Christmas seals
Christmas seals are adhesive labels that are similar in appearance to postage stamps that are sold then affixed to mail during the Christmas season to raise funds and awareness for charitable programs. Christmas seals have become particularly associated with lung diseases such as tuberculosis, and with child welfare in general. They were first issued in Denmark beginning in 1904, with Sweden and Iceland following with issues that same year. Thereafter the use of Christmas seals proved to be popular and spread quickly around the world, with 130 countries producing their own issues.
Christmas Seals were sometimes mistaken for
Danish origin
At the beginning of the 1900s tuberculosis was a greatly feared disease, and its harmful effects on children seemed particularly devastating. In 1904, Einar Holbøll, a Danish postal clerk, developed the idea of adding an extra charitable stamp on mailed holiday greetings during Christmas.[1] The money raised would be used to help children sick with tuberculosis.[2] The plan was approved by the Postmaster and the King of Denmark (Christian IX).[3][4] Prior to his death in 1927 Holboell was knighted by the king of Denmark for his contributions in the effort to fight tuberculosis and for associating Christmas with the need to help those afflicted with the disease. He was also honored by a number of other countries, including the United States, for his efforts.[5]
In 1904, the world's first Christmas seal was issued in Denmark, bearing the likeness of the Danish Queen (Louise of Hesse-Kassel) and the word Julen (Christmas). Over 4 million were sold in the first year at DKK 0.02 per seal, raising more than $18,000, which in 1904 was a considerable sum of money. The following year the sale of Christmas Seals brought even more money to the fight against tuberculosis.[6][7]
During the first six years, enough funds were raised to build the Christmas Seal Sanatorium in Kolding, which was opened in 1911. The same year the sanatorium was transferred to the administration of the Danish National Association to Combat Tuberculosis as it was considered a waste of resources to have two organizations working towards the same purpose. Fundraising would successfully continue via Christmas Seals for years to come.[8]
The Danish Christmas Seal Committee, today known as Julemærkefonden (the Christmas Seal Fund), decided at that time to put all future collected funds to use in building and operating convalescent homes for children.[9]
In 1958 a controversy over the appearance of Santa Claus on a Danish Christmas seal started when Rev. Paul Nedergad, a Copenhagen clergyman, referred to Santa Claus as a "pagan goblin". He insisted that people should find another way to help the charitable cause to fight tuberculosis and boycott the Christmas seal in question. Most of the people of Denmark, however, paid little attention to Negerdard's comment and continued to buy the Christmas seals that depicted Santa Claus.[10]
United States
At the beginning of the 20th century the United States was also experiencing a tuberculosis outbreak of epidemic proportions. At the time the only practical way to treat the disease was confining those afflicted in a
The Great success of Christmas seals in Europe prompted Danish born
Initially printed by the
The Christmas seals issued in 1918 have an unusual history apart from all the others, in that they were not sold to the general public that year. Issued during World War I they were only given to members of the American Red Cross so as not to compete with other fund-raising drives for the war effort. Issued only in booklet panes of ten, there are no known sheets of 100 of this issue.[18]
By 1920, the Red Cross withdrew from the arrangement and sales were conducted exclusively by the NASPT, then known as the National Tuberculosis Association (NTA). Issues from 1920 to 1937; by the National Tuberculosis and Respiratory Disease Association (NTDRA); from 1968 to 1972 and the American Lung Association from 1973 to the present The NTRDA became the American Lung Association in 1973, though the 1974 seals and those issued thereafter continue to show the NTRDA inscription on the sheet margin.[19][17]
Often times two or more different printers were employed to produce a given Christmas seal, producing a seal that was identical to the other such printings. To distinguish between the various printings the Christmas Seal Society deemed it appropriate that each printer add his own printer's mark to one of the seals in a sheet of 100, usually in the middle of the sheet. Printer's marks usually consisted of a small letter within the design of the seal. The addition of printer's marks was initiated In 1926 and continued until 1997.[20]
