World's Oldest Cinderella

I don't make any claim at being a Cinderella collector. My only two holdings are the 1901 Pan-American cindys and the stamp collecting strips that I just hawked on SCF. I'll probably go after the 1939 World's Fair series some day, but that will probably be it. However, I have enjoyed looking at everyone's collections on SCF. I was even unfamiliar with the term "cinderella" until a couple of years ago. Although I haven't seen anything that explain why they are termed cinderellas, I imagine it's a sort of metaphor for a cinderella being the abused stepsister of postage stamps or just not being invited to the ball. If anyone has a better/true explanation, I'd like to hear it. I'm even more curious to hear from you experts out there on what is deemed to be the world's oldest cinderella. It would seem that they couldn't "predate" postage stamps so the 1840s would probably be the earliest they could have been printed initially. I look forward to hearing your responses.

Interesting question. Would it be fair to say it can only be a Cinderella if it was created after the first postage stamp? Were there "locals" that existed prior to 1840?

How about the first gummed label? I can't find it, but I know I read somewhere that there was a label (not sure of it's purpose) made in Greece that was the first lick-and-stick piece of paper ever made ... early 1800's iirc. Would that be considered a Cinderella?

Brian

Here is how askphil defines cinderella:



That list is far from exhaustive. We see things here all the time that don't fit in any of those categories. (Radio reception stamps, anyone?)

Licenses, revenues and seals might all predate 1840...still cinderellas?

We've tried a couple times to come to terms with a definition, and we just don't arrive at a consensus. And we're a pretty agreeable group, for the most part.

Until we can define it, I don't think we can answer, "Which one is oldest?"

My 2d.

There was a time that stamps such as perfins were not given any respectability in the philatelic realm. Now they are sought after quite vigorously too.

I think the same can be said of cinderellas as well. They too have gained respect in the philatelic spectrum and are also now being recognized in various exhibits.I don't really know how the term 'cinderella' first came into being but I am sure that this would be an interesting story.

Chimo

Bujutsu

In my view, what I call "cinderellas" taht is: stamp-shapped labels for advertising events or fund raising (nothing to do with locals, due, revenue stamps and the like) originated on the German area of Central Europe around 1870 (as it can be seen on the tread on German schools going on). From there expanded to more peripheric European areas and to USA and the British Empire; later, to the world.
At home (Catalonia) I don't know anyone earlier than 1890.

About early 1870-ies, or even before, one US company produced stamp-shaped labels with religious quotations. We already discussed it on this subforum...

wt1 found their ad from that time



and I have a sample glued in an old 1868. diary

Do a Google search with the word "scaps". Early Victorian scraps were made in a similar fashion to the first postage stamps i.e. not perforated and were meant to decorate letters and such things. Slightly later, around 1850, came the glossy embossed versions that were popular right up to the 1950's. They could be termed Cinderellas as they were decorative labels with no postal validity.

re "scraps"... I, too, have never seen them on an early envelope. Bear in mind that envelopes were not the normal way of sending letters in the early days. People still sent "entires" as in the past letters were charged per sheet so it's within possibilities that some "entires" were decorated? But... checking my Encyclopedia of Ephemera...I found this:-

Envelopes bearing illustrations or other decorative material appeared in Britain in 1840, the year of the first postage stamps....

The envelope for a while became a propaganda medium. Temperance, anti-slavery, free trade, and other causes were promoted, sometimes with the addition of "seal" stickers bearing slogans.

I think it safe to say that you could consider Cinderellas were around sometime before 1860. Now to find some...

This is the oldest on cover usage in my database ofU.S. only. Nov 20, 1855 with a John Fremont cinderella

That is amazing! Have not seen that before. A nice tidy typographic label, interesting border-- I collect book trade labels, and early ones are often as simple as this, but I've not seen that border before.

book trade label like this one?





or book trade labels on the postal covers only?

I collect them any way they come-- book trade labels are pretty scarce, but not many people collect them. On cover is pretty rare, but I have a couple. That's a gorgeous example! Charles and Thomas Cheyne, 1780-1801 -ish. Looks like it's still in the book. What's the date on that?

It was once a blank book (journal), which some fellow used to wrote his observations, researches etc. There is no any date in the entire manuscript, so I used this label (with the informations on Charles Payne I found on-line), and put this book/manuscript into that period 1780-1881. It is the only clue I have.

Do you have a information is it listed in some of the books about the book trade labels?

Russ, about your Fremont cinderella. I'm curious whether that is a campaign sticker for his unsuccessful presidential bid in 1856 or just whether the comment "hurrah" is just praise for a national hero and his exploration of the West. In either case, it's an extraordinary item. Any ideas on its purpose? Have you found any supporting information?

lpmiller, it is a campaign cinderella... another one similar should prove you that...



here you can find all details about both of them:

http://stampauctionnetwork.com/y/y97018.cfm

Had a chance to dig out some scans of early US labels that may or may not fall into the Cinderella category.
I'll leave it for you all to decide.

Hussey's Time Posted Label (there are a few different styles of these labels around. This one used in 1868: