Page 2 - Jamaica Postal Cards

JAMAICA: .CONCEPTION & BIRTH
OF THE FIRST POSTCARD ISSUE

Jamaica issued two series of provisional (formula) postcards in April 1877 prior to the production of the first

stamped postcards printed by De La Rue in London. This exhibit describes the provisional issues and the

conception of the officially printed cards from the first request through the design and proof stages to the birth of
the final printed official cards in November 1877.

Why were postcards issued?
Admission to the UPU required member nations to issue postcards suitable for internal and external postage.
The formal admission date for Jamaica was 1 April I 877 and a notice, dated 28 March, published in the Gazette
of29 March 1877, stated:

'...on and after the first day ofAprll 1877 POSTCARDS may be sent by post between
places within Jamaica'.

A Summary Timetable for the Cards

1 April 1877. Official date ofrelease for First Provisional Issue (but see below), Y?d, Id & 3d values.
Early April. Issue of Second Provisional Issue, Y2<1, Id & 3d values.

7 April. Jamaica Postmaster writes to London to request a Regular Issue.

14 November. Issue of First Regular Issue, Y2<1, Id & 3d values.

Late 1877? First Regular Issue sold out, re-issue of Second Provisional Issue Cards.

A Prerlssue Sending
It has been assumed in the literature, that the first provisional postcard was issued on I April.

POST

The Yid card above is addressed to the GPO [Kingston) and is clearly postmarked Kingston 22 Mar 77
The message reads '/ sendpostage stamps by Edward in the mo'!'i!'g ', with the manuscript date on the reverse of

22/7/77. This may indicate the both sender and rec1p1ent were Post Office employees.

Selected References . .. .

Bacon, ED_?1920s. The postcards ofJamaica. Compiled for The Ph1latehc Society of London.

Collett GW et al. 1928. Jamaica - postal history, postage stamps and postmarks. London

Smith DI 1983. The first postcards of Jamaica - the New Zealand .co~ection. Capital Ph~lately 1(2),_ 42-50.

Swarbrick R & Swetland M. 1997/98. Jamaica postcards - the flonate issues. Br West Indies Study Circle.

Vokins M. 1979. The single postcards ofQueen Victoria [ofJamaica]. Br. Caribbean Phil J., n. 196, 27-30.