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{{Short description|Stationery item with imprinted stamp}}
[[File:GB 1892 1d uprated lettercard.jpg|right|thumb|UK letter card of 1892 with an imprinted stamp and perforations.]]
{{Lead too short|date=January 2021}}
[[File:US-PostalCard1881.jpg|right|thumb|U.S. postal card of 1881 with an imprinted stamp.]]
 
[[File:Ganzsache Bayern P44-1.jpg|right|thumb|A [[Kingdom of Bavaria|Bavaria]]n postal card of 1895 with an imprinted stamp.]]
[[File:Cuba postal stationery card.jpg|right|thumb|Cuban postal card of 1878.]]
[[File:1876-PlimptonEnvelope-white-1cent.jpg|right|thumb|A United States stamped envelope of 1876.]]
[[File:Registered envelope of Kenya and Uganda 1930.jpg|right|thumb|A registered envelope for Kenya and Uganda from 1930.]]
[[File:GermanEastAfrican-Handstamp.jpg|right|thumb|A scarcity of postage stamps during WWI in German East Africa was the cause for this handstamped envelope. Any indication that postage is prepaid (see top right handstamp) is what makes the item postal stationery. The fact that this indicium was applied to an envelope makes this a stamped envelope.]]
[[File:NewspaperWrapper1899-Cuba.jpg|right|thumb|Wrapper printed in US for occupied Cuba, 1899.]]
A piece of '''postal stationery''' is a stationery item, such as a [[stamped envelope]], [[letter sheet]], [[postal card]], [[lettercard]], [[aerogram]] or [[Newspaper wrapper|wrapper]], with an [[imprinted stamp]] or inscription indicating that a specific rate of postage or related service has been prepaid.<ref name=postalstationery>{{cite web|url=http://www.linns.com/reference/stationery/basic_stationery.aspx|title=''Postal Stationery'' in Linns.com Reference section|access-date=2010-11-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222020227/http://www.linns.com/reference/stationery/basic_stationery.aspx|archive-date=2008-12-22|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.upss.org/code/ps101.php|title=United Postal Stationery Society's ''Postal Stationery 101: What Is Postal Stationery?''}}</ref> It does ''not'', however, include any [[postcard]] without a pre-printed stamp,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.linns.com/howto/refresher/postalstationery_19991206/refreshercourse.aspx|title=Baadke, Michael; ''Postal cards are another stamped collectible'' in Linns.com Refresher Course section|access-date=2010-12-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090814161340/http://www.linns.com/howto/refresher/postalstationery_19991206/refreshercourse.aspx|archive-date=2009-08-14|url-status=dead}}</ref> and it is different from [[freepost]] for preprinted cards issued by businesses. In general, postal stationery is handled similarly to postage stamps; sold from post offices either at the face value of the printed postage or, more likely, with a surcharge to cover the additional cost of the stationery.<ref name=Miller>{{cite web|url=http://www.linns.com/howto/refresher/postalstationery_20020114/refreshercourse.aspx|title=Miller, Rick; ''Postal stationery offers collecting variety'' in Linns.com Refresher Course section|access-date=2010-12-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406062235/http://www.linns.com/howto/refresher/postalstationery_20020114/refreshercourse.aspx|archive-date=2012-04-06|url-status=dead}}</ref> It can take the form of an [[official mail]] issue produced only for the use of government departments.<ref name=Miller /><ref>Horning, Otto; ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Stamp Collecting'' (1970).</ref>
 
