Which was the first Hungarian stamp?
For many countries, the answer is straightforward. The United Kingdom is proud of the 1840 Penny Black and France of its 1849 Ceres stamp, but in Hungary the question has been the subject of endless debate. Why is that?
The worldwide postal reforms and the spread of postage stamps took place around the middle of the 19th century, at a time when Hungarian history was also exceptionally turbulent. In the 17th century, a century and a half of Ottoman rule was followed by Habsburg rule. Dissatisfaction among Hungarians steadily increased, however: they demanded reforms and independence, and on 15 March 1848 a revolution broke out in Hungary.
One of the new Hungarian government’s aims was to reform postal services along British lines and make them accessible to everyone. Finance Minister Lajos Kossuth commissioned the young Hungarian painter Mór Than to design the first Hungarian stamp, and Than duly produced a design.
The Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence was defeated in the autumn of 1849. With Russian assistance, the Habsburgs defeated the Hungarian forces, after which a bloody reprisal followed. An independent Hungarian postal administration consequently remained only a dream for many years, and Mór Than’s stamp design was never issued. Had it appeared, Hungary would have preceded Austria and even France, and might also have been a strong contender in an imaginary competition for the “most beautiful first stamp”. Instead, it remained a reminder of the struggle for independence.
After 1849 Hungary effectively became part of the Austrian Empire, where the first postage stamps appeared in 1850: an imperforate five-denomination definitive series printed by letterpress and depicting the Habsburg coat of arms. These stamps were used throughout the Empire, making them in practice the first stamps used in Hungary. Yet they were Austrian, not Hungarian stamps. Even so, most Hungarian stamp collections begin with these issues and the Austrian stamps of the following 20 years, but only with examples whose postmarks clearly show use at a Hungarian locality. The Catalogue of Hungarian Stamps and Hungarian philatelic literature begin their treatment of Hungarian stamps with the period known as “Austrian Post in Hungary”.
Following Austria’s defeat in the Austro-Prussian War, the country was weakened militarily and economically and the unity of the Empire was in danger. Emperor Franz Joseph I understood that without an agreement with the Hungarians the Habsburg Empire itself might fall apart. The result was the Compromise of 1867, which was both a necessity and an opportunity: survival for Austria and the partial restoration of autonomy for Hungary. The Austro-Hungarian Monarchy was created as two equal states, Austria and Hungary. Postal affairs were placed among the matters to be administered independently, and in Hungary responsibility passed to the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Trade.
The now autonomous Hungarian postal administration naturally planned its own stamp issue, but faced an unfortunate reality: Hungary did not yet have a plant capable of manufacturing stamps on a large scale. It therefore had to turn to Austria, and the first stamps ordered by Hungary were produced in Vienna. Austria also placed the same series in circulation elsewhere in the Monarchy, creating the unusual situation that the two countries used completely identical stamps. Legally, these may perhaps be regarded as the first Hungarian stamps, although catalogues long classified the issue unequivocally as Austrian. More recently, the view has gained acceptance that examples demonstrably cancelled with Hungarian postmarks may be regarded as Hungarian stamps.
Finally, in 1871 the first stamps both ordered by Hungary and manufactured in Hungary were issued. In addition to the portrait of the monarch, they already displayed Hungarian national symbols: the coat of arms and the Holy Crown. Every catalogue regards these as the first Hungarian stamps. After everything above, it will probably come as no surprise that there were complications here too.
The stamps were originally intended to be produced by engraving, but because of the tight deadline and delays in the engraving machinery, lithography, which gave a less refined image, was used instead. The first chrome-yellow lithographed 2-krajcár stamps turned out so poorly—the monarch’s face was covered with dots—that all 8 million printed examples were ordered to be destroyed. A few nevertheless entered circulation; these are known as the “Pöttyös Jóska” stamps. Today they may be worth around 2.5–3 million forints.
The quality and appearance of the lithographed stamps fell well short of expectations, so between July and August 1871 production changed to engraved versions. For this very reason, the lithographed stamps are much scarcer—and therefore more valuable—than the engraved ones. Every catalogue regards the 1871 lithographed stamps as the first Hungarian stamps.
Ultimately, what someone considers the first Hungarian stamp depends on the perspective: legal, philatelic, practical—or perhaps a touch of romance leads us to choose the stamp that was never issued. What is certain is that even such a simple question can have a complicated answer, and in searching for it we can learn a remarkable amount about a country’s history. That is part of the beauty of stamp collecting.