Poster stamp

Last updated

The poster stamp was an advertising label, a little larger than most postage stamps, that originated in the mid-19th century and quickly became a collecting craze, growing in popularity until World War I and then declining by World War II until they were almost forgotten except by collectors of cinderella stamps.

Contents

Definitions

The term "poster stamp" is as its name suggests a stamp imprinted with the design of a poster that won an award in a poster contest. The City of Newark, New Jersey, for example, for the celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the City 1666–1916 had a Committee of the One Hundred organize in 1915 a poster contest inviting ten internationally known poster artists to compete against any other artist in the public forum who wished to enter the contest. The 1st prize won by Adolph Treidler with the poster No. 56 Robert Treat directing the landing of the Founders of Newark, the 2nd prize, by Helen Dryden, poster No. 19, and 3rd place poster No. 24, by A. E. Foringer became just such poster stamps that were manufactured by the Newark Lithograph Company.

The unofficial nature of poster stamps has led to debate about exactly what is and is not a poster stamp. One definition has been "labels without postage stamp values, not good for postal service; advertising labels or charity labels." [1]

The 1864 Shakespeare Penny Memorial poster stamp 1864 Shakespeare Poster Stamp.jpg
The 1864 Shakespeare Penny Memorial poster stamp

Origins

The first poster stamps were inspired by the invention of the postage stamp. A perforated label was produced in England in 1864 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth and in Italy a label was produced in 1860 to celebrate Garibaldi's expedition to Sicily during the campaign to unify Italy. [2] Commercial interests soon realised the publicity potential of the stamps and they were quickly adopted for the promotion of every type of product and cause.

Poster stamps were also widely used by both sides during World War One as political propaganda. Fascism in Italy (1922-1943) used poster stamps, and sometimes regular stamps, to increase the popularity of italian mass flights: Crociera Aviatoria del Mediterraneo Orientale 1929; Crociera Aerea Italia-Brasile 1930; and Crociera Aerea del Decennale 1933.

Scope

As late as the 1930s they were still being used to promote political and other causes. In 1937, Irene Harand published a series of anti-Nazi poster stamps portraying the contributions made by Jews to civilisation over the centuries. [3]

Adhesive labels of all kinds that are not postage stamps continue to be produced today to promote particular causes or events.

Vintage method revival

In 2017, two designers of Plazm (magazine) launched The Portland Stamp Company to revive the poster stamp tradition using vintage perforation equipment. Their revival stamps were featured in the monthly subscription service Mail More Love, pictured in Oprah magazine. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philately</span> Study of stamps and postal history and other related items

Philately is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps. For instance, the stamps being studied may be very rare or reside only in museums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Republic of Rose Island</span> 1968 short-lived micronation on a man-made platform in the Adriatic Sea

The Republic of Rose Island was a short-lived micronation on a man-made platform in the Adriatic Sea, 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) off the coast of the province of Rimini, Italy, built by Italian engineer Giorgio Rosa, who made himself its president and declared it an independent state on 1 May 1968. Rose Island had its own government, currency, post office, and commercial establishments, and the official language was Esperanto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinderella stamp</span> Stamp not issued for postal purposes

In philately, a cinderella stamp is a label that resembles a postage stamp, but which is not issued for postal purposes by a government administration. There is a wide variety of cinderella stamps, such as those printed for promotional use by businesses, churches, political or non-profit groups. The term excludes imprinted stamps on postal stationery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charity label</span> Stamp sold by a charity to raise funds


A charity label is a label resembling a postage stamp, sold by charities to raise funds. They are generally intended to be used on mail, as a way of advertising the sender's support of the charity's cause.

The Cinderella Stamp Club was founded on 5 June 1959 in London, England, and is an association of philatelists, amateur and professional, whose interests lie in local stamps, telegraph stamps, railway stamps, revenue stamps, fiscals, forgeries, bogus and phantom issues, Christmas, Red Cross, TB and other charity seals, registration labels, advertisement and poster stamps and many other items - all of which are the so-called "Cinderellas of Philately".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irene Harand</span> Austrian human rights activist

Irene Harand was an Austrian human rights activist and campaigner against antisemitism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">L. N. and M. Williams</span>

L.N. and M. Williams were a philatelic writing partnership made up of brothers Leon Norman Williams and Maurice Williams (1905–1976).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philatelic fakes and forgeries</span> Fraudulently manufactured imitation postage stamps

In general, philatelic fakes and forgeries are labels that look like postage stamps but have been produced to deceive or defraud. Learning to identify these can be a challenging branch of philately.

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

The postage stamps and postal history of Israel is a survey of the postage stamps issued by the state of Israel, and its postal history, since independence was proclaimed on May 14, 1948. The first postage stamps were issued two days later on May 16, 1948. Pre-1948 postal history is discussed in postage stamps and postal history of Palestine.

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

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Melville</span> British philatelist

Frederick John Melville was a British philatelist, prolific philatelic author and founder of The Junior Philatelic Society. He was also a founder in 1907 of the Philatelic Literature Society. Melville is a member of the American Philatelic Society's Hall of Fame and was a signatory to The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1921.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hotel post</span>

Hotel Post was a service offered by remote Swiss hotels for the carriage of mail to the nearest official post office.

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

Gaston Aime Camille Fontanille, also known just as Delandre, was a French entrepreneur and conman born in Valence, the son of a magistrate.

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

Bahrain first used the postage stamps of British India before eventually issuing its own stamps in 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Béla Székula</span>

Béla Székula, also Bela Sekula (1881–1966), was a Hungarian philatelist, stamp dealer and forger who lived in Hungary, Switzerland and the USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Tristan da Cunha</span> Cunha postage stamps

This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Tristan da Cunha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinchen Collection</span>

The Chinchen Collection is a collection of stamps, proofs, artwork and covers from Lundy Island donated by Barry Chinchen to the British Library Philatelic Collections in 1977 and is located at the British Library.

The Campbell-Johnston Collection is a collection of poster stamps that forms part of the British Library Philatelic Collections. It consists of 30 large green albums.

Lieutenant-Colonel William Byam was a British Harley Street physician whose home in Guernsey was occupied by the Germans during the Second World War. In his spare time, Byam was a noted philatelist who was added to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1949.

Wolfgang Baldus is a German graphic designer, artist, and philatelic writer. He is known for authoring and publishing books on cinderella stamps in the series History and Background Stories of Unusual Stamps and for his works on the philatelic forgeries and propaganda parodies produced by both sides during the First and Second World Wars.

References

  1. Patrick, Douglas & Mary. The Hodder Stamp Dictionary. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1973, p. 191. ISBN   0-340-17183-9
  2. Mackay, James. The Complete Guide to Stamps and Stamp Collecting. London: Hermes House, 2005, p.62. ISBN   1-84477-726-X
  3. Rogers, Peter. "Irene Harand and The Truth About Anti-Semitism." in The Cinderella Philatelist. Vol.48, No.3, July 2008, p.124.
  4. "Sincerely Yours". O, the Oprah Magazine. New York: "Hearst Communications". October 2017.

Further reading