Museum Foundation of Posts and Telecommunications; Dr. Andreas Hahn: The invention of the postage stamp

ENGLISH / GERMAN

Proofs and essays from the collection of F. A. Philbrick and the “Prussia find”.

A few years ago Dr. Andreas Hahn, Head of the Bonn Archive for Philately of the Museum Foundation of Posts and Telecommunications, in reviewing old museum collections discovered “hidden” treasure: a significant portion of the collection of Frederick A. Philbrick, co-founder of the Philatelic Society, London in 1869. Included are drafts and proofs of the first British stamp, from the Treasury competition to the proofs of the following issues and the extensive postmarking experiments. In addition to the “Prussia find” there is documented a unique collection of proof sheets of British stamps, which were requested from the British Post Office by the Prussian postal administration in 1849 during the course of planning its own stamp issues. Among these is the only surviving perforated proof sheet, which was to demonstrate the new “patented technology” for the easier separation of stamps with the help of “perforated holes”. A unique philatelic documentation. 

125 pages with 250 color illustrations throughout, hardcover, bilingual in English and German