philately Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is pos ...

, an omnibus issue is an issue of stamps by several countries with a common subject and which may share a uniform design. Omnibus issues have often been made by countries under common political control or groups of colonies due to the close co-operation required to produce the issue. Omnibus issues are to be distinguished from joint issues which are usually much smaller in scope.

The first omnibus issue

The first omnibus has been said to be the issue of 1898 by the Portuguese colonial empire to commemorate the quatercentenary of Vasco de Gama's

discovery of the sea route to India The Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India was the first recorded trip directly from Europe to the Indian subcontinent, via the Cape of Good Hope. Under the command of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, it was undertaken during the rei ...

. File:Portugal 1898 Mi 140 stamp (Departure at Belem 07.07.1497).jpg,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

File:Azores 1898 Mi 92 stamp (Departure at Belem 07.07.1497).jpg,

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

File:Madeira 1898 Mi 35 stamp (Departure at Belem 07.07.1497).jpg,

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

File:Portuguese Africa 1898 Mi 3 stamp (Departure at Belem 07.07.1497).jpg, Portuguese Africa File:Portuguese India 1898 Mi 170 stamp (Departure at Belem 07.07.1497).jpg,

Portuguese India The State of India ( pt, Estado da Índia), also referred as the Portuguese State of India (''Estado Português da Índia'', EPI) or simply Portuguese India (), was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded six years after the discovery of a s ...

File:1898 Macau stamp used Hong Kong.jpg,

Portuguese Macau Portuguese Macau (officially the Province of Macau until 1976, and then the Autonomous Region of Macau from 1976 to 1999) was a Portuguese colony that existed from the first official Portuguese settlement in 1557 to the end of colonial rul ...

File:Portuguese Timor 1898 Mi 52 stamp (Departure at Belem 07.07.1497).jpg,

Portuguese Timor Portuguese Timor ( pt, Timor Português) was a colonial possession of Portugal that existed between 1702 and 1975. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Dutch East Indies. The first Europeans to arrive in th ...

British Empire and British Overseas Territories issues

Omnibuses have been particularly associated with stamps from the former British Empire, now the British Commonwealth, due to the large number of territories participating. Initially designs were identical for each colony with only the values, colours and colony names varying. Over time, however, a wider range of designs has been used within the same issue. The first issue was the Silver Jubilee issue of 1935.Sutton, R.J. & K.W. Anthony. ''The Stamp Collector's Encyclopaedia''. 6th edition. London: Stanley Paul, 1966, p.216. Many others have followed, usually on themes related to the British Royal Family, but also for subjects such as ''Freedom from Hunger'' (1963) and the ''1966 Football World Cup''. Not every colony necessarily participates in every issue, although the revenue produced by the stamps is a valuable source of income for many smaller colonies/countries which may have few other ways of raising funds. A list of British Omnibus issues is given below: 1935 - Silver Jubilee 1937 -

Coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of o ...

File:Stamp of Aden - 1937 - Colnect 165126 - 1 - King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.jpeg,

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 peopl ...

File:Falkland Islands Coronation Stamp.jpg,

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

File:Stamp of Gibraltar - 1937 - Colnect 120 - 1 - King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.jpeg,

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = "Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gibr ...

File:Stamp of Seychelles - 1937 - Colnect 269022 - King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.jpeg,

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...

File:1937 3d Coronation stamp of Swaziland.jpg,

Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its n ...

File:Turks and Caicos Islands 1937 coronation stamp.jpg,

Turks and Caicos Islands The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and ...

1945-1946 - Peace and Victory 1948-1949 - Silver Wedding File:Stamp of Aden - 1949 - Colnect 165142 - 1 - King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.jpeg,

File:Stamp of Johore - 1948 - Colnect 533313 - 1 - King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.jpeg,

Johore Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the northwest. Johor shares maritime bor ...

File:Stamp of Gibraltar - 1948 - Colnect 142 - 1 - Royal Silver Wedding Anniversary.jpeg,

File:Gold Coast Stamp 1948, George VI and Elizabeth.jpg, Gold Coast File:Stamp of Kedah - 1948 - Colnect 473027 - 1 - King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.jpeg,

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman and historically as Queda, is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km2, and it consists of the mainland ...

File:Stamp of Kelantan - 1948 - Colnect 604405 - 1 - King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.jpeg,

Kelantan Kelantan (; Jawi: ; Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate'') is a state in Malaysia. The capital is Kota Bharu and royal seat is Kubang Kerian. The honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' (Jawi: ; "The Blissful Abode"). Kelantan is located in t ...

File:Stamp3 of Borneo.jpg,

North Borneo (I persevere and I achieve) , national_anthem = , capital = Kudat (1881–1884);Sandakan (1884–1945);Jesselton (1946) , common_languages = English, Kadazan-Dusun, Bajau, Murut, Sabah Malay, Chinese etc. , ...

