The Virtual GB Album

This halfpenny postcard was mailed from Canterbury to the U.S.A. on June 29, 1899. The rate should have been one penny, so the card was stamped with a “T” in a hexagon to indicate that postage was due. The deficiency was a halfpenny, and according to UPU regulations, the postage due was double the deficiency, equal to one penny. This was converted to two cents in the United States. The blue “5” may indicate five centimes, the equivalent of a halfpenny in French currency, then the international standard for evaluating the amount of postage due.

If this card had been mailed to the U.S. prior to July 1, 1898, it would have been uprated to the international letter rate, which was five cents. All postcards that contained a personal message, as this one does, were treated that way according to U.S. postal regulations.

The front of the card shows the west entrance gate of Hampton Court. The card was supplied by the London and South Western Railway, which was promoting its service from London’s Waterloo station to Hampton Court.