In Pre-Columbian times, the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

relied on messengers named chasquis for official communications; the

chasqui The ''chasquis'' (also ) were the messengers of the Inca empire. Agile, highly trained and physically fit, they were in charge of carrying the , messages and gifts, up to 240 km per day through the relay system. ''Chasquis'' were not just messe ...

s used a special stone-paved road named ''Capac Ñan'', and

quipu ''Quipu'' (also spelled ''khipu'') are recording devices fashioned from strings historically used by a number of cultures in the region of Andean South America. A ''quipu'' usually consisted of cotton or camelid fiber strings. The Inca people u ...

s, cotton or camelid fiber strings, collecting data with a special pattern of knots and colors. After the

Spanish conquest of Peru The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, also known as the Conquest of Peru, was one of the most important campaigns in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. After years of preliminary exploration and military skirmishes, 168 Spanish s ...

, the old Inca system was preserved in their basics, still using chasquis and Capac Ñan, but without quipus deemed as “tool for idolatries” by Spanish colonial authorities, founding the rich

Viceroyalty of Perú The Viceroyalty of Peru ( es, Virreinato del Perú, links=no) was a Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in South America, governed from ...

. In 1821,

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

declared independence from Spain and decisively defeated colonial forces at the

Battle of Ayacucho The Battle of Ayacucho ( es, Batalla de Ayacucho, ) was a decisive military encounter during the Peruvian War of Independence. This battle secured the independence of Peru and ensured independence for the rest of South America. In Peru it is co ...

in 1824. The newly created Republic of Peru began using lithographed stamps in 1857 that initially were provided by the

Pacific Steam Navigation Company The Pacific Steam Navigation Company ( es, Compañía de Vapores del Pacífico, links=no) was a British commercial shipping company that operated along the Pacific coast of South America, and was the first to use steam ships for commercial traffi ...

, a British shipping service serving mail and trade at Western

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. a British shipping service serving mail and trade in western South America. The Peruvian government authorized, as essay, using only two PSNC stamps (1 real blue and 2 reales red) for mail in the Peruvian postal service, from December 1, 1857. After a successful experience, Peru issued their own lithographed stamps in March 1858, in a three-values issue; this created the first stamp error in Peruvian philately: the half peso rose. Still, a lot of copies of Peru's PSNC stamps circulation were forged, with colors never circulated as state-sponsored mail, or fantasy cancellations. SM-Peru-1871

Around 1860, the Peruvian government purchased a French-made device (the so-called "Lecoq" press) that was used to print, emboss and cut imperforate stamps from paper strips. This press was used in four stamps issued with national arms (1 dinero red, 1 peseta light brown, 1 dinero green, and 1 peseta orange). The commemorative stamp illustrated to the right (the "Trencito" or "little

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...

" of 1870) was one of the last Peru produced on this rare machine, with the 2 ''centavos'' light blue (the "Llamita" stamp). After this issues, Peruvian postal service only used perforated stamps from 1874 onwards. For a catalogue used by collectors to classify early Peruvian (imperforate) stamps by their cancellations, see

Lamy (and Rinck) In Peruvian philately, Lamy (infrequently Lamy and Rinck) refers to a catalogue of cancellations found on classic Peruvian stamps, from the first issue in 1857 to the end of the use of imperforate For postage stamps, separation is the ...

References

External links

Peru Philatelic Study Circle''The Trencito and the Medals of Charles E. Bryant: A coincidence?'' by Antonio Llaveria.
Philately of Peru {{Peru-stub

References

Further reading

External links