Local Christmas seals also began to emerge during this time and have existed alongside national issues in the US since 1907, and are also catalogued by the Christmas Seal & Charity Stamp Society.[12][21]
The first real-life people were not featured on U.S. Christmas seals until the 1938 seals were issued. They featured prominent men associated with the fight against tuberculosis, which include. Einar Holbøll, Robert Koch, René Laennec and Edward Livingston Trudeau[22]
With the exception of the 1907 and 1908 issues, US Christmas seals were issued in sheets of 100 up until 1975, thereafter being issued in sheets of 54.[19] Beginning in 1935 US Christmas seals were being printed in se-tenant, where there was more than one design of Christmas seals on a single sheet of one hundred Christmas seals.[23] Beginning in 1970 sheets of Christmas seals sometimes each had an individual seal with its own design or depicted an overall scene, with each seal having a portion of that scene,similar to the way that puzzle pieces together displayed a scene or picture.[24]
Various promotional schemes were tried: in 1954 the small town of
Aside from Christmas seals issued nationally by the Red Cross and the National Tuberculosis Association, various states issued seals of their own. Beginning in 1927 the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, began issuing their own seals to bring awareness to the prejudice and other issues that effected African Americans.[25]
Beginning in 1919 the sale of Christmas seals were sold in a form of a bond in order to accommodate big contributors to the fight against tuberculosis. The range of denominations of the bonds ranged from $5 up to $1000. Variations and changes in the design changed from year to year.[26]
Today the Christmas seals benefit the American Lung Association and other lung related issues. Tuberculosis was declining, but recently has been on the rise. Tuberculosis is still one of the most common major infectious diseases in the world. In 1987 the American Lung Association acquired a trademark for the term "Christmas Seals" to protect their right to be the sole US national fundraising Association to issue them. Of course, this trademark would not apply to Christmas seals issued outside the US or local and regional Christmas seals, used in the US by many organizations since 1907 when the Kensington Dispensary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, issued their own local Christmas seal.[19]
Canada
By 1908, the campaign had reached Canada. Interested people in
From Saint John, New Brunswick, the Rev. G. A. Moore wrote to say that he and other volunteers would sell 8,500 and send the money to Toronto for its sanatorium. That first year, the Toronto campaign brought in $7,358.65 (the equivalent of almost $200,000 today).and Hamilton citizens gave $1,244.40. Year by year, other cities across Canada tried the Christmas seal campaign as a means not only of raising money but of creating the awareness that tuberculosis could be controlled.[28]
Finally, in 1927, it was agreed that the Christmas seal campaign was to be the official method for tuberculosis associations to appeal to the public for funds. A national seal was established. Christmas seal campaigns have played an important role in public health. At first, the money raised was used for the new and badly needed sanatorium. When these were established, Christmas seal funds were used for tuberculosis prevention. The seals have paid for millions of Canadians to have chest X-ray or tuberculin tests. As a result, thousands of tuberculosis cases were discovered before disease spread to others. The Canadian Lung Association's Christmas seals continue to symbolize the grassroots support of Canadians that helped win the fight against tuberculosis.[29]
Europe
Soon after Denmark issued the first Christmas seal, Sweden and Iceland followed Seals then spread throughout Scandinavia and every major country in Europe, and are still popular today. Christmas seals have been issued by hundreds of different societies, nationally, and locally in Asia, Africa, North and South America, and Australia. The majority of all tuberculosis seals since then were issued at Christmas time and included the international symbol against tuberculosis, the double barred Cross of Lorraine.[2][13]
Semi-postals
Various governments from around the world have also issued
France began issuing semi-postals to raise funds for the Red Cross in 1918, all of which bear the red cross symbol.[31]
Belgium issued charity stamps in the form of
The other European countries that have issued semi-postal stamps for the Red Cross and various tuberculosis foundations include Belgium, Finland, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, among others.
