Primitive (philately)
In philately, primitives, also called natives, are postage stamps that were crudely designed and printed as compared with the sophisticated productions of industrialized countries such as the United Kingdom or the United States{{Citation needed|date=July 2013}}. A number of such stamps were produced in the classic stamp period in remote or undeveloped locales such as Mauritius. L. N. Williams, Fundamentals of Philately, American Philatelic Society, State College, Pennsylvania (rev. ed. 1990), p. 94. Due to their charm and sometimes rarity, primitives are among the most popular stamps with stamp collectors.
Several well known primitives copied the designs of standard postage stamps of major countries. For example, the early stamps of Mauritius were crude, locally produced copies of the then current postage stamps of the United Kingdom. Similarly, the stamps of Corrientes, a province in northern Argentina, were inept imitations of earlier stamps of France, depicting the agricultural goddess Ceres. Other primitives are of their own unique design.
{{multiple image
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| footer = Mauritius primitive and model
| image1 = Mauritius stamp.jpg
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| caption1 = Mauritius "Post Office", 1847
| image2 = PennyRed.jpeg
| alt2 =
| caption2 = Penny Red, United Kingdom, 1841
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{{multiple image
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| footer = Corrientes primitive and model
| image1 = Corrientes 1856.jpg
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| caption1 = Corrientes stamp, 1856
| image2 = Ceres 20c noir 01.jpg
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| caption2 = Ceres series (France), 1849
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Other primitives include the following:
- British Guiana "Cottonreels", 1850–51.
- Cape of Good Hope Wood block triangle stamps of 1861.
- India stamps of 1854.
- Various Indian Native Feudatory State stamps.
- Some early stamps of Mexico
- New Caledonia Napoleon III, 1859.