Papua New Guinea pre-stamped envelopes postcards & aerogrammes 1898+
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A range of pre-stamped postal stationary such as postcards and envelopes first appeared in what is now known as Papua New Guinea during 1897, when the north eastern section of the island was a German colony called Deutsche Neu Guinea. The southeastern section, called British New Guinea and subsequently known as Papua, issued a postcard in 1901 and in 1917 an item of postal stationary identified as a 'Registered Letter', both bearing a stamp design derived from the contemporary Lakatoi series of stamp definitives.
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| 1d blue Lakatoi postcard. First day of issue, 1 July 1901. |
A Stampboards discussion described these pre-stamped postcards (PSPs) in the PNG German and British colonies. They included the use and overprinting of Deutsche Reichpost (Germany) postcards from 1897 and between 1907-1919, and the issue of Deutsche Neu Guinea postcards. Papua and New Guinea were amalgamated in 1952 and the first stamps were issued in October of that year, along with an official first day cover. A registered letter and air letter with a map-based design was used between 1953-59, followed by aerogrammes from 1954. However, it was not until 1961 that a true pre-stamped envelope (PSE) appeared. This was followed by a variant in 1966. During 1971 a new PSE was issued with a cultural artifact design. Finally, in 1984 the modern style of pictorial and commemorative PSE appeared, similar to those being issued in Australia. This continued through until 2005, with 36 numbered and unnumbered PSEs released. These items of postal stationary are listed below, with illustrations of typical examples and brief descriptions. Some of the early German postcards have been subject to forgery and reproduction over the years. A listing of various pieces of stationary can also be found at the German and English language Interessengemeinschaft Neuguinea website, catalogued below as E1 etc.
German New Guinea 1898-1919
* 1897 - Deutsche Reichpost (Germany) Postkatre Weltpostverein [International postage] - 10 pfennig red - postcard. Sample shown below postmarked at Matupi [Rabaul], Deutsche Neu Guinea, 12 May 1901 to Colditz, Germany, 9 July 1901.
* 1 November 1900 - Deutsche Reichpost Postkarte (Germany) - Germania 5 pfennig green Century 1900 - postcard. Copy shown with Herbertshohe DNG circular date stamp and Domitz, Germany, cds 24 December 1900. This was sent from the capital of German New Guinea on the island of New Britain and later known as Kokopo. It was a German postcard, rather than a specific German New Guinea item.
* 5 September 1907 - Deutsche Neu Guinea Deutsche Reichpost Postkarte - 5 pfennig green Yacht - postcard. Illustrated with Herbertshohe circular date stamp and German postmark 22 November 1907.
* c.1910 - Deutsche Neu Guinea Postkarte mit Antwortfarte - 10 pfennig red Yacht - postcard.
* circa 1910 - Postkarte - 5 pfennig green Yacht.
* circa 1913 - Postkarte - 5 pfennig green Yacht.
* 1914 - Deutsch Neu Guinea. Overprinted G.R.I. 1d. on 5 pfennig green Yacht - postcard. Issued with British overprint due to occupation by the British upon the commencement of World War I.
* 1914 - Deutsch Neu Guinea. Overprinted G.R.I. 5d. on - 5 pfennig red Yacht - postcard.
British New Guinea 1901-06
The southeastern section of the island had been annexed by Australia in 1884 and was known as British New Guinea until 1906 when it became the Territory of Papua.
* 1 July 1901 - British New Guinea 1d red Lakatoi - postcard (illustrated above). This was lithographed by Thomas de la Rue & Co., London, on card 5 x 3 inches. Number printed: 22,408. Number sold: 4,558. A detailed Stampboards discussion on print size can be found here. Croaker identified 8 different types of the 1d red card, and 4 of the 1d dark blue card. The card was withdrawn in April 1906 and the remainder were destroyed in February 1917 (Franklin 1970), though an example postmarked Port Moresby 17 April 1917 is illustrated below.
* 1 July 1901 - British New Guinea 1d dark blue Lakatoi - postcard (illustrated above). This was lithographed by Thomas de la Rue & Co., London, on card 5 x 3 inches. Number printed: 6,628. Number sold: 2,974. The card was withdrawn in April 1906 and the remainder were destroyed in February 1917.
