 | This article needs to be updated.(September 2011) |
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.
The postal arrangements of Antigua were controlled by the British Postmaster General in London till 1 May 1860. The island authorities set up an internal post in March 1841, between St John's and English Harbour, with Mr Scotland as the postmaster. From 1858 Great Britain stamps were made available for use in Antigua. Letters from St John's were postmarked “A02” and those from English Harbour were obliterated with “A18”. [1] [2]
The Post Office Act of Antigua, passed on 24 April 1860, by the Assembly of the Leeward Islands, transferred control to the local government. The first order for stamps was for a sixpence denomination to be used for the letter rate from Antigua to Great Britain. A consignment of 8,000 stamps, was sent out on 1 July 1862, by the printers, Messrs Perkins Bacon and Co. These arrived and were issued sometime in August 1862. A one penny stamp was issued in 1863. The design of these stamps is based on a drawing of Queen Victoria's head by Edward Henry Corbould and was engraved by Charles Henry Jeens. [1] The plates from which Messrs Perkins Bacon and Co had printed all the Antiguan stamps up to that date were handed over to the new contractors for the colony, Messrs De la Rue and Co on 23 November 1871.
A 2½d and a 4d stamp, with a new design known as the "Key Plate", were issued in 1879, a ½d stamp was issued in 1882, a 2½d stamp in a changed colour and a one shilling value were issued in 1884, using the "Key Plate" design as before. [1]
Between 31 October 1890 and July 1903 Leeward Islands stamps were used in Antigua.
At a meeting on 29 June 1903 the Executive Council of the Leeward Islands authorised separate issue for each of the islands to be used concurrently with those of the Leeward Islands. Ten values, from ½d to 2s 6d, showing the Royal Arms and the Seal of Antigua and a 5s showing the head of King Edward VII were issued in July 1903. [1]
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2011) |
Stamps of Antigua were used concurrently with issues of the Leeward Islands until 1956.
A total of seven different stamps were issued during the reign of Queen Victoria ( 1837-1901 ) and ten different stamps were issued during the reign of King Edward VII ( 1901-1910 ). During the reign of King George V ( 1910-1936 ) a total of 29 different stamps were issued and 25 stamps were issued during the reign of George VI ( 1936-1952 ). Since 1953 some 3,000 different stamps have been issued to date. [3]
Stamps were issued for Barbuda from 1922 to 1924, overprinting on stamps of the Leeward Islands. [4]
On 1 November 1981, the island with Barbuda and the island of Redonda gained independence as Antigua and Barbuda.
Stamps were again issued for Barbuda between 1967 and 2000, and for Redonda, which is uninhabited, between 1979 and 1991.
In comparison to stamps Antigua has issued very little postal stationery, in fact the total to about 1990 is 23 items. [5]
The Penny Black was the world's first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system. It was first issued in the United Kingdom on 1 May 1840 but was not valid for use until 6 May. The stamp features a profile of Queen Victoria.
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.
The Penny Red was a British postage stamp, issued in 1841. It succeeded the Penny Black and continued as the main type of postage stamp in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until 1879, with only minor changes to the design during that time. The colour was changed from black to red because of difficulty in seeing a cancellation mark on the Penny Black; a black cancellation mark was readily visible on a Penny Red.
Each "article" in this category is in fact a collection of entries about several stamp issuers, presented in alphabetical order. The entries themselves are formulated on the micro model and so provide summary information about all known issuers.
Each "article" in this category is a collection of entries about several stamp issuers, presented in alphabetical order. The entries themselves are formulated on the micro model and so provide summary information about all known issuers.
John Harry Robson Lowe was an English professional philatelist, stamp dealer and stamp auctioneer.
Sir Edward Denny Bacon was a British philatelist who helped with the enlargement and mounting of collections possessed by rich collectors of his time and became the curator of the Royal Philatelic Collection between 1913 and 1938.
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.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Gibraltar.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Barbados.
The colony of the British Virgin Islands has issued its own stamps since 1866. The first Post Office was opened in Tortola in 1787. At the time postage stamps were not yet invented, and it was not until 1858 that a small supply of adhesive stamps issued by Great Britain depicting Queen Victoria were utilized by the local Post Office. These stamps were cancelled by an A13 postmark and are extremely rare so cancelled.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Cape of Good Hope.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Dominica, an island nation in the Caribbean Sea. Claimed by France in the 17th century, it was later awarded to Great Britain, becoming independent in 1978.
Nevis, a British colony in the Leeward Islands, began issuing stamps in 1861.
Saint Kitts and Nevis is an island country in the Leeward Islands, consisting of the islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis. In 1883, St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla were united into one colony. Anguilla formally separated from the union in 1980.
St. Lucia a former British dependency in the Windward Islands began using stamps in 1860. It achieved Associated Statehood on 1 March 1967. In 1979, it gained independence.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Saint Helena.
Bermuda, a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, was previously uninhabited when the British established a settlement in 1612.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Grenada.
Ezekiel Victor Toeg FRPSL was a British solicitor and philatelist who specialised in the postage stamps and postal history of the British West Indies (BWI) and Caribbean. His collection of Antigua won two gold medals at international stamp exhibitions and included a 1693 letter to London that was described in 1990 as the earliest known letter from the island. He wrote a book on the adhesive fees stamps of the Leeward Islands (1991) and completed a survey of the stamps and postal history of the island of Dominica to 1935 (1994). He was president of the British West Indies Study Circle (BWISC) from 1968 until his death in 2010.
