A Stamp History Lesson Part I Of II

Postal routes in the United States began as early as 1639, running from Boston to New York City. In 1692 it cost 9 pence for a single sheet letter to travel between New York and Boston (Wow, and people complain about our current mail costs!). Riders traveled individually from place to place rather than like a relay. Postage rates were very high and were thought to be another form of taxation by England. Once Great Britain passed The British Stamp Act
for America in 1765 (a formal tax on all types of official documents), the American Revolution began. A year later, the Stamp Act was repealed.

The first postage stamp ever created came from Great Britain in 1840. It was not until 1845 that the United States approved its first postage stamp. Due to various national troubles in the country, the US initially encountered ups and downs with their stamp system.

In the beginning each local postmaster had to design his own stamp. There were a wide variety of paid systems that were used. Sometimes the postmaster used simple drawings with his signature as a stamp. There were no real guidelines that were followed at the beginning of our stamp history.

Please check back on Wednesday for the conclusion to this post.