Post Card History - Stamps on postcards sent to the UK

Queen Victoria

Reign: 20 June 1837 to 22 January 1901

1890s - 1900

½d

1900 - 01

½d

- The stamps above changed from vermilion to blue-green in 1900 to meet international standards

King Edward VII

Reign: 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910

1902 - 04

½d

1904 - 10

½d

- The first stamp above is blue-green; the second is yellow-green.

King George V

Reign: 6 May 1910 to 20 January 1936

1911 - 12

½d

1912 - 18

½d

1918 - 21

1921 - 22

1½d

1922 - 34

1934 - 36

Commemorative

1929

Commemorative

1935

- The head on the 1911-12 stamp was known as the 'Downey Head' It was drawn from a photograph by W & D Downey, the Court Photographers

- All stamps for the period 1912-34 are from the same series. It is only the postal rates for sending post cards that changed - three times! The head on this series of stamps was known as the 'Profile Head'. It was introduced to match the heads on coins and medals.

- The postal rates increased to 1d (3 Jun 1918), then to 1½d (13 Jun 1921). This meant that the price of sending a postcard had trebled in three years. The result was protests, and a return to the 1d postage rate from 29 May 1922.

However, postcards never regained their popularity of the pre-war years, 1900-1914.

King Edward VIII

Reign: 20 January 1936 to 10 December 1936

Illustrations of stamps to be added later

1936

This was a very simple stamp compared to earlier styles, but its use soon came to an end when King Edward VIII abdicated.

King George VI

Reign: 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952

Illustrations of stamps to be added later

1937 - 1940

1940 - 41

1941-50

1950 - 52

From 1 Jan 1937: Letter Rate 1½d, Postcards 1d

From 1 May 1940: Letter Rate 2½d, Postcards 2d

From 1941 onwards, paler colours were used for ½d to 3d stamps. e.g. the 2d stamp was 'orange' (1940-41) then 'pale orange' (1941-50) and 'pale brown' (1950-52).

NOTES

1. The illustrations of stamps on this page have been taken from postcards in my collection and other collections. To find background information and the dates when the various postage rates applied, I have consulted:

(a) Stanley Gibbons' Specialised Stamp Catalogues

(b) British Postal Rates 1937 to 2000 [Robert Johnson and Gordon Peet]

(c) Tilehurst, Reading UK Directory
[and Internet archive 'Wayback Machine']

2. I have illustrated this page almost entirely with definitive stamps. To have included the many commemorative issues that have been issued, particularly during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, would have complicated the page.

Thank you to Frank Walton for advising me of the resource in (c) above