Postage stamps and postal history of Ascension Island

Ascension Island is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean, a dependency of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena. Like other British territories, it issues it own postage stamps, which provide a source of income for the islands from sale to overseas collectors, as well as for domestic postage uses.

History

Originally mail was carried on an irregular basis as ships called. A datestamp was in use from February 1858, and in 1863 the Union Steamship Co. began regular carriage of mail, continuing until 1977. On 3 March 1867 British postage stamps became valid for Ascension mail, and continued in use until 1922, when Ascension became a dependency of Saint Helena.

On 2 November 1922, nine stamps of St. Helena overprinted "ASCENSION" replaced British stamps. These were followed up in 1924 by a series of 12 using the St. Helena design, but inscribed for Ascension. In 1934 a pictorial series of ten engraved stamps depicted various views of the island.

In 1938 the pictorials were re-issued with a portrait of George VI replacing his father's image. Various colour, perforation, and watermark changes ensued, with the last being issued in February 1953.

A new definitive series of 13 in 1956 resembled the previous stamps, but was a little taller, and used maps and pictures of native animals in addition to local scenes. No further stamps were issued until 1963, when there was a series of 14 featuring birds.

From 1963 on, commemorative and special issues started to appear more frequently; in the 1990s, typical policy was to issue 5-6 sets per year, each consisting of 4-5 designs.

Sources

* Stanley Gibbons Ltd: various catalogues
* [http://www.jl.sl.btinternet.co.uk/stampsite/home.html Encyclopaedia of Postal History]
* Stuart Rossiter & John Flower: "The Stamp Atlas"