Papua 1917-1922
* 5 October 1917 - 4d orange Lakatoi large Registered Letter. Surface printed by J.B. Cooke, Melbourne, on a long grey-blue envelope, 9 x 4 inches. Cross-ruled in orange on front and back. Number issued: 1,000. Copy offered for sale on eBay in March 2022 for Aus$2,260, therein illustrated with cds Samarai, 18 March 1920.
* 5 October 1917 - 4d orange Lakatoi - small Registered Letter. Surface printed by Thomas de la Rue & Co., London, on buff envelope, 6 x 3 3/4 inches. Cross-ruled in red on front and back. Number issued: 1,000.
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| Source: Steve Drewett. |
* 1920 [1922] - Papua 1d red Lakatoi - postcard. Typographed by T.S. Harrison, Melbourne, in card 5 x 3 inches. Due to unpopularity, the card was withdrawn shortly after issue. Number sold: unknown.
[IMAGE]
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Papua New Guinea 1953+
Following the issue of Papua New Guinea's first set of definitive stamps on 30 October 1952, a series of airletters / aerogrammes, registered letters and stamped envelopes were issued by the Post and Telegraphs Department, later the Philatelic Bureau. These are described in detail within Mark Franklin's Guide to the Stamps of Papua New Guinea (1970). The following chronological listing summarizes the information in that book, and includes representative samples. Each variety is allocated the label PS# for postal stationary, though they are elsewhere catalogued as W1+, RE#, Higgins & Gage FG# etc. Various dealers also provide lists of relevant items for sale, such as Steve Irwin in the UK and on eBay, though with the latter they are somewhat buried amongst other items such as first day covers and souvenir covers. Due to their fragility - printed on light gauge paper which would ease the folding process - they have not survived as a normal plain paper envelope would, and their scarcity is a result of that and the fact that the number issued was not always high.
* 9 September 1953 - 1/0 1/2d Registered Letter. Sold: 6,700. Brown lettering and print on pale brown paper. A detailed discussion and census of this 1953 Registered Letter can be found on Stampboards here. New letter rates were introduced on 1 October 1956, necessitating the addition of the 6 1/2d stamp pending the printing of the 1/7d envelope in 1959. Source: Stampboards.
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* 17 April 1953 - 10d Airletter, blue, with PNG Map printed stamp. Sold: c.75,000. Blue lettering and print on blue paper. FG1.This is not a pre-stamped envelope as such, but a variant on the aerogrammes which were issued by Papua & New Guinea. A1.
* 2 December 1954 - 10d Aerogramme. Sold: c.350,000. FG2. Blue lettering and print on blue paper. The word Airletter was altered from the 1953 item to Aerogramme in order to follow the new international standard. This was slowly released to post
offices during 1954/55. A2.
* 1 September 1959 - 1/7 Registered Letter. Reddish brown lettering and print on pale brown paper. Sold: 2,450. These were issued to accommodate the new postal rate. The old covers were used with the addition of the 6 1/2d stamp until sold out. It was withdrawn on 31 October 1961 and unsold copies destroyed. A detailed discussion and census regarding the 1959 Registered Letter RE4 can be found on Stampboards here.
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| Source: Stampboards. |
* 17 October 1959 - 10d Aerogramme. Sold: 350,000. FG3. New design, with new standard red and blue borders. A3.
* 20 September 1961 - 5d green Map - E1. The first PNG pre-stamped envelope. Sold: 129,168. Light green stamp imprint on cream paper. Issued in short and long formats. First day of issue cover illustrated below. Withdrawn 31 August 1966.
* 1 February 1969 - 10c aerogramme - green + orange - jet airplane. Sold: 190,000. Printed on new 2 flap design. A7.
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* 1975 - 7t brown carving of crocodile design. QEII Silver Jubilee cachet applied 1977. E4.
* 17 August 1982 - 10t blue conch shell and man design. Issued May 1982. E5.
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| 17 August 1982, uprated. |
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| 5 May 1983. |
* 2 May 1990 - 35t aerogramme - Lesser Yellow-Billed Kingfisher. A18.
