The Romance of Postal History

is intended to introduce new collectors to the ways in which the history of the United States can be told through its mail. It is not intended to be a comprehensive look at our nation’s postal operations. Rather, it is my intention that this series of vignettes will inspire the reader to dig deeper on their own, through journals, books, and auction catalogues. I have done my best to select major milestones from the first four decades of the postage stamp’s existence, although if you were to ask another philatelist they might select completely different topics.

Before we begin we must define the term “postal history”, which is generally considered to be the study of rates, routes, and markings found on covers. I like to think of postal history as the investigative journalism of philately: How did the cover reach its destination? Who carried it along the way? When was it sent and when did it arrive? Where did it transit through? What do the different postmarks indicate? Once we can answer these questions, we can consider ourselves a postal historian.

For the purposes of this booklet I have chosen to examine postal history through the lens of adhesive postage stamps, as I believe the jump from stamps to covers is the most natural progression for a collector. Consider The Romance of Postal History, then, to be a bridge between the world of stamp collecting and the world of understanding and appreciating covers.

My goal is simple: to convince you, the reader, that postal history is American history. To explain how the post office grew and evolved to meet the demands of a changing world, and in return how innovations by the post office fundamentally changed the ways in which human beings communicate with one another. To portray stamp collecting as something more than merely mounting rows of stamps into an album. To bring the past to life through the unassuming pieces of mail that have survived all of these decades.

In short, I want to introduce you to the intrigue, the excitement—the romance—of postal history.

Charles Epting CEO of H.R. Harmer