Postage stamps and postal history of the Cape of Good Hope

This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Cape of Good Hope.

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to reach the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, led by the explorer Bartolomeu Dias. Table Bay, for over one hundred years known as Saldanha (named after one of Albuquerque's sea captains), became a convenient harbor on the long, hard and dangerous sea voyage to the East. Here letters were left and exchanged with ships sailing back to Europe. Frequently, packets of letters were left under postal stones inscribed in French, Dutch and Danish, which became the first, unmanned, post offices of the Cape. The earliest of these, dated 1619, was inscribed in English. A supply camp was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652 in the area which later became Cape Town. It was first occupied by British Forces in 1795. Since 1814 it was a British Colony until it was incorporated into the Union of South Africa, as the Cape Province, on 31 May 1910.

Stamps were first issued by the colony on 1 September 1853. The two stamps that were issued were a one penny in brick-red and a four pence in blue. They were printed by Messrs Perkins, Bacon & Co in London. The original die for these stamps was cut by William Humphrys, an engraver employed by Perkins Bacon. Sheets of a special handmade paper, measuring 282 mm by 536 mm, were used to print 240 stamps per sheet. The stamps were issued imperforate. The rate of postage within the colony was 4d for a half ounce letter and 1d for a newspaper.

On 18 February 1858 two new values became available: a six pence and a one shilling. The six pence rate was for payment of half ounce letters to Great Britain and the one shilling rate was for postage to some foreign countries. On 15 September 1860 the rate for local letters in Cape Town was reduced to 1d. A similar reduction was made in Port Elizabeth on 1 May 1861.

On 1 April 1863 the rate to Great Britain was increased to one shilling, if sent by mail packet, and reduced to four pence, if sent by private vessels.

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