Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
POSTER STAMP
POSTER STAMP. The poster stamp, an advertising label, was a little larger than most postage stamps. They originated in the mid-19th century and quickly became a collecting craze, growing in popularity up until WORLD WAR I and then declining by WORLD WAR II.
The first poster stamps were inspired by the invention of the postage stamp. A perforated label was produced in England in 1864 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth and in Italy a label was produced in 1860 to celebrate Garibaldi's expedition to Sicily during the campaign to unify Italy. Commercial interests realized the publicity potential of the stamps and they were quickly adopted for the promotion of every type of product and cause. Poster stamps were also widely used during World War I as political propaganda.
As late as the 1930s, poster stamps were being used to promote political and other causes. Adhesive labels of all kinds that are not postage stamps continue to be produced today to promote particular causes or events.
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Source:
"Poster Stamps" Wikipedia
