Railway stamp

{{Short description|Postage stamp used for sending via rail}}

File:Queensland railway stamp.jpg, Australia, for 1 penny valid for the transport of newspapers and parcels]]

File:Ewen History of Railway Letter Stamps title.png]]

In philately a railway stamp is a stamp issued to pay the cost of the conveyance of a letter or parcel by rail.

A wide variety of railway stamps have been issued by different countries and by private and state railways. Railway stamps of an unofficial or semi-official type are considered cinderella stamps.

The first railway stamp was issued in England in 1846 for parcels{{cite book| last=Mackay| first=James| title=Philatelic Terms Illustrated| edition=4th| publisher=Stanley Gibbons| location=London| year=2003| page=121| isbn=0-85259-557-3 }} and Belgium has issued railway stamps since 1879.{{cite book| last=Patrick| first=Douglas & Mary| title=The Hodder Stamp Dictionary| publisher=Hodder & Stoughton| location=London| year=1973| page=201| isbn=0-340-17183-9 }}

From 1891 British mainline railway companies issued railway letter stamps for the conveyance of letters by rail, although that service has now ceased apart from on some small tourist lines.{{cite book| last1=Sutton| first1=R.J.| last2=Anthony| first2=K.W.| title=The Stamp Collector's Encyclopaedia| publisher=Stanley Paul| location=London| year=1966| page=251 }}

Railway stamps of Denmark

One of the countries that issued a lot of different railway stamps was Denmark. They were not only issued by Danske Statsbaner (Danish State Railways), but also by many local railway companies like Gribskovbanen (GDS), Hads-Ning Herreders Jernbane (HHJ) and Odsherreds Jernbane (OHJ).{{cite web |url=http://www.paperheritage.co.uk/rls/Denmark.html |title=Denmark: Railway Letter & Parcel Stamps Introduction |publisher=Paper Heritage |access-date=2019-11-17}} The listing is based on the DFBK Catalogue 2011 (DFBK: Dansk Fragt- og Banemaerkeklub).

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

Further reading

  • {{cite book| authorlink=Herbert L'Estrange Ewen| last=Ewen| first=Herbert L'Estrange| title=Railway Newspaper and Parcel Stamps of the United Kingdom| publisher=Ewen’s Colonial Stamp Market Ltd.| year=1906 }} (Reprint, 1983 by Tim Clutterbuck & Co.)
  • {{cite book| last=Jackson| first=H.T.| title=The Railway and Airway Letter Stamps of the British Isles, 1891-1971| publisher=Harry Hayes| year=1979| isbn=0-905222-37-7 }}
  • {{cite web |last1=Miller |first1=Adam |title=New Zealand Railway Charges stamps 1925–1959 |date=2021 |website=78rpm.net.nz. |url=http://www.78rpm.net.nz/couriers/NZR/New%20Zealand%20Railway%20Charges%20stamps%20ebook.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211230212241/http://78rpm.net.nz/couriers/NZR/New%20Zealand%20Railway%20Charges%20stamps%20ebook.pdf |archive-date=30 December 2021}}