Other countries
There are nearly one hundred different lung associations worldwide that issue Christmas seals. Many different countries issue their own Christmas seals, as well as cities, states and territories. Green's Catalog, considered by many collectors as the bible of US and worldwide tuberculosis Christmas seal collecting would distinguish them as national versus local Christmas seals. Many tuberculosis seal issuing societies are members of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, which holds a Christmas seal contest for best design among their Organizational and Constituent seal issuing members at their annual World Conference on Lung Health.[33]
Korea, after much effort to sell the idea in of raising funds to combat tuberculosis in Korea, issued its first Christmas seal in 1933. Charged with this effort, the Korean Medical Missionary Association formed a committee. All religions and nationalities in Korea were represented, and it received funds and aid from the Church of England, the United Church of Canada as well as various health organizations within Korea itself.[34]
Mexico, through the Comite Nacional de Lucha contra la Tuberculosis, in their effort to fight the dreaded lung disease, issued its first Christmas seals in 1943.[35]
Usage
Beginning in 1907 when Christmas seals were first issued the incident of seals used in place of postage stamps became a common problem. Subsequently, by 1911 the U.S. Post Office adopted a policy that prohibited the placement of Christmas Seals on the same side of a postcard or envelope as the address. By 1930 the problem became less prevalent.[36]
Before 1930 nearly all Christmas Seals found on U.S. mail were used on Christmas greetings postcards, as there were no commercial Christmas Cards with envelopes and postage for postcards was only a penny. Today postcards with Christmas seals tied on with a postmark with the same year date as the Christmas seal for that year are not common and often scarce, and in some instances rare.[37]
Other types
Many other seals to raise funding for charitable efforts were issued during Christmas season, often with Christmas themes, by religious organizations, civic and fraternal societies, patriotic organizations, etc. Since they were not issued to fight tuberculosis specifically they lack the double barred Cross of Lorraine, the international symbol for the fight against tuberculosis, which was proposed and established in 1902 at the International Conference on Tuberculosis in Berlin Germany, and strictly speaking do not qualify as what is commonly known as Christmas seals.
Between 1937 and 1943 the
Authorized by the Vatican, The
History has shown that most dictatorial regimes suspend Christmas seals from being issued. This happened in Korea under the Japanese occupation, China under the communists, and Argentina under
Collecting
When Christmas seals first appeared at the beginning of the 20th century they received much favor and acclaim from the general public, and from stamp and postal history collectors in particular. Prices for the various issues can range from inexpensive, to moderately priced to those of considerable value, depending on availability, type,[e] centering and condition.[40] The catalogue value of a Christmas seal, as with postage stamps and coins, usually increases over time. For example, in 1935 the Scott Catalogue[f] value for a Christmas seal issued in 1915 was 25-cents.[41] In 1983 its catalogue value increased to $4. By 2014 the Scott Catalogue Value was fixed at $9.00.[42] Used seals, and those with no gum and/or have a straight edge on one side, usually command about one-half the price of a seal in unused, (mint) fine to very fine (F-VF) condition.[43][44]
In cases where a Christmas seal is tied[g] alongside a postage stamp, with a postmark with the same year date in which the given Christmas seal was issued often commands much higher prices than those that have been cancelled and are no longer affixed to a postcard or envelope.[40] As with various postage stamps, Christmas seals that exist in a 'block of four' are often scarce and can increase the value much higher than what four separate Christmas seals might be worth.[46] On December 4, 2014, a postcard bearing a rare variety of a 1911, type 5, considered the rarest U.S. Christmas seal, sold at auction on eBay for a record amount of $$3,433.83. The postcard was postmarked December 20, 1911, at Station C in Los Angeles and mailed to Fort Wayne, Indiana[47] In another definitive example, a 1919 issue U.S. Christmas seal of a rare type was sold at auction and realized a price of $3,872,533.[18]
In the United States beginning in 1936, the town of Santa Claus, Indiana has often been regarded by many collectors as the "official" First Day City for the initial release of Christmas seal issues in the United States. Special cacheted covers were often prepared in quantities that range from 500 to 2000. The quantities produced were documented for many years by The Christmas Seal and Charity Stamp Society members Joe Wheeler and Jerry Grigaitis. In 1936 the Santa Claus Postmaster would not allow the seals to be tied by a postmark, however, that policy was sometimes overlooked and a few covers received a postmark. Such covers command a substantial premium in the collecting world.[48]
One of the oldest Christmas seal societies of service to collectors of Christmas seals is The Christmas Seal and Charity Stamp Society, founded in 1931, an affiliate of the American Philatelic Society. It functions as a source of information for collectors and publishes a quarterly journal, Seal News, and a large catalog of Christmas seal collecting literature. They also conduct auctions through each issue of their journal.[52]
See also
- The Christmas Seal & Charity Stamp Society
- Easter Seals A charitable organization for helping handicapped children.
