1851-1861 Issues

On July 1, 1851, new and lower postage rates went into effect. America’s first 1-cent stamp was issued on that date to pre-pay certain categories of mail, including circulars, which today might be called 'junk mail'.

The 1-cent stamp was printed in blue, and features a central portrait of

our first postmaster general, Benjamin Franklin, in profile facing right. Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co. designed and printed the stamp, which was issued by the Post Office Department over the next ten years.

The 1-cent stamp was engraved, and it was printed from steel plates of two hundred stamps. Twelve plates were made to print 1-cent stamps during this ten-year period. The stamps were issued without perforations until 1857, when perforations were introduced.

The printers encountered significant technical difficulties making the plates, causing incompleteness of the stamp design, primarily at top and bottom. Stamp collectors assign different 'types' (and therefore catalog numbers) to the 1-cent stamp, which depend largely on the completeness of the ornate edges.

Type I stamps have the full design. Very few of these were printed, and they range from scarce to very rare. The other types have varying degrees of incomplete edges. Besides Type I, the recognized types and sub-types are Type Ia, Type Ib, Type Ic, Type II, Type III, Type IIIa, Type IV, Type V, and Type Va. By far the most common is Type V.

Dick Celler

On March 3, 1851, Congress passed a postal reform act that reduced the five-cent letter rate to three cents for pre-paid letters (the general practice at that time was to send mail 'collect'). At that time, only the 5-cent and 10-cent denominations were available at the time, so a 3-cent stamp was required to accommodate the rate reduction. Since it paid the basic letter rate, the 3-cent stamp is the most common stamp found in the 1851-1857 Issue.

Issued on July 1, 1851, the 3-cent stamp features a central portrait of George Washington in profile, facing left. It was engraved and printed from steel plates of two hundred stamps. For the next decade, Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co., a private engraving company located in Philadelphia, printed the stamp in varying shades of orange and red. Minor design changes appeared over those years.

Between July 1, 1851, and December 31, 1855, prepayment of postage could be made either in cash or with stamps. On January 1, 1856, the Post Office Department eliminated the ‘cash option’, thus mandating use of stamps. The option to send letters ‘collect’ (at the 5-cent rate) had been abolished on April 1, 1855. These changes precipitated increased use of the 3-cent stamp.

There are three basic types of the 3-cent stamp, determined by the outer frame line surrounding the rectangular stamp design. These are called Type I, Type II, and Type IIa. Type I was used until perforations were introduced in 1857, and Types II and IIa were created to accommodate the perforations.

Dick Celler

The first U.S. stamp not depicting Benjamin Franklin or George Washington, this breakaway 5-cent stamp of the 1851-1861 Issue depicts Thomas Jefferson, the nation's third president. Designed and engraved by Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co., Gilbert Stuart's portrait of Jefferson inspired the issue. The last imperforate stamp released by Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co., it was in use from spring 1856 to summer 1857. When issued in 1856, the stamp served almost no purpose for domestic mail except payment of multiple-weight rates or, in a few cases, the registered mail fee. It was used primarily on mail to foreign destinations, especially France, since it fulfilled the several different rates.

While Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co. printed the imperforate 5-cent Jefferson in only one color (red brown), the perforated issues the firm produced by mid-1857 were printed in at least six major colors. These color varieties of the perforate 5-cent 1856-1861 Issue expose a level of sophistication and degree of difficulty unique to Toppan, Carpenter issues. It is also important to note that the perforated issues were printed with two types of frames. The first, as in the imperforate stamp, has full projections at the top and bottom; the second, which only appears on perforated stamps, has those projections cut away. These later perforated issues fulfilled the same rates.

Approximately 150,000 imperforate stamps and 2,310,000 perforated stamps of the 5-cent Jefferson were printed by Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co.

Alexander T. Haimann, National Postal Museum

On the first day of July 1851, the stamps of the 1847 Issue were demonetized. They could not, therefore, be used to pre-pay postage. As a result, three new stamps came into use—a 1-cent, 3-cent, and 12-cent denomination. There were no 10-cent stamps available (or perhaps needed) to pre-pay postage in the United States. That changed in April 1855. A fee hike in the ‘over 3,000 mile rate’ increased the cost from six cents to ten cents. There was then an immediate need for a 10-cent stamp. [Bear in mind that the 5-cent Jefferson was not issued until spring 1856; otherwise, it would have required three 3-cent stamps and one 1-cent to pay the rate.]

It may have been the short notice, but Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co. reused the vignette of the 12-cent George Washington (1851 Issue) for this new 10-cent stamp. Henry Earle engraved the frame and lettering. He had worked with Charles Toppan since 1840. Earle engraved all the lettering for the 1851-1861 Issue, and then he left the company.

