Postal history

The term is attributed to Robson Lowe, a professional philatelist, stamp dealer and stamp auctioneer, who made the first organised study of the subject in the 1930s and described philatelists as "students of science", but postal historians as "students of humanity".

[1] More precisely, philatelists describe postal history as the study of rates, routes, markings, and means (of transport).

Much information is still not known about the workings of postal systems, and millions of old covers have survived, constituting a rich field of "artifacts" for analysis.

In studying or collecting any postal history subject some overlap is inevitable because it is impossible to separate the different areas that affect the mail from one another; transportation, rates, geography and subject are all intertwined, but the emphasis remains different depending on the chosen topic.

The era for a geographical based study can add dimension depending on the services available or the changes that took place.

Pre-stamp 1628 lettersheet opened up showing folds, address and seal, with letter being written on the obverse
With the growth of urban centres across the Western hemisphere in the 19th century Post Offices were located on main arterial routes
First flight cover for Nassau to Miami airmail route in 1929
Zeppelin mail from Gibraltar to Rio de Janeiro , Brazil via Berlin on the Christmas flight (12th South American flight) of 1934
Postal censorship of 1940 civil cover from Madrid to Paris opened by both Spanish and French ( Vichy ) authorities
Bavarian postal stationery postcard used from Nuremberg to Munich in 1895
1834 pre-adhesive mail with Wittingen straight-line town handstamp to Ebsdorf
Envelope for mailing
Envelope for mailing