A
local post is a
mailMail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...
service that operates only within a limited geographical area, typically a
cityA city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
or a single transportation route. Historically, some local posts have been operated by governments, while others, known as
private local posts have been for-profit companies. Today, many stamp collectors operate
hobbyists' local posts, issuing their own postal "stamps" for other collectors but rarely carrying any mail.
Official local posts
Government local posts go back to at least 1680, when the
Penny PostThe Penny Post is any one of several postal systems in which normal letters could be sent for one penny.-London Penny Post:In England, the Post Office had a monopoly on the collection and carriage of letters between post towns but there was no delivery system until the London Penny Post was...
was established in
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to handle intra-city mail delivery at a uniform rate of one penny.
From 1840 onwards, when
postage stampA postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
s were first introduced, special stamps were often issued; for instance the
cantonThe 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
s of
SwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
issued stamps for use within a canton, and inscribed them "Poste-Local" or "Orts-Post". The
RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n province of
WendenCēsis , is a town in Latvia located in the northern part of the Central Vidzeme Upland. Cēsis is on the Gauja River valley, and is built on a series of ridges above the river overlooking the woods below...
issued stamps for a local post from 1862 to 1901, while
NicaraguaNicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
issued stamps for
ZelayaZelaya is a former department in Nicaragua. The capital was Bluefields. In 1986 it was divided into two autonomous regions:* Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte * Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur...
only, due to its use of a different currency.
In rural Russia Zemstvo Post handled local mail independently of the central government; some of these lasted until the 1917 revolution.
Private local posts
Many countries have had private local posts at one time or another. Usually these operated with the acquiescence of the government, and at other time in competition. Types of local posts included intra-city systems, transcontinental delivery (such as the
Pony ExpressThe Pony Express was a fast mail service crossing the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the High Sierra from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, from April 3, 1860 to October 1861...
), and riverboat routes.
Many of these existed for only short periods, and little is known of their operations. Some of their stamps are among the great rarities of philately.
An example of a private modern day local post currently in operation is Hawai'i Post.
The world renowned philatelist, the late Herman Herst Jr., is considered the father of the modern United States local post having started his Shrub Oak Local Post in the early 1950s. He called his issues "stamps" and most local posters today call their issues "stamps" also. It was the philatelic press that got into the practice of calling them local post "labels" so to not confuse the beginning collectors.
Private local posts typically issue their own stamps, which can become collectors' items. These stamps are typically canceled with special cancellations, and their
first day of issueA First Day of Issue Cover or First Day Cover is a postage stamp on a cover, postal card or stamped envelope franked on the first day the issue is authorized for use within the country or territory of the stamp-issuing authority. Sometimes the issue is made from a temporary or permanent foreign or...
can be thus commemorated.
In 1844,
Lysander SpoonerLysander Spooner was an American individualist anarchist, political philosopher, Deist, abolitionist, supporter of the labor movement, legal theorist, and entrepreneur of the nineteenth century. He is also known for competing with the U.S...
founded the
American Letter Mail CompanyThe American Letter Mail Company was started by Lysander Spooner in 1844, competing with the legal monopoly of the United States Post Office in violation of the Private Express Statutes. It succeeded in delivering mail for lower prices, but the U.S...
, competing with the legal monopoly of the United States Post Office (USPO) (now the United States Postal Service {USPS}) in violation of the Private Express Statutes. It succeeded in delivering mail for lower prices, but the U.S. Government challenged Spooner with legal measures, eventually forcing him to cease operations in 1851.
In 1968, Thomas M. Murray (1927–2003) founded the Independent Postal System of America (IPSA) as a nation-wide commercial carrier of Third and Fourth Class Mail, in direct competition with the United States Post Office (USPO), now the United States Postal Service (USPS). But in 1971, when the company entered the First Class delivery business, they endured a number of lawsuits brought against them, which finally led to the company's collapse in the mid-1970s. The company issued a number of stamps during the years of its operation, including commemoratives for
Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and
Charles LindberghCharles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
before the USPS did.
Rattlesnake IslandRattlesnake Island is an island located on Lake Erie near Put-In-Bay, northeast of Port Clinton, Ohio. It is one of several islands known as the Lake Erie Islands...
is an 85 acres (343,983.1 m²) island located on
Lake ErieLake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
near Put-In-Bay, 11 miles (17.7 km) northeast of
Port Clinton, OhioPort Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. The population was 6,056 at the 2010 census. The city has been nicknamed the "Walleye Capital of the World."...
, and has the only USPS-sanctioned local post operating in the United States. Service is provided by way of a
Ford TrimotorThe Ford Trimotor was an American three-engined transport plane that was first produced in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and that continued to be produced until June 7, 1933. Throughout its time in production, a total of 199 Ford Trimotors were produced...
which shuttles mail between the island and the mainland. From 1966 to 1989, USPS mail was routed by way of Port Clinton, Ohio. Today, outgoing mail from the island enters the USPS mail stream by way of
Sandusky, OhioSandusky is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Erie County. It is located in northern Ohio and is situated on the shores of Lake Erie, almost exactly half-way between Toledo to the west and Cleveland to the east....
. Local Post service began in 1966 and continued through 1989, when the island was sold and the new owners discontinued the service. It was re-started in 2005 and continues to the current day.
Hobbyists' local posts
Today's Local Posters (also known as phiLOPOlists) issue their local post "stamps", and issue a variety of commemorative "stamps" covering a wide range of events or personal interests, of subjects that are not normally issued by their own countrys postal service.
In some cases these modern day local posts have issued stamp subjects before their own country issued the same subject. The Free State Local Post issued an Audie Murphy stamp long before the U.S. Postal Service issued one of the same subject. The Ascension AAF Local Post,
located on the island of Ascension in the South Atlantic Ocean, in 1972 commemorated the anniversary of the first aircraft to land at Ascension Island. This same subject was commemorated by the Ascension Island postal system in 1982.
This sort of local post is effectively a "home-brewed" postal system, and the typical hobbyist carries little, if any, mail (though some do carry mail over a short distance for themselves or a few people).
The Local Post Collectors' Society, established in 1972, coordinates communication among local posters. The LPCS issues a regular Bulletin "The Poster" to its members around the world, relating stories of local posts, showing new issues and other related items.
Further reading
- Stanley Gibbons Priced Catalogue of The Local Postage Stamps of the World. London: Stanley Gibbons, 1899.
External links