The stamps of the 10-cent 1855 issue are of four types, which are differentiated by certain lines and recuts on the sides of the stamps. All four types appeared on each sheet of two hundred stamps: twenty stamps were Type I; ninety-three, Type II; seventy-nine, Type III; and eight stamps, Type IV. These same proportions were repeated when the sheets were perforated in 1857.

In 1859 an entirely new plate was created. Its stamps would be known as Type V and would only be released in a perforated format. The design on this plate was slightly cut away at the sides so that it was more uniform and would fit onto the sheet. These cuts, though slight, were greater than those performed on most of the previous four types. The stamp typically paid the half-ounce, over-3,000-mile rate, but it was also used, in combination with other denominations, to pay a plethora of rates to foreign destinations. Approximately 5,025,000 imperforate stamps and 16-18 million perforate stamps of the 10-cent issue were printed by Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co.

Alexander T. Haimann, National Postal Museum

The 12-cent Washington of the 1851-1861 Issue was released in mid-1851. The Washington portrait was derived from the Gilbert Stuart painting. At the time of its printing, the 12-cent stamp was the highest U.S. denomination ever issued. It did not fulfill a single-weight rate. Rather, it paid the over-3,000-mile, double-weight rate or the quadruple-weight rate for a letter sent under 3,000 miles. The stamp was often used to pay the twenty-four-cent, single-weight rate to England.

There are many known bisects of this stamp that paid the six-cent single-weight rate. This usage was banned by the Post Office Department. If apprehended for an illegal use, the letter was considered unpaid, leaving a ten-cent unpaid fee for the recipient to cover.

All imperforate stamps dating from 1857 were printed from plate 1. From late 1859 to early 1860, another plate (plate 3) was used. At some point a plate 2 is assumed to have been created that had additional space between stamp designs for perforations, but there are no known stamps from this plate. The perforated plate 3 stamps can be distinguished from plate 1 stamps by the broken lines in the design's outer frame lines. Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co. printed approximately 2,500,000 imperforate stamps and 5,800,000 perforated stamps of the 12-cent issue.

Alexander T. Haimann, National Postal Museum

The 24-cent gray lilac Washington was the first stamp issued without an imperforate release; all the stamps of this issue were perforated. In 1857, in conjunction with the renewal of their contract, Toppan, Carpenter & Co. designed and produced a plate for this 24-cent denomination. This was the fourth stamp produced by Toppan, Carpenter that depicted the first president, and as with the 10-cent and 12-cent denominations, the Gilbert Stuart portrait inspired the 24-cent design. Though Toppan, Carpenter & Co. created the plate in 1857, its stamps were not released to the public until mid-1860. As a single stamp, the 24-cent Washington paid the half-ounce weight rate to England. It was also used in combination with other denominations to pay more expensive multiple weight or foreign destination rates. Toppan, Carpenter & Co. printed approximately 736,000 stamps of the 24-cent issue.

Alexander T. Haimann, National Postal Museum

This 30-cent stamp was the third to depict Benjamin Franklin and the second stamp of 1851-1861 to be issued without an imperforate release; all of the 30-cent stamps were perforated. In terms of color, it was the brightest of all the previously issued stamps. It served many different purposes. Though most frequently thought of as a single stamp usage on cover to France and Germany, it was also combined with lower denominations to pay more expensive multiple-weight or foreign destination rates. Toppan, Carpenter & Co. printed approximately 357,000 stamps of the 30-cent issue.

Alexander T. Haimann, National Postal Museum

American artists Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828) and John Trumbull (1756-1843) studied for a time in London under Benjamin West (1738-1820). Trumbull, who had served under George Washington during the American siege of Boston in 1776, resigned his commission in 1777. Determined to develop his artistic abilities, he set-out for London in 1780 with an introductory letter for West from Benjamin Franklin. Under West's tutelage, Trumbull shared a studio with Gilbert Stuart. Their portraits have since inspired countless stamp designs for a country then barely four years old.

The last and highest denominated stamp of the 1851-1861 Issue—the 90-cent Washington—drew its inspiration from a Trumbull painting of a young George Washington in military dress. Because there were fewer postal rates for it to fulfill during its limited time of use, the 90-cent Washington is one of the few stamps of the Classic Period that is more collectible in genuine used condition. There are only six 90-cent Washington covers known. Toppan, Carpenter & Co. printed approximately 29,000 stamps of the 90-cent issue.

Alexander T. Haimann, National Postal Museum