U.S. Parcel Post stamps of 1912–13

Before 1912 the delivery of parcels was controlled and handled by private companies, most of whom operated in cities and urban areas, where most of the business existed. Consequently, delivery of parcels to rural areas was inadequate and frequently hindered farmers who needed various supplies, parts and equipment delivered to their remote locations. To meet this demand Congress approved a law on August 24, 1912, creating postal rates for fourth class mail and providing for parcel post service. The Congressional law authorized the U.S. Post Office to produce the various special purpose postage stamps to pay the parcel fees, which became effective on January 1, 1913, the first day the U.S. Parcel Post began service. The 12 stamps were printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on the flat plate printing press on soft yellowish wove paper made with a single-line watermark bearing the letters 'U S P S' and were perforated with 12 gauge perforations. The stamps were designed by Clair Aubrey Huston who at the time had worked at the Bureau for ten years, while the dies for the individual stamps were produced by several different engravers, with up to four engravers working on each die. However, because of the common color and similarity in border design Parcel Post stamps during the first six months of use were met with mixed reaction from postal personnel who had difficulty distinguishing the stamps at a glance and often confused the denominations, especially during busy hours. European post offices had been offering parcel post service for decades but in America during those years, as Max Johl observes, "the express company interests had successfully fought such legislative action." What finally defeated this opposition was the well-funded lobbying efforts of Sears Roebuck, other prominent mail-order companies and large department stores. The new government operated parcel delivery service was perceived as a threat to the business of private delivery companies, such as the Wells-Fargo Express, who consequently lobbied heavily against the Post Office while it was still in the process of establishing itself in the lucrative parcel delivery business, but they were ultimately unsuccessful. Postage Special stamps were printed for Parcel Post service to help in the effort of keeping accounts and revenues generated from general postage and the Parcel Post separate. The twelve Parcel Post stamps had three basic design themes that were associated with the Post Office and its delivery service.   • The second set of four stamps of 5, 10, 15 and 20 cents, depicted the various transportation methods for delivering the mail.   • The last set of four had the highest denominations—25, 50, and 75 cents and 1 dollar—and depicts the various industries which primarily would be using this new service. The 25-cent stamp features an actual steel plant in South Chicago during that period. The three highest denominations, for which demand was limited, were issued in much smaller quantities than the other stamps, particularly the dollar value. == Usage ==

During the first half year of its inception, the Parcel Post service with its new series of special stamps proved to be very successful, resulting with the mailing of more than 300 million parcels during this short period. But after much confusion among and pressure from postal workers, the Post Office Department acquiesced and the Postmaster General authorized the use of ordinary postage stamps to pay the postage on 4th class parcels, beginning on July 1, 1913, ending mandatory use of the new stamps after precisely six months. In turn Parcel Post stamps were allowed for use to pay the postage for all classes of mail until the supply finally ran out. The last printing of Parcel Post stamps, a run of the 10-cent value, occurred on June 24, 1913, but stamps still in stock continued to be shipped to post offices for quite some time, particularly of higher values, with the final delivery—a supply of 75-cent stamps—made as late as 1921. Aside from items that were considered dangerous to handle, almost any type of merchandise was allowed to be mailed by the Parcel Post service, even baby alligators and honey bees. (Such fragile items were later additionally charged by special handling stamps.) Soon the new service was widely used by farmers and other rural Americans to purchase merchandise they previously could not obtain at their remote locations. This in turn aided the growth of mail order giants such as Sears Roebuck and Montgomery Ward. == Other configurations ==

The Parcel Post stamps of 1912–13 were printed on the flat plate press which yielded plate blocks of six stamps with the plate number designated in the margin (designating a particular printing run). Beginning in January 1913, the denomination of the stamps was printed in word form in the margin. Die proofs A special printing of the 1912–13 Parcel Post stamps was made for the Panama–Pacific Exposition held in San Francisco in 1915 from the dies that made the printing plates for this series of stamps. They are referred to as Die Proofs and are printed directly from the die on soft yellowish wove paper one at a time. Subsequently, die proofs have no perforations around them. == See also ==