- Easter seals (philately) Easter seals in stamp collecting.
- Strobridge Lithographing Company — Long time printers of Christmas Seals
Notes
- ^ "Julen" is Danish for 'Christmas'.
- ^ Now known as the American Lung Association
- semi-postalstamp bears two denominations, with one denomination paying postage and one going towards a charitable cause.
- ^ This Canadian Christmas seal, along with several other types, are identical to those issued for the United States, except for the name of country on the seal.[27]
- ^ Stamps and seals of a different "type" are most often those with minor, often unnoticeable, differences in the design, perforation gauge or color(s) used in the printing process..
- ^ The Scott Catalogue is considered one of the leading authorities on postage stamps and related items.
- ^ "Tied" is a term used by collectors to define a stamp with a postmark on an envelope which overlaps the stamp.[45]
- ^ The Scott catalogue vale in 2017 was $1400[49]
Citations
- PMID 17109268.
- ^ a b c d Healey, Barth (24 December 1989). "Pastimes: Stamps". Archives, The New York Times.
- ^ krythe1954, pp. 138-139
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
- ^ Collins, 2003, p. 68
- ^ American red Cross
- ^ Collins & Ace, 2003, p. 63
- ^ Collins, 2003, pp. 51-53
- ^ "Flere testamenterer til et godt formål". www.julemaerket.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2021-05-20.
- ^ Clar, Journal article, October 1959 p. 337
- ^ a b c Denune, 2014, p. 1
- ^ a b The Lancet, journal, 2014, v. 2, pp. 608-609
- ^ a b Del Re, 1979, pp. 141-142
- ^ History Matters, Essay
- ^ Long, 1957, p. 144
- ^ Scott's specialized catalogue of U.S. stamps, 1935, p. 163
- ^ a b Denune, 2014, pp. a, 4-5
- ^ a b Denune, 2014, p. 4
- ^ a b c Scott's Specialized Catalogue of [US], 1983, p. 613
- ^ Denune, 2014, p. f
- ^ Scott's specialized catalogue of U.S. stamps, 1969, p. 569
- ^ Denune, 2014, p. 17
- ^ Denune, 2014, pp. 14-19
- ^ Denune, 2014, pp. 40, 43, 54, etc
- ^ Denune, 2024
- ^ Denune, Christmas Seals bonds, 2024, Essay
- ^ Scott Specialized Catalogue of US stamps, p. 619
- ^ a b BREATHE, The Lung Association, Essay
- ^ Association, Lung. "History: Support Christmas Seals". Canadian Lung Association. Archived from the original on 15 November 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ^ Cabeen, 1979, pp. 126-128
- ^ Scott Stamp Catalogue of Stamps of the world], 2017, v. 2, p.1535
- ^ Scott Catalogue of Stamps of the World: Belgium, 2017, v. 1, p. 1088
- ^ International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, 2020
- ^ Hall, 1933, Essay
- ^ "William J Kozersky, Philatelist". Retrieved February 7, 2024.
- ^ Hotchner, 2016: Linn's Stamp News, Nov 16, 2016 issue
- ^ Denune, 2023, comprehensive catalogue
- ^ Jay Smith & Associates
- ^ Association of the Holy Childhood
- ^ a b Denune, 2014, pp. a-b
- ^ Scott Specialized Catalogue of US Stamps, 1935, p. 164
- ^ Denune, 2014, p. 3
- ^ Scott Specialized Catalogue of US Stamps, 1983, p. 614
- ^ Green's Catalogue of Tuberculosis Christmas seals, p. 4
- ^ Denune, 2014, p. b
- ^ Denune, 2014, pp. 3, 8, 14, etc
- ^ Linn's Stamp News, December 4, 2014
- ^ Denune (ed.), 2014, p. II
- ^ Scott Catalogue of US Stamps, 2017, p. 995
- ^ Christmas Seal Society
- ^ Linn's Stamp News, January 8, 2024
- ^ The Christmas Seal and Charity Stamp Society
Bibliography
- Cabeen, Richard McP (1979). Standard handbook of stamp collecting. Crowell. ISBN 978-0-69001-7731.
