Hurry Stamp

Hasty stamps are marked with the corresponding figure and (or) the text “Express” in the corresponding languages ^[1] . Typical motifs of the drawings of such brands are, for example, the winged horse ( Pegasus ), the postman on a motorcycle , the head of Hermes in a helmet with wings ^[3] . On urgent stamps of different states the following inscriptions may be indicated indicating their purpose:

US Hurry Stamps

Hurry stamps first appeared in the USA in 1885 ^{[1] [2]} , when Congress ordered the use of “a special mark of ten cents ... [which] when affixed to a letter in addition to the legal signs of postage ... is considered to give such a letter the right to urgent delivery ” ^[4] .

The first hasty stamp had the inscription in English. "Special delivery" ("Special delivery"). It was printed by the American Banknote Company and was published on October 1, 1885. It could not be used for advance payment of postage or other services. On the stamp there is an inscription: “Ensures hasty delivery to the office of emergency mail” ( “Secures immediate delivery at a special delivery office” ).

In 1886, hasty delivery was extended to all post offices and a new brand was developed. It was identical to the first issue of 1885 with the exception of the inscription: “Secures immediate delivery to any post office” ( “Secures immediate delivery at any post office” ). However, the postal authority postponed the release of the new stamp until 1888, in order to sell stocks of stamps of the first issue before that ^[5] . Moreover, the use of such brands had its drawbacks. Hasty mail served only settlements with a population of over 4 thousand and did not guarantee delivery by a certain time. In order to be valid, the hurried stamp had to be stuck on the envelope along with other signs of postage and could not be used to prepay the usual postal and airmail rates ^[4] .

In total , five different issues with the image of a running courier were issued . Starting from 1902 and over the next 20 years, urgent mail couriers were given bicycles to deliver mail, so this year a stamp with an image of a courier delivering mail on a bicycle came out ^[6] .

In 1908, the helmet of the god Mercury was briefly used in the drawing of hasty stamps, for which the brand itself was often called the "Merry Widow" - after the name of the popular operetta F. Lehar , in which the lead singer performed in a big hat ^[7] . Then the bicycle returned to the stamps, with subsequent editions distinguished by perforation and watermarks . This series ended in 1922, when the courier on a motorcycle was depicted on stamps, which was replaced by a truck image in 1925. In subsequent years, images of a truck and a motorcycle appeared again as tariffs changed and varieties appeared in color, printing method and serration ^[8] .

Finally, in 1954, hasty stamps with the image of hands transmitting the letter came into circulation. The last image, released in 1969, depicted arrows. In total, philatelists count 23 separate issues of US hasty stamps for the period from 1885 to 1971 ^[9] . In addition, in the 1930s, three hasty Airmail Special Delivery brands, two regular issues, and one toothless, specially issued by postmaster James Farley , were issued in the United States. In the slaked form, none of the hasty US brands are particularly rare.

On June 7, 1997, the United States Postal Service stopped providing urgent mail services, leaving many unused hurried stamps in circulation that were no longer suitable for paying postage fees. The remaining stamps were allowed to be returned back to the post office at face value, since “the services were not provided” ^[10] .

  Hurry Stamps in the USSR

Hasty stamps were issued in the USSR in 1932 ^{[1] [2]} and 1933 ^[1] . The first series consisted of three stamps in denominations of 5, 10 and 80 kopecks with the inscription “ Exprès - Hurry Post” ^[11] .

Two hasty stamps of the second series were intended for airmail and had the inscription "USSR - Aviaexpress". In particular, it was these brands that paid for the correspondence sent by the first flight from Franz Josef Land . The stamps of this flight were canceled by two special postmarks ^[11] .

Hurry stamps are known in combination with other additional services or tariffs, such as hurried airmail stamps and hurried stamps for print media. Special stamps for special postal institutions were also issued: special stamps of field mail, special stamps of field airmail, special stamps of military mail. Hurry mark-ups were issued in 1932 by Italy ^[3] .

In Belgium in 1874-1887, telegraphic stamps were used to pay for hasty delivery ^[3] .

Hurried Airmail Stamps

Hasty stamps of airmail include special postage stamps designed to send express mail items by air ^[12] . Ground delivery of postal items paid by such stamps to and from the airport was carried out by special couriers ^{[12] [13]} .

Hasty airmail stamps were rarely issued:

• in Italy - in the years 1932-1945,
• by the Brazilian airline - in the years 1929-1934 ^{[12] [13]} .

Hurry Stamps for Prints

Hurry stamps for print media served to pay extra postage for expedited shipment of postal packets with print media ^{[14] [15]} .

Such brands were used, in particular, in Austria , in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1916-1918 ^{[14] [15]} . The issue of field mail for Italy in 1916-1919 is also known. Subsequently, they were used as ordinary universal brands ^[15] .

• Stamps of express delivery // Philatelic Dictionary / Comp. O. Ya. Basin. - M .: Communication, 1968 .-- 164 p.
• Sokolov M.P., Niselevich L.M., Smyslov A.M. Philatelist's companion / All-Union Society of Philatelists . - M .: Communication, 1971. - S. 53. - 167 p. - 50 000 copies.

• Special Delivery Stamps. (eng.)