The history of postal and postage stamps in the Bahamas dates back to the 18th century and covers both the colonial period, as part of British possessions in the West Indies , and the periods of self-government (since 1964) and independence (since 1973). Own stamps are issued in the Bahamas since 1859 . The country is part of the Universal Postal Union (UPU; since 1974 ), and its postal company is Bahamas Postal Service [1] .
 Commonwealth of the Bahamas | |
|---|---|
| English Commonwealth of the bahamas | |
 “ The Head of Chalon ” - issue of 1863 ( Sc # 11) with a drawing of the first mark of the islands of 1859 ( Sc # 1) | |
| Mail History | |
| Mail exists | since the 1760s |
| UPU member | from April 24, 1974 |
| Money system | |
| 1868-1966 | 1 Bahamian pound = 20 shillings , 1 shilling = 12 pence , 1 penny = 4 farthing |
| since 1966 | 1 Bahamian dollar = 100 cents |
| Bahamas Postal Service | |
| First postage stamps | |
| Standard | June 10, 1859 |
| Commemorative | 1920 |
| Semi-mail | 1917 |
| Express delivery | 1916 |
| Airmail | 1983 |
| Other | military tax - 1918 |
| Post block | 1969 |
| Philately | |
| WNS Member | since 2002 |
Content
Mail Development
The earliest known postal items of the homearic period date back to the 1760s. In 1804, a rubber stamp with the inscription English began to be used . BAHAMAS (The Bahamas). The Royal Mail Line service began regular mail in 1841. Since 1846, a rubber stamp with the inscription “Crown Paid” (“Paid to the Crown”) has been used along with a calendar postmark for the island of New Providence .
Circulation of postage stamps began in April 1858 with a batch of British stamps . They were quenched with the stamp A05 in Nassau . However, British stamps were not used for long, the following year the post office of the Bahamas became independent from London .
Stamp Issues
British colony
First Marks
Since June 10, 1859, the islands began to produce their own stamps. The stamps depicted a standard portrait of Queen Victoria [2] - the so-called “ Head of Chalon ”, as well as island symbols and the inscription “INTERINSULAR POSTAGE” (“Inter-island mail”), because at first the stamps were only local, and London continued to be responsible for external mail until May 1860.
Subsequent Issues
Stamps were printed by Perkins Bacon , initially without a watermark and toothless . Jagged appeared in 1860, and the Crown & CC watermark appeared in 1863. Over time, stamp printing was transferred to the De La Rue company, whose products were notable for 11½-12 teeth, unlike the previous 14-16. In 1865, a brand with a face value of 1 shilling appeared .
In 1884, a new drawing appeared with the profile of Victoria that was widespread at that time, preserving the symbolism and the inscription “BAHAMAS” in colored letters in a semicircle above the vignette . In 1901, the Bahamas became one of the first issuers of a thematic brand in the British Empire to display the Queen's Staircase in Nassau.
From 1902 to the 1930s, ordinary profiles of Edward VII and George V were found on stamps [3] . In 1920, a series of five stamps marked the end of the First World War , and in 1930 another five-branded series depicting the seal of the Bahamas was dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the founding of the colony .
In 1935, an image of a flamingo in flight appeared on a thematic stamp. This image was again addressed in 1938 when the profile of George V was replaced by the profile of George VI . At the same time, stamps depicting Fort Charlotte and the so-called Sea Garden, possibly the very first underwater scenes on a postage stamp, based on a photograph of the famous American underwater photographer and cinematographer John Williamson ( John Ernest Williamson , 1881-1966) were also issued. However, most of the stamps of the George VI period were a series of standard stamps of small size, with minor changes compared to the previous issues.
In October 1942, standard stamps were overprinted to mark the 450th anniversary of the landing of Christopher Columbus . In 1948, the 300th anniversary of the settlement of Elutera Island was marked by a series of 16 thematic stamps (the issue of which was somewhat late, since most thematic colonies were devoted to large thematic episodes in 1938). Their plots were reproduced in the 1954 edition with the replacement of the portrait with the image of Elizabeth II and without a memorial inscription.
Self-government and independence
The Bahamas issued commemorative stamps on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Bahamian marks in 1959 and on the 100th anniversary of the founding of Nassau in 1962. In 1962, overprints were made on two stamps to mark the negotiations that led to the conclusion of the Nassau Pact . In 1964, the entire issue of 1954 was overprinted with “NEW CONSTITUTION 1964” (“New Constitution of 1964”) in connection with the introduction of self-government.
The design of the new set of 15 standard stamps was updated in 1965, but many of the plots of the 1954 stamps were repeated. They were overprinted in new monetary units during the transition to the decimal monetary system in 1966, and then in 1967 an issue with new denominations came out. In 1968, so-called free-form stamps appeared, and in 1969, the first postal block .
