150 years of Universal Postal Union (1874-2024) with many issues

In 2024, d existse Universal Postal Union 150 years. Founded in 1874. Currently, 192 countries are members of the UPU. Time for a grand celebration of philately with a tsunami of issues for the 150th anniversary. Just like in 1949 (75 years), 1974 (100 years), and 1999 (125 years), many countries are participating this year, making the '150-year omnibus' a costly affair involving series and sheets. Only the Netherlands is not participating, a major oversight by PostNL.

Universal Postal Union

The Universal Postal Union (Union Postale Universelle (UPU)) is an international organization that controls the various postal crossings between member states. The Universal Postal Union is therefore responsible for the global postal network. Consequently, every member state agrees to the rules for international postal traffic. It is the second oldest still existing international organization, after the International Telecommunication Union, and is formally a specialized organization of the United Nations. The Universal Postal Union was established in 1874 with the Berne Convention and became a specialized organization of the UN in 1948. The UPU plays a prominent role in the constant optimization of postal services. The main goals of the UPU are:

• the promotion of global postal traffic,
• increase in the number of processed mail items by providing modern products and services,
• high service quality for the consumer.

Its core task consists of promoting and developing communication between all the peoples of the world. The highest authority of the UPU is the World Postal Congress. It meets every four years.  

Belgium

The Universal Postal Union is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. This called for a special stamp, so the team at Philately & Stamps Printing for bpost designed a special, limited edition commemorative stamp. The text on this special stamp contains 2024 words, which immediately sets a world record. “We are particularly proud to celebrate this historic anniversary with such a typographical masterpiece,” beams Xavier Clabots, Head of Philately at bpost. “Keeping so many words legible on such a small surface was an incredible challenge, but our team has succeeded brilliantly.” The stamp, designed by Geert Wille, stamp designer at bpost, features a world map and a letter being delivered. These symbolize unity and international communication. It also features microtext (text printed smaller than 1 point and only legible with a magnifying glass. Microtext offers additional security for invoices, coupons, and other fraud-sensitive applications) containing the statutes of the UPU, which lay down the rules for the efficient exchange of mail between the various member countries. This miniature design reflects the enduring importance and relevance of the UPU in the international postal sector. The validation process for the record was very strict. The number of words was accurately counted and verified on March 14 and 15 in the presence of bailiff Marc Vermeulen. The preparations and the counting were filmed to guarantee full transparency. The record will be officially recognized by GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ on June 10, 2024, the day of the sale. From 2014 to 2018, bpost already held this world record for an International Women's Day stamp (2014) containing 606 words. The United Nations Postal Administration claimed the world record in 2018 for a stamp containing 1.969 words. Source: Bpost Press Release.  

Germany

The Universal Postal Union was founded at the proposal of the German Director General of the Post Heinrich Stephan (since 1885: Heinrich von StephanAt the time, the emphasis was primarily on simplifying international postal traffic, as this was largely regulated by bilateral contracts and was relatively complex. In 1868, he proposed in a memorandum to establish an association to regulate cooperation. Ultimately, twenty states ratified the Universal Postal Treaty, which entered into force on July 1, 1875. In the subsequent years, further contracts were signed regulating, among other things, the sending of insured letters, parcels, and newspapers, or the use of international reply vouchers. Since 1969, World Post Day has been held annually on October 9, the anniversary of the founding of the Universal Postal Union. On this occasion, countless stamps have been issued over the past decades that introduce and honor the UPU, its founder, or the objectives of the organization.

As a rule, a Universal Postal Congress is held every four years. Decisions are made there, and the activities for the coming years are also discussed. To date, a Universal Postal Congress has taken place in Germany only once: in Hamburg in 1984.  

'150 jaar UPU' logo

During 2024, a very large number of countries are participating with the '150 years UPU' logo. Strictly speaking, this should be considered a genuine joint issue, even though there was no real collaboration between countries, but rather a proposal for a design that was accepted by most of them and translated into a locally adapted stamp. Some countries incorporate the '150 years UPU' logo into the final design of their stamps. An example is Malaysia, which has issued a beautiful sheet featuring all postal delivery communication materials.  

The Netherlands

Stamp Day is an annual international event. In most countries, the day is celebrated on the first Sunday after October 9: the founding date of the Universal Postal Union (UPU). The UPU, also known as the Universal Postal Union, establishes the rules for international postal traffic between member states. PostNL is marking Stamp Day with the release of the Stamp Day 2024 stamp sheet on October 14, 2024.

The Queen Wilhelmina 1931-1933 series consists of three postage stamps featuring a photographic portrait of the Queen within a circle. The background images differ on each stamp: Fokker aircraft (aircraft industry) on the 36-cent stamp, the Blast Furnace Factory in IJmuiden (industry and manufacturing) on ​​the 70-cent stamp, and the motor ships Baloeran and Christiaan Huygens (trade and transport) on the 80-cent stamp. The issuance of the new postage stamps in 1931-1933 was the result of the introduction of new rates for various destinations. For instance, the 36-cent stamp was intended for the new airmail rate for letters weighing up to 5 grams to the Dutch East Indies. The 70-cent and 80-cent stamps, in turn, were intended for domestic parcels weighing 7-9 kilos and 9-10 kilos, respectively. For the images on the two stamp designs for the ten stamps of the Day of the Stamp 2024, graphic designer Sandra Smulders from Gouda used photomontages, just as her predecessor Piet Zwart did for the Queen Wilhelmina 1931-1933 postage stamp series. In the design of the new stamps, the diagonal line from the 36-cent postage stamp of 1931 returns. The blue-green colors of the photos and the red of the year 2024 are also derived from the old postage stamps. On the 2024 Day of the Stamp stamps, the diagonal line divides the stamp into image areas of unequal size. In the large area, a photograph of King Willem-Alexander is interwoven in various ways with a vision of the future of underground hydrogen storage. In the small image area, one stamp design shows an image of the prototype of an energy-efficient aircraft (Flying-V), and the other stamp design shows an example of a cargo ship propelled by wind power (WASP). The Flying-V is a design for an energy-efficient type of aircraft for long distances. This aircraft design, in which the passenger cabin, cargo deck, and fuel tanks are integrated into the wing, consumes 20% less fuel than the most modern aircraft of today due to a better aerodynamic shape and lower weight. Wind-assisted ship propulsion (WASP) systems can reduce ship emissions. One type of these mechanical system is the use of rotor sails to generate additional propulsive force. Integrated into an optimized ship design, this can achieve fuel savings of 30–40%. TU Delft is conducting research into the development and potential of wind-assisted propulsion on ships.  The two stamp designs are placed alternately on the stamp sheet. The tabs at the top left and bottom right contain a brief explanation of the depicted aircraft and ship. The issue title and year are placed against the diagonal line, and the subtitle 'Industry of the Future' appears alternately at the top right and bottom left. Along the sheet margin, running underneath the stamps, are blue-grey stripes in five different shades with a color gradient. The stripes have the same angle of incidence as the diagonal line in the stamp design, and their colors match those used in the stamps. Sources: PostNL and TU Delft press release. View the 150 Years UPU stamps in the Freestamp catalogue here.