First Issues - 1840 to 1849

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USA

Congress passed an Act in March 1845 regulating postal rates. Thereafter there were many attractive and (now) expensive postmasters' provisional issues, but it was not until March 1847 that the Act allowing the Postmaster General to issue stamps was passed, leading to the first national issue on 1st July 1847.

Benjamin Franklin 1st July 1847 SG1 Sc2	Commemorative Columbian Exposition, Chicago 1893 SG235 Sc230	Airmail Curtis Jenny 1918 SG-A546 Sc-C1	Charity Breast Cancer Awareness 1998 SG3454 SC-B1	Official 1873 SG-O180 Sc-O1	Post Due SG-D207 SC-J1

The USA was also late to issue a charity stamp, their first in 1998 for breast cancer awareness, the second in 2002 for the heroes of 9/11.

The first airmail is the low value of the set that included the Inverted Jenny. An elegant miniature sheet, shown overleaf, commemorated the Jenny in 2013.

Stamp centenary 1948 SG266 Sc225

Mauritius

I do not own one of the twelve 1847 'Post Office' 1d stamps (at £450,000) and so, again, a stamp-on-stamp commemorative will have to take its place. There was another commemorative for the 150th anniversary in 1997. A display of first issues and their centenary commemoratives is one possibility for next year.

Commemorative Victoria's Diamond Jubilee 1893 SG133 Sc112	Post Due 1879 SG-D207 SC-J1

Mauritius has not issued an airmail, charity or official stamp.

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