Postage stamps and postal history of Great Britain Postage stamps and postal history of Great Britain Postage stamps and postal history of Great Britain surveys postal history from the United Kingdom and the postage stamps issued by that country and its various historical territories until the present day. The postal history of the United Kingdom is notable in at least two respects- first, for the introduction of postage stamps in 1840, and secondly for the establishment of an efficient postal system throughout the British Empire, laying the foundation of many national systems still in existence today. The story begins in the 12th century with Henry I, who appointed
Postage stamps and postal history of Turkey 63 domestic post offices in the entire empire, and service was sporadic and slow. On January 1, 1863, the Ottoman Empire issued its first adhesive postage stamps. It was the second independent country in Asia to issue adhesive stamps, preceded only by Russia in 1858, and two British colonies, Scinde District of India in 1852, India itself in 1854 and Ceylon in 1857. The Ottoman Empire's stamps came less than two years after its neighbor and former territory, Greece (independent 1832), issued its first stamps. The design consists of the tughra, the emblem of sovereignty, for the then current ruler