== History ==
[[File:1620 Prepaid Venetian Acque Letter Sheet No. 20642.jpg|right|thumb|1620 Venetian prepaid letter sheet.]]
Postal stationery has been in use since at least 1608 with folded letters bearing the coat of arms Venice. Other early examples include British newspaper stamps that were first issued in 1712, 25-centime letter sheets that were issued in 1790 by the government of Luxembourg, and Australian postal stationery that predated more well known issues like the British [[Mulready stationery]] that was introduced in 1840.<ref name=postalstationery>{{cite web|url=http://www.linns.com/reference/stationery/basic_stationery.aspx|title=''Postal Stationery'' in Linns.com Reference section|access-date=2010-11-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222020227/http://www.linns.com/reference/stationery/basic_stationery.aspx|archive-date=2008-12-22|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
The first modern form of postal stationery was the [[Stamped envelope|stamped]], or postal stationery, envelope created by the United Kingdom around 1841.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}. Other countries quickly followed suite., Includingincluding the United States , which released the Nesbitt series of stamped envelopes in 1853.<ref name=Mintz># Mintz, Allen, Ed.; ''Catalog of the 19th Century Stamped Envelopes, Wrappers, Cut Squares and Full Corners of the United States''; UPSS, 2001. {{oclc|50290906}}</ref> A variation of the stamped envelope, a [[registered envelope]], has been widely used throughout Great Britain and the British Commonwealth. Although none of have been issued in the United States due to differences in mail registration procedures. Another form of stamped envelopes are so called [[Wrapper (philately)|wrappers]], a form of postal stationery envelope that can be used to prepay the cost of delivery for a newspaper or periodical. Wrappers were first introduced in 1961 by the United States, which was followed by 110 other countries in total. Although all the countries have stopped producing then due to declining sales. With Cyprus being the last country to stop their use in 1991.
 
The next innovation in postal stationery came in 1869 with the introduction of the [[Postal card|postal card]] in Austria-Hungry.<ref name=VanGelder>Van Gelder, Peter J.; ''The Collectors' Guide to Postal Stationery'', A Squirrel Publication (1997) {{ISBN|0-947604-07-3}}</ref>. Postal cards are a type of cardstock that contains an imprinted stamp or indicium. They quickly caught on due to being mostly uniform and less bulky then traditional letters. To the point that Great Britain, Finland, Switzerland and [[Württemberg]] had all issued postal cards by 1871. Followed by the United States in 1873.<ref name=Bussey>Bussey, Lewis E., Ed.; ''United States Postal Card Catalog'', United Postal Stationery Society, 2010, 248 pages. A complete and authoritative look at U.S. postal cards.</ref>
 
Despite it'sits popularity, the postal card was soon followed by the [[Lettercard|letter card]]. A letter card is a postal stationery item consisting of a folded card with a prepaid imprinted stamp. The format was first issued by Belgium in 1882. Great Britain issued their first official letter cards in 1892 and Newfoundland introduced small reply cards starting in 1912. Letter cards had the advantage of providing twice the room for writing a message then postal cards and were more private due to being folded over.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}. A variation of the letter card called an [[aerogram]] was introduced in 1933 by a Lieutenant Colonel while he was doing a tour in the Middle East theatre. Although the format was not officially endorsed by the Universal Postal Union until 1952. An aerogram is a thin, lightweight piece foldable paper that is used for writing letters and sending them via airmail. Although unlike letter cards they can come unstamped and be issued by private companies.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}.
 
==Types==
===Aerograms===
 
{{Main|Aerogram}}
The postal services of some countries also offer a form of letter sheet called an aerogram consisting of a blank sheet of paper with folding instructions and adhesive flaps that becomes its own envelope, and carries prepaid postage at either the international airmail letter rate or at a special lower aerogram rate. Letter sheets lend themselves to airmail usage because they are lightweight.<ref name=Miller /> Enclosures are not permitted in aerograms. Sales of aerograms in the United States ended in 2006 due to poor sales.
 
===Letter cards===
 
{{Main|Letter card}}
A letter card almost has the advantages of a postal card as far as weight and size, but also the advantage of privacy of contents is concerned.<ref name=VanGelder>Van Gelder, Peter J.; ''The Collectors' Guide to Postal Stationery'', A Squirrel Publication (1997) {{ISBN|0-947604-07-3}}</ref> It is a double card, folded over, with gum or adhesive applied to the three open edges. It is then opened by the recipient by tearing perforations on the three sides that are on the message side of the gum.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.linns.com/howto/refresher/postalstationery_20020211/refreshercourse.aspx|title=Miller, Rick; ''Postal stationery: letter, parcel, pneumatic cards'' in Linns.com Refresher Course section }}</ref> The gummed strip around the card is then discarded, giving rise to the problems collectors have in finding intact used cards. The US has never issued any letter cards.<ref name=postalstationery />
 
