Stockholm
POSTMARKS COVERS & POSTAL HISTORY of the STOCKHOLM POST OFFICE
Stockholm is the capital of Sweden. Stockholm is the most popular city in Sweden and on the Scandinavian peninsula, with a population of 871,952 in the municipality (2010), 1,372,565 in the urban area (2010), and 2,119,760 in the metropolitan area (2010). As of 2010, the Stockholm metropolitan area is home to approximately 22% of Sweden's population. Founded in c. 1250, possibly as early as 1187, Stockholm has long been one of Sweden's cultural, media, political, and economic centres. Its strategic location spread across 14 islands on the coast in the south-east of Sweden at the mouth of Lake Mälaren, by the Stockholm archipelago, has been historically important.
Contents
- 1 20th century
- 2 19th century
- 3 Trial handstamps
- 4 Special Cancels
- 5 Meter cancels
- 6 Roller Cancels
- 7 Covers with Meter cancels
- 8 Covers and cards
- 9 The Stockholm Post Office
- 10 Sub-Offices
- 11 Foreign Mails
- 12 Cash on Delivery (COD)/ Money Value
- 13 Parcel and Packet Post
- 14 Ångbåtspost Steam Boat Cancels
- 15 Railway Cancels
- 16 Views of the Town on Stamps
Stockholm is the seat of the national government, the Riksdag, the two highest courts in the judiciary (Supreme Court & Supreme Administrative Court), and the official residence of the Swedish Monarch as well as the Prime Minister. Since 1980, King Carl XVI Gustaf has had his actual residence at Drottningholm Palace in Ekerö Municipality outside of Stockholm and uses the Stockholm Palace as his workplace and official residence. The Government has its seat in Rosenbad and the Riksdag in the Parliament House.
20th century
Sorted by year of cancel.
Commemorative Postmarks
19th century
Trial handstamps
Special Cancels
Meter cancels
Roller Cancels
Covers with Meter cancels
Covers and cards
to be sorted by year of cancel
 1903 Postcard posted at the Nordic PostMötet held in Stockholm. Unusually the card bears two strikes of the Type 9 FALKENBERG box cancel that was in use in the period upto 1869. In connection with the first general meeting of the Nordic Post Office in Stockholm, an exhibition of old postal items was organized in 1903 at the former main post office in Vasagatan to attract interest in the Swedish Post Museum and to preserve old postal items, and in 1905 it was also decided to establish a post museum. |
19th century
The Stockholm Post Office
Although the Posts in Sweden date back to the 16th C. The Post office had no defined building, instead numerous small post handling building that had sprung up and around the city were doing the task of distribution and delivery of the posts. Many local posts took mail for the immediate residents and delivered them at a small fee.
Being the capital city of Sweden the development of the post office in Stockholm, was an essential part of the expansion of the posts. As volumes increased the need for a General Post Office building was required this was designed by F Broberg and work started on the building in 1898. It took 6 years to build and is constructed from red granite. Most of the mails were transferred by both Rail and Sea. One area of Stockholm that had links to both was the Red Barns or Rödbotorget area. This was the main shipping dock and the rail system was not far by road. An ideal place for the main post office to be build.
The General Post Office building has been featured on the Sweden Posthuset stamp issued in 1903. The stamp itself was also designed by Frederick Broberg and engraved by P Wilcke. It was printer by the Copperplate recess method and had a Crown & Banner postmark. The complex watermark included the 5 of its value to try and prevent fraudulent copies as it was a high value stamp. More can be read on the building itself at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Post_Office_Building_%28Stockholm%29
Sub-Offices
(Stockholm 7) - Stockholm-Enskede-Årsta-Vantör
Now known collectively Enskede-Årsta-Vantör is a borough (stadsdelsområde) in the southern part of Stockholm
The districts that make up the borough are Enskedefältet, Enskede Gård, Gamla Enskede, Johanneshov, Stureby, Årsta, Östberga, Bandhagen, Högdalen, Örby, Rågsved and Hagsätra.
The borough was formed in January 2007 from the old boroughs Enskede-Årsta and Vantör.
(Stockholm 6) - Stockholm Karlbergsvägen
Stockholm Karlbergsvägen (Hist: Stockholm Carlbergsvägen) is Sub Post Office number 6 in the city. It was opened on 1 dec 1888 and closed on 31 dec1899. It re-opened as Stockholm 6 in January 1901 before again closing in 1906. The Post Office Stockholm 6 number would go on to be used for offices on the nearby roads of Odeng(atan) and Dalag(atan). Karlbergsvägen is a main route through the city to the west side area's where it passes the Botanical Gardens, Natural History Museum and Stockholm University.
Foreign Mails
Stockholm being a major shipping port as well as the capital, received a lot of 'Ship Mail'. Which came in posted on board ship and therefore uncancelled. A number of the main Port Post Offices used special handstamps and cancels to mark such letters. Fran Finland on the following cover denotes that it has come from Finland, as the Finnish stamps used suggest.
 Finland Cancelled in Stockholm. The cancels used at the post office in 1894 were the type 39 dotted circle and inner ring with two figure year. The Stockholm N cancel has both ANK and AFD descriptors which denotes that it came to the 'Arrivals Department' of the Foreign post section of the post office. It was in use from 1891. |
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Cash on Delivery (COD)/ Money Value
Sweden had a large insured letter volume, for cash on delivery of post. This was either for the collection of money or for payment of money upon presentation.
Parcel and Packet Post
The Parcel Post system was well introduced in early Sweden, and gave the population an efficient and quick way to send parcels to family/friends and inter-business in a low density populated country. The Rail network played an essential part in its development.
Covers
Ångbåtspost Steam Boat Cancels
Steamboat mails started in 1869, when the Postmaster Director General drew up a contract with the Captain of a ship on the Darsland Canal. The success of this led to the formation of the Ångbåtspost system in Sweden.
Railway Cancels
Stockholm-Spanga Spanga had rail-links to Stockholm and was designated the PLK329 C cancel used on the line from 1908-1915.
