You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Russian. (March 2015)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
View a machine-translated version of the Russian article.
Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 1,242 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Russian Wikipedia article at [[:ru:История почты и почтовых марок Багамских Островов]]; see its history for attribution.
You may also add the template {{Translated|ru|История почты и почтовых марок Багамских Островов}} to the talk page.
The postal history of the Bahamas begins in the 18th century, with the first post office operating since 1733. The earliest known letters date from 1802. In 1804 a straight-line "BAHAMAS" handstamp came into use. The Royal Mail Line initiated a regular mail service in 1841, and from 1846 used a "Crown Paid" handstamp along with a dated postmark for New Providence.
The use of postage stamps began in April 1858 with a consignment of British stamps. These were cancelled "A05" at Nassau. The use of British stamps was brief however; in the following year the Bahamian post office became independent of London, and issued its own stamps beginning 10 June 1859. These stamps featured the "Chalon" portrait of Queen Victoria, along with symbols of the islands (pineapple and conch shell) and the inscription "INTERINSULAR POSTAGE", because at first the stamps were used only locally, with London continuing in charge of external mail until May 1860.
Letterbox in the Bahamas.
Printed by Perkins Bacon, initially unwatermarked and imperforate, perforation was introduced in 1860, and the "Crown & CC" watermark in 1863. The transition to local control left Bahamians with only their 1d stamp to pay all rates of postage, and covers to foreign destinations show blocks of the stamp used to cover the 4d rate to North America and the 6d rate to Great Britain. The government remedied this in 1861 by contracting for 4d and 6d stamps, still using the Chalon head, but with a simpler design. De la Rue later took over printing duties in 1862, their product being differentiated by an 11.5-12 perforation, as opposed to the previous 14-16. A one-shilling value appeared in 1865.
In 1884, a new design employed the ubiquitous Victoria profile of the time, with the symbols retained, and "BAHAMAS" inscribed with colored letters in an arch over the vignette. Values issued ranged up to one pound. In 1901, the Bahamas became one of the Empire's early issuers of a pictorial stamp, with a depiction of the Queen's Staircase in Nassau. The same design was reused for 5-pence, 2-shilling, and 3-shilling values in 1903. In 1915, the Bahamas concluded an unusual agreement with Canada, in which the two countries arranged special delivery services by exchanging stamps, this being done for the benefit of tourists visiting from Canada. The Bahamians accomplished by overprinting 5d Staircase issues with "SPECIAL / DELIVERY" and sending them to Canada, where they were on sale in four post offices (Ottawa, Toronto, Westmount, and Winnipeg) for 10 cents each. The arrangement was short-lived, with only about 430 overprinted stamps being sold in Canada while it was in effect.
The years from 1902 into the 1930s involved the usual profiles of Edward VII and George V. In 1920 a set of five stamps celebrated peace after World War I, and in 1930 another set of five depicting the Bahamian seal marked the 300th anniversary of the colony's founding.
In 1935, a pictorial stamp depicted flamingoes in flight; this design was re-used in 1939 replaced with George VI's profile, along with designs showing Fort Charlotte, and a "sea garden", likely the first time underwater scenery appeared on a stamp. But the mainstay of the George VI period was a set of small definitives only slightly updated from previous designs.
4d stamp showing the "sea garden" 1938.
In October 1942, the definitives were overprinted to mark the 450th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' landing. In 1948, the 300th anniversary of the settlement of Eleuthera was commemorated with a set of 16 pictorials (somewhat belated in a way, since most of the Empire's colonies had extensive pictorial sets issued for them in 1938). The designs were re-used in the issue of 1954, replacing the portrait with one of Elizabeth II, and removing the commemorative inscription.
The Bahamas issued commemoratives for the centenary of Bahamian stamps in 1959, and for the centenary of Nassau in 1962. Also in 1962, two stamps were overprinted to mark the talks that led to the Nassau agreement. In 1964 the entire set of the 1954 issue was overprinted "NEW CONSTITUTION / 1964" in recognition of self-government.
A new set of 15 definitives in 1965 featured an updated layout, but repeating many of the same themes as seen in the 1954 stamps. These were overprinted with new currencies in the decimalisation of 1966, and then redesigned in 1967 with the new values.
From the 1970s on, the Bahamas issued an assortment of large and colorful stamps aimed at collectors, though not in great numbers.
Gisburn, G.D. (1950). The Postage Stamps and Postal History of the Bahamas. London, Great Britain: Stanley Gibbons. p.144.
Ludington, M.H. Bahamas early mail services and postal markings. s.l.: M.H. Ludington, 1982 210p.
Ludington, M.H.; Raymond, Gale J. (1968). The Bahama islands. A history and catalogue of the handstamps and cancellations 1802-1967. London, Great Britain: Robson Lowe Ltd. p.66.
Proud, Edward B. The Postal History of Bahamas. Heathfield: Proud-Bailey, 2000 ISBN1872465307 392p.
Postage stamps and postal history of Great Britain surveys postal history from the United Kingdom and the postage stamps issued by that country and its various historical territories until the present day.
