History of Post and Postage Stamps of Saint Lucia

The history of the post of Saint Lucia is inextricably linked with British rule on this island, which was captured by the British in 1803 ^{[2] [4]} . Finally, the island came under British control in 1814 ^{[1] [4] [5]} , first receiving the status of a separate colony (1814-1838) and then becoming part of the colony ^{[2] [4] [5]} .

In 1844, a post office was opened in Castries as a branch , where manual stamps began to be used ^[4] .

Saint Lucia postmark "A11" (1858) ^{[^] [^]}

Early postmarks include the stamps used in Castries with the designation “A11” ^{[4] [≡]} , which were sent to the island from the United Kingdom simultaneously with the delivery of UK postage stamps to this colony (see below). The first such stamp was sent from the metropolis on April 16, 1858, and its first known use was on August 28 of the same year ^[6] . At the same time, from 1858 to 1860, postage stamps of Great Britain ^{[1] [4] [5]} were in circulation on the territory of Saint Lucia. Letters sent to the UK from Saint Lucia had to be prepaid from April 1, 1858. British stamps were authorized for use in Saint Lucia, and this information was brought to the attention of the postmaster of the colony by British Post Minister Rowland Hill . Stamp stocks for two months (worth £ 50) were sent around April 16, 1858, and consisted of 1 penny , 4 pence and 6 pence ^[≡] stamps together with the “A11” cancellation stamp ^[≡] .

Perhaps later additional supplies of postage stamps were sent, but there are no documents on their quantity, presumably, these were denominations of 2 pence and 1 shilling ^[7] . Most likely, their number was small, since at that time, probably, only about 200 people on the island could read and write.

Due to the traditional ties with France, the ships of the French line “C” ( French “Ligne C” ) went to the post office from 1865 to 1887 ^[4] .

In 1881, Saint Lucia joined the UPU ^[4] .

Beginning in the 1880s, an internal postal service operated on the island, which provided delivery of correspondence to individual villages, indicated by letter codes on postmarks. Some of them were used until the reign of King George V ^[4] .

The colonial administration of Saint Lucia, including the postal service, lasted until 1958, after which the island became a province of the Federation of the West Indies (1958-1962), then again a British colony (1962-1967), and subsequently an associated state (1967-1979) ^{[4] [5] [8] [≡]} and an independent state within the British Commonwealth (since 1979) ^{[1] [4] [5] [≡]} .

• Examples of francotypes of Saint Lucia
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  1968: during the period of the associated state ^{[^]}

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  1989: as an independent state within the Commonwealth of Nations ^{[^]}

The post office of independent Saint Lucia was admitted to the UPU on July 10, 1980. The Saint Lucia Postal Service ( Saint Lucia Postal Service ) is currently responsible for the postal services on the island ^[3] .

First Marks

The first own stamps issued in Saint Lucia were put into circulation on December 18, 1860 ^{[1] [2] [4] [5] [8]} and consisted of three face values: 1 penny, 4 pence and 6 pence ^[≡] . Stamps were printed by Perkins Bacon Ltd. »By intaglio printing method ^[9] . In order to save money, the colony was engraved with only one printed form , and the postage was determined by the color of the stamps: red denoted the face value of 1 penny, blue - 4 pence, and green - 6 pence ^[≡] .

for the first stamps was completed on October 16, 1860. It used an engraving of Queen Victoria's profile, which was made in May by for the 9-pence stamp of South Australia. Jeans was paid 2 pounds 12 shillings and 6 pence per drawing and 9 pounds 9 shillings per engraving. A vertical oval large enough for a portrait was left on an engraved background. He was surrounded by a simple ribbon with the inscriptions "St. Lucia ” (“ Saint Lucia ”) ^[5] and “ Postage ” (“ Postage ”). This is considered one of the most elegant drawings by Perkins Bacon.

Thirty-six sheets were printed in red (8640 stamps), 13 sheets in blue (3120 stamps) and 17 sheets in green (4080 stamps). On November 17, 1860, these stamp sheets were sent to the island by a packet boat ^[10] . The stamps were printed on manufactured by Rush Mills in Northampton under the supervision of Stacey Wise . The paper was watermarked in the form of a small six-pointed star, as well as the inscription “Postage” around the fields twice on the sides and once above and below, and the space between them was filled with five parallel lines.

Stamps were printed by a certain Dix on November 10th and perforated by a certain Miss Stewart on November 14th. Perforating needles were set in sizes from 14 to 16 and often clogged, giving a rough dentate .

Information about the first issue was published in the local Island Gazette the next day, December 19, 1860. Red stamps were sold at 1 penny, blue at 4 pence, and green at 6 pence ^[≡] .

