On the occasion of the anniversary of the specialized agency of the United Nations, the Universal Postal Union, Romfilatelia introduces into circulation on Wednesday, October 9th, this year, the issue entitled 150 years, Universal Postal Union, composed of two postage stamps, a perforated souvenir sheet, a First Day Cover and a philatelic folder with special products in a limited run printing.
The General Postal Union was founded in 1874, by the Treaty of Bern, under the care of Heinrich von Stephen, a senior postal official of the North German Confederation.
The act of incorporation was signed by the representatives of 22 countries, including Romania, on October 9th, 1874, a date later celebrated as World Post Day. On behalf of Romania, the act was signed by a prominent person, the General Director of Posts and Telegraphs, George Lahovary. In 1878, the General Postal Union changed its name to the Universal Postal Union and in 1948 became an institution within the United Nations Organization.
Currently, the Universal Postal Union, with 192 member countries, has as its supreme body, the Congress, convened every four years, which generally has a legislative function, mainly taking policy and strategy matters. It is a specialized organization of the United Nations, based in Berne, the main forum for cooperation between the structures and entities concerned in the postal sector, with the aim of developing social, cultural and commercial communication through the efficient use of postal services – the UPU does not intervene in matters concerning the internal domain of national postal services, which are the exclusive competence of member states.
In 2004, 130 years after the founding of the Universal Postal Union, Romania was the host of its 23rd Congress.
The images of the two postage stamps of the anniversary issue reproduce the first Romanian stamps, the well-known “Cap de bour” (Bull Head) (face value of Lei 10) and a association of George Lahovari’s portrait with the cover of the official map containing the documents of the Treaty establishing the General Postal Union (later UPU), signed by the delegates attending the Congress of Berne in 1874, including George Lahovari’s signature (face value of Lei 6). The UPU emblem and the anniversary logo, marking the 150th anniversary of the UPU, complete the graphics of the two postage stamps.
The souvenir sheet shows the image of a postage stamp (face value of Lei 33) in which the Romanian flag and the UPU anniversary logo form a graphic ensemble that clearly suggests the event that is also the subject of the philatelic issue. The image of the UPU monument in Bern, associated with that of the postage stamp and which depicts statuary the written message bearers, representing the 5 continents of the globe as conceived by the sculptor René de St. Marceaux: Africa, Europe, Asia, America and Oceania, form a concept with an easy to decipher message.
The First Day Cover brings together, in a graphic concept, the image of a globe design with the anniversary logo (150 years UPU), with elements of the official logo, associated with a chromatic background recommended by the UPU for graphic details adjacent to postal stamps and philatelic collectibles.
Romfilatelia thanks the management of the Universal Postal Union and the colleagues from the Communication Department within the UPU for the logos provided, as well as the representatives of the National Archives of Romania for the documentary support given to the development of this issue of postage stamps.