This is an overview of the postage stamps and postal history of Australia.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of New South Wales, a former British colony now part of Australia.
The postal history of Northern Epirus, a region in the western Balkans, in southern modern Albania, comprises two periods; 1912–1916 and 1940-41. Northern Epirus was under Greek administration during the First Balkan War (1912–1913), but it was then awarded to the newly founded Albanian state by the Florence Protocol (1913). During this period, Greek stamps were used. Greece withdrew from the region in early 1914. The people of Epirus were unwilling to be part of Albania, though, and launched a revolution. Under a provisional government, the independent Northern Epirus was formed in February 1914 and it eventually managed to gain full autonomy under nominal Albanian sovereignty, according to the Protocol of Corfu. Northern Epirus operated its own postal service and issued postage stamps, both official and unofficial, during that year.
The Mexican postal system has its roots in the Aztec system of messengers which the Spanish adopted after the Conquest. A postal service was established in 1580, mainly to communicate between the viceroyalty of New Spain with the motherland Spain. During the 18th century, Spain established a formal postal system with regular routes. In 1856, Mexico issued its first adhesive postage stamps, with "district overprints", a unique feature among postal systems worldwide, employed to protect from theft of postage stamps.
The postage stamps of Ireland are issued by the postal operator of the independent Irish state. Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland when the world's first postage stamps were issued in 1840. These stamps, and all subsequent British issues, were used throughout Ireland until the new Irish Government assumed power in 1922. Beginning on 17 February 1922, existing British stamps were overprinted with Irish text to provide some definitives until separate Irish issues became available within the new Irish Free State. Following the overprints, a regular series of definitive stamps was produced by the new Department of Posts and Telegraphs, using domestic designs. These definitives were issued on 6 December 1922, the day that the Irish Free State officially came into existence; the first was a 2d stamp, depicting a map of Ireland. Since then new images, and additional values as needed, have produced nine definitive series of different designs.
Ross Dependency stamps have been issued by New Zealand postal authorities for use on mail from Scott Base since 1957. Overprinted New Zealand stamps had been used for mail on two earlier expeditions to the region.
The postal history of Malta began in the early modern period, when pre-adhesive mail was delivered to foreign destinations by privately owned ships for a fee. The earliest known letter from Malta, sent during the rule of the Order of St John, is dated 1532. The first formal postal service on the islands was established by the Order in 1708, with the post office being located at the Casa del Commun Tesoro in Valletta. The first postal markings on mail appeared later on in the 18th century.
The Chalon Head is the name of a number of postage stamp series whose illustration was inspired by a portrait of Queen Victoria by Alfred Edward Chalon (1780–1860).
The Castle series or Castle High Value series are two definitive stamp series issued in the United Kingdom during Queen Elizabeth II's reign. The common aspects of the two series are the four chosen castles, one for each country of the United Kingdom.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Jamaica.
Belize started as the colony of British Honduras, formally established in the 17th century but disputed through the 18th century.
Qatar was a British protectorate from 1916 till it gained independence on 3 September 1971. Until 1950, the country's postal service was administered by an Indian post office in Bahrain. A British office was opened in Doha and sold stamps of British Postal Agencies in Eastern Arabia until 1957 when overprinted British stamps were introduced. Qatar Post took responsibility for postal administration in May 1963 and joined the Universal Postal Union in January 1969. The first Qatari stamps were issued in 1961 and there was an independence issue in January 1972. Since then, Qatar Post has continued to manage the country's postal administration and to issue its stamps, which are mostly relevant to Qatar itself.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Saint Helena.
Bermuda, a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, was previously uninhabited when the British established a settlement in 1612.
The Cayman Islands, a British Overseas Territory located in the western Caribbean Sea, came under British control in 1670, as a dependency of Jamaica, continuing in that status until 1962.
Revenue stamps of Malta were first issued in 1899, when the islands were a British colony. From that year to 1912, all revenue issues were postage stamps overprinted accordingly, that was either done locally or by De La Rue in London. Postage stamps also became valid for fiscal use in 1913, so no new revenues were issued until 1926–1930, when a series of key type stamps depicting King George V were issued. These exist unappropriated for use as general-duty revenues, or with additional inscriptions indicating a specific use; Applications, Contracts, Registers or Stocks & Shares. The only other revenues after this series were £1 stamps depicting George VI and Elizabeth II. Postage stamps remained valid for fiscal use until at least the 1980s.
The Australian state of Tasmania issued adhesive revenue stamps from 1863 to 1998, although impressed stamps had appeared briefly in the 1820s. There were general revenue and stamp duty issues, as well as a number of specific issues for various taxes.
The island of Cyprus first issued revenue stamps in 1878 and continues to do so to this day. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus also issues its own revenue stamps.
The Melita issue is a series of dual-purpose postage and revenue stamps issued by the Crown Colony of Malta between 1922 and 1926, depicting the national personification Melita. They were commemorative stamps since they celebrated the islands' new status as a self-governing colony following a new constitution in 1921, but also a definitive issue intended for regular use over an extended period of time.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
