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. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possibl ...

, 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 narrower in scope.

The first omnibus issue

The first omnibus has been said to be the issue of 1898 by the

Portuguese colonial empire The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...

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 the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, it was undertaken during the ...

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

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

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

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

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

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

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, also known as the Portuguese State of India or Portuguese India, was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded seven years after the discovery of the sea route to the Indian subcontinent by Vasco da Gama, a subject of the ...

File:1898 Macau stamp used Hong Kong.jpg,

Portuguese Macau Macau was under Portuguese Empire, Portuguese rule from the establishment of the first official Portuguese settlement in 1557 until its Handover of Macau, handover to China in 1999. It comprised the Municipality of Macau and the Municipality of ...

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

Portuguese Timor Portuguese Timor () was a Portuguese colony on the territory of present-day East Timor from 1702 until 1975. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Dutch East Indies. The first Europeans to arrive in the regio ...

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 Silver Jubilee marks a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, the 25th year of a monarch's reign or anything that has completed or is entering a 25-year mark. Royal Silver Jubilees since 1750 Note: This ...

1937 -

Coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

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

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

File:Falkland Islands Coronation Stamp.jpg,

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, 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 from Cape Dub ...

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

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

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

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

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

Swaziland Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where ...

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 no ...

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 Johore,'' is a state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore to the south and Indonesia to the east and ...

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 (Islam), Aman (دار الأمان; Arabic for 'The Safe Abode') and historically as Queda, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of ...

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

Kelantan Kelantan (; Kelantan-Pattani Malay, Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate''; ) is a state in Malaysia. The capital, Kota Bharu, includes the royal seat of Kubang Kerian. The honorific, honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' ("The Blissful Abode"). ...

File:Stamp3 of Borneo.jpg,

North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British Protectorate, British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, (present-day Sabah). The territory of North Borneo wa ...

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

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

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

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

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

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

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

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

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

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

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

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

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

File:British Somaliland 1949 UPU stamps.jpg,

British Somaliland British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate (), was a protectorate of the United Kingdom in modern Somaliland. It was bordered by Italian Somalia, French Somali Coast and Ethiopian Empire, Abyssinia (Italian Ethiopia from 1936 ...

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

Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

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 to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

File:The Gambia 1949 Mi 143-146 stamps (75th anniversary of the UPU).jpg,

Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

File:Nyasaland 1949 Mi 89-92 stamps (75th anniversary of the UPU).jpg,

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate 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 Nyasaland. After ...

File:St. Lucia 1949 UPU stamps.jpg,

St. Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

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

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

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 British protectorate, protectorate established on 31 March 1885 in Southern Africa by the United Kingdom. It became the Botswana, Republic of Botswana on 30 September 1966. History Scottish missionary ...

File:Basutoland 1953 Coronation stamp.jpg,

Basutoland Basutoland was a British Crown colony that existed from 1884 to 1966 in present-day Lesotho, bordered with the Cape Colony, Natal Colony and Orange River Colony until 1910 and completely surrounded by South Africa from 1910. Though the Basot ...

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)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

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, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

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 (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, 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, Kel ...

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

Perlis Perlis (Kedah Malay language, Kedah Malay (Perlis dialect): ''Peghelih'') is a Negeri, state of Malaysia in the northwestern coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It is the smallest state in Malaysia by area and population. The state borders the Thai ...

File:Pitcairn 1953 01.jpg,

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

File:Timbre_SteLucie_E2_couronnement_1953.jpg,

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,

Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands () are an archipelago between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Caribbean Sea, geographically forming part of the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean, Caribbean islands or West Indie ...

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 th ...

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 Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

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 A colonial exhibition was a type of World's fair, international exhibition that was held to boost trade. During the 1880s and beyond, colonial exhibitions had the additional aim of bolstering popular support for the various colonial ...

File:HauteVolta1931.jpg,

French Upper Volta Upper 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 the Côte d'Ivoire. ...

File:ExpositionColonial1931.jpg,

French Sudan French Sudan (; ') was a French colonial territory in the Federation of French West Africa from around 1880 until 1959, when it joined the Mali Federation, and then in 1960, when it became the independent state of Mali. The colony was formall ...

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

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

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 countries in the design, production, and marketing of postage stamps. It also assists postal administrations with the running of their postal ser ...

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