* 21 September 1984 - Ausipex '84 10t. E8. [PSE No.2]
* 7 May 1984 - Visit of Pope John Paul II 10t. E6. [PSE No.3]
* 26 June 1985 - Port Moresby National Capital District 12t. E9. [PSE No.4]
* 26 August 1985 - Port Moresby - Kokoda Mail Runner Reenactment 12t. E10. [PSE No.5]
* 13 November 1985 - Christmas 1985. E11. [PSE No.6]
* 3 July 1986 - Port Moresby National Capital District 15t. Uprated from 12t. E12. [PSE No.7]
* 4 August 1986 - Stampex '86 15t. E13. [PSE No.8]
* 12 November 1986 - Christmas 1986 15t. E14. [PSE No.9]
* 19 August 1987 - APEX 30 Years of service to the community 15t. E15. [PSE No.10]
* 30 September 1987 - Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea 15t. E16. [PSE No.11]
* 11 November 1987 - Christmas 1987 15t. E17. [PSE No.12]
* 11 November 1987 - The Order of St John 15t. E18. [PSE No.13]
* 15 June 1988 25th Anniversary Electricity 17t. E19. [PSE No.14]
* 19 September 1988 - 10th Anniversary of Papua New Guinea National Library 1978-1988 17t. E20. [PSE No.15]
* 16 November 1988 - Christmas Greetings from Papua New Guinea 17t. E21. [PSE No.16]
* 12 July 1989 - East New Britain 20t. E22. [PSE No.17]
* 8 November 1989 - Papua New Guinea Christmas Greetings 20t. E23. [PSE No.18]
* 26 September 1990 - Seasons Greetings (baby in cradle) 20t. E24. [PSE No.18b - this card was not officially allocated a number in the series.]
* 8 February 1991 - East Sepik Province 20t. E25. [PSE No.19] Uprated to 21t on 6 September 1991.
* 1 May 1991 - 25th Anniversary of the University of Papua 21t.E27. [PSE No.21]
* 6 September 1991 - East Sepik Province 21t. E26. [PSE No.20]
* 16 October 1991 - Seasons Greeting - orchid 21t. E28. [PSE No.22]
* 3 June 1992 - United
States Peace Corps and PNG Working Together 1981-1992 21t. E29. [PSE 23]
* 28 August 1992 - Seasons Greeting - frangipani 21t. E30. [PSE 24]
* 20 January 1993 - Coast watchers
Lighthouse Point Madang 21t. E31. [PSE 25]
* 27 October 1993 - Merry Christmas (Christmas tree) 21t. E32. [PSE 26]
* 26 October 1994 - Seasons Greetings Christmas 1994 21t. E33. [PSE 27]
* 12 April 1995 - Sandaun Province 21t. E34. [PSE 28]
* 25 October 1995 - Christmas Greetings from Papua New Guinea 25t. E35. [PSE 29]
* 22 April 1996 - Year of
Children's Rights in Papua New Guinea 25t. E36. [PSE 30]
* 16 October 1996 - Merry Christmas (Christmas tree) 25t. E37. [PSE31]. Uses the same images as PSE 26 from October 1993.
* 25 June 1997 - 25th Anniversary of South Pacific Commission, 25t. E38. [PSE 32]
* 26 November 1997 - Christmas Greetings from Papua New Guinea 25t. E39. [PSE 33]
* 23 February 2000 - 2000 National Census 25t. E42. [PSE 35]
* 20 July 2005 - 30th Anniversary of Independence Put PNG First K2.00. E43.
References
Croaker, Hamilton, Lakatoi I - British New Guinea and De la Rue, New Century Press, Sydney, 1979.
-----, Lakatoi II & III - Territory of Papua , New Century Press, Sydney, 1983, 54p.
Franklin, Matt, Franklin's Guide to the Stamps of Papua New Guinea, Reed, Sydney, 1970, 152p.
Rosenblum, Alec A., Stamps of Papua, Horticultural Press, Carlton South, 1968, 55p. [Contains a comprehensive, though outdated, listing of the stamps of Papua and the numerous variants, along with detailed historical notes.]
Stanley Gibbons, Australian Stamp Catalogue, 11th Edition [Online], London and Ringwood, 2018, 373p.
-----, Western Pacific Catalogue, Stanley Gibbons Pty Ltd, London and Ringwood, 4th edition, 2021.
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Australia: Airmail 1931 | Australia in Space 2024 | Souvenir Covers 1970-1997 | Souvenirs Covers 1997+ | WWF 50 Years |
Papua New Guinea: 1934 3½d Pink | 1952 6½d | 1952 7½d | 2/6 Lakatois | FDCs | Forgeries | Hutt PNCs | Japan | Leaflets | OS Lakatois | Overprints | Peter & Horse | Philatelic Bureau | PSEs/PSPs/Aerogrammes | Rare | Revenue & Postage Due | Souvenir Covers |
Last updated: 24 August 2023
Michael Organ, Australia
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