Philately: The Art of Stamp Collecting 

New Zealand’s first postage stamps were the 1855 Full Face Queens. These stamps depict Queen Victoria facing fully forward (hence the name), wearing her 1837 coronation robes. It is based on a portrait by Alfred Edward Chalon (these are sometimes called Chalon stamps). The initial issue was only three stamps: the penny, twopence and one shilling stamps. These were printed in London by Perkins, Bacon & Co. The first run was then shipped to New Zealand along with the printing plates. These first sheets were not perforated and had to be hand cut. Later print runs were perforated after trials were done in the 1860s.

Originally there was no charge for the delivery of newspapers through the post in New Zealand. By January 1873, newspapers were being posted in such large numbers that the New Zealand Post Office introduced a delivery fee, paid for with the purchase of a newspaper stamp. This was the first stamp designed, engraved and printed in New Zealand.

By the 1870s, the printing plates used for the Full Face Queen stamps were worn out. This provided a good opportunity to issue stamps with a more current and appropriate portrait of Queen Victoria. The Full Face Queens depict her at 19 years old, by then she was now over 50. These new stamps feature a side profile view of Queen Victoria and are known as Sidefaces.

In a world first, New Zealand Post Office decided to put advertising messages on the back of Sideface stamps. They were issued in February 1893 and known as “adson” stamps, which refers to the method of printing ads on the back before glue was added. However, they proved incredibly unpopular with the public who did not like the idea of licking ink on the back of stamps. Production of stamps with advertising stopped by the end of 1893.

Cancellations are postal markings put on stamps to deface them and stop them being reused. Cancellations come in a variety of shapes, designs, sizes and colours. Today, cancellations are usually done with a stamp which includes the date and post office location, as well as lines and bars to cover the stamp. Cancellations can also be done with a pen or crayon. These will often appear as a cross through the stamp and can also include notations such as the initials of the postmaster. Pen cancellations were common in smaller post offices that did not have a postmark.

A postmark is the symbol put on an envelope, parcel, or postcard usually showing the date, time and place it was sent from. Postmarks were also used to mark the stamp so that it cannot be reused. These stamps are postmarked with various locations around New Zealand.

Birds and scenery are nowadays quite common on our stamps. In 1898, New Zealand was one of the first countries to issue a set of pictorials with images of animals and the countryside. The stamps were selected from over 2,400 entries in a competition calling for iconic images of New Zealand. Due to the high quality of the winning entries, the New Zealand Post Office anticipated their popularity with stamp collectors and printed them using a more expensive process, knowing the costs would be easily recouped.

A 2½ pence stamp featuring Lake Wakatipu became highly collectible after a spelling mistake was spotted. The stamps with the location misspelt as “Lake Wakitipu” were snapped up by collectors. Unused 2½ pence stamps with the correct spelling of Lake Wakatipu are now rarer than the original print run.

New Zealand was one of the first countries to introduce a Penny Universal stamp. The idea of the Penny Universal was for all countries to charge a standard amount for postage, to make it easier sending letters between countries. New Zealand's Penny Universal stamp was issued on the first day of the twentieth century, 1 January 1901. There was some concern from government officials that there would be a fall in revenue for the New Zealand Post Office. However, by 1902 the postal volume had increased and any losses were made up.

When a stamp is used and franked for the first time, it is known as first day of issue cover. The collecting of these stamps became popular, leading to special envelopes being prepared known as cachets. Cachets often feature designs which match the stamps being released. These envelopes addressed to Sir Heaton Rhodes feature souvenir covers with the corresponding stamps and cancellations bearing the first day of use date.

This commemorative stamp set was issued for the 1906 New Zealand International Exhibition of Arts and Industries, held in North Hagley Park, Christchurch. These stamps were on sale during the exhibition and could only be bought from the exhibition post office.

The one penny stamp led to controversy when the organisers decided that the red claret colour (bottom stamp) was a bit dull. The reprinted version of this stamp is a much brighter vermilion red colour (middle left stamp). The original claret stamps were destroyed with a couple of sheets kept by exhibition organisers and for the New Zealand Post Office archives. Allegedly, a sheet of the original claret stamp was mixed up with the new stamps and were accidentally sold to the public.

Many countries overprinted their stamps in wartime, either to get people's support or to raise money. A war tax was introduced during the First World War. In September 1915, ½ penny stamps depicting King George V were overprinted with the words WAR STAMP to explain why the cost had risen.

In November 1918 just after the end of the First World War, the Postmaster General was asked to issue a set of stamps commemorating the end of hostilities and the peace settlements. The designs were intended to represent the British Empire rather than individual countries, although the 1½ penny Māori chief design is a uniquely New Zealand image. There were protests when the stamps were sold in London before they were even available in New Zealand.

Health stamps were issued to raise funds and awareness of charitable causes. New Zealand was the first country to have a seal affixed to postage which combined both postage and charity. Health stamps were first issued in 1929 but only after the Finance Act was amended so that the extra revenue could be used for public health charities. Health stamps were issued almost annually until 2016.

In 1903, a special stamp was produced for a new express postal service. This service promised the buyer that their correspondence would be delivered as soon as possible. After 35 years, the original express delivery stamp was retired and a new one introduced in 1938. The new stamp featured a Chrysler coupe. These cars were used to deliver the express service mail in larger centres.

Sometimes, letters were sent which did not have the correct postage. To let the recipient know that payment was due, Postage Due stamps were issued on 1 December 1899. The design was simple to keep costs down. They featured a green frame with the value of the stamp inside in large red figures. In 1902, new stamps were issued because the 1899 issue had been printed in a hurry and was poorly made. Postage Due stamps were used until 30 September 1951.