===Letter sheets===
 
{{Main|Letter sheet}}
Before 1845 correspondence was not enclosed in an envelope. Letters were folded, sealed, addressed and postmarked on the outside. This continued even after adhesive postage stamps were introduced. The popularity of folded letters led postal authorities to introduce stamped letter sheets.<ref name=Thorp>''Thorp-Bartels Catalogue of United States Stamped Envelopes'', Century Edition, 1954.</ref> These became available in the U.S. in 1861, but the first official postal stationery were the 1838 embossed letter sheets of New South Wales. These were followed by the [[Mulready stationery]] that was issued by Great Britain at the same time as the [[Penny Black]] in 1840.<ref name=Miller /> Since then, most postal services have issued a steady stream of stationery alongside stamps. Often the design of the stationery mimics the contemporaneous stamps, though with less variety and lower printing quality, due to the limitations of printing directly onto the envelope. Much later, 1947 in the U.S., letter sheets morphed into lithographed '''air letter sheets''' or '''aerograms'''.
 
===Postal cards===
 
{{Main|Postal card}}
Postal cards are postal stationery and have a printed or embossed [[indicium]] and are sold by governmental [[postal authorities]]. In the United States, they were first produced in 1873.<ref>Bussey, Lewis E., Ed.; ''United States Postal Card Catalog'', United Postal Stationery Society, 2010, 248 pages.</ref> Some of the forms taken by postal cards include the regular single card, the attached message-reply cards, airmail postal cards, and official postal cards used for official government business with a "penalty for private use".
 
'''[[Postcard]]s''', on the other hand, are cards prepared by private companies that do not have prepaid franking and readily available at commercial outlets. They are frequently illustrated with pictures or printed advertisements. They are generally ''not'' considered postal stationery.
 
===Registered envelopes===
 
{{Main|Registered envelope}}
A strong envelope with an imprinted stamp sold only for use with the registered mail service. Confusingly, these are usually marked ''Registered Letter'' but that term strictly only relates to a normal letter or packet that has extra postage and markings applied so that it may travel under the registered mail service.
 
===Stamped envelopes===
 
{{Main|Stamped envelope}}
The envelope form may be called a '''stamped envelope''' or, alternatively, a '''postal stationery envelope''' ('''PSE''' for short). In August 1852 an act of the [[U.S. Congress]] authorized the [[Postmaster General of the United States|Postmaster General]] to provide "suitable letter envelopes with such [[watermark]]s or other guards against [[Counterfeit stamps|counterfeits]]... with the addition of the value or denomination of the postage stamps so printed or impressed thereon...". The first result was the 1853 Nesbitt issues of stamped envelopes, named after the contractor who produced them for the government.<ref>Mintz, Allen, Ed.; ''Catalog of the 19th Century Stamped Envelopes, Wrappers, Cut Squares and Full Corners of the United States''; UPSS, 2001. {{oclc|50290906}}</ref> Considering the different envelope sizes, [[Knife (envelope)|knives]], colors, [[Paper embossing|dies]] to print the [[Indicia (philately)|indicia]], and denominations there have been literally thousands of different stamped envelopes produced for the U.S.<ref name=Undersander>Undersander, Dan, Ed.; ''Catalog of the 20th and 21st Century Stamped Envelopes and Wrappers of the United States'', Third Edition, UPSS, 2011. {{ISBN|978-0-9800112-8-9}}.</ref>
 
===Wrappers===
 
{{Main|Wrapper (philately)}}
The manufacture of wrappers for the sending of newspapers or periodicals began in the U.S. in 1861. The first wrappers were rectangular pieces of paper with gum to seal it on one end and an embossed envelope stamp or indicium on it.<ref name=Thorp /> By 1870, the form was that of a rectangle with the narrow side rounded and gummed at the top. They were manufactured from piles of 300 - 500 sheets of paper which were then cut to shape by a [[Knife (envelope)|knife]]. After around 1900, they were cut individually from long ribbons of paper which had been printed with an embossed envelope die.<ref name=Undersander />
 