File:Stamp of Penang - 1948 - Colnect 708636 - 1 - King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.jpeg,

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the M ...

File:Stamp of Sarawak - 1948 - Colnect 306191 - Royal Couple.jpeg,

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...

File:Stamp of Selangor - 1948 - Colnect 709730 - Silver marriage jubilee of King George VI - Queen Elizabeth.jpeg,

Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sem ...

File:Stamp of Seychelles - 1948 - Colnect 269032 - Silver wedding.jpeg,

File:Stamp of Zanzibar - 1949 - Colnect 413503 - 1 - Royal couple.jpeg,

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...

1949 - Universal Postal Union File:Bermuda 1949 Mi 125-128 stamps (75th anniversary of the UPU).jpg,

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

File:Tonga 1949 Mi 87-90 stamps (75th anniversary of the UPU).jpg,

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

File:British Somaliland 1949 UPU stamps.jpg,

British Somaliland British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate ( so, Dhulka Maxmiyada Soomaalida ee Biritishka), was a British protectorate in present-day Somaliland. During its existence, the territory was bordered by Italian Somalia, French So ...

File:Dominica 1949 Mi 112-115 stamps (75th anniversary of the UPU).jpg,

Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographical ...

File:Sierra Leone 1949 Mi 171-174 stamps (75th anniversary of the UPU).jpg,

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

File:The Gambia 1949 Mi 143-146 stamps (75th anniversary of the UPU).jpg, Gambia Colony and Protectorate, Gambia File:Nyasaland 1949 Mi 89-92 stamps (75th anniversary of the UPU).jpg,

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate located in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasala ...

File:St. Lucia 1949 UPU stamps.jpg, St. Lucia File:Jamaica 1949 Mi 147-150 stamps (75th anniversary of the UPU).jpg,

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

1951 - University 1953 - QEII Coronation File:Stamp of Aden - 1953 - Colnect 255499 - 1 - Queen Elizabeth II.jpeg,

File:1953 Coronation Bechuanaland Protectorate stamp.jpg,

Bechuanaland Protectorate The Bechuanaland Protectorate () was a protectorate established on 31 March 1885, by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (later the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) in Southern Africa. It became the Republic ...

File:Basutoland 1953 Coronation stamp.jpg,

Basutoland Basutoland was a British Crown colony that existed from 1884 to 1966 in present-day Lesotho. Though the Basotho (then known as Basuto) and their territory had been under British control starting in 1868 (and ruled by Cape Colony from 1871), t ...

File:Stamp of Gibraltar - 1953 - Colnect 155 - 1 - Queen Elizabeth II.jpeg,

File:Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Stamp HK 1953.jpg,

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

File:Stamp of Johore - 1953 - Colnect 398630 - 1 - Queen Elizabeth II.jpeg,

File:Stamp of Kedah - 1953 - Colnect 699426 - 1 - Queen Elizabeth II.jpeg,

File:Stamp of Kelantan - 1953 - Colnect 699427 - 1 - Queen Elizabeth II.jpeg,

File:Malta-Queen-Elizabeth-II-Coronation-Stamp-1953.jpg,

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

File:Stamp of Penang - 1953 - Colnect 399185 - 1 - Queen Elizabeth II.jpeg,

File:Stamp of Perak - 1953 - Colnect 400110 - 1 - Queen Elizabeth II.jpeg,

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand' ...

File:Stamp of Perlis - 1953 - Colnect 699428 - Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.jpeg,

Perlis Perlis, ( Northern Malay: ''Peghelih''), also known by its honorific title Perlis Indera Kayangan, is the smallest state in Malaysia by area and population. Located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, it borders the Thai provinces ...

File:Pitcairn 1953 01.jpg,

Pitcairn Islands The Pitcairn Islands (; Pitkern: '), officially the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, is a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the sole British Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean. The four is ...

File:Timbre_SteLucie_E2_couronnement_1953.jpg, St. Lucia File:Stamp of Sarawak - 1953 - Colnect 306213 - Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.jpeg,

File:Stamp of Selangor - 1953 - Colnect 399659 - Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.jpeg,

File:Seychelles_1953_coronation_stamp.JPG,

File:Queen stamp Sierra Leone.jpg,

File:Queen Elizabeth II Virgin Islands stamp.jpg, British Virgin Islands, Virgin Islands 1953 - Royal Visit 1958 -

West Indies Federation The West Indies Federation, also known as the West Indies, the Federation of the West Indies or the West Indian Federation, was a short-lived political union that existed from 3 January 1958 to 31 May 1962. Various islands in the Caribbean that ...

File:St. Vincent 3c West Indies Federation stamp 1958.jpg,

St. Vincent Saint Vincent may refer to: People Saints * Vincent of Saragossa (died 304), a.k.a. Vincent the Deacon, deacon and martyr * Saint Vincenca, 3rd century Roman martyress, whose relics are in Blato, Croatia * Vincent, Orontius, and Victor (died 305) ...

