matters, although the British government retained control until 1848.
The Machin series of postage stamps is the main definitive stamp series in the United Kingdom, used since 5 June 1967. It is the second series to figure the image of Elizabeth II, replacing the Wilding series. The last issue was on 4 April 2022, four months before her death on 8 September.
A semi-postal stamp or semipostal stamp, also known as a charity stamp, is a postage stamp issued to raise money for a particular purpose and sold at a premium over the postal value. Typically the stamp shows two denominations separated by a plus sign, but in many cases the only denomination shown is for the postage rate, and the postal customer simply pays the higher price when purchasing the stamps.
In philatelic terminology a letter sheet, often written lettersheet, is a sheet of paper that can be folded, usually sealed, and mailed without the use of an envelope, or it can also be a similar item of postal stationery issued by a postal authority. Letter sheets derive from the form in which written correspondence was made up before the mid-19th century—letters were written on one or more sheets of paper that were folded and sealed in such a way that the address could be written on the outside.
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.
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.
Admirals are a series of definitive stamps issued by three countries of the British Commonwealth that show King George V of Great Britain and the British Dominions. The stamps are referred to as the Admirals because King George is depicted in his Admiral of the Fleet uniform. The stamps were issued by Canada in 1911–1928, New Zealand in 1926, and Rhodesia in 1913–24.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Cape of Good Hope.
The Fletcher Collection is Hugh Greenwell Fletcher's lifetime philatelic collection of British postage stamps and British stamps used abroad including overprints and non-stamp items such as postal stationery. On his death in 1968, the collection was bequeathed to the Bruce Castle Museum in Tottenham, once the home of Sir Rowland Hill. The collection was donated to the British Library in 1989.
Revenue stamps of Malta were first issued in 1899, when the islands were a British colony. From that year to 1912, all revenue issues were postage stamps overprinted accordingly, that was either done locally or by De La Rue in London. Postage stamps also became valid for fiscal use in 1913, so no new revenues were issued until 1926–1930, when a series of key type stamps depicting King George V were issued. These exist unappropriated for use as general-duty revenues, or with additional inscriptions indicating a specific use; Applications, Contracts, Registers or Stocks & Shares. The only other revenues after this series were £1 stamps depicting George VI and Elizabeth II. Postage stamps remained valid for fiscal use until at least the 1980s.
Revenue stamps of the United Kingdom refer to the various revenue or fiscal stamps, whether adhesive, directly embossed or otherwise, which were issued by and used in the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, from the late 17th century to the present day.
The Australian state of Queensland issued revenue stamps from 1866 to 1988. There were various types for different taxes.
New Zealand first issued revenue stamps on 1 January 1867 and their general use continued until the early 1950s. The only Revenue Stamp series still in use today is the Game Bird Habitat stamp which is used for payment of the Gun License for the duck shooting season which begins the first weekend of May. There were various types of fiscal stamps for different taxes.
Stamps of the Soviet Union were issued in the period 1923 to 1991. They were labeled with the inscription Russian: "Почта СССР". In the thematics, Soviet stamps reflected to a large extent the history, politics, economics and culture of this world's first socialist state.
The Melita issue is a series of dual-purpose postage and revenue stamps issued by the Crown Colony of Malta between 1922 and 1926, depicting the national personification Melita. They were commemorative stamps since they celebrated the islands' new status as a self-governing colony following a new constitution in 1921, but also a definitive issue intended for regular use over an extended period of time.