In the US, they were removed from the items for sale in 1934, though remainders were sold for several years after that.<ref name=Klug>{{cite web|url=http://www.linns.com/howto/refresher/postal_20050221/refreshercourse.aspx|title=Klug, Janet; ''Postal stationery wrappers offer challenge'' in Linns.com Refresher Course section|access-date=2010-12-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406071446/http://www.linns.com/howto/refresher/postal_20050221/refreshercourse.aspx|archive-date=2012-04-06|url-status=dead}}</ref> By 1940 most countries had discontinued their production due to declining demand. Because the recipient of a wrapped newspaper often tore it open and threw it away, untorn used wrappers, preferred by collectors, are scarce.<ref name=Klug /> Scarcer yet are wrappers with the original newspaper contents. Because of their larger size, even mint copies are often sold folded or creased which is also less desirable to collectors.
 
== Collecting ==
Most postal stationery pieces are collected as entires, that is, the whole card, sheet, or envelope. In the 19th century, the practiceit was common to collect "[[cut square]]s" (or ''cut-outs'' in the UK),<ref name=VanGelder /> which involved clipping the embossed or otherwise pre-printed [[Indicia (philately)|indicia]] from a postal envelopestationery entires.<ref name=Miller /> This destroyed the envelope. As a result, one cannot tell from a cut square what specific envelope it came from and, many times, the cancellation information. The manner in which the stamped envelope is cut out (defined by the term "[[Knife (envelope)|knife]]") vanishescannot onbe determined from a cut square. Thus, most collectors prefer entires to cut squares.
 
Many country-specific [[stamp catalog]]s list postal stationery and there are books devoted to the postal stationery of individual countries. The current, but now dated, principal encyclopedic work is the nineteen volume [[Higgins & Gage World Postal Stationery Catalog]].
 
=== Collectors societies ===
==Societies==
Collectors of postal stationery may seek out postal stationery societies or study groups in other countries. These societies provide information, publications and guidance to those who are interested. They include:
* Australia: [http://www.postalstationeryaustralia.com/ The Postal Stationery Society of Australia]
* Belgium: Societe Belge de l'Entier Postal
* Canada: [http://bnaps.org/ British North AmericanAmerica Philatelic Society] Postal Stationery Study Group
* France: [http://www.entierpostal.fr/mainsommaire.html Entiers Postaux Français]
* Germany: [http://www.bgsv.de/ Berliner Ganzsachen-Sammler-Verein]
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* United States: [http://www.upss.org/ United Postal Stationery Society]
 
== ReferencesPublications ==
{{Reflist|2}}
 
=== Further readingCatalogs ===
===General===
* Gage, Alexander D., Edward G. Fladung & Melvin Feiner (Eds.). ''Higgins & Gage World Postal Stationery Catalog''. Pasadena: Higgins & Gage, 1964-89. (19 volumes covering the whole world).
* Melville, Fred. J. ''Postal Stationery''. London: Philatelic Institute, 1924 12p. Series Title: Philatelic Institute papers; no. 14.
* Mott, Rodney L. ''Postal stationery, a collector's guide to a fascinating world-wide philatelic pursuit''. Bloomington: United Postal Stationery Society, 1968 28p.
* Mott, Rodney L. ''What do you know about postal stationery?'' Bloomington: United Postal Stationery Society, 1971-85 8p.
* van Gelder, Peter J. ''The collectors' guide to postal stationery''. Shrewsbury: Squirrel Publishing, 1997 {{ISBN|0947604073}} 88p.
 
===Great= BritainWorld wide ====
* [[Higgins & Gage World Postal Stationery Catalog]]
* [[Alan K. Huggins|Huggins, A.K.]] ''British Postal Stationery, A Priced Handbook of the Postal Stationery of Great Britain'', Great Britain Philatelic Society, 1970.
* Postal stationery: A Collector's guide to a Fascinating World-Wide Philatelic Pursuit
* Huggins, Alan. & Colin Baker. ''Collect British Postal Stationery: A Simplified Listing of British Postal Stationery 1840 to 2007'', G. B. Philatelic Publications Ltd. on behalf of The Great Britain Philatelic Society and The Postal Stationery Society, 2007, 151 pages, {{ISBN|978-0-907630-22-7}}
* The Collectors' Guide to Postal Stationery
* What is Postal Stationery?
 