1963 - Freedom From Hunger File:Stamp of Aden - 1963 - Colnect 352646 - 1 - Protein Foods.jpeg,

File:Stamp of Gibraltar - 1963 - Colnect 188 - 1 - Freedom from Hunger.jpeg,

File:Stamp of Sarawak - 1963 - Colnect 306413 - Protein Food.jpeg,

File:Stamp of Seychelles - 1963 - Colnect 307290 - Protein Foods.jpeg,

File:Stamp of Zanzibar - 1963 - Colnect 413564 - Freedom from Hunger.jpeg,

1963 - Red Cross Centenary 1964 - Shakespeare 1965 - International Telecommunication Union File:Stamp of Gibraltar - 1965 - Colnect 198 - 1 - International Telecommunications Union Centenary.jpeg,

File:Stamp of Seychelles - 1965 - Colnect 307295 - ITU Emblem.jpeg,

1965 - International Cooperation File:Stamp of Gibraltar - 1965 - Colnect 200 - 1 - International Co operation Year.jpeg,

File:Stamp of Seychelles - 1965 - Colnect 307297 - International Cooperation Year.jpeg,

1966 - Churchill Memorial File:Stamp of Gibraltar - 1966 - Colnect 203 - 1 - Winston Churchill.jpeg,

File:Stamp of Seychelles - 1966 - Colnect 307298 - Churchill - St Paul´s Cathedral.jpeg,

1966 - Football World Cup File:Stamp of Gibraltar - 1966 - Colnect 208 - 1 - World Cup Football Championship - England 1966.jpeg,

File:Stamp of Seychelles - 1966 - Colnect 307301 - Jules Rimet Cup.jpeg,

1966 - U.N.E.S.C.O Issue File:Stamp of Gibraltar - 1966 - Colnect 220 - 1 - 20th Anniversary of UNESCO - Education.jpeg,

File:Stamp of Seychelles - 1966 - Colnect 307304 - 20th Anniversary of UNESCO - Education.jpeg,

1966 - World Health Organisation File:Stamp of Gibraltar - 1966 - Colnect 215 - 1 - New WHO Headquarters Building.jpeg,

File:Stamp of Seychelles - 1966 - Colnect 307302 - Headquarters Geneva.jpeg,

1966 - Royal Visit to the Caribbean 1972 - Royal Silver Wedding 1973 - Royal Wedding Princess Anne 1974 - Churchill Centenary 1977 - Royal Silver Jubilee 1978 - 25th Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's Coronation 1980 - Queen Mothers 80th Birthday 1981 - Charles and Diana Royal Wedding 1982 - Princess Diana 21st and other Birthdays 1985 - Life and Times of Elizabeth the Queen Mother 1990 - Queen Mother's 90th Birthday 1997 - Queen Elizabeth Golden Wedding

French omnibus issues

1931 - Colonial Exposition File:HauteVolta1931.jpg,

French Upper Volta Upper Volta (french: Haute-Volta) was a colony of French West Africa established in 1919 in the territory occupied by present-day Burkina Faso. It was formed from territories that had been part of the colonies of Upper Senegal and Niger and th ...

File:ExpositionColonial1931.jpg,

French Sudan French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Fra ...

1937 - International Exposition in Paris File:RFExpositionColonial1937.jpg,

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...

1938 - Pierre and Marie Curie 1939 - Rene Caillie 1939 - New York World's Fair 1939 - 150th Anniversary of the Revolution 1942 - Protection of the Infants 1942 - Colonial Education Fund 1944 - Marianne Red Cross 1945 - Felix Eboue 1946 - Victory Anniversary 1946 - Chad to the Rhine 1949 - UPU Anniversary 1950 - Tropical Medicine 1952 - Military Medals 1954 - Liberation Anniversary

Other omnibus issuers

The omnibus remains popular with countries whose philatelic marketing is handled by the

Inter-Governmental Philatelic Corporation The Inter-Governmental Philatelic Corporation, or IGPC, is a philatelic agency that represents over 70 different countries in the design, production, and marketing of postage stamps. It also assists postal administrations with the running of their ...

as it enables those countries to market their stamps into the lucrative United States and European thematic stamp market by featuring subjects popular in those countries. These issues have, however, been criticised for not being relevant to the culture of the participating countries, for instance stamps featuring Disney characters issued by poor African countries.

Commercialisation

While most earlier omnibus issues were genuine attempts to help a group of countries celebrate an anniversary or event, the fact that these became popular with stamp collectors tempted issuing authorities to bring out more stamps than would have otherwise been thought necessary. These were often heavily marketed. Murray, Robert. ''1981 Royal Wedding Omnibus Stamp Collection''. http://www.stamp-shop.com/1981-royal-wedding.html

References