Tag Archives: history

The History of the UK Postal Stamp – Day 5

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When Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne in 1952, to commemorate the occasion a new set of stamps needed to be made. A collection of stamps based on a portrait done of the Queen by the photographer Dorothy Wilding, was used until 1967 and were commonly known as the Wilding issues. In 1967, the Machin issues were introduced, and have remained the same set of stamps that we use today.

Regional Stamps

From 1958, various regional stamps were used in the Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, Scotland and Wales, that are only sold at post offices in their respective countries. However many of these regional stamps are still valid for use throughout the UK.

Commemorative Stamps

Up until the late 1950’s there were very few commemorative stamps in Britain, however more recently it has become common for commemorative stamps made for various events related to the present Royal Family. The Royal Postal Office have even issued various memorial stamps after the deaths of Princess Diana in 1998 and The Queen Mother in 2002.

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A History of the Parcel: Day 5

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Our final instalment surrounding the history of the parcel focuses on postal services that date back as far as the seventeenth century. The postal system exploded into life during the 17th century with significant developments in the industry occurring across the UK and the US. The way in which parcel service’s ship items internationally has changed dramatically over the years, whilst you may be surprised to learn about the origins of the postal system in many countries and how local postage has changed since its introduction.

In 1635, Charles I made the first ever postage system available to the public, whereby the recipient would pay for any post or parcel that they received. This was the birth of the Royal Mail service in the UK. Meanwhile, four years later in the United States, the General Court of Massachusetts designated the tavern of Richard Fairbanks in Boston as the first postal establishment for the 13 colonies. It was known as the official repository of overseas mail.

In 1660, Charles II established the General Post Office which combined the state postal system and telecommunications in its services. Three years later, the Colony of Barbados welcomed the Imperial Post Office to its lands for the first time. Later in the century, William Dockwra introduced the London Penny Post, the first local postal service to come into existence. In the same century, Switzerland began using private postal services in Bern for the first time.

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A History of the Parcel: Day 4

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Our penultimate post surrounding the history of the parcel concentrates on significant changes that came around in the 1980’s and 90’s. Whilst these decades may seem particularly recent, there are still plenty of interesting facts to be known about how sending a parcel internationally changed in various ways. Here’s an overview of some of the major changes that happened throughout these particular decades with regards to the postal service.

The United States began using Electronic Computer Originated Mail (E-COM) in 1982. However, E-COM was only in use for a further three years after it was terminated completely by the USA in 1985. A year later, they introduced the ZIP + 4 in order to expand the coded system. In 1985, Jackie Strange became the first female deputy US Postmaster general.

In 1992, Canada became the first country to develop customisable stamps that were intended for greeting purposes. This particular form of stamp has become a phenomenon throughout major seasons such as Christmas and Easter time.

A number of countries began issuing their first ever set of stamps in the 1980’s and 1990’s, including Burkina Faso, Aruba, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

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A History of the Parcel: Day 3

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It’s time to take a look at the 1970’s in our latest instalment of the history of the parcel. Whilst many more countries began to issue their fist ever set of stamps, there were some major changes in postal structure for many countries across the globe throughout this decade, including the USA and Canada.

Between 1971 and 1979, many countries issued their first stamps including Benin, Angola, Bangladesh, Belize, Tuvalu and the Gilbert Islands which became Kiribati in 1979 and consequently issued new stamps.

The United States passed the Postal Reorganisation Act in the 1970’s, subsequently privatising the postal service.Seven years later, the USA made express mail permanent, after they had trialed the new form of mail since 1970. In 1978, the USA started to copyright postage stamps and other philatelic items.

In 1971, the privatised United States Postal Service began operating courtesy of the Postal Reorganisation Act. In the same year, Canada introduced six-character post codes for the first time. Three years later, the US stopped using the highway post offices. Railroad post offices also came to an end in 1977.

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A History of the Parcel: Day 2

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Our history week continues today with specific focus on the 1960’s. We take a look at some of the groundbreaking events that occurred during this particular decade and highlight the significant changes that came in to effect worldwide.

1961 saw Cameroon issue it’s first stamps as an independent country, whilst the UK trust territory of Cameroon had issued its own stamps just a year before. Many other countries including Bhutan, Burundi, Kenya, Abu Dhabi, Ajman and the Independent Republic of Malta all had stamps introduced for the first time in the 60’s.

1963 welcomed the introduction of the ZIP code in the US, something that became essential for mail delivery and you will certainly need a ZIP code if you wish to send a parcel to the United States in the modern era as well.

In 1966, the United States decided to put an end to its postal saving system. Two years later they also introduced priority mail, which was a form of mail that became an integral part of the United States first class mail service.

If you need to send a parcel internationally, you should consider the excellent services that RAND Logistics can offer. Be sure to check back in the mean time for tomorrow’s instalment regarding the history of the parcel.