- "1913 Christmas Seal Types". Seal Society. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
- Clar, Mimi (October 1959). "Attack on Santa Claus". Western Folklore. 18 (4): 337. JSTOR 1497769.
- Collins, Ace (2003). Stories behind the great traditions of Christmas. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan. ISBN 978-0-31024-8804.
- Del Re, Gerard (1979). The Christmas almanack. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday. ISBN 038-513353-7.
- Denune, John Jr., ed. (2014). The Christmas Seal Catalog (PDF). The Christmas Seal and Charity Stamp Society.
The Christmas Seal Catalog is a simplified version of Green's Catalog of TB Seals of the World, part 1, U.S. National Christmas Seals.
- Denune, John. "US Christmas Seals Tied On". John Denune's ChristmasSeals.net. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
- Denune, John Jr. "(Christmas Seal) Bonds". ChristmasSeals.net. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
- Gigliotti, Gilbert L. (2002). A Storied Singer: Frank Sinatra as Literary Conceit. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-0-31330-9731.
- Green, Dick (1946–1947). Gilbert, Charles B. (ed.). Green's catalog of the Tuberculosis Seals of the World (revised through 1946). The Christmas Seal and Charity Stamp Society.
- Hall, Sherwood (1933). The Story of Korea's First Christmas Seal (PDF). YMCA Press, Seoul, Korea.
- Hotchner, John M. (2016). "When Christmas seals were placed on mail where they shouldn't be". Linn's Stamp News. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
- Krythe, Maymie Richardson (1954). All about Christmas. New York: Harper & Brothers.
- Long, Esmond R. (April 1957). "Development of the Voluntary Health Movement in America as Illustrated in the Pioneer National Tuberculosis Association". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 101 (2). American Philatelic Society: 142–148. JSTOR 985505.
- Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States stamps. New York, N.Y: Scott Publications. 1969.
- Houseman, Donna, ed. (2017). Scott 2017 specialized catalogue of United States stamps & covers. Sidney, Ohio: Amos Media.
- Scott Specialized 1935 Christmas Seal Section (PDF). New York: Scott publishing Company. 1935.
- Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States stamps. New York, NY: Scott Publishing Company. 1983.
- Scott 2017 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, Volume 2- Countries of the World C-F (Scott 2017. Vol. 2. Scott Publishing Company. 2016. ISBN 978-0-89487-5083.
- "The American Red Cross and the First Christmas Seals". The American Red Cross. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
- This Day in History... December 7, 1907, First U.S. Christmas Seals (PDF). Camden, New York: Mystic Stamp Company. 2023.
- Media, Delaware Public (15 December 2011). "History Matters: Christmas Seals - The Legacy of Emily Bissell". www.delawarepublic.org. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
- Venkatesan, Priya (August 2014). "Historical Profile, Emily Perkins Bissell" (PDF). The Lancet. 2.
- "Tied U.S. Christmas seal variety brings record price in recent auction on eBay". Linn's Stamp News. Sydney, Ohio. December 4, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- "Complex 1913 Christmas seal provides many challenges". Linn's Stamp News. January 8, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
- "The Union Christmas seals exhibition and contest calls for designs". International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diease. 24 August 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
- "Holy Childhood, History". Association of the Holy Childhood. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
- Denune, John. "African American Related Seals". ChristmasSeals.net. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
Maanual and Catalog of NAACP seals - "Denmark: Christmas Seals: Christmas Seals - Danish Nazi Party". Jay Smith & Associates. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
- "A History of Christmas Seals in Canada". BREATHE, The Lung Association. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
- "The Christmas Seal and Charity Stamp Society". Retrieved February 14, 2024.
External links
- The Christmas Seal and Charity Stamp Society A non profit organization founded in 1931, publishes quarterly journal and Seal News.
- Red Cross: Christmas Seals and Combating Tuberculosis
- Danish Christmas seals from 1904 onwards
- Annual Christmas Seal Contest at World Conference on Lung Health, the convention of the International Union against TB & Lung Disease
- Scott 2005 specialized catalogue of United States stamps & covers, 2005 (archive.org)
Scott 2016 specialized catalogue of United States stamps & covers (archive.org) - Christmas Seals by Scott Numbers