Subsequent Issues

Like the first issue, subsequent issues of stamps for the island until 1883 had a design typical for Saint Lucia with a portrait of Queen Victoria. The denomination was also not indicated on these early stamps: it was determined by the color of the postal thumbnail. Since 1883, drawings were used on the postage stamps of Saint Lucia, which were common to all British colonies ^[5] .

The first commemorative stamps of Saint Lucia appeared in 1902, however, they only began to be regularly published since 1960 ^[1] .

In the series prepared in 1936 and 1938, the drawings were again special, inherent only to the stamps of Saint Lucia, although they were made in the style characteristic of the British colonies. Saint Lucia also participated in a number of omnibus issues for the British colonies ^[5] :

• St Lucia Omnibus Stamps
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  1949: 75th anniversary of the UPU . Many British colonies participated in this release.

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  1953: on the accession to the throne of Queen Elizabeth II

In just about a hundred years, from 1860 to 1963, 179 postage stamps of Saint Lucia were issued , on which you can see the inscriptions: “S ^t Lucia” (“Saint Lucia”); "Postage & Revenue" ("Postage and stamp duty "); "The West Indies Federation" (" West Indies Federation ") ^[2] .

In 1967, Saint Lucia published the first postal block ^[1] .

In honor of the declaration of independence , which took place on February 22, 1979 ^{[1] [4]} , a series of four stamps and a postal block ^{[1] were} issued.

In the modern period, Saint Lucia issues postage stamps of both national subjects and with plots focused on the market of thematic collectors ^[5] . An example of postage stamps of simultaneous thematic orientation can serve as a series of " ", which appeared in 1969 ^[11] .

Paid

In 1931-1967, surcharge stamps were issued in Saint Lucia ^[1] . The inscription on them read: "Postage due" ("Postage surcharge") ^[2] . In total, 10 surcharge stamps were issued ^[2] .

The first, temporary, surcharge stamps that came into circulation in 1931 are interesting. They represented a rather primitive issue with control numbers printed with a rubber stamp ^[5] .

Post-stamps

In 1881–1884, fiscal stamps were used as postage stamps in Saint Lucia ^[1] , that is, they were postal stamps by status. A total of 16 such brands were issued ^[2] .

In the second half of the 19th century, the shipping company St. Lucia Steam Conveyance Company Limited delivered mail by sea from Castries to the coastal villages of Saint Lucia. For postage, special stamps were made, which appeared from about 1871 to 1872, when the company ceased operations ^[12] .

According to other information presented in the Michel catalog ^[13] , these brands were published in 1873. The company itself ran between different ports and provided postal services from 1872 to 1890 ^[5] .

A drawing of perhaps the first, temporary, stamp issued for this purpose is shown in a book by Hurt and the Williams brothers (1950) ; it was soon followed by the release of stamps of several denominations with the image of a ship in an oval frame:

• Examples of St. brands Lucia Steam Conveyance Co. Ltd (circa 1872)
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  1 penny stamp, second overprint ^{[^]}

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  Quartblock stamps with a face value of 6 pence

A number of different circulations (overprints) of brands ^[≡] are known , which can be distinguished among themselves by paper and varieties of glue ^[12] .

These brands are rare and are now sold at high prices. In 1972, Saint Lucia celebrated the centenary of this shipping company with the release of a commemorative series featuring published stamps ^[5] .

In the Stanley Gibbons English catalogs, Saint Lucia post issues are assigned to the “red” volumes for the stamps of Great Britain and the Commonwealth of Nations :

• Examples of "red" catalogs " Stanley Gibbons "
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  2001: Edition for the UK and the Commonwealth . On the cover in the upper right corner you can see the stamp of Saint Lucia 1996 with the national flag and the image of the cruise ship “ ” ( Sc # 1141; SG # 1155)

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  2007: Edition for the British Empire and the Commonwealth (1840-1952). In the lower right corner is a stamp of Saint Lucia in 1951, with a face value of 12 cents , dedicated to the restoration of Castries after a fire ( Mi # 140)

• About Us Castries , Saint Lucia: Saint Lucia Postal Service. Date of treatment July 28, 2017. Archived July 28, 2017.
• Saint Lucia Postal Service Philatelic Bureau . Philatelic Bureau . Castries, Saint Lucia: Saint Lucia Postal Service (August 14, 2014). Date of treatment July 28, 2017. Archived July 28, 2017.
• St lucia. Encyclopaedia of Postal History . Stampsite: The Encyclopaedia of Postal Authorities . - Information about stamps of Saint Lucia in the database “Encyclopedia of the history of mail. Encyclopedia of Post Offices. " Date of treatment September 19, 2011. Archived on April 20, 2008.
• bwisc.org (English) - official site . (Retrieved July 26, 2017) Archived copy (unspecified) . Date of treatment July 19, 2017. Archived July 26, 2017.