Many letters to France from overseas were carried by British ships to Britain. They had to be addressed to someone in Britain, usually a forwarding agent, so that the British Post Office could collect the postage fees for providing the shipping service.
The 1836 Convention allowed Britain and France to collect postage for each other. Although they each had different currencies and weight units, the major complexity was because the British system was based on the number of sheets of paper whereas France’s system was weight-based. If a letter from overseas was addressed directly to France, the British Post Office would write the accountancy amount due in the upper right corner. Each letter had to be rated individually. Similar accountancy procedures were used on many other types of mail passing between Britain and France, then the two most important countries in the world.
This book has illustrations of 250 covers, and these originated from no less than 56 different countries and colon

The Final Copy we have in stock

A profusely illustrated leather-bound hardback book on the first postage stamp, the 1840 1d black

The stimulus for undertaking the production of this book was a shared enthusiastic interest in, the various aspects of the Postal reforms, which were campaigned and planned for in the 1830's and resulted in very significant changes in the operation of the British Post Office following the introduction of Uniform Penny Postage on the 10th January 1840

The primary objective in preparing this book has been to set the context of the 1840 Wyon-Whiting essays within the aims of the reforms being introduced in 1840 for the pre-payment of postage, and their ultimate destiny to retrieve the unsatisfactory reception given to the Mulready postal stationery in May 1840.

The 1841 embossed envelopes where a world first, and provided a design concept which served the British Post Office for over 130 years, and was also adapted by many other countries.

The stimulus for undertaking the production of this book was a shared enthusiastic interest in, the various aspects of the Postal reforms, which were campaigned and planned for in the 1830's and resulted in very significant changes in the operation of the British Post Office following the introduction of Uniform Penny Postage on the 10th January 1840

The primary objective in preparing this book has been to set the context of the 1840 Wyon-Whiting essays within the aims of the reforms being introduced in 1840 for the pre-payment of postage, and their ultimate destiny to retrieve the unsatisfactory reception given to the Mulready postal stationery in May 1840.

The 1841 embossed envelopes where a world first, and provided a design concept which served the British Post Office for over 130 years, and was also adapted by many other countries.

The 19th Century Issues of El Salvador (1867 - 1900) is the result of 40 plus years of research to provide the most detailed overview ever done of the Salvadorian postal issues and postal history.

It includes a description of all 19th century issues, including printing details, types and varieties, essays and proofs, cancellations recorded usage and counterfeits, complemented by the postal history aspects like regulations, the development of the postal service, rates and routes.

The “BAGHDAD IN BRITISH OCCUPATION” stamps have always been desired by collectors of Iraq and British Colonies both because they were the first stamps issued in Iraq and also as a significant issue of World War 1. Since quantities printed were relatively small and all the values were exhausted from the Baghdad Post Office just seventeen days after they were put on sale, they fetched high prices from the very beginning. This book explains why and how the stamps were issued, and presents a full record of all known errors and covers as a reference for future collectors.

This work is a joint publication with the British West Indies Study Circle and is an attempt to reflect the current state of knowledge of Bahamas philately up to 1970.

This study provides a detailed examination covering production from design, paper and ink, to printer, and distribution to Nauru for the definitive King George V Profile Head (½d to 1s) and Seahorse (2/6 to 10/-) stamps of Great Britain overprinted for use in Nauru.

This book covers the rates, routes and regulations concerned with the dispatch of British letters to overseas destinations from 1840, when Rowland Hill’s new scheme for cheap postage became a reality, until after the adoption of the Universal Postal Union Treaty.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the stamps of Ceylon, their uses, their printings and varieties. It also covers the postal stationery, being the earliest stationery issued by any of the British Colonies, as well as the revenue stamps, reprints and forgeries.