A device representing the arms of Castile and Leon was used in the eighteenth century as a kind of frank or stamp which passed official correspondence through the posts, and in the last quarter of that century the Chevalier Paris de l'Epinard proposed in Brussels the erection of a local post with a mark or stamp of some kind to denote postage prepaid—a plan which, however, was not adopted.
A FACSIMILE OF THE ADDRESS SIDE OF A PENNY POST LETTER IN 1686, SHOWING THE "PENY POST PAYD" MARK INSTITUTED BY DOCKWRA AND CONTINUED BY THE GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES.
FACSIMILE OF THE CONTENTS OF THE PENNY POST LETTER OF 1686.
There is a curious account given by a correspondent in The Philatelic Record [xii. 138] of some so-called stamps said to have been used in the Dutch Indies. The writer, whose account has never so far as I am aware received any definite confirmation, says:—
"At the beginning of this year [1890] were discovered amongst some old Government documents at Batavia some curious and hitherto—whether here or in Europe—unknown postally used envelopes, with value indicated.... In the time of Louis XIV. it is believed that postage-stamps existed; but nobody has been able to bring them to light, consequently we have in these hand-stamped envelopes of the Dutch East Indian Company absolutely the oldest documents of philatelic lore.
"The letter-sheets are all made from the same paper, and are all of the same size—namely, about 23 × 19 centimetres; whilst the side which is most interesting to us—the 'address' or 'stamp' side—is folded to a size of 103 × 88 mm. Up to the present the following values have been found:—