An emergency printingSourced
A missing shipment put newspaper printers in charge of stamps
In 1856, an expected stamp shipment failed to reach British Guiana. The postmaster authorised local newspaper printers to produce emergency stamps. The magenta one-cent issue was for posting newspapers. Postal clerks were required to sign as a safeguard against forgery. Only one surviving example is known.
A temporary solution became a rarity.
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British Guiana 1c magenta · Wikimedia contributors
Adapted, summarized and translated from the source. Adapted text is also available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Reviewed: 2026-10-10