150 Years Of Hungarian Stamp Production

Magyar Posta is commemorating 150 years of stamp production in Hungary by issuing a special souvenir sheet. The souvenir sheet, its special editions and the stamp set were produced based on the designs of the graphic artist Attila André Elekes. The sheets were printed by ANY Security Printing Company.

The first stamps made in Hungary were released in 1871. These were versions of the first editions of the Hungarian postal administration, which had become independent from the joint service with Austria in 1867. Because the copperplate presses ordered from Würzburg did not arrive on schedule, lithographic printing had to be used temporarily. However, transferring the design to stone was poorly executed, thus the sovereign’s face on the first stamps was blotchy. These stamps with blotchy images of Franz Joseph came to be known as “Spotty Joes” in philatelic history and are among the most highly prized Hungarian stamp rarities. On 1 May 1871, six types of flawless lithographic stamps were marketed, and then from mid-June identical copperplate versions of them were gradually released.

Both the 15 krajcár lithographic and copperplate stamps appear on the souvenir sheet, the former in the stamp design on the left and the latter on the right. The frame shows a montage of details of the denominations of both series. The first single-image copperplate appears on the first day cover and the number 150, a reference to the jubilee, can be seen in the special postmark.