R is for Registered Post
In the long and varied history of registration, it has to be admitted that Britain does not exactly have a shining record. Some form of registering important or valuable letters was in use in many European countries from the eighteenth century onwards and for that reason incoming registered packets had to have a distinctive postmark applied at the Foreign Post Office in London before onward transmission. Several attempts were made to introduce registration in Britain but they all fell on deaf ears.
On the other hand Ireland had a system of registration from the early nineteenth century, complete with special postal markings. This was abolished in 1831 when the Irish Post Office was absorbed into the UK system and it was not until 1841 that the British Post Office offered a registration system for domestic mail.
Furthermore, it was not until February 1907 that the UK adopted adhesive serial registration labels, which had been mandatory in all member countries of the Universal Postal Union since 1883.
From the earliest times, registered packets in European countries were endorsed in manuscript with the word ‘Registered’ or its equivalent, written by the sender or the postal clerk registering the item. Early registered covers show serial numbers in manuscript, in blue crayon or in red or black ink.
By the 1850s some countries had handstruck marks such as ‘Rekommandiert’ (German), ‘Reccomande’ (French) or ‘Raccomandato’ (Italian). Others had the initial ‘R’ in an oval, circular or octagonal frame, followed by a manuscript serial number.
Initially it was believed that the first use of adhesive labels bearing a serial number occurred in 1870 in Alsace and Lorraine, but Prussia was using adhesive labels several years earlier and the use of such labels soon spread to the other German states. Although the German Empire was formed in 1871 many of the component states continued to produce their own distinctive labels until World War One.
Although the British Post Office lagged well behind the Continent in providing serially numbered labels, some enterprising stationers from the 1850s onwards produced envelopes inscribed ‘REGISTERED’ in red ink in the upper left hand corner, while others went a step further and printed adhesive labels for the same purpose. The earliest examples had the word in bright red on a green background, a reminder of the green string or tape which was tied around individual registered envelopes between 1841 and 1878.
In one respect, however, Britain led the way, for it pioneered special postal stationery for registered mail on 1 January, 1878.
Simultaneously, the green string was replaced by blue lines, usually drawn by the sender in blue crayon on ordinary envelopes, but printed on the special envelopes from the outset. Scottish firm Mccorquodale’s held the patent for the stout linen-backed paper used for registered envelopes and this made its fortune, as well as ensuring its prominence in the manufacture of postal stationery for Britain and many other countries.
The special stationery associated with registered mail is a vast subject in its own right, but concentrating on the adhesive labels, the earliest form was printed in red and bore the name of the town where the packet was posted, together with a serial number. From Germany this concept spread to Sweden by 1874 and over the ensuing decade it was taken up by several other countries.
At the UPU Conference in Paris in 1878 delegates voted in favour of standardising the procedure for identifying registered mail, but it would be some years before this would take effect.
The USA adopted adhesive labels but only for mail going abroad. Such labels were only in use at the 20 offices of exchange in the major seaports or at border crossings. Apart from New York, examples of these labels are very scarce and many of those in the original list have never been recorded at all! They were discontinued in December 1914 and have only re-emerged, as barcode labels on mail going abroad, in recent years.
Many different styles of labels also evolved in various countries, with varying degrees of impact on collecting.
Several countries issued special stamps for use on registered mail. Both Canada and the USA had registration stamps but neither incorporated the serial numbers associated with the labels. For this hybrid we must look to Colombia, Panama and Liberia. Conversely, the postal administration in Persia (now Iran) made registration labels strictly accountable and even charged postmasters for them.
In the late 1960s the German Democratic Republic had labels which were dispensed from slot machines. These prepaid the registration fee, a fact noted in the diagonal bars of the frame which showed the value at the top and Gebuhr bezahlt (fee paid) at the foot. These labels were introduced experimentally in 1967 and the following year a similar, but simpler, design was adopted for parcel post.