BaltiMore & ProvidenCe ProviSionalS

by James Grimwood Taylor

United States postage rates were greatly simplified through an act of Congress effective July 1, 1845. From that day forward, letters weighing under one-half ounce would be charged for any distance under 300 miles, 5 cents; and for any distance over 300 miles, 10 cents. Calculating postage rates was now much simpler, and as such a number of postmasters endeavored to produce adhesive stamps to facilitate prepayment of postage in their own offices. These stamps are known today as “Postmasters’ Provisionals”.

James Grimwood-Taylor has in his collection stamps produced for Baltimore, Maryland, New York and Providence, Rhode Island. As a British collector of American material, he muses, “You guys had so much more fun than we did. You had all these little guys producing their stamps, and I love the idea of a postmaster being able to pick his own design.”