===United= StatesGreat Britain ====
* British Postal Stationery, A Priced Handbook of the Postal Stationery of Great Britain
* Perry, Thomas Doane. ''Guide to the Stamped Envelopes and Wrappers of the United States'', 1940.
* Collect British Postal Stationery: A Simplified Listing of British Postal Stationery 1840 to 2007
* Bussey, Lewis E., Ed.; ''United States Postal Card Catalog'', United Postal Stationery Society, 2010, 248 pages; A most complete treatment of U.S. postal cards.
* Postal Stationery of Great Britain
 
===India= United States ====
* Guide to the Stamped Envelopes and Wrappers of the United States
* Deschl, Edward F, ''The Comprehensive India States Postal Stationery Listing'', Edward Deschl, 1994, 323 pages, {{ISBN|0-9641289-0-X}}
* United States Postal Card Catalog
* Pandya, Prashant H, ''A Guide to Modern Indian Postal Stationery, 1947-2003, Vol. 1, Envelopes'', 2003, Softbound, 132 pages, Covering Independent India Postal Stationery Envelopes.
* Hawaii Postal Stationery
* United States Stamped Envelopes Essays and Proofs
 
==== Canada ====
* Canada & Newfoundland Postal Stationery Catalogue
* Canadian Precancelled Postal Stationery Handbook
* The Postal Stationery of Canada. A reference catalogue
* The Postal History of the Post Card in Canada 1878 - 1911
 
==== Australia ====
* The Postal Stationery of the Commonwealth of Australia
 
==== India ====
* The Comprehensive India States Postal Stationery Listing
* A Guide to Modern Indian Postal Stationery, 1947-2003, Vol. 1 (Envelopes)
* Encyclopedia of Indian Postal Stationery
* British India Postal Stationery
* A Guide to Postal Stationery of India Vol. I, II, III, IV
* Phila Catalogue of Indian Postal Stationery
* The Indian Convention States Postal Stationery
* The Comprehensive India States Postal Stationery Listing
* Postal Stationery of British India, 1856-1947
 
==== Russia ====
* Marked Postal Cards of the USSR
 
==== South America ====
* Postal Stationery of Mexico
* Postal Stationery of the Canal Zone
* Postal Stationery of Peru
* The Postal Stationery of the Cuban Republic
* Postal Stationery of Cuba and Puerto Rico Under United States Administration
* Postal Cards of Spanish Colonial Cuba, Philippines and Puerto Rico
 
==== Africa ====
* Liberian Postal Stationery
 
=== Periodicals ===
* Postal Stationery (United Postal Stationery Society)
* The Postal Stationery Collector (Postal Stationery Society of Australia)
* The Postal Card Specialist
 
== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}
 
== External links ==
{{Commons category|Postal stationery}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160408150537/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/rosandhoward/stationery.htm British Postal Stationery from 1971] (archived 8 April 2016)
* [http://colnect.com/en/stamps/countries/format/8-Postal_Stationary Catalog of Postal Stationery Items]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110211143906/http://www.cubafil.org/MemberPages/Littrell/PC/1878.html Postal Cards of Cuba (1878 -19581878–1958)]: Comprehensive Cuban collection (archived 11 February 2011)
* [http://www.postalstationery.dk/postalcards.htm Postal Stationery of Denmark] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205163120/http://postalstationery.dk/postalcards.htm |date=2016-02-05 }}: Internet display of a Danish postal stationery collection, 1871-19051871–1905 by Lars Engelbrecht.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20021105185653/http://www.postalhistory.org/sites/postal_stationery.htm Postal stationery] at postalhistory.org] (archived 5 January 2002)
* [http://www.postalstationery.org/ The FIP (Federation Internationale de Philatelie) Postal Stationery Commission]: Worldwide
 
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