Colonial Philately: Philippine Postage Stamps, 1854–1946


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Colonial Philately: Philippine Postage Stamps, 1854–1946

Jose Eleazar R. Bersales

During the centuries of Spanish rule in the Philippines, the introduction of adhesive stamps and prepaid postage was a catalyst in the development of a modern postal system. Today, stamps from the past carry unique insight into the culture and society to which they were issued, as well as the economic and practical realities of their times. Through stamps and other philatelic materials, we glimpse the ways in which Spanish, American, and Japanese authorities have endeavored to assert influence and control in the country, as well as the Filipino native response, resistance, and compromise.

Colonial Philately: Philippine Postage Stamps, 1854–1946 presents the country’s history as gleaned from the stamps issued and used during the Spanish and American colonial periods, the Philippine Revolution, the Commonwealth era, and the Second World War, as well as examining the system of postage in the centuries prior to the invention of stamps. Through narrative and descriptive prose, author Jose Eleazar R. Bersales lays out a chronology of Philippine stamps, interweaving details on the various issues and variants with historical background, anecdotes, and supplemental sections that provide a human dimension and create a well-rounded picture of the eras discussed. Definitives, commemoratives, impresos, certificados, postage dues, airposts, semipostals, souvenir sheets, essays, special delivery, officials, postmaster’s provisionals, and local revolutionary issues, as well as telegraph and revenue stamps used for postage during the Spanish period, are all presented in a manner engaging to general readers and experienced philatelists alike.

Richly illustrated with images from philatelic collections, this book provides a distinctive and fascinating perspective on the vicissitudes and victories of the country’s long colonial history leading up to its independence.

 

Colonial Philately: Philippine Postage Stamps, 1854–1946 is a must-read for all Philippine stamp collectors, especially those concentrating on what we call the classic period in Philippine philately. It describes this period in great detail in nine chapters that will be useful to both beginning collectors as well as those who have been in this hobby for nearly five decades like me.

— Hans Becker
Editor, IPPS Philippine Philatelic Journal

 

This book fills perfectly the gap between catalog and specialty literature and gives the reader a comprehensive overview of the philatelic past of the Philippines. The reciprocal history of postal history is vividly presented and the book encourages the reader to take his own collection in hand and learn more about their interesting details and historical background.

— Christian Preusse
Spanish Philippines postal history collector
Hamburg, Germany

 

 

CONTENTS

Foreword by AMBETH OCAMPO

Preface 
Acknowledgments 

Pre-Stamp Period 

Early Adhesives 

UPU Surcharges and the New Alfonso XII Issues 

Era of Surcharges 

Alfonso XIII Issues and the Last Surcharges 

Issues of the Revolutionary Era 

Stamps of the American Colonial Administration 

Philippine Commonwealth Issues 

World War II Issues 

Glossary
Bibliography 
Index 

 

About the Author 

Jose Eleazar R. Bersales is a member of the International Philippine Philatelic Society as well as the now defunct Cebu Philatelic Society and the UK-based Philippine Philatelic Society. He is an archaeologist by profession and practice, but dabbles in the hobby of stamp collecting in between his academic pursuits. He retired early from the University of San Carlos as a full professor of anthropology and director of the USC Museum. He was also a professor under the Matrix Co-Creation Program of the Institute of Laser Engineering at Osaka University in 2023. Bersales currently heads the National Committee on Museums of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and is the consultant on museum and heritage affairs of the province of Cebu. The books he has written include Salapi: The Numismatic Heritage of the Philippines (coauthored with Carlos L. Apuhin), which won an Anvil Platinum and an Anvil Gold in the 50th Anvil Awards in 2015.

 

Academica Filipina +
Copyright © 2024
240 pages, 22.86 x 30.48 cm.

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