Higgins & Gage World Postal Stationery Catalog

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In philately, the Higgins & Gage World Postal Stationery Catalog is the most recent encyclopedic catalogue of postal stationery covering the whole world. Despite most volumes not having been updated for over thirty years, the catalogue and the H & G numbering system are still widely used by philatelists and stamp dealers although the values given in the catalogue are out of date.

Contents

The catalogue was published between 1964 and 1989 [1] and comprises nineteen alphabetical volumes with supplements. The earlier volumes were edited by Edward Fladung who worked with Alexander D. Gage in the production of the catalogue. [2] [3] [4] Later editions were edited by Melvin Feiner.

Publisher

Originally published by Higgins & Gage Inc., the catalogue has now been acquired by Classic Philatelics of Huntington Beach, Pasadena, California. Classic Philatelics also produce a new issue postal stationery report.

Scope

The postal stationery items which are included in the catalog are stamped envelopes, postal cards, lettercards, wrappers, aerograms and registration envelopes

List of volumes

(Titles from most recent editions)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cancellation (mail)</span> Postal marking to deface a stamp and prevent its re-use

A cancellation is a postal marking applied on a postage stamp or postal stationery to deface the stamp and to prevent its reuse. Cancellations come in a huge variety of designs, shapes, sizes, and colors. Modern cancellations commonly include the date and post office location where the stamps were mailed, in addition to lines or bars designed to cover the stamp itself. The term "postmark" refers specifically to the part that contains the date and posting location, but the term is often used interchangeably with "cancellation" as it may serve that purpose. The portion of a cancellation that is designed to deface the stamp and does not contain writing is also called the "obliteration" or killer. Some stamps are issued pre-cancelled with a printed or stamped cancellation and do not need to have a cancellation added. Cancellations can affect the value of stamps to collectors, positively or negatively. Cancellations of some countries have been extensively studied by philatelists, and many stamp collectors and postal history collectors collect cancellations in addition to the stamps themselves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postal card</span>

Postal cards are postal stationery with an imprinted stamp or indicium signifying the prepayment of postage. They are sold by postal authorities. On January 26, 1869, Dr. Emanuel Herrmann of Austria described the advantages of a Correspondenz Karte. By October 1, 1869 the world's first postal card was produced by Austria-Hungary. They caught on quickly. By the end of 1870, Great Britain, Finland, Switzerland and Württemberg joined the countries issuing postal cards. In the United States, they were first produced in 1873. Some of the forms taken by postal cards include the regular single card which may be commemorative or definitive, attached message-reply cards, airmail postal cards, and official postal cards used for official government business with a "penalty for private use".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philatelic literature</span> Literature on the subject of postage stamps and postal history

Philatelic literature is written material relating to philately, primarily information about postage stamps and postal history.

The Scott catalogue of postage stamps, published by Scott Publishing Company, now a subsidiary of Amos Media, is updated annually and lists all the stamps of the world that its editors recognize as issued for postal purposes. It is published in fourteen large volumes that include twelve volumes containing all the countries of the world that have ever issued postage stamps, the United States Specialized Catalog, and the 1840–1940 Classic Specialized Catalogue. The numbering system used by Scott to identify stamps is dominant among stamp collectors in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

East Africa and Uganda Protectorates was the name used by the combined postal service of the British protectorates, British East Africa and Uganda, between 1 April 1903 and 22 July 1920.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postal stationery</span> Stationery item with imprinted stamp

A piece of postal stationery is a stationery item, such as a stamped envelope, letter sheet, postal card, lettercard, aerogram or wrapper, with an imprinted stamp or inscription indicating that a specific rate of postage or related service has been prepaid. It does not, however, include any postcard without a pre-printed stamp, and it is different from freepost for preprinted cards issued by businesses. In general, postal stationery is handled similarly to postage stamps; sold from post offices either at the face value of the printed postage or, more likely, with a surcharge to cover the additional cost of the stationery. It can take the form of an official mail issue produced only for the use of government departments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stamped envelope</span>

A stamped envelope or postal stationery envelope (PSE) is an envelope with a printed or embossed indicium indicating the prepayment of postage. It is a form of postal stationery.