Until 1973, colonial type stamps were produced on the islands. The events associated with the declaration of independence on July 10, 1973 and the receipt of the status of an independent state as part of the Commonwealth of Nations , were marked by the release of four types of stamps and bloc. Since the 1970s, the Bahamas has been producing many large colorful stamps intended for collectors , albeit in small quantities.
Other Stamps
In the years 1916-1918, express stamps appeared on the islands, and in the years 1918-1919 - military tax stamps .
Cataloging
In the English Stanley Gibbons catalogs, Bahamas postal issues are included in the “red” volumes for stamps of Great Britain and the Commonwealth of Nations:
In addition, Bahamian vintage emissions are included in the combined (“yellow”) volume of the Stanley Gibbons catalog, which also presents brands of northern Caribbean territories and Bermuda . The fourth edition of this catalog was released in 2016 [4] .
Submarine Post Office
In 1939-1941, John Williamson, using the photosphere he invented for underwater photography , organized in Nassau the world's first post office under water, which was called Sea Floor ("Sea floor"). Mail correspondence was handled at this office by the corresponding postmark. Moreover, the franchise of 1938 "Sea Garden" was often used for franking .
On the opening day of the post office, August 16, 1939, a special envelope of the first day was used. In 1940, in connection with the centenary of the first postage stamp , commemorative envelopes of submarine mail were made.
Williamson's photosphere and its underwater post office subsequently hit the standard 1965 Bahamas stamp. In addition, the photosphere is captured on the postal block of the Turks and Caicos Islands , released in 1997 [5] [6] .
See also
- Bahamas History
- History of UK Post and Stamps
Notes
- ↑ Bahamas . The UPU: Member countries: Americas . Universal Postal Union. Date of treatment June 20, 2016. Archived June 20, 2016.
- ↑ Davydov P.G. Victoria of Hanover . Famous people: Personalities of mail and philately . Smolensk: World m @ rock; Union of Philatelists of Russia (October 25, 2009). Date of treatment February 15, 2011. Archived on February 13, 2012.
- ↑ Davydov P.G. George V Windsor . Famous people / Personalities of mail and philately . World m @ rock; Union of Philatelists of Russia (October 25, 2009). Date of treatment February 15, 2011. Archived on August 24, 2011.
- ↑ Stanley Gibbons Commonwealth Stamp Catalog: Northern Caribbean, Bahamas & Bermuda. - 4th edn. - L .: Stanley Gibbons Ltd , 2016 .-- ISBN 0-85259-963-3 . (Eng.) (Retrieved September 15, 2017) Archived September 15, 2017.
- ↑ Brunstrom C. The Bahama's: the World's First Undersea Post Office . Bahamas . UK: The Philatelic Database - Archive of Stamp Collecting Articles; Richard Turton and William Cochrane (May 29, 2009). Date of treatment May 31, 2009. Archived February 14, 2012.
- ↑ Hatton D. The Bahamas' Sea Floor Post Office of 1939–40 // Linn's Stamp News . - 1997. - Vol. 70. - August 18. - P. 36-37. (English) (Retrieved May 30, 2009)
Literature
- The Bahamas // Large Philatelic Dictionary / N. I. Vladinets, L. I. Ilyichev, I. Ya. Levitas ... [and others ] ; under the general. ed. N.I. Vladinets and V.A. Jacobs. - M .: Radio and communications, 1988. - S. 20. - 40,000 copies. - ISBN 5-256-00175-2 .
- Bahamas // Philatelic geography (foreign countries): Reference book / L. L. Lepeshinsky. - M .: Communication, 1967. - S. 342. - 480 p.
- Rossiter S. , Fowler J. The Stamp Atlas: A Unique Assembly of Geography, Social and Political History, and Postal Information. - 1st edn. - L. , Sydney: Macdonald, 1986. - P. 146-147. - 336 p. - ISBN 0-356-10862-7 . (eng.)
Links
- Rossiter, Stuart; Fowler, John & Wellsted, Raife. Bahamas Stamp Atlas . Sandafayre Stamp Auctions. Date of treatment April 13, 2009. Archived February 14, 2012.
- Bahamas stamps on the Stanley Gibbons online catalog
- Stamps (inaccessible link) of the Bahamas on the Stanley Gibbons website
- Bahamas - Bahamas stamp information in The Encyclopaedia of Postal Authorities. Encyclopaedia of Postal History ” . Archived on October 10, 2012. ("Encyclopedia of Post Offices. Encyclopedia of the History of Mail" )
- Bahamas Postal History Resources . Country and Topical Resources . Worldwide postal history website - Postalhistory.org. - Links to Internet resources and literature on the history of the post and stamps of the Bahamas on the website Postalhistory.org (Australia). Date of treatment January 31, 2010. Archived February 14, 2012.