1881. THE FIRST ISSUE.
In the first place let it be known that the population of the Haytian
republic is 6oo,ooo, nearly all of whom are negroes. There is therefore a
very small amount of postal, communication carried on, and this, to some
extent accounts for the. scarcity of many of the early issues.
Hayti joined the Postal Union in July, 1881, previous to which date no
postal stamps were used. The few communications that were carried on were
paid for on acceptance, by the postal officer if the letters were for inland
postage. The nations that were represented in Hayti by consuls were enabled
to receive letters through the agency of those consuls.
In 1881 Hayti was under the Presidency of Salomon, who of course sat in the
Senate, and when the matter of producing stamps came under consideration
Salomon, was at the height of his popularity.
Many members of the Senate were in favour of representing the President's
portrait on the stamps, but he did not desire this, and proposed in lieu
thereof the design of the arms of the Republic.
Before the final decision of the Senate was arrived at, it was suggested to
the President, by means of a deputation of in-fluential residents, that a
series of portraits of past Presidents and heroes should be placed on the
stamps as suitable memorials of the great men of the republic.
General Salomon, however, would not countenance the issue of stamps bearing
portraits either of himself or his predecessors. He however put forward a
new suggestion, namely, that the head of Liberty, as typical of the
Republic, should be represented on the stamps. He pointed out that as they
had imitated France in adopting French coinage, weights and measures, code
books, and even language, they could not do better than adopt also the idea
of placing the head of Liberty on their stamps.
This suggestion found greater favour in the Senate than that of the
Republican Arms, and was accordingly adopted. The foremost Haytian sculptor,
M. Laforesterie was immediately commissioned to prepare the design of the
stamp with a representation of a profile to left of a female head, typifying
Liberty. He succeeded in producing an admirable design, which shows the
profile to great advantage. It is skillfully outlined and printed boldly and
clearly. The shading on the face is produced by horizontal lines and that on
the neck by oblique lines. It is needful to note these phases of the
shading, as they vary in the later issues of the stamp.
As will be seen from the accompanying illustrations, the effigy is encircled
by a band on which is inscribed ‘POSTE REPUBLIC D’HAITI.' The lower portion
of the circular band is partly covered by a shield outlined in colour, the
background being formed by the paper, on which the stamp is printed. On this
shield is the numeral of value which is in all cases represented by very
bold figures. On each side of the shield containing the numeral is the word
"CENT," which is a contraction for centime. In the upper corners of the
stamp are representations of the Haytian flag, and above each word "CENT" is
a triangular heap of cannon balls. The cap of Liberty, which breaks through
the middle of the top marginal line and touches the circular band, completes
the design.
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