Registration of letters appeared early in the Postal History of the Cape of Good Hope. Rhenius proclamation of the 2nd March 1792 provided for the establishment of a postal system at the Cape of Good Hope. This early postal system required that the Postmaster on payment of a fee of four stuivers, would record details…
The first intimation of a proposed introduction of private post office boxes at the Cape of Good Hope was contained in a report dated 2 May 1853 by the Post Office Enquiry Board.
The post office advised the public as early as 1828 that, owing to the great distances the mail was conveyed, it would not accept responsibility for money sent by mail being lost or stolen in transit.
Letter required to be redirected because the addressee had moved needed to be additionally stamped with an amount equal to the original postage; an amount that was required each time the letter was redirected. If the addressee refused to pay the additional redirection fee, the letter was returned to the sender, who was then liable…
Introduction Between the years 1882 and 1900 six handstamp designs were issued on what appears a highly selective basis. Their main characteristic being their unusual design. The purpose of them being issued was to find a datetamp that could be used for simultaneous defacing and dating of letters. The majority of them were only used…
Although the application of an adhesive postage stamp provides a convenient means of prepaying for postage on a small number of letters, special handstamps were supplied to facilitate the handling of large batches of letters.
The first telegraph line in southern Africa was inaugurated on 6th May 1860 in the Cape of Good Hope. It operated as a private enterprise, owned by the Cape of Good Hope Telegraph Company. It operated a line between Cape Town and Simonstown. Its first office was a wooden, pagoda-like structure on the comer of…
The Cape Colony joined the Universal Postal Union in 1895. As a member was bound to observe the regulations applicable to members. These included the provision that all members would forward mail, even if such mail was not prepaid or underpaid. The postal authorities of the country receiving the mail would deliver it free of…
Registered November 1900 cover from Potchefstroom, Transvaal to Boer prisoner of war at Deadwood Camp on St. Helena island, repaired at bottom with parts of a Cape of Good Hope post office seal, which is inscribed “Edges worn through (unclear)” on back. Violet Potchefstroom censor on reverse and black Johannesburg, Transvaal press censor on front.…
Often due to errors made by mail sorters, letters were forwarded to incorrect destinations. Special handstamps (SP 1 to 5) were used to identify this missent mail. Missent mail was also marked in manuscript. Two were in use in Cape Town G.P.O (SP 1 and SP 2). Port Elizabeth, Paarl, Robben Island, Grahamstown and Kimberley…
