SHOW MENURailway Pre-Paid Newspaper, Parcel and Railway Letter Stamps (Pre 1923)
Introduction
Railway stamps can be divided into three classes, Newspaper, Parcels, and Letter. The newspaper stamps were the first to make their appearance in mid‑1855, five companies adopted the use of these stamps, the introduction of which is mentioned in the Illustrated London News of July 21st, 1855.
By the end of the 1870s most railway companies had a parcel service. As with the railway newspaper stamps, the designs of parcel stamps also varied enormously.
Not all railway companies used control numbers on their stamps and print quality varied, even the control number font style and size differed, this can be seen in the example stamps displayed.
Railway stamps were subjected to quite adverse conditions as you can only imagine, and many are in less than pristine condition or as described in the antiques world "show patina". Either way they are still collectable and often quite scarce.
This exhibit is made up of stamps issued by various railway companies and consists of a combination of mint, used and on piece stamps. Each stamp or set of stamps is accompanied by a brief description and include where possible date of issue, design and die number, print type and printing company.
Exhibit Index
Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: Evolution of the Newspaper and Parcel Stamps
Page 3: Newspaper Parcels by Weight Stamps
Page 4: Newspaper Parcels by Value Stamps
Page 5: Newspaper Parcel Stamps
Page 6: The Imperf & Rouletted
Page 7: Specialist Parcel Stamps
Page 8: Specialist Parcel Stamps (Continued)
Page 9: The Britannia Issues (London & North Western Railway Company)
Page 10: The Great Western Railway (Pre‑paid Newspaper & Parcel Stamps)
Page 11: The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway (Extra‑large Format) (Pre‑paid Newspaper & Parcel Stamps)
Page 12: Newspaper Label & Parcel Label Stamps (Extra‑large Format) (London & North Western Railway Company) (Great Western Railway GWR)
Page 13: M.S. & L.RY Newspaper Stamps and Cloning Extra‑Large and Large Format (Name change to The Great Central Railway) (Design change Great Western Railway)
Page 14: Midland Railway Newspaper & Parcel Stamps (North Eastern Railway (Includes Cloned Stamps) & North British – Caledonian Railway)
Page 15: A variety of Newspaper & Parcel Stamps (Different railways and styles of stamps)
Page 16: Post Letters by Railway Stamps
References: Priced Catalogue of the Newspaper and Parcel Stamps 1855‑1906 by H.L'Estrange Ewen.
The Railway Philatelic Group.
