The Language of Stamps
Most of us will be familiar with the Language of Flowers. In Victorian times flowers were often sent to convey messages. Even today roses still represent love and white flowers, a sense of purity. However few will be aware of the Language of Stamps.
Many letters posted in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century had stamps affixed to envelopes and picture postcards in all sorts of odd positions and angles.
This was due to the development in England of a ‘language of stamps,’ which soon spread around the world. The position of the stamp on the envelope was supposed to relay a message to the receiver. I imagine that people who lived on the edge of Society found this a convenient way of expressing their feelings. I wonder, too, if spies or criminals had stamp languages of their own…
The problem of postmarking the stamps placed on various parts of the envelope finally became so great, that postal administrations of the world introduced regulations requiring the sender of mail to affix stamps in the upright corner of the envelope.
Collectors of postal history and picture postcards should be on the look-out for envelopes and postcards with stamps affixed in odd positions, as they could well form an interesting thematic/topical collection.
Note: Should PDb members have scans of such items in their collections, we should be pleased to publish them and include them with this article.
Here are some of the interpretations of the stamp language:
Stamp Positions & Meaning
Upside down, top left corner = I love you
Crosswise on top left corner = My heart is another’s
Centre of envelope, at top = Yes
Center of envelope, at bottom = No
Straight up and down, any position = Goodbye sweetheart
Upside down, top right corner = Write no more
At right angle, top right corner = Do you love me?
At right angle, top left corner = I hate you
Upright top right corner = I desire your friendship
Upright in line with surname = Accept my love
Upside down in line with surname = I am engaged
At right angle in line with the surname = I long to see you
Centred on right edge = Write immediately!
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Cecilia Hale
March 26th, 2010, 4:06 pm
I found a postcard in my grandfather’s picture box which he had kept for 60 years. It is a Christmas message to him from his sister in law. I was showing my friend who noticed the stamp was upside down and she said it was probably the language of stamps.
The card is sent from my grandfather’s village showing a girl standing in a doorway. He has stuck a little label on the top of the card saying Ethel at 25 years.
My friend suggests that the stamp upside down says she loves him or she misses him.
Your comments would be appreciated.
Cecilia Hale
William Cochrane (Editor)
March 27th, 2010, 12:37 am
Dear Cicilia,
Would it be possible to send a scan of your postcard? This might help.
Email: enquiries@philatelicdatabase.com
Regards,
William
Andrés
January 27th, 2011, 7:27 pm
Sr. Villiam,
Leo en su articulo que esta moda del “Lenguaje de los sellos” nace en Inglaterra.
¿Existe algún documento que avale esta información? Pues, en caso contrario, pudo nacer en otro pais ¿no le parece?
Saludos
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I found some old postcards that my grandmother had sent to her sister-in-law when she was in hospital, before the Second World War. She wrote every day. The stamps were at an angle. My mum said that it meant “lots of love”
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