# Q9 - 1913 25c Parcel Post Stamp - Manufacturing

Issue Date: 1913
City: Washington, DC
Quantity: 21,940,653
Printed By: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Engraved
Perforations: 12
Color: Carmine rose

 

In 1912, the U.S. Postal Department introduced parcel post service for sending items weighing 16 ounces or more through the mail. The mail is divided into four classes, with parcel post making up the fourth class.  Almost any type of merchandise can be mailed parcel post, including day – old chicks, baby alligators, and honeybees.  Only items that could be dangerous to handle cannot be sent through Parcel Post. Rural Americans used the new mail class to access goods and merchandise they could not have gotten before, giving rise to mail order giants like Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Montgomery Ward and Co.

 

Twelve stamps with various denominations were issued in 1912-13 to prepay the fourth-class rate.  Although different vignette designs were featured, all twelve stamps used the same border and color, which caused a great deal of confusion for postal workers.

 

The four Parcel Post stamps with the highest denominations feature manufacturing and agriculture. The steel mill pictured on this stamp was in South Chicago. Many factories had railroad tracks next to their buildings to transport the raw materials and finished products. These stamps were first sold on November 27, 1912, and almost 22 million of them were issued.

 

Less than a year later, the Postmaster General authorized ordinary postage for use on parcel post.   Parcel post stamps were then made valid for all classes of mail and were used as regular postage until the supply was depleted.