The Story Of The First Postage Stamp

Here's a recently posted blog from Smithsonian Magazine that stamp collectors may find of interest:

http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/des...xzz2ZaNAzxj0

Although it was not the primary theme of the article, one of the paragraphs included this comment about the placement of a stamp in the upper right corner of an envelope that I never knew before:




Now that may have been London's answer, but I recently came across this statement in the Postal Bulletin from the year 1900 that explained it a bit differently for the United States:

A cool book is: Postal Reform & The Penny Black by Douglas N Muir.

Good article, thanks.
'Handedness' has influenced many things throughout history. Before the automobile; traffic stayed to the left hand side of the road in the majority of countries. This was so that horsemen could hold the reins in their left hand and still be able to shake the hand of a person passing on the right. (After the automobile many countries changed traffic to the right hand side since it is considered safer by lessening chance of head-on collisions.)

I guess that by 1900, decades after stamps had been widely accepted, the Assistant Post Master felt a need to clarify the placement of stamps on US mail? Interesting. Wonder if it was an on-going issue or if this was just a case of the postal service 'covering their butt' for delays or 'wrong treatment' of mail?

In the second article, it is instructed to place the stamp on the upper right of the address side, but no reason is given other than facilitating processing. Just like England. The reason may simply be to be consistent with the way it was done in England.

Now, knowing the information of both articles, I am incensed. The unfairness to left handed people has been completely disregarded in the entire history of postage.

I think all countries should begin releasing left handed stamps, and without delay.



-IBFS