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Postage Stamps Conquer the World
The year 1840 was a turning point in the development of postal services all over the world. The British postal reform showed the way which all the other postal administrations were to take, sooner or later. All of them changed over to the system of prepaid mail and to the use of adhesive certificates of paid postage – postage stamps.
Initially, progress was slow. Countries were curious to see how the postal reform in Britain would function. The first countries, therefore, to join Great Britain in the printing of stamps did not do so until three years later. In 1843, stamps were issued by the Swiss cantons of Zurich and Geneva, and also by Brazil. In 1845, these countries were joined by Basle (Switzerland) and in 1847 by the United States and Mauritius. After that, the philatelic family was enlarged by a new member almost annually.
Today, there are more philatelic countries than there are states, the reason being that political developments the world over have had a decisive influence on stamp issues. As time passed, the number of philatelically terminated countries grew. This means that countries which no longer exist have naturally ceased to produce stamps. Such countries include the Swiss cantons, Canadian provinces and the German and Italian states. The geography of philately does, however, continue to grow. New nations have emerged, especially in Africa but also in the sheikdoms of the Arab Peninsula and on the shores of the Persian Gulf.
The number of stamps issued grew, due, first of all, to the fact that new countries issued stamps and also because new issues replaced old ones. Stamps began to serve more purposes, and commemorative stamps were invented. The first period of stamp printing is known among philatelists as the classical period. The reason is that, in those days, stamps were issued exclusively for postal needs and their printing was in no way influenced by stamp collecting. This period is not strictly limited by years but it has become common to consider classical stamps as those issued up to 1870 or even 1875, when the agreement about the founding of the Universal Postal Union came into being. The end of the classical period varies slightly from country to country.
The designs of the first stamps were rather simple. The stamp usually depicted the ruler, the coat of arms, a large numeral or a symbol representing the nation in which it was printed. The primitive printing techniques did not permit colorful designs and combinations but there were no such aesthetic demands on stamps, and although they did not fulfill a political service, a significant number of these stamps are of great beauty and their themes are most attractive; note the beautiful sailing boats of the stamps of British Guiana, the llamas of Peru and the Canadian beaver.
Countries are proud to celebrate the centenary of their stamps and this is usually an occasion to issue a commemorative set. Very often, the new sets reproduce the jubilants – stamps that have been produced for exactly one hundred years. Such stamps form a special line of collecting and philatelists form collections of both one hundred-year-old stamps and of stamps on stamps.
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