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An 1832 stampless single sheet "Liverpool Ship Letter" pen franked "Paid 5" by a U.S. postal clerk in Philadelphia, PA. Before the introduction of stamps, it was the recipient of mail—not the sender—who generally paid the cost of postage, giving the fee directly to the postman on delivery.
The first Washington–Franklin postage stamp to be released was a 2-cent stamp issued on November 16, 1908. Other denominations soon followed and would continue to appear through the first World War years, with the last Washington–Franklin postage stamp issued in 1923.
The United States issued its first postage stamps in 1847. Before that time, the letters' rates, dates, and origins were written by hand or sometimes in combination with a handstamp device. [1]
Engraving modeled after the Gilbert Stuart portrait. Presidents of the United States have frequently appeared on U.S. postage stamps since the mid-19th century. The United States Post Office Department released its first two postage stamps in 1847, featuring George Washington on one, and Benjamin Franklin on the other.
The Penny Black, the world's first postage stamp (1 May 1840) Postage stamps have facilitated the delivery of mail since the 1840s. Before then, ink and hand-stamps (hence the word 'stamp'), usually made from wood or cork, were often used to frank the mail and confirm the payment of postage.
Postage stamp collecting began at the same time that stamps were first issued, and by 1860 thousands of collectors and stamp dealers were appearing around the world as this new study and hobby spread across Europe, European colonies, the United States and other parts of the world.