This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of British East Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of British Central Africa</span>

The British Central Africa Protectorate existed in the area of present-day Malawi between 1891 and 1907.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Heligoland</span>

During the period when Heligoland was a British possession, about 20 postage stamps were issued between 1867 and 1890. There were up to eight printings of a single denomination and also a large volume of reprints which are known as the Berlin, Leipzig and Hamburg Reprints, respectively. The Berlin reprints are sometimes better quality than the originals. The reprints were done between 1875 and 1895. Consequently, many "old" collections contain reprints rather than originals. Some believe there were seven million reprints as compared to the known 1½ million originals, of which perhaps half were sold through the post office and the remainder sold to dealers when withdrawn from use. A few printings were never postally sold but nevertheless found their way into the hands of dealers. The stamps were printed by the Prussian State Printing Office in Berlin. They were denominated in the Hamburg Schilling until 1875, when both German Reich and British values appeared on each stamp issue. All are embossed with a silhouette of Queen Victoria excepting the four highest values which represent Heligoland escutcheons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Letter sheet</span> Postal stationery product

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Mauritius</span>

Mauritius, a small island in the southwest Indian Ocean, is important to the world of philately for a number of reasons. Its first two postage stamps issued in 1847, called the "Post Office" stamps, are of legendary rarity and value. They were the first stamps issued in any part of the British Empire outside of Great Britain. The unique cover bearing both “Post Office” stamps has been called "la pièce de résistance de toute la philatélie" or "the greatest item in all philately". The cover was sold at auction, in Zurich, on 3 November 1993, for 5.75 million Swiss francs, the equivalent of about $4 million – the highest price ever paid for a single philatelic item up to that time. In addition, Mauritius is well known for the subsequent locally produced issues known as "primitives," also prized by collectors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Turkey</span> Stamps

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Cyprus</span>

This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Cyprus. The country's postal history is intricately linked to the island's political past.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. Murray Bartels</span> American businessman (1871–1944)

J. Murray Bartels was a New York City-based dealer and auctioneer of rare postage stamps. He was also well known for his knowledge of United States postal stationery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cut-out (philately)</span>

In philately a cut-out is an imprinted stamp cut from an item of postal stationery such as a postal card, letter sheet, aerogramme or wrapper that may have been used as a normal stamp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Gibraltar</span>

This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Gibraltar.

Antigua was discovered by Christopher Columbus, in 1493, and was named after the church of Santa Maria la Antigua in Seville. It was first settled in 1632. By the Treaty of Breda in 1667 it became a British Possession.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Sudan</span> Postal history of Sudan

This is a survey of the postage stamps and early postal history of Sudan. Sudan was governed by the United Kingdom and Egypt from 1898. Independence was proclaimed on 1 January, 1956, and independent Sudan became a member of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) on 27 July 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrapper (philately)</span>

In philately a wrapper is a form of postal stationery which pays the cost of the delivery of a newspaper or a periodical. The wrapper is a sheet of paper, large enough to wrap around a folded or rolled newspaper and with an imprinted stamp to pay the cost of postage. Some catalogs and reference books refer to a wrapper as postal bands which comes from the French term bandes postale. Still others refer to it as a newspaper wrapper or periodical wrapper.

References

  1. American Philatelic Research Library catalogue search 20 Dec 2023 Library Home Page
  2. Negus, James. (1991) Philatelic literature, compilation techniques and reference sources. Limassol, Cyprus: James Bendon. pp. 159-160. ISBN   9963762433
  3. Ed Fladung died March 1977, Tell, American Helvetia Philatelic Society, April–May 1980, p. 76.--Date of death for Edward G. Fladung, editor of World Postal Stationery Catalog is 3 March 1980, not 1977 (information contributed by his daughter, Jill R. Hillary).
  4. Gage and Fladung jointly received the 1977 Distinguished Service Award for Valuable Contributions to the Advancement and Enrichment of Philately from the Federated Philatelic Clubs of Southern California.

Further reading